A 18
Three Chords and the Truth
July 30, 2015
Island Moon
An epic night…
By Ronnie Narmour ronnienarmour@gmail.com
Review: The Dirty River Boys It was an ugly week for me last week. I don’t often get sick but when I do it’s usually of biblical proportion. I went down for the count for the whole week but did manage to get out on Saturday to see The Dirty River Boys (El Paso, TX) at the Back Porch. I would have taken a hospital stay to keep me away from that show, I wouldn’t have missed it for love or money. I looked it up, I have reviewed this band over a dozen times since 2009. I’ve seen them on bills with Uncle Lucius, The Wheeler Brothers and Folk Family Revival in the past and have always left their shows thinking this was one of the best bands I’ve ever heard. It was no different this past Saturday.
There was a lot going on, on this stage. At times all of the players would switch instruments and play with equal precision and fervor. It was an amazing thing to watch. Did I mention their spot on four part harmonies? And the songs they sang, like “Raise Some Hell Tonight”, “Draw” and “Boomtown”, would easily give Doc Watson or Del McCoury a run for their money. I ended up sitting on the front row with a bunch of maniacs from Robstown. I didn’t know them when I got there but felt like best friends by the time the show was over. These guys were a hoot. They knew every word to every song and jumped around and danced with the band all night. They really made the night a lot of fun. This show was truly the medicine my body had been needing all week. I was revived!
The Toman Brothers played Giggity’s last Saturday night
All star line-up…
The Toman Brothers & Gary Stewart…
Ruben Limas and the Rolling J’s played Shorty’s last Saturday
After the DRB’s show, I limped over to Giggity’s to catch my old dear friends, The Toman Brothers (San Antonio, TX). I go back with the brothers Toman, Rusty and Randy, to the 80’s when they were the late Gary Stewart’s road band. Gary Stewart is a honky tonk legend in Texas. He had a string on number one country hits back in the 70’s with a bunch of drinking songs (I Got This Drinkin’ Thing To Keep From Thinking Things, I’m Drinking Double, She’s Sleeping Single, Taking Me a Whisky Trip, etc). Back then, I ran a successful honk tonk in San Antonio called Jus’ Country and the Toman’s often played there when they weren’t on the road with Stewart. On occasion I’d jump in with them for short road trips around the state.
The Spot for your
Island Fiesta
Free Beer Band
July 30
Lyrical Binge
July 31
Jimmy Spacek
Aug 1
Antone & the All Stars
Aug 2
OPEN JAM
Aug 3
Paul Taylor Band
Aug 4
Ty Dietz & Tony Saracene
Aug 5
Open 11am-2am Daily. Kitchen open til 1am. 722 Tarpon, Port Aransas, TX
Stray Cat Sailing Adventures
Specializing in 70 Premium Tequilas! Catering for any Occasion Closed Monday 222 Beach St. Port A (361) 749-0022
Private Charters Dinner Cruises Dolphin Watching Bird Watching Swimming Sunset Cruises Family & Dog Friendly
Capt. Chester Ruder (361) 416-0054, Port Aransas
Arrrr you ready?
Adventure Tour More than a boat ride. It’s a show and you’re in it! Fend off a Pirate Attack in an Epic Squirt Gun Battle Woody’s Sport Center 136 W. Cotter, Port Aransas, (361) 749-6969 CHRISTOPHER TODD JORDAN Designer & Builder of Food & Beverage Facilities
• Creative Problem Solving • Decorative Concrete • Custom Lighting • Residential & Commercial • References Provided
What a great night… The Dirty River Boys then the Toman Brothers. I did manage to make it down to Shorty’s for a bit of Ruben Limas and the Rolling J’s show. They were having a good night too, on that sweaty porch. All in all, the night was epic. Man did I sleep good. Coming up this weekend, look for the “once a year lawyer band”, The Deadbeats at the Back Porch on Thursday. On Friday, a band I very excited about, Picklefish, will make their debut at Shorty’s. These guys caught my attention at one of the Monday night jams at Giggity’s and I gotta say, they’re pretty darn amazing. Singer Justin Estes has some really, really strong vocals. Trust me on this one and DO NOT MISS! Also on Friday, Finding Friday (San Antonio, TX) also found Saturday at the Back Porch with a two nighter. This soulful R&B, fronted by the velvet voice of Chris Byrd, is complete with chick doo wop singers. Over at the Drop Anchor on Friday, Stetson Walker and the Performance Enhancers will play from 6-9. Walkers bio boasts, “Multiinstrumentalist Stetson has performed at the Austin City Music Hall, Hutto Centennial Festival, Stone Valley Music Park, Threadgill’s and other venues. Winner of the Round Rock City People’s Choice Award, he is a versatile player who has performed with many talented artists including Redd Volkaert, Floyd
The James Little Band will play Shorty’s on Saturday Domino, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt, Ray Benson, Jason Roberts, and many more.” On Saturday, The James Little Band will debut Shorty’s. This is a five piece country band that’s made for the sweaty porch. They are very popular in South Texas. Also on Saturday, Southside Jimmy Spacek (San Antonio, TX) will bring his powerhouse blues back to Giggity’s. Jimmy is an institution in S.A. and is as real deal as it get. That ought to keep you busy for a while. Stay safe out there!
♫ ♪ And, that’s the truth ♫ ♪
One night in Corpus long ago… We played the Dallas Club in Corpus once and they put us up in one of those high rise hotels on Shoreline Blvd with our rooms way up near the top and facing the street. I remember driving back to the hotel after the gig and Gary asked me to stop at a convenience store. I did and he came out with a bag full of little pints of milk. Let it be known that Gary was a wild man and was capable of most anything. So we got back to the hotel and Gary heads to the balcony with his sack of milk pints and proceeds to start throwing them off the balcony and watch them explode on the street below. Well that was all good fun until he dropped one right in front of a cop. We were petrified. We turned off all the lights and hid behind the couch, giggling like little girls. I don’t know if you can get visual on that, but it’s one I’ll never forget. I have other Gary Stewart stories that are a bit rangy for this forum, but buy me a drink sometime and I’ll reach back. It was great catching up with Rusty and Randy. I think the crowd really liked them, judging from the heavy traffic on the dance floor all night. They gave me a shout out when they played my favorite Dean Dillon song, I Been Holed Up In Some Honky Tonk.
GIGGITY’S RESTAURANT & BAR IN PORT A
Picklefish will play Shorty’s on Friday
DO NOT MISS LIST
The Dirty River Boys ripped it up at the Back Porch last Saturday
The band consists of (first and foremost) Travis Stearns on percussion. Stearns plays only a cajon (box hand drum), snare and tambourine, but he does so with the intensity of a man possessed. This guy is a whiling Dervish on steroids. He also plays a little mandolin and harmonica and sings harmony on some of the songs but mainly manned the percussion duties. Stearns keeps the beat totally on fire and is the driving force behind this ensemble. He may be the very best at what he does, period. You’ve never seen such confidence. He has every extremity kicking and slapping and beating like he’s been chosen to raise the dead. I wonder what he was like growing up… bet his mama never slept much. He’s incredible. Then there’s little Nino Cooper and Marco Gutierrez on acoustic guitar and lead vocals. They are equally amazing. Their voices work perfectly with the songs they’ve chosen… folky/ bluegrassy but totally on fire. And their standup bassist, Colton James, is the glue that keeps these boys from vibrating right off the stage. He looked like a character from an old time cowboy movie. He had his jeans tucked in his boots and a tooth pick in his mouth… no shirt and a torso full of tattoos. Sometimes he played his full size bass like a guitar on his knee.
Finding Friday will play the Back Porch on Friday and Saturday
Lighted Pier in the Gulf of Mexico Pole Rentals
christophertoddjordan@gmail.com
Bait, Beer, Burgers & Wings
361-453-0147
Horace Caldwell Pier Port A 230 N. On the Beach (361) 749-5333
Stetson Walker will play the Drop Anchor on Friday
The Jimmy Spacek Trio will play Giggity’s on Saturday
Live Music Tonight Thursday, July 30 Selfie @ Shorty’s Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s The Deadbeats @ Back Porch Brian Permenter @ Scuttlebutt’s Rich Lockhart @ Drop Anchor Duke E. Brown @ Rockit’s Jon Wolfe, Cameron Nelson @ Brewster Street Open Jam @ The Gaff Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Friday, July 31 Pickle Fish @ Shorty’s Lyrical Binge @ Giggity’s Finding Friday @ Back Porch Flatbroke @ Rockit’s Billy Snipes @ The Gaff Stetson Walker & the Performance Enhancers @ Drop Anchor Chris Sanez @ Scuttlebutt’s Five Card Draw @ Brewster Street Scarecrow People @ Executive Surf Club Independent Thieves, Buddy Trevino, Lady Katherine, Shayna Sands @ House of Rock Saturday, August 1 James Little Band @ Shorty’s Southside Jimmy Spacek @ Giggity’s Tyler & the Tribe @ Black Marlin Finding Friday @ Back Porch Jamfoot @ Mikel Mays Jim Dugan @ The Gaff Jarod Birmingham, Fools of the Trade @ Brewster Street Jimmy Wilden @ Rockit’s Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Sunday, August 2 Antone & the All Stars @ Giggity’s Stephen Pearcy of Ratt @ Brewster Street Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Monday, August 3 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW
The Deadbeats Finding Friday
July 30 July 31- Aug 1
The War Party
Aug 6
Cruise Control
Aug 7
Larry Joe Taylor
Aug 8
132 W. Cotter St. Port A On the Waterfront
Selfie EVERY THURS Picklefish July 31 James Little Band Aug 1 Billy Snipes Aug 7 John Cortez Aug 8 Jim Dugan Aug 14 Cathouse Aug 15 OPEN Till 2am • 823 Tarpon St. Port Aransas
Full Bar & Grill Rich Lockhart (6-9) Stetson Walker (6-9)
July 30 July 31
361-945-9595, 118 Cut Off Rd., Port Aransas www.dropanchorportaransas.com
Best Rates Call for special pricing
(361)290-7143 314 E. Ave. G www.bronsbeachcarts.com
The Gaff Beer ● Pizza ● Belt Sander Races (361) 749-5970
Tuesday, August 4 Open Mic @ House of Rock Paul Taylor Band @ Giggity’s Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Wednesday, August 5 Ty Dietz & Tony Saracene @ Giggity’s Thursday, August 6 Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Selfie @ Shorty’s The War Party @ Back Porch Duke E. Brown @ Rockit’s Sean McConnell, Nathan Bonnes @ Brewster Street Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Friday, August 7 Bubba Westly Band @ Giggity’s Billy Snipes @ Shorty’s Cruise Control @ Back Porch Russell Edge @ The Gaff Spazmatics @ Brewster Street Flatbroke @ Rockit’s Saturday, August 8 Shelley King Band @ Giggity’s Bri Bagwell @ Black Marlin Larry Joe Taylor @ Back Porch Walt & Tina Wilkins @ Third Coast Theater John Cortez @ Shorty’s Belt Sander Races w/ Uncle Willey @ The Gaff Carl Hayes @ Mikel Mays Sing Along Piano Bar @ Brewster Street Another Level @ Rockit’s Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Sunday, August 9 Antone & the All Stars @ Giggity’s Depeche Mode tribute band @ Brewster Street Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW Monday, August 10 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s Hank Karl Riewe @ Port A VFW