Music News - aka Texas Music News aka Houston Music News

Vol. 39 - No.7 • APRIL 2021 • www.houstonmusicnews.net • FREE

& ENTERTAINMENT

Raul Malo • Night Ranger Matthew Logan Vasquez Motenko • Mickey Gilley A Night To Remember The Biker • Surrender Stella High Desert Queen Gary Hoey

GRILL & SPORTS BAR 202 Sawdust Rd. (The Woodlands) • 281-363-2574 • www.19th.cc Every Thursday Night Friday, April 23

Drunk Ned with Release The Reign April Live Music Schedule 2 - Westfield with Side Peace, Brother Stone 3 - Myke Miller with Blackmoore, Lip Service, Mary Jane & The Fonnas 9 - Bryan Scott 10 - Chasing Yesterday with Reckless High, Familiar with Failure, Eros & Isles 16 - Pigweed with Chaw 17 - Hip Hop Showcase 23 - Drunk Ned with Release The Reign 24 - Radio Smack 30 - Smashed Potatoes

Live Jam Session! @ 8:00 PM

All Musicians Welcome!

Everyday 3.50 Wells @ 11am - 5pm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday $7.75 Pitchers 9 - 11pm Monday $3 Jager 8-11pm • $4 Long Island Ice Teas or Long Beaches All Day Tuesday - Karaoke hosted by Mary Ellis (Lead Singer from Natives Are Restless) $2.75 Wells 11-5pm • $3 Wells 8-10pm • $3.75 Cuervo All Day & Night Wednesday - Bingo 9pm - 12am $3.24 Wells ll-5pm • $4 Wells & Starfuckers • Washington Apples 9-11pm Thursday - Open Mic Jam 50¢ Wings 7-11pm (dine in only) • $3.25 Wells 11-5pm • $1 Domestic Mugs 8-10pm Friday 10 oz. Lunch Steak Special $8.99 & 3.25 Wells 11-5pm • $3.75 Rumpleminze & All McCormick Vodkas 7-11pm • $3 Cuervos All Night Saturday $3.25 Wells 11-5pm • $3.75 Fireballs All Day & Night • $2 Kamikazees & $3 Goldschlager 7-10pm Sunday $3.25 Bloody Marys & Wells 11-5pm

The 19th Hole Grill & Bar is celebrating our 30th Year Anniversary of being a live music venue

DART TOURNAMENT EVERY MONDAY NIGHT!!

Take I-45 to the Rayford/Sawdust exit in Spring • Go west on Rayford/Sawdust • Make a right turn at the first red light We’re at the end of the strip center on your left!

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Music News • April 2021

April 2021 Hello Music News readers. I hope everybody had a great March There’s a lot to be thankful for this month.

Johnson & Johnson are rolling out another Covid-19 shot, so that makes three different shots to choose from.

It looks like with the influx of new Covid vaccines, tours will be underway soon. I have already seen announcements of tours by Steely Dan, Steve Winwood, Backstreet Boys, Chicago, Santana, Lindsey Stirling, Matchbox Twenty, Black Crowes, Rod Stewart, Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Dave Matthews, Brooks And Dunn, Hall And Oates, Maroon 5, and The Doobie Brothers, to name a few of them. With a little bit of luck we can put this past year behind us musically and move on with a new outlook on out musical futures. I know there are a lot of other bands that are just salivating to get back on the road. I hope to see you all out at some of these upcoming shows. Lets make 2021 a record year for the music business.

I’d like to let you know that the Back Porch Grill will be having their “Grand Opening” this month on April 23rd & 24th. We’ve all been waiting for this great new venue to open and now they are. On April 23rd the performing band will be the ever-popular “Queen Legacy” and on the 24th “Adrenaline” will be taking to the stage. I hope to see you all there. Also, Houston’s oldest Bar, Leon’s Lounge is open for business. Check this cool place out. You’ll love the intimate atmosphere there. They will be featuring live music every Friday and Saturday nights. Starting on Thursday, the 22nd, E. Phillip Vallejo will be hosting the “Jam” session there, so all you musicians that want to strut your stuff can start heading out there on Thursdays starting at the end of the month.

Now, on to the new issue. In this issue, as usual, we have some great stories and information to pass on to you.

Check out stories in this month’s issue on Motenko, Raul Malo, Sons Of Texas, Gary Hoey, Matthew Logan Vasquez, Mickey Gilley, Winger, Surrender Stella and High Desert Queen. Also in this issue are a ton of great pictures of bands performing that were submitted by you, the Music News Readers. Thank you so much for sharing your musical experiences with me and all my readers. I really appreciate it and I know the bands do as well. Keep it up... We would like to see more pictures from you.

I sincerely hope that everybody reading this new publication finds something here that they like and I would like to encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about us. Just look for us every month at http:// www.houstonmusicnews.net. I would also like to encourage you to email us for a free subscription to Rock And Blues International as well. Just email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line simply put “Sign Me Up” and we’ll email you a copy each month when it is published.

Kevin Wildman Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher

Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher Web Address http://www.houstonmusicnews.net Mailing Address Box 1162, League City, TX 77573 Phone 281-650-1953

For Advertising email us at musicnew@airmail.net or call 281-650-1953 For A Free Subscription email us at musicnew@airmail.net and in the subject line put “Sign Me Up Now” April 2021 • Music News

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Contents

VOL. 39 NO. 6

APRIL 2021

8 THE BIKER

8

ISSUE NO. 498

TEXASWOOD Randal Reeder and Bryan Miller Team Up To Create A Groundbreaking New Podcast!

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10

LIMITED EDITION SHORT STORY EMAIL US AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS ONE AND IF YOU WANT MORE OF THIS SERIES.

14 14

RAUL MALO The Mavericks Frontman Brings His Solo Show To The Heights Theatre For Two Days and Two Shows Each Day April 27 & 28

SONS OF TEXAS

16

This Great Bluesy Metal Band Will Be Performing At The Scout Bar On April 23rd

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20 20

MATTHEW LOGAN VASQUEZ The Delta Spirit and Middle Brother Frontman Brings His Solo Show To White Oak Music Hall On April 30th

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Music News • April 2021

Contents

VOL. 39 NO. 6

APRIL 2021

24 26 24

WINGER Rocker Kip Winger Brings His Band Back to Warehouse Live For One Nght May 7 Get Your Tickets Early

6 18 22 30 32 34

ISSUE NO. 498

Also In This Issue An Evening To Remember Gary Hoey Mickey Gilley Surrender Stella High Desert Queen Night Ranger Page 35 - Random Shots

featuring Motley Krue, B.C. Binge, Hotel Diplomats, Kidd Six, Jay Hooks, Relevant Saints, Live Mojo, Brandon Ryder, Iris Lane, The Weeds, James Wilhite, Bourbon House, The Almas, Stargazer, Kendall Mason Band, Dead Set Red

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April 2021 • Music News

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An Evening To Remember - Blues - All Genres Slow, Traditional, Blues Rock The Place Was Smokin’ Ever had a night that cooked so much that you didn’t want the sun to come up, you didn’t want the evening to end? One of those nocturnal invitations that beckoned you to go inside as the music made its way outside the club? If you have then my story is relatable. It all began when veteran vocalist blues harp man Steve Krase contacted me about having two complimentary tickets for me to go the newly renovated historic Houston landmark named Rockefellers. (see photo on left) That phone call took me by complete surprise and I snatched them babies up immediately. So I made plans to go but yet I had a business meeting set up with Rich Cagle of Montrose Records prior to the event. Now those meetings with Mr. Cagle are always a chance for a scotch or ten and then the next day we try to remember where the business deal finally ended up. I am embellishing a bit but not by much. As it turned out Rich happened to be going to Rockefellers too so we closed out the meeting and then ran into each other at club briefly an hour or so later. It was so packed that I don’t remember seeing Rich again until much later that night on the porch outside. I do remember the long entrance line upon arrival vividly and that you had to have a ticket to get in. This place was already wall to wall. The entrance line was moving at a snail’s pace and the music inside was on fire, talk about anticipation. Once inside I knew I had arrived as Rockefellers is always cool and this night was alive with deep from within the soul filled jams. I glanced up into the balcony areas and people were everywhere up there but on this night I wanted to take some shots of one of the world’s greatest traditional blues artists Ms. Trudy Lynn so I wanted to be first floor up front. I looked around the first floor and it was wall to wall blues lovers, top notch recording artists and producers. This was cool to the max and then just as if it were meant to be a front row table off to the side a bit opened up. I was attracted to it like a moth to a flame. The perfect blues environment and a good seat too, things were looking really good. Someone came up behind me, put their hands over my eyes and said guess who. As I removed her hands it was none other than the super hot talented Annika Chambers. Wow what a night and it had only just begun. We talked for a few moments and then she needed to go back stage as she was about to learn her turn on stage.

Annika’s new album had just been released and she was going to perform some of the numbers. So I knew up front that I was going to stay to catch Annika’s show because when this woman lays it down she really lays it down. If you saw her on stage at the Blues Music Awards then you know what I mean. Next, someone came over with a cold beer and said here enjoy it and believe me I certainly did just that, talk about perfect timing. Right about then continued on next page

6 Music MusicNews News •• November April December 2021 2020

An Evening To Remember Continued The Steve Krase Band with the harp man himself took to the large raised platform stage. Now when it comes to Steve Krase if you haven’t ever seen him perform let me also share that this man works the entire stage including on top of the tables in front of him. This night I noticed he had added someone else to the band. His guest was the gorgeous sax and vocalist from Mexico Ms. Evelyn Rubio. So I knew Evelyn when combined with the top shelf talent in his band this show was going to be good even before they laid down a note. The music started and Steve hit the bright lights looking dapper in a cream colored tailored suit wearing a big smile. He was ready to get started and get started they did.

Right out of the gate his performance was bringing the room to the level we had already been experiencing since arriving but now the place was just on fire, it was a three alarm blaze. Next up Steve introduced Ms. Trudy Lynn.

Always dressed to the nines this blues star was not wasting any time with lengthy introductions, she came ready to perform. The blues was alive, it was all through this place, I mean it was coming out this night like right now. Trudy glanced at Evelyn and moved closer to her stage position.

She shared the spotlight (photo on page one) while Evelyn nailed it on cue with her sax, Trudy laying down the lead vocals, Evelyn on sax, Steve killing it on harp, and the Steve Krase Band too, are you kidding me? Man they were red hot, I mean white heat hot, the joint was jumping to the nth degree. The entire evening would go this way, act after act after act was on fire. It was indeed a night that you did not want to end. All of this had been arranged by the Houston Blues Society in conjunction with the folks at Rockefellers.

They out did themselves, it just could not have been any better. Ever had a night like this? One of those I don’t want it to end evenings. I left the building, retrieved my truck and the radio came on Bob Seger was singing “Turn The Page” and if you know the song you can imagine how this could be the perfect ending to a fantastic night. Regarding the evening the blues is always in fashion and sometimes, sometimes, you don’t reach out to it, it reaches out to you and that ladies and gentlemen is what it does. It doesn’t have perfect English, it doesn’t deliver lyrics bound by a set of radio edit rules, no goes much deeper than that when it’s live. This was one of those experiences. If you are traveling Houston’s got it working. The city has two international airports and a ton of night spots many which are known blues hot spots. (see photo below) There is a ton of blues history in southeastern Texas including the roots of Peacock Records and so many juke joints. Houston’s blues scene is still alive to this day and still going strong. It’s not just good, it’s exceptional. Come say hey! John in Houston

April 2021 • Music News

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This Show Is Hotter Than A Saturday Night Special What happens when you add a Hollywood pro with a twenty five year on the air radio personality?

You get pure bliss coming at you full speed. Randal Reeder and Bryan “Promo” Miller have teamed to create Texaswood, the hot new podcast coming out of Southeastern Texas. Their new no holds barred interactions with artists delivers top shelf, real gut level reality. None of this washed down stuff that pretends to represent the real artist, these guys set the badger free. In their latest episode, which was recorded in a barbershop, yes a barbershop which was way cool in and of itself by the way, Sundance Head was the premiere guest. This man revealed the real life climb it takes to reach the coveted brass ring and then talked about the continual approach to maintain what you have reached as an artist. Sundance was humble but soon the guys had him talking about his famous father, Roy Head, and his upbringing. That led to his praises for his wife, who has continually believed in him and remains by his side. He emphasized that the ups and downs for today’s artists are incredible and without a true champion standing with you the road is tougher, much tougher.

Here’s another cool thing about this show - it’s mobile meaning that various venues and businesses host the show’s presence in southeastern Texas.

Many times it’s shot at bars but in episode six it was shot at Tune Up The Manly Salon. Seeing Randal, the man on the right hand side of the photo above) getting his pedicure while drinking a Foo Foo drink with an umbrella in it was simply stated hilarious. This salon even provides free drinks, alcohol, while you wait your turn. What’s not to like and then add an over the top fast paced show and you got a winner. The show’s producer Patrick McNerney shares the following, “The whole crew is constantly on the look out for guests and locations. Everyone wants to bring a show forward that is not only interesting but entertaining. These two men nail it big time. “ Know of someone that you think would make a good guest for this international show? Drop them a note. Got a venue or business that you think might line up as a good shoot location, drop them a note you just never know. If you are a touring artist going through the greater Houston market shows are being recorded now.

Texaswood is as real as it gets and in a world of not so real it’s refreshing to tune in and get turned on to what’s what. These guys present people and places with both humor and candor and you just never know who’s going to say what and that’s pretty cool.

Photo by Jeff Fasano Learn more about Texaswood - Texaswood - Home | Facebook 8 Music News • April 2021

FULLER’S VINTAGE GUITAR IS NOT ONLY A VINTAGE GUITAR STORE, WE ALSO CARRY THE LARGEST SELECTION OF NEW GUITARS IN THE SOUTH

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Thank Your For Supporting Us During The Pandemic!

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BEST SELECTION OF MARTIN ACOUSTICS

BEST SELECTION OF BILLY BO’S BEST SELECTION OF GIBSON ACOUSTICS

BEST SELECTION OF TAYLOR ACOUSTICS

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continued on next page

BEST SELECTION OF RICKENBACKERS

BEST SELECTION OF LES PAUL CUSTOM SHOP

BEST SELECTION OF TELES

AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR RICKENBACKER • GIBSON • EPIPHONE • ROBERTSON • TRUSSART • WATERLOO • FENDER • JACKSON USA • CHARVEL • ELLIS • GRETSCH • COLLINGS • SANTA CRUZ • GALLAGHER • 18 Rock and Blues International • August 2020 April 2021 January 2021 •• Music MusicNews News 99 NATIONAL • MARTIN • YAMAHA • TAYLOR • EASTMAN • DEERING

The Biker - Chapter 1 The Biker, The Blues..... and she was hitchhiking

You can call this fiction if you want, but have I got a story for you. I had left Tucson, Arizona heading east on I-10 riding a ‘75 Shovelhead (Harley Davidson) which was more than a bit modified and I had passed through Benson, Arizona heading into New Mexico. It was afternoon, hotter than anything - even a Gila monster would not want to venture out in that heat. I was pretty sure I needed gas and there was a billboard on my right touting a Union 76 station on straight ahead so my plan was to exit there, fill up, cool down, and stretch my legs. Now this is where it begins to get interesting. As I slowed down and began my descent into a town named Willcox, I noticed a gal near the end of the exit ramp hitchhiking.

Who hitchhikes on the far end of an exit ramp? Oh no, I was not going to get involved, not me, no, I was much stronger than that although she wasn’t toting a suitcase and those daisy dukes were interesting.

However, I was a good boy, smiled, and made a bee line for the Union 76 which was right there of course. I pulled up to the pumps, shut the machine down, and shook the tank.

No splashing noise. Maybe it was closer to being empty than I thought. In those days you could fill a tank for about seventyfive cents and so you could fill up and then go inside and pay.

Just as I began to insert the nozzle into the tank this 10

Music News • April 2021

unmistakable female voice asked, “Did you ride that thing very far?” Now I look up. Until then I was being a really good boy.

Like I said, I saw her, smiled, but kept on going. Well now what? I mean it was as if the devil himself was talking to her as I said, “Oh yeah just getting some gas and then headed east.”

She replied, “Well I am too, how about a ride?” Ok, so I didn’t know the story, I didn’t even want to know the story, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to pack someone down the highway, but like the all American idiot I am I instinctively said, “Why sure, how far do you want to go?” And she said, “Just up the road to Deming.” I didn’t know where Deming was, but it sounded as though she did and well, what the hell maybe it’s just the boy scout in me coming out... but then again if you believe that, I’ve got some swamp land down in Florida that I am selling really cheap as investment property.

So I went inside the station paid the man and he was smiling at me and I was smiling back at him. I am not sure what we were smiling about but somehow we were communicating without talking. Then I went outside, turned the key on, squeezed a quarter turn on the throttle and came down hard on the compression stroke. With a mighty roar the lion came alive and my new rider was clapping and smiling. Oh I was in trouble, I was in trouble, God knows I was continued on next page

The Biker, The Blues..... and she was hitchhiking continued from previous page in trouble but Katy bar the door, there is no fool like an old fool, so off we went going east to someplace named Deming.

I wondered if I should have asked her how old she was, but then again she looked every bit of 25. Well in short order we made Deming and she pointed to the exit she wanted me to take and so we left I-10. We hadn’t reached the second stop light when a police cruiser pulled up and the officer rolled his window down. I thought ok here it comes, whatever I have walked into, here it comes. Yet the officer only yelled to the gal and said, “call your family and let them know you are back,” and drove away. That was interesting. She tapped me on my shoulder and pointed indicating to turn left. About three city blocks into it she pointed to a dive bar looking place and yelled “there”.

I wheeled in and she got off and said to come inside for something cold and a bite to eat. That sounded like a good idea, so I did. As we walked through the door and my eyes adjusted I could hear John Lee Hooker on the jukebox. The song was “Boom Boom”. As my eyes fully adjusted I could see the dim lights above a stage in the center of the room. A cheap stage made of plywood and vinyl tile squares.

Someone was setting up, but I didn’t know where I was, let alone who could be setting up. The gal I was with was named Sarah and just about everyone inside was saying hi.

We sat at the bar near the door so I could see my scooter parked just outside. She ordered two number ones, which were burgers and fries.

The barmaid brought me a cold Bud. A guy walked over to Sarah and said “welcome back” and she nodded as she gulped on a Miller. The barmaid asked me if I would be in town long and I said no just passing through. Now the jukebox was shut off. It was about maybe 5pm and the guys on stage looked like they were ready to perform. I didn’t expect much, but I became deeply surprised as they broke into “Magic Carpet Ride.” It was a pretty cool rendition actually and then after that intro the blues came alive.

I noticed that the place was filling up with more customers and more waitresses. This was interesting for sure, late in the afternoon and an evening size crowd, go figure! It sure wasn’t the dive bar itself, but the music was over the top. The band peeled off BB’s “The Thrill Is Gone” and nailed it to perfection. My new friend came over and said she wanted to show me something and encouraged me to follow her. We went through the bar and out the back door, crossed a small dirt alley that maybe only a garbage truck drive down once a week and into a cinder block back yard. We were at the back of this apartment building looking place and we went inside.

However, it wasn’t an apartment building after all, it was a motel. The guy behind the desk said hey to Sarah and handed her a key. Hmmm. She smiled and said to me, “This place isn’t what you think it is, we just don’t have a lot of options at my pay scale”. We went to the room and right after she opened the door she gravitated immediately over to a Fender Strat. “This is mine” she said smiling, “I am on stage tonight and you need to stay and take in the show.” She was right, a few beers, dusk was at hand, and why would anyone not want to take in the rest

of the evening? I stayed.

The band was actually her band, something rare in 1975, and when she lit up the stage, wow! She was a cross between Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin. No covers from here on in, just 100% blues-rock that kicked ass. I met a lot of new people that night, all of them curious about who I was and where was I going. One guy gave me a cassette of this guy named Buddy Guy and said listen to this when you can, this guy is great. But the most interesting people were those that stayed to themselves, all sorts of people, ages, ethic backgrounds, male, female, all sorts of folks just taking it in. I will never forget that night and even later that night there was the icing on the cake.

Too cool for sure.

The next morning I didn’t have breakfast, checked my gas level, put the key in, turned it on, and placed my right boot over the kick-starter. Just before I came down on the pedal, I looked around one more time. This was cool, I found real America. I found people that were into good tunes, good friends, cold beer, and good food. I was lucky or so it seemed.

You see once I kicked over my Shovel and it started, the whoop of a cop car was blaring right behind me. I shut the bike off and wondered what this would be all about. The cop said he was just doing his duty and then told me that it was his wife that had asked me dance twice the night before. Uh oh, I didn’t know she was married, and she was pretty. I spoke up and told the good officer that I was just passing through and he said, “Well then you might want to get going while the getting is good.” I nodded, started up my scooter and pulled on down that little alley until I made the main street. I hooked a right going north and found the entrance ramp that feeds new traffic east.

It was then that my daughter woke me from my sleep and said, “Wake up Mommy wants to know who Sarah is.... Well I told her I must have been dreaming and she said well that’s interesting because a woman named Sarah called from some other city saying not to worry she has your wallet. I said, “What”” and felt for my wallet. My wife smiled, showed me my wallet and said she had been doing the wash and my pants needed to go in with the other clothes. Neat dream huh?

To Be Continued

April 2021 • Music News

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came together because they yearned to play the music they loved listening to when not on paid gigs. “We wanted to play the music we all first fell in love with and that made us want to play in the first place,” Micah says.

Motenko’s debut is chock full of jams that are as booty shaking as they are heartwarming. The 5-tracks can be interpreted sequentially, as a narrative about the lifespan of a hypothetical relationship, from its inception to its death and the aftermath. “The songs in this EP are about love and loss. They were written as a way for me to process the death of close family and friends, all while riding the pleasures and pitfalls of romantic pursuit as a young man,” Micah shares.

Austin’s Motenko Perform At The Mucky Duck April 23 The saying goes you never forget your first love. For Micah Motenko—musically speaking—that would be Motown, a sound he swooned for at age 7. That music set an artistic ideal for Micah of well-crafted heartfelt songs, brimming with infectious hooks and smoldering grooves.

Today, that love legacy burns with his groove machine, Motenko. This four-piece band of ace musicians specialize in incendiary in-the-moment performances, telepathic musical interplay, and recordings that invoke the mojo of 70’s-era R&B, soul, funk, and New Orleans second line with the satiny touch of modern soul production.

Top tracks on the band’s self-titled debut EP have collectively amassed over 200,000 streams, and the five-song release has garnered prime regional press acclaim. The quartet back up these smoldering recorded performances nightly, bringing the vibe alive onstage with soul-revue style pageantry. Motenko uplifts audiences with dynamic, sweat-soaked performances, and the band’s fiery devotion to the art of live groove music.

The quartet mines the interlocking ensemble mindset blueprinted by the great rhythm bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s such as The Meters, Booker T. and The MGs, and the great Motown pit musicians. The band’s vibrant musicality is also informed by modern masters of soul such as producer J. Dilla, and the Soulquarians, the brilliant neo-soul collective featured with artists such as D’ Angelo, The Roots, Slum Village, and Erykah Badu.

Micah’s honeyed vocals are imbued with a sweetly sincere quality of longing. His keyboard style has a vintage soul sensibility though it’s also informed by the playful and bold textures of hip-hop, and modern R&B. Though Micah is the group’s lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and keyboardist, he’s first to admit it’s all a band affair. He is joined onstage, and in the studio, by guitarist Cat Clemons III whose play-for-the-song restraint and stanky grooves provide just the right amount of flair. Rounding out the soul machine is the in-thepocket telepathic interplay of bassist Josh Flowers and drummer James Gwyn.

The Austin, Texas-based quartet formed in early 2018. It’s a band of brothers whose day gigs are first-call hired gun musicians, but 12 Music News • April 2021

The EP’s opening track “On Your Level” boasts hooky piano motifs and stately 1960s R&B-style horns. Here, Micah lays out an infectious and glowering “Ain’t Misbehavin’” type narrative arc aimed at an ex. “When I wrote this song, I felt like I had just been trying to please everyone else all the time without paying attention to what I needed. I felt no sense of direction in my life,” he shares. “This song is defiant in the face of that. It’s about putting aside everything that’s keeping you down for a night and showing someone else a good time.”

The velvety “Waiting All Day” is a slice of elegant, Bill Withers-esque balladry with a one-that-got-away narrative. “Waiting All Day” is a meditation on love that is unfulfilled. Each verse is a vignette about a different relationship that is somehow unrequited, and the chorus is about carrying forward in spite these muddled feelings.

The buttery “Follow Through” drips from the speakers with sinewy electric piano grooves and elegantly expressive vocals. Micah’s vocals here have a longing that captures the song’s lyrical theme of giving away too much of yourself without reciprocity. Micah explains: “In the song, I wonder what it would be like to set firmer boundaries for myself, while I implore the person to stop tempting me with their desire.”

The jam “Silhouette” oozes sweat-soaked early 2000s R&B, conjuring D’Angelo at his steamiest. This track is a fantasy about past love, conjuring raw imagery of an ex coated in a hazy veneer of a dream-state. The subject desperately wants to stay in the dream to have one last night with the ex. Upon waking, the subject is faced with the fact that they will never experience the pure intimacy that was found in the dream.

The EP closes on a semi-conciliatory note with “The Thief,” a slow-burn amicable breakup song rife with potent self-realization.

“It’s a statement of failed intent,” reveals Micah. “The song attempts the kind of closure that I was never able to achieve by communicating with the person. The last lyric of the chorus is, ‘If the way I feel for you was stolen, then I’m The Thief.’”

The EP’s hybrid production approach mirrors Motenko’s modern vintage aesthetic. The basics were tracked as live performances onto a tape machine, but the vocals were recorded on Micah’s laptop in his living room. The overall feel of this is a seamless union of classic and contemporary soul eras.

During lockdown, Motenko has stayed limber in the studio and the rehearsal room, exploring a broader groove-centered aesthetic.

Future releases will explore infectious funk, New Orleans-inspired party songs, and piano-driven soul-rock. As live music options become available, the groove machine is ready to be the soundtrack to the post-pandemic party.

COMING SOON! 2416 Bay Area Blvd.

409 934-4859

GRAND OPENING APRIL 23 & 24 With Queen Legacy (23) Adrenaline (24)

Coming To The Back Porch Grill April 29 - Latin Night with Shekere April 19 - 420 Party April 30 - The Goods April 22 - Latin Night with Rapture June 11 - The Tracy Perez Band April 23 - Queen Legacy July 10 - Texas Sundown Band April 24 - Adrenaline And More To Come!

April 26 - Turning Point February 2021 • Music News

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the next release, 1995’s Music for All Occasions. Many of the band’s singles reached the Top 40, with “O What a Thrill” making number 18 in the summer of 1994 and “There Goes My Heart” reaching number 20. The Mavericks eventually won a Grammy, and the Country Music Association twice bestowed them with Top Vocal Group honors.

Trampoline As Malo began to integrate Latin rhythms into his songwriting during the latter part of the ’90s, the Mavericks’ recordings picked up a stronger Havana influence, leaving the country rhythms in the shadows. The band became an eclectic mix of rockabilly, honky tonk, Tejano, native Cuban, and country, with their multi-faceted sound reaching its apex on 1998’s Trampoline. The Mavericks quit playing gigs together in early 2001, but Malo continued to work with his bandmates.

Raul Malo Performs At The Heights Theater For Two Days, April 27 & 28 First making his mark in the country music world and then slipping into the Latin and jazz arenas via roots rock, Raul Malo has proven to be an ever-expanding musical talent. Malo first rose to fame with the eclectic country group the Mavericks, scoring hits with the albums What a Crying Shame (1994) and Music for All Occasions (1995). The Mavericks’ work in the ’90s found them dabbling in Latin music and vintage pop, and Malo put the focus on those sides of his musical personality for his solo debut, 2001’s Today. Malo showed he was a sure hand with old standards on two efforts steeped in pop and vocal jazz, 2006’s You’re Only Lonely and 2007’s After Hours, and folded some country flavors back into his mix on 2009’s Lucky One. Raul Malo, born in Miami of Cuban parents on August 7, 1965, started playing bass guitar in high school and soon found his way into several small bands. In 1987, he made his first recording with the Basics, and one song, “Paperheart,” appeared on the promotional collection Unsigned. While the album wasn’t a success, the experience whet Malo’s appetite for more. Later in the ’80s, Malo and a high school friend, bassist Robert Reynolds, formed their own country band based on their mutual love for Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline. Paul Deakin, with experience in several progressive rock bands, became the drummer, and the group chose the name the Mavericks.

From Hell to Paradise Under Malo’s leadership, the Mavericks independently released their self-titled debut album in the fall of 1990.

The album managed to grab the attention of many big labels, and MCA Records signed the Mavericks in May of 1991, after they played their first gig in Nashville. David Lee Holt, who previously played with Carlene Carter, Joe Ely, and Rosie Flores, became the lead guitarist for the band, with Malo concentrating on the songwriting and vocals. MCA released From Hell to Paradise in 1992; it was critically acclaimed, but not a financial success. However, What a Crying Shame brought forth financial fortunes when it was released in 1994, with its title track reaching the Top 40; the album went platinum by spring 1995. Holt was replaced with Nick Kane as lead guitarist for

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Music News • April 2021

During the latter years of the ’90s, Malo began doing parallel solo work, sometimes accompanied by the Dennis Burnside Orchestra.

In October 1999 he completed his first solo tour in the U.K., performing many of his new songs. By 2000 he had become a producer, supervising sessions with Ethan Allen and K.T. Oslin, and joined roots music supergroup Los Super Seven as a lead vocalist and songwriter, in addition to working with Latin singer Rick Trevino in his studios.

Malo’s first solo recording, “Bailare (El Merecumbe),” was selfpenned in Spanish, and he also did a solo recording of “Downbound Train” by Bruce Springsteen. When the Country Music Association needed a voice that could handle singing all the different hits of those being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, they called on Malo because of his ability to handle a diverse range of styles.

Sing Along with los StraitjacketsMalo’s first album as a solo artist, 2001’s Today, reflected his Cuban heritage, but didn’t entirely leave out the deep-twang guitar of country music as he mingled the pop sounds of the ’60s with salsa, jazz, and country. Released by OmTown/Higher Octave Music in October 2001, the album also included Shelby Lynne on guest vocals and an 11-piece backup band that mimicked the big-band sounds Malo loved. Malo also covered “Black Is Black,” a Latin rock hit, on Los Straitjackets’ 2001 album Sing Along with Los Straitjackets, and sang “Thanks a Lot” on Country Goes Raffi, a 2001 compilation of country artists covering songs by the noted children’s entertainer. The Nashville Acoustic Sessions, a pared-down collaboration with Music City session players Pat Flynn, Rob Ickes, and Dave Pomeroy, was released in 2004. Malo returned to the studio for You’re Only Lonely and After Hours in 2006 and 2007, respectively; the former was dominated by his interpretations of old standards, while the latter put a sophisticated spin on country classics. The country-accented Lucky One followed in 2009.

Sinners & Saints In late 2009, Malo signed to Concord’s Fantasy imprint and began recording a slew of new tracks at his home studio in Nashville. He took them to Sam “Lightning” Seifert at Bismeaux Studio in Austin and enlisted the help of the legendary Vox Continental organist Augie Meyers; guitarist Shawn Sahm (son of the late Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet); accordionist Michael Guerra (known for his work with the Tex Mex Experience), and Austin’s lauded vocal group the Trishas (Savannah Welch, Kelley Mickwee, Liz Foster, and Jamie Lin Wilson), who provided background vocals. The end result was Malo’s debut for the label, Sinners & Saints, released in October of 2010. In 2012, he delivered Around the World, a set of classic love songs backed by Britain’s 30-piece Northern Sinfonia Orchestra, including versions of “Let It Be Me,” “Make the World Go Away,” “Dance the Night Away,” and “Around the World.” After periodic reunions for live work, in 2013 the Mavericks returned with a fresh studio album, In Time, and Malo divided his time between solo projects and recording and touring with the group. In 2018, as the Mavericks released the album Hey! Merry Christmas!, Malo dropped a seasonal single; “I Don’t Need Anything for Christmas” was a collaboration with David Colon of the group Small Town Fair.

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OPEN MIC EVERY WEDNESDAY HOSTED BY CASUAL HEATHENS Thursday, April 1 - Patrick Gamble, Jessie Avila, Patrick Hamilton, The Creeps Friday, April 2 - The Guillotines, Skeptik Nation, Bulldog Bullies Saturday, April 3 - Twin Span, Never Cease, Jonathan Portillo, Autumn Leaves Are, Necro Anom Sunday, April 4 - Best Bunny Costume Contest with Heavy Honeys, Benny, Habenero Honeycomb Thursday, April 8 - Merkava, BC Binge, Bones Friday, April 9 - In Your Face, Whiskey Flight Saturday, April 10 - Whiskey Fueled Death, Perpetual Deception, Chaotic Justice Sunday, April 11- Jypse Rose, Emissary, Averge Joe and The Clones Thursday, April 15- Drunk Ned, Dr Frisky and the Examiners, Reckless & Royal Friday, April 16 - Scrap Pile, Hate, Raid, Exitium Saturday, April 17 - Kendall Mason Band, Pure, Primrose Hollow Sunday, April 18 - Rock Cartel, Antonio Eye, Moses Turgeman Thursday, April 22 - Treehouse Project, Garden Party, Serene Friday, April 23 - XIII, Black Kennedy, Planet Gears, ZombieFace, Pigweed, Grey Feather Saturday, April 24 - Agony Incorporated, Last Battle Band, Chasing Yesterday, State Of mind Sunday, April 25 - Robert Dykman, Watershed, Skeptik Nation, Voyage Thursday, April 29 - Brother Stone, Southern Rukus Band, Friday, April 30 - AV8, Southern Retaliation, Endfall April 2021 • Music News

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Sons Of Texas Perform At Scout Bar April 23 There is nothing subtle about Texas. There is a reason why we use the term “Texas-sized” to describe anything in life that’s exaggeratedly large, from posteriors, to bong hits, to jugs of beer.

This boldness, naturally, extends to the Lone Star’s musical exports, loud n’ proud legendary artists like ZZ Top, Pantera, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among many others. Now, firmly in that cocksure lineage, is a mighty bluesy metal band from McAllen, Texas aptly named, Sons Of Texas.

As their name suggests, Sons of Texas are a no-nonsense heavy metal band who proudly hail from the Lone Star State, playing tough, unpretentious hard rock with a bluesy undercurrent.

Sons of Texas were formed by five friends from McAllen, Texas — Jes de Hoyos and Jon Olivares on guitars, Mark 16 Music News • April 2021

Morales on lead vocals, Nick Villarreal on bass, and Nick’s brother Mike Villarreal on drums. McAllen is a town near the Mexican border and the Gulf of Mexico, and the tight-knit local rock scene often finds bands swapping musicians on a regular basis; as a result, the members of Sons of Texas were all well aware of each other’s abilities when the band came together in 2013.

Despite being just in their mid 20s, never having recorded an album, and having only existed for about a year, the guys play with seasoned authenticity and fiery brilliance. The guitar duo of Jon Olivarez and Jes De Hoyos boastthat classic rhythm and lead division of labor of Metallica’s Hetfield and Hammett, Testament’s Alex Sklonick and Eric Peterson, and Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman. Sons Of

Texas has that rare gift of having a rhythm section of brothers—Nick and Mike Villarreal—so the grooves are telepathic and deeply in the pocket. And vocalist Mark Morales has a blood raw expressiveness evoking Phil Anselmo, Chris Cornell, and Zakk Wylde.

It didn’t take long for word of the band’s powerful attack to spread through the Southwest, and in 2014, the band cut a deal with veteran independent label Razor & Tie Records. Producer Josh Wilbur, best known for his work with Lamb of God and Hatebreed, agreed to work on Sons of Texas’ debut album after seeing less than a minute of a single YouTube video from the band, and the set, Baptized in the Rio Grande, was released in March 2015.

Baptized In The Rio Grande is an album for raising hell and enduring hard times. The record spans good old bad boy anthems like “Texas Trim” and “Baptized In The Rio Grande,” the stately ballad territory of the haunting “September,” and the dead end job-frustration of “Pull It And Fire.” The standout “Blameshift” showcases the guys have modern rock radio potential without sacrificing heft for hooks.

Following two years of hard touring, the band reunited with Wilbur in the studio to produce their follow-up album, 2017’s Forged in Fortitude.

In between the release of Forged

by Fortitude and their next studio session in 2018, Mark Morales was tapped by Mark Morton of Lamb of God to provide vocals on his solo album.

In 2019, working without a record label, Sons of Texas headed back to the studios in San Antonio, Texas, to release a three-song extended play titled Resurgence. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band used the time to release another EP, As the Crow Flies, in September 2020 “We’re proud of being a Texas hard rock band, that’s everything to us,” affirms rhythm guitarist Jon Olivarez.

“Texas is the biggest state, has a great history of football teams, and an astounding music legacy.”

guitar tones…both vintage and modern at the same time.” - Joe Satriani In 2012, he produced and co-wrote The Queen Of Metal, Lita Ford’s latest release “Living Like Runaway” for SPV records to rave reviews. As Music Director for Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, he’s worked with legends like Joe Perry, Roger Daltrey, Yes, blues icon Johnny Winter, Robben Ford, Leslie West, and KISS drummer, Peter Criss.

And he has toured and traded licks with the likes of Jeff Beck, Brian May of Queen, Ted Nugent, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Peter Frampton, and Dick Dale.

Gary Hoey Performs At Dosey Doe May 6th “Neon Highway Blues”, Gary’s latest release, carries its 11 tracks with the confidence and assuredness of a veteran, and the freshness of someone who’s still in the process of discovery and refinement — with the help of famous friends such as Eric Gales, Lance Lopez, Josh Smith and Hoey’s 17-yearold son Ian Hoey. The release of “Neon Highway Blues” will, of course, take 18

Music News • April 2021

Gary Hoey back on the highways and byways for plenty of touring and playing, well, the blues — and more. He can’t yet predict where the next road will take him, but Hoey is confident it will be an adventure.

“It’s great to hear Gary sing and play the blues with his trademark intensity, feel and authenticity. And the

With a collection of 21 albums it’s no wonder Gary Hoey is listed as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. The world renowned rock guitarist’s first break came in 1987 when Ozzy Osbourne liked Hoey’s tape enough to fly him to LA for an audition and encouraging him to move to the West Coast. In 1990 Hoey was signed to Reprise Records with a short lived band called Heavy Bones but followed up in 1993 with a solo album and Gary’s cover of “Hocus Pocus” rocketed into the Billboard’s Top 5 Rock Tracks. He went on to score the successful “Endless Summer II” soundtrack for New Line Cinema and in 1995 started a trilogy of “Ho!Ho! Hoey,” a collection of instrumental Christmas classics that continues each year in his Rockin Holiday shows.

And in 2013’s “Deja Blues” he came home to the blues. Gary’s release in 2016, “Dust & Bones,” displayed an exuberant fusion of blues and rock. But whatever style he plays, one thing is certain, Gary Hoey is a fiery, charismatic player who connects with the crowd.

Whether he’s playing scorching originals or classic rock covers, his solos are thrilling and reminiscent of Clapton or Stevie Ray in their fiery youth. One thing that remains consistent is Hoey’s impassioned command of the guitar. He can attack his instrument with feral intensity and then play something very soft and achingly beautiful. This ability to mix feeling, phrasing, technique and tone is the true mark of a master guitarist.

outing Does What He Wants, which arrived later that April. The following year saw Vasquez release the EP Texas Murder Ballads. Recorded at home in Austin, it served as a teaser for his forthcoming third long-player. The resulting Light’n Up was released in February 2019 on Dine Alone Records, and was recorded at his Austin home, and completed at his new home in Oslo, Norway.Matthew Logan Vasquez is best known as the lead singer/songwriter/ guitarist of Indie rock group Delta Spirit. He is also a member of Indie Supergroup Middle Brother. He has released three solo albums: Solicitor Returns (2016), Does What He Wants (2017), and Light’n Up (2019). His current project is Billboard described indie supergroup Glorietta. Matt currently lives in Wimberley,Texas when not on tour.

Matthew Logan Vasquez’s fiery delivery and thought-provoking lyrics draw from a huge and versatile well of influences, including Gram Parsons, Kurt Cobain, Neil Young, and Iggy Pop.

Matthew Logan Vasquez Performs At White Oak Music Hall April 30th Matthew Logan Vasquez is best known as the lead singer/songwriter/guitarist of Indie rock group Delta Spirit. He is also a member of Indie Supergroup Middle Brother. He has released three solo albums: Solicitor Returns (2016), Does What He Wants (2017), and Light’n Up (2019). His current project is Billboard described indie supergroup Glorietta. Matt currently lives in Wimberley,Texas when not on tour.

Matthew Logan Vasquez’s fiery delivery and thought-provoking lyrics draw from a huge and versatile well of influences, including Gram Parsons, Kurt Cobain, Neil Young, and Iggy Pop. He released his debut EP, Austin, in November 2015. He plays every instrument on the album except two drum tracks and a single guitar track.

“Matt’s voice and words have that Nashville outcast vibe to it,” says Jay Sweet, producer of the Newport Folk Festival and a longtime champion of Matt’s music. “He’s not California, he’s not Texas, he’s not

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Music News • April 2021

Brooklyn—even though he’s lived in all of those places. He’s a transplant and a vagabond, which is why he embodies folk and rock music. For a singer- songwriter, he is truly refreshing.”

As a solo artist, he juggles elements of indie rock, electronic pop, R&B, and soulful Americana, flirting with despondency, but ultimately succumbing to beatitude, especially on 2017’s home-recorded yet vibrant sophomore effort, Does What He Wants.

Into the Wide After releasing Delta Spirit’s critically acclaimed fourth studio album, Into the Wide, in 2014, Vasquez moved with his wife and newborn son to Austin, Texas and began working on what would become his debut solo outing. The resulting Austin EP, which finds Vasquez manning every instrument and offering up a blistering set of outlaw psych rock, arrived in 2015, with plans to issue his debut longplayer, Solicitor Returns, in early 2016. In January 2017, Vasquez issued “Same,” the driving single from his sophomore solo

He released his debut EP, Austin, in November 2015. He plays every instrument on the album except two drum tracks and a single guitar track.

“Matt’s voice and words have that Nashville outcast vibe to it,” says Jay Sweet, producer of the Newport Folk Festival and a longtime champion of Matt’s music. “He’s not California, he’s not Texas, he’s not Brooklyn—even though he’s lived in all of those places. He’s a transplant and a vagabond, which is why he embodies folk and rock music. For a singer- songwriter, he is truly refreshing.”

As a solo artist, he juggles elements of indie rock, electronic pop, R&B, and soulful Americana, flirting with despondency, but ultimately succumbing to beatitude, especially on 2017’s home-recorded yet vibrant sophomore effort, Does What He Wants.

Into the Wide After releasing Delta Spirit’s critically acclaimed fourth studio album, Into the Wide, in 2014, Vasquez moved with his wife and newborn son to Austin, Texas and began working on what would become his debut solo outing. The resulting Austin EP, which finds Vasquez manning every instrument and offering up a blistering set of outlaw psych rock, arrived in 2015, with plans to issue his debut longplayer, Solicitor Returns, in early 2016. In January 2017, Vasquez issued “Same,” the driving single from his sophomore solo outing Does What He Wants, which arrived later that April. The following year saw Vasquez release the EP Texas Murder Ballads. Recorded at home in Austin, it served as a teaser for his forthcoming third long-player. The resulting Light’n Up was released in February 2019 on Dine Alone Records, and was recorded at his Austin home, and completed at his new home in Oslo, Norway.

performing, especially after he married and settled in Houston, Texas.

However, when Jerry Lee’s career began to take off, Gilley reconsidered, and in 1957, he released his first single, “Ooh Wee Baby,” on the local Minor Records label. The following year, he moved up to Dot Records and “Call Me Shorty” was an exercise in rock & roll boasting that, like his debut, bore more than a slight resemblance to Jerry Lee’s style. Neither achieved more than regional success, and through the ’60s Gilley cut singles for a variety of small labels and played night spots in the Lone Star State, as his sound evolved from rockabilly boogie to a mellower honky tonk country approach. In 1968, Gilley hit the national country charts for the first time with “Now I Can Live Again,” which peaked at number 68, but there was no immediate follow-up, and Gilley settled into what seemed like a career as a regional artist.

Gilley was a big enough name in Texas that in 1971 an entrepreneur in Pasadena, Texas, Sherwood Cryer, approached him about going into business together, with the singer lending his name to a nightclub Cryer planned to open. The club was named Gilley’s, and it became a success, with the singer often gracing the stage. In 1974, Gilley launched a small label, Astro Records, to produce singles for jukebox distributors in the Southwest, and one, “She Called Me Baby,” became an unexpected success when a disc jockey heard the flipside, “Room Full of Roses,” and began giving it airplay. As the record gained momentum, Playboy Records picked it up for national distribution, and in April 1974, “Room Full of Roses” became Gilley’s first single to hit the top of the country charts. (It also dented the pop charts, peaking at 50.)

Mickey Gilley Performs At Main Street Crossing April 30 Singer and pianist Mickey Gilley became one of the biggest names in country music in the ’70s, scoring a string of hit records as well as helping to launch a cultural movement. Born into one of the most famous families in Southern music, Gilley was the cousin of rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis, and he launched his career in the late ’50s with singles that mimicked Lewis’ trademark style. By the early ’60s, Gilley had remade himself as a country artist (years before Jerry Lee would do the same) but didn’t make a major impact nationally until 1974 when “Room Full of Roses,” originally cut as a B-side, began gaining major airplay and was picked up by Playboy Records, who turned it into a number one country hit. Gilley would score 15 more number one country singles between 1974 and 1983 (including “I Overlooked an Orchid,” “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time,” “Stand by Me,” “Lonely Nights,” and “Fool for Your Love”), mastering a style that fused countrypolitan polish with honky tonk atmosphere, giving him a sound that was distinctly his own. Gilley also partnered with Sherwood Cryer in 1971 to open a honky tonk in Pasadena, Texas called Gilley’s; in time, the club became legendary in Texas, and was the setting of the hit movie Urban Cowboy, which not only made Gilley and his club a household name but helped give country music a new visibility in the mainstream music media. The Urban Cowboy craze would run its course, but Gilley would retain a loyal following, and would become a popular attraction in Branson, Missouri after his hit-making days were over.

Mickey Gilley was born in Natchez, Mississippi on March 9, 1936. Gilley spent most of his childhood in Ferriday, Louisiana, where he spent time with his cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Linda Gail Lewis, who would share his enthusiasm for playing the piano. As youngsters, Lewis, Swaggart, and Gilley would sometimes play music together, and Mickey’s parents saved up to buy him a piano, but he wasn’t initially interested in making a career out of 20 Music News • April 22 Decemberr 2021 2020

Gilley’s career went into high gear after “Room Full of Roses” finally gave him his breakthrough. He scored two more number one country hits, “I Overlooked an Orchid” and “City Lights,” before 1974 was out, and his first album for Playboy, Room Full of Roses, hit number one on the country album charts. Gilley continued to dominate the country charts with hits like “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time,” “Bring It on Home to Me,” and “She’s Pulling Me Back Again,” but Playboy had few others artists who were consistently selling records, and the label folded in 1978. Epic wasted no time in signing Gilley to a record deal, and his first album for the label, The Songs We Made Love To, arrived in 1979.

As Gilley’s star rose, the Gilley’s club became increasingly popular, growing into the largest country music bar in the world, and in 1978, journalist Aaron Latham wrote a piece about the scene at Gilley’s for Esquire Magazine, titled “The Ballad of the Urban Cowboy: America’s Search for True Grit.” Filmmaker James Bridges adapted the story into a film, and 1980’s Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger and shot largely at Gilley’s, became a major box office hit, as did its soundtrack album, which featured Gilley singing “Stand by Me.” “Stand by Me” became yet another number one country hit for Gilley, and crossed over to the pop charts, rising to number 22. Suddenly Gilley and his nightspot were a nationwide sensation. Between 1980 and 1984, every single Gilley released was a Top Five country hit, with nine of those thirteen songs going to number one, and a chain of Gilley’s Clubs opened around the country. Gilley and Cryer had a falling out that led to the closing of the club in 1989, by which time Mickey’s recording career had begun to cool off. 1987’s “Full Grown Fool” was Gilley’s last song to hit the country Top 20, and after leaving Epic Records, he released an album for Airborne Records, Chasing Rainbows, in 1988.

However, Gilley was still a popular live act, and in the early ’90s, he was one of several veteran artists who opened their own theaters in Branson, Missouri, a city that became a family-friendly vacation destination. Gilley enjoyed considerable success in Branson, where he would relocate, and concerts became his focus, though he did release a new album, Invitation Only, on Varese Sarabande in 2003, as well as occasional live releases documenting his Branson shows. In July 2009, Gilley was helping a friend move furniture when he tripped and a couch fell on him. The accident left him with four crushed vertebrae, and for a while he was paralyzed from the neck down. Extensive physical therapy helped Gilley regain the ability to walk, and by the end of 2010 he was back on-stage in Branson, though he could no longer play piano. In May 2018, Gilley released Two Old Cats, a collaboration with vocalist Troy Payne; the album appeared just four months after Gilley was temporarily sidelined after an auto accident injured his leg.

October 2020 • Music News

17

Winger Perform At Warehouse Live On May 7 Winger is an American rock band that has combined elements of glam metal and progressive metal. Formed in New York City, Winger gained popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band’s two platinum albums, Winger and In the Heart of the Young, along with charting singles “Seventeen,” “Headed for a Heartbreak” and “Miles Away,” put them on the top of the charts by the early 1990s.

In 1990, the band was nominated for an American Music Award for “Best New Heavy Metal Band.”

The debut album, Winger, was released on August 10, 1988 on Atlantic Records. The record was a success, achieving platinum status in the United States, and gold status in Japan and Canada. On February 11, 1989, the album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200, and was in various places on the chart for 63 weeks. Radio and MTV hits from the album included “Madalaine”, “Seventeen”, “Headed for a Heartbreak” and “Hungry”.

In 1990, the band was nominated for an American Music Award for “Best New Heavy Metal Band”.

Shortly after that tour, Winger released its second album In the Heart of the Young, which went 1-and-1/2 platinum in the U.S. and gold in Japan. Hit radio tracks and MTV videos included “Can’t Get Enuff”, “Miles Away” and “Easy

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Music News • April 2021

Come Easy Go”.

Winger followed the release of its second album with a 13-month world tour, playing over 230 dates with Kiss, Scorpions, ZZ Top, Extreme and Slaughter. Paul Taylor left the band after the tour, citing exhaustion after years of touring. Their third studio album, Pull, produced by Mike Shipley, was recorded in 1992/1993 as a three-piece band. It was originally to be called Blind Revolution Mad, after the opening song. Reportedly, Kip Winger, anticipating that critics would dismiss the album out of hand, renamed it Pull as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the CD being used by critics as a skeet-shooting target.

The album was not as successful as the previous albums sales wise, but gained solid reviews. On the following tour, John Roth was called in to replace Paul Taylor on rhythm guitar. The album coincided with the rise of grunge, which swept aside the brand of melodic pop metal that Winger represented.

In the 1990s, Winger was subject to mockery from MTV’s animated series Beavis and Butt-head. Series creator Mike Judge later revealed that he had been incorrectly informed that Kip Winger had asked the network not to make jokes about the band on the series, which led to further jokes about the band, but later learned from Winger himself that he had never made any

such stipulation. “Stewart”, an early character from the TV show, wore a Winger t-shirt during the shows original run on MTV during the early 90s.

After disbanding in 1994, bassist/ lead vocalist Kip Winger went on to a solo career, guitarist Reb Beach went on to touring projects with artists Dokken, Alice Cooper and has held a permanent guitar spot in Whitesnake since 2002. The band’s other members pursued or resumed careers as session musicians.

In 2001, it was announced that all original members of the band would return to the studio to record the song “On the Inside” for The Very Best of Winger. In 2002, all five members embarked on a reunion tour of the U.S. and Canada on a bill with Poison. According to Kip Winger, in a 2008 interview with rock and roll comic C.C. Banana, it was important to include all five members because “it was the big, long-awaited reunion so I wanted to include everybody who had ever been in the band.” In 2003, it was confirmed that activity had been halted due to Reb Beach’s touring commitment with Whitesnake as well as his solo album “Masquerade” and involvement with “super-group” project The Mob with King’s X frontman Doug Pinnick and Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy.

On July 16, 2005, it was announced that Kip Winger would perform as the lead singer for the Alan Parsons Live Project at the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing, Michigan. In May 2006, it was confirmed that Winger had reformed without one of its original members Paul Taylor, to record another album and tour Europe. The album, IV, was released in Europe in October and the nine-country “Winger IV Tour” ran in the last two weeks of the same month.

On February 25, 2008, the band performed in Providence, Rhode Island, as part of a benefit for survivors of the Station nightclub fire. The concert, along with other artists was debuted on VH1 Classic on March 23, 2008. In late 2009, it was confirmed that Winger would record a fifth album Karma, with a tour to support it.

Most recently, John Roth became the guitarist for Giant and would appear on their forthcoming album Promise Land then set for release in February/March of 2010.

Winger released their sixth studio album titled, Better Days Comin’ in April 2014, after teasers were published on Kip Winger’s website and on the official Winger Facebook page as well.

As of late 2018, Winger was playing club dates. On May 7th, Winger will be performing at Warehouse Live.

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Music News • March 2021

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Friday, April 2, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am The Abbey Pub 2002 N Fry Rd - Houston, TX 77084 Sunday, April 11, 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm The Hawg Stop Bar & Grill 11335 Sheldon Rd - Houston, TX 77044 Friday, April 16, 7:30 pm - 11:30 pm Bad S Icehouse 2315 FM 523 - Oyster Creek, TX 77541 Saturday, April 24, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am Backwoods Saloon 230 Lexington Ct. - Conroe, TX 77385 Saturday, May 1, 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm Woody’s Beach Bar 11149 Termimi San Luis Pass Rd Galveston, TX 77554 Friday, May 7, 8 pm - 12 Wild Hawgs Saloon 16908 Market St - Channelview, TX Saturday, May 8, 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm Jailhouse Saloon 310 Preston Ave - Spring, TX 77373 26 Music News • November 2020

Friday, May 14, 8:00 pm - 12:00 am Scotty’s Saloon 114 Agnes Rd - Richmond, TX 77469 Saturday, May 22, 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm Back Pew Brewing 26452 Sorters McClellan Rd - Porter, TX Sunday, May 30, 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm League Park FM 518 (Main St) and Park Ave - League City

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Surrender Stella

By James Lambs Remy and Seven Stella This month Icons at badassery would like to honor SURRENDER STELLA!!!!!!

Surrender Stella is a performance art industrial rock/pop band out of Houston Texas. The band was formed out of the desire to create a stage show that was shocking and dark. The early years of the band were full of ridiculous stage antics and debaucherous displays. It was a time strife full of excess and a time that something uniquely interesting happened. Surrender Stella began to be featured in Houstons “Music News” publication monthly and became a staple in the Houston music scene. Playing almost constantly in Houston and the surrounding areas. the band began to receive much larger opportunities, because of Surrender Stella’s Keyboardist Jay Lambs Remy who started “Circus of The Dark” an agency for models, photographers, radio hosts performance artists and other musicians to help connect Houston. Jay saw the lack of infrastructure that Houston had in the music scene so he created his own. We are even part of his own personal label that helps to grow emerging artists just like we were. Jay is now the number 1 radio show on rockrageradio.com and keeps doing more to help artists all over the world its amazing his love for it Surrender Stella began as a niche art project but after 3 years of constant shows, touring around America, and down right mayhem it started to take on a life of its own.

By 2018 The band was playing bigger festivals with bigger crowds than ever. They did a full American tour that year with Black 26 Music News • April 30 October 2021 2020

Oxygen. Both bands were dynamically different but somehow the collaboration worked out well. With their entry into sxsw in 2019 and their song Black Heart they caught the attention of the record industry.

In the August of 2019 Surrender Stella signed on with Curtain Call Records, shortly after they released their first single and music video “Black Heart” featuring Black Oxygen. The collaboration took place place in Nashville with David Lyle and Nick Lyle of Black Oxygen and Brett Hestla in the control room producing. The recording process for “Black Heart” went smoothly over 3 days and it was back to Texas to shoot the video. Surrender Stella shot the music video for “Black Heart” at Sugarhill studios in their hometown, Houston. Black Oxygen flew into Houston with video producer Adam Arnali and the shooting commenced.

“Black heart” was written about a tumultuous relationship with love and the song was much different than Surrender Stella’s previous work. Although it was a welcome change of pace. Previously Surrender Stella’s vocalist Seven had written about life’s vices, anger, control, victimhood and hate, but “Black Heart” seemed to come from a different place. It was a story of heartbreak most anyone could relate to.

After Curtain Call released “Black Heart” Surrender Stella toured relentlessly in the region. They also had a huge uptick of festival announcements and shows with much larger bands. Surrender Stella also started to gain a much larger following during this time.

The band that started as a niche art project two piece now had 6 members and a fan base.

Shit was getting weird. Also during this period fans saw the band tune down the stage antics quite a bit, but the crowds kept getting larger and the band kept getting better. Winning best live performance at Slm awards in Houston texas as well as Jay winning for his writing in news.

We truly had worked hard to earn it Just a little over a year later Surrender Stella ,like every other artist, was stuck in Houston because of the Covid pandemic.

So after realizing touring wasnt going to come back around for a while they went back to the studio to record three new singles.

“Ghosts Of My Past” was the first of the three. It was recorded at Seven’s house and the productions were finished at Matthew Nevitt’s, Inkei Studios. “Ghosts Of My Past” hit like a haunting memory of those we’ve lost. The track was written about mental health issues that encompass Alzheimer’s to addiction. The music video for it was shot by Thomas Crane of Killdevil Productions at Houston’s “Phobia Haunted Houses” and protrayed Surrender Stella inside of a demented mental hospital.

The lyrics combined with the visuals give the watcher an eerie feeling and it conveys a melancholic emotion, a feeling of being lost out in the wilderness of the mind without a tether to bring you back from the brink.

“Ghosts Of My Past” is still in its release cycle was a great step forward for the band.

The imagery was much darker than “Black Heart” but showed a more creative side to the band.

Surrender Stella has also finished the next single of the three which is called “Flawed Fatal Life”. It is about being in a toxic relationship that you just cant get away from. The band has also finished filming the music video. It is currently being edited so we are very looking forward to seeing the finished project. “Flawed Fatal Life” was also filmed by Thomas Crane at Phobia. each video had a lot of concepts that came from circus of the dark Jay and Seven really had a feel for concepts in each of these videos. Jay even brought in extra actors photographers masks props and more. The early shots and pictures from the shoot show another big step for the band. The stage show has seemingly come back finally! Between the neon colors used, the crazy costumes, and creepy lighting, the video should really be something different! It is with great honor to entitle Surrender Stella Thee Most Iconic Band Of Houston Texas Thank You For All Your Hard Work!

Icons at badassery

By Jay Lambs Remy Austin music scene.

Relocating from Houston in 2020 to accommodate the talents of new bassist Matt Metzger and former Monte Luna drummer Phil Hook, after a handful of rehearsals they found themselves in the enviable position of having twelve songs ready to commit to tape.

Undeterred by a series of COVIDrelated setbacks and lifted by Garney’s endless drive and guitarist Rusty Miller’s inspired new material, High Desert Queen finally completed recording of their debut album in September of this year.

High Desert Queen This month Icons At Badassery would like to honor HIGH DESERT QUEEN They are as hypnotic as the open roads that circle the Badlands and as imposing a presence on the desert landscape as you’re likely to find outside of Joshua Tree, High Desert Queen are an American rock band on the rise.

Formed in 2019 to an eclectic backdrop of influences and styles, as avid adopters of alt-rock progenitors Kyuss and Alice In Chains, the band’s sole aim was to make the kind of music they could file away on their record shelves, alongside the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Elder, Tom Waits and The 32

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Allman Brothers.

“We like the idea of creating ‘Texas Desert Rock’,” explains singer and guitarist, Ryan Garney. “Music that has its roots in blues, stoner rock and doom but most importantly of all, sounds like it’s from Texas.

Fortunately for us the creative process feels pretty easy since we don’t really care what kind of songs we write, as long as they have a groove and feel good.”

Providing high octane shows that never deliver the same experience twice, High Desert Queen were well on their way to establishing themselves as one of the hardest working rock bands on the

Much like their new storming new single ‘The Mountain vs the Quake’, which is an all-out, hard rock blunderbuss of heaviness and ambition; High Desert Queen’s debut album, Bury the Queen, will be officially released in early 2021. The Mountain vs The Quake was recently added to the circus of the dark radio shows favorite songs It is with great honor to entitle High Desert Queen as Icons At Badassery thank you very much for all your hard work!

Thursday, April 1 - James Wilhite & The Classix Friday, April 2 - Mike Zito Satuday, April 3 - Ricky Jackson Sunday, April 4 - Katie’s Jam with Ricky Jackson Thursday, April 8 - James Wilhite & The Classix Friday, April 9 - Mark May Saturday, April 10 - Sonny Wolf Sunday, April 11 - Katie’s Jam with Chris Castenada Thursday, April 15 - James Wilhite & The Classix Friday, April 16 - Sparky Parker Saturday, April 17 - Scott McGill Sunday, April 18 - Katie’s Jam with Jay Hooks Thursday, April 22 - James Wilhite & The Classix Friday, April 23 - Jay Hooks Saturday, April 24 - Paul Ramirz Sunday, April 25 - Katie’s Jam with Mark May Thursday, April 29 - James Wilhite & The Classix Friday, April 30 - Eric Demmer Saturday, April 31 - Jonn Del Toro Richardson Sunday, April 4 - Katies Jam

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Night Ranger Perform At Warehouse Live On May 8 With more than 17 Million albums sold worldwide, over 3500 live performances, and a radio audience that exceeds 1 Billion. Night Ranger has both epitomized and transcended the arena rock sound and style well beyond that era. With multiple songs that have significantly impacted popular culture, Night Ranger continue to expand their ever-growing fan-base. The band is proof that powerful songs, plus accomplished musicians is the perfect formula for continued success.

Night Ranger have earned widespread acclaim, that includes multi-platinum and gold album status while leaving their indelible mark on the music charts with a string of best-selling albums (Dawn Patrol, Midnight Madness, 7 Wishes, Big Life and Man In Motion). Their popularity is fueled by an impressive string of instantly recognizable hit singles and signature album tracks, including legendary titles such as “Sister Christian”, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”, “When You Close Your Eyes”, the anthemic “(You Can Still) Rock In America”, along with “Sentimental Street”, “Goodbye”, “Sing Me Away”, and “Four in the Morning”.

Over the years, the band’s music has made notable contributions to and been featured in many different areas of media and popular culture. The band was one of the first big “video” bands on MTV, with over ten number one hit videos. Night Ranger songs can be heard in TV Shows like, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, American Dad, Glee, Grey’s Anatomy, Parks & Recreation. The band have also had music featured in video games such as, Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Grand Theft Auto, plus hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages, the Oscar-Nominated film Boogie Nights, and other feature films such as Friday the 13th, Teachers, Sixteen Candles, and The Secret of My Success. Night Ranger can also be heard throughout JBL’s “Hear The Truth” brand campaign.

Night Ranger is Jack Blades (bass, vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums, vocals), Brad Gillis (lead & rhythm guitars), Eric Levy (keyboards) and Keri Kelli (lead & rhythm guitars).

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Starting April 22nd

Live Music Every Weekend

Eric Kaposta and friends April 2021 • Music News

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RANDOM SHOTS

Motley Krue (Motley Crue Tribute at Pub 529 (Photos by Jennifer Schmitz) April 2021 • Music News

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RANDOM SHOTS

B.C. Binge at Acadia Bar & Grill (Photos by Music News)

Hotel Diplomats at The 19th Hole (Photo by Music News) 38

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RANDOM SHOTS

Kidd Six At Pub 529 ( Photos By Rayven Radke) April 2021 • Music News

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RANDOM SHOTS

Jay Hooks Band At The Jailhouse Saloon (Photos by Music News)

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RANDOM SHOTS

Relevant Saints Performing at The BFE Rock Club (Photos By Alex Kohler) April 2021 • Music News

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RANDOM SHOTS

Live Mojo at Katie’s in Bacliff (Photos by Music News) 42

Music News • April 2021

RANDOM SHOTS

Brandon Ryder at Dosey Doe BBQ and Whiskey Bar (Photo By Michael Ford)

Iris Lane Performing At The Acadia Bar & Grill (Photo by Iris Lane)

The Weeds Perform At The Hawg Stop (Photos By Alex Lozano) April 2021 • Music News

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RANDOM SHOTS James Wilhite and The Classix at Katie’s In Bacliff James and the guys will be performing there every Thursday this Month!

Bourbon House Performing at Wildcatter’s Saloon (Picture by Rob Mendiola

The Almas Performing at Wildcatter’s Saloon (Picture by Rob Mendiola

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RANDOM SHOTS Stargazer (Rainbow Tribute Band) at The BFE Rock Club

April 2021 • Music News

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RANDOM SHOTS Kendall Mason Band Performs At The Acadia Bar And Grill (Pictures By Music News except*)

* Photo by Dodd Michael Lede 46

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RANDOM SHOTS

Dead Set Red at The BFE Rock Club (Photos by Jennifer Schmitz) April 2021 • Music News

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