Island Moon PA 11August 4, 2010

about. While he was here, Bo made quite a splash by sit-ting in with his friends, Two Tons of Steel, at their Back Porch gig and also doing some impromptu picking at the Tarpon Ice House. Everyone in proximity has been im-pressed and I look forward to his return with full band on the 6th and 7th.

The In and Out LawsThe In and Out Laws (San Antonio, TX) will play the

Back Porch on August 13th. The IAOL’s are an irrever-ent country band with punk rock roots. I first became aware of the band when I was working at Casbeers in

Three Cords Continued From PA 12

Bo Porter to play Tarpon Ice House August 6 -7.

S.A.’s King William district a few years ago. They often played the venue during the popular First Friday celebra-tions held in South Town ev-ery month. I was impressed not only with the show these guys put on, but with the legion of loyal fans they pulled in at all of their performances.

Is that a jock you’re wearing or are you just glad to see

me...The band is fronted on lead

vocals by the unpredictable an-tics of Gordon Waid, whose flair for theatrics is legendary. Once the vocalist for a popular Austin/San Marcos punk band, The Jocks, Waid’s on-stage demeanor holds your attention, to say the least. When playing with the Jocks, Gordon would sporadically tear off the foot-

ball uniform he’d wear on stage and perform in his jock strap. Their press kit probably sums it up best, “The In and Out Laws are different in the sense that they do not fit the mold of country music’s current trend of bluesy Southern rock anthems or sappy balladry of the impor-tance of family and hard work; instead they sing songs of misery, drink and comeuppance, but in such a way that the audience still seems to laugh, smile and dance with these charmingly bad luck tunes.” This will be a cool, if not crazy, gig.

And that’s the truth!

Island Moon August 4, 2010PA 12

By Ronnie Narmour

ronnienarmour@gmail.com

Three Chords and the Truth

There are a bunch of great shows coming up this week. Miss Neesie and the Ear Food Orchestra (San Anto-nio, TX) will be at the Back Porch on Saturday, August 7th and Bo Porter (Austin, TX) will be at the Tarpon Ice House on Friday and Saturday, August 6-7. Norm and Amanda (Port Aransas, TX) will be at Hook’s Bar-B-Q all weekend as well. And, Stuart Burns will be playing his regular Thursday gig at the Ice House. Check out the “Live Music Tonight” box at the bottom of this page for all the local band listings and get out there and support your local live music, folks. Let’s roll...

Al Barlow and FriendsIt’s been a great two weeks of music on the Coastal

Bend. Al Barlow (New Braunsfel, TX) came into Port

A to keep an eye on the Tarpon Ice House while own-er Paul Fain was on vacation in Costa Rico. This only meant one thing...great music. Many of Al’s friends fol-lowed him down from the Texas hill country and im-promptu picking and grinning was a bound at the Ice House on a daily basis. On one afternoon, Dan Brodag and George Hermes showed up from Corpus, for a lit-tle song swap on the front porch and delighted the folks who happened to be there. And right in the middle of it all, local song slinger, Van Blize, had a birthday. This occasion brought out the likes of Light House Rick with his mandolin, Kit Guther on fiddle and Shirley Fischer with her guitar. By the end of the night there were African drums jamming with gui-tars, harmonicas, fiddles and mandolin. It was very cool all week long. We hated to see Al go but were glad to see Paul and DeDe back home. Happy Birth-day Van!

Oh, by the way and speaking of the Tarpon Ice House, Paul has a bunch of palm trees for sell over there and I hear they’re fresh and cheap. I think they are Sable Palms. Stop by and check them out.

Cody AngelCody Angel and the Experimental Blues Band

(Port Aransas/Corpus Christi, TX) played the Back Porch on July 22nd. Seventeen year old Cody Angel is Port A’s answer to Kenny Wayne Shepard or maybe Kid Johnny Lang...he’s the fresh faced kid with blis-ters on his fingers and blues on the brain. My mentor, the

The GaffBeer ● Pizza ● Belt Sander Races (361) 749-5970

Live Music TonightWednesday, Aug. 4th

Cavo & Shaman’s Harvest, Black Sunshine, Atrom Smash @ Brewster StreetBlake Sparks @ Scuttlebutt’sThursday, Aug. 5th

Dust Devils Duo @ Back PorchStuart Michael Burns @ Tarpon Ice HouseGrady Skelton @ Executive Surf ClubAaron Watson & Texas Renegade @ Brewster Street Havana Daydream @ Hooks Bar-B-Q Nathan Strubhart @ Scuttlebutt’sFriday, Aug. 6th

Another Level @ Back PorchRay T & the City Crew @ The Flats LoungeNeal Edwards @ House of RockBack in the Day @ Executive Surf Club Spazmatics @ Brewster Street Bo Porter @ Tarpon Ice HouseNorm & Amanda @ Hooks Bar-B-Q Justin Estes@ Scuttle-butt’sSaturday, Aug. 7th

Miss Neesie and the Ear Food Orchestra @ Back PorchHelstar, Angst, Rough Edge @ House of RockJarrod Birmingham @ Brewster Street Bo Porter @ Tarpon Ice House Norm & Amanda @ Hooks Bar-B-Q Lyrical Bynge @ The FlatsLarry Joe Taylor @ 3rd Coast StudiosEqual People@ Scuttlebutt’s Sunday, Aug. 8th

EMT @ Executive Surf Club Stewart Michael Burns and Jack Gant @ Hooks Bar-B-QJason Phillips@ Scuttlebutt’s Tuesday, Aug. 10th

Open Jam w/ Van Blize @ Tarpon Ice House

Open Mic w/ Reverend Fred @ House of RockCollin@ Scuttlebutt’s

Thursday, Aug. 12thAloha Dave & the Tourists @ Back Porch

Stuart Michael Burns @ Tarpon Ice House

As Blood Runs Black, Oceano, Arsonists Get All the Girls, ABACABB, Tony Danza Tap Dance Extrava-

ganza, Circle of Contempt, Blind Witness, Son of Au-relius @ House of Rock

David Martinez Band @ Executive Surf Club Stoney LaRue, Sean McConnell @ Brewster Street

Dave “Bottlehead” Miller @ Hooks Bar-B-QNathan Strubhart@ Scuttlebutt’s

Friday, Aug. 13thThe In and Out Laws @ Back Porch

Ray T & the City Crew @ The Flats LoungeDay of Reckoning, 100 Proof Hatred, Laoric, Tears of

Titan @ House of RockTrysum @ Executive Surf

Club Scarecrow People @

Brewster Street Acoustic Breeze @ Tarpon

Ice House Richard Lockhart @

Hooks Bar-B-Q Justin Estes@ Scuttlebutt’s

Saturday, Aug. 14thSisters Morales @ Back

PorchGet Some, Fuze, Irie, Advan, John Ford @ House of Rock

Latin Talk @ Executive Surf Club Rotel & the Hot Tomatoes @ Brewster Street

Richard Lockhart @ Hooks Bar-B-Q Carlos and the Groove @ The Flats

Equal People@ Scuttlebutt’s Sunday, Aug. 15th

Emily @ Hooks Bar-B-QJason Phillips@ Scuttlebutt’s

Tuesday, Aug. 17thOpen Jam w/ Van Blize @ Tarpon Ice House

Open Mic w/ Reverend Fred @ House of RockCollin@ Scuttlebutt’s

late Clifford Antone, told me years ago to pay attention to the kids who takes their blues seri-ously...they are the ones who’ll keep the flame alive. If Clifford was still around, I think he’d be watching young Cody closely, I know I am. He’s got the makings and the ambition to run with the big dogs.

Still a senior at Port A High, young Angel is taking good advantage of his youth. He’s at-tending a blues guitar workshop at Berklee Col-lege of Music in Boston in August. Cody also won the Corpus Christi Guitar Center’s King of the Blues contest last month. After graduat-ing from High School in the Spring 2011, he

plans to attend South Plains College in Levelland, Texas in the Fall and plans to major in Commercial Mu-sic.

Break my heart and gimme some new material...

Angel’s appearance at the Back Porch was well attended for a Thursday night and had many prominent Island locals there to support our young hometown hero. His band had An-tone Perez (Bushbullit) on drums and Mike Guerra (Trysum) on bass...two of the main-stay musicians in the Corpus Christi music scene. Proving to be a young scholar of the blues, Angel and friends ran the gamut from SRV to Albert Collins to Robert Johnson and beyond, even throwing in some Arc An-

gels for good measure. He told me that he still wasn’t having much luck in the songwriting department as his standards are too high when comparing his songs to those of the old blues masters. The only advice I had to give him for creative fodder was to fall in love, then get his heart stomped on a few times and the inspiration should come. He said he was actually working on that. Stay with it young Angel...stay with it. Your time in the sun is coming. Just keep working on that writing thing.

Tejas BrothersThe Tejas Brothers (Ft. Worth, TX) played the Back

Porch on July 23rd. What a treat it is when these guys roll into town! The band consists of David Perez on lead vocals and accordion, Lex Cochran on guitar, John Garza on upright bass and vocals and Danny Cochran on drums. This band is like listening to Flaco Jimenez playing for George Jones at the Fort Worth Stockyards on Cinco de Mayo. Ninety percent of their material is original with a tasteful homage paid to such artists as Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Doug Sahm, Buck Owens and Freddy Fender. Perez is a consummate host and clearly knows his job of entertaining. He dances as he slings his accordion and slides his vocals in and out of Spanish and English lyrics. This is Cowtown goes to the border and the result is one happy, swinging package, as scores of dancers at the Porch will attest.

TransistordaleTransistordale (San Antonio/Sisterdale, TX) played

Neptune’s Lounge in Port A on July 23rd. This was only the fifth gig that this band has ever played togeth-er. They are the off shoot of a very popular San Anto-nio funk band called Dog Men Poets. The Poets actually won “Best Band” in the San Antonio Current’s reader’s poll for multiple years and opened for such acts as the Black Eyed Peas, The Pussycat Dolls and The Fall-out Boys. They broke up when the band’s front man, Michael Brouillet, relocated to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. Enter Transistordale. This three piece

321 N

Alist

er TARPON ICE HOUSE Port Aransas(361) 749-BEER (2337)

Aug. 6 & 7Aug. 13 Aug. 14

Aug. 20 Aug. 21Aug. 27

Bo PorterAcoustic BreezeThe Ones

J.J. Henson Band Butch Morgan Transisterdal

hooksbar bq & Grill

722 TARPON(361)749.FOOD

BACK PORCHSATURDAY AUG. 14 SISTERS MORALES!SISTERS MORALES!SISTERS MORALES!

ensemble consists of Greg “Smiles” Layne on guitar and lead vocals, B.J. Schuler on drums and vocals and Spence Thompson on bass and vocals. Layne was re-cipient of the “Best Musician” accolade in the Current’s 2008-2009 reader’s poll. Their name, Transistordale, is a play on words that involves the bass player’s hometown and the drummer’s fetish for radio towers.

Seeking romantic gratification...I was very impressed with Transistordale. They are tru-

ly original and have a very unique, sexy sound that com-bines a blend of outlaw country with undercurrents of alt-rock, reggae, Lat-in and blues. It’s sort of like Chris Issac meets Ray Wylie Hubbard at Muddy Wa-ter’s house. They have a tight three-part harmony with moody lay-ers that pull you in as they jump around genres. Their beat is in-fectious. Also, their lyrics on such songs as Games People Play, Man In My Dumpster, Bustin’ Out, Reynosa and Fat Girl (Swimming in the Water) are witty and hilari-ous. I think these guys are really on to something big. Layne puts it like this, “We’re trying to present Coun-try and Blues in a “primal” manner, which we hope will entice our listeners to gyrate uncontrollably and seek romantic gratification”. They’ll be back in town to play the Tarpon Ice House on August 27th.

Bowling For SoupBowling For Soup (Denton, TX) played the House

of Rock on July 29th. Holy Moly (Fort Worth, TX) and Dollyrot (San Diego, CA) opened the show. Bowling For Soup is a punky power-pop rock band out of Denton that formed in 1994 and has a Grammy and Emmy nomination as well as six studio albums to their cred-it. They are part cheesy lounge act, part comedy show and part rockers. I’d say they’re best described as Pee Wee Her-man meets The Ramones at Jerry Seinfeld’s house. The group is led by Jaret Reddick who could hold his own as a standup comic anywhere. Throw in the banter of 400 pound guitarist, Chris Burney, with bassist Erik Chandler and drummer Gary Wiseman and you

have one twisted roller coaster ride. The show at the House of Rock was classic Soup. They ran through their repertoire of songs such as My Wena, No Habla Ingles, High School Never Ends and saved their one big hit, 1985 for the crescendo. The crowd at the HoR was an all ages affair and had fans from 12 to 60 years old in at-tendance which makes sense...this is one band who will never grow up.

Bo PorterBo Porter (Austin, TX) will play the Tarpon Ice House

on August 6th and 7th. His brand of swing-ing country and rock-a-billy, com-bined with his deep baritone voice, has made Porter a real favor-ite in Austin. He has an au-thentic coun-try style and a real vocal authority that

is truly com-pelling and is often compared to Faron Young, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard. A self professed “gypsy out-law” who is also a walking encyclopedia of country mu-sic, Porter has spent much of his life touching all the bas-es. He’s lived the far corners of the country from Alaska to Florida, from California to Texas and now calls the Lake Travis area west of Austin his home. He recently made a trip down to Port A on his Harley to investigate the area and see what his pal, Al Barlow, was talking

Cody Angel at the Back Porch July 22.

Transistordale performed at Neptune’s July 23.

The Tejas Brothers played at the Back Porch July 23.

Bowling for Soup at the House of Rock July 29.

Pickin’ at the Tarpon Ice House with Al Barlow and Friends.

Three Cords Continued PA 11

Ladies Nite Every Wed. Acoustic Jam Every Tues.