Monthly Archive for July, 2006

I think I’m getting too old for this crap. Ok … maybe not just yet. I worked all day, went to a work party, and then to Firewater until midnight or so to see the Eli Young Band and Travis Mitchell Band. I think I’ve spent 4 non sleeping hours at my place in the last week. Oh well, there are worse problems to have.

When I used to teach at UNT, the lead singer of Eli Young was in one of my classes. He was always talking about the band and the little gigs they were getting around town and in Ft. Worth. When I saw they were playing at FireWater, I thought I should go and see how they were doing after all of these years.

I had a nice time. It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to good live Texas country./southern country music ( I like to call it twang free country). Say what you will about country music, but 2 things need to be noted about the shows that Travis Mitchell and Eli Young put on: First of all the music rocked, and would not be confused with old school country music. Heavy drum beats, electric guitars, no fiddles or slide guitars kept the music upbeat and fun. Second: The girls who packed firewater to hear this music…. Let’s just say I almost felt like I was back in the glory days of Texas Tech with the most beautiful girls in the country all around (god blessed Texas girls). That was my first time to hear the Travis Mitchell Band and I really enjoyed their show. Their set was about an hour and a half of good southern country and rock. They knew how to work the crowd and keep everybody moving and having fun on a hot Texas night.

I was surprised at the production that Eli and Young put on. I’m still thinking of the 19 year old kid with spiky hair in my communication class….. It would seem that they made it pretty big! Their show was quite a production with stage managers, 19 guitars, intro music, and 2000 girls screaming like children when they came out on stage. They also played very well and had the crowd dancing, screaming, drinking and having a good time. The show was a lot of fun, and I was happy to see that they have been so successful.

The music was nice…..
The girls were nice…..
But I have to admit there was something else that made my night. In the group of people standing next to me there was the token drunk guy who looked like he just turned 21… Wearing tight jeans, tucked in button down shirt, flat brimmed hat turned to the side with his curly hair sticking out a few inches. This guy was hitting on every girl (BIG, small, old, young, with guys , without guys…didn’t’ matter). He would dance (hump?) every girl that passed with in reach of him. Pretty much just an annoying drunk guy. For some reason I thought I saw him do a few “guns up” and was worried that he was a Red Raider. When he stumbled over to give me a high five for no reason, I had to ask…..

He’s an Aggie.
Shoulda’ known.

Eli Young Band
Travis Mitchell Band
FireWater

So far, this was one of the most intimate of the intimate shows that I have seen thus far at Bend Studio. My guess is there were about two dozen people in the venue that is Bend Studio, to see Paul Slavens and Robert Gomez exercise their craft. Blake, Paul, Zach and a good bottle of Italian wine were fortunate enough to get second row seating, even though we arrived a little bit later than I like to arrive.

Paul started off with a set of music that lasted about half an hour. Most of the songs were his voice accompanied by his skilled fingers on the keyboard. Most of Paul’s music was a little on the depressing side, but you couldn’t help but admire his skill on the piano and is comfort with the crowd. He changed the pace near the end of his set and had Robert Gomez play with him on a few more light hearted songs like “If love was a hatchet” . It would seem that this song grew from an audience members suggestion for a random song title at a previous show, and Paul took a liking to the outcome. My personal favorite was when he played the Beatles classic “I Will” after three or four practice starts, the music flowed with the classic mellow love song :

Who knows how long I’ve loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to–I will.

The second half of the show was also different than I was used to for Bend Shows. Robet Gomez brought with him two other musicians (I believe they were Buffy and Tamera?). One brought with her a Cello, and the other with a Violin. Paul also stayed on and played his squeeze box. Four people and some large instruments on Bend’s stage. I was very impressed!! The music from the quartet was mellow, but very full and rich. The extra classical strings really added a lot to the sound, as did the accordion in the hands of a skilled musician.

Paul Slavens Myspace
Robert’s Myspace
Bend Studio

Alex Hunter, Cowboys Sports Café

Like most men, I’m driven by basic instincts and primitive urges. Last week, one of the most powerful of those primitive urges, hunger, drove me to the closest bar to where I live to get a burger, some tots, and a cold beer (or 3). While there I saw a flyer for a live music show featuring a 14 year old guitar wiz named Alex Hunter. Prodigy Guitar wiz, in a bar that is less than half a mile away from me…well I figured I had to go.

Cowboys is now under new ownership, and the owners Jeff and April are trying to get into the live music scene. The bar is a moderately sized and pretty well known in the area for Texas Hold’um. They have a nice sized stage, and small dance floor area to go along with the full bar and food selection. Their prices are competitive and the staff is very friendly.

So what about this 14 year old wiz kid? 14… what is that, 8th grade? What was I doing in 8th grade? What were you doing in 8th grade? What was George Washington doing in 8th grade? Sorry, got off on a tangent. (sub tangent….14 years old means he was born in 92? Ok.. I officially feel old now).

Alex put on a very entertaining show. He played with a 3 man band (Him, drums and a bass player), and belted out a mix of current punk/rock and classic hits from people who died long before he was ever born (Jimmy Hendrix, for example). He was lead vocals, and he sang well, but what was really impressive was his guitar playing ability. He played some tricky stuff and pulled it off with gusto. I’ve never seen anyone that age with that level of skill on an electric guitar. I will be interested to see where he goes from here. He’s young and if he stays with it and keeps improving I think he has a lot of potential. On that note, I’ll also be interested to see how Cowboy’s does as it tries to foster its live music scene.

Alex’s Myspace

Cowboy’s page