“I call Houston America's lost city of the blues.” - Sonny Boy Terry

Sonny Boy Terry is a blues man. His name is custom-fit, blues-hybrid of three of the art form's legendary harmonica players: Sonny Boy Williamson (there are two with the same name) and Sonny Terry. For blues aficionados, there might be an expectation to hear some brilliant harmonica playing from a guy named “Sonny Boy Terry” - their expectations would be met! “I'm a blues artist. Listen to it. Live it. That's what I strived to be 30 years ago and I'm still striving to be that today” says, Terry.

Terry's heart may be rooted in the traditional sound of the blues but his talents and tastes venture outside purist blues. Folk, Zydeco and roots rock & roll can be heard throughout his recordings and live shows. At the center of it all, though, Terry's sound always comes back to the essence of blues music. Martin Scorsese, co-director and executive producer the acclaimed PBS film series, The Blues, said, "It's a form of storytelling that is so universal that it has inspired people beyond our borders and continues to influence music here and abroad.”

Like so many greats in music from the Rolling Stones to Joss Stone, Sonny Boy Terry carries on the tradition of borrowing from the blues to create his own sound.

“Sonny Boy” Terry Jerome's love of music began at an early age, inspired by music on the radio station, CKLW, out of Windsor, Canada, in the 1960's and his older brother's collection of 45 rpm records that included many 1950's icons like Elvis Presley and Little Richard. “I'd call girls on the phone and sing Little Richard to them. I lived for two things growing up: baseball and music.”

Terry began his career as a harp player in Elida, Ohio with a simple desire to play music with his high school friends. With two guitar players already in his circle of peers, Terry bought a harmonica and was on his way.

It was 1981 when Terry arrived in Houston to attempt a career in music. “I wanted to come to the big city and try my hand at playing blues.” Terry's choice of Houston can be linked back to early editions of Living Blues

“It’s very much ‘one plus one equals more than two’ approach”
- John Stoll, Westbound (on writing songs with Rebecca Ferguson)

It would be easy to overlook Rebecca Ferguson and John Stoll’s solid songwriting (performing as Westbound) in the wake of Stoll’s frenetic guitar playing and stomp-box fervor and Ferguson’s electric vocals. Behind the fury, however, of this roots Americana inspired duo, are two people winding their way down life’s whiskey roads and heartbreak hills, churning out great songs along the way. As they write in the liner notes of their latest CD Blackjack Road: “We hope that you enjoy this journey with us, with the windows down and the music loud, and the road wide open ahead.”

With vivid lyrics of rusted road signs, muddy waters, romance and deceit, it’s not difficult to relate to the themes this ‘real-life couple’ write about. But, as they admit, they’ve only been living and writing together for a few years and look forward to digging deeper into the corners of their hearts. Not that any fan of Westbound should hope for anything less than domestic bliss for the two troubadours from Houston, but as Ferguson reveals in Blackjack’s title track, “the blues I got ain’t bad”. Perhaps a line that best sums up Westbound’s love for the blues, and all it’s lyrical discontent, while maintaining an optimistic outlook on the future.

On working together creatively in Westbound and being a couple John and Rebecca both allude to the benefits of trust that come from their romantic involvement. “It’s very much a ‘one plus one equals more than two’ approach,” says Stoll.

Live, Westbound embodies the spirit of a front porch revival from somewhere in West Virginia, delivering salvation to anyone in earshot. Stoll’s use of either acoustic guitar, banjo or resonator guitar, along with a mic’d stomp-box and shoe tambourine give the “band” a full, driving sound. While all of the material on Blackjack Road is original, Westbound include songs from a diverse catalog in the folk/roots/blues genre when performing live. “We look for anything we can find an emotional connection to. Right now, we’re looking at a lot of older Appalachian folk style that we can put an edge on” says Ferguson.

Blackjack Road was released in 2010 and contains 13 songs that encapsulate Stoll’s multi-instrument abilities more delicately than his live performances. Working in the controlled environment of a studio often challenges musicians to find a balance between capturing the energy of a live performance and accepting the sometimes limiting parameters of recording.

For Westbound, the labor of recording (all done by Stoll and Ferguson) produced a remarkably energetic sound without the incorporation of a traditional rhythm section (bass and drums). “Translating that (stage energy) to album is difficult. I feel like the album has got great punch to it,” said Stoll. Adds Ferguson, “We just had to take a different approach to find it. It manifests in different ways live versus in the recording booth.”

Despite all the foot-stomping, folk-fever, some of Westbound’s strongest material can be heard in their country music flavored ballads like The Closest Friends of Mine and Let Me Drown Or Set Me Free. While Ferguson’s voice has a timeless quality, reminiscent of Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline, Westbound deliver their songs resisting all too often heard lap-steel and tear-in-my-beer melodies to create a fresh take on a traditional sound.

Westbound are traveling the roads they write about (and not just West). At times, up to 700 miles to play a gig in a small town. Like so many musicians today they are totally independent: writing, performing, recording and producing their own material. Unlike many acts, though, their live shows and their recoded efforts are both outstanding, yet different from each other. See a show, buy a CD, go along for the ride – you won’t be disappointed!

Westbound’s website www.TheWestboundBand.com has concert dates, CD’s and more.

Watch the video interview and see a live performance CLICK HERE.

Rebecca Ferguson and John Stoll

Performing live at Rudyard's in Houston

“Music is the language of emotions.” - Steve Stafford

Steve Stafford is a surveyor. Surveying the land by trade, surveying the human condition within his songwriting. The analogy could go on and on, right down to the use of mathematics in both music and engineering – but engineering is not what Stafford is interested in anymore. He’s all about music these days. One day, after many years keeping his guitar literally locked away in a closet, Stafford decided money and career were no longer his first priority.

“Life kind of got in the way… After my wife passed away I thought, ‘What am I doing? Where’s my music?’ I had an epiphany – ‘I’m gonna make music for the rest of my days’ and, basically, ‘the hell with makin’ money.’

Stafford was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and moved to McAllen, Texas when he was 10, where Hank Williams and Patsy Cline were to become major influences on him. Stafford admits to not fully realizing the greatness in Williams and Cline (frequently sung by his mother and father around the house) in his early days as a music major studying theory and composition at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX.

Writing a symphony at 21, Stafford had his sites set on a career in classical music. Over the years, however, Stafford began developing a unique style that incorporated elements of jazz, blues, classical and country.

It all makes sense when you listen to Cheatin’ With The Bottle and Other Love Songs Chock Full of Old Fashioned Goodness. A long, yet fitting, title for the S. Hawley Stafford Quartet’s first CD, released in 2010.

Throughout the eclectic 13 track CD, elements of the aforementioned genres are woven together with seamless precision to deliver a finely crafted, beautifully produced volume of music that reflects a cross section of styles and eras in music.

Tracks like Stolen Moments and Something’s Going On give listeners a swanky taste of late-night, smoke-filled lounge blues while The Breeze and Like A Dove feature Stafford’s jazz-influenced flute and guitar. The Wishing Well and These Words make way for the country side of Stafford.

In addition to Stafford’s fine acoustic guitar work and soothing, laid back vocals, The SHS Quartet features a soulful Jerry Hamric on lead guitar and mandolin, Lee Jolly on bass and vocal harmony (Jolly was also the engineer on the recording and has created a sonic delight especially appreciated by Stafford’s delicate arrangements) and Steve Davis on drums. Nancy Francis plays cello on See You Again, an ode to Steve’s late wife, Judy, who passed away in 2006.

Judy Stafford is also credited with co-writing 3 of the songs on the CD. Apparently instigated by Steve’s challenge to her to write lyrics. She came through with a binder full, including the swinging title track, Cheatin’ With The Bottle.

Though Stafford spent much of his life working with numbers he understands the language of the heart as well as anyone. His songs are romantic throwbacks to a lost era with a timeless quality that speaks to anyone who’s ever been in love or believes in the magic of music.

“To me music is the language of emotions. The words have their logical meanings but the emotion of the music and the emotion of the words… when they come together… that really makes for a powerful song. And that’s the connection I want to make, it’s not an intellectual connection, it’s an emotional connection.”

Steve Stafford performs every Tuesday evening at The Coffee Oasis in Seabrook, TX, and most open mic nights at The Old Quarter in Galveston (Thursdays). Check out www.SHawleyStafford.com for upcoming shows, music samples and CD ordering information.

Watch the video interview and see a live performance CLICK HERE.

“While we’re on stage, we’re not married.” - Steve Revak, Wood n Wind

In the beginning, Steve and Bobbi Revak, of the local, popular music duo, Wood n Wind, met on the internet and tried dating each other, but that didn’t work out. In the end, as fate would have it, they got married. Perhaps, on the premise that they ‘couldn’t play without each other’. It’s a rock & roll fairy tale best told by the Revaks themselves.

Bobbi: “Steve told me he didn’t want anything heavy and to find a boyfriend - so I did! And he was young, good looking and rich! And I brought him to a gig... and he played guitar... and I brought him onstage with me!”

Steve (interrupting): “And I couldn’t breathe. I quit breathing for hours. I asked her to marry me the next day.”

Since that fateful day in 2008 (they married 6 weeks later!) Bobbi (saxophone, flute and vocals) and Steve (guitar) have been making beautiful music together. On average, playing 100 gigs per year from Galveston to Spring.

While most of there repertoire consists of classic rock and R&B, from Marshall Tucker to Bill Withers, the Revaks are somewhat divided on the pursuit of original material.

“I want an original album this year. And I’m going to have it,” says Bobbi, confidently.

Steve admits to not being quite as enthusiastic about the idea but is in full support and recording work has begun. Three original songs are currently on their website (www.WoodnWind.com) for listening, including the Janis Joplin-esque “Goin' Through The Motions”. Although the range of material Wood n Wind perform is broad, Bobbi Revak’s intense, gravelly vocals were made for the blues.

Deciding on material from other artists that Wood n Wind will cover is “a fight”, says Steve. Whatever discrepancies take place behind the scenes, however, doesn’t seem to affect the duo’s live performance. Adds Bobbi, “Besides, I sing much better when I’m pissed off.”

Personal differences aside, Wood & Wind perform cover songs and their original material with the same high degree of passion and a genuine mutual affection for the art form.

"We have an agreement while we’re on stage; we’re not married,” says, Steve. “Music is our love, so we can’t let anything get in the way of that,” adds Bobbi.

Steve Revak was raised in Champaign, Illinois and sights Crosby, Stills and Nash as a major influence. Although Steve’s playing is admittedly percussive in nature his appreciation for a clean acoustic sound can be heard clearly on another of the Revak’s original compositions, “The Difference”.

Wood n Wind’s writing process is complimentary, with Steve frequently providing guitar driven music and Bobbi adding lyrics and flute or saxophone.

Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Bobbi was initially trained on piano but over the years gravitated to sax and flute.

“I don’t claim to be a super-great sax player but at least I don’t burn anybody’s ears at this point in time,” Bobbi says with chuckle. “Not anymore,” Steve chimes in.

Their humble demeanor and fun banter help make Bobbi and Steve’s shows inclusive for an audience as well making them perfect for any of the many open mic nights and festivals they host around the Clear Lake area.

“Festivals and open mics - we love them,” says Steve, “Meeting other musicians at the stage level. We like to build networks, help people get jobs, critique each other. It’s a blast, not to mention the jamming and sharing of the tunes on stage with each other.”

Wood n Wind concert listings, open mics and music can be found at www.WoodnWind.com

Watch the video interview and see a live performance CLICK HERE.

Read Zach Tate's Texas Music Profiles monthly in Galveston's Islander Magazine
Story and Photos by Zach Tate

June 2012 - Sam Navarro - The Islander Magazine

"If it's not real, it's fake." - Sam Navarro

Sam Navarro is a man of musical principles. Thoughts on songwriting from the leader of the outlaw country band, Sam Navarro and The Lone Star Devils are simple, “If it’s not real – it’s fake.”

Understanding Navarro’s meat and potatoes approach to life before listening to his new CD Cheatin’ Death & Runnin’ Free makes the rambling trip with the desperado songsmith down life’s colorful highway all the more interesting. Drugs, alcohol, divorce, broken down cars and being a God-fearing, stand-up guy are what Sam Navarro songs are all about. But no songs about killing anyone, because as Navarro says, bordering on an apologetic tone, “I never did that.”

Sam Navarro was born in Baytown, Texas and grew up in Texas City playing the drums. At six years of age it was his instrument of choice and, despite not being able to reach the floor pedals at first, stuck with it through high school. Tagging along with his church-going mother, Sam recalled a “Spaghetti Western sounding tune” the church band performed, playing a major role in his early musical influence.

“I think that must have been what inspired me from an very early age… Johnny Cash is definitely my biggest musical influence. There’s nothing like that train… Being a drummer I heard rhythm there, and that’s what really got my mind sparking to it.”

In his teens Navarro gravitated to the more aggressive sounds of punk, eventually finding another big musical influence in the California ‘cowpunk’ band, Social Distortion. It was around this time that Navarro began playing the guitar.

Like some of his other music heroes, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Hank Williams, Navarro is rebelling, Texas-style, against the stringent songwriting prerequisites of Nashville’s ideal for country music.

“Nashville tells you that a song must be two minutes and forty seven seconds with a strict arrangement. I’m happy doing songs the way I like to do them. One song on the new record is five and a half minutes. One is a minute, fifty-six (ironically titled “Sad Little Country Song”) It’s what works for the song.”

What works for the songs is certainly aided by the talented, five-member, Lone Star Devil band, comprised mostly of Sam’s high school friends. While many configurations of the band exist for live shows, depending on the venue and availability, the band backing Navarro on Cheatin’ Death and Runnin’ Free are: Mike Cooper on lead guitar, Cody Lea on upright bass, Michael Helfenstein on lap steel, Martin Johanson on mandolin, and Neal La Croix on drums.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without these guys,” states Navarro in his usual simplistic candor.

Writing songs that come from the heart based on real-life experiences have lead to some less-than-appreciated lyrics. On one occasion Navarro, ever the Southern gentleman, chose to apologize for his musings, but not before taking the opportunity to set the offended bar patron straight on what’s important to him in songwriting.

“I said, ‘I’m sorry I offended you with my lyrics but all of that is true’… I haven’t lived a perfect life and I’m not a perfect man by any means, but I do try hard to be a good dad, a good husband, a good friend and, when I’m on stage, a good show.”

A good show for Navarro sometimes means bleeding fingers. And while it’s not what everyone expects from a musician it’s what Navarro expects from himself, going hand-in-hand with the sweat, the tears and giving all he has to the music. If it’s not real – it’s fake.

Sam Navarro and the Lone Star Devils perform regularly in Galveston. Visit www.SamNavarro.com for more details.

Cheatin’ Death and Runnin’ Free can be purchased at live shows as well as on iTunes and CD Baby.
 

Watch the video interview and live performance by Sam Navarro

“I had a bike, a boat and a guitar and thought, ‘What can I do?’”

-Marc Borde

Marc Borde sings in Spanish and English, plays solo and in a band, on land and sea, with a guitar and a cuatro. He is a musician and a businessman. He’s also a father to a six-year-old boy named, Mako. And while it’s not surprising he’s unsure of exactly what he wants out of music or the specific meaning of success, he is sure about enjoying spending time with his son and living a life rich with creativity and passion. “I guess I crave a wholesome, music life,” says Borde, co-founder of Borde Room Entertainment, a multi-function, musician networking and promotion company he founded with friend, Ryan Beard, about 10 years ago. Marc is also the creator of the Music Unity Freedom Festival in Galveston.

Marc Borde was born in Trinidad, but moved to Houston when he was 3 years old. Growing up in and around Clear Lake, he gained an appreciation for sailing and life on the water and eventually acquired a 1970, 26 foot Pearson sailboat.

In 2011 Borde retired from making payments on his truck and opted for simpler modes of transport: his bike and boat. Being a musician in need of gigs (and a way to get to them) he did what any highly innovative artist would do: he set sail with two musician friends, Ryan Beard (of Mama Tried) and Blake Plsek (of Shark Attack), down the Gulf Coast to put on concerts at seaside bars and restaurants.

As part of their new venture the trio recorded an album aboard the boat specifically to be sold along the way. Titled, “Guitar Strings and Sailboat Things” the island-meets-bluegrass folk-flavored CD features songs written and performed by Borde and Beard on guitars and vocals (the opening track credits vocalist Dru Long as well). Contributions from Nicole Saxton (vocals), Matt Beard (vocals), Jason White (dobro) and Plsek (banjo, percussion) round out the upbeat yet laid back, beer-in-hand, sunny tunes. Engineer Craig Lawrence recorded, mixed and mastered the CD preserving just enough of the raw sound to keep listeners firmly planted on the deck of the Alyzarian.

During the planning stages some venues were very excited about the band’s oceanic arrival while others simply didn’t return Marc’s calls. Some friends were envious while others were less enthusiastic about the idea. “A lot of folks thought we were going to die… They said (matter-of-factly), ‘you guys are gonna die,’” Marc says with a laugh.

Despite varying levels of support, and opinions on odds of survival, the band lived, ate and drank well for 38 days, performing 33 shows up and down the coastline, and returned home safely to Galveston. A book is due out in September 2012 chronicling the adventure from the perspective of Captain Marc and his “crew”. “The book will be interactive,” says Borde. “If a person wants to hear a song associated with a certain story we’re telling, they can scan a QR code and get a download.”

Borde’s unique approach and creative process may, in part, be attributed to a brief stint as an AutoCAD (Computer Aided Design software) engineer for the oil industry. Although he admits to finding aspects of the job interesting, his heart wasn’t in it. “I learned a lot about project management. Seeing projects through. It was just the cubicle I worked in… and the 60 hours a week doing something I didn’t really want to be doing… for 60 hours a week, that bothered me.”

With his home and office now aboard his sailboat in Galveston, Marc continues to manage Borde Room Entertainment. Initially created as a record label for Shark Attack, Borde Room has evolved to include artists Cassette Tape, Soulfiya and the Black Lung Crew, Shaun Michael, Sundrunk and Mama Tried, as well as Borde’s solo act.

Marc knows he could return to the cubicle if he had to but for now is content engineering a master plan to sail his boat around the world, stopping in to whatever port that calls to have a beer sing a song.

Look for Marc this summer and fall playing solo or with the excellent reggae group, Cassette Tape at Float Bar, The Beach Hut, Jimmy’s on the Pier and other fine music venues!

Visit www.TheBeeRoom.com for more information, free downloads, CDs and show times! Click Here to watch video.

Sept 2012 - Kevin Anthony - The Islander Magazine

“We’re just as viable as Houston, Austin, New York or Los Angeles.”

- Kevin Anthony on the Galveston music scene

Kevin Anthony has been around the musical block a few times. With a passion for classic country-style crooning in the spirit of Hank Williams Sr. (although with a silkier voice closer to Don Williams or Charley Pride) he is a self-proclaimed renaissance man in the music world, having lived and played all over the U.S., from Galveston to New York to Minnesota to L.A., composing songs in multiple genres (on guitar, fiddle and piano) including traditional Country & Western, Cajun and even break beat electronic music.

Kevin was born on Galveston Island in 1968, spending time with his parents and brother at the local rhinestone-studded country music dance halls that featured the likes of Louisiana fiddle player, Pee Wee Kershaw. “As a kid I was fascinated by the pageantry and the people dancing.”

Fascinated as he may have been, as a teen, Kevin gravitated to guitar and rock music, more or less following his peers. “Yeah, you’re not exactly cool by liking that style of music. It was a big influence, I liked it, but it was definitely my grandparent’s and parent’s music.”

Anthony left Galveston in 1987 to attend art school in Houston. In 1993 he moved New York City to pursue a career composing break beat music. Although the style of music was an unusual pairing for a Texas fiddle player, it was a popular sound at the time and enabled him to work creating music for television commercials and web-based media as well as clubs. In 1998 his foray into electronic music landed Anthony a two-year recording contract with Warner Music - a fortunate situation considering Manhattan rent.

In 2005 Kevin returned to his passion for country and Cajun music, albeit in Minneapolis, Minnesota (“for a girl” as the story goes). As fate would have it, though over a thousand miles from Louisiana, Minneapolis is a hotbed for Cajun culture and Anthony formed the Twin City Playboys, releasing four traditional country music CDs (featuring mostly Kevin Anthony compositions) including the beautifully produced, Texas Memories (2006) and The Good Times Are Killing Me (2008). In addition, his band released an album of classic Cajun music, aptly titled, Old Time Cajun Music, winning an award for “Best Cajun Album outside Louisiana” from the Cajun French Music Association. Anthony plays fiddle and ‘tit fer (the Cajun percussive equivalent of the triangle) on the CD, along with vocals in Cajun French.

Kevin returned to Galveston in 2010 to raise his newborn son, Wyatt and stepdaughter, Makayla. “I want them to experience what I experienced growing up. The uniqueness of this place.”

A historian as well as a musician, Kevin Anthony’s love of tradition comes through in all his recordings. Timeless, familiar music and lyrics on all, including his latest CD, North Star. Reaching back and looking forward seems to be what Kevin Anthony is all about musically and he is currently working on another album for release in early 2013. “I’m writing songs with a little bit of Cajun flavor from Louisiana, and a little bit of Southeast Texas flavor. I like the song writing from the 60’s and 70’s and the rhythms of Cajun music. I try and mix the two and get my own sound.”

Things have changed in Galveston since the dancehall days of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s but this isn’t stopping Kevin Anthony from creating a modern-day version of the communal atmosphere he remembers, hosting the open jam called “Wednesday Chank-A-Chank” every Wednesday at Crow’s Cantina (2408 Strand) and the “Hootenanny Happy Hour” every 2nd and 4th Friday at the Riptide Surf Bar (523 24th St). “We live in a unique geographic area – food, culture and music… I’m trying to create a music scene where we can interact together… the exchange of ideas and music. To say, ‘we’re here, we have a unique sound, this is who we are as a community. We’re just as viable as Houston, Austin, New York or Los Angeles.’”

To further his point, Anthony is also assembling a compilation CD of Galveston based musicians and bands, celebrating the Island’s diverse music culture.

For more information, music, show dates and times, or to purchase Kevin Anthony music visit www.Kevin-Anthony.com

Watch the video interview with Kevin Anthony Click Here

August 2012 - Marc Borde - The Islander Magazine

“Who wouldn’t wanna be Buffett?”

- Kelly McGuire

The irony of Kelly McGuire is that while his music is all about escaping to a life of sunsets and serenity on a beach or a boat, the man himself works very hard doing much the opposite. The business of being a full time artist and the pleasures that come from the fruits of his labor seem to occupy the same space for McGuire. "I still have to remind myself to relax,” he says matter-of-factly.

A self-employed, career musician almost all of his adult life, McGuire, knows it takes dedication and perseverance to make a living in the entertainment industry. McGuire’s struggle to juggle the pina colada and the portfolio may best be exemplified in the clever, play-on-words, song from his latest CD, King Of The Island, called Just A Wannabe. As the lyric goes:

Who wouldn’t wanna be Buffett?
Either Warren or the other
I’m not ashamed to say I’d love it

Musically speaking, McGuire is very comfortable with comparisons to Jimmy Buffett, going so far as to embrace the notion that he is, in fact, a “wannabe”. “When I started writing songs about boats, islands, beaches and tiki bars, I know some people called me a wannabe. But I got to thinking about it and I thought, ‘Who wouldn’t want to be Buffett?’”

Making use of what life, or people, might throw at him is a testament to McGuire’s songwriting creativity. When it comes to his own personal escapism, McGuire, has lived much of his music. Having dwelled on a boat for a few years in Seabrook, Texas as well as taking regular trips to Belize and Mexico, all the while making a living as a full-time musician. He confesses the number of hours spent running his business far outweigh the number of hours laying on a beach strumming his guitar - or playing anywhere for that matter. “It’s a beautiful dream, that escapism thing that people all hold in their heads. To want to run away to an island or sail away on a boat. But sometimes the practicality is not easy to overcome.”

Attempting to overcome practicality may have lead McGuire to give in, with a hint of consolation, to a cliché, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey,” he says.

Born in Kansas City, McGuire, spent many years as a working as a guitar player and singer before writing his first song. A chain of pizza parlors kept him employed for ten years through the 80’s and 90’s where he performed as a one-man band. Arriving in the Clear Lake area in the late 90’s McGuire got into yacht brokerage and teaching sailing.

McGuire’s days spent centered around the boating life inspired him to start writing songs and in 2001 he released Redfish Island which kicked off his ‘Trop Rock’ sound and has since sold over 12,000 copies. It wasn’t, however, until 2008’s Texas Music Award for Album of the Year (for Boat In Belize, featuring the hit, Blame It On Buffett) did a full-time music career centered on his original music begin to blossom.

In 2011 McGuire released King Of The Island featuring more of the Bahama-Mama vibrations his fans have come to expect. The XM Radio station, known as Margaritaville, features several Kelly McGuire’s songs, helping promote his name and keep him busy from Florida festivals to Galveston galas to house concerts across the U.S.

It’s possible that Kelly McGuire, a veteran of life’s search for nirvana, is still somewhat hopeful that there is an island in the sun out there somewhere just over the horizon. Which could be the reason he keeps going there in his music - embracing the journey and the destination.

For more information, show dates and CD’s go to: www.RedfishIsland.com

Watch the video interview with Kelly McGuire Click Here

Oct 2012 - Kelly McGuire - The Islander Magazine

Dec 2012 - Jarret Marcel - The Islander Magazine

“We gotta keep this music alive.”

- Curtis King on the Blues

Muddy Waters said, “The Blues had a baby and they named it Rock & Roll.”

John Lee Hooker said, “The Blues heals me.”

Keith Richards said, “If you don't know the Blues... there's no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music.”

Houston’s Curtis King said, “We gotta keep this music alive.”

One might not think an art form with such profound influence on pop culture, and intoxicating properties more potent than any drug or plant (ask any Blues enthusiast), could possibly be at risk of extinction - and it probably isn’t. But Curtis King does have a point when he talks about a music industry that has been virtually picked clean like a road-kill carcass and is unable to sustain the working musician the way it once did.

“We’re talking about making a living, paying taxes, keeping things going. All that’s being taken away.”

While gigs may be scarce, the rich tradition, deep heritage and massive cultural significance of the Blues in America remains alive and well in Curtis King and his music.

“This American music called the Blues that started out there in the fields back in slavery times… it was a language thing. Singing and hollering a certain way… that would mean something. That was added to the music to create the Delta sound. Then it came to Chicago where it became more sophisticated to reflect the culture. Now you had money, and education, and sophistication, and all of that was infused into the music.”

King’s commentary on the evolution of the Blues may be brief (probably giving courtesy to this interviewer – no doubt he could talk all day on the subject) but the influences can be heard spanning decades, and geography, on his 2004 CD “Curtis King”.

Born in Mobile, Alabama, (as Rodney McClendon) King was first influenced by his grandfather and father’s acoustic blues guitar playing, a style known as ‘vestapol’. Vestapol is generally associated with the deep south Delta sound of guitar driven Blues music played by the likes of Robert Johnson, Elmore James and Houston legend, Lightnin’ Hopkins. After moving to Syracuse, New York (by then McClendon was going by the stage name ‘Curtis King’) King was exposed to the Chicago style Blues of Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. King heard the sound that would profoundly influence his playing to this day. In 1986 he released his first single, “Sad & Blue”, as a 45 rpm record.

On his stage name selection King is to the point, “I wanted to be among Royalty. You had B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King...”

From his Syracuse base, King spent many years playing in Toronto and Montreal, Canada as well as traveling back and forth between New York and California. In the late 1990s and early 2000’s, King performed up and down the East and West Coast, with many respected Blues artists like Johnny Mastro (Mama’s Boys), Paul Oscher (Muddy Waters harmonica player), Albert Collins and Robert Cray - rounding out his Southern upbringing and his Northern exposure as a Blues artist.

King confesses to borrowing from Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy but maintains a passion for creating his own version of the Chicago sound, continually writing and recording original material.

“I can hear the bass, drums, keyboards and vocals in my head. Then I’ll bring in the cats to make it right – make it come alive.”

Helping King’s latest recording project ‘come alive’ was legendary blues pianist, and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Pinetop Perkins. Perkins died in 2011 (at age 97) just after recording sessions with King at Houston’s Sugar Hill Studios. The CD is in the mixing phase and will be released in January of 2013.

King made Houston his home in 2006 and has been performing from Galveston (Crow’s Cantina among other venues) to Spring (The Spring Tavern) and beyond ever since.

For more information about Curtis King, recordings and show dates visit, www.reverbnation.com/thecurtiskingbluesband

Watch the Curtis King video interview followed by a live performance:
CLICK HERE

“You can’t be passive about art.”
-Jarret Marcel

Jarret Marcel’s latest CD, Winterlochen, layered with lyrical drama and vast, diverse musical landscapes makes perfect sense when you find out from what musical womb the French-born composer was born. Raised on Beethoven and Bach (mom), Hank Williams Jr. and Tom T. Hall (dad) in France and Germany (on American military bases) with a steady diet of Lord Of The Rings, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, the self-proclaimed mad-man’s foundation for artistic expression was pieced to together.

“My mother loved classical music. She was big Beethoven fan. She would clean the house while listening to Beethoven. She would put Beethoven on and crank it up.”

Marcel offers some spirited advice on bridging the gap between classical and rock music: “Classical music is best loud. If you’re in a car and someone has it on very soft you’re not really experiencing classical music. You have to turn it up so it hurts the speakers a little bit. At that point, classical music rocks!”

The same might apply to Marcel’s music. Layers of guitars, sound effects and percussion instruments are best heard, if not loud, at least with a concerted effort to listen. Although not as heavy as Led Zeppelin and not quite as ethereal as Pink Floyd, Marcel offers up a sound reminiscent of these band’s less talked about, sometimes more sophisticated passages of music heard between the heavy riffs and radio friendly choruses.

While playing all of the instruments, producing and arranging, Marcel offers a rare product in music that defies the adage: just because you can do everything yourself, doesn’t mean you should. On the contrary, Marcel has an objectivity driven by an uncertainty as to whether or not his music is worthy. It’s this kind of uncertainty that provides a much needed balance to the self-indulgent exercise of doing everything yourself and presenting it to the world as art.

Marcel is aware that being objective can be very difficult and is looking to expand his recordings to include more “ears” on his next project in hopes it will take a little less than the 3 years he spent creating the 14 song, Winterlochen, CD.

“Objectivity is very difficult. You’re sitting at home with a computer and a microphone and you can layer 20 guitar parts. I think there’s a temptation that if you put one more thing, the song will be better. George Martin (Beatles producer) had a philosophy that if the song sounded good with just a vocal and acoustic guitar, then you had a good song. If it didn’t - no amount crap that you put on top of it will make it good.” Solid advice for those recording at home.

Marcel’s desire to create vast soundscapes may draw from his appreciation for art in all mediums. As a musician creating music that admittedly is not necessarily radio friendly, Marcel, encourages listeners take an active role in their appreciation of not just his music but of music in general.

“To really experience art I don’t think you can be passive. If you go to a museum you can’t enjoy it by just walking through the room. You’ve got to go up to the artwork – you’ve got to engage it. Look at the brush strokes, look at the colors being used, the subject matter. It’s the same thing with music. It requires that you actually sit down and listen to it.”

Or, for the highly distracted, Marcel recommends a more regimented approach, “Turn off your cell phone, turn off your TV, lock your door, put yourself in your living room, put on some music and lay down and be still.”

Jarret Marcel will be performing at The Old Quarter and Crow’s open mic on Wednesdays and/or Thursdays. Check out these fine venues for live music events of all sorts!


Check out www.JarretMarcel.bandcamp.com for more on Jarret Marcel. To see the video interview and a live performance by Jarret Marcel CLICK HERE

Nov 2012 - Curtis King - The Islander Magazine

January 2013 - Dru Long - The Islander Magazine

“Reggae is spiritual music – it always will be.”
- Dru Long of Soulfiya and The Black Lung Crew

Dru Long, co-founder and lead vocalist of the dance-hall/hip-hop style reggae band, Soulfiya and The Black Lung Crew, doesn’t want to preach but he has lots to say.

In December 2012, The Islander voted Long’s five-piece group, “Best Band” on Galveston. “It’s a real honor for us,” said the 28 year old Long, whose first album in 2007, Words, Power and Sound, admittedly was not representative of what he does now but was a beginning for carrying on a tradition of spiritually based music.

“It was worship music. I played some gospel brunches and it was great for that type of venue but 90 percent of the time I’m playing to people who are trying to party. Everyone likes to cut loose and have a good time sometimes and the last thing you want is somebody trying to point fingers and preach at you while you’re trying to tie one on,” Long says with a smile.

No stranger to compliments and accolades, Dru Long is a former member of another of Galveston’s revered bands, Shark Attack. “I used to sleep on Marc and Ryan’s couch. There have been a lot of guys in and out of Shark Attack. Ryan Beard went on to form Mama Tried. Marc Borde has Bee Room Entertainment. Those guys have done so much for me as far as keeping my music here in Texas, keeping me here in Texas. I can’t say enough about how those guys have come through for me.”

Bee Room Entertainment is an “entertainment network” representing many individuals and music groups around the Galveston area including Soulfiya and BLC, Cassette Tape, and Gaby Veray, among others.

Revolving membership among the area’s bands who play reggae inspired music seems to be common, but to clarify: Dru Long is Soulfiya… although he wasn’t always. “I didn’t set out to give myself that moniker. The band was originally called Soulfire but members kept leaving. Pretty soon I was the only original member left. People just started thinking of me as Soulfire. Then I got a letter from a band in Greece called Soulfire telling me they were going to sue me if I didn’t change the name, at which time the band became – I became – Soulfiya.”

Long’s life-long interest in music began when he was very young, listening to his father’s Bob Marley and Grateful Dead records. “I never did the rock stuff. My dad used to drive five hours to Chicago to get the new Marley album.”

His first instrument was congas, which he played in many bands through the years along with keyboards and bass at various times, though he seems to have found his musical home as a lead vocalist.

Other inspirations include New York’s KRS-One and his 1993 hip hop album Return of the Boom Bap along with acts of that era leaning to a heavier reggae sound. “Cutty Ranks, Shabba Ranks… anything that came out around the time I was coming up. Late 80’s early 90’s - that’s pretty much where my heart is.”

On remaining spiritual in his music without preaching Long, a Christian, balances by separating his live performance from what he might choose to record. “When recording you want to provoke thought. Live you want to provoke movement. Live, my main goal is to be entertaining. An entertainer that’s not entertaining is not going to get much work. I feel like if you listen to reggae music and you completely miss the spiritual side of things – you’re not paying very good attention. Reggae is spiritual music – it always will be.”

In addition to the Bee Room, Long is getting help with his career from a San Antonio based clothing company called Rerooted Apparel. “You talk about companies that promote a conscious vibe; that’s their mission statement. Those guys have gone to bat for me time and time again.” Long also credits his wife, Brianna Corley, a hair stylist at The Salon Group; recently named “Best Salon” by The Islander.

Members of BLC are: Mike Healy on bass, Marc Benjamin on keys, Jeremiah Morales on keys & back up vocals, Geo Ramos on drums.

Keep up with Soulfiya and the Black Lung Crew at www.TheBeeRoom.com and on Facebook. See the video interview with Dru Long and a live performance with BLC CLICK HERE