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Flanfire (Duggan Flanakin) is bringing LIFE to Austin music -- and telling the world how sweet it is!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Second Saturdays at Jovita's!Phil Brown and Sasha Ortiz!
If you want to see the FUTURE of Austin music, get thee out to Jovita's on the second Saturday of the month (March 10th is the next gig!) and catch the amazing vocals of Miss Sasha Ortiz and her band Blues Mafia, last year's Rock & Roll Camp best band and hosts to the monthly madness. SOME of the bands that play at Jovita's are already becoming regulars on the Austin music club scene -- gigging at clubs they would otherwise not be able even to enter for six or seven more years, and competing with much older talent for both the fame and glory and the (not so) big bucks out of the tip jar, the door, or even the bar tabs.
Saturday's opening band was The Stumblers, and I flat missed their show -- and another band (After Math -- these kids are pre-teens, I am told) had to cancel due to a conflict with a choral singing contest. As I arrived, Blues Mafia was setting up, and it was almost time for the show to begin, and one band member asked, "Where's Sasha?" I quickly pointed out that divas typically arrive barely on time but always ready -- and so it was! This band combines Led Zeppelin and other classic rock with their own soulful original songs ... but i have written about them before. What was NEW on this date was a guest appearance by guitarist Phil Brown -- he of the Jimi Project (who plays with Sasha's diva mom Natalie Zoe on Thursdays at Woody's on Ben White). Phil was merely returning the favor -- Mafioso Max Frost sat in with Phil and Natalie two days earlier.
Matthew Lyons; Scott Graves.Phil had to split right afterward to get to a gig at the Continental Club with Redd Volkaert (see below) -- but had he stuck around, his tongue might have been hanging as far out as mine ... at the three NINTH GRADERS who call themselves Black Cat -- Matthew Lyons on guitar, Scott Graves on drums, and Luis Rangel on bass (and yes they are eager to audition potential lead singers!). These guys -- like Blues Mafia's Patrick Mertens -- go to Anderson High. What can I say? Matthew is a classically trained guitarist who started when he was eight, but (in his own words) "had been through undedicated musicians like toilet paper and was about to give up his dream" until he ran across Scott, whom he calls ", a charismatic poet in search of an output for all of his stored energy and enthusiasm." Luis came to the band as a potential singer who played classical guitar (too) -- and was turned into a bassist.
Matthew scored early style points for a vintage jacket, then substance points by literally picking his two guitars apart. Scott turned in a six-minute drum solo that the late John Bonham would have applauded -- no repetition and lots of different beats, tones, and styles kept the crowd entertained. And Luis is no slouch, either. These kids could BURY many of the much older bands I see on Red River and around town -- especially once they get their vocals down (Matthew had a very bad cold today and had to turn several of their songs into instrumentals).
Blues Mafia's guitarists Patrick Mertens and Max Frost look on as Phil Brown and Redd Volkaert show them how it is REALLY done!And as we were listening to these bands play, the germ of an idea was born ... about which we anticipate an announcement before too many more moons go by. A second idea was that bringing in a major Austin player for every Second Saturday to jam with the kids could be a lot of fun, build the crowd, and encourage these young musicians in their craft. If YOU are interested, just drop a line to secondsats@yahoo.com .
After Black Cat's frenetic show, most of the Blues Mafia entourage followed Phil Brown over to the Continental (which generously let the kids in with their families) and after a blazing set in which Phil and Redd (and Redd's killer keyboardist Rich Harney) all exchanged leads (sometimes a line at a time) and Chris Gilson on drums and singer-bassist Nate Rowe kept the beat. Redd even let Phil have a turn at lead vocals on one of his songs ... and the crowd was significantly enlarged by a stretch limo full of folks that included the bride and groom (who was dancing in her wedding dress and having a BALL!). And we all looked at each other and marveled that people in Austin get to see this amazing music for whatever they are willing to throw into the tip jar!
