March 2020 VOL.8 ISS.12 #96 ON THE COVER...
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BARRY CORBIN BY ARA DONA PUBLISHER RUSTY HICKS EDITOR TAMMA HICKS COMICS EDITOR ALLENE HICKS STAFF WRITERS TAMMA HICKS, RUSTY HICKS SOCIAL MEDIA BARRY ROGERS/WAYNE PR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS ALLENE HICKS, RUSTY HICKS, HARRISON FUNK, TIM DODGE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS J MICHAEL DOLAN, ROB DICKENS, DEREK SIGNORE, TONY NICKLIN, RICK J BOWEN, KEITH “MUZIKMAN” HANNALECK DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR TERRY MITCHELL
4 COMICS 5 QUICK READ 6 ALBUM COVER OF THE MONTH 7 CD REVIEWS 8 JASON MARSHALL: GO RACE 9 JASON MEZILIS: THE SOUNDS OF MARS 10 BARRY CORBIN: AN ICONIC ACTOR 13 PHIL BRADBURY: EAGLES HOTEL CALIFORNIA TOUR 14 TIM DODGE’S TEXAS COUNRTY TOUR 15 HAL KET C HUM B EN EFI T 16 3 RD C OAST FOOD I E: TAVERN IN THE GRUENE 19 C C SON G WRI T ERS FEST I VAL
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Rut time J. Michael Dolan
Knee jerk J. Michael Dolan I used to be pretty good at knee-jerking a quick answer. I could flower up a response and snap it off before you could catch your breath. However, I don’t want to be good at that anymore. Maybe back in the day when I was CEO of MC Inc., when I was making my bones and building my world, I thought I had something to prove. Not anymore, especially if it doesn’t serve somebody. I want to be good at pausing and thinking through a challenge, doing the deep research and consulting others before I give away my decision or choose too fast. Important because show business and life are now moving at nearly the speed of thought. And I welcome and embrace that notion, along with all the opportunities that come with it. However, these days, I think that moving at the speed of “forethought,” and taking just a little more time to get it right, is better than shooting a blind arrow. Especially when it comes to growing and enriching our awesome, crazy, genius, independent, creative life.
I fall into them too and so does every crazy genius I work with. A creative rut is usually caused by confusion, or not knowing how to proceed, or mental exhaustion, or boredom, or resistance, or not playing big enough (things we have control over). The creative work we do, inventing something from nothing, day after day, then trying to figure out how to sell it and make a buck, is mostly exhausting, and the process can be tedious, frustrating and mind-numbing. At some point it just becomes easier to slip into the “tred-grooves” of what others have already created, and just follow along. Problem is, following along the path of the status quo only compounds the problem. It supports the antique illusion that “the trend is your friend.” And while that may be true on Wall St., it’s certainly not true on your street. Important because ruts are too often misinterpreted as failures, but they’re not. They’re an opportunity in disguise. Because “Rut Time” is the best time to recommit to your biggest dreams, rework your projects and reinvent yourself as the creative genius you are. Believe me, I know you know this. I’m just reminding (both of us) of what we tend to forget in the hoopla and drama of our awesome, creative, independent lifestyle.
The critics are waiting J. Michael Dolan It’s doesn’t matter if it’s the game on the field or the halftime show on the stage. Whenever the lights go up in the arena, and the crowd roars in anticipation, there is a talented person (or persons) standing right in the center spotlight. And that person may appear fearless on the outside, all dressed up in colorful matching battle gear, or showy, flashy costumes, ready to step into the arena and declare victory. However, on the inside, the demon of doubt lurks between the ears of every super pro, and taunts them with distractions, fills them with uncertainty, and relentlessly reminds them of what they haven’t achieved, what they haven’t attained, and what they have yet to accomplish. Both athlete & artist will attempt to leave all they’ve got in the arena. But will it be enough to satisfy a hungry crowd? Others can’t appreciate the bare naked courage it takes to put your ass on the line and step in front of a billion fans & foes around the globe, and give your performance of a lifetime, while a group of self-proclaimed critics eagerly wait for you to blow it. And it doesn’t matter if you’re singing the National Anthem or passing the ball as far as you can toward the end zone, it’s the onlookers who are torn between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Important because talk about being in the moment! Thank God, there is a time when the athlete or the artist can experience some fleeting moments of complete ecstasy and peace of mind. And that time is when they are nowhere to be found! Lost in the instant of their battle, and vanished in the evanesce of their dance. STEAMMAGAZINE.NET MARCH 2020 STEAM MAGAZINE
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The Country Blues Of
John Lee Hooker
Label: Craft Recordings/Riverside For many years I The legend of bluesman John Lee Hooker will not lose any momentum with the passing of years. If anything, his popularity will continue to grow with releases such as The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker. This particular release is the 60th anniversary of the recording on 180-Gram vinyl in all its stripped-down primal form. You will hear Hooker and his guitar, that is it, just as all the tracks were meant to be listened to. It was all cut from the original master tapes which have produced an amazing sound on vinyl. I have always been a Hooker fan. I appreciate his deep-down soulful vocals and superior guitar playing and rhythm. I saw Hooker play live in 1987 in a dingy club in a decidedly sketchy part Oakland CA. Regardless of the surroundings, I felt like I belonged there. As it would happen Carlos Santana and his friends were sitting at a
Genre: Blues Originally Released: 1959 Re-release: 2019
table right across from me. What was cool was nobody bothered him and he got on stage to jam with Hooker. It was a night I will never forget and I love sharing that story. Hooker was “The King of the Boogie” and bands like Canned Heat and the like owe their careers to the man. His sound was distinct, original and down to earth. He knew how to get a song across to an audience so you could feel all the emotion and heartfelt words and notes streaming off his guitar. This recording is a fine example of the blues as only Hooker could deliver them. Tracks like “Water Boy” and “I’m Prison Bound” give you a bird’s eye view of a real storyteller and how he takes that from the belly emotion and makes it literally, music to your ears. I particularly enjoyed the original liner notes on the back cover. The words place great emphasis on what this al-
bum was about, the different styles of the blues the artist could command and the importance of how the genre was rendered by this unique and incredibly talented artist. One chord music and vocals are all that was needed to get this music to your ears with as much energy and feeling as a six-piece band. This is all Hooker needed because he was the real deal folks, and one of a handful of blues artists from the 1950’s that found true super-stardom and all its benefits later in his career. The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker puts the legendary voice of John Lee Hooker right inside your speakers then projected to all of your senses. It all hits home with an impact that is hard to explain so you have to hear and feel it for yourself. This is A+ blues by one of the very best and well-respected artists that ever strapped on a six-string.
The Meters Zony Mash
Label: Sundazed
Genre: Funk Originally Released: 2003
The Meters were similar in sound to Booker T & The MGs, just funkier. Although Zony Mash is not the definitive Meters set, it stands as a viable collection of rarities that any fan would want to have in their collection. The album consists of 13 tracks of the band's early works with Josie Records from 1968 to 1971. Eight tracks were originally released as singles, and five were released as bonus tracks on re-issue albums. Pressed on 180-Gram vinyl, you can enjoy a trip back to the old days, sit, look at the cover art, and read the liner notes on the back of the album. There is something different about that as opposed to opening up a CD case and pulling a small booklet out. Only people that have lived through all the formats will understand this. The title track “Zony Mash” is a perfect example of their effectiveness as an
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uncomplicated instrumental band and the subsequent track, “I Need More Time,” is a funk-filled rhythm and blues New Orleans style vocal workout indicating where groups like Funkadelic and Ohio Players derived their inspiration. It comes as no surprise that one of the Neville brothers, Art, had a hand in this music. The jumping back and forth between instrumentals and vocals displayed their all-around talent, and this album has thirteen examples of that diversity. While this collection may not be the very best place to start with The Meters catalog for some listeners that have never heard their music before, it certainly helped me to under-
stand their importance and place in history. I had a valuable experience that created awareness of a band that I had only read about before listening to this LP. I want to seek out more music by this band because I had the opportunity to hear this album, thanks to Sundazed.
The SteelDrivers have a new album. Their previous release, The Muscle Shoals Recordings, won a GRAMMY for Best Bluegrass Album (2015) so I was taken aback when shortly after this momentous award, their singer, guitarist and joint main songwriter, Garry Nichols left the band. For most, a shift like this would cause a group to fold. Yet this is a band that has been down this path before and their track record on regrouping in the face of upheaval is 100%. In 2010, Chris Stapleton, whose soul vocals were at the core of their signature sound, bid farewell to pursue a solo venture. He was followed shortly after by founding member Mick Henderson in 2011. In these departures, the band lost both their songwriters. Hammer Down was the first album after these departures, it featured a mixture of Stapleton/ Henderson material plus new contributions from the fresh Rodgers/ Nichols writing partnership. Tammy Rodgers is the band’s fiddle player and Nichols was the replacement lead singer and guitarist at that time. This album peaked at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Charts, one spot higher than each of the previous two albums.
Ozzy is back with a new album at 71 years old. Who would have thought that would happen? So now we have Ordinary Man. Ozzy sings on the title track “I don’t know why I am still alive.” We don’t either Ozzy. He has been suffering from some health issues and canceled his tour so who knows, this could be his last recording. Well, if it is, he goes out with a loud crack of the whip reminding all of us metalheads who were the kings since the first Black Sabbath came out. If anything, Ozzy has been resilient. He sounds as good as he ever has on this recording. This album was recorded in Los Angeles featuring producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses) on bass and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on drums. Beyond his core band, the album features a whos-who of Ozzy friends and collaborators including Elton John, Slash, Post Malone, and Tom Morello. Not a bad group of guest stars eh? Let’s face it, Ozzy could get anyone to contribute to his albums. The first track kicks off with “Alright Now!” bringing back the good old days with his buddies in Sabbath. Then it buzzes into high gear with “Straight to Hell.” This is vintage Ozzy singing and rocking out to heavy metal with his favorite subject,
BAD FOR YOU THE STEELDRIVERS (ROUNDER RECORDS) BY KIMBERLEY WHEELER
This later writing combo became the core for their most successful release to date, The Muscle Shoals Recordings. If I was the betting kinda gal, I just might put a dollar or two on this next album. Because, WOW, what a staggering turnaround for the SD team. As you are well aware, the thing a good album must have at its core is good songs. This is the basis of The SteelDrivers. Add to this awesome and artistic musicianship and production and you should come out with a correspondingly
OZZY OSBOURNE ORDINARY MAN (EPIC) BY KEITH “MUZIKMAN” HANNALECK
the fire and brimstone of Hell. He lived the life of a rock star and struggled with staying clean and now he is paying dues for that lifestyle. He still has what it takes to make a great album and bring in top talent to the studio to make it a quality metal experience for his fans. But would the rest of the album follow the excellence of that track? The guitar playing is outstanding throughout this recording along with a juggernaut rhythm section to drive it all home and pound it into your brain. That is what great Metal is all about. If that is accomplished then it an album to be revered by all metal fans worldwide. I am sure it will for the most part from his diehard
good album. While Nichols‘s loss to the band is significant, the now primary songwriter, Tammy Rogers sought out and collaborated with various writer friends, including Kieran Kane, Rayna Gellert and former bandmate Chris Stapleton, to create the collection of songs that is Bad For You. (There’s also a banjo instrumental by Richard Bailey) To date, everything they have released has been in the quality and character of what is The SteelDrivers, irrespective of the upheavals and chaos behind the scenes. Bad For You is no exception. It is closest in character to The Muscle Shoals Recordings, although it is interesting to note that their new singer, Kelvin Damrell sounds awfully like Stapleton, creating a sonic connection to earlier work. From the beginning, the Nashville-based band set out to deviate from the conventional bluegrass sound, and with Kelvin, they still preserved their soulcountry accent within the genre. Their singles so far are the dark R&B title track “Bad For You” and a song aimed at the country market “I Choose You”. There are eleven tracks in all, being ten songs and the Bailey-penned instrumental. The gems for this reviewer are the catchy “Bartender”, the dark sounding part-Appalachian infused “12 O’Clock Blues”, the heartbreaking “Falling Man” about the 9/11 attacks, and “Innocent Man”.
fan base. I don’t get the title track with Elton John, how is that a match? Then the bonus track “Take What You Want” with Malone & Travis Scott seems out of place on an Ozzy album as well. It is definitely different if that is what you were hoping for. I somehow don’t think long time fans would expect or want that on an Ozzy album. It sounds like two different songs as each singer’s voice is from other ends of the spectrum. Funny thing is I think it was made for radio and the audience that listens to that daily. Don’t surprised if either track is a hit single-now excuse me while I go barf. “Eat Me” is typical Ozzy with wailing guitars and a powerful rhythm section. “Today Is The End’ has some powerful riffs with a step away from the norm with some glossiness that is a bit too polished at times. “Scary Little Green Men” is interesting, that is the best way to put it. The lyrics are silly for a singer with Ozzy’s reputation. Side One is definitely stronger than Side Two. Four out of five tracks are very good on side one, with the title track the only take away for my ears. Side two with “Eat Me” and “Holy For Tonight” wrap up things nicely. I think if the album could have maintained the momentum of the opening track this would have been an excel-
Bad For You is a bluegrass and more album, with strands of r ‘n’ b, Appalachian Old Time and Cajun themes intermingled through various tracks. Further, the dark sonic undertones you have heard creep through in previous releases are very pre-
sent in this new offering, albeit a little bit blacker than before. If this album were a horse that I had put money on, I would be very sure of winning my bet back, plus some. It is a worthy release. THESTEELDRIVERS.COM KIMBERLEY WHEELER: LISTENINGTHOUGH THELENS.COM
lent album and one of Ozzy’s best. If I were to give it a grade it would a B. Perhaps with inviting in so many different players made it too diverse, which usually is not a bad thing unless you are putting out a metal headbanger. Some of these tracks feel overproduced for an Ozzy album. It certainly does not rate with his first two solo albums with Randy Rhodes, but whatever did really? “It’s A Raid feat. Post Malone” is another head pounder to close the curtain and in many spots sounds like unorganized noise then Ozzy ends it by saying “Fuck You All!” Once again being the defiant bad boy until the end. Not to mention the picture of him taking a whizz on the flowers on the back of the album, perfect. What the hell right? The Who pissed all over the cover one of their best albums so why not Ozzy? A perfect ending to an otherwise imperfect release but pretty damn good for a 71-year-old man that has gone to hell and back and appreciates his fans. . OZZY.COM KEITH “MUZIKMAN” HANNALECK : THEFINALONVINYL.COM
STEAMMAGAZINE.NET MARCH 2020 STEAM MAGAZINE 7
By Tamma Hicks STEAM Magazine
Many people in Texas can relate when someone says, “I’m from a… football, cheerleading, volleyball, baseball, band… family.” So, when I say I’m from a racing family, some of you know exactly what that means; pretty much what all the other sports do too. I grew up on a 3/8ths asphalt track in Monroe Washington. Trust me it’s been a long, long time since my dad and his cohorts were out there turning laps, but to this day they still hold track records at Evergreen Speedway. I really miss hearing the cars roar down the straightaway before making those tight turns and the smell of rubber as the winners do donuts before a wildly cheering crowd! So when we started talking with Texas Asphalt Race promotor, Gina Schild-Knowles I was thrilled! She explained lots about the track and how things have changed since I was a kid, and she put us in touch with last season’s Pro-Modified champion, Jason Marshall. Jason is not only a race car driver and business owner, but he is the proud father of 5-year old quadruplet girls, so catching him for a few quiet minutes is not always easy.
Congratulations on winning the Premier
Class Pro-Modifieds last year! How long of you been racing? Thank you! That's an odd question, because I've never not raced. I started racing at 8 years old, but I was into dirt bikes then. After bikes I went to cars, then to Go-Karts, and in 2011 I was asked to drive at a roundyround track in Kyle Texas. I won my first
race and then won 3 Go-Kart Championships in a row. That’s when they put me in a Pro-Modified and I ran second in the series for 3 years before finally going to Houston, where I won the championship.
Why did you pick number 21 for your car? I liked it at first and I didn't know the meaning was going to come out that strong later in life. But there's lots of little things in my life that relate to 21 and I absolutely would not change it for the world.
Tell me a little about your car and the motor. My car is a BMF Pro-Modified prepared by my crew chief Jake Kruger of Kruger Motorsports. The motor is a McGunegill built 604 crate motor.
What gas grade do you use? Have you
ever figured out what your gas mileage would be like? We run a spec fuel that is 110 octane. Gas mileage is laughable and since it’s only driven on track I don’t really know. Lol.
How fast are you guys driving? We’re closer to 100 at the end of the straightaway but our average lap time is 90 mph. You can get up to 110 in the straightaway and then brake down to 70 on the corners. We are in the high horsepower light weight class.
Wow that's exciting! And your girls, they must love to watch you race. They've only been to one race and that was the last race of the 2019 season for my championship. I live outside of Austin, near the old Kyle Texas Speedway track, but the year the girls were able to go and paying attention to what I was doing that track closed down and I had to go to Houston. I’ve been traveling there all the time, so I made sure they made it to the race where I was going to lock the championship in.
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What is the competition like on any given race day? It depends. If you get a really bad rainy weekend, it may only be 8 to 10 cars, but if you have a good weekend, it will be up to 18 cars.
Nice. Do you guys run in the rain?
No. We are in a small class in Texas here on these 3/8ths and 1/2 mile tracks and we don't have any kind of rain tires. We just run on one single tire and we are not allowed to change tires in the race, therefore we will postpone or cancel races due to rain.
I remember as a kid, my mom carving
grooves into the racing tires to give them tread for the rain because tires were so expensive. Yeah, they are still expensive. In lots of classes they run in the rain and people still get out the hot gun and cut grooves in their tires.
I understand that Houston has the only
asphalt track in Texas. Yes. Texas asphalt racing was once very strong and I believe it can be very strong again. There are a lot of really competitive drivers in Texas that travel all over the East Coast and you can always count on a Texas driver being in the top five. It's inspiring to know we are in the middle of a bunch of really good drivers and the competition is very tight and close. Since Gina took over promotions for the track, she has done an incredible job by bringing on a major sponsor, Advance Auto Parts and their subsidiary companies. With their backing, and Gina going all out to make it happen, this year we’ll be going back to NASCAR Sanctioning and everything is going to be run under the NASCAR rules again. There are a couple of beautiful tracks here in Texas that can handle being reopened, but it's going to take someone with money and
real admiration for racing. That's not something easily acquired and it hasn't happened yet, but I hope to see in the future that we get more asphalt tracks in Texas opened.
Can you explain a little bit what the
NASCAR Sanctioning means to the drivers? When you're running for private track that has NASCAR Sanctioning drivers run for a point slot and actually get recognized by NASCAR nationally. If you win a championship at one of these tracks you actually have the title of NASCAR Track Champion and you get the points and all the other goodies that come when you are involved in NASCAR.
Tell me about your crew and Kruger
Motorsport. Well, it's funny. I'm 45 and I have a 25-yearold crew chief that is beyond smart in all kinds of geometry His name is Jake Kruger and he's like my little brother because I'm old enough to be his dad, yet he teaches me stuff every time I step on the track. Jake is my crew chief and oddly enough, my teammate because he races against me. We share our crews and everything else and then Jake gets to drive his car and keep my car running up front at the same time. Kruger Motorsport, which is Jake, his dad Bill, and a couple of guys, builds our cars in a small shop. They take care of about 10 cars and four of them won championships this year. This season, I won the first race and he won the next three with me in second, so it's quite competitive.
That is a great crew! Did you have aspirations to move on to NASCAR? When I was younger. I grew up with AJ Foyt's son Larry, who still runs their IndyCar teams today. AJ and Larry put us through
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Working for STEAM Magazine and getting the opportunity we’ve had to interview so many people, all with different stories and ways to express themselves, has truly opened my eyes to a bigger world. I was trying to think of a unique way to re-introduce Jason Achilles Mezilis because it’s been about 4 years ago that we talked to him about the bands he was part of, Chris Wyse’s OWL and his own Black Belt Karate, and his recording studio in Los Angeles. During these 4 years Jason has been extremely productive and has lots of irons in the fire. Jason currently touring as a two-piece instrumental/experimental rock artist backed by drummer Forrest Mitchell; except in Texas this month, where he’ll be joined by Clint Short. They create all their music 100% live and organically with Jason performing guitar, bass and keys simultaneously. Most recently the band completed a two week long Feb 2019 tour through England followed immediately by a US Southwest tour. Along with these live performances, Jason traveled abroad to record his original orchestral compositions with NY-based orchestrator Andy Brick. The first of these works was recorded in Hungary with the Budapest Film Orchestra and released as a single and music video in December 2016. Most recently Jason was commissioned to compose his third fully orchestral work and will be performed at the renowned Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Irvine CA on March 7th. In January 2017 Jason began working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an independent consultant for one of two microphones. He was called
instant friends. What happened was that I upon to assemble a team of audio research experts to advise NASA on couldn't hear the lecture because we were in microphone technology to be implethe back, so I asked if she could tell me mented on the surface of Mars with what they were talking about and she basitheir upcoming Mars 2020 Rover miscally subtitled the whole talk for me. Okay, sion. This ongoing research led to a this chick’s rad! recent multimedia presentation at the But how did you end up giving these IPM2018 Workshop on Instrumentapresentations in Austin? tion for Planetary Research in Berlin in My friend Rebecca is an astrophysicist and September 2018, as well as a related Ph.D. student at UT in Austin, which has a lecture in March 2019 discussing really strong astronomy department, and transformative lunar science at the Microsymposium 60 in Houston, TX. she co-chairs the Austin Chapter of AstronWhich brings us to one of the reasons omy on Tap with Dr. Micaela Bagley. So Jason is here in Texas this month... when I came to Austin last year she suggestHe’s the featured ed that I give a talk presenter at about my work with March’s Astrono- I've been running tests at the NASA on the Mars my on Tap in AusRover which is Jet Propulsion Laboratory tin (AoTATX). launching in June. If you don’t know and if it does work we might Anyway, I said F*** about “AoTATX” yeah and I then have a few surprises for people you are missing asked if I could play out! Each FREE in the next coming year or so some music too, event features which she said absoaccessible, engaglutely to. And that was the beginning of my ing science presentations on topics career combining my music with my giant ranging from planets to black holes to nerdiness! the beginning of the Universe. In addiSince then I've given similar performances/ tion to talks, each AoTATX has trivia, lecture events at a number of cool places prize giveaways, Astronomy in the like the Space Tech Expo in Pasadena, the News, and plenty of time to interact Cal Academy of Science in San Francisco, with the presenters and other astronomers in the audience. AoTATX is typiTualatin Public Library in Portland Oregon, cally the 3rd Thursday of the month, at the Long Beach Comic-Con which has a but not this month – it’s late, March Space Expo attached to it, and this will be 24th. my second presentation in Austin. You can watch one of my early presentations by How did you get connected with Astrongoing to videos on my facebook page. omy on Tap? I went to check out one of these events What are you doing at NASA? because it's cool and you know a bunch of Well, actually I’m working with NASA to nerds in a bar. Wow, fun! I met Rebecca put a microphone on Mars, which has never (Larson) at the bar and we just became
been done before. Wow! Congratulations! It is f****** nuts, isn't it? I just hope it works. I can honestly say that we truly expect it to work, because we know you, your work ethic, and your love for space and music. Thanks. So the microphone is classified as a technology demonstration and it's not mission critical, therefore it doesn't have a big budget like a mission-critical piece. My supervisor at NASA is Dave Gruel; he's the one who wanted to make sure this was included, so I’ve basically been working under him. However, I had to hire a team of high level engineering experts out of Texas to help me to deliver the work I promised. I have a good grasp of engineering fundamentals but I never studied it; I’m a recording engineer which is completely different and that's why I had to bring in the ringers. I have definitely learned a lot about it now, though. In the past, microphones have flown to Mars, but were never turned on due to negative impact on other systems. That saying this microphone is one of those things on the Rover that if it works - GREAT! If it doesn't - oh well, as long as it doesn't screw up any other system, especially something critical. When this works, it'll be really cool! I’m being positive, but really just the fact that you did this is awe inspiring! Yeah, I had a small part in a very big machine, but it's f****** amazing! I’ve been Continued on Page 18
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the Neanderthals. In each camp, everyone had his or her function. There was the Shaman who would tell you why the planet’s where it was. If they didn’t know they made up some kind of legend. There were the people who hunted, gathered, prepared food. But there was always somebody going from camp to camp, village-tovillage. They were called bards, postman, town criers, and people passing information, telling stories. Then there are the ones who would act them out. That’s what we do. That’s my function in society is to tell stories, so that’s what I do.
Is there a particular philosophy or mot-
to by which you live your life? I’ll just tell you what I tell all my kids. You’re not going to leave the world a whole lot better or a whole lot worse through your existence. The only people that’ll leave it a whole lot better are Jesus, Buddha, or people like that. The ones that have left the world a whole lot worse are Hitler, Stalin, or people like that. Try at the end of your life, when it comes time to think about what you’ve done…Try to come up with the idea that you have left the world a little bit better… and that way you’re a success. You’ve got to know if you’re leaving it a little bit better or a little bit worse. Try and leave it a little bit better. Try not to hurt anybody on purpose. I mean, you’re gonna hurt people, you can’t get through life without doing that. But you don’t want to do it on purpose.
Barry Corbin talking with Barry Rogers (STEAM) at his home. (Photo by Jeff Weber/STEAM Magazine)
BARRYCORBIN.COM
"Barry Corbin is an amazingly versatile actor who brings such a rich texture to his roles. You never know what’s going to come out of that creative mind! And that voice! He's charmed us, made us laugh and broke our hearts in his many films and TV roles. Barry is also one of the most genuinely nice, caring, and loving people you could ever meet. He loves his family and friends deeply and absolutely adores his fans. He’s always happy to meet people who have been entertained by his work. It is an honor to call him my dear friend and to represent this phenomenal actor." Linda McAlister Linda McAlister Talent LLC (Linda is Barry's longtime agent) Barry Corbin - a Texas Cowboy. (Curtesy Photo)
Barry Corbin sitting for his portrait by Ara Dona at his home. (Curtesy Photo by AraDona.com)
Ara Dona began his art education at the age of fifteen, and it was immediately apparent to art scholars and critics that he was an “Art Prodigy.” As a teenager, Ara Dona was awarded a two-year, fullscholarship with Disney Imagineering and the “The Herbert Ryman Scholarship,” studying a traditional art curriculum. As a high school student, Ara Dona was already working on portrait paintings that were commissioned by parents, teachers, and board members. During his senior year at Glendale High School, he acquired sixty-five-thousand-dollars in academic scholarships towards his art education, and began selling paintings. Several celebrities have purchased his early paintings. In 2006, Ara Dona had his first one-man show at the Pasadena Art Club held in Cal-tech’s Dabney Hall, where more
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than twenty mid to life-size paintings were exhibited. Ara Dona graduated at the age of seventeen, receiving much recognition and more than sixteen scholarships from all over the United States. After graduating high school, Ara Dona went to Italy, where he studied classical drawing and painting at the Florence Academy of Art. After three years of training, Ara Dona graduated from the academy and returned to the states to continue his career as a portrait and figurative painter. AraDona has painted numerous commissions of celebrities, public figures, and philanthropists in the US and his paintings are now hanging in some of the most prestigious homes and public locations nation-wide. ARADONA.COM ARA DONA WILL BE A STEAM MAGAZINE FEATURED ARTIST IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
OK, Close your eyes and imagine this
Hey guys and gals, Phil Bradbury here
with a little different report this time… Instead of passing on a bit of needed info for the musicians out there I want to deviate this month and share a musical experience that I was blessed to have.
I am fortunate to get to work with
some big names in the music business. Vince Gill has been my biggest musical hero as well as my biggest Endorsee now for several tours. I just built him a new touring rig for the Vince Gill Tour and he liked it so much he decided to use it on the Eagles Hotel California tour. As it is a totally new rig I drove over to Atlanta with my good friend Trevor Senior to see if I could get a few minutes to check out the rig and make sure it was perfect.
The amps turned out to be fine but
we ended up helping the lead guitarist Steuart Smith while we were there with one of his amps. Through a bit of magical Karma we ended up with two tickets to this show and we stayed over an extra night.
scene (well, keep reading but you know what I mean). The stage was set but the curtain was down. A spotlight came on the right side of the stage to reveal a tall man in a butlers suit holding the Hotel California album (Crowd goes crazy). He walks slowly across the stage to a cabinet with a turn table on top. He slowly opens the album and puts side 1 on the turntable. He sets the arm on the disk and you hear the scratch of the record… At that exact moment his spot goes out, the curtain rises, and the EAGLES are playing Hotel California (Crowd goes crazy again). Now, get this… During the song “Wasted Time” when the strings come in you hear them first, then you see a huge second stage rising behind the Eagles with 50 pieces of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra strings playing, but wait there’s more… When the choir voices come in you see another section of the stage behind the strings with a choir of 20 singing the background… Once the entire first side of the album has been covered the lights tgo down again and in the spotlight now is a beautiful blonde girl in a red French maids outfit that slowly walks across the stage to the turn table where she lifts up the arm, flips the disk, and puts down the arm where you once again hear the
scratch of the needle on vinyl. Her spot goes out, stage lights come up and the band goes into the first song on the second side.
As if this is not enough, the band
takes a 15-minute break then comes back and plays every hit they ever had including 2 James Gang songs and a couple more Joe Walsh classics. I know this is supposed to be a technical column but when you witness something like this you just have to share it .
If you have a question about Tube
Amplification and how it relates to your situation please send your questions and I will try to answer them in future columns. PHIL@ LITTLEWALTERTUBEAMPS.COM
STEAMMAGAZINE.NET MARCH 2020 STEAM MAGAZINE 13
Words & Photos By Tim Dodge, STEAM Magazine This month I went to two shows. The first was at Schroeder Hall. Scott Taylor Band. These guys are a fun country band that comes from entertainment roots. Scott Taylor’s (lead singer) dad and uncle had a band that I went to when I was a young’un called “The Taylor Brothers Band”, and Everett Wood’s (STB drummer) dad was the lead singer for “The Texas Armadillo Band” or TAB as we liked to call them. STB has been earning their own way in the Texas Country Genre by writing some very good songs; like “Chug”, “Say When”,” Beautiful Sin”, and “All About the Music”. Some of the local
By Tamma Hicks, and Rusty Hicks STEAM Magazine Above... WALT WILKINS & THE MYSTIQUEROS As you know STEAM shares information that makes you feel good, makes you happy, and sometimes makes you want to get involved – this is one of those times. In the February issue we shared some information about Country Music artist and Grand Ole Opry member Hal Ketchum, who is battling Alzheimer’s disease and was the focus of a tribute concert and fundraising campaign to assist with his medical bills in Gruene, Texas. radio stations have been giving STB airplay. And in between their many originals, they will play a cover song or two. These guys are so talented. Go see them if you get a chance.
The second show I went to was the Hal Ketchum Benefit at Gruene Hall and you can see some of my pictures in that story. This is one show that will go down as a top ten of 2020. In January, a young man from Del Rio TX named William Beckmann opened for Jarrod Bermingham at Schroeder Hall. For only being 24, this kid has a great sound and plays original songs along with some covers from Elvis to Ray Price. He has opened for many artists including Radney Foster, Kevin Fowler, Randy Rogers, The Damn Quails, and Zane Williams. I see this young man becoming big in the future.
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For most country music fans Hal Ketchum is a familiar voice. Hal was no stranger to the Country Billboard charts in the ‘90’s with hits like Small Town Saturday Night, Sure Love, Hearts Are Gonna Roll, and many more. Spending most of the ‘80’s and ‘90's as a hard working country musician, Hal was hospitalized in 1998 with Acute Transverse Myelitis, a sister disease to Multiple Sclerosis. After relearning how to do basic tasks and to play guitar, he spent 10 more years on the road, until issues with brain functions reappeared and almost ended his career. After several long years of loving care from his family and friends Hal returned again in 2014 with a new album full called “I’m The Troubadour.”
ROB ROY PARNELL, LEE ROY PARNELL, WALT WILKINS
SILENT AUCTION TABLE
After only a few years back touring and performing and being happily married to his beautiful and supportive wife, Andrea, tragedy struck again in the form of a vicious, incurable brain disease. It was only a short time before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease as well as Diabetes. In April 2019 Andrea made the heartbreaking announcement that Hal had given his last performance; he can no longer play guitar, write songs, tour, or make records. As the news spread through the music community we were all devastated as Hal has meant so much to Country Music, The Grand Ole Opry, and he’s been such a rock and inspiration for Texas songwriters. Hal’s Texas career spanned more than 4 decades, from playing on the front porch of his house to performing as a “regular” at Gruene Hall before his first record deal and heading to Nashville. Hal has played all around the world, but no matter what Hal’s home audience was at Gruene Hall so where better to show him tribute? Raised by Wolves, Bound for Glory: A Texas
JOEL MALIZIA/PRODUCER THE DANCEHALL TAPES
Tribute to Hal Ketchum took place on Sunday, February 23rd to a sold out crowd at Gruene Hall. We heard over and over, all night long how much love and warm thoughts flowed through the Hall.
KENNY GRIMES
KEVIN FOWLER, WALT WILKINS, LEE ROY PARNELL WAYLON PAYNE
GRAHAM KETCHUM
JESSE DAYTON
It was a real treat to have Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros as the house band, with the amazing Kenny Grimes lending his lead guitar talent, while featured performers sang one, two, and sometimes three of Hal’s songs. Personally, the best part of each performance was the storytelling that went along with the songs each person chose. We heard many stories of how Hal spoke in rhythm and rhyme during songwriting sessions and they just needed to jot down every word he uttered, because it was magic. Performers included Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Lee Roy Parnell and Rob Roy Parnell, Jesse Dayton, Jamie Lin Wilson, Wade Bowen, Waylon Payne, Randy Rogers, and many more. Kevin Fowler closed the show by bringing down the house with Small Town Saturday Night. Not one song was repeated and if you listened to the crowd, all night seemed like a sing-a-long. During a quick intermission Senior Creative Director of BMI’s Austin Office Mitch Ballard and the Director of the Texas Music Office, Brandon Anthony, presented Hal’s son Graham with Hal’s 5th Million Airs Certificate for Tonight We Just Might Fall In Love Again! “To put this into perspective,” explained Mitch. “If you went home tonight and put a song on; it would have to play on repeat for 6 years before it was played a million times.”
JAMIE LIN WILSON
RANDY ROGERS
All of Hal’s songs that have surpassed one million airplays: I know Where Love Lives, 1 million; Sure Love and Hearts Are Going To Roll, 2 million each; Stay Forever, 1 million; and as of February 2020, Tonight We Just Might Fall In Love Again.
WADE BOWEN
KENNY GRIMES, CORBY SCHAUB
If you were not able to attend Raised by Wolves, Bound for Glory you can still watch it! The DanceHall Tapes generously donated their time and production talents to provide a high quality video of Hal’s Benefit on Youtube.com for all of us to relive the night.
JOHN OHLINGER, PAINTING BY GENE. GARAND
RUSTY HICKS, GEORGE HERMES
The silent auction held in conjunction to Raised by Wolves, Bound for Glory was a huge success; every item donated was sold and raised $30,000! Kathy Matea, Vince Gill, Genevieve Garand, STEAM Magazine, Gruene Homestead Inn, and many others donated items to the auction. The evening ended with winners of the Silent Auction collecting their new prized possessions before heading home.
GO TO STEAMMAGAZINE.NET FOR MORE PICTURES
HALKETCHUM THEDANCEHALLTAPES.COM GRUENEHALL.COM STEAMMAGAZINE.NET MARCH 2020 STEAM MAGAZINE 15
By Tamma Hicks, STEAM Magazine Photos By Rusty Hicks, STEAM Magazine
TAVERN IN THE GRUENE
Tavern in the Gruene has always been on our list of hot spots for great live music in New Braunfels. Located in a 1940s era pole barn that was originally used to house sheep and hogs, Tavern in the Gruene is an airconditioned live music venue with a full bar and huge outdoor patio, projector screen, shuffleboard table, pool table, electronic dart board, washers game, corn-hole, and both indoor and outdoor stages... Like I said a hot spot!
MARCH EVENTS! LIVE MUSIC Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays MARCH MADNESS WATCH PARTIES All Month Long FRIDAY THE 13TH! Watch Scary Movies on the Outdoor Stage
Spring
of 2019 marked a new beginning at the Tavern with new owners, Mark and Brandy Worley, and management, Gwen Fogg. The Tavern was already a cool place to hang out and recently they have done great upgrades like filling in the pool to add outside seating, adding a high bench table with swings, making their yard area pet friendly, and kids can come in until 9 pm! This is super awesome when you’re staying next door at the Gruene Homestead Inn! And to make all these improvements that much better – Tavern is now a restaurant as well AND there is room service to the Inn! If it weren’t for the want to shop, float a river, or explore the Historic Gruene District you’d never have to leave this paradise!
If
you’re not familiar with Tavern In The Gruene, you should be. Between the great music, sports on TV, and just the wonderful relaxing yard you’ll have a great time! Mark, Brandy, and Gwen brought in seasoned chef Ray Pittman. Ray and Gwen are busy tweaking, adding, and improving the Tavern’s menu every week. One of the biggest hits is Wednesday’s $5 Burger Basket, and you can bring the kids and dog and play a crazy game of corn-hole
BACK TO THE 80’S PARTY On March 21st Southwest Eggrolls Fried Pickles & Ranch, Onion Rings and Fried Cheese Curds
while you sip on ice cold beer! The bartenders are skilled and friendly while serving up Beer, Wine, and will mix up any drink you can imagine – or better yet, let them come up with something just for you. Oh, yeah, we love this place! So, let me tell you about the food.
We were joined by Tim Dodge, our Texas Music Photojournalist, and our friends Donna and Sharon, so we tried just about everything! The Tavern offers a great assortment from appetizers (Fingers) to entrées (Bites and Build Your Own) and a Late Night Menu that features a little bit from the other sections. I have to say right now… Everything was scrumptious!
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We started at the top with Fingers and this is where we learned that Donna is a vegetarian. Well, what do you know? The Tavern is ready for that with Hummus w/ Veggies & Pita. The Veggies (carrots, celery, and cucumbers) were fresh and crispy and the chilled Pita was a perfect partner for the bright and fresh Hummus. Since everything is shared between us, we all enjoyed this refreshing plate however we let Donna have the most. Of course, we had to have the standards – Southwest Eggrolls, Fried Pickles & Ranch, and Fried Cheese Curds and they totally lived up to our expectations of hand-battered bites of joy! A little Texas twang, dill, and gooey mozzarella go perfectly with a cold bottle of brew. Heck, we had a martini with ours! Speaking of hand-battered… We ordered the newly added Onion Rings and what a pleasant surprise, no skimping here! The sweet onions were thick cut, hand dipped and rolled before being deep fried to perfection. The Tavern’s own Gruene Dip was served with them and added a little twang to the mountain of tender rings.
TAVERN IN THE GRUENE 830 Gruene Road New Braunfels, Texas 78130 Tue-Fri 3pm-12am Sat 1pm-1am & Sun 1pm-12am TavernInTheGruene.com Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… Tavern IN THE GRUENE
Burger Basket! 1/2 LB Hamburger & Chicken Breast
At this point our entrees from the Bites section came out. The Chicken Quesadillas was stuffed with cheese and grilled chicken and cut in quarters for easy dipping. When you picked up a slice the warm cheese just made your mouth water! Yummy! Next at the table were the Pulled Pork Tacos! Two flour tortillas filled with savory shredded pork and topped with a sweet mango Pico and Cole slaw. The tortillas were piled so high that we couldn’t close them. These were delicious and I can see why Ray said they are extremely popular.
Here’s the where you can get a little creative. The Build Your Own! First you start with a half-pound burger cooked to your liking or grilled chicken breast. Then you add toppings such as lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, and pickles along with sauces and mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. Of course you can go with the extras like grilled onions, cheese and even a fried egg! We took one of each and let Ray decide our toppings and extras. Seriously, these were fabulous! And this is what you get on Wednesdays, for 5 bucks!
Chicken Quesadillas Hummus w/ Veggies & Pita
I can usually pick out the evening’s favorite, however tonight everything was so good and fun that we’ll just have to go back for more at the Tavern In The Gruene to pick a favorite!
TAVERN IN THE GRUENE
Pulled Pork Tacos
(L to R)
Bartender Philip Cameron, Customers Michelle Truchsess & April Quaid, GM Gwen Fogg, & Chef Ray Pittman STEAMMAGAZINE.NET MARCH 2020 STEAM MAGAZINE 17
ason
arshall
Instagram: marshallpartyofsix
ome racing schools and some other stuff when we were 15 or 16. I progressed in the Formula 2000’s and Formula Mods we were running in the West Coast Series. When I took a year and a half off, that kind of missed my window to continue with their racing team when they switched over to NASCAR. I was still an open wheel guy when they made their switch, so I went back to GoKarts and worked my way back up. In ‘97, ‘98, ‘11, ‘12 and ‘13 I have regional, statewide, and series championships in GoKarts.
good ones, but it's not something that you worry about when you get out on the track. That something I worry about more when I'm sitting at home and looking at my kids and worry about having to race 20 people that are all going for the same checkered flag. I'm on a group text with about 20 other drivers that are pretty much the top drivers in Texas. We are all passionate about racing and everybody is friendly. We go practice all day as competitors and we race all night as competitors, but you get back to the hotel and we're all just friends that talk about everything that goes on. Honestly, with me having quadruplets and a very tight schedule, my only getaway is to get out a couple times a month and go race.
There’s a few years in between champi-
Well, the first race of the season at Hou-
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
onships, were you not racing? There's a 10 year gap that I didn't drive anything. I had moved to Austin to go to school and I didn't have any of my teammates for racing or a shop so I gave it up. I did do some drag racing because I ran into a couple of people who knew I was a street racer in Houston as a kid. I was picked up by a group of people here that had lost their driver and somebody had thrown in my name. My first time out I broke records with that car, so I signed on to be a driver for them for four years.
Very good. Did you watch the Daytona 500? Yes and it was a very somber ending.
Where do accidents sit in your mindset?
Are you concerned about it while you are racing? I'll tell you what. When you are strapped in the car and you are getting in the line and you hear 20 engines firing up around you, it can be quite intimidating. But as soon as you pull out on the track and the green flag drops, all of those emotions are put way in the backseat and it's not even a thought. Of course, it's always extremely sad when something does happen. I've had a few pretty
ston Motorsports Park is April 18 and we can’t wait! Any final thoughts you’d like to share? First, I am really looking forward to this season and Gina has put together a really good schedule in Texas. It allows us to run seven or eight races here and give me the opportunity to travel for a few races. Speaking for drivers everywhere, we really look forward to seeing the fans come out and cheer us on. We try to be as involved as possible with fan interaction; we go in to the crowds before the races and throw hats and all kinds of stuff to try to get them involved to build our fan base. I have followers on Facebook that ask a lot of questions and I answer all of them the best that I can, so they will continue to come out and watch me race. And finally, I have to pay homage to the right people. Kruger Motorsport, Jake Kruger and his father Bill, are some of my some of my biggest inspirations. The fact that Gina has now brought NASCAR Sanctioning back to Texas and we don't have to travel just to run NASCAR Sanctioned races; we get to actually spend our evening really going after it here. Without these people I wouldn’t be able to do what I'm doing and I thank them for that.
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Photo By Hanna Mayorga
running tests at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and if it does work we might have a few surprises for people in the next coming year or so, but first we need to make sure it works during the landing and continues to work afterwards. Since it isn’t mission critical, what is the mission? The microphone is really only supposed to record the audio during the landing sequence known as the seven minutes of Terror. They will video it and this will be the audio component. You should look it up online; it's completely insane! I did and it is! And you’re going to record this? Yeah, so the Rover is attached to a thing called the Sky Crane which hovers about 25 feet over the surface and lowers the Rover down on a tether. When the Rover touches down the Sky Crane detaches and flies off into the distance and crashes. The Rover weighs about a third of a ton on Mars, so because of the weight, it will land the same way Curiosity did, but this time we'll get a video and audio! And, if this all works, we should be able to record more audio on the surface of Mars. Along with our microphone there is a second microphone that will deploy separately and later, but I would really like to get both functioning at once, so we can have stereo recordings; which would be even more awesome! And to top it off, you’re going around the country talking about recording the sounds on Mars. Yeah, that’s one of the coolest parts is that I get to travel around giving presentations. I'll be making a presentation about the microphone a recording on Mars at a Planetary Science Conference in Houston, so I booked the Astronomy on Tap with Rebec-
ca too. Back in 2018 I made a presentation in Berlin about this same subject. So that's part of the real thrill of this stuff for me, I get to travel to these conferences and give demonstrations. Wow, so you're a cool Space dude now, huh? You were already a cool Spacey guy, now you get to do it in a new way. Yeah, it's now in the title, not just a description. Did any of that stuff make any sense? Of course it did. So, you’ll be here in Texas playing a few gigs between Austin and Houston. Yeah, I’ll be playing with a drummer from Austin, Clint Short. He’s an old buddy of mine from LA who moved out there years ago. It's all instrumental; I don't even have a microphone to talk to people. That's because you're sending it to Mars! Damn it, I forgot to keep one for myself! JASONACHILLES.COM FACEBOOK.COM/ JASONACHILLESMEZILIS ASTRONOMYONTAP.ORG JPL.NASA.GOV/INFOGRAPHICS
MAR 07 Renee & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Fantastique No. 1 by Jason Achilles - orchestral performance; Costa Mesa, CA MAR 12 LA Ale Works - "Sound in Space" lecture and performance; Hawthorne, CA MAR 19 Notsuoh; Houston, TX MAR 20 Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge, Houston, TX MAR 23 KUTX; Austin, TX MAR 23 Hole In the Wall; Austin, TX MAR 24 The North Door "Astronomy on Tap" (live performance); Austin, TX
The 2020 Corpus Christi Songwriters Festival was a big success for the Coastal Bend. Bringing in songwriters and audience-members from all over the country to attend a three-day music festival that took place February 14-16 at six different venues across downtown Corpus Christi, as well as four different workshops and seminars on the process and craft of songwriting, self-marketing, and the music business. The overall vibe was magical, and we cannot wait for 2021! Thank you to Debbie Noble for the wonderful photos of Saturday’s Headline Concert at House of Rock.
By Jimmy Willden for STEAM Magazine Photos By Debbie Noble
If you would like more information, please check us out online at: CC-Songwriters.com | To see more of Debbie’s fabulous photos and the events she captures: Facebook.com/Debbie Noble JIMMY WILLDEN
CHRIS CARROLL
MARK O’CONNOR
ADAM CARROLL
JAN POCHOP
JAIMEE HARRIS JEFF PLANKENHORN DANIEL BRODHAG
MATT HOLE
TY DIETZ
SHAYNA SANDS
JAIMEE HARRIS
ADAM CARROLL, MARK O’CONNOR, & JAN POCHOP
CHRIS CARROLL & ADAM CARROLL
MARCK O’CONNOR & JEFF PLANKENHORN JAN POCHOP
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