You seem to be a throw-back type of person, you love the old school look and sound. Has it always been that way?
Yeah ever since I was a kid I've been into old stuff, especially stuff from the 50's. music, styles, clothes, cars. When did you discover that era of music?
Best I can remember, when I was about three or four my dad bought me my first Elvis record "50,000,000 Million Elvis Fans Cant Be Wrong," which I still own! From there he would play other stuff for me like Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, Hank Williams and I just sort of ran with it. I've been through some other phases of music but it always comes back to traditional country and rockabilly stuff. I gotta have it! Does the love extend to the films of the same era? If so, name a few.
Definitely, I love old movies. John Wayne westerns are some of my favorites, also just about anything with Humphry Boggart or Robert Mitchum. Film Noir stuff is really great too. A few favorites I guess would be, Casablanca, Night of the Hunter, The Magnificent Seven, The Girl Cant Help It (one of the really great 50s rock 'n' roll movies) How long have you been living and playing music professionally in Austin? I've been living here for 10 years or so and playing music I guess for about the last seven or eight. Did you feel like that was the best place to discover your unique sound? Were there other options? Didn't think too much about anywhere else. Austin might not have the history of Memphis or Nashville but it's a much more current and eclectic scene. You can find somebody doing just about any genre you can imagine here. They're not all good and they're not all makin' money but the diversity is here, It's getting less and less but it's still here.
Austin is world famous for its live music. What do you like about the music scene in Austin? Its getting harder to find but there is still REAL country music going on here, players and singers that kick the shit out of anything Nashville has put out in a long time. There s a great diversity here too, from country to rock to blues to jazz, you name it. Did you play in South By South West this year? How was the gig? I took this year completely off from SBSW. I went out to see one band I think, I think SBSW has outgrown itself and totally lost sight of what it started out as and it screws up traffic. What is it like from a performers point of view during South By South West?
Band Members: Bear - Rhythm Guitar & Lead Vocals; Bobby Horton - Lead Guitar, Steel Guitar; Billy Horton - Upright Bass, Harmony Vocals.
Latest Album: Two Time Fool: Bear- Rhythm Guitar & Lead Vocals; Doug Strahan - Lead Guitar; Ethan Shaw - Upright Bass.
Influences: Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, Frankie Miller, Buck Owens, Marty Robbins.
Record Label: Sotz Music -
Type of Label:
Indie
It can be great in the sense that there are an extra 50,000 people in town so you have a good chance of turning new people onto your music but at the same time there's an extra 50,000 people in town and that sucks
So we hear that The Fabulous Thunder Birds recorded your song “Two Time Fool”. What an honor that must have been. How did that come about? One of my best friends Nick Curran was working with them and trying to come up with new songs for their upcoming record and Nick recommended Two Time Fool. He already knew the song from playing with me but didn’t know all the words, so I got a phone call at about midnight one night and gave him the lyrics and sent him a chord chart and the next day they went in and demoed it. Totally different than the way I wrote it but I love their version and it was a big big deal for me to have those guys record one of my songs.
Did you get to meet Jimmy Vaughn? Did you get to play with him? If so what was it like to play with a legend? I've met Jimmy several times and we've done some gigs together. The first time it was pretty unnerving having him standing there watchin' me but he's such a down-to-earth guy and just loves pickin' and playin' that I settled down pretty quick. Great guy and an incredible guitar player.
Is there a new album in the works?From what I have read your current record Two Time Fool is meeting expectations. I'm starting to work on writing songs again and hopefully get started on a new record this year.
Two Time Fool has been great and I've got to play some really great gigs with it but I'm ready to move on for sure.
People have seen you on our site and commented that you look like a young Nick Cage. Ever heard that?
Ha, yeah I've heard that a few times, only now they don’t throw in the “young” part anymore! I've always liked him so it's pretty flattering. We have heard that you are really popular overseas. Can you tell us about that? I played over in France last year as part of a Texas Music package and it was a blast! I got to go over with some really great friends and musicians and spend a week in the south of France. The people over there are amazing fans of American roots music, it's really amazing to go over and play to fans like that.
What was your opinion of the countries you spend time in? I'll probably be shot for saying this but contrary to what everyone says the food in France is not good! Ha, there I said it! The people were great though and it was amazing to see a country that old. The wine for breakfast was nice too! Is it strange that Europeans are enamored with a uniquely American sound and life style? What are some of your observations? It is very strange, I haven’t figured that one out. Some of the biggest festivals in the world for American roots music are in Europe! Go figure! What’s the craziest thing you have seen on stage?
Don’t know about the craziest but one of the funniest I thought was when the cops came in and arrested all but about three people in a bar we were playing at for being under aged. We were havin' a blast playin' to a real good crowd then they hauled 'em off! What is the best and worst part about being a live performer? The best is just being able to get on stage and play the music that you love and entertain people. I've been on both sides of the stage and I remember always thinking, Man I wish I could get up and do that. So to be up there now and look out to see people dancing to songs I wrote is a fantastic feeling. The worst part is just having to deal with all the bullshit of booking and promoting etc, I hate that part! . What’s the biggest thing you have learned about the music business since you became professional? Get stuff in writing! Whether it's 10 people or 1000 you have to do your thing cause who knows who's out there watching. That part is tough, it's real easy to get fired up to play in front of a big crowd but in the small ones, everyone still paid to get in. What would you tell a young musician just starting out playing live gigs? Play something you're really passionate about, not what you think people want to hear or what you think will get you the gigs. Any future events you want us to know about? Ill be playing over in Norway in a few weeks, should be interesting…
Did you get to meet Jimmy Vaughn? Did you get to play with him? If so what was it like to play with a legend?
Can you tell us about that?
