CENTER STAGE LIVE

MICHAEL DAVILA

Guitar Tips

101

Live Music Venues and Local Artists In the Hill Country! July 2012

Vol. 1MuzeMatic Studios Presents

Winner of Drummer of Tomorrowtalks about his journey

Graham FilesTo Cowboy Doug-

‘There’s No Truer Friend’

July 2012

Center Stage Live is a magazine available to atleast a 45 mile radius of Kerrville. This magazine

features advertisements and schedules frombands and venues that play live music. Thismagazine contains musician testimonies andreviews as well as fan reviews, wanted ads,

calendar events, music articles and SO MUCHMORE! Center Stage Live is

available for free at participating locations inyour area. Enjoy!

Anybody can write a review for Center StageLive Magazine; if you would like to submit a

review for a chance to be published in anupcoming edition, please contact us.

If you are a band, musician, or live music venuethat would like to place an ad in Center Stage

Live Magazine, please contact us.Our deadline for all magazine submissions is the

14th of each month.

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Visit our website–www.centerstagelivemag.com

Table of Contents

PG 3 MuzeMatic Studios

PG 4 Mapex Drums

PG 6 Graham Files

PG 8 Guitar Tips 101

PG 10 Seagull Guitars

PG 11 Interview with theWinner of Drummer of Tomor-row, Michael Davila

PG 13 Songwriting- A LostArt?

PG 15 River Star Music Series

PG 16 The Gig Report

PG 17 Center Stage

PG 19 Wanted

PG 20 July 2012 Event Calen-dar

July 2012 PG 2

Our is filled with acoustic, electric, bass, and classical guitars, acoustic and electric drum sets, amplifiers and microphones; as well asaccessories like guitar strings, violin bows, drum sticks,instruments parts and care kits. Through Mark Piper with RedentoreGuitars, we are able to accept most guitars that need repairs. MuzeMatic Studios changes strings and replaces drum heads. If you don’t seewhat you need in our stock, feel free to ask us about any item. MuzeMaticStudios music store has the best prices in town. Come on by and see ourselection!

1216 Broadway - Kerrville, Texas - 830.895.5092 - muzematic@yahoo.com

Our offers many services at GREAT prices and GREATquality. Engineer and Producer Erik Strickland can record, mix, masterANYTHING! Drop off your cassettes at MuzeMatic Studios and we will transferthem to CD’s for you in no time. Songs, commercials, memorable conversations,you name it, he can record it! Erik also creates beats and instrumentals for anygenre. His ear for music has shown to produce great quality recordings for manyartists in the Hill Country. Our recording studio rates start at $40 per hour. Callus and schedule a tour of the studio or to schedule a time to come record.

MuzeMatic Studios offers lessons with professional andexperienced instructors. We offer guitar lessons, drumlessons, piano lessons, vocal lessons and a songwriting class. Ifyou are interested in taking lessons, contact MuzeMaticStudios and we will get you all set up with your instructor.

Guitar- Graham WarwickDrum- Mike Gonzales & John Ike WaltonPiano- Daniel ElliottVocal & Songwriting- Dian Roberts Piper

July 2012 PG 1

My Dentity Customize Your Kit Today atwww.mydentity.mapexdrums.com

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July 2012 PG 4

Band 1- 6:00

U RT XY SE RP E S

For bookings please contact Mike Kuykendall at 830-955-2130

country and southern rock

·

July 2012 PG 4

What is your favorite live venue in thearea?

Center Stage Live magazine is search-ing for monthly favorite of local live

music venues. Tosubmit your favorite venue for the

month of August, send your nomina-tion to

centerstagelivemag@yahoo.comOr vote on facebook at

facebeook.com/centerstagelivemagDeadline for submissions is July 14

August Venue Winner will beannounce in August’s edition of

Center Stage Live Magazine.

Pampells 11th and 25th

The Ol’ Waterin hole 4th, 8th,21

Pier 27 6th,Hunt Store 14th

Cocky Rooster 20th

Azul 28th

Facebook.com/soundadvicetx

Around the first week in May, the editorialstaff  of Center Stage Live approached meto write an article on ANYTHING I wantedto write about.

I thought,"Yeah! This'll be easy!"

I found myself hanging in the shade atcamp on "Land Rush" Sunday at Quiet Val-ley Ranch looking at my calendar full of lotsof exciting events in my life in the upcomingdays!

The Kerrville Folk Festival was looming - Iwas there setting up camp. I would be host-ing a Ballad Tree (the Folk Fest's answer toan open mic). I figured there would surelybe some great & intense picking sessionsaround the campfires with some incrediblesongwriters! Not to mention some real cool& 'good old' friends  to hang out with, andsome yet to be met.

I could interview Peter Yarrow…. or maybeSteve Gillette…..

I had some fun gigs sprinkled throughoutthe calendar.

My reverie was interrupted by a phone callwith the sad news that my Good Old Friend"Cowboy"  Doug Davis had passed on tothe gig on high the day before.

It was a crazily sobering bi-polar moment.The elation of our annual extended musicalfamily reunion against the intense backdropof sorrow for not only my loss, but the lossto the world of music. My emotions werenumbed down.

Later -

The Folk Fest is done, gigs accomplished,the campfire pickin' & singing now riding onthe Hill Country winds, and here I am amonth later, under the ominous shadow ofthe "deadline" trying to remember what Iwanted to write about.

I ticked through the mental list that I hadembedded in my mind the month before:

The Folk Fest.

The Ballad Tree.

Campfires.

Picking circles.

Interviews that never happened.

Then it hit me... just like the morning I re-ceived that call…

Cowboy Doug.

I have to admit, that moment was the firsttime I cried about his passing. It just didn'tseem to fit before. It was as if the call hadjust happened.

I really started thinking about Doug & myrelationship with him.

Yes. That is what I'll write about.

My first thought went something like this:

"There was no truer friend….."

Then I thought, "Oh! Come on Graham!Surely you can come up with somethingmore profound to describe such an interest-ing character that made such an incredibleimpact on your life!"

So, I started again….. again, the samephrase came out… "There was no truerfriend…"

At this point I felt as if I should have remem-bered to take off my hat, stomp out mysmoke, & slick my hair back like an embar-rassed cowhand at a solemn occasion sud-denly remembering his manners.

OK. A wave came over me as I realized thatphrase really IS Doug! So, I kept writing.

Cowboy Doug Davis.

There was no truer friend.

He was one to "ride the river"with. Youcould always count on him. Like a cowboyhero, he would always come ridin' up at thejust in the nick time!

Why he was such a good friend he wouldgive you the shirt off his back without anythought. (He'd probably just go buy anotherthe ext day at the Hospice Thrift storewhere he volunteered.)

Doug was such a good friend he'd give youhis last cigarette - a Camel non-filtered….as long as you didn't mind sharing a coupleof puffs with him! (Upon the discovery of hiscondition, he wrote Philip Morris and toldthem that "on accounta I was the one smok-ing' your cigarettes, I'm not asking for anymoney…. I was just wondering' if you couldjust buy my cigarettes for the rest of what'sleft of my life?" TRUE story!)

Shoot! He'd share his last dinner with ya!

Give ya a ride to the Mini-Mart to buy acoke in his gold colored Lincoln (How DID

that thing keep runnin'???)… ya jes' gottawait a few minutes for him to clear out aspace for ya in the front seat!

Doug was such a great friend he would giveyou his last beer… of course, after he tooka couple of swallers, making sure his lipsdidn't touch the mouth of the bottle so yawouldn't get Doug "cooties"!

There was no truer (musician) friend….

As many of you may know, I ran the bestBlues jam in the Hill Country for years inFredericksburg.

Doug was the kind of friend that had aknack for showing up at the jam with hisguitar and/or his trumpet just at the verymoment when I felt that the night was get-ting stagnant & I needed something orsomeone to brighten things up.  He wasalways good for a rendition of "I'm a Hog forYa Baby" or a Bob Wills' standard like "Ba-by What Ya Gonna Do?"

I ended up using him as the "guest" leadplayer quite often.

Not only was Doug a great friend, he was aversatile musician, as well. Like the realcowboy he was, you could always trust himwith any job at any time.

One day, I was looking for a drummer forthe jam. I called everyone I knew. Therewere none available.

As if on cue, Doug calls me. "Hey Graham!You need anybody for your jam tonight??"

"Well, Doug I have nearly a full crew… un-less you know a good drummer?"

"I can drum! I'm a pretty decent drummer! Ican keep the beat!"

"You're a drummer, too, Doug??" I askedunbelievingly.

"Yeah! I'm pretty fair!" he answered honest-ly.

"OK! You're it then! Startin' time is at 6:30…Can ya make that??"

"Yeah!! No problemo, Amigo!"

"OK. See ya there!"

Twenty minutes later, I get a call. It wasDoug.

"Hey Graham! You have drums there,right?"

"Well… no……………. You don't have anydrums Doug???"

"Well, I have an old snare that needs a newhead & I need to repair the snares. And Ihave some brushes…. Don't worry I'll get ittogether!"

And though I had my reservations, he DIDget it together. He really WAS a fair drum-mer! Pretty darned good for that matter!Even with only a snare! And he kept thebeat and then some! That wasn't the last

Graham Files!There’s No Truer Friend (c) by Graham Warwick

July 2012 PG 6

Story Continues Pg 6

I grew to expect the unexpected from Doug. There was thenight he called me & asked,"Hey Graham! Need a drummer to-night??"

"No, Doug. Got a drummer. I don't guess you can play bassthough… can ya??? Chris (Adams) can't make it."

"Why SURE!!" There was a long pause…. I waited for it….. Ijust KNEW there had to be a catch!

"Do you have a bass I could borrow???"

He must have heard my shoulders drop in frustration.

Then before I could answer, he says,"Its OK if you don't. I havethis old cheap SilverTone that I have converted to a bass!"

As he explained - in detail - how he did it, I glazed over - myimagineering mind was have a hard time wrapping around thisone.

He finished, "Now all I have to do is put a pickup on it!!! I'vebeen wantin' to try this out & see if it works!!! Don't worry! I'll bethere!!"

Shaking my head in amazement I hang up.

A few minutes later, the phone rings. Its Doug again.

"Hey Graham! Don't suppose you have a bass amp do ya?"

We made it through that gig and many others. Doug was an in-credible and imaginative musician

There was no truer friend……

Doug was the kind of friend that always had something to saythat made you smile.

He came up to me once & said, "Hey Graham! Last week I hadto cut out a couple of pieces of newspaper the size of dollarbills."

After he checked to see if he had me, he says with a wrygrin,"Had to put 'em in my wallet to keep it from healing' up!!"

There was no truer friend than Cowboy Doug Davis.

I could go on & on...

I'm one of the lucky ones that counted Doug as my friend….and I know he counted me back.

As I reflected on mine & Doug's times together, I realized howmuch of a blessing he was to me. In my life, I know I have re-ceived many blessings like this from many sources. Not to men-tion all those blessings from the Good Lord that I always forgetto be thankful for. Doug was one of those.

Now, I would like to return the favor to God by giving him ablessing back:

To God: 'Scuse me while I 'member my manners Lord & makemyself presentable to you. (I take off my sweat-soaked hat, dustmyself off, slick my hair, straighten my clothes and clear mythroat….)

Best get started here……

Dear God, I hope you get to be as good o' friends with CowboyDoug as I did in his life…….

…'cuz, you'll find no truer friend than Cowboy Doug Davis.

There's No Truer Friend Continued

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Call Mark Piperto build yourHandcraftedguitar- TODAY!615–419-0243

Redentore Guitars

Guitar Tips 101"Howdy folks! Hot 'nuff far ya?"

I'm new to Texas but I think I'm catching on. My wife says, "Keep trying." She is a native, born and raised. I'm newlyenlightened and loving it.

I'm Mark Piper. I built my first guitar in 1979 and have been building and repairing as a profession ever since. I'veseen (and fixed!) just about everything that can go wrong on a guitar. In these articles, I'll be addressing and advis-ing on maintenance, proper set up and maybe a little history, and other points of interest as they relate to guitars.Perhaps I'll try to throw in a little wit (my wife says I'm 50% qualified) with the wisdom. So here goes!

Tip 1: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's the problem with government. If something’s working fine, they'll fix it untilit’s not.

Tip 2: If it IS broken, don't fix it. Take it to a qualified repair man (repair person? We don't have to be politicallycorrect in Texas, do we?). I've seen many quality instruments that the owner has attempted to repair and causedmore damage than the original injury. If the head stock is broken, don't glue it yourself. Don't cost yourself a lot ofmoney by trying to save a little.

Tip 3: If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for your instrument. Don’t leave it in the car on a hot day. It's you’rebaby. You could be charged with a crime. Excessive heat causes joints to creep (bridges loosen, frets pop up, necksbow).

Tip 4: Don't leave your guitar out on a cold night. Lacquer finishes can crack due to cold. I know this is Texas but itcould still happen.

Tip 5: Solid wood acoustic guitars can be very sensitive to dryness. Wood responds to humidity changes acrossthe grain much more than with the grain. Tops and backs in particular are subject to cracks resulting fromexcessive dryness because bracing can restrict the shrinkage, hence a crack results (please refer to item #2.Don't glue it yourself!). Many guitars are built at 40-45% humidity as an industry standard. It can get muchdryer than that here in Texas. I tend to build in lower humidity levels (30-35%). I believe the guitar is morestable. Bottom line: Keep your guitar in the house and preferably in its case when not in use. In very dryweather, put an inexpensive humidifier in the case. Money well spent.

Tip 6: Keep your guitar set up properly. Take it to a qualified tech every couple months to have it checked.If a neck is bowed, it is more likely to continue to bow if it is not readjusted properly. Neckadjustment, action height, proper intonation, pick up adjustment, ect., all contribute toan instrument that is a joy to play rather than a struggle. You can concentrate on yourmusic rather than having to compensate for a poorly set up guitar. The good news:proper set up is something many players can learn to do for themselves. We canaddress this in future articles.

Thank you for your time, I hope this has been and will be helpful. If you have particularquestions or subjects you would like to have addressed, please submit them and I willtry to help, or at least express my opinion. Nice to meet you.

Mark Piperwww.redentoreguitars.com

July 2012 PG 8

By Mark Piper

6

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Michael DavilaMichael Davila turned heads around the world when he won the Drummer of Tomorrow contest buthe isn’t quick to tell you that. He is a humble man with his feet on the ground and I sat down with himto talk about the contest and the art of consistency.

CS: Tell us a little about yourself; where are you from and how long have you been in Kerrville?

MD: I was born in Palm Springs, California. I’m 20 years old and I’ve been living in Kerrville for about 2years.

CS: And you play drums?

MD: Yes, I play a little.

CS: Why did you start playing drums?

MD: This is a question I can’t really answer…. I was told that when I learned how to walk I ran for thedrums.

CS: Does your family have a musical background?

MD: Yes. Everyone in my family is into music. My dad is a former drummer. He plays keyboards andsings. My mom sings. My brother plays piano and drums and he’s learning bass. My grandparents andeveryone in my family play music.

CS: How long have you been playing drums?

MD: I’ve been playing for 18 years.

CS: When did you decide to really take drumming seriously?

MD: The week after I graduated I was thinking a lot about what I wanted to be and it hit me. I thought:“I’ve been playing drums all my life and I’m going to give this a shot. I don’t know what to expect butI’m going to go as hard as I possibly can.” Then I started practicing eight hours a day. All day every day.I used to see videos of other drummers – great drummers – and I would say: “I want to be that good. Iwant to be that good and better.”

CS: Some drummers study different styles of music from their teachers. Did you have any music in-structors or are you self taught?

MD: I’m originally self-taught. I showed myself how to play the drums but I was in middle school andhigh school band.

CS: Do you think school band helped make you into a better drummer?

MD: It helped a lot. My instructor used to pick on me. For some reason it was only me and not the oth-er drummers. He would stop everything in the middle of class and say “Michael, do a paradiddle for twominutes straight” and if I messed up I would have to come in at lunch and do it over again. He used topick on me but I’m glad he did that. He showed me a lot.

CS: Did band help you with odd time signatures or was that something you were already proficient in?

MD: Band did help me with that because I was self-taught and I really didn’t know much about time sig-natures. Now I’m constantly using odd time signatures in solos and in practice.

Interview by Mason Davis

CS: Tell us about your practice regiment. How often to doyou practice?

MD: I usually practice as much as I can. Sometimes for anhour, sometimes all day. We all have crazy busy days wherewe have to get things done but if you practice for five minutesthen you will be five minutes better than you were five min-utes ago.

CS: What are your warm-ups like? Is there a certain routineyou follow?

MD: Warming up I go over everything; single stroke rolls, dou-ble stroke rolls, triple stroke rolls, flamtaps, double paradid-dles, paradiddle-diddles… I mix everything up into hybridrudiments. My thing isn’t speed, it’s consistency. I practice theMoeller technique for four minutes with my right hand thenfour minutes with my left hand and do that all day until I can’tfeel my wrists. My goal is to be consistent.

CS: What bands do you listen to?

MD: I’ve been leaning towards progressive hard rock and pro-gressive metal. Animals As Leaders and Periphery are two ofmy favorite bands right now. I also like The Mars Volta andwhat they are doing as far as just being crazy and experimen-tal.

CS: Who are some of your favorite drummers right now?

MD: It’s always changing. There are so many great drummersout there… I go on youtube and look at every drummer outthere – I’m all about learning from other drummers. ChrisColeman, Thomas Pridgeon, Matt Halpern, the list goes onand on and on…

CS: Is there any particular style of music you haven’t playedvery much of or that you would like to play more of?

MD: Progressive metal. I can play all styles but after hearingPeriphery and Animals As Leaders it seems challenging to playprogressive metal. It’s very complex and very interesting.

CS: You play out at local bars around town with Sound Advice.What is your take on the Kerrville scene?

MD: It’s always fun. I’m all about putting on a show. There’snothing better than having people show up that want to hearyou play.

CS: Tell us about the “Drummer Of Tomorrow” contest youcompeted in.

MD: I always go to Hastings to check out the drummer maga-zines and one day I was sitting on a couch reading ModernDrummer and I got to the back page and saw an add that said“Drummer Of Tomorrow: Enter Now” and I didn’t reallyknow what to think of it. I was a couple weeks late in enteringthe contest and there were already hundreds of videos up.The top one hundred videos with the most votes went to the

Check Michael out atwww.drummeroftomorrow.com

Michael Davila issponsered by

July 2012 PG 12

drummers. A few weeks later I got an email saying I madethe top sixteen. They flew us to Nashville for the quarterfinals and we recorded videos of our solos. Out of all six-teen of us I was the only one that nailed the solo on thefirst take. Those videos were put up and the ones withthe most votes moved on and a week later I was told Imade the top eight. From there they flew us out to Seat-tle. We played at a drum festival in front of live judges andI made the cut. The four of us competed at the NAMMshow in Anaheim. Win or lose I was really just happy to bethere. We played a solo then a live track with a band and Iended up winning the U.S. finals. Two months later I’mbeing flown out to Germany to represent U.S.A. againstthe winners from around the world. There were twelvedrummers from all over the globe; Spain, Germany, Aus-tralia, and… I won the whole thing. It was an eight monthprocess. It was a lot of hard work and sacrifice paying off.

CS: Did you do anything differently to prepare for thecontest?

MD: Preparation was the key to the whole contest. I wasalready practicing eight hours a day. I remember practic-ing from ten at night to four in the morning. I was giving itmy all. So when the contest came about I was ready. I hadto continue doing what I was already doing and just prac-tice every single day.

CS: After eight months how did it feel to win the contest?

MD: The flight back to the U.S. was very deep for me. Ithought about how it was a random contest in the back ofa magazine that I would never win….. It was intense. Icouldn’t believe it.

CS: Did winning the contest bring a bit of attention fromsome major companies?

MD: Yes. I am a fully sponsored Mapex international art-ist, Zildjian takes care of my cymbals for me, I have a sig-nature drumstick line from Vic Firth, and REMO takescare of all my drum heads.

CS: Any words of advice for up and coming drummers?

MD: Practice. Haha! There is no end to learning. If youwant something, work hard and give it your all. If you areconsistent it’s gonna happen. That’s just how it works.

Photo taken at Drummer of Tomorrow Competiton

Living in Nashville 30 years, I was fortunate to work with who I still consider the best ballad songwriters, JanCrutchfield, Paul Harrison, and a plethora of others, like me, whose “goal” was to write the “perfect” song. Weachieved and pitched to artists like Barbara Mandrell, just KNOWING our next cut would be on the radio; here’sthe heartbreak of living that close to a “deal” and have the label “pass”—in other words, not cut your song!My advice to those who want to quit after something like this happens is to NOT! There is an old saying, “You’reas good as your last hit”—keep writing! Do politics play into getting a writing deal? Absolutely! Although in the 80’swhen I was working as a demo singer at MCA Records and other small publishing companies, my attitude was,God brought me here to learn with the best, so I humbled myself. One day I was in the studio with a friend andco-writer, Georgia Germond. She asked me to write a song on the spot, which I thought at the time was thesilliest tune and lyric I ever wrote—it was for a children’s music program and my assignment was to write a songfor the note of “E”—Flash forward—“Ethel” was part of the program called “Little House of Music”(www.littlehouseofmusic.com) that was nominated for a Grammy!My point? Stick to it! If you quit, you will NEVER know. If you grow bitter, your heart will harden and thosebeautiful melodies and lyrics will never come to fruition.Two heads ARE better than one (at times), especially if your strong suit isn’t lyrics or melodies—some are both—but after time, your tunes will start sounding the same. It is tough to find the “perfect” co-writer(s) and there havebeen times I have ended up writing or re-writing. Again, if your strength is lyrics, co-write with a great melodywriter, and vice- versa.If you play in a band, covers are fine, but do play those originals! You don't have to do the "and then I wrote" gig,just throw it out and let the folks hear them! Bottom line: Keep your ego in check!Thanks for letting me share some of my journey in the music world. There is and will always be a need for greatwriters to be heard—especially in the times we live in. Be encouraged, write something down every day. If you getstuck, start on another idea—and remember, “It all begins with a song.”

“For me, songwriting is something like breathing; Ijust do it. But that doesn’t mean you’re fantastic.”—Adam Duritz“For me, songwriting is the most intimate challengeone can work with—to write from a place that hasthe capacity to change hearts and lives, is truly a giftfrom God.”—Dian Roberts PiperWhen I was asked to write this article the firstthought I had was, “OK, this will be easy because Iam a writer,” After really putting some thought toit, I digressed to Adam Duritz, quote above.

July 2012 PG 13

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Kerrville’s very own monthly music series, held the 3rd Satur-day of each month, is quickly becoming a cult favorite withmany familiar faces at each event and, yet, is relatively un-known to the local community.

Conceived by the Texas Arts & Crafts Educational Foundationas an inexpensive way for locals to enjoy live music from in-credible, original Texas musicians from all over the great state,the event has definitely lived up to its calling. It’s family-friendly and at just $5 per adult and kids 12 and under free, it’san event that everyone can enjoy. The 7.5 acre River Star Arts& Event Park is fully enclosed and is routinely filled with chil-dren thoroughly enjoying and entertaining themselves whiletheir parents enjoy the music.

The River Star Music Series has hosted a number of highly ac-claimed musicians and bands in its five months of existence:the fresh-faced and ridiculously talented band Emory Quinn,Troubador Texas’ favorites Nicolette Good and Chacho &Brance, and the recent inductee into the South Texas MusicWalk of Fame, Karen Abrahams. In addition, a few very tal-ented local musicians have also graced the stage: BradleySherrer, Rodney Joe Smith, and Amber Kinsel.

In June, TACEF spread hundreds of flyers throughout Kerrvilleand the web that offered free admission to two adults. Be sureto be on the lookout for future specials!

The River Star Music Series is located at the River Star Arts &Event Park (home of the Official Texas State Arts & CraftsFair) at 4000 Riverside Dr. East in Kerrville. Beer, wine, andother refreshments are always available, as well as freshlygrilled Angus burgers and hot dogs. Be sure to bring your ownseating, but no coolers, pets, or outside food or beverage. Park-ing is right outside the park off of Riverside Drive.

The Texas Arts & Crafts Educational Foundation is dedicatedto promoting the appreciation of fine arts and craft skills andcreating educational opportunities in the visual and creative artsin the State of Texas. All proceeds from the River Star MusicSeries benefit the current and future creative community en-deavors that TACEF produces.

Come out on the 3rd Saturday of each month to support the arts,the music, and the businesses that make events like this possi-ble for Kerrville!

For additional information, please visit tacef.org orfacebook.com/RiverStarMusicSeries.

Four Point Wine10354 E. US Highway 290 fourpointwineFredericksburg, TX 78624830-997-7470Info@fourpointwine.com @fourpointwinewww.fourpointwine.com

July 6th, 7th, 8th: Casey Hubble2:30PM-6PM

July 12th and July 19th: JohnArthur Martinez 3pm-6pm

July 14th and 15th: Jim Ragland2:30PM-6PM

July 21st and July 22nd: CaseyHubble 2:30PM-6PM

July 27th: Joel Melton 2PM-6PM

July 28th and July 29th: BobCheevers 2:30PM-6PM

(July 11th, 18th and 25th –Happy Hourwith Bahama Billy and Renee)

AugustAugust 2nd, 9th, 16th,23rd, 30th: John Arthur

Martinez 3pm-6pmAugust 4th and 5th: Bob

Cheevers 3pm-6pmAugust 24th: Joel Melton

2pm-6pmAugust 25th and 26th:

Bob Cheevers 2:30pm-6pm

(August 1st, 8th, 15th,22nd and 29th– Happy

Hour with Bahama Billyand Renee)

In any music scene, it pays to know a little bit about the places where we musicians might want to play. While itshelpful to find out about a good thing or to warn off on bad places, mostly its nice both for talent buyers and musicians to allhave an idea about some of the specifics of what's going on in all the little cantinas and bars where we play.

Just as a little experiment, let's look at one of the places I played lately, and maybe if people find it useful, I'll do somemore reviews of other local venues from my perspective as a musician.

Lately, I've been doing a couple of gigs with Graham Warwick. If you've ever played with him, you know that he'lldrag you all over creation and back to play some fun little shows with quirky musicians. This has taken us to all kinds of niceeateries ranging from Dale's Essenhaus all the way out in Georgetown to some hometown places. We're currently an acous-tic duo, with him playing strumming out old time and original blues on his guitar and me backing him up on the upright bass.

One of the nicer spot's we've been able to play is the Azul Lounge in Kerrville.

It's a swank joint located underground in the old mercantile of the historic Schreiner Building. In addition to somepretty sophisticated décor, it is a fine place to get a well-mixed martini. As Graham put it, it's a gig where you should put onyour church shoes. As it turned out, it was a good place to escape the late afternoon heat in Kerrville's summer.

They aren't open especially late; we were booked to play from 7-11. Since they have a small PA, a Yamaha poweredmixer and a couple of speakers on sticks, we didn't need to bring much more than our instruments and amps. They had anice little stage with appropriate lighting at the far corner of the place, which allowed folks who wanted more music to getclose without making us too loud to other patrons. To my surprise, they even have a grand piano on the floor, so after westopped playing I couldn't help myself from doing a couple of tunes on it. It's no C7, but it was in tune.

The crowd was pretty thin when we started out until around 9 when some more folks started to shuffle in. Everyoneseemed to really dig our old blues and jazz standards, and even some of the simpler country music we were playing. Tipswere better than we expected, and the management who booked us was especially congenial.

Pros:Sound System, Stage, and Lighting were in good repairPiano was in tuneBar staff was friendlyNice Tips

Cons:Light crowdCloses at MidnightDownstairs load-in

Would be easy to get too loud for the room

Summary: If you're doing light jazz, instrumental, old blues in an upscale fashion the room would probably suit you well; ifyou've got a rocking country band or are a red-dirt songwriter you might look for more suitable places to play.

Venue Details:Azul Lounge202 Earl Garrett Street Kerrville, TX 78028(830) 896-9338http://www.azulkerrville.com

THE GIG REPORTBy John Reeve

The Azul Lounge, Kerrville, TX

July 2012 PG 16

8

Carl Williamson

John WayWith the talent of John Christopher Way, Lorne

O’Niel, Don Crider, Carl Williamson, and Kevin Burney,Barbwire is sure to make history in the world of Country

music. Barbwire is currently playing manyShows throughout the area. WithJohn Christopher on lead guitar,

vocals, And fiddle among other Instruments.Loren O’Niel Is The Master On the keys

while playing great Bass as Well. Don Crider isthe best Steel guitar Player Throwing in theFiddle now and again. Carl Williamson Plays

Bass with the most Interesting style. Carl plays aright-handed Bass, upside-down. And

Kevin Burney is about as solid of A drummer as you can find. You’re Sure to have a great time

When you go to watch Barbwire play live. You can see Them at places like Inn of the Hills,

And many others.

Center StageBarbwire

Lorne o’niel

Don Crider

Kevin Burney

IN THE STUDIO

Pre-purchase Pat Kelley’slatest CD “RIGHT BACK”

at Pkellymusic.com

You can buy thissong on ReverbNation atwww.reverbnation.com/

patmitchellmusicFor every song sold, 10

centswill be donated tofight breast cancer

Visit Pat Mitchell on Facebook! www.facebook.com/patmitchellmusic

Jeff

erson H

ills

Records

& Guadalu

pe Riv

er Musi

c

OwnerAgent

PromoterManager

1201 Jefferson StKerrville, Tx 78028

@Hondo's Gospel Sunday- Hondo's On Main-

Fredericksburg, TX 1PM-4PM

@ Vaudeville -Fredericksburg, TX 7PM-10PM

@ SilverK Cafe - Johnson City, TX 7PM-9:30PM

@ HappyHourz Show - Luckenbach, TX 4PM-7PM

@ Kerrville Hills Winery -Kerrville, TX 2PM-5PM

SilverCreek Beer Garden - Fredericksburg, TX

6PM-9:30PM

WANTED14 year old drummerlooking to start a metal/ rockproject band.Looking for guitarists,bassist, and vocalist.

Call Zack @830-329-7333

Looking for new musicianswho have never played in aband. Any acoustic/electricinstruments, bluegrass andclassical style.

Call Baylor @ 830-955-3855

Looking for smokinglead guitarist. Rock,alternative, country,blues, regge

Call Ben Beck830-955-2385

Do you have an music related event that you wouldlike to add to our calendar? Call us at 830-895-5092

Wednesday4

Happy 4th of July!Fest Out West

Sound Advice @ Ol’Waterin Hole

Sol Patch @ Vaudeville,FDG 7-10

Thursday5

Fest Out WestSol Patch @ KCafe, Johnson

City 7-9:30

Friday6

Fest Out WestHank Williams: Lost

HighwaySound Advice @ Pier 27Graham Warwick @ Riv-

er’s Edge 6:30-9Pickin’ on the Porch @

FDG 1-4

Saturday7

Fest Out WestHank Williams: Lost

HighwayTexas Thunder: Leg-

ends Outdoors-Helotes,Tx

Sol Patch @ KerrvilleHills Winery 2-5

Sunday8

Fest Out WestSecond Sunday

SummerSerenade

Hank Williams: LostHighway

Sound Advice @Ol’ Waterin HoleGraham @ Beck-er’s Viineyard 1-4

MelissaWeatherly & The

Any GivenSunday Band @Hondo’s On Main1-4

Monday9Fest Out West

Wednesday11Sound Advice @ Pam-

pellsSol Patch Trio @ SilverCreek Beer Garden,FDG, 6-9:30

Thursday12Sol Patch @ K Cafe,Johnson City 7-9:30

Friday13

Hank Williams: LostHighway

Texas Thunder:Longhorn Saloon

Bandera,TxPickin’ on the Porch @

FDG 1-4Sol Patch @ Happy

Hourz Show, Lucken-bach, Tx 4-7

Saturday14

Hank Williams: LostHighway

Texas Thunder:Koyote Ranch

Resort- Medina,TxSound Advice @ Hunt

StoreGraham @ John Reeve

@ Messina Hof 3-6Graham @ John Reeve@ Azul 8:30-12

Thursday19

Hank Williams: LostHighway

Sol Patch @ K Cafe,Johnson City 7-9:30

Friday20

Hank Williams: LostHighway

Texas Thunder:Longhorn Saloon- Bandera,

TxSound Advice @ Cocky

RoosterPickin’ on the Porch @

FDG 1-4Sol Patch @ HappyHourz Show, Lucken-

bach, Tx 4-7

Saturday21

BJ & Ben inConcert

Hank Williams: LostHighway

Sound Advice @ Ol’Waterin Hole

Graham & JohnReeve@ FDG TradeDays 12-4

Sunday22

Graham & JohnReeve @ FDG Trade

Days 12-4Melissa

Weatherly & The AnyGiven

Sunday Band @Hondo’s On Main 1-4

Wednesday25Sound Advice @ Pampells

Sol Patch Trio @ SilverCreek Beer Garden, FDG,6-9:30

Thursday26Sol Patch @ K Cafe,Johnson City 7-9:30

Friday27Buckhorn Lake Re-

sort’s Red-NeckRiviera

Pickin’ on thePorch @ FDG 1-4

Sol Patch @ Hap-py Hourz Show,Luckenbach, Tx4-7

Saturday28Buckhorn Lake Re-

sort’s Red-Neck Riv-iera

Texas Thunder:Koyote Ranch

Resort- Medina, TxSound Advice @

AzulGraham @ WilliamChris Winery 12-4

Sunday29Graham Warwick @The Hunt Store 3-6

MelissaWeatherly & The Any

GivenSunday Band @Hondo’s On Main 1-4

Sunday1

MelissaWeatherly & The Any

GivenSunday Band @Hondo’s On Main 1-4