The Tejas Brothers - 1 January 2009

Wow what a way to start the year. My wife and I met my Dad and step-mom at the world famous Gruene Hall in historic Gruene Texas and was thoroughly impressed and entertained by this 4 member band from the DFW area. 

The Tejas Brothers is Tex-Mex at its best. If you like the Texas Tornadoes, you will love the Tejas Brothers!

The band is lead by Dave Perez and is about the best accordion player I have ever seen perform. He truly enjoys being on stage and letting the crowd see his love for the music. The bass player, John Garza is top notch and can really go to town on his big stand up bass. He did use an electric bass every now and again, but most of his time was spent on the standup. Chris Zalez, can keep up with Dave and his accordion note for note and fills out the sound beautifully. Chris also picks up lead vocals on several songs to give Dave a much needed break. Danny Cochran puts down a driving beat that not only gets your toes tapping but your feet stomping and your hands clapping.

Some of the highlights from the show were Dave's excellent rendition of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", he even had the wiping his face with the towel down. The only thing different was he was holding an accordion and not a trumpet. Dave also really got into it when the band transitioned from "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" to the "Orange Blossom Special". Dave jumped down off the stage and started dancing around the crowd and going to town on his accordion. He was spinning and twirling and jumping around like a man possessed. He was having fun like few other performers I have ever seen.

But the Tejas Brothers aren't just a great cover band, they are awesome song writers in their own right. "I Can't Sleep", "Sweet Lolita", and "Boogie Woogie Mamacita" are just three of the great songs on their self titled first album Tejas Brothers. It is well worth the $9.99 your going to pay to get this album. The songs a fresh and catchy, and really bring to life the memories of my childhood growing up in San Antonio, TX.

Finally these guys really care about their fans. At each intermission they spent most if not all of their time either in front of the stage talking with the audience or back at the merch table signing autographs and getting pictures taken. On a personal note, my wife bought their CD at the show and asked them to autograph it for my brother, who is serving in Afghanistan for the next 10 months or so. Not only did they sign it, they also wrote four simple words that mean the world to me. They wrote "To Jay, Thank You!!"

These guys are the best, I hope to see them again when they come back through the Texas Hill Country.