Judges Donnie Nelson, Tip Jones, Btrett Dillon with The Bodarks,
Photos by Mary Jane Farmer — The narrative on this one is lost is the shuffle of my life!
Cody Joe Hodges pix, click here
The Bodarks pix, click here (This is the band moving into Round 3, the finals, on Nov. 7.
Judges for the week: Darryl Lee Rush, Tip Jones, Brett Dillon
The Calamity Janes..First of all..Brett told them how pretty they looked…like they were headed to Prom… he liked that..and next was the harmony…he asked are yall real sisters..yes was the answer.. told them the harmonies were incredible..and he loved the covers.. especially the Pistol Annies.. Hell on Heels.. Tip Jones..loved the harmonies.. he could see how the girls have made it this far.. he however thought the covers were a little predictable.. you did a good job on them…just predictable..DLR. (Darryl Lee Rush) he said..sisters..that explains it.. you don’t get harmony like that unless you grow up under the same roof!…good job girls….
The Bodarks
After a Thursday off (Sept. 26), Shiner Rising Star kicks off again this coming Thursday, (Oct. 3) with four weeks affectionately called “Round 2). Eight bands have qualified to play and compete in Round 2, and four of those will go into the final night, Nov. 7. Here’s the adjusted venue and band line-up. The finalist will receive a recording contract with Shiner Records, valued at about $10,000, plus new Kona guitars. All the bands are gathering new fans all along the way.
Each band in this round has 45-minutes to play their originals plus two cover songs, and there are always three judges who make the decision as to who moves on, based on 10 criteria of which they have all been made aware.
Remember, there’s no charge for these Shiner Rising Star contests, and each band will want to have as many fans and supporters there as the venues will hold. Music kicks off at 8 p.m. each night, and winners are announced on sponsoring radio station KHYI, 95.3 at 9 a.m. the following Friday mornings.
Cody Joe Hodges
Round 2, Week 10 — Thursday, Oct. 3, at 3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House, 4226 Preston Road, Frisco, 469-287-9035
The Bodarks vs. Cody Joe Hodges
Buffalo Ruckus
Round 2, Week 11 — Thursday, Oct. 10, Love & War in Grapevine, 2505 E. Grapevine Mills Circle, Grapevine, 972-724-5557
Green Light Pistol vs. Scott Dean Band
Round 2, Week 12 — Thursday, Oct. 17, Club Dada, 2720 Elm St., (Deep Ellum), Dallas, 214-744-3232
Green Light Pistol
Matt Bradshaw vs. Calamity Janes
Lauren Alexander
Round 2, Week 13 — Thursday, Oct. 24, Tolbert’s, 423 S. Main St., Grapevine, 817-421-4888
Lauren Alexander Band vs. Buffalo Ruckus
Guess what, we have another off (or bye) week, Oct. 31, and Happy Halloween that night!
Round 3 — Nov. 7, Finals at Love & War in Texas, Plano, 601 E. Plano Parkway, Plano, 972-422-6201
Four finalists, 30 minutes each, one cover song blended in with their own original music. And the winner will be announced that night.
Scott Dean
Sponsoring this career-altering yearly contest are KHYI 95.3, Shiner Beer, Shiner Records, with Kona Guitars adding more prizes.
Matt Bradshaw
Calamity Janes
Morgan and Rebecca, KHYI interns deluxe!
Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer — Click on the links at the end for many photos…
Well, Round 1 of this year’s Shiner Rising Star has come to a close, and eight bands are ready to move into Round 2. The last of those to advance is the Scott Dean Band, who beat out, barely, Stone Rosevelt at City Tavern in Deep Ellum, Thursday night (Sept.19).
Judging this final event was Kiernan Maletsky, music editor for the Dallas Observer, Gus Samuelson, KHYI and Swampadelic, and Tip Jones, Overdrive Entertainment.
It was the Scott Dean Band that played first, and each band was allowed 45 minutes because the third band had dropped out, and that took a little pressure off the 30-minute “get on stage, set up, play, break down, get off the stage” usual routine, for both bands.
Dean’s band had seven members, including four boss instruments, a fiddle, a steel, keyboards, and electric guitar, plus Scott on acoustic guitar and a bass player and drummer. The City Tavern’s little corner stage was packed, and actually spilled over onto the side, where the steel player set up.
Scott started his set by getting the crowd to clap along with him, an interaction technique not lost on the judges. Their originals were catchy and their cover was a Rolling Stones tune.
When it became critique time, Jones started, commenting, “A great job on crowd participation. That’s not easy.” Tip added some positive comments about some of the originals.
Maletsky liked the Scott Dean Band’s energy. “That Rolling Stones cover was well executed. Keep doing what you are doing.”
Samuelson said, “The songs were good, the hooks good, the writing good.” He was complimentary of the steel player as well.
Stone Rosevelt remembered their manners and, right off the bat, thanked everyone appropriate to the contest. This 4-piece band had two lead guitars, bass and rums, and has been together quite a while. That showed, as Jones said, “you are really tight. Do you know you are a rock n roll band?… just for the record.”
Maletsky called Stone Rosevelt’s performance “fun and interesting. I like the twin leads, you really rocked it out.” He also commented on the personalized P.R. folders that the band handed to the judges as they got on stage, “The stickers were a nice touch, too.”
Samuelson commented on the rock aspect the band delivered, too, comparing some of their originals to Blackberry Smoke and Smashing Pumpkins. “From a rock perspective, you did a helluva a good job. You are not a Range (sponsoring radio station KHYI) band, but as musician to musician, you are really tight and did a good job, guys.”
Scott Dean
Round 2 begins Thursday, Oct. 3, (taking this coming Thursday night off) and will be at
Stone Rosevelt’s Chad Farris
Gilley’s in Dallas. In Round 2 are the Lauren Alexander Band, Buffalo Ruckus, Green Light Pistol, Cody Joe Hodges, The Bodarks, Calamity Janes, Matt Bradshaw, and Scott Dean Band. During this second round, there will be two bands per night, 45-minute sets of originals plus two cover songs, with four bands advancing into the final round, Nov. 7. The actual schedule for those four Round 2 nights is pending and will be announced pretty hot-dang soon.
Shiner Rising Star is in its 10th year now, and sponsored each year by KHYI 95.3 in Dallas, Shiner Beer and Shiner Records. The winning band walks away with a recording contract, new Kona guitars, and a few other attaboys.
Judges Chance Cody, Dustin Hendricks, and Nate Kipp, with contest volunteer Anita Waggoner behind them.
Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer. Click on the links below to view more photographs.
Three more bands from way across Texas met at Smitty’s in Denison Thursday night (Sept. 12), vying for a chance to move on into Round Two of the Shiner Rising Star competition.
It was Matt Bradshaw, from Wills Point, Texas, who won the privilege of moving on. But not without a good showing from competitors Grand Ol’ Grizzly and Blacktop Mojo, from Houston and Palestine.
Shiner Rising Star is sponsored by Shiner Beer, Shiner Records, and Dallas’ radio station KHYI, 95.3. Each band, in the first round, has 30 minutes to get on stage, wow the judges with originals plus one cover song, and leave the stage as they found it., Then, they are called back on stage for critique.
Judges this week were all singers and songwriters themselves: Chance Cody (of Spur 503), Nate Kipp (of Nate Kipp), and Dustin Hendricks (of Chapter 11)
Bradshaw, who appeared solo, was first up, and Chance Cody was the first to offer his constructive critique. Cody said he thought the first song was good, the second was better, and the third was even better. “I’m excitecd to hear something recorded and produced. Your rhythms are fun and catching, and the way you string your words together…” On the “constructive” side, he suggested that Bradshaw talk more between his songs, “tell entertaining stories, make them huge and bigger than life.”
Hendricks commented that Bradshaw’s writing was not conventional, and he particularly was impressed with ‘the wolf song,’ one of Bradshaw’s originals. “Good stage presence, and it’s all there, man.”
Kipp, too, enjoyed Bradshaw’s songs. “We were all singing harmony with you when the catch phrase came in… I liked the songs, the wording, and you took an outside approach to a lot of stuff, not head on, and that was cool. I would totally buy your record.”
Blacktop Mojo, according to Kipp, was more rock and roll than “what I’m used to. Good musicianship.”
Hendricks commented that they should take better care to tune before on stage, and then got laughs when he teased them about a mis-statement made during their set, calling KHYI something other than “The Range,” its nickname. “It’s important to know your radio station. I like the way you took the songs back to the 80s.”
Cody was positive about Blacktop Mojo’s music, too, but did say that it appeard the guitar player was not confident as he could have been.
Kipp was complimentary of the drummer, the songwriting, and the Americana quality put out there. “I’d buy your record,” Kipp said.
Then it was Grand Ol’ Grizzly’s time on stage. This band had put this gig out on Facebook invite and Twitter a couple of months ago, using social media to promote the contest and their involvement in it.
Cody noted it was the first times harmonies were used that night, and their Robert Earl Keen sound was good. “I don’t know why, but the timing of the harmonies being off was really cool, it sounded cool.”
When Nate Kipp said again that he would buy this band’s recordings, the crowd laughed when the band mentioned they just happened to have a few CDs with them.
This upcoming Thursday, Sept. 19, brings the Scott Dean band together with Stone Rosevelt at City Tavern in Deep Ellum, Dallas. The Mike Stanley Band dropped out, making the fifth band to drop out of the contest this year.
Music starts at 8 p.m., there is no cover charge for these competitions, and Thursday’s will bring Round 1 to a close. Next week, Oct. 3, will be a bi, or off, week.
Big Gus & Swampadelic will be playing at City Tavern following the end of the SRS competition.
For Blacktop Mojo pix, click here