December 2005-January 2008 front page

December 2005-January 2008

1/28/08
Danny's Music Box shut its doors, kind of. They opened back up under a new name, DJM Music. I haven't been in there, but I know they have less stuff, so far. Here's wishing Danny and his crew all the best.

1/27/08
I had The Dollyrots at Bennigans Friday night, as well as Suffrajetts, Atomic Pink, and Sorin. I had hoped that, by starting the show at 7:30, we could have drawn teen-agers, who could have left before the curfew hit at 11, but none showed, and the early start time probably hurt the rest of the turn-out. Aside from that, I really had a good time. The Dollyrots were excellent, though they played a short set for a headliner. I didn't get to see much of the Suffrajetts, but both Russell Yerrington, from whom I had rented some of the PA, and Ed Thomas, who I had hired to help run the PA, raved about them.

When all the bands were finished, and The Dollyrots had packed up their gear, they spent about 45 minutes helping Ed and I pack up the PA gear. Man, when I see such very nice people, it makes me think that maybe I should try and be nicer myself.

Nah!

Hey, I finished the article on What's Wrong with the Local Original Music Scene?. In this article, I include the infamous blog by Chaos Follows Order, the comments of a number of people whose comments I solicited for this article, and some apropos back-and-forth that took place in a soon-to-be-released interview I did with Ryan Rosoff, as well as my own plan for fixing the scene.

Something I am going to do, but not before March, is to make CDs of local bands, and pass them out for free. One original song per band, per issue. Probably do a different one each month. Let me know if you're interested in this.

Congratulations to La Utopia, for winning the best Alternative Band in Spanish contest on www.enredox.com.

1/20/08
I'm finishing up an article on what's wrong with the original music scene here in El Paso. Everybody always talks about it being messed up, but exactly what needs to be fixed? Anyhow, I got input from about eight different people that are involved with the scene. I'll get that finished up soon. Doh!!

1/15/08
I booked The Dollyrots into Bennigans for 1/25. The show will be outdoors. Suffrajett is coming with them; I have locals Sorin and Atomic Pink. They are also going to have their big St. Patrick's Day party there on 3/17. That's always a big show. I recommended a number of bands to them for that.

1/8/08
Caught up the Bands list (kind of). I deleted all the bands that I knew were disbanded. Let me know if the info is still not right. Also, if you want me to do something there, don't tell me to look up your info on myspace. If you can't take the time to send it to me, I can't take the time to look it up.

1/7/08
Heard Ryan Rosoff on KROD 600 AM tonight. It's a sports show, but Ryan got to talk a lot about his band, Little King, and their new CD, Legacy of Fools. It didn't hurt that Ryan knows a lot about sports, and that he's known the host of the program, Steve Kaplowitz, for years.

12/30/07
Here is the flyer for the New Years Eve show at Good Times Sports Bar, featuring Border Roots.

Hey, what is wrong with the local original music scene? I'm asking that question to a number of local folks, but I also invite the public at large to send in their ideas to charles AT elpasomusicscene.com. I hear people bitching all the time about the scene, but I don't really hear what needs to change. One thing I hear over and over is that El Pasoans don't support original bands. OK, how do we fix that? I'll probably put the responses I get in an article in 5-6 days.

12/29/07
Saw Memento Mori and Friday Night Horror at The Hidden Hookah Lounge last night. The Hidden Hookah is, well, too hidden. They really need some signs. If you go to the L-shaped shopping center on the southwest corner of Pebble Hills and Lee Trevino - the corner with the gas station (besides the 7-11) - the corner of the L is where this place is. You still won't see it if the grates are closed, but it's to the right of the Garibaldi Ballroom. Inside, the place is long and narrow - and cold! The stage is in the middle. They don't have any alcohol, but they are planning on setting that up by the summer. They serve hot tea, sodas, hookahs. I don't know why they don't sell coffee.

Anyhow, to the music: Memento Mori is Jamie Hernandez and Albert Cueto. I have thought before that Jamie sounds a lot like Shakira, but I was thinking this night that she reminds me of some 60s folk singers. Maybe Joan Baez, maybe Joni Mitchell. She's going to be a well-known member of the local scene, until she can, hopefully, make it out of here. One more thing about the duo - they should raise the volume of the bass. They're only vox / rhythm guitar / bass; it's a shame not to hear everybody well.

The other duo I saw, Friday Night Horror, was interesting. The singer has a very nice, Bono-like voice. I think he's in a hardcore band, as well, but that's a waste of his singing ability. I'd like to see more of him in something that takes good advantage of his voice.

BTW, the Hidden Hookah Lounge frequently has shows where you can just bring your guitar and get up on the stage and perform. I'm looking for my kazoo now.

After I left the HH Lounge, I crossed Lee Trevino to The Tork Bar. They had a Spanish-language band covering pop tunes. By the signs on the wall, it was Kliche. Pretty decent, but they need to turn up the vox. I could hear every instrument well except the singer.

12/26/07
The El Paso Times' Adriana Chavez is now booking shows. Specifically, on 1/19, The Listening Booth Presents at Zeppelin’s. The Listening Booth, for those of you who don't know, is the name of her blog. The Times' writers do a half-dozen blogs or so, linked to from elpasotimes.com.

First, I want to say that I don't really look upon Adriana as competition, because I am going to be doing bigger shows in 2008 than I expect her to do. Still, though, I have a problem with what she's doing, for several reasons.

First of all, the news media is not supposed to be making news. I know this sounds a little bit hypocritical of me, since I both cover the scene on this site, as well as promote shows. I submit, however, that what I do is different. First of all, I have done this site for three years for no money, and did my cable show for a year and a half, again for no money. The El Paso Times has a very large built-in advantage over a web site with almost no budget. Second, I make it clear that the writing here is my opinion. Third, I post flyers for just about anybody that wants to send them. Without going into detail, I let people say what they want, whether I agree with it or not.

Where I really have a problem, though, is that The El Paso Times is not an honest broker. They have always played favorites. Remember Atomic Pink? They have turned into a serious band since The Times gave them coverage that the rest of the local bands would die for, but two years ago, they got covered every week for months. They were pretty decent for seventeen-year-olds, but they didn't deserve all that free coverage. Frankly, At The Drive-In in their heyday probably didn't deserve to be covered every week by the only real (at least, the only real English-language) newspaper in town. They give almost no coverage to local bands, even today. At least, not in the actual newspaper.

On a personal note, the Times pretty much never lists the shows I send them. I'm talking about page two of the Borderlands section. I send them the stuff, since it doesn't take much effort, but less than one show in ten that I send them makes it in. I am absolutely certain that every one of Adriana's shows is going to be listed there. Tell me I'm wrong.

Also, in 2005, when I was doing a lot of interviews, they interfered with a number of the ones that I did. Now that they have built up their own internet presence, they have stopped doing it, but that was highly unethical of them.

I think she's a swell person and all, and I really do like her, but as long as The Times is going to show favoritism in what they print, and are going to list her shows and not those of people they don't like, this is unethical for someone in her position. 'Nuff said.

12/24/07
Here is the flyer for The Staircase Descent, The Dogma of the Ghost in the Machine, Triumph over Shipwreck, Friday Night Fire Fright, It Soars Above, Pathers Vs. Tigers, and Remains of the Slay at Chics.

12/15/07
We interviewed country legend, Ray Price, today. I didn't do this one, but I was in the room listening to the speaker with my friend, Ed Thomas, who conducted the phone interview. I had Ed do this one, since he was a long-time country music performer here in El Paso.

I have also done an interview with Ryan Rosoff of Little King recently. Hope to have both these posted soon.

12/14/07
I don't like the new myspace formats, because they take up too much room. I did, however, run across some news on Chaos Follows Order in their blog that I found interesting. Seems they parted ways with their vocalist, Charlie. Their guitar player, Matt, is handling the vocals for now. I have no idea how well he will do in this new role, but I wish them luck. I always liked their songs, and they were, and hopefully are, a pretty good band. They do tend to play too long, however, and don't manage the, well, excitement, of their set. They also tend to ignore when their set is supposed to start and end, without regard for the other bands. I'll check them out when I can.

12/13/07
House of Sin (H.O.S.) has closed down. I gotta figure they just didn't know how to run a bar; they had no problem getting people into the place. Also, looks like Beer Bellies has closed its doors. It's really too bad about all the venue closures. I'm going to open my own place some time in 2008. I'm doing a lot of big shows, and I might even have to rent halls to put them on, since there are very few sizeable venues.

12/12/07
29 Texas Artists receive 34 Grammy nominations, including Beyonce's nomination for Record Of The Year (Irreplaceable). Man, I know I stop what I'm doing every time her commercial for the satellite TV comes on TV. The 50th Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Feb. 10, 2008, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

12/11/07
Here is the flyer for the 12/13 show at Chics, featuring The Staircase Descent, The Dogma of the Ghost in the Machine, Friday Night Fire Fright, Storybook Ending, Jack's Smirking Revenge, Emalia, Remains of the Slay, Every Star I See.

12/10/07
Went to Rockabillys; I had heard that it had re-opened . I asked them when they opened back up. They told me they'd never closed; that they just changed ownership. Damn! I know I wasn't the only one that thought they had closed. I saw flyers posted for shows with several cover bands, including Elegant Gypsy and Ulysses. Anyhow, the number there is 755-1689.

12/7/07
Memento Mori in San Jacinto Plaza, 12/14/07.

12/6/07

Got this from Ryan Rosoff of Little King:

Hey, Charles.
The album is in the can!
We are pressing next week and I should have CD’s by the end of the year. The release date is January 15 worldwide - should be really good. There is great publicity in the Prog Rock world by our label, Unicorn Records www.unicornrecords.com. The pre-release buzz has been good (those who have heard clips are digging it.) I ain’t gonna claim Sony or Epic is ready to sign us, but I think this record should double last one (maybe a total of 5,000 sold or so?)

Here is the press release.

Say goodbye for Jesse Hawk this Saturday! Yep, Jesse's leaving town, say, "So long," Saturday at Kush Lounge, 21+, 10-2am, No cover. Jesse gave me a great deal on his PA equipment, so you know I'm never going to forget him... Oh, yeah, he is a really nice guy on top of that. He did a show every Saturday for years at the Downtown Sports Bar & Grill. here is the flyer.

12/4/07
Country Music Hall of Fame Member Ray Price will perform in concert on his 82nd birthday at 7pm, Saturday, January 12, 2008 at Caldwell Auditorium, 300 S. College Street in Tyler, Texas. Happy birthday, Ray!

Here is a press release of the event, including Ray's bio. Anybody up for a car pool over there? Only about a sixteen-hour drive...

12/3/07
King Octopus reunion this Saturday at Three Legged Monkey. I haven't been there for a while, but they used to have really nice waitresses, er, food...

12/3/07
I've been talking to Bundy from So Not Psyched Studios. He seems a little naive, but that youthful optimism is refreshing. Hope he can make something happen before the big clash with the Real World. Here are some excerpts:

Bundy: I'm help local bands get there music recorded for cheap price 30 bux a song. theres links on my page that the bands can put ther music on world wide. also If any clothing company wants a model to model there clothing. I have over 10,000 worth on software. I invested all my money for this studio by shows, work and any other way I can get my studio going.I'm not here to rip off the bands I'm here to promote them and let the world know about el paso. I grow up in city. I'll I want is for el paso to be united. they way it's sopossed to be....I know it will be hard but I'm willing to take that chance. I dont charge by the hour. I'm not here to compete against any one I'm help to help
EPMS: 30 bucks a song is pretty cheap. Do you have some satisfied customers that you have recorded at that price?
Bundy: I only recorded 3 bands so far and know they want me to record there album.
"I'm here to promote them and let the world know about el paso. ... I want is for El Paso to be united. they way it's sopossed to be."
EPMS: I've heard a lot of people say such things, and I can't think of anybody that has really made any difference. What makes you think you can, where nobody else has?
Bundy: I want El Paso to be united,too.
I'll be getting new software today, In total of what I put in 10,000 dollars worth of software. Ryan from What's Up is going to help me out as well, to promote the studio. It seems El Paso is stuck in there ways......When someone does good, they want to bring them back down....

Hmm... that sounds familiar. Anyhow, Bunday can be contacted at the myspace page of So Not Psyched Studios.

11/23/07
Jim Ward, frontman for Sparta, is playing tonight at Club 101. Also on the bill is Lusitania and Alister M. You can check out Jim's stuff at his myspace page. He just released a solo acoustic EP called "Quiet". He is focused on this unplugged project right now.

Atomic Pink is taking off for a short tour to California...

Hey, I just heard that Las Cruces' The Dirty Clydes has broken up. Damn! I love those guys!

11/19/07
Hey, Vybe Records is having a talent contest! Six winners will get free recording time. Here are the details.

10/25/07
Here's something cool... kfoxtv.com. You can post your shows on it for free. They already have a number of listings. Carmen Hernandez (5 STR Booking), Adriana Chavez and El Paso Punk Showlist are putting their listings there. Some of the other TV stations have the same deal.

Here's something neat: El Paso Pod Show, a weekly show broadcast on your iPod. This week's show features the Cantina Flys. They are looking for bands to perform on their show (hint, hint)!

11/18/07
Last night saw Citizens of Change. Since I am building up my PA, one of the first things I noticed was that they had a very nice PA, and a very nice lighting setup, especially for an original band. They had very good energy, and decent showmanship.

10/28/07
I went out about midnight last night to see Whiskey Dust, a Las Cruces band playing at Beer Bellies. To my surprise, the place was already dark. The Warehouse was also dark. I did manage to find some live music going on at the House of Sin; the crowd there was still pretty good at 1 AM. KLAQ DJs Scott Ronson and Glenn Garza were there.

One band that I really liked was Angel Syndrome. A three-piece, they feature aggressive drumming (always a favorite of mine) and throaty vocals. Overall, a hard-rocking band!

Ryan Rosoff of Little King let me listen to a couple of tunes off their upcoming CD. It was the first time I had heard them in a couple of years. I like the drums and bass. First time I ever heard Eddy play drums. I'm glad I like him. I wouldn't have high expectations for somebody that plays so many instruments. I like the vox better than I remember. They seem to be taking a little bit different direction... it does remind me of some pop-ish bands I have heard lately, such as the Redwalls, a band that I booked that I liked a lot.

10/24/07
Hey! Just talked with Elvis Suissa of Three Bad Jacks. They're coming through town December 5; first show in about a year, and the last for a while. Can't wait...

Jamie Hernandez (Sorin) short interview is up.

10/21/07
Caught The Mexicans last night. I was supposed to have a show at Lone Star, but they double-booked on me. Cross that one off the list. Too small, anyhow, and the 21-over thing, plus 18-over for the bands, was very cumbersome.

The Mexicans were the band that Russell Yerrington was doing sound for at Handlebars. I rent equipment from him when I lack something in my PA. They were a decent cover band. I liked the vocals; the guy has nice sustain on high notes; very useful for rockers.

10/16/07
I don't have the Margaritas shows any more. Waste of the $300 I lost on the shows. I told them it was going to take a while to build up a rock show at a place with a reputation only as a dance hall, but they couldn't wait. Oh, well. Easy come, easy go.

I actually brought in $360 cover in two weeks, but that wasn't so much for a place that size. Also, my expenses were a lot more than normal.

A few notes about those shows:
1) I am definitely going to have another show like that, plus a good crowd, and at least a cable TV show to cover it. Give me 3-4 months.
2) Sorin: love the song-writing. Lots of potential if they stick together. I also love Chaos Follows Order's songs, but I'd seen them several times before.
3) I messed up the sound for about three of the bands. I was renting Russell's rig, which has a lot more knobs than my small powered mixer. I was turning one knob the wrong way, and turning the wrong knob on the vocals' trims. Live and learn.

Oh, something else I learned about doing sound: don't let the vocalist do his own EQs. You know how your recorded voice sounds different to you than the way you think it sounds? I let somebody EQ his own voice, and it really didn't sound very good.

Also, when I have another show like this one, and running like I want it, I'm not going to allow large guitar amps; all guitars will run through small amps that will be mic'd and run through the PA. Every sound man out there knows what I'm talking about.

10/12/07
Hey, great news! Cars Collide is going to stick with it! Of course, they need a drummer...

10/10/07
This from Mike of Abnik:
hey CH,

ABNIK is now finally complete!!! We want to thank all of you who came out to audition. We want to wish you all the best of luck in your search for a band!!!!!

We are PROUD to Announce the new ABNIK:

Joe ( Erotic Death) on Bass
Saul ( Lylah) on Guitar and.....
Bobby on Drums.

Not to Mention Mike on Guitar and Jeremy on Vocals........

So SPREAD the WORD People.... ABNIK is BACK BIGGER BETTER & STRONGER!!!

We will keep you posted on any future Shows!!

Take care
MikE
Abnik
2007

Damn! I missed the audition?

10/9/07
Here is the flyer for Margarita's on the Rock, 10/14 at Margaritas, featuring Chaos Follows Order, Alodex, Morning Shift, The Red Sails, Hooray 4 Punk, and Molly Mae Black. Here is the flyer for Eufonico Fringe / Musicianers / Bunq / Thought Police / Phillip Tubbs / Dozal Brothers / Kareem and the $20 clubbalstars on 10/13 at The Brickhouse. Here is the flyer for Child Abuse / Eufonico Fringe / Corima at Zeppelins on 10/25. Here is the flyer for Aids Wolf / Monotonix / Eufonico Fringe at The Farm (Las Cruces) on 11/13.

10/8/07
Cars Collide, who played at my show last night at Margarita's, is disbanding. Much of it is because their drummer left to join Alphabetter. It's a shame, because they were an awesome band. They could have easily turned into a part-time touring band.

Sigh. The next time I see a band like this (well, if they're willing to tour), I'm going to manage them.

9/30/07
Hey, Ian Moore is coming to the State Line BBQ on Wednesday, 10/10. I interviewed him (see above), and he is just the most down-to-earth guy. I am going to put the press release here for the time being:

TO BE LOVED NATIONAL TOUR at THE STATE LINE BBQ OCTOBER 10th

Critically acclaimed, guitarist and songwriter, Ian Moore, performs on Wednesday, October 10th at the State Line BBQ in El Paso in support of his new release To Be Loved on Texas' own Justice Records.

In the 90’s, Ian Moore gained national attention as a guitar prodigy stemming from the roots rock scene of Austin, Texas. With three Top 10 Billboard singles and six in the Top 20 to his credit, he has opened full North American tours for the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, ZZ Top and most recently British icon Paul Weller. Now hailing from Seattle, Moore has shed the blues guitar mantle for more diverse stylings.

Moore is a prolific multi –instrumentalist and songwriter whose influences of Brit pop, Psychedelia, Roots Rock, and Gospel along with his signature vocals and incisive, character driven lyrics meld to create his ever evolving eclectic style.

Touring both nationally and throughout Europe 200 days a year, Moore lives for his music, the road and his loyal fans.

Catch Moore on a special one hour concert performance currently airing nationally on Direct TV and look for him to be featured on the syndicated entertainment news magazine program EXTRA in mid-October.

Billboard raves, "He doesn't fly with angels; he dances with devils."

The single "Civil Light" is currently tearing it up at college and specialty radio across the country and will soon be heard on Triple A.

Veering away from the acoustic shows he has played for the last few years, be among the first to hear Ian and his band perform songs live from his new album on his national To Be Loved Tour.

Backed by a stellar cast of musicians including Kullen Fuchs (vibraphone, keys, trumpet) , John Hollis (drums) and Cornbread (bass) featured songs will include the Beatlesque stylings of "House up on the Hill", the sparkly pop rock and driven percussion of title track, "To Be Loved" and Moore's signature guitar on "Innocent Maneuvers."

All Music Guide awards To Be Loved 4 1/2 out of 5 stars and says, "Moore has created a brand of challenging yet highly melodic new-millennium pop-rock that establishes him as an audacious songwriter and player. He has struck that rare balance between astute complexity and utter pop appeal."

Don't miss this opportunity to see Ian Moore with his band in concert for a riveting show that Pop Culture Press calls, "...a layered, emotionally entrancing live set."

1222 Sunland Park Dr.
El Paso, TX 79922
915.581.3371
www.countyline.com

FREE ADMISSION!!

WWW.IANMOORE.COM
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/IANMOORE

I was noticing that Hineys had changed its URL to www.hineysrestaurant.com, and that they feature Live Bands on Fridays and Saturdays. Also, in addition to the long-standing location at 8220 Gateway Boulevard E, they are opening up a new place at 9301 Dyer Street. No word if both places are having live bands.

They don't have the Hineys girls on their web site, but when I dropped by there, I noticed that, thankfully, they haven't given up on that tradition. They told me that they are mostly interested in doing Rock en Español.

9/28/07
I'm going to say what many of you, doubtlessly, have been thinking: micro-fiber dish rags just might have the power to save the world. I can't prove it, but I have a very strong suspicion that global warming would have toasted every living thing but cockroaches by now, if it weren't for these handy things. Oh, yeah, and the guy that invented the ability to connect your MP3 player to your car stereo, has to be one of the top-five smartest people in the world...

9/27/07
Far From Stereo has broken up. I always liked them, and booked them a few times, but I'm not really surprised by this. They had a problem with some members being more serious than others.. I bet there are a lot of bands just like this.

9/26/07
Hey, we just interviewed Lisa Mnntes, who will be performing Saturday at the Ronald McDonald House Charities Chili Makin' & Tastin' event at Western Playland. Lisa will be singing original songs off her debut album, Wildfire, and performing with local musicians from The Longhorn Dance Band, Sweetwater and Del Rio. It’s going to be a great event, benefitting families and children in need.

Activities for Chili Makin’ & Tastin start at 2 p.m. --families can enjoy everything from live entertainment with Fungi Mungle, Ronald McDonald, and Lisa, as well as fun competitions like jalapeno eating, salsa making, chili tasting, and of course the rides at Western Playland. More information on this Saturday's event can be found at The Ronald McDonald House Charities website.

9/24/07
What I'm learning about myspace bulletins: I have had too many experiences posting bulletins that never show up. I'm starting to figure out what's going on. They know they have problems - the site has been programmed just horribly, near as I can tell. Anyhow, they know that people will re-post their bulletins when they don't appear right away, because they figure it's just another myspace screw-up. What myspace is doing, however, is to throw away all the duplicate posts, sometimes even if the bulletins were posted hours apart. One way around this is to change the title of the bulletin, even by a word. Thus, myspace will treat it as a different bulletin, and let it go through, instead of just tossing it into the cyber-trashcan.

El Paso Music Scene is getting into hip-hop shows! We have our first at Lone Star Lounge on October 4, and every Thursday thereafter.

Hey, I have a show every Sunday at Margaritas, Margarita's on the Rock. This will be THE showcase for original rock in El Paso. The first show, on October 7, has a terrific lineup: Zechs Marquise, Cars Collide, Nausicaa, Concentrated Dopamine, Sorin, Randy Vega, and Gitana belly-dancing troupe.
Margarita's is huge, and I'm looking for two hundred people in the audience every show.

Hey, I ran across a couple of pretty good tutorials on running a PA, both by Yorkville: Professional Audio Basics and User Tips Guide and Basic PA Systems - A Primer for Using PA Systems.

9/15/07
I received a message from Mark (better known as Bigg Dogg) of Margarita's:

Margarita's is going to have shows on Wednesdays. I am open for suggestions. I want to turn Margarita's into a venue on Wednesdays.
Mark(915)867-2408.

They had been calling Wednesdays "Lucky Devils Nights," with Ron Whiteman of Lucky Devils doing shows there, but I think he is doing his shows at Club 101 now. Anyhow, I went to see Bigg Dogg at the club, and came away with a deal to do shows there every Sunday, starting 10/7, as well as putting my variety show, Bring Back Vaudeville, there on Wednesday, 10/24. They will give you the door; they have their own doorman; shows are 18-over, but band members can be of any age. My young friends in Hooray 4 Punk will be glad to hear that. The capacity of the place is a whopping 890!!! So, it is a great place to put very large shows. Also, they are actually also available for Mondays and Tuesdays. They don't generally open on Mondays, but can be booked for special shows. They don't have a PA-due to the size of the place, I am going to buy a bigger powered mixer than I had planned to. The stage area is good-sized.

On 10/17, they're having Radio La Chusma and Fixed Idea, two of the best draws in El Paso. They still have 10/10 and 10/31 open, as well as all Tuesdays, plus Sunday, 9/30.

You can reach Bigg Dogg at the above phone number, or at www.myspace.com/bigdogg3000. This myspace account is also where they post shows, so check it out! Oh, BTW: Bigg Dogg is a good guy to have next to you if you get into a fight.

9/13/07
Savol's is shut down. Actually, any place that doesn't have a liquor license will not stay open long. Well, except for coffee shops, that sort of thing. The point is, there has to be a revenue stream. Thanks to Ruben for keeping it open as long as he did.

9/8/07
Rockabillys is closing. A lot of that going around lately.

I ran across some comments that some people made in The El Paso Times' Adriana Chavez' blog, http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/music/, specifically, after her July 10 entry. I am copying two segments of that discussion here, along with my comments:

...
There are world-class musicians in town who never get a word of publicity. Why not search them out instead of giving free publicity to whatever Mr. Hurley mails you?
Posted by: Watcher | July 11, 2007 at 02:46 PM

First of all, the idea that the El Paso Times needs to go "search out" the talented musicians in town, as opposed to these musicians working to publicize themselves, is naive, immature, and a recipe for failure. There is an old expression: "Build a better mousetrap, and he world will beat a path to your door." This wasn't true when it was first uttered, and definitely isn't true now. If you want somebody to know about what a great performer you are, you have to work at getting publicity, or pay somebody else to do it. If you are above doing this, you should at least quit whining.

As for Adriana or the El Paso Times giving free publicity to whatever I mail them, it simply isn't so. The El Paso Times has never been friendly to me. They post very, very little of what I send them, and have banned me from their online forum for years because people in Watcher's little clique didn't like me. I got a great kick out of these people abandoning the Times' forum a few months ago. They deserved each other.

The exception to this was Adriana, who had given me some support until, coincidentally or not, stopped posting anything on any of my shows after Watcher's comments, and doesn't even respond to messages I send her. Fortunately, I am able to get my shows (and opinions) publicized without The Times.

As far as Watcher's little group of nattering nabobs of negativism (I always wanted to say that - look it up if you don't get the reference), they are a small group of small people, almost all in cover bands, who mostly just bitch about life in general as El Paso musicians.

The funny thing is, I used to give quite a bit of support to cover bands, even on my cable show, until I had to give it up five months ago. I never got any appreciation from these weenies, and they are still crying because the world doesn't suck up to them like they deserve. I think it's hilarious, if pathetic.

Oh, and I don't mean everybody in a cover band is a weenie, just the ones in that specific little group. I like hearing great music, well-played, whether it was written a hundred years ago, or half an hour ago.

...
I agree, there are tons of great musicians in town and they deserve much more publicity than they end up receiving. It can however be difficult to search them out, especially when you can't be everywhere at once. And especially when you've got two or three other beats that basically take precedence. After all, those beats are what I was hired to do. The music blog is something I WANT to do, and I want to do my best at it. When I started this blog, I knew I wanted to give much of the spotlight to local music. Why not give free publicity to Mr. Hurley or other great local bands when they're more than eager to send me the info and ask me to publicize it? Doesn't he deserve the publicity just as much as anyone else?
Posted by: Adriana | July 11, 2007 at 02:55 PM
That's fine of course, but as a journalist you are well aware of the "filtering" effect that happens when you rely on things people send you as opposed to getting it yourself; the squeaky wheel gets the grease, even though it may not roll particularly well. No offense to Mr. Hurley, I applaud his enthusiasm, but he seems to concentrate on one area of the scene, and rather a small one at that.
Posted by: Watcher | July 11, 2007 at 03:00 PM

There's more truth in that concentration comment than I like to admit. I actually try to cover different types of local live music, but most of the shows I have time to go to are my own. I have occasionally done things on hardcore, rap/hip-hop, country, and the different flavors of Spanish-language music, but not as much as I'd like. I haven't seen many cover bands in a while, but I supported them quite a bit in the past, and I will try and see more of them. I wanted to go see Aftermath (and introduce them), but they haven't gotten back to me. I have several friends in that band (including Bernie, of Bernie's Automotive in Socorro, who is the only mechanic on this side of the border that I'd take my car to).

Oh, and thanks to Watcher for the comment about my enthusiasm. I don't think of it that way, but I take it as a compliment.

Honestly, there's not much to filter. I publicize tons of shows where I was sent the basic who, what, where, when and cost are e-mailed to me, along with a phone number to verify the info and possibly get an interview with the band.
I also get a lot of info from bands via MySpace. For example, I publicized the Marsupious show a few months ago because Jeff sent me a message on MySpace. I keep in contact with Zyme One on MySpace as well, and I'm constantly taking quick glances at other band's profiles to see if there's anything I should update.
I guess my main reason for posting my contact info was to hopefully show that I'm approachable, and that I'd be more than happy to publicize any shows that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.Like I said, Lucky Devils does a great job of promoting their shows, especially their out-of-town acts, but I was wondering if maybe I was missing out on something just as good someplace else, so that I could establish a contact with them if need be.
Posted by: Adriana | July 11, 2007 at 03:14 PM ...
...
Just wanted to comment about promoting to ALL musicians. You HAVE to get out there and promote your band, original OR cover. Some bands think that if they post a bulletin on myspace or send in their info. to the Tiempo, that's enough. I am amazed at how many bands don't even know they can post their events in the TIEMPO, What's UP, VERVE mag, Las Cruces Pulse and many many others. When I started promoting, I had no idea either and no one told me. Do your homework! There is alot of possibilities out there. Make flyers, take them to guitar center, leave them at the bar/club you will be playing, post on ALL forums! SEND IN YOUR INFO. TO ADRIANA! If you want people to come to your shows, you have to do some footwork. Cover all bases. my 2 cents. :) luv all of you!
Posted by: Carmen | July 12, 2007 at 09:33 AM

This, I am sure, is by my good friend Carmen of Five Strr Promotions, and should be written onto the foreheads of every musician that wants to build his band's fan base. Carmen will write this on your forehead if you ask nicely: contact her at motherch2002@yahoo.com.

8/29/07
Hey, you guys know Dave, right? Cyclops Bunny? Bass player for 5.3.9.3.? Used to be with The Amp Show?

Well, he's putting together a web-based TV show called The Grindhouse. I asked him what the scoop was, and he said this:

Well, basically...I'm taking The Amp Show and reinventing it...but on a national leval...I'm talking signed/unsigned/local/natioanl bands and music of all kinds.. In doing my graphic design work, I have made a lot of connections all over the U.S. with bands, promoters, management, even some labels... People have been asking me what happened to The Amp Show, and why it's not around any more... So, I figures, now is as good a time as any....When I announced I was going to do this...a lot of friends from different states asked if they could be involved...So, I figured, why leave this to a local standard?... Why not a national thing?.....So, that is where I am at right now...
The show is going to consist of things like
~local/national news in music
~live music(of course) ~interviews
~music/CD reviews
~guest appearances from bands
~and basically, anything else dealing with music...

~i am going to charge bands/promoters/etc. for a spot on the show...ill make the spot of course...but all in all that is just to support cost of doing all this...

It all boils down to doing what I love best.... music.

You can contact Dave at his Myspace page (did I mention he also does graphics?)

8/27/07
Hey, the Mike Corleone interview is up. Mike is a local hip-hop artist. I'm trying to cover a variety of music here; probably not successfully.

I am going to announce a couple of shows, in a way that kind of breaks my rules. I got these from Bobbie Welch, who never sends me anything, so I figure I'll take a shot.

The first show is Bad Religion (http://badreligion.com/), with Special Guests The Briggs (http://www.thebriggs.org/) and Buckeye (http://profile.myspace.com/buckeyerock) on Sunday September 30th, 7:00 P.M. Advance tickets $25.00; Day-of-show $30.00 (Plus applicable service charges)

The second show is Atreyu (http://www.atreyurock.com/) with Special Guests Haste the Day (http://www.hastetheday.com/), It Dies Today (http://www.itdiestoday.com/), The Devil Wears Prada (http://www.thedevilwearspradaband.com/), and So They Say (http://www.myspace.com/sotheysay). Wednesday October 3rd, 6:55 P.M. Advance tickets $18.00; $21.00 Day-of-Show (Plus applicable service charges)

On sale now at Club 101, Howdy’s Outlets, and online at www.club101tickets.com .

As always, these shows are All Ages!

My normal rule is, I only post flyers on this page. The Events page is where I will post other listings. I am going to get the Events page going any day now (really)!

Here is the flyer for tonight's Job for a Cowboy / The Faceless / A Life Once Lost show at Chic's.

8/25/07
I am going to start putting out a print magazine in October or November. It will be sixteen pages, in the same format as the Broken Bones magazine. Actually, before theirs, I didn't think you could get away with a magazine just printed on regular copy paper. Well, they seem to be doing OK with theirs, so I'm jumping in.

Lucky Devils has closed its doors! I don't have any details, but I had noticed that they had become pretty stingy over the last 2-3 months. I guess the owner, Ron, will open another club. He had been an independent promoter for seven years, and was known for putting on shows that didn't waste anybody's time.

Later today, I will be posting an interview with rap/hip-hop artist, Mike Corleone.

8/24/07
Here is the flyer for Memento Mori's show on Saturday at Caliche's Frozen Custard, 7510 Remcon Circle. Send your flyers to charles AT elpasomusicscene.com. Please don't tell me to take the flyer off your myspace page unless I owe you, big-time.

Hey, I was talking to a singer of a local band recently, and he mentioned that I haven't been doing interviews for a while. Well, I won't be interviewing him (life sucks, doesn't it?), but I just completed an interview of Phil Candelaria of Pony Productions. Pony Productions, as well as Juan Twisted's Twisted Productions, has put El Paso on the map as a definite stop for touring metal bands. Really, I should have interviewed Phil a long time ago, but I am just so damned jealous of his success! Anyhow, check it out, at the link above. I am trying to get an interview with a local rapper done, and I will finish up the Arkatak interview within the week, I promise! OK, maybe ten days. I have some more in the pipeline, too, so stay tuned!

8/14/07
Alphabetter is looking for a drummer. Contact them at their myspace page.

8/13/07
Here is the flyer for Wednesday's heavy metal show at Lucky Devils, featuring Killing Our Own, Fade, Morning Shift, Chaos Follows Order, and Kids with Guns Fly Southwest (I like their name!).

Here is a double flyer for that show and the one the next day, which is my variety show at Lucky Devils. This is the one that I actually printed up and distributed for the show. For bands, we'll have The Intellijents and Fatter than Nancy. I could actually use a band to play at 12:00, but I don't know if there'll be many people there at that time...

Got this from Ryan Rosoff of Little King:

Legacy Of Fools is completely tracked, but Eddy (Garcia) is in South America with Cannibal Corpse until August 25, so we will be mixing at the end of this month. I anticipate that we will be finished and ready for mastering around September 20 or so, and Unicorn should be releasing the record about 4 weeks after that. We will have two local CD release shows (one all-ages and one for the heads), and you will be the first to know when all of this is finalized.
I think the record is gonna be great, and I can’t wait for you to hear it and complain about the "deep" lyrics. Ha ha, just kidding, love to stick the needle in whenever possible...

8/9/07
Here is the flyer for Saturday's Save the Cactus show at the Cactus Cafe and Bookshop, featuring Ivy Star, Southern Bent, Gene Keller & Friends, Bordertown Fools, Memento Mori, and Randy Vega. Here is the flyer for Memento Mori's show, that same day, at Brrr Berry and the Patio Coffee Shop.

Here is the flyer for Saturday's Killing Our Own / Chaos Follows Order / Scenic Drive / Hooray For Punk / Garden of Thorns show at Chic's. It's Lex's birthday bash (Lex being the front man for K.O.O.).

I haven't seen Garden of Thorns, but I really like the rest of those bands.

8/5/07
Eocene breaks up. They have a blog about it. I didn't know some of the Chaos Follows Order guys had been in the band.

8/2/07
Here is the flyer for Something Wicked at Rockabilly's this Friday.

Last night I caught part of the show at Lucky Devils. I was there pretty much the whole time, but really only paid attention to two bands: Sorin and Superstring.

Sorin opened the show, and, unfortunately, they started early, so I really only caught their last three songs. I think, though, based on what I was able to catch, that this band could really take Jamie, their talented young vocalist, somewhere.

They need a lot of work, but their songs are inventive, and Jamie is starting to break away from her tether to her guitar. The frustrating part of what I saw was that their sound was poor. I thought maybe the sound man or sound equipment was responsible for a disappointing lack of separation, but the stark contrast with Superstring, who played with about the same setup (only mic'ing the vocals and the bass drum), showed otherwise.

I spent a good bit of time talking with Gary, LD's resident sound expert, as well as Superstring, about what was happening. It really comes down to the band members having the discipline not to increase their own volume at the expense of everybody else. Even though the instruments aren't going through the mixer, they get picked up by microphones, especially the bass drum mic. Gary also pointed me in the direction of the bible of sound, or rather, the bible of Sound Reinforcement: the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Manual, available for $35. I'm going to start saving up for it tomorrow...

Superstring, based out of Dallas, is a pro band with a wonderful chick singer. I thought their songs and musicianship were rather ordinary, but their sound was excellent, and the vocals are quite extraordinary.

7/30/07
Here is the flyer for Friday's show of Superstring / Designer Drugs / Sorin at Lucky Devils. Here is the flyer for The Redwalls / Mark Mallman / Cars Collide / Far From Stereo / Randy Vega at Lucky Devils on Sunday. Here is the flyer for the Fatter Than Nancy / The Vlitz / Randy Vega show Thursday at Jokers Pub.

Man, the rain looked to make last night's first Metal Night at Jokers Pub a bust. Actually, only two of the four bands booked actually performed. One of them didn't show up at all. The other left because they weren't happy with the number of people that showed up to catch the show. I had Killing Our Own willing to play if only there was at least one other band playing, and these guys were too good to play. Fortunately for the show, Chaos Follows Order showed up right after these bozos left. Funny thing is, a lot of people showed up by the time Killing Our Own finished playing, so this band that left would have had plenty of crowd had they stuck around.

A lot of the crowd came to see Chaos Follows Order. Killing Our Own put on their usual awesome set. I had never seen CFO before, but they were great last night. I understand they usually perform as a cover band, but they seem to have a lot of original tunes. I asked them to play 8/15 at Lucky Devils, which will be a heavy metal showcase. That should be a great show.

7/27/07
Here is the flyer for Sundays Metal Nights show at Jokers Pub. Bands are Words of Angels, Chaos Follows Order, Audio Induced Coma, and Killing Our Own.

7/24/07
Hey, Jokers is starting a metal night every Sunday. I'm helping them out by booking this first show this Sunday. I need 3-4 bands pretty quick. If interested, e-mail me at booking AT elpasomusicscene.com. For Sundays after this Sunday, call Tina of Jokers at 471-7457. You can also get her at www.myspace.com/wickedkitty247. Fridays and Saturdays there are booked by Nancy. Contact info for her will be posted as soon as I can get it.

Oh, and I will be booking every Thursday from now on at Jokers. Hit me up if you want to play there on a Thursday.

7/19/07
Here is the flyer for Sunday's show at Jokers Pub, featuring Fade, Dawn upon Descent, and Hooray for Punk. This is an EPMS show.

Wow! I was perusing the El Paso Times' Adriana Chavez' blog, http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/music/, when I noticed she plugged my 7/15 and 7/19 Jokers shows in her listing of July 10. The parts that jumped out at me were, "Those cool El Paso Music Scene Presents shows," and "Both shows are hosted by the ever-lovely Charles Hurley".

BTW, El Paso Music Scene Presents, which I am renaming to Bring Back Vaudeville, will happen tonight at Jokers Pub, 2716 N. Piedras. We have The Merit Says, Fade, and Memento of Sorrow as bands, as well as standup comedy, magic, and belly dancing by Kodigho. And yes, the show will be hosted by my ever-lovely self.

Safe, supervised event for teens!

Lock in at the library for Teens 13 - 19 years old

Friday, July 20th from 6 - 10:00 p.m. Downtown library, 501 N. Oregon

Free pizza, softdrinks and other goodies!

Memento Mori will be performing and hosting an "open mic" from 7:30 - 9:30. Bring your own instrument or use one of ours. Play a tune, sing a song or read a poem. Whatever you like!

DJ Millennium will take over at 9:30 with dance music.

Games like guitar hero, chess, karaoke and others will be available and there will be lots of door prizes but it's only for kiddos 13 - 19!

Bring your kids while you go have a nice quiet dinner! But be sure to pick them up by 10:00!

If you are a Harry Potter fan, kids of all ages are invited to stick around as there will be Harry Potter movies, costume contest, and the raffle to see who gets to check out the new Potter book at 12:01!

call for more information: 543-5495

I wanted to go down there and tell some jokes, but they don't want to hear any limericks with the word, "Nantucket."

7/18/07
Damn! Finally got my myspace bulletins back - at least, my ability to post them. For several days, I'd try posting them, everything looked fine, but the bulletin would never show up in the list of bulletins. I sent them a message about it, but their response was totally useless. I did find in their Updates section that some users would have such a problem while maintenance was being done on their accounts... I guess I was one of the lucky few. Pretty damn frustrating for a promoter.

7/16/07
Mars Hill has suspended all shows that were going to take place there, and is not currently looking to book any more shows.

Last night, EPMS had a show at Jokers Pub. For the first Sunday show they have had there, at least recently, it did OK. We are currently booking bands for other Sunday shows there. I think these shows have a lot of potential. There is not much going on around there on Sundays, and seeing three pretty good bands for $3-4 is always a good deal.

Last night, we had Hooray for Punk, Dawn Upon Descent, and Killing Our Own. Killing Our Own is very impressive. They are excellent showmen, and really know how to finish a set. This is something that I have seen even some very experienced bands fail at.

Something else that I am figuring out: when a band gets introduced, it is important that they start playing immediately, and postpone their normal introductory banter until after the first song. I always introduce bands at my shows, and I try to put a lot of energy into it. It looks kind of silly to see this followed up by a band tuning up, or basically repeating what I just said. They are wasting the warming-up of the audience that is the point of the introduction.

Another approach that works, is for the band to remain off-stage until introduced. Once, I asked The Flametrick Subs if they wanted to be introduced. They told me that they did, then when they were ready to start their set, they let me introduce them, and they exited the stage until I finished.

Another opening that I have never seen a club-level band do, but could work, is to turn off all the lights, have the musicians move into position using small flashlights to guide them, then turn on the lights, do a few seconds of warm-up before starting into the first song. This probably would only work for the first band, because such bands always tune up, etc., in front of the crowd (personally, I think this should be avoided). The first band has the advantage of being able to tune up, check their equipment, etc., then leave the stage for a while before the actual set.

Maybe I'll have the first band try this at one of my shows.

7/15/07
Hey, check out nine1fivepromotions.com, a local site dedicated to promoting El Paso bands. It's not exactly like this one, but the intentions are similar.

7/13/07
Got this from Lex of Killing Our Own and 762:

hey, charles...
hell yeah, the website looks cool now that everything's up to date!!! ha ha ha! but u left out a couple of things, like how fawkin' awsome we are even when our drummer's severely drunk, j/k and how you'll fuck people's shit up if they try to take your hat w/ a UFC tackle, some grappling, and some excellent striking. HA HA HA!!!

Well, Lex, when you're right, you're right, and every one of your points is right on. Cya Sunday at Jokers.

7/12/07
Hey, now that I have this front page up-to-date, I am going to fix all the other pages of the site. The top priorities will be the Events, Venues, and Bands pages. Don't be surprised if I send you an e-mail asking about a band that you split up a year-and-a-half ago.

EPMS had a show last night at Lucky Devils. Appearing were Captain Squeegee and the Soap Suds (Tempe, AZ), Gifts from Enola (Virginia), as well as locals Hank Slaughter, Fatter than Nancy, and Our Vegas.

Captain Squeegee was excellent. I love their energy, and the tremendous vocals, which are under-used. They have 3 horns, 2 guitars, bass, drums. The vocalist also plays the trumpet. I could see their singer making a good living doing easy listening or big band music, if he wanted.

I think that, if they can stay together, Fatter than Nancy is the band to watch in El Paso. Staying together is the trick; they aren't nearly close to graduating high school. The virtuosity of these three guys, especially at their young ages, is astounding.

Our Vega is remarkably professional on stage, given that they've been together only a few months. Most of them are former members of Redeye Factor, and they are pretty good showmen.

Here is the flyer for the Cantina Flys' show tomorrow at Badlands Billiards, 7792 Franklin.

7/9/07
Mars Hill is shutting down its shows for a couple of weeks while they straighten some things out...

7/7/07
Here is the flyer for the 7/13 show at Chic's featuring Killing Our Own, Garden of Thorns, Morning Shift, Mandola. Here is the flyer for the 7/11 show at Lucky Devils featuring Captain Squeegee, Gifts from Enola, Our Vegas, Hank Slaughter, and Fatter Than Nancy. This is an EPMS show. Here is the flyer for the 7/15 show at Jokers Pub featuring Killing Our Own, Hooray For Punk, Dawn of Descent, and The Merit Says. This is an EPMS show.

BTW, Hooray For Punk features all very young members. By young, I mean, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. They are pretty good, and are quickly starting to get shows around town.

BTW, if you want your flyer posted here, your best bet is to e-mail it to events AT elpasomusicscene.com. We might take it from other sources, but there is much less chance of that happening...

6/11/07
Here's an interesting tidbit... Channel Nine News' Felipa Solis' son's plays in the band, Concentrated Dopamine...

6/9/07
Rockabillys will no longer be open on Mondays

Nero's Gentlemen's Club will be featuring live music Mondays. The Cantina Flys will be playing there on 6/11.

6/8/07
Here is a press release about Never Enough, a new band formed by Lylah's Norman Matthew and Keith and Trevor of Eighteen Visions. They have signed with Corporate Punishment Records. Norman says,

"the record drops in September in all BEST BUY/ HOT TOPIC/ FYE / iTUNES locations ;)...I think with the underground following LYLAH has and the Success of 18 VISIONS (the success of the project will be ensured)".

Flipcyide is now accepting tracks for his Slept on Volume 1 Anniversary Mixtape Vol 1 hosted by Talib Kweli, Royal Flush AND Big Shug:

SPOTS ARE LIMITED AND SOME ARE ALREADY RESEVED SO FOR THOSE I ALREADY TOLD YOU WILL BE ON IT OR CONFIRMED DONT WORRY YOUR SPOT IS FOR SURE, BUT FOR THOSE OTHERS, NOT EVERYONE WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT ON THIS ONE SO DONT GET ALL CRAZY ON ME OR FLIP OUT!!!! PLEASE LEAVE ME YOUR COMMENTS OR LINKS TO YOUR PAGE IN MY SAME BLOG POSTED. WHERE I CAN CHECK YOUR TRACKS. I AM NOT GOING TO GIVE OUT MY EMAIL CAUSE IT GETS FLOODED ENOUGH A DAY WITH TRACKS SENT TO ME FROM INDY AND MAJOR RECORD POOLS AND ARTISTS. SO HIT ME HERE OR MESSAGE ME AND IF I AM INTERESTED I WILL GET BACK TO YOU. IF I DONT GET BACK RIGHT AWAY EITHER GIVE ME TIME IT TAKES TIME TO ANSWER ALL THE MAIL AND COMMENTS.
PEACE AND ONE,
DJ FLIPCYIDE
TEXAS NEWEST AND BIGGEST MIXTAPE DJ

5/31/07
Hey, on 6/24, El Paso Music Scene and Danny's Music Box is putting on El Paso's Top Guitar Player Competition. There are $300 in prizes.

NORMAN MATTHEW of LYLAH and NEVER ENOUGH, Rod Yearwood of Duck Domino, and Tony Arispe, CEO of Paradox Studios, will be judging.. Danny's Music Box is sponsoring the competition.. the KLAQ ad campaign starts 6/16... THIS IS GOING TO BE AN AWESOME COMPETITION!!!

Come and see El Paso's Best Guitar players battle it out for hundreds of dollars in prizes! El Paso Music Scene and Danny's Music Box present El Paso Top Guitar Player Competition at Lucky Devils on June 24. Drop off your entry fee at Lucky Devils with your name, phone number, and about a two sentence bio.

1st prize: $150 gift certificate from Danny's Music Box
2nd prize: $100 gift certificate from Danny's Music Box
3rd prize: $50 gift certificate from Danny's Music Box

Special Guests: The Dirty Clydes

$10 entry fee (including one guest), $5 cover charge. All ages. Listen to KLAQ for more details - ad campaign starts 6/16.

Here is the flyer.

5/29/07
I just heard that The Merit Says, a band that played EPMS Presents a few times, is getting back together. I really like them. They have a new singer; can't wait to see them play again.

5/13/07
Fade re-forms Got this from Fade:
we're back!!! hey charles! how's it going!? just wanted to let you know that the band is back and ready to jam! if you could help us get back into the scene that would be totally righteous of you!!! we just got a new bass player, all new material, and we're sort of making our comeback because our set up now seems really solid and we want to play all summer long!

5/11/07
Sean Reefer and The Resin Valley Boys are scheduled to play Lucky Devils July 13.

Sean's band has won the Houston Press Music Award for best C&W two years running. He's performed at the AMA Conference and large Texas festivals such as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Take a look at other band details here:
http://www.sonicbids.com/seanreeferandtheresinvalleyboys

5/9/07
Here is a press release I just got from Archer Avenue. I don't usually review CDs, except for maybe 3 sentences, but I'll be making some comments about their latest offering. They have some El Paso roots, and they are a pro band.

5/4/07
Last night, I had Our Vegas play at El Paso Music Scene Presents. This band comprises several former Redeye Factor members. Actually, all the other ones were in the audience. What really blows me away about them, aside from the fact that they play very good music, is how the vocalist, Mike Saucedo, is such a showman. One thing I remember about REF is how they all stood around when they were playing, but last night, Mike looked like Mick Jagger.

4/16/07
Press Release for Blueprint @ Zeppelin's Thursday April 19th

This is his Bio from myspace.com/blueprint page:

About BLUEPRINT
Blueprint rhymes. Blueprint does beats. He is from Columbus, OH. He started a label called Weightless Recordings in 1999. They sold tapes. One of the tapes was from his crew Greenhouse Effect. Blueprint rhymes on and produces Greenhouse Effect records. Then he produced three Illogic albums. He's serious about his production.

He met a guy named RJD2, who was also from Columbus. RJ did beats too, really good ones. They did music together and started a crew called Soul Position. Soul Position has released three records. Blueprint didnt have to produce any of these records because RJ is good at production. These records all came out on Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Blueprint has released one solo record. It's called 1988 because he likes that year. He produced it himself.

Blueprint also did an instrumental record called Chamber Music, and a production record called The WeightRoom. These records are harder to find than his other releases but if you are a fan of his and want to get all his albums you can buy them here. There is a FREE Greenhouse Effect album you can download just by clicking on the album cover on the left side of this page that he insist you download. Hell, its free. Take it and spread it around.

www.myspace.com/blueprint
www.myspace.com/weightlessrecordings
www.myspace.com/rhymesayers

4/1/07
Here are the results of 99.1 The Eagle's Rock N Roll Rumble:
Winner - A. C. Slater
Runner Up- Elegant Gypsy
Consolation- Kat Tyler
Congratulations to all!

3/28/07
Got this message from Frank Lara:

Whats up charles its Frank Lara, long time out of the club scene, but getting back at it so get ready for a big shock.Ive being practicing for months with my original band called "Asthma" where im truly putting all my vocals for are first album, that will be ready sometime by July 2007 you may here a pre recording of it @ www.myspace.com/franklaraproductions with one of are songs called "so down" its the first song on the page, so let me know what u think and soon will be out so check it out and let me know what you think, im done with covers thoe i still have love for one of the best cover bands in el paso called jelouzyzyyz kilzzz Peace see u soon charles

3/22/07
Got this message from Miranda Ross about the breakup of Bruja, for the final(?) time:

Good-bye To Bruja
Life is about "re-inventing" yourself each time you come to a crossroad. I've been so furtunate through out my life, and in the many lessons that come and go, I find renewed strength. I want to thank El Paso for your support first of all to La Vida Vocals Entertainment, and also To Bruja. To the El Paso Musicians, thank you all for all whom I've met along the way are pretty incredible people.
To BRUJA and that chapter in my life, fairwell and thanks for all the wonderful memories. I am going to stay with just me and my guitar and my mobile DJ business, and finally put my mind and my efforts to an ORIGINAL project that has been long overdue.
Keep El Paso Alive, and God Bless...
See you all at the Karaoke and DJ Shows and don't forget to hire me for your private PARTIES!!!
You guys Rock!
lavidavocals@yahoo.com
Miranda Ross

3/17/07
I taped a video interview with Ivan of Far From Stereo. I'll try and get it transcribed ASAP. These guys feature great vocals, excellent guitar solos, and different, interesting song-writing.

3/16/07
Last night at El Paso Music Scene Presents, I had a country band from Southern California, The Hideaways, who were just awesome. I was blown away listening to their sound check.

2/28/07
Here is a press release from George Arriola, who runs Joy Records. Here is a Word document outlining their prices for December.

2/27/07
Here is the flyer for the Vains of Jenna/Cantina Flys show on 3/10 at Lucky Devils. That's one I'd really like to see. I did a big show with Vains of Jenna, Artimus Pyledriver, Fireball Ministry, the Cantina Flys, and Voyeur back in November, and I interviewed VOJ's vocalist. Their manager was also really cool. I have a video of them I've been meaning to put on my cable show, El Paso Happenings (every Thursday from 1-2 PM on cable channel 15).

I don't usually post this kind of thing on the front page, but I've been slacking on coming up with fresh info. This is from Something Wicked:

Something Wicked started in 1991 with Dave Ferrell and Stevie Dee and a couple of other guys who aren't here anymore. Currently we are getting back to business with our frontman Jimmy Woodruff and new songs with a new guitarist (Reuben Vejil) and bassist(Chal Marcell). Our fans have been wanting us back. Now we are getting ready to rock this bad boy again. We are a cover band and enjoy the fun we have with our loyal fans. With music from all spectrums, from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Slayer, you are guaranteed to have a rocking good time. We encourage requests from everyone. We thank our fans for the good times and support through everything.

2/26/07
Sparta, by way of El Paso Article in the Houston Chronicle on Sparta.

2/25/07
City's WiFi plan: Access for all. That city would be Houston. Anyhow, if Houston's getting it, El Paso will have it in ten years.

Here is the flyer for New Horizon's 3/3 show with Porcelain. NH's Javier Herrera told me,

We were contacted by PORCELAIN, the Australian band on their U.S. Tour. They are signed by UNIVERSAL RECORDS. We are totally excited to be playing with them... Lets show them El Paso can kick some ass. Hey, I'm pumped! Is it true that kangaroos can box with their feet?

Here is the flyer for this Thursday's El Paso Music Scene Presents. Aside from four comedians and some other stuff, for music we have Twenty-One Seven, ~~Dark Aria,~~ Randy Vega, The Dozal Brothers, Kamikaze Koala, and Mandola. Mandola will kick off the show at 8:30, that's right, 8:30. Be early, we are going to start the show every week at this time, to fit everything in. Also, we are mixing the rock bands all throughout the night, not just at the end.

If you come, you'll see me doing standup, but it might be more entertaining to watch me try and get all these bands on/off the stage on time.

2/13/07
From Carmen, about Memento Mori: I'm doing well, Jamie and Memento Mori doing well also. Lots of stuff going on. They recorded 5 songs last week and will be releasing a CD (is 5 songs a CD?) soon. We wanna have a release party and give away lots of them!

Hey, the forum at www.fishhookrecords.com needs some posts. They had to erase a bunch of their previous posts due to spammers (die, spammers, die!!!), and they have very little there. Hence, they are getting very little new traffic. Go post something and help those guys out.

Here are instructions on how to post your events on the calendar at www.epnightlife.com. I don't know how good it is, but I have posted events on their forums before. The demographics look good.

BTW, you can't cut and paste there - you have to type your whole thing.

2/11/07
I got a message from Ryan Rosoff of Little King about what they have coming up. It was a little long, so I posted it as a press release, with the important parts below. I added a question about their European tour. Here is the press release. Ryan says:

We are almost done tracking the drums for our new album, which has been a long time coming. The album, Little King’s 4th Full-Length, will be titled LEGACY OF FOOLS, and will feature Eddy Garcia of Pissing Razors and Ministry fame on drums and Michael Esparza, my long-lost buddy, on bass. The album is scheduled for international release in late-June on www.unicornrecords.com, and we anticipate a European and North Amercian tour in July-August.

The record will be heavier and more progressive than anything we have done before, as Eddy brings a totally different Metal Sensibility than I have worked with before. Mike is a chops-fiend, and he and I have renewed a musical friendship that dates back to TRANSMOUNTAIN (1997). We have a couple instrumentals and some very sick playing on this record. The response to VIRUS DIVINE (2005) was fantastic, as we moved over 3,500 units worldwide last time. I am currently re-vamping our site at www.littlekingmusic.com, but the new artwork (by Jonas Ekman of the Swedish band XINEMA) is featured at www.myspace.com/littlekingband.

EPMS: So, what's up with this Euro tour?

We have a couple (3 hopefully) promoters that we are working with to set up some shows in Germany. We are also trying to get hold of Jesus, who was in an El Paso band called the Fla Fla’s, who now lives in Berlin. We sold pretty well in Germany last time, had lots of radio and print coverage (including inclusion on a compilation for ECLIPSED magazine which distributed about 25,000 or so). Our label has expressed some willingness to help us out over there, but we shall see. I’ve never toured there before, but Eddy has, and he said it is too much fun to pass up.

I'll say again, BTW, Eddy Garcia is about the coolest guy there is in the local rock/metal scene. He's also a good guy to ask automotive repair advice.

2/7/07
Sue Moreno interview is up! She's coming to Lucky Devils on Saturday. I was interested in her because, I was sure she was from Texas, but in fact, she is from The Netherlands.

BTW, I got this one done rather quickly, although I still haven't finished the Arkatak interview after about two months. A big difference is that we did this one online, which meant it didn't require any transcription. I'll have the Arkatak interview done pretty soon.

Hey, Far From Stereo, who will be playing in El Paso Music Scene Presents on February 15, will have their song "Kahole" played on KLAQ's-Connected this coming Sunday between 7pm-9pm. Way to go, fellas!

2/2/07
Hey! Adriana Chavez of the El Paso Times posted some info I sent her on El Paso Music Scene Presents yesterday! I think I'm going to steal the three-dollar box of chocolates I bought my girlfriend for Valentines Day and send them to Adriana!

Hey! Already have a flyer for next week's El Paso Music Scene Presents. We had a pretty decent crowd last night, BTW.

2/1/07
Just had to post this article about Harrod's, the world-famous London store, hosting a bid to break the world record for the most guitarists simultaneously playing one song. Harrods hopes to get 2,000 guitarists to play Deep Purple’s rock standard ‘Smoke On The Water.’

I'm a huge Ritchie Blackmore fan.

1/31/07
Adriana Chavez of The El Paso Times is looking for any kind of music news, "Whether it be show flyers, news tidbits, blog ideas or links to your site," to post on her music blog on the El Paso Times Web site at http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/music/. Send your stuff to her at achavez@elpasotimes.com. She also reviews CDs; send them to:
Adriana Chavez
c/o El Paso Times
300 N. Campbell
El Paso, TX 79901

Radio La Chusma will be having a CD Release party on 2/10. I happen to know that because I was trying to book them, but they haven't gotten back to me with the venue. Yeah, I know, I should have waited...

Hey, send your band news to: bigcheese AT elpasomusicscene.com. We can be talking about you here. Hey, if you don't send me your news, I'll just make up stuff about you, and you don't want that to happen, right?

Here is a flyer for the February 8 show of El Paso Music Scene Presents. This was done by Alphabetter, who will be playing, along with R. U. O. K. Lil Buddy? and The Merit Says, plus of course, comedy and variety. Speaking of which, tomorrow's show will also have a belly dancer and a magician, in addition to previously-mentioned artists.

1/30/07
Got some info from Memento Mori's band mom, Carmen. Memento Mori will be playing at El Paso Public Library's Big Read event on 2/27:

2/27/2007 05:00 PM - Teen Read Finale featuring music by: MEMENTO MORI
501 N. Oregon
El Paso, Texas 79901
Cost: FREE

Pizza, Refreshments and Music by MEMENTO MORI! Come to the finale of the El Paso Public Library BIG READ! Book for this year is Harper Lee's : to kill a mocking bird! The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens. Created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest, the Big Read aims to bring the power of reading into the lives of Americans. The Big Read will work with multiple partners across the country to encourage citizens to read for pleasure and enlightenment.
ALSO, the new band (editor's note: Carmen's daughter, Jamie is forming another, larger band, in addition to Memento Mori, which is just herself and a bass player), is coming along nicely too! Probably be ready to gig late March. Very good serious musicians! 3 guitarists (Jamie will play in a few songs as well). They are practicing and writing, no name yet.

1/29/07
Talked today with Joey of Mandola. They will be playing Thursday in El Paso Music Scene Presents. They had released a three-song EP about two months ago. He tells me they will be releasing a full-length CD called Dead Rising, which was also the name of the EP.

He also told me that they have been endorsed by Warwick basses, and that they will be featured in their next catalog. Warwick gave them a bass, as well as some guitar stands and other stuff. Partly due to the encouragement that Warwick has given them, Joey and his family, which includes Mandola's eleven-year old wunderkind drummer, will be moving to LA around May.

After reading on Myspace that Abnik is adding an additional guitar player, Edwin, formerly of This Dirt Has A Face, I contacted their original guitar player, Mike, to ask about this. I was particularly troubled by the notion that he'd be giving up the guitar to be a go-go dancer for the band. Here is his response:

Oh I have something up my sleeve.... I'm still playing the guitar as well, but with Edwin, I'll be able to create a more dynamic sound. I've thought about it for a while and now is the time. He's talented and our sound is going to be much better now.

1/28/07
Here and here are two flyers for the 2/11 rap/hip-hop (RHH) show at Margaritas, featuring R.A.R.A., Metafisix, The Deathtrap, many more.

1/27/07
This is a response I recently gave to someone who wanted suggestions on how to become a well-known local band:

For every show you do, send the info to Tiempo, What's Up, KLAQ, EP Scene, and the other print magazines. Also, send it to me (I'll fix my Events page soon; grr!) and to elpasoshowlist. Put out flyers in the music stores; post them at school on all the bulletin boards. The more people that see you play, the more fans you'll make. Also, the more popular you'll be with people that book shows.
Get the best CD done that you can. Get merch, including free stuff like buttons. Helps to get your name out there, helps people to remember what your name was.
Talk to as many people you can at the shows. Ask them what they think, even if you don't really care. Fake it. If people like you personally, they will be more interested in your music.
Send me info on what's going on with your band; I'll probably post it, which is something. I'm less picky than the other media places about what I'll post, partly because my space isn't really limited.
Ingratiate yourself with people that can give you free publicity, including all the places I mentioned that list shows. Be patient, and never take things personally. I know, I should follow my own advice on that one, but I'm an asshole.
Tell anybody that will listen that you're in a band, and a serious one at that. Exaggerate a little. Exaggerate more with people that aren't in a position to know any better. "Hey, this rain reminds me of a show we did... did I mention I'm in Hard-On? Yeah, we're a local band, we have a new CD out..."
Carry business cards, or something else with your myspace page, contact info, etc. Or flyers.
Participate on all the local online forums. There are about six or seven, really. Be efficient about it, and you can do this without spending too much time.

Comments?

Learn how become a YouTube viral video star. Pretty interesting read.

1/26/07
Last night was week two of El Paso Music Scene Presents. We had myself, Manny, and Mando doing stand-up; for bands we had Full Bloom and Portland's Run On Sentence.

Starting next week, the variety part of the show will have more, um, variety. Aside from local comedians, we will have some different acts. Randy Vega, former vocalist of 5.3.9.3., will bring his solo act to the show, and we are slated to have belly dancing and comedy sketches. I can't wait to see this myself.

Full Bloom, a local band originally from Lubbock, is making something of a comeback, after several years of, I guess, absence. They have lots of original material, but last night, they played a lot of covers, by such bands as Green Day, Black Sabbath, The Cure, and The Beatles.

For a three-man band, they have a couple of pretty nice vocalists. The bass player, Adan, hits some pretty high notes. I'm not a singer, but I like to sing, and this guy seems to have an octave higher range than I do. Probably not, but it seems like it.

Run On Sentence was one guy with a guitar. Very nice voice, also with very impressive range. Manny was telling me that the guy sounded like a young Jim Croce. Of course, there never was an old Jim Croce, but that's another of those rock star/plane wreck things.

Hey, I'm always looking for rock or pop bands for this show, in addition to all kinds of variety acts. Get with me at bigcheese AT elpasomusicscene.com if you're interested in being in the show.

Hey! The first two weeks of El Paso Music Scene Presents have been free shows, and the next two will also be free - no cover charge whatsoever. Come check it out!!

Here is the flyer for Howlin' Houndog's appearance at UTEP's Mineshaft Coffeehouse, 2/19 at 12 noon.

1/24/07
Here is the flyer for The Edge Radio, which you can get to at Spread Radio Live.com. This is a project of Mike Chafino, who used to do quite a bit of booking here in town.

1/22/07
I was recently asked if I managed bands, and I thought my response might be of interest to EPMS readers:

I haven't done that, but I might be interested. Tell me what you have in mind. On the negative side, I'm not a great people person; I just stay away from people I don't like, and I tend to say what I think. That may or may not make me a bad candidate. From time to time, I think about the band management side of things.
Off the top of my head, the only guy I can think of is Ryan Rosoff of Little King. Try him at 525-5228. Publicity is his thing. I have known very few bands with managers, and I think most of them are just friends of the band. Abinormal had a manager named Steve.
Actually, Juan Twisted of Bowels Out is the manager of 5.3.9.3. He stays in the hardcore type of music, but I think he would do a good job. If he focused on band management, he would be very successful at it. He promotes some of his own shows. I think it would be very hard for you to talk him into it.
One problem you'll have is, there really isn't any money in it for a manager. There is hardly any money in it for an original band in El Paso. About the only original rock bands in El Paso that make minimum wage for their shows, not counting practice, etc., are Lylah and Voyeur.

1/22/07
Hey, I'm going to have to cancel the Battle of the Bands. I'm just too busy with El Paso Music Scene Presents to do a BOTB correctly, and doing it half-assed doesn't work for me.

1/19/07
Last night was the first show of El Paso Music Scene Presents. Doing stand-up were myself, Mando, and Manny. For bands, we had Abnik and Alphabetter.

There are a few bands that, if I had a pile of money, I'd like to finance a tour for, to see how far they could get. Both of these bands fall into that category. The difference is, Abnik has gone about as far as they can go locally, whereas Alphabetter is still not as well-known as they should be.

Actually, I do have a pile of money - it's just a very, very small pile.

Every time I see Alphabetter, I ask, "Were they this good the last time I saw them?" Maybe it's just me, but they seem to improve quite a bit every time I see them play.

One of Abnik's strong suites is their song-writing, and they keep doing new material. I don't know how long they're going to keep that up. The reason I say that is, most bands make one or two CDs, and really don't do any more. Maybe it isn't worth the money to spend to cut one. Anyhow, I really enjoy that they're still going for it.

1/15/07
DJ Flipcyide is having a contest for "the perfect intro beat:"

To all producers out there I am looking for the perfect intro beat for my crews new album "Addictz In The Lab" "Either Your With Us Or Against Us" right now. If you already did production on the album then sorry you cant not enter this one. The intro contains drops from Paul Wall, ILL BILL, Q-Unique, Royal Flush, J.B, Shyheim, Mykill Miers, Hochii-Technicali, Jade Foxx, and many many more. Thats all the intro will be so make sure you think intro when trying out for this one. You can send the beats to: addictzinthelab@hotmail.com with a subject "ADDICTZ INTRO CONTEST". Best of luck to all who apply and we will announce the winner on Jan. 31st which is the deadline as well.

You can get hold of Flipcyide at his Myspace page.

From Abnik, about the El Paso Music Scene Presents show, which debuts Thursday at Lucky Devils (show starts at 8:30):

Thanks for having on your very first (Comic Relief) Show! We're gonna have a blast! Plus we have some new material we want to try out!!!
- aBniK

1/11/07
From Javier Herrera of New Horizon:

We are happy to announce our new Recordings are up on our myspace. Come check them out and leave a comment. We recorded our new material at Monster Studios in San Antonio, Tx. with Keith Krouse. Producer Dave Volk was a blessing and we were also very fortunate to have Mike Major take us on and do the mixing and mastering. We plan on posting some tour dates pretty soon to support our new single. Thanks to all our fans and family for their support and good will. We also would like to thank Quinn Sunshine Smith for being the executive producer on the single and hooking us up with the dough to record this material it couldnt have been done without him!!!

This from King Octopus' Diego:

Track #5 (The Look of Compromise, from their new CD) will be played for the very first time on the Q-Connected show this sunday. And we are going to start massive shameless self promotion this year, so expect to hear alot from KO! Happy New Year!!
-Diego

All right! I love to hear about shameless self-promotion!

Here is the flyer for the first El Paso Music Scene Presents, taking place every Thursday at Lucky Devils. Here is the info page for the show.

Juarez music fans, check out Musica de Cd. Juarez Myspace page. Their aim is to promote music in Ciudad Juarez. Good luck with that!

Here is the flyer for Choque en El Chuco - the EPMS Battle of the Bands.

You might notice that there is a lot of new stuff here since the last time you looked at the site, even stuff that's back-dated. Well, a lot of times, I've written up something part-way, and haven't finished it. I just finished up a lot of things, and I think I'll be on top of things from here on out. Hope so!

If I had any sense, I'd probably be scared shitless, but I'm actually excited about my upcoming weekly show at Lucky Devils. Starting next Thursday, El Paso Music Scene Presents will feature an hour of comedy/variety, followed by THREE bands. For the first show, January 18, the bands are: We the Kings (formerly known as Desoto) from BRADENTON, Florida, Abnik, and Alphabetter. For January 25, I have Fade and Full Bloom ready to go. I'm running display ads in the Thrifty Nickel for this; my second week there starts today. I do need more bands. No metal for this, though. Let me know if you're interested. As far as that goes, I need all kinds of entertainers: jugglers, magicians, break dancers, anybody that can entertain a crowd for a few minutes.

1/9/07
Due to some "unfortunate circumstances," Bruja lost their lead guitarist, Mario Quezada, so they need somebody, ASAP. Anyone interested, please contact Miranda Ross at 799-9867 or at brujarocks@yahoo.com, or call Art Flores at 241-5338. Bruja covers tunes by bands like Breaking Benjamin, Korn, Disturbed, Nickelback, and Buckcherry, plus classic rock. Miranda says, "We have upcoming gigs, and we are looking for versatility and devotion! Check us out at http://www.myspace.com/brujarocks. If you ever wanted to join a band that is full of energy, enthusiasm, and devoted, PLEASE CALL US!"

1/6/07
Hey, Nick Matta, known also as Aux.78, has a new column in The Border Observer, a free newspaper done by the El Diario people. The magazine used to be known as Looking at El Paso, and it usually had photos of hot young women. Ahh, nostalgia. Anyhow, here is a link to Nick's first article, on his wife, who is known as La Mueka. I made a comment about that on fishhook records forum, and Nick told me to, "take a spoon full of sugar."

Right. Like I could actually be sweeter than I already am...

1/2/07
I posted a press release of The Summer Wardrobe, coming to Zeppelins Pub on 1/20. I got the info from Anna Rosales of Banana Logjam. She had toured twice with George Duron from The Summer Wardrobe, who was born and raised here in El Paso, and had toured in Paraguay with John Sanchez, the guitarist/vocalist of the band. I asked her if she had toured much outside the U.S., and she said,

"I used to tour Europe, (Germany mostly, but I did play England, Austria, Denmark and Italy on one tour, and I toured in Paraguay in May/June 2006. I don't play with the band anymore, the band was Rich Hopkins and the Luminarios out of Tucson, AZ. "

Texas bands are a Friday Night Lights favorite From Midland to Austin,the Texas sound makes a splash in NBC TV show.

The Edge Magazine's Metal Dave did an interview with The Cantina Flys. You have to magnify the article to be able to read it. The Edge is a South Texas print magazine on music.

Aisling is looking for a new singer, as Miguel Briones is leaving town. Contact them at their myspace page. Also, Insidious New World is looking for a new guitarist.

12/30/06
El Choque en El Chuco, the EPMS Battle of the Bands. This has been moved to Lucky Devils. We'll do three consecutive Sundays, 1/28, 2/4, with the finals on 2/11. Entry fee is $10, with $500 in prizes. See the official page for more info.

EPMS Metal Night: I'm looking for a venue to do an El Paso Music Scene Metal Night. This would be to give local metal bands a place to play. I'm really looking for someplace new, maybe a bar of suitable size that has a young clientele. I'm going to mention it in ads that I'm starting now for my Thursday show at Lucky Devils, plus Choque en El Chuco, the EPMS Battle of the Bands. I'm probably going to do the metal night as a Friday show, with a rock show on Saturdays (or vice-versa).

12/28/06
12/28 Last night, I caught Archer Avenue and The Third Edge at Lucky Devils. The Third Edge is heavy on innovation, but mediocre in their technical skills, whereas San Antonio's Archer Avenue plays more ordinary music, though they are definitely a professional band. They both have decent fan bases here in town.

Third Edge plays rock and roll that is a good bit different than your average band. They mess with the timing a lot. They are a trio featuring KLAQ's Ray Monroe on vox/guitar. He is an excellent showman, and has a cool, different kind of voice. I can't think of whom he sounds like, except Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens). He has decent projection, when he uses it.

What I don't like about them is their timing - they sloppily drift in and out of meter. I'm probably too sensitive to that, but it drives me nuts. The funny thing about 3E is that they don't have the problem when they change the meter or the timing of the song, only when they don't. The drummer loses time when he switches from eighth to sixteenth notes, etc. If you watch the bass player, he uses a pick, but all his strokes are downstrokes. Watching him furiously pick at his axe reminds me of a teenager, well, never mind what it reminds me of.

Still, they are very interesting, and I like the vox a lot. Too bad I can't be nicer to them, because, with their fan base, they're a good band to book. They announced they'll be coming out with a new CD in three months or so, their second, I think.

The first thing I noticed about Archer Avenue was that New Horizon's Chris Lugo was on bass. Dave Volk, their drummer, explained that their regular guy had a prior commitment with his cover band, and that Chris has filled in several times. I myself have seen Chris play bass, drums, and lead guitar. I think he also plays right field, point guard, and wide receiver... Dave also told me that, now that they all live in San Antonio, they are able to play a lot more. Before, their singer was a Houston teacher, and their guitar player, Marc, lived here in El Paso.

I'd call them alternative country rock. They do nice vocal layering, though not with any movement between voices. I was trying to think of how to describe them when they played Cheap Trick's, "I Want You to Want Me." The feel of that song is like the feel of most of their songs. Their beat is rather mundane. If you've ever heard a drum machine playing eighth notes at a typical meter, well, that's forty per cent of Archer Avenue's sound. They are very professional, but they did a clumsy job finishing their set. Once in a while, I see a very experienced band do this, and I just don't get it. "By the way, we finished a few seconds ago..." Still, I always like seeing a really pro band. Next time I'm leaving before the end, though...

12/24/06
Bah Humbug!

I've been working some on the bands list. I've moved some bands to the disbanded list. If I've moved your band and shouldn't have, sorry; let me know and I'll fix it. I once had somebody chew me out big-time on the forums for accidentally moving his band there. Also, if you know of bands that I have on the active list that are no longer in existence, let me know that, too.

The e-mail address for such is bandinfo AT elpasomusicscene.com. It used to be something else, but I get tons of spam at the old e-mail now (Note to webmasters: if you use a mailto on your site, you will get lots of spam. It's gotten to be a terrible pain in the ass). Anyhow, when I made the switch, including putting the new e-mail address on the bands page, I discovered I had three bands' e-mail that I hadn't taken care of: Far From Stereo, This Life, and Downtown Gators. I have now put these in the list. Sorry for the delay.

One more thing: if you want to be listed, send me all the info in an e-mail. Don't just send me the URL of your web site or myspace page and expect me to go find all the data off of that. It takes time to do all this, and if you want me to process your info, be courteous enough to make it easy for me to do so.

12/20/06
Here is the flyer for the Castle Recordz show, 1/21/07 at Zeppelins Pub. Appearing will be J-Street, Amoni Scarsayzie, Prince Noble, Cee, Yak, and Mr. King. Speaking of Rap/Hip-hop, I'm finishing up an interview with Arkatak of The Giantz. Should be finished in the next day or two.

BTW, if you want your flyer mentioned here, e-mail it to me at bigcheese AT elpasomusicscene.com. It's so much more efficient for me to deal with e-mails than with grabbing stuff off myspace, the Fishhook Records forum, etc.

12/4/06
Wow! It seems that maybe one-third of Myspace profiles are infected with a worm ( MySpace worm uses QuickTime for exploit). Part of the problem is, myspace is so screwed up that people don't think anything is wrong when they get logged off for no apparent reason. One way to tell you are on a profile with the worm is that some of them have empty Quicktime movies.

Hey, I listened to a couple of CDs, by King Octopus and Mandola, that I picked up at the EPMS XMas Show: King Octopus' The Look of Compromise features professional sound, and pretty decent musicianship. I'd like to hear more energy/bite, but the CD is a pretty good listen. My favorite tune here is Tell Me.

Mandola's From the Soil is a three-song EP. The first, Dead Rising, is heavy; I love the soaring backup vox. The second song, Fade Away, features interesting time changes. It has a punk-rock feel. Borderline hardcore/heavy metal.

12/3/06
Hey, last night's EPMS Christmas show was a blast. We had, in order, King Octopus, Fatter tnan Nancy, Alphabetter, Royal Mud, Memento Mori, My Sonic Experience, Fade, Mandola, and Insidious New World.

King Octopus, a long-time popular cover band, is edging into doing original work, which is why they played this show. They have about thirty minutes of original material, all of which is on their CD. I love their attitudes. They're going to start doing some shows with Royal Mud, which is in a similar boat. That should be a good show to catch.

Memento Mori is a two-piece band: Jamie Hernandez, better-known for being with Elysium, on vox and guitar, and Albert Cueto on bass. Now, Jamie, who is eighteen years old, I think, is going to be around a long time. That's a good thing, because she is talented. I rather think she'll be a different musician in five years than she is now, though. I'm going to come out of my shell and offer her some free advice: switch to tambourine, and play some music with some pop. If you want to keep the guitar, work on your right hand technique, a lot. If you ever get a chance to see Andy Griffith play on The Andy Griffith Show (one of my all-time favorites, BTW), his finger-picking technique would be perfect for you. The reason I suggest switching to tambourine is that I think that the guitar is really a crutch for you, and you'd be better off without it. Your future is really in singing, anyhow. I'd really like to see you with just a mic, fronting a four-piece, maybe five-piece, group of serious players. That folksy music you like to play is all right, but your talent is wasted there. OK, back to my timid self...

My Sonic Experience played Black Sabbath's War Pigs. Unfortunately, I didn'thave the video camera on when they did that, but I got a big kick out of it.

Alphabetter plays a lot of funk, with a lot of dynamics. They looked much more at home in Lucky Devilss than the last time I saw them, in the Convention Center. They seemed right at home last night. They are very playful with the crowd.

I got to meet the editor of Broken Bonez' print magazine. Nice lady. She was actually there to talk to AI:Solar, who had had to cancel, but she did get to talk to some other bands.

11/30/06
Flyers! Bruja, 12/1 at Bulldogs, Bruja, 12/22 at Warehouse #1, Remedy, 12/8 at Beer Bellies.

11/29/06
Hey, Suzi's Rock Page, a San Antonio site somewhat like this one, posted a list of Ten Texas Bands You Should Know. Almost all were from San Antonio or Austin, but the list also included The Cantina Flys. Way to go, Moscas!

The El Paso Music Scene Christmas Show will take place this Saturday at Lucky Devils. The bands playing are: Insidious New World, Mandola, Royal Mud, My Sonic Experience, Memento Mori, Alphabetter, Fade, and Fatter than Nancy. Just $6 or an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. You can see this show and the show the night before, Voyeur/Abnik/Aisling/Fade for $8! Or, a toy plus $2.

11/28/06
Got this from Hector of Remedy:
Well, Remedy has been going strong now for coming on a year. In that time we have managed to open for Molly Hatchet and War @ the Texas St Chopper Fest, KLAQ Ballon Fest, Various gigs around town and in Elephant Butte. Wow, it has been a great 2006!!!

We have now added Joe Padilla ( ex OutShined) on Bass. Randy Woodruff has left El Paso due to the military. Funny thing about our past bass players ( Larry Jenkins and Randy) both now live in Louisiana!!!!

Remedy will be playing Beer Bellies on 12/8.

11/22/06
El Paso Music Scene Christmas Show.

11/20/06
I was talking to Joey from Mandola about their upcoming CD:
We have a new recording, we're just getting the master... We call it, "Dead Rising" It's kind of like us coming back, almost like a rebirth, after almost breaking up. They're going to have new merch reflecting this new CD very soon.

11/14/06
Last night's monster show, featuring Fireball Ministry, Artimus Pyledriver, Vains of Jenna, Cantina Flys, and Voyeur: boy, did I lose a ton of money on that one. I guess I'd better stay away from expensive Monday shows for a while. Worse yet, for all it cost me, I actually got to see very little of it, as I was at the door the whole night. I will say, the people running the sound should probably change careers. Not that they did a bad job for most of the night, but they delayed the whole show for an hour while they fixed some problems. Even worse, incredibly, during Fireball Ministry's set, they were playing CDs into the monitors. Right, while Fireball Ministry was playing, they had to listen to somebody else's music. They actually walked off the stage. They went back after a couple of minutes, though. I thought that was quite interesting. As the promoter of the show, I would have saved several hundred dollars if they hadn't finished their set.

11/11/06
Hey! I've posted interviews of both Dave Slocum of Artimus Pyledriver, and Lizzy DeVine of Vains of Jenna. Both will be coming Monday to Chic's. Fireball Ministry, Artimus Pyledriver, Vains of Jenna, Cantina Flys, and Voyeur, all for $8; all ages.

11/10/06
Hey, I'm planning on taking the cable show, El Paso Happenings, regional. By 'regional,' I mean adding New Mexico and more of West Texas, like Lubbock. This would involve getting people in other cable areas to take the show and get it signed up with their local cable company. I'd send them a DVD every week, and they'd have to drop it off. Also, of course, I'd have to feature music from those areas, which might mean trips, or might mean bands from those areas would have to send me videos. Anybody that wants to participate can contact me via bigcheese AT elpasomusicscene.com, or try Yahoo IM churley1andonly@yahoo.com.

Here is the flyer for Sunday's Antlerand/AI:Solar/Antigone/Memento Mori show at Zeppelins Pub. Here is the flyer for Monday's Fireball Ministry/Artimus Pyledriver/Vains of Jenna/Cantina Flys/Voyeur show.

Lylah's Norman Matthew has opened a music school, called " Guitar God School. Based out of Norman's private studio and branched off into West and Central YWCA's,"GUITAR GODS" Specializes in Guitar and Bass Instruction for all ages, along with Recording Classes,Music Composition, Production & Arrangement Classes and with once a month seminars for the working musician

Hey, I'm looking for a street team for my shows. I especially need somebody at UTEP and EPCC. Of course, you get into all my shows for free, and I'll sweeten the pot up in the near future. Anyhow, if interested, msg me at bigcheese AT elpasomusicscene.com.

I hear the Bamboo Lounge burned down... Trying to get more details...

11/6/06
Hey, tomorrow is election day, and I was just thinking... I would really appreciate it if everybody would write my name in for something. I don't know what would be a good position for me, but make it something that doesn't require a whole lot of work. How about Mexican Food Commissioner? This is something that is very important to El Paso's image, and I'll bet that whoever has the job right now isn't paying the proper attention. To be sure, I don't have a lot of time, but I'll make sure that this new job doesn't interfere with my music duties. As a matter of fact, I'll focus on the Mexican restaurants with live music, such as La Cuesta, which is at Montana and Cotton. I'll try not to spend too much time in places like Chico's Tacos, which, to my knowledge, has never had any bands at all.

OK, so watch the news Tuesday night... if I get elected, I'll be open to suggestions as to which places to cover first. I guess next time, I'll get some bumper stickers made, or something.

Just posted an interview with Flipcyide, a big-time local DJ/producer. Check it out!!

Just got word that Words Like Knives has disbanded. I had noticed that there was no photo associated with their myspace account, but I invited them to play in the EPMS Christmas show, anyhow. I thought that maybe not having a myspace photo meant they were having plastic surgery or something... We'll await any updates on the individual members...

Just posted a press release for Zombie Ghost Train, who is coming to Lucky Devils 11/30. This is the first one I've posted in a long time; I'm slowly but surely getting things back to normal... You can access press releases under the Misc button. Damn, I need to make a Press Releases button...

11/3/06
Got this message on myspace today from Tom Gonzales (myspace) today: This is Tom Gonzales. I'm booking rock bands for friday nights at 1148 airway. Warehouse #1 is going to be featuring bands on Fridays. We open 11/10, Friday and have Eocene booked. Any interested bands can call me at 915-252-7775.
Thanks!
Tom

Damned if I can figure out what it means. Something to do with the Mayan Calendar, near as I can figure...

Hey, the El Paso Music Scene Christmas show is just about full - of bands, I mean. It's going to take place 12/2 at Lucky Devils, and start in the afternoon. Has to, there's going to be 8-12 bands. Already have eight that said they're going to play.

$7 cover, but $2 if you bring an unwrapped, new toy. I'm trying to coordinate with the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program, but those guys don't have their act together at all, so I'm going to have to find some other needy kids.

Also, there's a discount if you want to see the Christmas show and the one the night before (I guess I should have mentioned this first) ... I have Voyeur, Abnik, and Aisling (need one more...), also at Lucky Devils. The 12/1 show is $5, but you get to see both for $9. The hard part is, I need you to wait in line overnight... no cutting, either, I mean it...

10/28/06
About last night's show at Lucky Devils, featuring XRayOK, Royal Mud, Elysium... I hadn't seen Royal Mud before. They're a four-piece band playing what I'll call 70s rock.. vox, guitar, bass, drums. Excellent rock vox, very nice lead guitar. I believe the singer is also in Radio La Chusma. I was talking to him after their set; he's a very down-to-earth guy. I really like this band, but they need to keep it moving between songs.

XRay-OK: they play a nice mix of dance/rock/electronica. They are very professional, very good at what they do. They feature pounding rock drums. I liked it much more than I expected.

Jamie's (of Elysium) voice seems to be getting better every time...

10/25/06
Margaritas tells me they're not handling any more rock or hip-hop shows for the time being.

10/24/06
I was looking at the Metal Sludge site. Most of the opening page is some comical "agreement" they want you to abide by. It mostly is a warning about the vulgarity, etc. Following the agreement are two links: one says, "I Agree, Let Me In!" The other says, "No Thanks, I'm A Puss!" I couldn't resist seeing what the second would lead to: it's a link to Right Said Fred's site. I'm sure it's hilarious, but who is Right Said Fred?

Ran across a number of interesting articles on the business side of music...
Business Structure of the Live Music Sector Canadian, but apropos.
THE MONEY-GO-ROUND or How to sell a million copies of your CD and still have to keep your day job.
BRINGING HOME THE BACON: How to make money in music San Diego City Beat.
The Band/Manager/Management Contract From Blues101.org.

All very interesting reading.

10/18/06
Here is the flyer for XRayOK/Elysium/Royal Mud at Lucky Devils on 10/27 (a show of mine). Here is the flyer for the Spyder Babys/Cantina Flys/Thieves of Always show at Zeppelins on 10/31.

10/16/06
Talked with King Octopus' Diego briefly about recent out-of-town gigs they are doing:

EPMS: What's with the San Antonio trip? How did you get the gig? Do you have any other plans to do out-of-town jobs?

Diego: The San Antonio trip came about from our singer knowing Dee from Demand Entertainment. She extended us the invitation to play over there. Which was really cool. The trip went great. We met a lot of people and had a blast. We definately want to play some more out of town, so we are really going to start trying to acquire those gigs.

EPMS: Still playing Oasis Lanes?

Diego: The bowling alley unfortunately no longer has bands so there went another place to play.

EPMS: Anybody in the band have any new pets? (Hey, I couldn't think of anything else!)

Diego: No one in the band has any new pets, but I did hear the drummer was trying to get a pot bellied pig! Take it easy Charles, hope to hear from you soon.

10/15/06
I asked Voyeur's Martin Benavente on Friday about the Korean trip they had previously planned. He told me it had been put on hold due to a couple of personnel changes the band had gone through. Voyeur's current lineup is: Martin Benavente - Vocals, Gino Madrid - Guitar, Fonzy Macias - Bass, Roz Fiore' - Guitar, Adrian Marquez - Drums, Myka Puentes - Synth, Keys, Lights

Elysium's Jamie Hernandez has a duet, easy listening-type stuff. Along with Albert Cueto, they call themselves 'Memento Mori' - means "reminder of mortality." Can't wait til the next time I'm in ancient Rome to show them I know some of their language. I have them booked November 12 with Antlerand. I think that's short for 'Antler And the Rest of the Deer.' Just a guess.

Mandola is going into the studio November 12. Half their band has changed since the last time I saw them. Joey says that Christian has gotten a lot better. That's frightening, since he's only eleven years old. There is nothing in recorded history about a drummer taking over the world, is there? I guess Phil Collins came closest - what a scary thought!

Bamboo's is looking for bands for Saturdays. If it's a band with any kind of a fan base, they'll get the whole door. Sounds like an opportunity - I know Abnik is going to be there Saturday, 10/21. Call Ray Mata at 887-8027.

Here's an interesting myspace page: www.myspace.com/elpasopunkshowlist. This is a list of punk rock shows in El Paso, plus some out-of-town shows by El Paso punk bands.

10/11/06
Last night's show at Lucky Devils:
Daniel Park: the guy is pretty good. I told him he should move to a bigger city, where he could get consistent work for his type of music. He should stay away from using the delay so much, though. He'll stop playing the guitar and switch to his violin, while the electronics keeps up the guitar work. Just looks too Milli Vanilli-ish.

Javier Herrera and Chris Lugo: played pretty much an acoustic version of their New Horizon music. Kind of.

Dan Potthast/Jerm Pollett: these were the headliners. They played, individually, music which featured really off-the-wall lyrics. Both of these guys played without their regular bands (Santa Cruz's MU330 in Dan's case, and Austin's The Total Foxes in Jerm's case). Man, how do you live up to a name like 'The Total Foxes?' I used to run into so many problems when I used to go by 'The Big Ten Inch.' I just thought it was an Aerosmith song about a fish they caught.

Antigone closed the show. Not very many people at all in the crowd, but they did a pretty good set. I'd like to hear them without so much effects. At times, I think it drowns out the guitar playing. Dunno. Anyhow, I already have them booked for another show next month. Hopefully, I'll have a lot more people in there to listen to them.

At the show, I got to talk to Hector of 5.3.9.3. They only have 2-3 more shows before they split for Austin... There were three members of Los Riversides, a local band which broke up a few months ago. Turns out they're big fans of MU330. Two of them are in a new band, Buckeye.

Didn't have much of a crowd, but Tuesdays are a tough sell here in El Paso, and I think folk-type music is hard to promote, outside of as background music in coffee shops. After I've done a few more shows, I might try and set up a regular acoustic night somewhere.

10/10/06
Here's something interesting: I stumbled onto a site, RadioSubmit.com, which will automatically make your music available to radio stations around the world. I heard about it when I got an e-mail about Lacy J. Dalton using it for a new release. I have no idea how big the artist has to be for them to accept submissions.

Last night, I caught 45 Grave, Trashlight Vision, locals Med-X and Cat as Trophy, at Lucky Devils. There was a very nice crowd for a Monday. Hope I get half as much for my show tomorrow.

It was Med-x's first show in seven months after breaking up, then re-forming with a new drummer. I did a video interview with AJ and Count of the band before the show. Their new drummer is from Las Cruces' Hallowed Ground. On stage, Med-X was very loose, doing lots of kidding with the crowd.

Cat as Trophy was also playing a comeback show; their first show in three years. They were really different. This is a band that one must see, at least once. I don't think I can do a good job of describing them. Check them out on this week's El Paso Happenings, as well as Med-X and the now-defunct Los Riversides. They also are playing their CD release party this Saturday at Chic's.

The vocals had quite a bit of distortion, with some really strange effects. It fits in well with the music, though. The music is very electronic, but not for the sake of being so. They have a girl on the keys hiding behind her laptop cover. It took me a little while to realize that she was doing the drums (so to speak), too. They have very heavy percussion sounds, it just doesn't come out of any percussion instrument. Somehow, they also manage to sneak a good bit of disco into heavy metal. I don't know if they should be congratulated for that, or shot.

I really like this band, though I kind of think fake drumming is cheesy (I've always liked the drums). It doesn't hurt that they have a hot chick bass player (always a special treat). They are also very nice people, which is more important (right?).

This is a perfect Halloween band. Speaking of which, Jerry, the guy at the door, who also plays in Irish Car Bombs, was telling me that he worked at a local haunted house for ten years, every Halloween, playing different characters. But I digress.

I would've liked to have taped more of their set, but my battery gave out. They tell me their regular show has a lot more theatrics, effects, etc. Hopefully I can see their show on Saturday, when they're going to let it all hang out.

Trashlight Vision is a very pro band, hard rock, but they could really use a real singer. The guy just shouts, and it isn't really appropriate for this kind of music. Well, he can sing, he just doesn't. I must be too old for this. Overall, I like them a lot.

45 Grave: punk band, female singer with nice voice, but won't sing in key. Oh, well.

10/06/06
762 needs a drummer, and Naked Disgrace needs a bass player. Contact Lex at www.myspace.com/762band for either.

10/05/06
Here is the flyer for Tuesday's Dan Potthast (Santa Cruz), Jerm Pollett (Austin), Javier & Chris (New Horizon), Antigone, Daniel Park (Las Cruces' Kiss to Betray) show at Lucky Devils.

Tonight's show by Mandola, at Lucky Devils, is something of a comeback for them. Part of the band left in July, but Joey T and their elev