San Antonio
SKYROCKET!! The Band
SKYROCKET!! The Band
A rocking fun loving -band. On a typical hot sticky night at SAM’S BURGER JOINT, It’s Skyrocket the band.
I had a super time listening to some awesome classic rock songs executed to perfection.
With a common love of the music of the seventy’s. Sky rocket dose a it right. The place was packed and the music as they would say back in the day was RIGHT ON. .
There was up to seven members on a tightly pack stage and no miss steps. With over 300 songs to choose from there play list, the responsibility did not fall on just one or two members to do the singing. Depending on the tune being played, the person that best fit the song was center stage.
What I mostly like was I never could predict what song was next,
Hook on a feeling, Blondie’s “Heart of glass”, Tom Petty’s “Don’t do me like that”, Abba “Dancing queen” even one song that got me swaying, “Gangsters paradise”.
A sign that you have a good band is by looking at the audience. Feel the VIBE. Jumping up and down, and singing along. Yup that’s what was going on that evening.
After the gig, I talk to some of the band members. Then ask,
How many gigs a year. About 100 to 110 gig’s a year.
Do you play San Antonio often? , about 4 times a year
How did you find the audience tonight? , Terrific a, it was a great night.
If you were to pick your favorite song, what would it be? It’s always changing there is no one song.
Band members are
Benjamin Hotchkiss – vocals, percussion, guitar Darin Murphy – drums, vocals, guitar Johnny Goudie – keyboards, vocals, guitar Kyle Crusham – guitar, keyboards Cory Glaeser – bass guitar, vocals Paul English – guitar, vocals Trish Murphy – vocals, guitar, percussion Chris Gebhard – vocals, guitar, percussion
What type of band would call Sky Rocket? A cover band Or a party band? Some would say both. I say it’s a dam good band. I can’t wait for you guy’s to come on back.
Thanks Sky Rocket.
Story and pictures by: Joseph Martinez
Need more information? Click below.
http://www.skyrockettheband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/skyrockettheband
16-Year-Old Graduates From Texas A&M
From Doogie Howser, M.D. to Sheldon Cooper, the idea of child prodigies attending college before they can get a driver’s license has often been fodder for sit-com humor. According to 16-year-old Noel Jett, who graduated this month from Texas A&M, although such situations are quirky, the profoundly gifted often struggle emotionally and she hopes to devote her professional life to helping them.Jett, a Fort Worth native, accepted her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the College of Liberal Arts’ commencement ceremony at Reed Arena on May 16.She says most of her professors and fellow students were unaware of her age, and those few in-the-know were supportive.
The Road To Early College
Jett’s unique journey to college began in kindergarten when she was already reading chapter books. When testing revealed she was gifted, her mother chose homeschooling.
“I took two college-level math classes when I was 10 [one online and one taught by a tutor],” she recalls. “When I was 12, I decided to try public school again.”
She started out well in the small, STEM-focused high school, but it “quickly became a difficult experience for me, both socially, in that some people were hateful, and academically as it was several steps backwards.” After one semester, Jett dropped out, returned to home schooling and co-enrolled at Tarrant County College.
At community college, she was able to earn the credits to finish high school and start earning college credits.
She graduated high school at the age of 13, then applied to four universities, including Texas A&M, and was accepted by them all.
“Of the four schools, A&M was the most respectful, helpful and enthusiastic,” she notes. “Everyone I dealt with during the admissions, acceptance and enrollment process was just really nice. It was also the most affordable.”
It helped that her experience with Texas A&M began years before. “I had been attending the Physics and Engineering Festival here since I was pretty young, as well as SEE-Math camp. Even then, people were very kind and helpful.”
Being An Aggie
Jett says life as an Aggie was challenging and exciting; she took part in a number of extracurricular activities. “I really enjoyed Elephant Walk,” she recalls. “And I had an amazing time at Big Event.” She also writes for Texas A&M’s satirical newspaper, “The Mugdown,” and is a member of Cepheid Variable, a student organization comprised of science-fiction/fantasy fans.
“I helped out at AggieCon [Cepheid Variable’s annual convention] and the Aporkalypse, the end of the year celebration that includes probably 20 different meat dishes!
“But I’m most involved in Young Americans for Liberty, a political group through which I’ve been able to attend a lot of fun conferences, including one in D.C. – definitely one of my most memorable college experiences.”
Another memorable experience happened last fall when she won $25,000 on the game show “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” during “Whiz Kids Week.”
“It was so much fun,” she shares. “And it was so much money, it didn’t seem real. Like it was just numbers, not real money, even though I knew it was. The whole experience was just surreal.”
Jett has spent much of her time at Texas A&M conducting research on such subjects as gender differences in computer use. “I’ve learned so much from all the research I’ve done; it’s been interesting and really valuable. I’ve met a lot of great people,” she notes.
A Future Dedicated To Helping Others
Her interest in psychology and her experiences being profoundly gifted have inspired Jett to pursue a career advocating for gifted students and their families. She plans to pursue her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Gifted and Talented.
And she says she’ll continue her research into the intersections between neuroscience, addiction, suicide, depression, adolescents and giftedness.
“My community faces a lot of struggles and they go unnoticed because the smart kid is seen as lucky, when really the smart kid isn’t always treated like a human,” she asserts. “Bullying is a big issue for a lot of us.”
Jett’s mother, Nancy Withers Shastid, who also started college at an early age, 16, says while she was nervous about the challenges her daughter would face attending college so young, “Noel has an intellectual vitality beyond her years, but more importantly, a social maturity and perceptiveness about people.” That, she says, made the choice for radical acceleration easier.
Jett says being gifted is “not just about being better at math, it’s a different mindset and it comes with pain and struggle. People have told me things like ‘Wow, you’re so smart, you should cure cancer!’ Why does that responsibility fall on me? That’s not my field. Of course they don’t mean any harm, but I don’t want to be compared to a TV character.”
Shastid says she’s of course overwhelmed with pride for her daughter’s intellectual gifts, but says what she’s most proud of “is her desire to serve others, whether it be on a church mission trip, at a homeless shelter, or just being a friend to those in need.”
Martha Tijerina: The First Female Hispanic Anchor
Martha Tijerina: The First Female Hispanic Anchor
By: Ramón Hernández
Before Martha Tijerina there were no female reporters or anchors in Spanish-language television. Therefore this trailblazer went down in television broadcasting history as “The First Female Reporter and Anchor in Spanish-Language Television.”
Others have laid claim to this honor and shame on the writer that believed them. For example, in Barbara J. Love’s book, “Feminists who Changed America,” she cites Theresa Gutiérrez as “the first Hispanic woman to break into television journalism, then became host of a weekly television program in Chicago,” in 1978.
Tijerina is also the first Latina talk show host and first director of public affairs.
Everyone wants to be ‘the first,’ as Lucy Pereda touts herself as the first Latina anchor in Miami. Others claim to fame is being the first Latina anchor in Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities. In fact Minerva Pérez, who was Houston’s first Latina anchor even published her own autobiography, “I Gotta Story – My 30 Years in TV News,” and the list goes on and on.
It was downright sad when this writer read that María Elena Salinas was the first Latina TV reporter to receive “Premio Leyenda Del Périodismo” for being the most recognized in the entire nation. With all due respect to this fine, talented, superb reporter, I am not knocking her, but she didn’t become a TV reporter until eleven years after audiences first saw Tijerina on television and this makes Tijerina a genuine “living legend.” Again, someone did not do their homework.
Google “First Latina anchor” and who pops up? Daisy Fuentes, who became MTV’s first Latina NJ, eighteen years after Tijerina made her television debut.
Not only was Tijerina “the first,” period, but she also created the mold for all others to follow. She set the path and opened the door for the next generation of young Latinas and that is of monumental importance.
Before Cristina Saralegui began her TV career (in 1989), María Antonietta Collins, Lili Estefan, María Elvira Salazar and Bárbara Bermudo to name a few, Tijerina was already a seasoned veteran.”
When Martha Tijerina went on the air, María Celeste Arrarás was ten, ABC 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas was eight, former sportscaster and “Inside Edition” anchor Lisa Guerrero was six, former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien was four, and Natalie Morales, who anchors the “Today Show” and appears on “Dateline NBC” and “NBC Nightly News” was two.
Yes, it was in May 1970 that local viewers saw a beautiful, very classy, yet gutsy, energetic, inquisitive, ultra-intelligent Tijerina for the first time.
Today, Latina TV reporters number in the hundreds, but since sex sells, stations are seeking out the hottest looking, the sexiest Latina with the longest legs and great cleavage to hire as news reporters, traffic reporters, weather girls, sportscasters and anchors. If you don’t believe me and you want to get an upset stomach, check out http://thechive.com/2010/11/10/2-assets-to-boost-your-television-ratings-and-by-assets-i-mean-breastzszsz-22-photos. Okay, enough ranting and raving.
Incidentally and for those readers whose inquiring minds want to know, it’s a toss-up between Tamron Hall and Carole Simpson being the “first African American woman television anchor,” since both made their debut four years after “the first Mexican American television anchor in the United States.
When I first contacted Tijerina about being selected to receive the Alberto Alegre Award and that I was going to write an article on her, her biggest concern and request is that I keep the piece simple and above all, in tune to the humble person that she is. But how could I comply when I realized that during her television career, she was interviewing people that pupils now study in textbooks, people that now have schools, clinics, recreation centers, parks, streets and highways named after them; and that makes her a contemporary historian.
She interviewed Raza Unida/Chicano movement activist leaders, advocates, a Mexican president (Luis Echeverria), an American vice president (George H.W. Bush), first Ladys (Barbara Bush and Mary Esther Zuno) plus local to national politicians, judges, clergymen (bishops and archbishops), national and international luminaries, prominent businessmen and women, military war veterans, Hispanic soldiers who earned a Purple Heart, VIPs, movers and shakers, but most important, she reported on the social, economic and cultural issues in the Alamo City.
History was being made and the former folkloric dancer was in the front lines reporting on their every move and action. Among her first interviews were those with the Good Government League (GGL) City Councilman/later Mayor Pro Tem Felix B. Treviño and Bishop Patrick F. Flores, the “first Hispanic Bishop in this nation.”
“I could have done a program on trivial subjects, but I wanted to know what made people tick, like asking a judge to explain, in detail, what they do. I also wanted to wake up people and teach on pressing issues as I spoke to the people that were the pillars of San Antonio,” Tijerina said over a cup of coffee and a taco at Mi Tierra Restaurant.
“I would spend all day on the streets with a cameraman, take notes, then run back to the station to report, and my thing was not reading the news, but being in the middle of it all.”
On the entertainment side, the bell-bottom pants wearing enthusiastic journalist interviewed internationally known singers, radio, television and film personalities such as Raúl Velásco, Rafael, Don Silvestre Vargas (founder of Mariachi Vargas), Vicente Fernández, Juan Gabriel and countless others who entered the doors of KWEX-TV to be interviewed by Tijerina because she was our own Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey rolled into one. It is also hard to image how many stars she spoke to when you consider she virtually covered every celebrity who set foot in the Durango Street Univision building.
And to think that her initial dream and goal was to be a Mexican consul.
“My first step in achieving that goal was to take a job at the Mexican Cultural Institute during Hemisphere ’68,” the television icon said.
Two years later, the institute’s director, Alberto Mijango told her that Emilio Nicolas, Sr. was looking for a young lady to put on-camera in what was the ‘first Spanish-language television network in the United States.’
“I was 23 when the first thing I did was a Lemon Fresh Joy TV commercial and that went well considering that I had no acting experience, but the most pleasant surprise is that because it was an American market Procter and Gamble product, I later got residuals,” the petite television pioneer said with a happy laugh.
“This was also a ‘first’ because it was the first commercial without lip sync, without someone doing a Spanish voiceover over an English-language commercial. Then I started reporting, doing commentaries and anchoring with Marcelo Marini.
“The Chicano (Civil Rights) Movement was in full swing throughout Texas, California, New Mexico and Colorado, Raúl Yzaguirre had already founded the Southwest Council of La Raza, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) was already in existence and that’s when I went on-the-air to host ‘En San Antonio.’
Hence, a then 24-year-old Tijerina with long loose dark-brown hair or braided pigtails down to her tiny waist went on to interview César Chávez and José Ángel Gutiérrez, who formed La Raza Unida Party; who were two of the ‘Horsemen of the Chicano Movement.” The others were Corky González and Reis López Tijerina, no relation to Martha.
Tijerina also interviewed Ramsey Muñiz, José A. Cardenas, Blandina “Bambi” Cardenas, Demetrio Rodríguez and some Brown Berets. “All those people were in the studio.”
“In 1974, Chicano movement organizer William (Willie) C. Velásquez founded the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Yzaguirre became the CEO of the National Council of La Raza and all these founding fathers came to speak out on my show.
“I admired the way Willie project what he believed in; and I remember the Chicano movement so well because there were so many young lawyers, so many brilliant minds and I was blessed that I was placed in their path as an outlet by Divine Providence because all this fascinated me.”
By July 1974, the pretty Monterrey native had become the champion and informer of the city’s Hispanic community, had captured the hearts of San Antonio’s Spanish-speaking television watchers and this resulted in an article by Aziz Shihab in the SA Express-News.
In 1975, Henry Cisneros was elected to the city council and Tijerina formed a new alliance. Then there was Cecilio García-Camarillo, who founded and edited Caracol: La Revista de la Raza and they became more of the community-oriented journalist’s endless list of guests.
“It was when a gathering of different early Chicano groups united at the Municipal Auditorium that I chopped my hair and started wearing wigs,” revealed the still stunning former mini-skirted anchor.
“During that meeting, they stated that ‘the enemy of the Mexican American is the Mexican and Mexican American malista (basically translates to the Mexican crab syndrome) and the Anglo racist.’
“My spirituality developed with my father and mother (Magdalena), however, this gathering heightened mi espiritismo.”
While Tijerina credits Archbishop Flores as her then spiritual advisor, when it comes to television, she says, “My great teacher was Emilio Nicolas, Sr. who spoke to me directly on a daily basis. And I have great respect and admiration for him because he made Univision. The biggest Spanish-language television pioneer was him. I saw him visualize it. I saw him do it. He was like a football player going for a touchdown and I saw him realize his vision.
“He was the master builder of a television network and advertising agencies for the Hispanic market would not exist if not for Spanish-language TV. Therefore, he is above us.”
It was also in 1975 that KWEX-TV launched the Telethon Navideño to offer much needed help to needy families during the holidays.
“This came about when Archbishop Flores told Mr. Nicolas of the poor people’s plight; and what we essentially did was to help people pay their water and electricity bills at a time when utilities were very expensive,” said the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame inductee.
Emilio Nichols became the architect. He laid out his plans before her, placed her in charge of organizing the Catholic Archdiocese project. Now, as an event coordinator, she became the most instrumental person in executing his orders for what became an annual star-studded fund-raiser.
By 1976, the television journalist, who endeared herself to the people due to her heartfelt sincerity, had become the media darling of the San Antonio Express-News and San Antonio Light as her name popped up in writer’s columns and they wrote full-fledged articles on her. This was also the year that she received her first award.
A few years later, she went to Rome and had a private audience with Pope Paul VI.
By the 1980s, the popular anchor was cited as being the “most influential media representative in San Antonio.”
Today, her awards take up over one-third of her resume and that’s with leaving out “Woman of the Year,” lifetime achievement plaques, advocate plus humanitarian awards, trophies and other accolades. Therefore, they are too numerous to list, but one of the most prestigious was receiving Las Primeras Award in the field of communications and for making a national impact on the Hispanic community. This honor was bestowed on her in 2008 in Washington, D.C.
Somewhere along the way and during her busy schedule, Tijerina got her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Our Lady of the Lake and her Master of Arts degree from UTSA. And slowly but slowly, her hair became progressively lighter, and just like Shakira, she went from brunette to blonde.
In 1989, she left KWEX-TV and moved to Los Angeles, then to Arlington, Virginia, where she embarked on a new career with the federal government as an interpreter for the U.S. Immigration Court. But before she left, on July 16, KWEX-41 purchased a full-page in the Express-News thanking the network’s biggest star for 20 years of dedication and loyalty. She returned in 1996 and to this day, has continued to serve as an interpreter.
It was also this year that she started as a volunteer talk show host producing program for Catholic Television of San Antonio (CTSA) and as she says, each time there’s a turnover in archbishops, I expect this to end, but they haven’t told me to leave yet.”
Once back in the Alamo City, the well-known community advocate, successful fundraiser/event organizer and strong believer in education continued to find causes and ways to help the community, the latest being to institute the fabulous Holiday Annual GED Brunch to raise funds to assist low-income students obtain money to take the GED test and also help them go to college.
This are but a handful of reasons that CPS Energy recognized her with a full color page ad in the Express-News.
Believe it or not, this article barely touches the surface of this role model’s accomplishments and achievements. Also, most impressive and for the credibility of the few that may challenge her, Tijerina has oodles of photographs and archives of all her television interviews, not to mention her gig as a circus ring master, as a Tejano music awards presenter and her early years as a professional dancer.
Furthermore, Tijerina has so many anecdotes and so many lessons to relate, she should take the advice of what everyone has urged her to do, to write her own book.
In gratitude from our community, this Good Samaritan and philanthropist, whose television career spans four decades will receive the Alberto Alegre Award during a dinner on Thursday, May 7. The event is open to the public with a cost of $10 for a delicious meal and meeting with the awardees.
For more information, call Alberto at (210) 584-7921.
The Pastie Pops
The Pastie Pops
Pictures and story, joseph Martinez.
Last Saturday night I drop by “Up Town Studio” at 700 Fredericksburg Rd. to see local show “The Pastie Pops”. All involved in the show was just wonderful. The head liner was Missy Lisa, and featuring “Elle Du Jour”. There was a total of eight performers doing their own unique thing. Some, combining song with their acts Poetry and light hearted comedy
Creativity and Graceful moves went hand and hand all night long.
If you have not been to a burlesque and variety show, Ya got to go and see one. It’s not what I was expecting. The local talents are out standingl.
Missy Lisa and Elle Du Jour, performances were well-planned out and choreograph exotic moves that titillated the audience.
I notice was most of the audience was about 75% ladys . I ask Jasper Saint James, of “The Pastie Pops” is this typical of your turn out. He said “Yes… Sometimes it’s a girls night out or they want to pick up some pointers so they can have some fun at home.”
Jasper has been doing burlesque and variety show with the Pastie Pops for five years. A lively show to say the least. Jasper not only produces the show. He is part of it as well.
If you miss this show It will be back at “Up Town Studio” in march. Check out Face book at https://www.facebook.com/pastiepops?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
for times, dates and if you think you may have the right stuff to be on stage. Contact Jasper to get details
All I can say, the evening. It was a BLAST.
Thanks Pastie Pops
Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions.
Adrian & the Sickness, Revisited
Adrian & the Sickness, Revisited
Adrian Conner and her band Adrian & the Sickness, were traveling into San Antonio to play at the “Tonic Bar” when she got tangle up in a small fender -bender. Maybe a little bum out but, it sure didn’t show in the music she played that evening.
Adrian & the Sickness “The Austin-based power trio Rocked all night long..
Last I saw Adrian it was about four years back. I thought to myself. “Does she still have it? “Absolutely …. Hell, Yaa. No wimpy music here. Stronger, Louder and still hits that music nerve that hard rockers need. .
The performance was simply Awesome. That evening Adrian did some Cover metal songs from AC-DC.
Her band play ordinals like “We got it all” off her latest album. One song played was, “Tit’s And Taint’s, what can I say about it. It’s different. You just need to listen to the song to get it.
Like before, all those years back. She still loves to get close to her audience and fans by coming down off the stage into the middle of them. Feedings off their emotions, and why not, it’s all good fun for everyone there.
The original story about the Adria the sickness at
http://www.rivercityattractions.com/off-the-beat-bone-shakers/
Young in heart I don’t see Adrian slowing down. In fact I think it is speeding up.
Her talent on the guitar is advance. One time I saw here play the song “Flight of the bumble bee”. That is one song that is difficult to master. But a can attest she does it and dose it easy.
2014 marks the release of Adrian’s 5th full length studio album. Adrian is currently touring throughout 2014 to support” Be Your Own Saviour.” On the (Fantom Records label)
She is coming to town December 5th. At the Tonic bar http://tonicthebar.com/
Don’t miss them.
Last words… A rocker that, what can I say, really ROCK”S .
Story and pictures by, Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions
Thanks Adrian, Keep a ROCKING!! girl
Beyond The Canvas
Beyond The Canvas
We from River City Attractions wish to Congratulations the winners!!
First Place went to Olesya Korsakoff & Kyle Otto as Mr Freeze.
Second Place went to Jason Lozano & Neal Henderson as The Red Lantern Atrocitus
Third Place went to Jsn Art & Belinda Lopes as Female Robocop!!!
All the competing artists and models in our opinion need to be congratulated as well. Like going to an ice-cream parlor that has over 57Flavors what to choose… What to choose….Hummm. It’s the same thing here at “BTC” 7th annual event. Everybody had their favorite. Seeing the models on the cat walk was wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely. One thing that caught me off guard was the time and effort the models and artists put in to get ready to compete. It’s in the detail. Look at some of the pictures we put on line and you will see. From head to toe, it looks like a lot of work to me. Shading is something I place close attention to. It gives depth where there is none. The overall effect was magical.
Before the competition began. It was all business. The paint was flowing. Still, everybody was polite. I ask a few questions on hair and wigs“How do you keep the paint from smearing (use hair spray to set it)
It was a friends and family’s having a good time all around. Food trucks and venders selling their wares. A great San Antonio Night.
Anthony the poet” was at the mic introducing the models and the Artists. I got a kick how the models transform when all eye’s and lights are on them. At that point, the villains or super heroes came out. After the last model walked the stage. It was time for them to relax together in all there painted glory.
Just a reminder on Sunday the 26th it’s the ZOMBI WALK down town. BTC will be there with a booth. http://www.sanantoniozombiewalk.com/
I’ve been told it’s going to be BIG BIG BIG. Guinness book of world records is sending people to confirm if it is going to be the largest gathering of zombies.
Filming of the upcoming new movie called “ZOMBI REIGN” is schedule to be there as well. (A story and information on the Zombie Reign will be posted on this web site shortly)
Thank you having a great event here in San Antonio.
Story and Pictures by Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions ,
We want to send out a very special Thank you to Ariel Valdez,
Who look great as KAMEN RIDER GAIM and for giving us the heads up on the event.
Find out more information on BTC At
https://www.facebook.com/beyondthecanvassa
Night bird and The Damn Torpedoes
Night bird and The Damn Torpedoes
Next month Nov 8th at “Sam’s Burger Joint” Be there. It’s going to be a double header. Two of my favorite Texas bands together.
A couple of months ago I have an opportunity to check out Night bird. And,, O-Boy What a great time I had listening to them.
Night bird – A Tribute to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac
Speaking to my editor Eddie, What is the best way to let San Antonio know about Night Bird, He said Give them a shout out when they come back to San Antonio. What Better timing than when my other favorite Texas band comes on in to town
The Damn Torpedoes ( A Tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
Brooke Alyson – Stevie Nicks Vocalist Brooke says, “Like Stevie, I try to take you away to a little fantasy world for a while, and simply keep the dream alive that she began. If I can do that, I’ve done my job.” Brook has the moves, she haves the voice, and importantly. She has the heart to be a performer. What I loved about Brook is how warm she is to her adoring fans. Her fellow band members are on par on talent as well.
Adam Walton – Guitar/Vocals Nice clear and clean What more can I say . He is very good. Just one of the many reasons I am going to Sams Burger joint on the 8th
Wolff DeLong – Bass/Vocals/Percussion. Wolff has a deep history playing music and worth going to their web site to read the details. His playing is spot on. See more at: http://www.nightbirdtribute.com/about.html#sthash.edCt2ejg.dpuf
Kelli Thompson – Keys/Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/Percussion Playing from a young age; Kelli Carries herself well on stage. From marching bands to metal band and receiving a full music scholarship at Illinois Weslayan University. You can see that music is flowing in here veins. See more at: http://www.nightbirdtribute.com/about.html#sthash.edCt2ejg.dpuf
Jason Phillips – Drums Jason Also started playing at a very young age. When I look at a tribute band I look on how well the duplicate the original music. all I can say is job well done. A very fine drummer. See more at: http://www.nightbirdtribute.com/about.html#sthash.edCt2ejg.dpuf
The Damn Torpedoes A super tribute band that’s what they are. Check the out cool story and pictures on the Damm Torpedoes’ here at http://www.rivercityattractions.com/the-damn-torpedoes-a-tribute-to-tom-petty/
I can hardly wait to Brooke Alyson and Ty Hurless Sing at Sam’s burger Joint.
Don’t make a mistake; mark your calendar – Nov 8th.
Story and Pictures by Joseph Martinez
Want to see more on night bird?
http://www.nightbirdtribute.com/welcome.html
https://www.facebook.com/stevienickstributeband
https://twitter.com/nightbirdlive
The Blue Note Ringos
The Blue Note Ringos
Story and pictures by Joseph Martinez
“We don’t do costumes.” Frankly they don’t need it. Their talents flow freely on stage. It’s a joy to find a hidden gem here in San Antonio. If you Love “The Beatles” you will truly enjoy the
The BLUE NOTE RINGOS .
The Ringos are a cover band that stays true to the original songs played by The Beatles.
I get the impression of reverence when I was listening to them. I can truly see that they Love the Beatles music.
What I very much appreciate was any song in the vast Beatles library, they could play.
And not just so,so but, just like I remember when I played them on vinyl long ago.
The music was flawless. Not a miss- note at all.
I especially like the obscure title they covered.
Bulldog, Dear Prudence, Lovely Rita, Strawberry fields, Magical mystery tour; just to name a few.
Band members
Key Board vocal: D. G. Lara
Guitar: – Joe Killough
Bass guitar Daryl Chadick
Lead guitar vocal: Val Cronk
Drums: Karl Yelderman
Check out the blue note ringos web site for more information on them
http://www.thebluenoteringos.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Blue-Note-Ringos/144322402365421
http://www.reverbnation.com/thebluenoteringos
Get in touch with then at dan@thebluenoteringos.com
Really… words can’t take the place of hearing them.
You can find them at the “COVE”; the first Thursday of the month.
Sit back and enjoy the music, grab a cold beer.
Now you are set for a great night
Thanks guy’s
Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions
Lucky Díaz Hits the Musical Note on the Head
Lucky Díaz Hits the Musical Note on the Head
By Ramón Hernández
All year long, Lucky Díaz, his wife, Broadway performer Alisha Gaddis, their daughter Ella and his Family Jam Band are aqui, alla and everywhere touring from California’s west coast to the east coast of New York.
Above all, the Latin Grammy award winners are performing children’s music to sell-out crowds at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts near Vienna, Virginia plus other nationally known prestigious venues while established popular Tejano acts struggle to find gigs due to a decreasing number of Tejano music venues.
The difference is that nationally touring Lucky Díaz and the Family Jam Band indie rock band from Los Angeles, which is hailed as “the best band on the children’s scene” by USA Today and CBS, is churning out No. 1 and Top 10 kid’s hit tunes such as “Lines and Dots,” “Thinamajig,” “What Ya Say?” and “Shimmy.”
But in spite of rave reviews of their first five compact discs, numerous articles in the print medium and cyberspace; plus awards, accolades and other honors that fill up an entire page, they have never performed in Texas.
The truth is that their calendar is jam packed with dates for Mystic, Connecticut; the Center for ARTS Natick in Boston, Wilmington, Delaware; Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., the Chesapeake Arts Center in Baltimore, St. Louis, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma, Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon; to name a few – and for some of them, they did eight shows in four days.
If one follows the Family Jam Band on Facebook, on July 11 Lucky posted, “36 shows in 42 days – over 20,000 kiddos dancing! And we aren’t done yet.”
That’s pretty impressive for a band that Lucky started five years ago and in 2010 released Luckiest Adventure followed by Oh Lucky Day in 2011 and A Potluck in 2012. The latter was ranked as the #1 Cool Kids Album by People magazine and USA Today.
After that fans urged Lucky to explore his Latin American heritage in his songs and they recorded ¡Fántastico! Without planning it, that CD, which was appropriately released on Cinco de Mayo, found a new audience of families yearning to see their children be bilingual.
“When we performed at the Clive Davis Theater at the Grammy Museum (Sept. 14, 2013) and the kids saw me, they were able to see someone like them. We need to give them inspiration that ‘hey, I can do that too.’ This was something that kids like us, with immigrant parents, needed,” Lucky said during a telephone from his Silver Lake, California home.
This is one of the many accomplishments of the son of migrant farm workers who marched alongside César Chávez in the 1970s, yet when Lucky and his siblings were children, they grew up listening to a mixed mash of the Beach Boys, the Beatles “Here, There and Everywhere” and others.
“Things like racism bring families down, but my parents, Héctor and Irene Díaz, had hope for my brother, José Carlos, and I. But as it turned out, my brother went on to work in Liverpool and is now the curator of the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach; and I never dreamed that I would be traveling and winning awards. That’s why I tell kids to go to college and be someone.”
A true role model, who practices what he preaches, Lucky completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Berklee College of Music and Alisha is a BFA graduate of the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and she completed performance studies at the University of Sydney in Australia.
Hence they believe that the goal of every child should be to study and become a chef instead of a cook, a doctor instead of a nurse or the owner of a store instead of being a cashier. Otherwise, the day will come when Hispanics/Latinos become a majority in numbers, but still be treated as a minority.
Lucky is 5-feet-10-inches tall, has a full beard, a hairy chest and a gorgeous wife is therefore masculine. So what is he doing performing kiddie songs?
“We need to let kids be children as long as they can be. Children’s art is complex and does not get respect. So you really have to think about the lyrics. You have to think about happiness and write happy songs. My daughter, who is ten and named after Ella Fitzgerald, has been doing this since she was two; and why do I do it? I just love it. I think kids are the biggest listeners because they don’t judge, but you have to be honest because you’re connecting with the kids and they can sense when you’re not honest,” said the ultra-enthusiastic kid at heart.
Mindy Thomas of Sirius XM stated that ¡Fántastico! set the standard for Spanish-language music for kids. In the process, this CD made Lucky Díaz and the Jam Family Band “the very first Americans to ever win a Latin Grammy for “Best Children’s Album.”
Next, following the success of Lishy Lou and Lucky Too, the husband-wife duo and their band showcased at Kindiefest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and spent the summer touring with more than 50 dates in three months and this does not include the demand to appearance in numerous television programs.
Now the singer-songwriter-musician is set to conquer Texas with the recent release of Aqui, Alla in which he draws from his Tejano influences.
You see, Lucky, who although was born in Miami where his older sister married a Cuban gentleman, spent countless three-month summer vacations with his uncles and aunts in San Antonio and Devine, Texas where he was weaned on Tejano music and was influenced by Flaco Jiménez, Little Joe, Sunny and the Sunliners plus Selena.
“I practically grew up in San Antonio and I consider myself a Tejano,” Lucky continued. “I wanted to make a record with a really cool idea.”
The result is Aqui, Alla, which unlike their previous Spanish-language reworking of their English-language hits and “De Colores,” is made up of all new original tunes.
The album kicks off with the festive, rocking, contagious “Viva La Pachanga,” a rousing dance number guaranteed to get everyone out on the floor features Flaco Jiménez on accordion. Furthermore, the lyrics are so simply that you’ll immediately be able to sing along.
“Orale” an excellent instrumental with touches of mariachi, starts off with haunting, scary sounding, “orale, orale,” then goes into a fast paced percussion driven beat followed by Gilbert Velásquez playing a killer rock-edged guitar, is an exclamatory tune playing homage to the Southern California “Rampart Sound” of the 1960s.
“La Pequeña Araña” will go down in music history as the ‘first Spanish-language version’ of the old nursery rhyme of a certain ambitious itsy bitsy spider.
“Cantaba La Rana” is a riveting, bouncy, 1960s bubblegum music type tune that will have your kids hopping with joy; and don’t be surprised if the infectious beat does not bring out the child inside you and give you the impulse to dance along with your young ones. And don’t be surprised if mobile DJs wind up playing this feel-happy song at family gatherings, rivet.
Rubén Ramos’ spine chilling “Hui, hui, ay viene el cucuy. Watch it now, watch it now, here it comes” starts off “El Cucuy” in a tune about the Mexican bogeyman that is sure to become a Halloween party favorite.
“Tu Eres Amor” is a sugary, mushy love ballad for those experiencing their first tinges of ‘puppy love.’
“Vamos a Contar” has such a great, good ole 1950s old school rock tune with enough doo wops that it will take you to the good ole days in what is the most commercial song in this CD.
The title tune is a touching; moving song about a dual culture in which both Mexican nationals and Americans of Mexican descent, sadly but true, find differences in each other as Lucky sings:
Yo naci aqui y uste nacio alla (“I was born here and you were born there [indicating Mexico])
Aprendi una idioma que uste no entiende (I learned a language that you don’t understand)
Soy de aqui y soy de alla también (I’m from here, but also from there)
Somos de aqui y somos de alla también (We’re both from here, but also from there) …
“This was the most important song for me and I hope somebody covers it,” Lucky said of the song that is going hit a chord with Mexicans and Tejanos.
The album ends with “De Colores,” a traditional Mexican song featuring David Lee Garza on accordion.
“Recording this album was a dream come true and my parents cannot believe that Flaco was in the recording session,” the Latin Grammy winner said.
Incidentally, both his parents now live here, where his father owns an air conditioning business and his mother is a visual artist, who goes by the moniker of Nenoo. In fact, one of her painting, “Felicidad,” won first place in the “Spirit of San Antonio” contest.
Getting back to the CD, other Tejano musicians who participated in this album were Carlos Álvarez, vihuela; Noe A. Benitez on tenor saxophone; and Christina Martínez-Benitez on trumpet and background vocals.
Following their appearance on CNN En Español’s “Showbiz,” the program’s host remarked, “You are going to instil a desire to hear music in Spanish in children and adolescents who live in this country.”
Another critic noted that in an era where some of the most notable artists in the American mainstream have reached their highest level of success recording kid-friendly music, it is refreshing to see Tejanos following similar trends. And Mr. Shepard at www.zooglobble.com/blog/2014/7/18/itty-bitty-review-aqui-alla-lucky-diaz-and-the-family-jam-band said, “Lucky merged indie-pop with Tejano and created a new genre: Indie-jano” thus coining a new music genre.
This writer could go on and on about this ground-breaking, out-of-the-box CD featuring the Tejano legends that Lucky grew up with, but let it suffice to say, “how can you miss not being nominated for another Grammy when this production includes a 13-time Grammy winner, a five-time, a two-time and two one-time Grammy Award winners.
“I was surrounded by great artists. Tejano culture is so important because it’s a good mix of Americana and that why I also appreciate Los Texmaniacs,” Lucky added.
To find out the magnitude of Lucky and the Family Jam Band’s popularity and their achievements, check out the following websites: www.luckydiazmusic.com, www.facebook.com/pages/Lucky-Diaz-and-the-Family-Jam-Band/182600891967, http://queentickets.worldcafelive.com/event/450931-lucky-diaz-wilmington (great biographical article), http://owtk.com/2013/06/lucky-diaz-and-the-family-jam-bands-fantastico-year, www.sanantoniomomblogs.com/summer-resources-for-dual-language-kids, http://mommasbacon.com/2014/05/05/lucky-diaz-and-the-family-band-aqui-alla-cd-all-ages and if you Google them, in at least a dozen other websites. In addition their videos are all over YouTube.
To book Lucky Díaz and the Family Jams Band, e-mail him via his website.
Verónique Aims to Carry Tejano Music Torch Forward
Verónique Aims to Carry Tejano Music Torch Forward
By Ramón Hernández
Verónique Medrano was four and encantadora (charming) when the world lost Selena and was too young to realize what had transpired.
“I was a ‘90s kid, so I grew up listening to Selena, Emilio, La Mafia, regional pop hits such as ‘El Coco Rayado’ and watching Paquita del Barrio on Mexican television,” Verónique said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.
“You see, I grew up ‘On the Border by the Sea’ in the southernmost part of Brownsville (aka La Southmost). Besides listening to the radio and cassette tapes at home, there was always music in the house because there’s a lot of artistic nature in the family.
“However, it was Selena that inspired me as I sat glued to our TV set watching her on the ‘Johnny Canales Show.’ My mother even took me to the filming of the movie at the Alamodome and later, Norma (Red) won tickets to go see the movie at Cinemark in McAllen.
“Cary Zayas, a KGBT reporter, interviewed me before the movie began and asked me how I felt about watching the show. I told her I was excited because I thought that I was going to see Selena. At the end of the movie the realization of her death hit me. I was uncontrollable and asking countless questions about her now being an angel; and for me, it still hurts,” the now enchanting 23-year-old recording artist recalled with great detail.
Sharp as a tack, Verónique was reading at second-grade level in kindergarten; and when she entered Incarnate Word Academy and Sister Dorothy Salazar saw that she was very special and also recognized her vocal talent, she encouraged her to enter a talent contest. Verónique did and won a box full of huge Crayola’s.
“And the walls of our house still has all those marks,” her mother said with a laugh.
Her aunt Norma Linda González is married to Joseph Mattingly, a Liturgical Music Director for the Newman Center at the University of Iowa in Coralville. So, between the ages of seven and thirteen, Veronique would visit them during her summer breaks and tour with the Newman Singers as they sang in churches and revivals across the United States, plus attending Christian music conferences in Washington, D.C.; and not to be left out, she even got to sing a couple of solos with her cousin Andy Mattingly.
Then her life went back to normal, that is, until she entered López High School, where she played Top 40 and indie music on the high school’s radio station and joined the school choir. Her hard work and tenaciousness paid off since she made the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Region XXVIII Vocal Division in 2009. In the spring of 2009 she was a part of the All-State Choir, and went to San Antonio and performed at the Lila Cockrell Theatre.
After all was said and done in a series of competitions that started out with 15,000 contestants, her vocal talent took her all the way to the finals against the best ten in the state. She ended with the distinct title of ‘TMEA’s 2009 Region XXVIII State Choir, Alto II’ and her prize was a trip to New York City where the 18-year-old Aquarian got to perform at the Lincoln Center. Now how many young Tejano singers can match that?
“It was on a Memorial Day weekend and I got to take my parents, we ate at Tavern on the Green and we went to check out a few Broadway plays.
“I saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and all its pomp and circumstance and I said to myself, ‘This is amazing. I need to do this and I don’t care if it’s Broadway or a theater at any big city.’ And that’s when the professional bug bit me!”
Back in Texas, a strong believer in education, she attended UT Brownsville her freshman and sophomore years where she was part of the UTB/TSC Master Chorale and Mariachi alumni. If that was not enough, she also hosted “Sting Radio,” an on-line weekly one-hour program; she then finished her last two years at UT Pan-Am (UTPA). During her junior year, Veronique produced a documentary on the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse titled ‘The Queens Collapse” and it got so much attention that it was featured at Cine El Rey. She finished her senior year as the television station manager at UTPA Bronc TV.
In May 2013, Veronique graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English, a minor in philosophy and now it was time to get serious about music. However, everyone needs to be gainfully employed in order to survive. “I was literally blessed because I got hired as a digital multi-media manager right after graduation,” Veronique said.
Her entry into Tejano music began with “Te Dejo Claro,” and “Te Equivocaste Conmigo,” both written by Rogelio Banda.
“For ‘Encantadora,’ I teamed up with Guillermo Martínez, who is an incredible songwriter and has written for Control and Grupo Azido among other Latin artists. My awesome producer, Santiago Castillo, plays six different instruments on this project and also wrote ‘Que Dolor.’ It was important for me to work with individuals who understood my voice and were willing to work with my ideas.”
As for the CD’s content, both versions of “Si Tu No Vuelves” are absolutely, spine tinkling, beautiful. “Hola” is a simply entrancing duet with Guillermo, but the stand-out song in this CD is “TekJano Jam.” “It’s one of the songs that I wrote,” the 5-feet-7-inch tall warbler said beaming with pride.
“Selena left the torch there for someone to take and I wanted to grab that torch and I do not want to compare myself to Selena, but when you listen to this album, you will hear that I am trying to go where she was going had she lived.
Asked for a closing statement for her Piñata Army (fans), the enchantress responded, “I love my fans and I want my Piñata Army to be a part of my musical journey. Change does not occur over-night, music styles differ with each generation, and together we can be a part of that change.
“Every step has been a big labor of love, but as for my immediate goals, I would love to perform at the Tejano Music Awards.
For booking and personal appearances, contact her manager, Norma Red at (956) 639-3440. We also recommend you check out her webpage at www.veroniquemedrano.com for lots more information and a slew of great photographs by Rocío “Yeey Click” Velásquez and as Verónique says, “Follow me and all of my shenanigans on my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.”
