Originally posted to http://crabislandmambo.com/
I spent some time – many years ago – living in Corpus
Christi, not far from Jerry Diaz’s home on the South Texas Gulf coast. I loved
the lifestyle, sailboats, wind surfing and Margaritas (why I left is a long
story but involves thinking I needed to get somewhere less laid back if I
wanted to develop a career. I know, stupid, right? Now, all I can think about
is getting back to the beach!), While I was there, I also fell in love with Tex
Mex music; Freddy Fender, the Texas Tornadoes, Joe King Carrasco. Which is just
another reason why I love Jerry and Hannah’s Reef so much. They mix plenty of
south of the border into their Trop Rock for something they appropriately call
“Texas Beach Music”.
Named after a local Texas fishing spot, Hannah’s Reef is Jerry on lead vocals and guitar, Mark
Mireles on steel drums and acoustic guitar, Chuck Willingham on drums, Bobby
Summers on Bass, Bud Byram on percussion, and Heli Martin on guitars. If there
is a theme to Jerry Diaz and Hannah’s Reef’s latest cd, “On a Beach In Mexico”,
which I guess can be said about most Trop Rock, it is escape… Songs like the
title track, “Senoritaville”, and “Down To the Islands” are all about packing
your bags and heading to somewhere with sand, sun and drinks with salted rims.
In “Down To The islands”, the singer is “stuck somewhere in Arkansas” and says,
“I’m a restless soul in a watering hole, drinking rum just to get away” then offers
“When my ship comes in, I’m gonna jump right in. I can’t wait to get outta
here”.
The desire to leave what ails you behind and head to “a place
to go when you’ve had your fill of honey do’s and honey don’ts” continues in
“Welcome to Senoritaville” where the singer is down on his luck, “broker than
hell” and the IRS is “moving in any day”. Then the answer hits him, “a flight
down to Laredo was just what I needed”. And in “On a Beach In Mexico”, the
singer dreams of “tropical islands and places
I wanna be” while suffering under a “Cold Nebraska sky”.
But the songs on “On a Beach In Mexico” aren’t simply about wanting
to swap a bad situation for a better one, they’re also about the flip side: thoroughly
enjoying a really good situation: “I’ve got something money can’t buy, a good
lovin’ woman standing by my side” (“I’ve Got Love”), as well as making the best
of the hand you’re dealt: “Just give me
ten to twenty, and I’ll feel just fine. The wind at my back and a bottle of
wine” (“Ten To Twenty”) and “If there’s
beer in the cooler, I’ll be alright” (“Beer In The Cooler”). Wrapping up the cd is a staple of Hannah’s
Reef live shows, “We’ll Get By” – which features a guest appearance by John
Reno. Think of it as a Margarita glass half-full kind of tune, with lines like,
“Well it takes me nearly all I’ve got, just to make ends meet”and “But that’s ok, come what may, we’ll get by”.
Amen, brother.
If you want to make music for a living, writing and recording
is just PART of the process. You also need to PROMOTE. And few people work
harder at it than California’s Loren
Davidson. Anytime I post something on Facebook asking artists to submit
information for my blog, “Beaches, Bands & Bars” or music for my
BeachFrontRadio show, “Trop Rockin’ Live”, Loren is always one of the first
people to respond. The title of latest cd, “Of All the Rum Joints” and one of
the songs on the cd, “Looking at You” are both nods to my favorite movie of all
time, Casablanca. Produced, engineered and mixed by popular Trop Pock producer,
Kevin Johnson at Orca Sound in Maryland, “Of All the Rum Joints” features
eleven original songs written by Loren, plus two covers – The Doors’ “Moonlight
Drive” and “Sunshine on My Shoulder” from John Denver. The originals are some
of Loren’s best ever – “Voodoo Lounge” has a bluesy, back alley New Orleans vibe,
“Fly Away” wouldn’t sound out of place on a Zac Brown Band cd, and “One More
Rum” is a clap along tune about the trials and tribulations of being a live
performer in a room full of party people who want to buy you drinks all night.
You can hear
music from Jerry Diaz/Hannah’s Reef and Loren Davidson on my show, “Trop
Rockin’ Live”, which airs every Thursday and Sunday night on
BeachFrontRadio.com…
