Entertainment Resource GuideIssue #5 • Aug. 3-16, 2013 Bi-WeeklyFREE

THE PEAR RATZ RETURN - JAMES ‘THE BUTCHER’ JOHNSON - KEVIN FOWLER

Love, life and the constant pursuit of evolving his music.

This young Texas country artist can’t seem to slow down.

P. 2 AUGUST 3-16, 2013

George West local country rockers The Pear Ratz have returned from France alive and well.

The band was requested to play the The Country Rendez-Vous, which takes place every year in the thousand-year-old vil-lage of Craponne, France.

When asked how the trip to France was, lead singer/guitarist Bob Strause responded with a laugh, “It’s a long ways from here.”

Every year, the big-gest and best bluegrass, country, hillbilly and folk bands from all over the world descend on France to play the three-day fes-tival.

“There were five bands that played Friday, and we finished up the night,” Strause recalled. “The production was amazing. It was a lot bigger engine than we were used to driving with.

“It went extremely well, and not to toot our own horn, and you probably shouldn’t print this, but I think we were a hit,” Strause added with a laugh.

The band did have to make a few adjustments while overseas.

“The beds are little. They’re like trunks with a mattress.

“We all came out with an injury from falling out of bed or stepping up and hitting something because we were too tall.

“Rod stood up in the bus and forgot that every-one was five feet tall over there, and he’s not, so he got a big ol’ bump. And

Johnny fell out of bed and sprang his knee.

“He all limped home.”And after taking an

entire week to make the trip, play the show and take in as many sites as

they could, the Ratz have nothing but great things to say about their time abroad.

“It was a culture shock for sure. There was a big time language barrier.

“But it was just a great experience; it really was. There was a lot of fly-ing and lots of trains. We were off the beaten path for sure.”

And playing in front

of 7,000 feverous French fans made the trip seem well worth the bumps, bruises and jet lag.

“It’s not nearly as watered down as the scene in Texas. They can’t go to Brewster Street every Thursday night. They have to wait all year for this.”

And The Pear Ratz seem to have made it worth their while.

P. 3

SHADY TINTS

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Kevin Fowler to headline Summer Fest 2013 in Beeville

Kevin Fowler has always been a Texas boy at heart. He began play-ing piano while still a young child at his mom’s behest and then drums while in high school.

His father introduced him to country music, but at the time, he was more into rock and roll-ers like AC/DC, Kiss and Metallica.

And then something changed in him when he went to the Texxas Jam at the Cotton Bowl when he was about 20. He loved the mayhem and the

loud music and chanting crowds and figured that’s what he was born to do.

He headed to Los Angeles for a spell and attended the Guitar Institute of Technology and began developing his guitar and song writing skills.

After graduating, he headed to Austin and joined a few rock bands, eventually starting his own Southern Rock band called Thunderfoot.

But his father’s music kept calling him. Eventually he left rock

altogether and began concentrating on Texas Country.

And that’s the Kevin Fowler we all know now.

But he still hasn’t lost his rock star edge and gives his all on stage, which makes him one of the few entertainers to put on a great stage show, making sure the audience gets their money’s worth.

Fowler will be headlin-ing Beeville’s Summer Fest 2013 Saturday, Aug. 10, with Kyle Park, Bart Crow and James Lann.

The short film “James ‘The Butcher’ Johnson” comes to us from Van Loan Productions and will be available to view at Vimeo.com on Aug. 5 free of charge.

It stars Kevin Gant who came to the nation’s attention a few back when indie film auteur director Jay Duplass, one half of the directing duo The Duplass Brothers, featured him in a short documentary titled sim-ply “Kevin”.

Having met Gant while attending the Victoria Independent Film Festival a few years back, he’s one of the individuals you’d never forget. He’s a musician with a unique sound that mixes folk and blues with a crazy pick-ing style that makes his music sound almost oth-erworldly.

This is his first acting role, and he knocks it out of the park. But more on

that later.As the movie begins,

you get to see Johnson, an underground street musician, enter a radio station where he’s about to get interviewed by a radio station to tell his dark history and eventual redemption.

Now, the titles are cheesy Final Cut Pro pre-made titles, and transi-tions are pretty cringe-worthy. And the camera work leaves a bit to be desired as it looks to be shot on a standard HD handheld video camera.

But you have to wait for it.

Once Johnson speaks, you’re hooked. Knowing Gant personally, it’s hard to distinguish if he’s in fact playing a character or the character is simply him.

True, he didn’t commit the atrocity that Johnson did, but Gant’s always

amazing to watch. The simplicity in which he delivers his lines with sincerity and truthfulness makes you start to think you’re actually watching a documentary instead of a film.

His mannerisms and speech patterns are just a wonder to behold. Gant is great in this and is a plea-sure to watch and hear.

And the fact that Gant’s songs are featured throughout is a nice touch.

The film as a whole seems to need a bit more

work, as the character who loses some append-ages simply tucked them away and are clearly vis-ible.

But the film is in no way bad. It’s actually really great, and the fact that director Chris Van Loan Sr. pulled out a per-formance like this out of Gant makes him a direc-tor to watch.

It’s definitely worth seeing when it goes live, especially if you’ve never met Gant. It’s one heck of an introduction to the man behind the music.

P. 4 AUGUST 3-16, 2013

“We’ve rented out a house for recording; we’re not recording at a regular studio.

“We’ve got a big house on the lake with a pool in the back. We just put all the stuff in the living room and the musicians just jam.

“All the recording equipment is here, so we’ve basically been liv-ing here for the entire month.”

Not too shabby for a 28-year-old Texas coun-try musician named Kyle Park who’s head-ing to Beeville Saturday, August 10 for Summer Fest 2013.

He’s had his share of struggles and rough patches throughout his seven plus year career, so his chilling at a house

in Austin on the lake, recording at his leisure, doesn’t come off as pre-tentious.

Listening to the excited tone of his voice, he seems glad to just be working again, recording and experimenting with his sound.

“I really love making new music, and I’m for-tunate enough that I’m not currently signed to a major label that dictates who produces my albums.

“I’m an independent artist right now, and there’s no better time to be in charge than right now. If I make some-thing that fans may think sounds different, no one changed me; it’s just me doing what I do.”

Park cites everyone from Hank Williams Sr. and Michael Jackson to Metallica and Lyle Lovett as musical influences.

And listening to his records, one can tell he enjoys weaving in and out of genres, even though he wears a cowboy hat and speaks with a boyish,

country twang.Sure, he’s had more

than his share of lucky breaks, but it wasn’t as though he was sitting around on his porch pick-ing his strings waiting for a someone to come around and notice him.

“My first album was my college money,” Park remembered. “I went to college for two years, then I basically dropped out and said I wanted to take the rest of my col-lege money and make an album and start touring.”

So, with whatever money he had made work-ing while going to school, he hit the road after his album was complete.

He made a pact with himself that if he hadn’t made something of him-self by the time he was 25, he would pack up his guitar, get whatever stu-dent loans he could and return to school.

“I bought my first bus at 25.

“So, luckily, I’m not going back to school any time soon,” Park said laughing. “I’m going to keep doing this music thing.”

His first album, Big Time, was released in 2005 with a second, Anywhere in Texas, released in 2008.

The second was a little different in that he got an “anonymous investor”, who eventually became a good friend.

“Pretty much, the deal was if I couldn’t pay him back, I wouldn’t, but if I could, I would.

“I ended up paying him double.”

And with Park hav-ing two album’s worth of material behind him, he hit the road.

“I made $150 to drive to Lubbock several times from Austin. And you’d loose money but keep hoping that you’ll start making money soon.

“I had a great group of guys that basically played for nothing for years, so did I, but all that hard work and all that touring finally started turning around, and we started seeing some profit.”

He then went on to record and produce all of his following albums him-self, releasing them under his Kyle Park Music, Inc. banner.

“The thing about pro-

ducing them is, we have really great musicians in the studio helping out.

Everyone from the bass player to the drummer to the guitar player as well as the engineer on site – we’re all producers. It’s not like I walk in there and dictate what’s going to happen.

“It’s more ‘This is what I want the song to kind of sound like’ and get some ideas on where the song should go.

“Half of being a pro-ducer is picking the right guys to be in the studio and just sitting back and watching them do what they do best.”

And as far as recording is concerned, he’s a bit more direct.

“It’s an addiction I guess,” Park said laugh-ing.

At the beginning of 2013, a Twitter feud erupted between Country legend Ray Price and “The Voice” judge and Country sing-er Blake Shelton about the state of Country music today. Traditional vs. the current crop of pop coun-try crooners.

“There’s only two songs that I cut on my new

record that weren’t writ-ten or co-written by me.

“One was a Ronnie Milsap song written in the ’80s, and one was a Johnny Horton song from the ’50s.

“I grew up listening to older music, and I feel like even now, as far as coun-try music is concerned, I find myself looking back at stuff I’ve missed more than I find myself listen-ing to the radio and find-ing something new.

“Hank Williams Sr. I still think is the defini-tion of Country music. There’s not many guys today that write songs that can stand the test of time like Hank Sr.’s entire catalog does.”

Park brought up his new single titled “Fit for a King”, which is a sen-timental tribute to one of his heroes, George Strait.

His manager actually played with Strait up until he called it quits earlier this year and got access to all sorts of vid-eos footage and personal items throughout Strait’s sprawling career.

“It’s one of my favorite videos we’ve been able to make, and it’s not only because we get to tribute the king, but I get to be a part of it as well. There’s a lot of footage that no one’s ever seen before.”

But with Park’s busy touring schedule (seri-ously, just check out his

Thank God he’s a country boy

P. 5website) and now living in a makeshift recording studio, how does he find time for personal rela-tionships?

“It’s about finding the right girl at the right time. I’m 28 years old, and I’ve got a lot more music to play before I have to worry about set-tling down.

“Other people may feel like they have to settle down because they’re get-ting older, but I’m sort of married to my work and my career. I love playing music.

“I think that, someday, love or the right woman will just hit me in the face.” Park pauses, then let out a laugh. “Well, that’s not what I mean but...”

So, leaving that state-ment where it lay, we fold

the conversation back to music and what’s next in his busy schedule.

“Honestly, I don’t write as much as I used to. A lot of people write more than I do, but I love to record new music, and the reason I’m recording right now, so early on, for one, I want to get a jump start.

“I feel like I always wait too long to start the next project, then when it comes to releasing it, I put myself in a crunch with the deadline.”

This time, Park’s entering the studio with tracks that are anywhere from 3/4 to 1/4 the way done.

It’s a different approach but one that he seems excited to talk about and seems as interested about the end result as his fans surely are.

“Usually, it’s lyrically driven; the lyrics first and the music around that. I’m writing it around the music, which is a bit backwards for country music.

“But this time I want it to be musically interest-ing. I want to make it feel good, not just ‘Well that’s a pretty cool song’.

“I want them to say ‘Wow, that song rocks’, then listen to the words

and say, ‘Well, that’s

pretty cool, too’.

“I think if I can get

the music down, and I’m proud of the music, and it interests me with a little bit of flare, it’ll lead me to

the right direction.

“It’s a different

approach for sure.”

Park seems to be tak-ing a different path for sure in everything he’s up to these days.

And so far, it’s all pay-ing off. I mean, the guy’s recording in a house by the lake in Austin?

Let’s hope he stays out of the pool long enough to get us that new record by next year.

P. 6 AUGUST 3-16, 2013

EatBEEVILLE

Artie’s Cafe417 N. Washington St.(361) 358-1467Beeville Diner2503 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 362-9724Burger Depot515 E. Houston St.(361) 362-2400Chili’s Grill & Bar400 E. FM 351(361) 354-5600Church’s Chicken611 N. Washington St.(361) 358-9256Dog & Bee Pub119 N. Washington St.(361) 354-5871Domino’s Pizza414 N. Washington St.(361) 358-6871El Charro Restaurant601 E. Houston St.(361) 542-4572El Jardin Restaurant806 W. Corpus Christi St.(361) 358-2922Gasthaus Berliner Bear2510 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 354-5444Golden Chick2305 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-5525Hensley’s Cafe307 N. Washington St.(361) 358-8414Hong Kong Palace

301 S. FM 351(361) 358-2861Jalisco Mexico Taqueria1401 W. Corpus Christi St.(361) 362-0841K-Bob’s Steakhouse1912 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 362-9577KFC200 E. Houston St.(361) 358-7222Little Caesars Pizza420 E. FM 351(361) 358-9555Shorty’s Place702 S. Washington St.(361) 358-7302McDonald’s(Walmart) 502 E. FM 351(361) 358-92552301 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 354-5215Mi Familia Restaurant2017 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-9255New China Super Buffet2003 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-8889O’Daddy’s901 W. Corpus Christi St.(361) 358-5945Pantry Stores3803 N. St. Mary’s St. (361) 358-4965911 S. Washington St. (361) 358-84771720 E. Houston St. (361) 358-8602Pizza Hut1103 N. Washington St.(361) 358-2970Sammy’s Burgers & Brew

2144 Ellis Road(361) 358-1067Scores Sports Bar & Grill1502 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-5055Stars Restaurant2403 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-0020Stone Creek Grill4402 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 354-5189Subway710 E. Houston St.(361) 358-62001700 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-6000Taqueria Chapala1805 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 354-5945Taqueria Guadalajara622 W. Corpus Christi St.(361) 358-1971Taqueria Jalisco2020 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 354-5803Taqueria Vallarta1611 S. Washington St.(361) 358-5948Whataburger1710 N. Washington St.(361) 358-8454

GEORGE WESTAgave Jalisco Restaurant403 Nueces St.(361) 449-8899Burger King4059 W. Hwy 59(361) 449-3014Church’s ChickenHighway 281 at Burleson(361) 449-1864Dairy Queen

1350 U.S. 281(361) 449-1822Nueces Street Grill206 Nueces St.(361) 449-2030Pizzarriffic407 Nueces St.(361) 449-1900Sonic Drive-In805 Nueces St.(361) 449-2614

GOLIADBlue Quail Deli224 S. Commercial St.(361) 645-1600Dairy Queen243 E. Pearl St.(361) 645-3274Empresario Restaurant141 S. Courthouse Sq.(361) 645-2347Hanging Tree Restaurant144 N. Courthouse Sq.(361) 645-8955La Bahia Restaurant1877 US 183(361) 645-3900Subway420 E. Pearl St.(361) 645-3709Whataburger348 E. Pearl(361) 645-8800

KARNES CITYBecky’s Cafe201 W Calvert Ave.(830) 780-4339Big Daddy’s Tarbender’s426 CR 298(830) 780-3202Dairy QueenTexas 80(830) 780-2712El Mariachi Jalisco

Restaurant118 Texas 123(830) 780-3350The MarketSat. & Sun. only208 E. Calvert Ave.(830) 780-3841Partner’s BBQ204 S. Hwy. 123(830) 780-5121Polak’s Sawsage Farm

Restaurant

2835 U.S. 181(830) 583-2113Taqueria Vallarta202 Texas 123(830) 780-2465

KENEDYBarth’s Restaurant445 N. Sunset Strip St.(830) 583-2468Church’s Chicken110 N Sunset Strip St.(830) 583-9030Jerry B’s4531 U.S. 181(830) 583-2500Lucita’s Mexican Restaurant500 W. Main St.(830) 583-9455Pizza Hut106 N Sunset Strip St.(830) 583-9864R J’s Hamburgers420 W Main St.(830) 583-2344Rodriquez’s Tacos205 Texas 72(830) 583-9800

THREE RIVERSAgave Jalisco Mexican

Restaurant400 S Harborth Ave.(361) 786-2020Bar @ 3 Rivers Bar & Grill201 N. Harborth Ave.(361) 786-2020Beckett’s Dugout800 N Harborth Ave.(361) 786-3600Brush Country BBQU.S. 281 (361) 786-4335El Tapatio405 N. Harborth Ave.(361) 786-3949Pepe Boudreaux’s3145 Texas 72(361) 786-4938Ranch House100 S Harborth Ave.(361) 786-2196Sowell’s BBQ114 W Thornton St.(361) 786-3333Staghorn Restaurant1019 N Harborth Ave.(361) 786-3545Subway

S Harborth Ave.(361) 786-3308Church’s Chicken110 N. Sunset Strip St.(830) 583-9030Jerry B’s4531 U.S. 181(830) 583-2500Lucita’s Mexican Restaurant500 W. Main St.(830) 583-9455Pizza Hut106 N. Sunset Strip St.(830) 583-9864R J’s Hamburgers420 W. Main St.(830) 583-2344Rodriquez’s Tacos205 Texas 72(830) 583-9800

DrinkBEEVILLE

19th Hole Patio Cantina3601 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-2837B.O.B.W.E.1308 S. St. Mary’s St.(361) 542-4551Chili’s Grill & Bar400 E. FM 351(361) 354-5600Club 591610 W. Corpus Christi St.(361) 362-0591Dog & Bee Pub119 N. Washington St.(361) 354-5871The Grand Dancehall2461 U.S. Hwy 59(361) 358-1185Papi’s Place1517 W. Corpus Christi St.(361) 358-7160Roadside Tavern2503 S. Washington St.(361) 362-1720Scores Sports Bar & Grill1502 N. St. Mary’s St.(361) 358-5055Stone Creek Grill4402 N. St. Mary’s St. (361) 354-5189

P. 7

“Bling Out Da Diva in You”

Stuff-n-SuchBOUTIQUE810 N. ST. MARY’S ST. • BEEVILLE

(361) 358-7883

STAND OUT

IN THE CROWD (361)358-2550

ADVERTISE WITH

RestauRant and baR guide continued

T’s Honky Tonk209 N. Washington St.(361) 358-1411Tejano Highway1205 S. Washington St.

GOLIADSchroeder Dancehall12516 FM 622(361) 573-7002

KARNES CITYBar Tonik102 N. Market St.(830) 780-5255

KENEDYCoyotes Sports Bar116 W. Main St.(830) 583-9243Desperado Saloon312 S. Sunset Strip St.(830) 583-0371Jerry B’s

4531 U.S. 181(830) 583-2500

PAPALOTEChasers Bar & Grill10620 CR 535 Hwy. 181(361) 287-3340

SKIDMOREAl’s Friendly Bar517 County Road 619

(361) 287-3326Lucky Horseshoe Saloon222 S. 8th St.(361) 287-0767

THREE RIVERSBar @ 3 Rivers Bar & Grill201 N. Harborth Ave(361) 786-2020Beckett’s Dugout

800 N. Harborth Ave.(361) 786-3600Pepe Boudreaux’s

3145 Texas 72(361) 786-4938

TULETA

7 Brothers Saloon7961 Hwy, 181 N.(361) 318-5250

Sat. Aug. 3• Slave to the

Grave at El Paisano Ballroom: Featuring Wolves Amongst Sheep, In the Trench and Obliterates. It’s $8 for minors and $5 for anyone over 21. 200 E. Hefferman St. in Beeville.

Sat. Aug. 3• Annual Riverbend

Luau at The Riverbend Sports Bar: Bring your “coconuts”, grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, flip flops, bikinis & swim trunks!! Everyone who attends & dresses luau style has a chance at a pair of Schlitterbahn tickets. 1603 N. St. Mary’s St. in Beeville.

Sun. Aug. 4• Ballabajoomba

Poetry Slam at The House of Rock: Ballabajoomba Open Mic and Poetry Slam is the only Nationally registered poetry reading in South Texas, in the continuous existence since October 2000. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Wed. Aug. 7• Run Down

Legends at The House

of Rock: 8 It’s beer Wednesday and the live music starts at 10 p.m. but the cheap beer is all day. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Thurs. Aug. 8• Metal Show at The

Entourage Sports Bar: 8 bands tear it up all day long starting at 5 p.m. Featuring IN DYING ARMS, A Delicate Process, Serianna, Until The Grave and others. 3854 S.P.I.D. in Corpus Christi.

Fri. Aug. 9• Summer Fest

2013 Day 1 at The

Beeville Expo Center: Featuring Tejano heavy-weights Siggno and Los Palominos. Pre-sale tick-ets are just $12. 214 S. FM 351 in Beeville.

Sat. Aug. 10• Summer Fest 2013

Day 2 at The Beeville Expo Center: Kevin Fowler and Kyle Park headline. Pre-sale tickets are just $12. 214 S. FM 351 in Beeville.

Sat. Aug. 10• Cupcakin’ for

Ronald McDonald’s House Charities at Gulf Coast Racing Race Track: Come out and help raise some cash

for the Ronald McDonald House from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. 5302 Leopard St. in Corpus Christi.

Sun. Aug. 11• Battle of the Bands

at The House of Rock: Gorilla Music presents the battle to end all bat-tles. Show up and check out the bands duke it out! The fists fly start to fly at 3 p.m. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Wed. Aug. 14• Foosball

Tournament at The House of Rock: Think you got what it takes? Register for our House of Rock Foosball

Tournament! 1st and 2nd place will receive cash prizes and all participants will receive a limited edi-tion shirt. Register at our ‘Contest/Surveys’ page at www.texashouseofrock.com. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Sat. Aug. 17• After Dark Revue

Tribute to Nick Cave at The House of Rock: Music by Hobo, $2.50 beers and FREE hot dogs while supplies last. Bring your bibs, it starts at 9 p.m. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Wed. Aug. 28• Hobo & Hotdogs

at The House of Rock: Want to see some hotties struttin’ their stuff to the music of Nick Cave? Of course who doesn’t?! It all begins at 7 p.m. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Fri. Aug. 30• My361 Live Local

Music showcase & Bar-B.Q. Weekend at Zeros Hard Rock Club: 20 local bands jamming over 2 days. Music starts at 8 p.m. and there’s an $8 cover for those over 21 and $10 for minors. 6327 McArdle Rd. in Corpus Christi.

Sat. Sep. 7• Cowboys from

Hellpaso at The House of Rock: Cowboys from Hellpaso (Pantera trib-ute) tear it up with Poetry & Prose (Primus tribute) and RPG. The hellraising starts at 8 p.m. 511 Starr St. in Corpus Christi.

Need your awesome event listed? Drop us a line at Info@stxscene.com with all the details, and we’ll be glad to gen-tly place it on this page.

P. 8 AUGUST 3-16, 2013

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