It’s been another busy fortnight of music here on the Coastal Bend. The South Texas Music Festi-val and Chili Cook-off at Sharkeys was a rousing success raising $4300 for the Jody McCormick Scholarship Fund. It was a treat to see Todd Dorn and the Sea Drifters (San Antonio, TX) back in town. It was also a treat to see Carlton Pride and Mighty Zion (San Marcos, TX) back on the is-land. His over the top reggae show at the Tarpon Ice House was a hoot. The Ice House has another really great show on the horizon; Walt Wilkins and the Mistiqueros (Austin, TX) will perform on Nov. 4th. Also, Carol Elliott will play on No-vember 4th from 6-8 (and every first Friday of the month until the Winter Texans arrive) at the Ice House. Another outstanding show I caught re-cently was Uncle Lucius (Austin, TX) at the Back Porch. This band impresses more and more each time I see them. That B-3/keyboard player is incredible. Also, the Gaff Pirate Reggae Fest last weekend was super cool. I’m glad to see Gaff owner, Kip Shannon, stepping his live music pro-gram up a notch. The outside area in back of the Gaff is a really comfortable setting to watch mu-sic. There are two big festivals this weekend in Corpus. Ziegfest 2011 will feature Robert Earl King, Jack Ingram, Casey Donahew and Reck-less Kelly at Whataburger Field on Saturday and the 51st Annual Texas Jazz Fest will be going on in Heritage Park, featuring 56 jazz groups on three stages over the three day weekend. But right now time’s a wasting…let’s roll!

Dave “Bottlehead” MillerDave “Bottlehead” Miller (Rockport, TX), Ken

Barnett (Flour Bluff, TX), Cody Angel (Plain-view, TX) and L. Leon Sands (Port Aransas, TX) played Hook’s Bar-B-Q on October 8th. This was an amazing show with magic written all over it. Miller’s health continues to haunt him, but you wouldn’t know it when he’s on stage. Local wun-derkind, Cody Angel, had left the nest a couple of months ago to attend college in the Great High Plains. We all missed him and this homecoming was his first. I got to the gig early (for a change) and caught their first set before Sands arrived. The trio of Miller, Angel and Barnett was smoking, for sure, but I decided to go over to the Back Porch during the break and catch some of The Drakes, billed as “Austin’s Hottest Bar Band”. I got bored

with that after about four songs (a cover band is a cover band is a cover band) and made my way back to Hooks. I’m glad I did.

When I got back, Sands was plugged in and had upped the ante…Angel was raising the bet. Watching these two trade licks and try to “one up” each other for the next hour was a sight to behold. Throw in Miller’s seasoned voice and uncanny ability to direct a band, and the result made my jaw drop. Song after song, the energy only grew…ev-ery guitar ride got hotter. At the end, Miller called for a “big rock and roll finish” but soon regretted that call. After about fifteen minutes of non-stop shredding between Sands and Angel, and sensing that this might never stop, Miller bellowed, “Get off the stage”, only half joking. Man, this show

B 8 Island Moon October 21, 2011

By Ronnie Narmour

ronnienarmour@gmail.com

Three Chords and the Truth

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was one that will stay with me for a long time. I’ll say it again; L. Leon Sands is super good and the chemistry at this show was undeniable. I’ll give it to Hook’s owner, Clyde Smith, for knowing the good stuff when it comes to music and making his place a growing live music destination in Port A. Keep it up Clyde!

TransistordaleTransistordale (San Antonio, TX) played the

Gaff on October 14th. I’ve grown quite fond of these boys. They’ve adopted Port A as their sec-ond home and the locals have more than em-

braced them. (I know from experience that the bartenders at the Salty Dog, in particular, love to see them com-ing after a gig.) Greg “Smiles” Lane (gui-tar and vocals), Spen-ce Thompson (bass and vocals) and B.J. Shuler (drums and vo-cals) have a special en-ergy going for them. The have a totally orig-inal sound that bounces between funk, country and even reggae. Their

songs are true bad boy poetry, with lyrics that tell of wild trips to Reynosa, fat girls swim-ming in the water, wondering who’s

Jesse Dayton Jesse Dayton (Austin, TX) played the Back

Porch on October 15th. I left the Chuck Pyle show during the encore and hurried over to the Porch just as Dayton was finishing his second set…which always seems to be my timing. Talk about two different worlds. Dayton had obviously worked the SRO crowd into frenzy before I got there and I had to shift gears fast. No problem. As soon as the band re-took the stage, a bevy of single girls rushed the front and started wiggling and my toe started tapping. Dayton is the embodi-ment of George Jones (my all time hero of he-roes) and has the definitive rockabilly persona. He has a standing gig at the storied dancehall, The Broken Spoke, in Austin and you just can’t sit still while listening to his music. His stage plot is the perfect country configuration; a telecaster, pedal steel, stand-up bass and drums.

One thing I found admirable about Jesse Dayton was that he didn’t stand up there and bask in his own glory. He was sincerely appreciative of the audience and of his band and included them in ev-ery discourse. Jesse also paid homage to two more of my heroes, Buddy Holly and Clifford Antone, during his set and totally won my respect. I’m only sorry he didn’t play his song about duct tape, Arkansas Chrome. Dayton is an outlaw rockabil-ly zombie killer with a heart. I say let’s get a bus load up for a trip to the Spoke…anyone game?

DO NOT MISS LISTShelley King/ Dust Devils

This is the time of year that I start to worry about “what am I going to write about all winter?” My beloved Back Porch will close for the season on October 30th. Massive separation anxiety is sure to ensue. The good news is this weekend will be the bomb. It’s the 9th Annual Coastal Bender at the Porch and the music will be on fire. Tonight, (Fri-day, October 21st) songbird Shelley King (Aus-tin, TX) will take the stage with monster guitar-ist Michael O’Connor on sideman duties. King

has a rootsy blend of R&B, blues, country, folk, bluegrass and Louisiana swamp that showcases her “blow your hair back” powerful voice. With four magnificent CD’s under belt and a tow sack full of original songs, she stands strong with any-one, anywhere.

Tomorrow night (Saturday, October 22nd), the Cosmic Dust Devils (Austin, TX) will grace us with another edition of their yearly sabbatical known as the Coastal Bender. This is a fan ap-preciation weekend where scores of Central Tex-as fans (known as Storm Chasers) trek to Port A for a weekend of music with their favorite band and a guaranteed hangover on Sunday morning. The term “fan” is appropriate here because these maniacs are truly fanatical about this band. And for good reason, Kevin Higgins and Barbara Malteze put on one hell of a show. You’ve heard me tell you many times about the talents of these two, and given it’s a built in party with the Storm Chasers, the Shelley King and Dirt Devil shows this weekend definitely top my DO NOT MISS LIST.

And that’s the truth!

under the covers the next morning and party girls who are busting out of every seam. They have a tongue and groove three part harmony with tight instru-mentation that spreads the glory evenly amongst them. I think each one of them is a stand-out with no big ego and a healthy mission of working as a “band.” It’s obvious they know the woodshed well. Trust me, if you haven’t caught this act yet, you need to make it a prior-ity the next time they hit town.

Chuck Pyle Chuck Pyle (Boulder, CO) played

the Third Coast Theater on October 15th. There were several things that im-pressed me about this artist. The first thing was his guitar playing. Obvious-ly influenced by Chet Atkins, Pyle’s technique was amazing. He used a drop D tuning and maximized all ten fingers, keeping a bass run and chord pattern going while cleanly filling in the blanks on melody. He made it look effortless and I didn’t hear a clam all night. The next thing that impressed me was his songwriting. His songs covered a wide array of topics that vividly illustrate a sensitive man and a cowboy poet. He sang of everything from the social pres-sures of choosing his daily wardrobe, to his affinity for cowboys, horses, moun-tains and birds (a chickadee to be ex-act). I hadn’t realized that he penned the famous Jerry Jeff Walker bar room anthem, Cadillac Cowboy. Every song was a keeper. And finally, I was impressed by his storytelling. Billed as the Zen Cowboy, Pyle has a soothing inner peace about him and a keen eye for observation. His stories were both funny and thoughtful. All and all, his show was quite engaging and his music was delightful and lively. Chuck Pyle is one class act and the Third Coast was the perfect listening room for this show.

Jesse Dayton played the Back Porch on October 15th. Photo by Miles Merwin

Chuck Pyle played the Third Coast Theater on October 15th

Transistordale played the Gaff on Oct. 14th

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L. Leon Sands, Cody Angel, Ken Barnet and Dave Miller played Hooks on Oct. 7th

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Friday, Oct. 21st9th Annual Coastal Bender: Shelley King @ Back Porch 51st Annual Texas Jazz Fest @ Heritage Park ZZ Top/ Lynard Skynard @ American Bank Center Ray T & the City Crew @ Flats Lounge Richard Lockhart Band @ Hooks Bar-B-Q Battle of the Bands Finals @ House of Rock Bush/Chevelle & the Filter/10 Years @ Concrete Street Lighter Ray @ Executive Surf Club The Pictures @ Brewster Street Antone & Atomic Blues Band @ Doctor Rockits Spark in the Dark @ Coffee Waves Port A Gary Moeller @ C-Bar Café Brian Winfrey @ Island Italian Justin Estes @ ScuttlebuttsSaturday, Oct. 22nd Ziegfest @ Wataburger Field 51st Annual Texas Jazz Fest @ Heritage Park Dust Devils 9th Annual Coastal Bender @ Back Porch Norm & Amanda @ Tarpon Ice House Jimmy Dasher @ Wildhorse Emily @ Hooks Bar-B-Q John Steele Art Show @ House of Rock Matt Hole @ Executive Surf Club Mondo & 3rd Coast Rhythm Section @ Doctor Rockits David Martinez @ Coffee Waves Port A C-Roots @ C-Bar Café Ruben Limas @ Island ItalianSunday, Oct. 23rd51st Annual Texas Jazz Fest @ Heritage Park |Corb Lund/ Pate Rossi @ House of Rock Open Electric Jam w/ Rockin’ Ricke Burnett @ Tarpon Ice House Henry & the Invisibles @ Doctor Rockits Wednesday, Oct. 26thHOBO @ House of Rock Chris Tomlin @ Salina Auditorium John Eric @ Pelicans Lounge Open Mic @ Executive Surf Club Mongo Stereo @ Doctor Rockits Thursday, Oct. 27thRuben and Amber @ House of Rock Randy Rogers/ Brian Burke (acoustic) @ Brewster Street William Clark Green @ Executive Surf Club Congrats/ Ruben & Amber @ House of Rock John Cortez @ Doctor Rockits Friday, Oct. 28thDavin James @ Back Porch Ray T & the City Crew @ Flats Lounge Richard Lockhart Band @ Hooks Bar-B-Q

Friday, Oct. 28thDia de los Muertos/ Sonidos del Bario @ House of Rock

Middle of the Road @ Brewster Street

Scarecrow People @ Executive Surf Club

John Cortez @ Doctor Rockits David Brown @ Coffee Waves

Port A Stuart Burns @ C-Bar Café Justin Estes @ Scuttlebutts

Corpus Christi Live: Sean Jones @ TAMUCC Performing Arts Center

Saturday, Oct. 29thCostume Contest w/Cruise Control

@ Back Porch Bubble Puppy

@ Executive Surf Club 3 Doors Down/Theory of a

Deadman/Pop Evil @ Concrete Street

Zombie Prom w/ DJ Johnny Hotcakes/ Electrotypes @ House of Rock

Le Freak @ Brewster Street Duke E. Brown @ Doctor Rockits

Stuart Burns @ Coffee Waves Port A

Acoustic Breeze @ C-Bar Café Fred Jarmon @ Blackbeards Too

Sunday, Oct. 30thTurkey Bowl @ Back Porch

Richard Lockhart (solo @ 3 PM) @ Hooks Bar-B-Q

Open Electric Jam w/ Rockin’ Ricke Burnett @ Tarpon Ice House

Rehab/ Johnny Love & Dankadelics @ Doctor Rockits Wednesday, Nov. 2nd

Adelitas Way & Art of Dying/ Emphatic/ New Medicine

@ Brewster Street John Eric @ Pelicans Lounge

Flatbroke @ Doctor Rockits Thursday, Nov. 3rd

Bart Crow Band/ Kyle Bennett @ Brewster Street

The Daylights/ The Shakedown/ Andy Davis @ House of Rock John Cortez @ Doctor Rockits

Friday, Nov. 4th Carol Elliott (6-8)

@ Tarpon Ice House Walt Wilkins & the Mistiqueros

@ Tarpon Ice House Beau Walker

@ Executive Surf Club Andrew Jr. Boy Jones @ Doctor

Rockits Ray T & the City Crew @ Flats

Lounge Artwalk w/ The Bar Nutz @ House

of Rock Gary Moeller @ Coffee Waves

Port A C-Roots @ C-Bar Café Saturday, Nov. 5th

Passafire/ Tin Can Phone/ Bad Chords @ House of Rock

Aaron Watson @ Brewster Street Another Level @ Doctor Rockits C- Roots @ Coffee Waves Port A

Trysum @ Executive Surf Club David Martinez @ C-Bar Café