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ART ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC

STEAM Magazine is published monthly by STEAM Maga-zine South Texas Entertainment Art Music in Corpus Christi, TX. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Views expressed within are solely the authors and not of STEAM Magazine. Typographical, photographic, and printing errors are unintentional and subject to correc-tion. Please direct all inquiries to: submissions@steamtx.com

CONTENTS JULY 2014 VOL. 3 ISS. 4

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

WWW STEAMMAGAZINE

NET

SOUTH TEXAS

12 ART BY

VERONICA KUMPF

22 AROUND TOWN

9 IN THE MOVIES

10 HOW HOT IS HOT?

16 DALE MARTIN

TROUBADOR INSIGHTS

18 3RD COAST FOODIE:

STINGRAYS TAP HOUSE & GRILL

8 JASON MEZILIS

BLACK BELT KARATE

11

TYLER MCCUMBER ROGUE MUSICIAN

17

SOUL ASYLUM

20 JOHN GAAR: SOUTHERN BLUES

ORIGINAL COVER ART BY

VERONICA KUMPF

PUBLISHER RUSTY HICKS EDITOR TAMMA HICKS STAFF WRITERS RICK BOWEN, DALE MARTIN, TAMMA HICKS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS J MICHAEL DOLAN, DEREK SIGNORE STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS ALLENE HICKS TO ADVERTISE WITH US 361-904-4339 SALES@STEAMTX.COM SEE US ONLINE AT WWW.STEAMMAGAZINE.NET WANT YOUR CD, BOOK, OR SHOW RE-VIEWED? HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SUBMISSIONS@STEAMTX.COM

ALWAYS

IN STEAM

QUICK READS 5 COMICS 6 CD REVIEWS 7

NEW RELEASES… CD 7 MOVIES 9 CALENDAR 15

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E 5 JULY 2014

LOST IN TRANSLATION

J. Michael Dolan (:43) The 2003 film was a commercial success, grossing almost $120 million from a budget of only $4 million. It also won director Sofia Coppola an Academy Award for “Best Original Screenplay.” An extraordinary script, which told the story of two people on the road to somewhere, seduced onto the road called uncertainty. An extremely familiar scenario for the pro artist & entrepreneur.

The road to victory is besieged with so many distractions, so may ups & downs, and so many unpredictable twists & turns. And as crazy, genius A&E’s, we get irritated sooner, frustrated faster, distracted constantly, and seduced off that road much quicker that others. Why? Because we’re a channel for a never-ending flow of exhausting creative think-ing, and an outlet for an annoying stream of wild ideas & unlimited possibilities, constantly flowing through us 24/7. And while others fran-tically thumb through the rulebook of protocol, the pro artist & entre-

preneur courageously defer to creativity, ingenuity and intui-tion to navigate the road of uncertainty. BUT IT ISN’T EASY!

That’s exactly why artist & treps need more support than others. No kidding! We need people who we trust to re-mind us who we are and where we’re headed—so we can remain steadfast, inside the “zone.” Heck, we often need an entire “support team” to keep us focused and on purpose!

Truth is, whether it’s one person or two, or whether it’s a friend, family member or a

monthly visit with a private coach—we just need trustworthy people who know the very “best of us,” what we’re really capable of, and have the audacity to consistently encourage us and point us in the right direction. And what do WE need to do? Trust them.

TODAY’S

FORECAST

J. Michael Dolan (:15)

When I was climbing the ladder, a five-year plan was im-portant. It was drilled into my brain that smart entrepreneurs make long term plans. Now that I’ve put the ladder in the

garage, I find that unless you’re beholden to shareholders, long-term plans are an illusion—at best a guess. And given the blinding speed at which our creative industry is changing, I place minimum value on future forecasting, and maximum attention on today’s forecast—what I’m rigorously committed to achiev-ing today, or this week, or this month, or this quarter.

“Planning too far in the future is simple guesswork.

The chain of destiny can only be forged one link at a time.”

C

O

M

I

C

S

E 6 JULY 2014

WANT MORE!

www.theawkwardyeti.com www.lunarbaboon.com

JOHN MAYALL & THE

BLUESBREAKERS

3 DISC SET

(EAGLE ROCK ENT.) In celebration of his 80th birth-day and over fifty years as an iconic bluesman Eagle Rock Entertainment re-issued in a single set for the first time three of John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers’ albums, Stories, Road Dogs, and In The Palace Of The King as a 3CD set. Mayall is indisputably one of the pioneers of British blues and true scholar of the art form, having tutored some of the most famous blues and blues rock musicians such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, and more. Stories + Road Dogs + In The Palace of The King serves as a must have for fans and serves as retrospective of his work in the last decade. “Stories, released in 2002, is a mix of original songs and classics that kicks off with the apt introduction to the set ‘Southside Story,’ a dra-matic recounting of first hearing Little Walter play the blues in Chicago and feeling his power. The rest of the fourteen song set is straight ahead blues classic such as ‘Dirty Water,’ mixed with inspired original tunes that pay tribute to Mayall’s beloved blues. Disc two Road Dogs from 2005, features fifteen original songs written by Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. The album begins with the self portrait of a seasoned traveling band led by then 72 year old Mayall who had been recently named The Godfather of British Blues was awarded an Order of the British Empire by The Queen's Honors. He continues his history lesson on the slinky blues “Short Wave Radio,’ name checking his heroes, Big Maceo, Blind Lemmon Jefferson, and Muddy, then delivering his own epitaph “No one understood me but the blues was showing me where to go,” in his patented throaty drawl. Other highlights include the easy going country fueled ‘To Heal The Pain,’ that features some fine fiddle playing from Dale Morris Jr. An appearance by then fourteen year old Eric Steckel marks yet another young gun guitarist learning from the master. Finally, 2007’s In The Palace Of The King is a stunning tribute to the late, great Freddie King. Joining Mayall and the Blues Breakers for the session that remarkably recorded fourteen songs in four days was super star guitarist and fellow Cannonball aficionado Robben Ford add-ing his impeccable tone finesse to every track. The album includes loving takes on classic and favorites including a searing guitar duel on ‘Going Down,’ and the burning title track fueled by a hot horn section. The playful funk “Big Legged Woman,’ is a must have tune and Ford’s tribute to Mr. King ‘Cannonball Shuffle,’ in-cludes some of Mayall’s signature harmonica. The closing track, a rousing take on ‘Living On The Highway,’ has him delivering a line written by King but lived by Mayall “the years have come and gone, but the blues keep going strong, I always sing these songs for fun.” In 2008 the “Blues Breakers’ name was retired by Mayall , this three disc set serves as loving encore to what was achieved by the these real life Road Dogs.

http://www.johnmayall.com

By Rick Bowen, twitter.com/rickbowen

SLIM BAWB AND THE FABULOUS STUMPGRINDERS GRISTLE AND GRITS

(SWAMPGRASS RECORDS) After 40 years as a professional musician, including 20 years in the band Beer Dogs, Bob “Slim Bawb” Pearce, has developed a reputation as a

Cajun-country musician capable of playing any-

thing with strings, even while using an alligator skull! His newly formed band, Slim Bawb and the Fabulous Stumpgrinders have been together for less time than it takes a Hollywood starlet to get a drunken marriage annulled, but listening to their first album, Gristle and Guts, you would never guess it. Already regular performers in New Braunfels and Greune, these guys have a jam-packed summer filled with shows all over the state, including Bastrop, Austin, and Galveston. Their debut album features 10 original tracks: eight written by Bawb and two written by accordion, harmonica, keys, and vocalist, “Lil” Howard Yeargen. With Jay Warren on drums, rounding off the trio, the effect is a lively amalgamation of Cajun-country tracks that vacillate from funk to folk, with a little bit of everything in between. Bawb’s raspy voice, reminiscent of Steppenwolf’s John Kay, is perfectly juxtaposed with the clean banjo picking and accordion play-ing on tracks like “Journeyman” and “Too Many Irons in the Fire.” The album’s title track, “Gristle and Guts” is a heart-wrenching blues riff that Bawb wrote about his grandson after he was hit by a drunk driver. In the track, “Job Job,” Bawb bypasses the pedestrian topics of relationships like break-ups and cheating and gets right to the meat of problems - ladies always nagging their men to get a better job! Although the song isn’t stylistically complex, you can’t help but enjoy his lamenting over his employ-ment status, his repetitive lyrics almost echoing the obvious nagging. My favorite track, “Red Neck Riveria,” sums up the feel of the life on the Gulf Coast. It’s a smooth ballad with a sound reminiscent of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight,” that is so romantic that you can’t help but think back to that long-lost summer love. Now the only question is, when will these guys be playing at the real “Red Neck Rivera?” Hopefully soon.

WWW.SLIMBAWB.COM

By Rachel Mills, STEAM Magazine

M 7 STEAMMAGAZINE.NET

CDCD REVIEWSREVIEWS

Jason Mezilis

STEAM We met in 2006 when you were on tour with Your Horrible Smile. The two things that stick out in my mind were your awesome long hair and your nick name. So when did you cut your hair and do you still go by Jason “the Great”?

JM I do. I found that ego can serve you well in the right situation. Rock n roll without ego would be a pretty bor-ing thing. As for the hair, I cut it when I moved to Hollywood. I saw an old vid-eo of one of my shows and I thought I look like early 90’s Soundgarden; which looked great back then, but not now. I was really afraid to cut it at first, be-cause I’d had long hair for so long that it had become almost a security blan-ket but I knew I needed something fresh and I haven’t regretted it for even two seconds. It’s also improved my dating life.

STEAM Ah yes, girls have a thing about dating guys with better hair. (laughing) What bands are you currently in?

JM Black Belt Karate (BBK) is my band, my vision. I’ve drawn together the best musicians I can to serve my vision. Basically BBK is my sound from the last 13 years or so finally coming out of the speakers. And I feel very proud to be able to say that. So that’s BBK. I joined Owl, which is Chris Wyse’s (The Cult) vision, and my role in that band is to bring my ingredient to his recipe, if that makes any sense. When I’m with Owl it’s a different sound for me and approach. I’m playing with the one of the most amazing bass players and drummers (Dan Dinsmore [The Clay People]) that you could hope for in a band. This is a band pushes me hard to be a better musician too, from my performance caliber. I am also a player and not producer or engineer, so it puts me back into the performer only state which is kind of refreshing as it allows me different freedoms.

STEAM How did you get involved with Owl?

JM Chris asked me to come in and play guitar on the first album, Owl (2007). I didn’t know I was part of the band until I saw it in print, so it was as much a surprise for me as it was for everyone else. I had told him that if he needed me I’d be happy to be part of it. Another friend of ours, Eric Bradley, played on the album with me and then Eric wasn’t available, he was working

on another project, so I got move into the first chair so to speak;

it was a pretty inter-

Words By Tamma Hicks, STEAM Mag.; Photos Provided By Black Belt Karate

FACEBOOK.COM BlackBeltKarate & Organic-Audio-Recorders

WEB www.bbkofficial.com,

www.organicaudiorecorders.com MUSIC

A New Song Released Every Month!

F O R M I N G H I S V I S I O N B L A C K

B E L T

K A R A T E

Ryan Brown, Drummer; Harry Ostrem, Bassist; Ryan Hanifl, Lead Singer; Jason Mezilis, Guitarist

esting surprise.

STEAM That’s very cool. Tell me about the guys in BBK. I know that Ryan (former lead singer for YHS) is your lead singer.

JM Yeah, Ryan Hanifl is the lead sing-er, we reconnected after o number of years apart and I found that I wasn’t going to find anyone better to work with, so we reinstated our working relationship and we found a new focus based off what we did before. So this new band is a more focus version of the initial work we did years ago. And with the best rhythm section that mon-ey can buy; can’t buy frankly.

Ryan Brown and I have been friends and played in a number of projects together and he’s always been so busy as a sessions player that it never oc-curred to me to invite him to my band. One day we happen to be at the Viper Room, Ryan (lead singer) and I just started writing songs together, and I

saw the two Ryans talking and I saw the mutual respect that they had for each other. These are two

of the best play-ers I knew, so when I saw this

communication I knew that this was my band because I could see

that they could get my message across. Harry Ostrem was recommended by another bass player, Greg Coates who is one of the best bass players in Los Angeles and I also knew he wasn’t available and I could trust the direction he pointed me in. So Harry’s audition was that I invited him over for a BBQ with about 20 of my friends and asked them what they thought of Harry; which was all good, I said great, he’s in. We didn’t even play music until the end of the night, but by that time I’d already decided he was the guy. It was really vibe first and music second, be-cause when you’re with this caliber of players everyone knows you can play, that’s not the issue. The issue is can you find people you can work with, so every time I’m on stage I feel very blessed to be there with these guys.

STEAM How did you choose BBK for a band name?

JM One of the first songs we wrote was BBK. It was the first song we played live and it was a throwaway lyric that our singer was working on and still nobody knows what the hell it meant, but I was talking with the drummer and made the comment that it would make a good band name and he gave me that look where you have M 8

STEAMMAGAZINE.NET

that little spark. That’s when I realized it had that there was electrici-ty with energy behind the name and our feeling is that our music has that same immediacy with it. Everyone liked BBK and so we went with it. I think it translates well and it doesn’t stick with any specific style. It’s always had to come up with a good, unique name that doesn’t define just one song or style.

STEAM Do you write a lot of the songs for BBK?

JM It’s a good collaboration between me and the singer, Ryan. He’ll write the words, then he and I will put the melody and mu-sic to it and we’ll present it to Ryan and Harry in a rough record-ing. We’ll take that together and turn it from a stereo-sounding demo with drum-machine tracks and my terrible bass playing into a real high energy progressive garage rock that we do. I’m sure that at some point this formula will change, but for now that’s how it works. Everyone in BBK is very equal, so we all have a say.

STEAM OK, you told me about your writing process, but I be-lieve you, BBK, are doing something that’s a little stand out from the rest. What is that?

JM True, BBK is putting out a new song every month in 2014, so check out iTunes, our website, and our facebook! We’re also planning to take a good 10 days to tour in Au-gust, either going up the west coast or out towards the east. We’re still booking gigs, so watch for updates and information on the website and facebook.

STEAM The songs and music I have heard are just great! So be-sides the BBK and OWL projects, I understand you are the music pro-ducer for the upcoming movie “The Last Beat”.

JM The movie is loosely based on Jim Morrison’s final days. Basically we’re record-ing all the music for the sound track and the music the band will be performing in the mov-ie and releasing, either as an EP or a full length album, in conjunction with the movie. All that work is being recorded at my studio through the console, using simi-lar microphones and equipment to what they would have used. I don’t have all the equipment so they are bringing some in, but we’re recording it all on analog tape. Part of the reason they chose Organic Audio Record-ers is because I still record on tape.

STEAM That leads perfectly to your stu-dio. So are you all ana-log or do you work with digital records too?

JM It’s an analog-digital hybrid and it’s different for every pro-ject. For example, with BBK we record the mu-sic on tape in a couple performances and then transfer it to the com-puter for some minor editing, then record the vocals, and take it back through the console again. It’s a good bal-

CONTINUED ON

PAGE 21

Rock n roll Rock n roll

without ego without ego

would be a would be a

pretty boring pretty boring

thing. thing.

E 9 JULY 2014

Lydia Blanco Garza was a professional TV and film actress in Hollywood for 10 years. She is now Corpus Christi's first casting director in town. She casts feature films, commercials, print work, and TV. For more information, visit www.LydiaBlancoGarza.com

I get many people approaching me on the daily wanting to know how to break into this very competitive business we call “Show Busi-ness”. Let me tell you, it’s ain’t easy. But I can say, from experience, that if you are per-sistent, driven, a hard worker, and someone who is proactive, you can make your dream into reality. First off, you need to think of yourself as a product. If this is called “Show Business” then your business is selling a product - “yourself”. Your image is your packaging. Knowing who you are and how to sell yourself is key. Learn how to be a master Marketer. That includes creating a business logo ­ your head-

WITH LYDIA BLANCO GARZAWITH LYDIA BLANCO GARZA

shot. Your headshot represents you to people who do not know you. So it definitely needs to look like you ­ on a good day, and professional. I think it’s great that your best friend dabbles in photography, but you should invest in your career if you expect your career to make you money. So please, make sure a good profes-sional headshot is one of the first things you acquire for your business. All of your market-ing materials (business cards, postcards, re-sume, etc) also represent you, so make sure they are repre-senting you well. And most importantly, make sure your product is a good product to sell! That means training, training, TRAINING! No

one wants to buy a shiny beautiful product that doesn’t work or is broken. And make sure that if you contact anyone through email, you set up a professional e m a i l a c c o u n t a n d n o t “sexkittenofthe90s@hotmail.com”. Just saying. And finally, know your customers! Your customers are the ones who buy your prod-uct, so in this case, your customers are the casting directors who will hire you! It’s important that they know your product ex-ists and realize it is something they want to buy. And above all, do your research. Know who is casting what. Make sure you make a target list of shows or types of films or work you’d like to book, and get to know those casting directors. How do you get to know them? You market to them. You take classes and workshops they offer. You give them every opportunity to see your product in action. I never realized just how important market-ing and business is to an acting career, until I threw myself into Hollywood and I had to sink or swim. Once you realize you need to lay the foundation of your career, and equip yourself with the knowledge of how busi-ness works, YOUR business will flourish. So know your product, make sure it works better than any other product just like it on the market, and market it to anyone who could possibly buy it. And that’s the business of show, baby!

SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ACTOR?

Excerpted from GRIT, Celebrating Rural America Since 1882. To read more articles from GRIT, please visit www.Grit.com or call (866) 624-9388 to sub-scribe. Copyright 2014 by Ogden Publications Inc.

E 10 JULY 2014

Last summer was a scorcher across much of the US, with temperatures near or exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit for days and weeks on end. Here are some cool facts to help you cope with the lazy, hazy days of summer.

Ever wondered why the weeks from early July through early September are called the “Dog Days” of summer? The name comes from the ancient belief that when Sirius, also known as the Dog Star – the brightest star in Earth’s night sky – came in close proximity to the sun, it was responsible for extremely hot weather.

How hot is hot? Hot enough to fry the bill off a woodpecker? Or hot enough to fry an egg? The Everyday Mysteries website of the Library of Congress says it takes a skillet temperature of 158 F to fry an egg in the kitchen. But what about frying an egg in the direct sunlight? One informal study showed that a raw egg placed in a skillet with cooking oil can fry to a firm consistency in about 20 minutes in direct sunlight when the skillet temperature reached 135 F.

A couple summers ago, the folks at AccuWeather in State Col-lege, Pennsylvania, conducted an informal experiment to measure the surface temperature of several objects on a 100-degree day. They found that blacktop asphalt reached a temperature of 149, while a concrete sidewalk warmed up to 143, and the temperature of sand rose to 130 degrees. A light-colored car achieved a surface temperature of 136, while a dark-colored car reached 168.

What about the interior of your car on a hot day? Studies show that interior temperatures can ex-ceed 125 F within just 20 minutes, climbing to 140 in less than an hour. That’s why it’s impera-tive that children and pets are not left inside a car during summer months, even for just a minute or two, and even if the windows are left cracked or rolled down.

The human body has between 2.5 and 3 million sweat glands, which help us cool down in extreme heat. Cows, on the other hand, mainly have sweat glands in their noses and around their shoulders, while dogs and cats have sweat glands in the pads of their feet.

Pigs have no sweat glands, which is why they wallow in mud holes; the cool, muddy water protects their sensitive skin. Horses have the most sweat glands of any domestic animal – even more than a human. A horse subjected to an intense workout can lose as much as 10 to 15 quarts of sweat in an hour.

Chickens are prone to heat stress during periods of high heat and humidity, especially heavier and older birds. Broilers may stop gain-ing weight in hot weather, and layers may stop producing eggs. While chick-ens can’t sweat, the blood that flows through their combs and wattles helps them regulate their body temperature. Chickens also cool down in hot weather by panting, drinking more water, and taking dust baths.

Photo Credit: http://blog.osgbilling.com Dogs, cats, sheep and cows also pant in hot weather. The saliva in their mouth wets the area, and as the drawn-in air flows across the animal’s tongue, it helps cool the body temperature. Since cows can’t turn up the air conditioning, and because they have few sweat glands to help them bear hot temperatures, you’ll often see cows standing knee- or chest-deep in pas-ture ponds and streams. Cows exposed to extreme heat eat less, and dairy cows pro-duce less milk. That’s why many dairymen

equip their dairies with misters, allowing the herd to stand un-der a cooling spray of water. Cattle without access to a mister or a pond will seek shade under trees or an open-sided loafing shed.

Experts say livestock can require twice as much water as usual in extreme heat. That means a 1,200-pound cow that normally consumes 10 or 15 gallons of water per day may need up to 30 gallons on an extremely hot day. A 200-pound pig that normally consumes 2.5 gallons of water daily may require 5 gallons, and a feeder lamb that typically drinks 1.5 gallons of water may very well drink as much as 3 gallons dur-ing extreme heat. And speaking of animal drinking habits, did you know that a camel can go weeks with-

out water, but can drink up to 25 gal-lons of water at one time?

We humans also need to increase the amount of water we consume in extremely hot weather. A person who’s exercising or engaging in hard physical labor on a hot day can lose between 1 and 3 quarts of water to sweat. Experts recommend consuming 20 ounces of

water before going outside, and drinking another cup of water every 15 minutes

while working out in the heat. While a glass of iced tea or a cold beer may sound appeal-ing during a heat wave, beer actually dehy-

drates your body, and drinks containing caf-feine aren’t recommended.

Extreme temperatures are dangerous to livestock and humans alike. The Centers for Disease Control reports that about 6,000 people in the U.S. go to the emergency room each year

with heat-related illnesses, and that extreme heat kills an average of 675 Americans annually.

However, no matter how hot it gets in your backyard, it could be worse. According to data from

www.ClimateData.com, the world heat record was set in 1922 when temperatures in El Azizia, Libya, hit 136 F. Here at home, the all-time heat record was set in 1913 in Death Valley, California, when the thermometer read 134 F – and that’s just about hot enough to fry the bill off a woodpecker!

From GRIT magazine, by Jerry Schleicher

CRAZY a Memoir is about the author's adventures as an international drug

smuggler during the 70's and 80's when he was one of the largest weed importers

in South Texas.

Available At: Surf Club Records, CC TX; BookPeople, Austin TX; www.Amazon.com; and

www.CrazyAMemoir.com

"Dear God..! What a ride I have been on!...

I'm ready for the sequel!" Gerre S, preacher's wife

This is The Book for You!

’

&

SHOW INFO: Stoney LaRue’s 4th of July Concert

@ Hill Country Fair Grounds in Junction TX

WEB: www.facebook.com/tylermccumbermusic

Words By Tamma Hicks, STEAM Mag.

Photo By Mike Galloway.

Savannah Johnson with Tyler | Photo By Robin McCumber

Photo By Robin McCumber.

You never know what or who you’re going

to find in a little town. At the bottom of Live Oak County, just before the Nueces River meets Lake Corpus Christi, in Dinero TX is where you’ll find Tyler McCumber and his family; where they have lived for what seems like forever, in fact the land came out of a Spanish land grant. Now you’ve probably heard of Tyler, his first album Catch Me in 2006 was nominated for three 2007 Texas Music Awards and Mike McClure won Producer of the Year for his work. Not bad for a starting point.

STEAM How did you get into music?

TM My earliest thoughts of me and music are when I

was three or four, standing beside my mama in the front of the car listening to the radio. Mind you this was back before seatbelt and child-seat laws. My parents work for some people that had a big venue, back when those were the big thing. It was in Skidmore TX and they had horse races, skeet shoots, rodeos and they also had big shows like Charlie Pride, Loretta Lynn, and Hank Jr when he was just getting started. I would be with them in the greenroom, on their buses; I even got on stage with Charlie Pride. I was always attracted to that and was given the access to that which I probably shouldn’t have been. I was kind of the pet of the venue owner, so look-ing back I was possibly forced on these people, but they knew I was OK from the get-go. There were return visits from those people and they would ask about me, so it was a pretty cool experience.

In going to high school and growing up in George West mu-sic wasn’t that important and carrying a guitar wasn’t macho, so I’m a late bloomer. In fact I feel I’m still learning to play guitar and I didn’t start writing music and putting the whole troubadour thing together until my early 30’s. It’s like learning to skateboard when

you’re 30 – there’s a learning curve. There are so many guys now that are really good because they started at a young age, but you know when I was in high school a guitar tutor was $1,000 now you can get someone for twenty bucks.

STEAM Can you tell me about your latest album,

the Saracene Sessions Tape 1?

TM Chisum Mills is a good friend of mine and he has

introduced me to just about all the players I know and they are all high caliber players; Tony Saracene is no exception. When I met him about six years ago and he was living in a house-studio in San Antonio. This was after the “Catch Me” record, I had more material and I knew I couldn’t spend $50,000 on a new record, but I wanted to get my stuff recorded; that’s when Tony was recommended. We started with recordings at his house-studio and as time progressed so did our friendship and it was more feasible for him to move south with us. He lived with us for about two and a half years and the Sara-cene Sessions are a result of that time. There are 30 songs that we’ve whittled down to 20 and are releasing them in a two part collection. Tony’s playing with Ty Dietz now.

STEAM Who is the cute little kid pictured on the

cover?

TM That’s my granddaughter, thanks for asking.

When we put this record out we did it a little faster than I prefer – I had sold out a venue and really wanted to make sure we had a product to sell, so the picture is one I would have used anyway, but I would have made it so we

didn’t need such big borders around it.

STEAM On track 10, Nine Days, how did you come

up with someone crying for that? I ask because the first time I heard it I ran through the house looking for

“when I was in high school a guitar tutor

was $1,000”

someone crying only to find out it was on the record. (laughing)

TM I don’t know, is it too much? That song was written when I

was trying to get my music into movies. I was going along the lines of Willy Nelson’s Red Headed Strange album – I wanted to read a movie script and write towards that. Now you need to know that as a musician I’m rouge, not schooled, so the guy I was working with and I were having a communication prob-lem – he thought I wanted to score a movie as in Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark when I really wanted to write a dark and spooky song. So I wrote Nine Days and we rec-orded it in one take and as you listen to the girl crying you can hear me counting off. When we M 11

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A 14 FACEBOOK/STEAMTX

wanted to meet people and maybe make a friend or two, so I sent my resume and non-

profit background to ABS hoping they could use my help; I've been serving with them ever since. I've become very good friends with one of its board members and he's introduced me to a lot of fine people. My love for artists and what they do have profound impact on my work...both my philanthropic endeavors and my artwork. Being president of the ABS takes a lot of my time, too much sometimes. It takes me away from painting to write emails, go to meetings, manage membership databases,

etc. I hope to transition off and devote more time to my art, but I am dedicated to getting some goals accomplished for the music community. It's all a balancing act.

STEAM You are about to graduate UT with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree – what does the future hold for you?

VK My dream? MFA program in Berlin and many happy years working in and ex-ploring New York City. Because of my business background, I see myself in some

Continued from Page 13

Right: Veronica Kumpf posing with Crucified Femme Below: Miss Lavelle White

“I don’t think I can do another portrait of him, I’m afraid

I’d fall in love”

kind of arts management, I'm not sure if that would be a gallery, a school, I don't know... But at least I have options and the options must remain in the arts.

STEAM Where is your work on display now?

VK I'll be showing in early 2015 at New East Arts Gallery in Austin. Sky-lark Lounge, who participated in Big Medium's art tour, EAST, has invited me to show during the next tour in November. I currently do not have gallery representation; my roommates would probably say we live in a gallery. Some select works can be seen on my website at www.veronicakumpffinearts.com.

Check Us Out Online!

www.SteamMagazine.Net And Take Us With You!

ENTERTAINMENT DEEP SEA ROUND-UP FISHING TOURNEY, 7/11 & 12, PORT ARANSAS

THE MONSTER JAM 7/19-20, AMERICAN BANK CENTER CC TX

THE KINGS SHOWCASE III 7/26 SPEEDY’S SPORTS BAR, BISHOP TX

CCORPUS CHRISTI HOOKS, CHECK THEIR WEBSITE FOR GAME SCHEDULE, @ WHATABURGER FIELD CORPUS CHRISTI

ART FIRST FRIDAY ARTISTS RECEPTION 7/4 PORT ARANSAS ART CENTER, 323 N ALISTER, PORT ARANSAS

FIRST FRIDAY ARTWALK 7/4 DOWNTOWN CORPUS CHRISTI

MUSIC HOUSE OF ROCK, 322 STARR ST, CORPUS CHRISTI TUESDAYS OPEN MIC, WEDNESDAYS BEER SCHOOL, 7/4 GUITARS OF CORPUS CHRISTI, 7/9 CC7D KICKOFF, 7/12 MORBID ANGEL AND GUESTS, 7/13 SONGWRIT-ERS CIRCLE, 7/28 9-YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY, 7/31 NOTHING MORE

GIGGITY’S, 722 TARPON ST, PORT ARANSAS SEE OUR AD FOR A FULL SCHEDULE! 7/4 STEWART MANN & THE STATESBORO REVUE, 7/5 TODD DORN & THE SEA DRIFTERS, 7/11 MATT HOLE & THE HOT ROD GANG,

7/12 ALOHA DAVE & THE TOUR-ISTS, 7/18 JAKE WARD & THE COAST RIDERS, 7/19 SHELLEY KING BAND, 7/25 NEIL AUSTIN IMBER, 7/26 MIKE MILLIGAN & THE ALTER BOYS

SHORTY’S, 823 TARPON ST, PORT ARANSAS SEE OUR AD FOR A FULL SCHEDULE! 7/4 INDEPEND-ENT THIEVES, 7/5 UEL JACKSON, 7/11 TIFFANY, 7/12 HOLD FAST FABLES, 718 STEVIE START, 7/19 JOHN CORTEZ, 7/25 BILLY SNIPES, 7/26 PETE DEVLIN & TEXAS MOON

THEO’S BILLIARDS, 5815-B WE-BER RD, CORPUS CHRISTI 7/5 UFC 175

THEO’S BONESHAKERS, 4528 WEBER RD, CORPUS CHRISTI WEDNESDAYS AN EVENING WITH ELVIS; THURSDAYS OPEN MIC; 7/5 UFC 175

FRONTIER SALOON, 9709 LEOP-ARD ST, CORPUS CHRISTI 7/12 JOHN CORTEZ; 7/19 TY DIETZ; 7/26 BEAU WALKER BAND, 7/30 OPEN MIC WITH DUKE E BROWN

BREWSTER STREET ICE HOUSE, 1724 N TANCAHUA, CORPUS CHRISTI SEE OUR AD FOR A FULL SCHEDULE! 7/5 2014 GREAT TEX-AS GRAPE STOMP, 7/16 & 17 CODY JOHNSON, 7/18 DJ PALOO-ZA—ZUMBA CRASH TOUR AFTER PARTY, 7/24 JOHN WOLFE, 7/31 BART CROW

DR ROCKIT’S BLUES BAR, 709 N CHAPARRAL ST, CORPUS CHRISTI 7/16 25TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY & RIBBON CUTTING!!! SEE OUR AD FOR A FULL SCHEDULE! 7/2 RENO & GROOVE GETTERS, 7/4 TY DIETZ, 7/5 ANOTHER LEVEL, 7/6 ROCKAHOLICS, 7/9 JOHN CORTEZ, 7/11 JOHNNY LOVE REGGAE, REVUE, 7/18 RUBEN V, 7/19 PALACIOS BROTHERS, 7/23 RENO & GROOVE GETTERS, 7/24 7/25 STARLIGHT AND THE MOONBEAMS, 7/26 THE DEBRA SCOTT AND RUDY LLANES BAND

STINGRAY’S TAP HOUSE & GRILL, 401 BEACH ST, PORT ARANSAS SEE OUR AD FOR A FULL SCHED-ULE! 7/3 RAE ANNE & THE RIDE7/5 THEIVING BIRDS, 7/6 JOHN ERIC, 7/11 PASSING STRANGERS, 7/12 KIMBERLY DUNN, 7/17 JOHN ERIC, 7/18 THE WALTER MITTY BAND, 7/19 THREE WAY STREET, 7/24 JOHN BOYD, 7/25 ABBI WALKER, 7/26 MELISSA BROOKE BAND E 15

JULY 2014

Though they are a Miami band, The Mavericks have very close ties to the Lone Star State. In the early 90’s, Texas hosted many club and dancehall shows featuring this talented 5-piece group. I first met them at a gig in Poteet, Texas at the annual Strawber-ry Festival. They arrived in a leased tour bus that had seen better days. They had the opening slot for Shawn Camp, so when their set was done, they had some time to kill. Robert convinced Jerry Dale to take a 10 minute helicopter ride while Raul simply shook his head, saying ‘No way’ to all of us standing nearby. Later that night, I gave Robert a ride to San Antonio to meet his soon to be wife Trisha Yearwood. We even got stopped by a DPS trooper that instead of writing me a ticket, drew me a detailed map of how to get Robert to Trisha’s hotel. This year, they are celebrating 25 years as a band and are cur-rently on their Twenty-five Live Tour. They made a few stops in Texas back in April and will be back for a two night stand at Gruene Hall on July 17 and 18. Tickets are still available for the July 17 show but the show on July 18 is sold out. Except for a brief hiatus in 2004, the band still consists of its four primary members: Raul Malo on vocals and guitar, Robert Reynolds on bass, Paul Deakin on drums and Jerry Dale McFadden on keyboards. Eddie Perez took over guitar duties for past member Nick Kane. The Maver-

icks have such a love affair with Gruene Hall that they filmed the “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” video inside the historic venue. Award winning singer songwriter Wade Bowen proudly hosted his 16th Annu-al Bowen Classic celebrity golf tournament and concert on June 1st and 2nd, benefitting

the Bowen Family Foun-dation. The event was held in his hometown of Waco, TX, and featured friends and fellow artists who helped to raise funds and awareness for foun-dation. This year’s record-breaking event raised more than a quarter of a million dollars with the help of approximately 4,000 fans, friends and locals who came out to support the cause. “What an amazing year!” said Bowen, “I still cannot believe how great every-thing went and the turn-out we had. Waco and its surrounding communities have really jumped on board and supported this event like I never imag-ined. The jam was proba-bly the most fun I've ever had on stage with some of my best friends! I truly cannot wait until next year to do it all over again!" The event, which kicked

off with an all-star concert on June 1, fea-tured Bowen and a cast of friends and fellow country music artists, included Kevin Fowler, Mark Chesnutt, Randy Rogers, Pat Green, Stoney LaRue, Whiskey Myers, William Clark Green, and Cody Canada & The Departed. On June 2, the two-day event ended with a sold out record breaking attended golf tour-nament at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. Bowen has raised more money every year, continuing to set the bar higher each time. After this year’s event, Bowen is closing in on

raising one million dollars for various local organizations in need. The Bowen Family Foundation was established by Wade Bowen and family so that funds raised could be shared with many different organizations in need each year. San Antonio’s legendary Aztec Theatre and Live Nation, the world’s largest live enter-tainment company, have announced that House of Blues Entertainment (HOBE), a division of Live Nation, will partner in the booking of the Aztec Theatre’s con-certs. The agreement will place the Aztec Theatre in the same booking routes as the Dallas and Houston House of Blues loca-tions, but also allows the Aztec Theatre staff to book concerts independently, as well as, work with local and regional promoters and rent the venue for private events. “This partnership is a real game-changer for us, we are very excited to be working with HOBE,” said Sam Panchevre, Executive Director of the Aztec Theatre. “San Antonio will imme-diately reap the benefits of a new level of live music at the Aztec.” “This is an iconic venue with an amazing history in an abso-lutely ripe music market,” said Ron Bension, Chief Executive Officer of HOBE. “We’re going to respect its uniqueness and add to its luster going forward.” The deal is expected to assist the Aztec in bringing a wide variety of high-quality entertainment to the San Antonio market. Built in 1926, the 1600 seat Aztec Theatre is a notable example of the impressive exotic-theme motion picture palaces constructed in the United States during the economic boom of the 1920s. A massive two-ton chandelier dominates the theater lobby. The chandelier was installed the same day the stock market crashed in 1929. In September of 2013, PHH Enter-tainment Ventures LLC signed a long-term lease to turn the Aztec into a multi-purpose entertainment facility. After over $8 million in privately funded renovations, the Aztec re-opened its doors in February 2014 and has hosted such acts as Buddy Guy, Drive-By Truckers and George Thorogood and the Destroyers.

www.martinsmusic.com

San Antonio/New Braunfels/San Marcos/Austin

RESERVE NOW FOR

SUMMER VACATIONS!

With Dale Martin

Troubadour Insights

THE NORTH END

STEAM PICKS FOR JULY

ENTERTAINMENT

* TARZAN THE MUSICAL WOODLAWN THEATRE, SAN ANTONIO 6/20-7/20 * BRAUNTEX HAS TALENT BRAUNTEX THEATRE, NEW BRAUNFELS 7/17 * PSYCHO BEACH PARTY THE CITY THEATRE, AUSTIN 6/27-7/13

ART

* SUMMER SELECTIONS FLATBED GALLERY, 2832 E MLK BLVD, AUSTIN JUNE 17-SEPTEMBER 13

MUSIC

* WHITE WATER AMPHITHEATER, FM 306, NEW BRAUNFELS 7/19 JOURNEY & STEVE MILLER BAND * STUBB’S, 801 RED RIVER, AUSTIN 7/11 LINDSEY STIR-LING, 7/18 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

* SAXON PUB, 1320 S LAMAR, AUSTIN SUNDAYS THE JOHN GAAR, MONDAYS LONELYLAND, 7/4 MISS LAVELLE WHITE’S BIRTHDAY BBQ * GRUENE HALL, 1281 GRUENE RD, NEW BRAUNFELS 7/5 TEXAS TORNADOS, 7/11 BOB SCHNEIDER, 7/17 & 18 THE MAVERICKS * TAVERN IN THE GRUENE, 830 GRUENE RD, NEW BRAUNFELS 7/4 3 MAN FRONT. TUESDAYS ZACK WAL-THER & THE BLOOMS FOLLOW ROOTS & BRANCHES. * THE BACKYARD LIVE OAK AMPHITHEATER, AUSTIN 7/4 & 5 THE 512 FEST * CHEATHAM STREET WAREHOUSE, 119 CHEATHAM ST, SAN MARCOS WEDNESDAYS SONGWRITER’S CIR-CLE, 7/11 RODNEY PARKER & 50 PESO REWARD, 7/24 GEORGE JONES TRIBUTE * THE BARRIBA CANTINA, 111 CROCKETT ST, SAN AN-TONIO SUNDAYS THE STEP ASIDE BAND, THURSDAYS WILL OWEN GAGE, 7/18 RENO & THE GROOVE GET-TERS, 7/26 INFIDELS

E 16 JULY 2014

SHOW INFO 7.10.14 @ Pharr Events Center

Pharr, TX www.soulasylum.com

weird trip that does take you down memory lane; in the weirdest

possible lane.

STEAM: What is it like to condense such emotion into such a small

three or four minute timeframe?

SA: It does have the feeling of pushing everything into a meat grind-er. It’s a lot of throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks. Some songs come to me in a matter of minutes; some take a matter of months. With the latest album I was surprised to see how quickly things came together. The flow is exciting; you want to always be close to the studio because you never know when that moment hits

you.

can ever re-manifest itself. Mostly it was sort of a restlessness and frustration with the world we were living in. It’s not so trendy to be suicidal anymore, which is a positive thing. I did my fair share of bitch-ing and moaning, but I’ve always tried to have a beginning, middle

and an end of the sentiment.

STEAM: With the 20 year anniversary of Grave Dancer’s Union you decided to perform the album in its entirety for one night only. As the current trend is to tour specific albums right now will we possibly see

a ‘Grave Dancer’s Union” tour in the future?

SA: We’ve talked about it because some of the older records

were performed at a time when we actually had no idea what we were doing so to have an opportunity to re-perform some of those songs would give me an opportunity to perform them how I always wanted to but never did on the record. Grave Dancer’s Union was kind of a turning point for the band in terms of execution. Performing it that night was a testimonial to how good the band has gotten. It’s a

STEAM: With the latest release we saw the departure of Dan Mur-phy. During the recording process of the album were you aware that

Dan was going to be leaving the band?

SA: Yes towards the end of the recording process he made his inten-tions clear that he decided to leave. His cousin Justin Sharbobo came on to replace him in the band which was actually a shockingly easy transition. I was upset about Dan leaving and Justin came to the

rescue and squashed any chaos that could have ensued.

STEAM: In the era of grunge, Soul Asylum was always upbeat and positive. Coming onto the scene during that era did you decide to take that approach to stand out amongst bans that had a darker and

more aggressive tone?

SA: It’s funny, when someone asked what kind of songs I

made while recording my solo record I responded in one word ‘lament’. It’s interesting to me that so much of that music from that era has a feel of Prozac nation. I’m curious if an era of music like that

M 17 STEAMMAGAZINE.NET

Words By: Derek Signore, Sound Magazine

W W W . B R ON S BE A CH C AR T S .CO M

361.290.7143

314 E AVE. G

PORT ARANSAS

By Tamma Hicks, STEAM Mag.

3rd Coast 3rd Coast

Food ieFood ie

401 BEACH STREET PORT ARANSAS TX

(361) 749-BATS (2287) OPEN DAILY 11AM-11PM

www.singraystaphouse.com

Pictures: The Area’s Only Wood-Fire Brick Oven, Smokehouse Ribs, Time To Eat!, Chocolate Chip Skillet, and Chicken Bites E 18

JULY 2014

The menu holds a few secrets too! Like “The Sky Box” section featuring high quality ribeye, fillet mignon, Ahi tuna, and jumbo shrimp! Besides the extensive spirits list which includes a bloody Mary bar, they have 24 beers on tap and numerous bottled beers the carry, Stingrays also has an amazing wine list fine wine connoisseurs will find intriguing.

There are two more things that make Stingrays Tap House and Grill stand out; first, they have and use a wood-fired brick pizza oven – the only one around and believe me… It makes a difference! And two, where it got the name. At first thought you might think of the creatures in the Gulf that is at the end of Beach Street (literally walking dis-tance!), but as you are sitting and enjoying one of their signature drinks (the Stingray Shuffle is amazing!) you look up to realize there are two perfectly good Stingray Corvettes parked above the bar. Yep, I said parked above the bar! So what is Stingrays really like? Well, if you picked it up and dropped it in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, or Dallas it would fit in perfectly. Basically, Stingrays is a big city sports bar in little ol’ Port A!

Since Stingrays’ opening in October 2013 the owning partners who conceived the business, Shawn and Sandy Etheridge as well as Chad and Kimber Gorczyca, have sought experienced staff that could help them succeed. This includes general manager Vanessa Garcia who joined Stingrays before it opened to help develop the business and Stingrays Chef, Tim Metzner. Chef Metzner is a highly experienced and classically trained and has worked everything from fine dining to major convention centers. He has been an opening consultant and lead chef for Hard Rock Cafe among other accolades. He was chosen by the own-ing partners because of his vast culinary knowledge and he was asked to develop a concept presented by the owners which is fine food with a casual feel. He has selected quality ingredients and trained his staff to present a quality product consistently. From the wait staff to the bar-

Horace Caldwell Pier on the Gulf waters in Port Aransas TX is

just a quick 30 mile drive for us, yet once we get there it feels like we are a thousand miles from the pressures of home and work. Port A, as we all so lovingly refer to it, is our local touristy town where the beach carts and bikes out number personal vehicles and it doesn’t matter what day of the week or time of the year it always feels like vacation! I’m not sure if it’s the sounds, the sights, the sand, wind, or surf, but a day or three totally renews us and we try to have at least one day a month in Port A!

One of the best things our family enjoys is a nice dinner out and we prefer to have live entertainment or watch a game. Of course there are a few other criteria that a restaurant has to meet during our mini-vacation… The place has to be kid friendly and pet friendly is a bonus, be as close to the beach or our hotel room as possible, and serve a wide variety of yummy fresh food and drinks. And although Port A offers lots of restaurants, live entertainment, and sports on TVs, only one meets all of our criteria… Stingrays Tap House and Grill! Not only do they have 22 TVs with sports going every minute of their day and trust me that’s important especially during NASCAR, MLB, and NFL seasons , but Thursday through Saturday (and Sundays on holiday weekends) they host live music with bands from all over South Texas!

tenders to the kitchen staff, every-one not only enjoys their work but is knowledgeable about all the items on the menu and our waiter, Ryan, made suggestions that total-ly hit it out of the ballpark!

Chef Metzner has taken care to

ensure that everything is fresh! If the boats come in without the right fish – there’s no fish on the menu. They hand bread and batter the oysters, shrimp, fish, and on-ion rings. The pizza dough is made every morning, and the French fries and onion rings are hand sliced in the kitchen! Now that doesn’t happen often! We started our meal with Chicken Bites (lightly fried bites of chicken wrapped with bacon and stuffed with jalapeno slices and tossed in an avocado ranch dressing), a sampler of the Smokehouse Ribs which were smothered in BBQ sauce and ready to fall off the

bone, and the onion rings. Seriously to die for! I think I could have stopped there, but no my eyes were too big! Next we had two of their specialty pizzas. I personally am a traditional pizza topping girl, but as I said our waiter, Ryan, had other ideas! We had the PO Boy Pizza with fresh hand breaded shrimp, tartar sauce, pickles, Mozzarella, Romano, and Parmesan cheeses, lettuce and tomato; and the Smokehouse BBQ Pork Pizza with BBQ sauce, pulled pork, red onions, smoked Gouda, Mozzarella, and Romano cheeses, pickles, and cilantro. First both were amazingly good! Second, I don’t think I’d ever had pickles on a pizza before this, but I think I can do it again! And if this wasn’t enough we also had the Colossal Club and I do mean colossal! Three pieces of Texas toast with ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, Swiss and Cheddar chees-es, mayo and mustard. Not to mention a mound of those hand sliced fries in the middle of it all! At this point we were full, almost stuffed. So, of course we ordered one of their Perfect Endings desserts! I really wanted the Key-Lime Cheesecake, but the kids won out and we had the Choc-olate Chip Skillet (a chocolate chip cookie baked in a skillet and served warm with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream). Wow! Yep, that’s all I can say… Wow!

Good food, good friends. What more can you ask for? See you at Stingrays Tap House and

Grill!

Pictures: The Most Popular Items Chicken Bites and Smokehouse Ribs, The Colossal Club, Hand Sliced & Battered Onion Rings, And 24-Beers On Tap!

STEAM Tell me a little about you, because I know you’re from Louisiana and spent some years in California before coming to Austin.

JG I was born and raised in Louisiana and began playing in clubs at the age of 15, because in Louisiana you could do that and this was back when the drinking age was still 18. I toured with a band from Houston, Miss Molly and the Passions from 83-87 before moving to California. When I first moved to California you couldn’t just sit in with someone, you had to prove yourself. After about a year I got in with Red Archi-bald, one of the best jump blues harp players that ever lived. I worked with him for an intense year and half; we worked nine or ten gigs a week. In 1993 I moved to Tulsa OK, because they have an unbelievable music scene there; then to Nash-ville TN before going back to Louisiana in 94. In 96 I signed on with Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band. I played with him for 5 years and toured all over the world. So since the 80’s I had been touring through Austin with differ-ent bands and I just loved the feel of the place. In fact my son’s middle name is Austin. We moved here in 2003 and it wasn’t quite a year before my first CD was released, Bitter-sweet Success (2004).

STEAM The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Louisiana music is Zydeco, how did you get into the

blues?

JG Growing up in Louisiana there was always some sort of blues. My first real taste of R&B, Soul, Southern Roots, Americana, Blues, and Zydeco music

M 20 STEAMMAGAZINE.NET

Words By Tamma Hicks, STEAM Mag.

SOUTHERN ROOTS, SOUTHERN BLUES

: 7/4, 512 Fest @ The Backyard, Austin TX

Every Sunday @ 5:30pm Saxon Pub, Austin TX

: www.johngaar.com

www.facebook.com/johngaarmusic

came in 1982 with a two-year stint playing with my brother, Red Hot re-cording artist and amazing bass player and singer/songwriter Burton Gaar, for Zydeco-musician, Rockin' Sydney - best known for his Grammy-award winning hit crossover song, "My Toot Toot." We were the first white Zyde-co band to back a black accordion player and his album, The Other Woman (1983), was the first album I recorded on. We toured all over Louisiana and parts of East Texas.

STEAM You brought up that you have toured all around the world.

JG I toured all over North America with Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band and recoded on a live album with him, Too Hot to Handle (1999). We also went to Western Europe and the Scandinavian countries. We did these trips often. We didn’t go to Eastern Europe because this was

during the turmoil years. Those jobs were on the itiner-ary, but we didn’t go.

STEAM You have a residency gig every Sunday at the

Saxon Pub in Austin, so do you want to tour?

JG Yes, I am thrilled about my residency at the Saxon Pub. It’s always a great show and it’s a really fun club to play. You know I want to tour, but it’s not like it used to be. There is less and less clubs that want to pay the money that touring acts need. Festivals are a big thing, but I have yet to find an agent that can do what I want him to do even though Brighter Side of Maybe (2011) got a lot of airplay.

STEAM I really enjoy that album.

JG To be honest, I got sober seven years ago and The Brighter Side of Maybe is a direct result of that.

STEAM Congratulations! I believe that is very im-portant. I see a lot of young and up-coming musicians that think partying is part of being a musician.

JG You know it kind of is, but it stopped me from taking advantage of some of the situations that I had early in my career because I just wasn’t motivated enough. But you know the saying, “You’re not going to stop until you’re ready to stop.” You can tell in The Brighter Side of Maybe because of the consciousness of the songs. My keyboard player, Ron D'Argenio who has been with me through all of this, produced the record. I opened for the Doobie Brothers and then right after the record was released I stopped the band thing because I just couldn’t deal with the drama and babysitting, so I did a duo with one of my singers for a while. Conse-quently, I have the seven players I have now and there is no babysitting. We’ve been together for two years and they are the best group I have ever had!

My band members are Ron D'Argenio, keyboards; Jeff Hayes, bass; Brannan Lane, drums; Michael Cross, vo-cals; Joanna Ramirez, vocals; Deann Rene, vocals; and Paul “Buda” Mills, drums. Paul also plays for Lavelle White.

STEAM Are you currently working on a new album?

JG I am! I am in the trenches writing every day and working on new material. I plan to be in the studio this fall and I hope to have the new album out before the holidays. No, I will have it out before the holidays!

STEAM Have you selected a studio yet? Do you pre-fer to record analog or digital?

JG The Brighter Side of Maybe was recorded at Con-gress House Studios, which is one of the oldest studios in Austin. But there are so many studios in town now that it’s just a matter of finding the right fit, one that is conducive sound wise. I like to do a little bit of both, it’s a time issue. On the last album all of the rhythm bass, and drum tracks were on 24 inch tape and then brought over to Pro-Tools.

STEAM Tell me about your equipment because I believe you use some one of a kind stuff.

JG Yes I do. I just picked up a Collings 290 guitar, which is made just outside of Austin and you know Collings makes some of the finest acoustics in the world. A friend of mine went out there with me and they asked me to take one of the guitars and I did. My amp is the John Gaar model by Ace Pepper, built in San Marcos. And my speakers are handmade by Austin Speaker Works Cabinet.

STEAM So tell us where we can catch your show!

JG Well, the Saxon Pub is the best since I’m there every Sunday at the 5:30pm time slot. We will play at 2pm on the 4th of July at the 512 Fest at the Backyard in Austin. When we finish we’ll head over to the Saxon for Miss Lavelle White’s birthday BBQ and 95% of my band and I will be backing her. So that’s going to be a very busy day for us! On the 25th at 9pm it’s the John Gaar Friday Night Throwdown at the Saxon Pub, it’s going to be fun! The best way to follow me is to check the website and my Facebook page; the schedule is always on them.

PHOTO BY RALPH ARVESEN PHOTO BY RALPH ARVESEN ..

PHOTO BY RALPH ARVESEN PHOTO BY RALPH ARVESEN ..

Jason Mezilis C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 8

ance between that organic sound and the ability to use more vocal tracks. That’s why the band’s sound is very organic. It takes a while, but it’s worth it. STEAM Can you explain your recording process for analog and digital? JM Typically people don’t go digital-analog-digital because you lose something in translation, it’s best to get the sound you’re looking for in the beginning. You can create warmth with digital, but it is a very neutral recording that it is also very accurate. So what I like to do is capture the analog sound with all its flaws, its strange equalization curves, and the way it effects the tones; and then take a good digital photograph of that and work with it from there. That is my preferred process, but everyone is different. STEAM Tell me about how you got into the music business? JM I opened the studio three or four years ago, but I’ve been collecting equipment, like the console and tape machine, since I was 19. I was 17 when I decided that this is what I was going to do for a living; I had graduated high school and had to choose a major. I went to USC Berkley and got my bachelors’ degree in music. I’ve been pretty fortunate that my parents have been and still continue to be supportive and patient with my choice. I believe that raising a musician is not easy and I never wish it on anyone. My mom has always been there for me, whereas my father is more of the “if this is what you want to do with your life, then you better do it right and make a living out of it” mentality. STEAM What instruments do you play besides bass very badly? JM Guitar reasonably well and uniquely. Piano really f***ing good! Piano was my first instrument and I can definitely kick

the shit out of anything. Guitar has always been a less technical and more expression instrument for me. Part of that expres-sion that tells a lot about me is that I have a thoughtful deliv-ery. When I was first learning guitar at age 16, sitting at the end of my bed and unlike others who would practice scale or one song, I would play just one note over and over to learn how to hold that it and make that one note sound as beautiful as possible by finding that balance between vibrato and how to pick it. For me it’s always been about tone and delivery first and technicality second. Piano is very technical at least it start-ed out that way and expression came about later. I studied classical piano over a long number of years but I didn’t under-stand the emotion behind classical until many years later. And then of course I found rock and roll and it went south from there. (laughing) Things like ragtime and blues piano, sort of an expressive freeform, where you can get technically crazy on it but still have the improv? I’m really good at that stuff. STEAM Jason, it is always a pleasure talking with you, please keep us updated on your plans and we’ll keep listening for those new songs!

finished and were looking for sound effects, her cry-ing just seemed to fit in so we kept it. I was really just trying to show this guy what I could do and it worked because I did get some movie work out of it.

STEAM Where’s your

next show?

TM I’m real picky where

and when I play shows. I’m also not a fan of oversatura-tion, where people can hear you three or four times a week or month in the same area; I think people just get tired of you. So what I have done is put together a really good band and play what I think are good shows. We’ll be opening for Stoney LaRue in Junction TX on the 4th of July.

STEAM I would say

opening for Stoney LaRue is a pretty good job.

TM It’s not a bad gig. If you

are fortunate enough to be a draw to the listening public and the consumers that go to live shows you need to remember that you’re only in demand for a short time, so you need to release a new rec-ord every two or three years and do some shows or people will

forget about you.

STEAM So tell me about the

players in your band.

TM The interesting part about

my band is that my daughter, Savanna Johnson, works with me. She’s been the bass player and is excellent at that. We’re looking to expand so that she can play acoustic guitar, mandolin, and cello. We play some weird stuff

now and then – I try to keep it all fresh. She also sings all the harmonies, so we’ve got that family harmony sound and Savan-nah’s one of those kids that’s been playing since she was 9. The bass player we’ve got coming in for the Junction show is Rodd

Daws, former bass player for the Pear Ratz. On electric guitar is Mike Luna, a well-known and seasoned player from the Corpus Christi area; he played with John Eric for a long time. On drums is a kid that went to school with my kids, Nick Rhodes, who is a real good study and a solid player. He gets it on the first run through.

STEAM Who are your influences?

TM I would say Steppenwolf, Steve Earle, and Cre-

dence Clearwater Revival. However, I am me and I don’t want to sound like someone else; people will ei-ther like me or hate me, but either way my job will be done.

STEAM Your songs are all good conceptual stories,

where do you get your inspiration?

TM I need to be moved by something, like watching

the news and seeing the same topic rehashed over and over it might influence me enough to pick up a pen and write. I can’t write about trucks, dancing or a tractor. It’s got to be something topical, I like to tell a story. I want to be taken seriously by other songwriters and I want to tell a story with as few words as possible, but get the whole point across. I’m not pretty and I don’t sing really well, so to get people to buy my products I put a lot of effort into my songs.

STEAM Well, we think you sound awesome!

How many albums have your put out?

TM I’ve released two; Catch Me in 2006 and The Saracene

Sessions Tape 1 earlier this year, and I have The Saracene Ses-sions Tape 2 ready for release in August.

STEAM Where can people get your albums?

TM You can get my music on iTunes, CD Baby.com, my

facebook page, and when the website is completed you’ll be able to order from there too. The website will be up in August – just watch my facebook for updates and links to it.

Mike Luna with Tyler Photo By

Robin McCumber

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