Andrew Delaney

  For photos, click on the links at the end of this feature.

Round 1 Week 4 of the 2014 Shiner Rising Star competition was perhaps more evenly, well-balanced match between bands than is usually the case. All three bands were genuine bands (no hired guns on the Love & War in (Grapevine) Texas stage); all three consisted of four musicians with more-usual instruments, i.e. acoustic and lead guitar, drums, and bass; and all three bands were closely matched in talent and presentations. Two of them provided the judges with lyric sheets for their original songs. Big time tough on the judges Chuck Taylor (KHYI); Tip Jones (Overdrive Entertainment); and Baron Lane (music blogger).

When Taylor announced their decision the following morning on K95.5, everyone learned that it was Andrew Delaney & The Horse You Rode In On who would be moving forward. The other two bands, Crazywater and Matt Begley & Bitter Whiskey, were no slouches at all. The music scene is better for all three of these bands.

In this 11th year of Shiner Rising Star, each of the 24 bands who made it into the finals is and has been competing for a recording contract with Shiner Records and a spot on the 2015 Texas Music Revolution. They have 30 minutes to get on stage, set up, perform all originals except for one required cover song, shut down and get off the stage. Then, they return for critique, intended to offer beneficial, constructive comments they can each take home with them to improve their performances.

Andrew Delaney’s band consists of two members of Four Left Turns, a band that entered SRS a few years ago and impressed the judges and crowd then. Justin Whitehead on bass and Trevor Pulver on lead guitar. Delaney plays acoustic guitar, sings lead, and is the band’s primary songwriter. On drums is a longer-timer in the band, Jeromy Bailey. They opened with Delaney’s “Ramblin’ Jack” and soon did a on-steroids version of Hayes Carll’s “Kmag Yoyo,” which really pleased all three judges.

Critique: Lots of interactive banter went on between Delaney and the judges, beginning when one of them asked about the band name, saying ‘nothing about you four says anything about horses.’ Judges agreed the band did a great job on the cover song and the harmonies “were right there, tighter than a frog’s ass,” as Lane stated it. When one of the judges mentioned Pulver’s talent on the guitar, “you are tearing it,” and Delaney pointed out that Pulver did that on only five strings for the last few songs. Lane added, “You don’t come up as a honky tonk band, more like Black Sabbath and Conflict combined.”

Taylor commended the band, saying that he noticed, “You take the criticisms (from past years’ judges) and turn them around and this is the best I’ve ever seen you in the year’s I’ve been judging these contests. You guys are really strong.”

Crazywater

Crazywater features John Hosford on lead guitar and vocals; Jeff Zuelsdorf on rhythm guitar and vocals; Eddie Holyfield on bass guitar and vocals; and Matt Morris on drums. They reside a considerable distance apart, Allen, Belton, Weatherford, and Kennedale, and yet have been together as a band since 2007. Amidst their originals, the band struck up a cover of a Drive-By Truckers song. And they did take time out to quickly re-tune guitars when it became necessary. John and Jeff also swapped lead and back-up vocals.

Critique: Jones commented, as did the other judges, that parts of the band’s show was “loud.” But, Jones added, “you are a really tight band and that was a cool, cover choice. I liked your swapping lead vocals up there.” Lane commented that this band “was the first one to reach out to me on Twitter and Facebook. I’m a blogger and that’s where I live.” Lane commented, too, that Crazywater made the cover song look easy and fun, although he knew it was not an easy song to perform.

Taylor said that the way the band set up its equipment made it “hard to hear your vocals, they were drowned out.” The cover song was good, impressive, he said, then added that one of their originals “sounded like it should have been on the radio.”

Matt Begley

Matt Begley & Bitter Whiskey drew the straw that had them go on first, and they carried it off with complete class. This band, like Crazywater, is made up of four musicians from all across Texas — Leander, Tyler, New Braunfels, and Lampasas. And, like Crazywater, have been working together since 2007. Members are: Matt Begley on acoustic guitar and vocals, Michael Reeh on led guitar; Blues Brothers’ sunglass-wearing Nick Dooley on bass and vocals; and Paul Rogers on drums. They opened by first thanking God and “those who go overseas and protect us, to make sure that our rights aren’t taken away.” They introduced their songs and chose an Alan Jackson song as their cover.

Critqiue:  The judges commented on the nice twang, good tones, and choice of cover being a good match for them. Criticisms included being a little pitchy and/or sharp on harmonies. But in all, it was a “really good set,” as Taylor expressed.

And just a side note: Sound was handled by David Byboth on the board and equipment set up by Marcus Rasor and provided by DB Sound of Sherman. And another side note: all bands remembered their manners and thanked sponsors Shiner Beer and KHYI, and also the venue for hosting the contest.

Next Thursday, Sept. 4, the contest will be at Tolbert’s in Grapevine with Cole Risner, Melissa Brooke Band, and Buffalo Ruckus will be competing.

For photos of Andrew Delaney & The Horse You Rode In On, click here

For photos of Crazywater, click here

For photos of Matt Begley & Bitter Whiskey, click here

 

The week’s judges, Brett Dillon, Deryl Dodd, Tip Jones

Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer

If all the other 21 bands selected to play in Round 1 of Shiner Rising Star bring as much diversity and talent to the stages as the first three did — fans are in for a great season of music and the various judges are in for difficult decisions.

Thursday night (Aug. 7), three bands hit the Love & War in Texas (Plano) stage. Two from the Dallas area, Ole G & The Crew and Parallel Play were challenged by a Panhandle band, Lager & The Fatties. When the dust settled, KHYI’s Chuck Taylor announced Friday morning that it would be Parallel Play moving on into Round 2.

Judges Thursday night were Brett Dillon (KHYI), Tip Jones (Overdrive Entertainment), and Deryl Dodd (singer/songwriter). After each band’s 30-minute set, they returned to the stage for critique. Each band was required to play all originals, circling one cover song.

Lager & The Fatties were first up. The group, according to their promo, started out in Lubbock in 2006, played around for a while, and then got back together this year. The band played with Ryan J. Edwards on lead vocals and guitar, Cody C.M. Myers on lead guitar, Kyle O’Neal on drums, and Kyle “Keys” Davis on (no surprisingly) keyboards. High energy and good musicianship, the band opened with a good original story song with an old-west feel to it. Their cover was “Tulsa Time.”

Critique:

Brett Dillon: The keyboard was bad ass, and the band had a great song selection. He confirmed that Ryan does most of the songwriting.

Deryl Dodd: “To hear the girls screaming back there, maybe you should be called “Lager & The Hotties.” He, too, commented on Davis’ showmanship, also on the fact that the band seemed to be having as good a time as the fans.

Tip Jones: He also commented on Davis’ talent, saying, it added a “cool touch to the band’s sound, kind of a Leon Russell/Circus thing going on.” Jones said he wasn’t impressed with the cover choice. “That’s your chance to do something really cool, to go to the next level. Pull out a song we don’t like and make us like it. The originals were good.”

One thing unique that Lager & The Fatties did was to provide the judges with gifts of their current CD, koozies, stickers, and cards.

Parallel Play, moving on

Parallel Play probably brought the largest fan base, judging by the whoops and hollars before, during, and after their set. This band, uniquely, supplied the judges with the songs they would be singing and the lyrics to all their originals. Their cover was a Gin Blossoms’ song, “Found Out About You.” Well, done, in this non-judge’s opinion. Their originals often blended Americana/folk/acoustic with hints of grunge. Folk on the instrumentations and vocals, grunge on the lyrics. Members of the band include Jeremy Drake on vocals, guitar, and songwriting; Jason Miears on tenor, 4-string banjo and harmony; Erin Gayden on doghouse bass and harmony; and Pappy McCall on drums.

Critique

Brett Dillon: “You bluegrassed up a Gin Blossom tune, and I really dug it.” He added he was a fan of the banjo. He also remembered that Parallel Play was in the 2012 Shiner Rising Star season, and “You guys really stepped it up this year.”

Deryl Dodd: Commented on their apparent self-esteem, saying “You deserve it.” He said he had never seen a 4-string banjo picked like Miears played it, “Impressive. Great musicians, tight and having the lyrics sheet was a great help.” He also told Jeremy Drake that he was like a Jim Morrison up on the stage. Folk, punk, bluegrass equal punk-ass.

Tip Jones:  They obviously did a great job using social media to get their crowd out, Jones said. “I loved that cover song, You picked a song I liked and made me like it more. I am a cover song geek,” he admitted. What he especially did like was “you crammed a lot of music into 30 minutes, jam-packed it.”

Ole G & The Crew — This group said they have only been together a month before the contest, yet judges were impressed with specific portions of their performance. The second song they performed was primarily an instrumental, with bassist Matt McClellan using a bow on his stand-up bass and Mark Kafel using soft brushes on the drums. The second half of the song was sweet, sentimental vocals. They brought the night to a completion of acoustic bands. They were also very conscience to thank the judges, the venue, and sponsors KHYI and Shiner Beer, and to thank the first two bands. During their cover, they asked their crowd, almost as large as Parallel Plays, to sing along. It was a very old Bob Dylan song, “Moonshiners” and their rendition had an almost-jungle feel to it at times. This non-judge was a little distracted, however, with lead guitarist Tommy Pyland took a break, although quality musicianship, that didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the arrangements. Haylie Brevig brought some vocals to the songs.

Critique:

Brett Dillon: “Your music makes me wanna get nekkid and drink tequila in a hot tub.” He promised he would go and hear the band again in the future.

Deryl Dodd: Add to that “get nekkid” it should be at the beach. G-man (lead vocals and guitar Grant “Ole G” Braudrick), you are a spiritual, a great vocal singer.” DD was also a fan of the stand-up bass (Matt McClellan). “All three bands tonight sounded extremely different.”

Tip Jones: “You brought a great crowd, and that’s a feat in itself — hats off to you.” He said the band also brought a good solid rhythm section.

Next Thursday (Aug. 14), the contest will be at Hat Tricks, kicking off at 8 p.m., with Matt Nix Band, Straw Hat Society, and Blacktop Outlaw vying for top honors. Hat Tricks is is at 101 E. Corporate Drive., No. 300, in Lewisville, and can be reached at 972-315-8406.

For Parallel Play photos, click here.

For Lager & The Fatties photos, click here.

For Ole’ G & The Crew Photos, click here

For a few other pix, click here