Los Lonely Boys

I was watching Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble on Austin City Limits recently, and an incident on stage reminded me of something during the Los Lonely Boys show at Steamboat. SRV was can really bend the strings, and he happened to break one during a solo. He continued without any negative affect on his performance, but looked over at his guitar tech who was waiting in the wings. During a brief moment in the song when he sang but was not required to play, his guitar tech ran up on stage, unhooked Stevie's guitar strap, and swapped guitars just in time for him to lay his hands back on the strings and wrap up the song. It seemed so effortless. A similar incident occurred during the Los Lonely Boys' performance with one minor exception—there was no guitar tech. Henry Garza, who I swear is channeling SRV while on stage, broke a string. His brother, Jojo, who plays bass, saw him in need. Jojo walked over to Henry's spare guitar, picked it up, but continued to play bass one-handed. Just as in Stevie's case, their was a tiny break in the guitars during the song, and he was able to exchange guitars quickly enough to continue without missing a beat. Now, I know that guitarists break strings all the time. What impresses me is when they handle it with such calm, and the minor mishap would be totally unnoticed if you were only able to hear the musician.

I find it ironic that Stevie Ray Vaughan reminded me of the Los Lonely Boys, because at the show, it was the other way around. The trio—Henry Garza (guitars), Jojo Garza (bass), and Ringo Garza (drums)—all possess a tremendous amount of talent. In addition to raw musical talent, these brothers have become master show men. Although, hearing them on CD would be impressive, something is lost if you are not able to see them live.

Their set consisted of only 6 songs, but they were substantial and filled quite a bit of time. They began with Crazy Dream. More than anything, this songs show that the Los Lonely Boys have perfected their harmony. I'm not sure if being brothers lends them to natural harmony or if their mother used to lock them in a closet until they got it right. Either way, the results are beautiful. Next they moved on to Heaven. The melody sounds as if it were pulled straight out of the 50's.

As they continued, I began to realize just how versatile the group was. Their third song was Cottenfields & Crossroads. This is the song I mentioned earlier in which Henry broke a string. All I have to say is... 'Stevie Ray reincarnated.' ONDA was the first song played in Spanish. This seemed very appropriate since the rhythm had a latin feel to it and it was very percussion heavy. I imagine that the band draws from some of the same influences that Carlos Santana does. They continued some of the Spanish flair with Dime Mi Amor.

The band closed with End of a New Beginning. I had previously caught the tale end of this song when reviewing another band's performance. It made such an impression that I had to go back and catch all of their act. This is where the real showmanship comes out. The song itself has a traditional Texas blues feel, and just as you think it is about to end, it starts up again. Both Jojo and Henry played with their instruments behind their backs. This was just an apetizer for what came next. Jojo played bass one handed by tapping on the neck then reached over with his right hand and played the top strings of Henry's guitar. Henry continued playing the bottom strings of his guitar. Next, Jojo proceeded to place his bass flat on the stage. Henry covered Jojo's eyes while he played. For one last trick, both front men held their instruments is a vertical fashion with their left hand, tossed them up and down, catching the neck in the precise spot necessary to hit the appropriate note. Mind boggling!

I discovered almost by accident at the end of their set that the band had been signed by Or Music. Their rep mentioned that he wanted to get these guys into the studio and have a new release out by mid-summer. With that in mind, I'd make a point to catch these brothers when you can. I guarantee after seeing these guys, you'll become a walking testimonial ready to spread the word of their greatness.

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Related links:

Los Lonely Boys website

Or Music