After finishing my article for the May issue of Thunder Roads Texas, I received an email from Thunder Roads publisher, Shelly Horan, asking me if I would be willing to write about other bands. Meaning: would I write about bands other than my own? My answer: of course!
After giving it some thought, I realized that I did not know which bands bikers liked or would be interested in reading about.
In my article in the June 2010 issue of Thunder Roads Texas titled: “Who Are YOUR Favorite Bands?” I asked the following questions to bikers: “Do rally promoters speak for YOU when it comes to picking YOUR live entertainment? Who are your favorite bands in your region? Which bands do you go see on purpose at biker events? Which bands would you go see at a biker event in your area?”
Even though I published my personal email address in the article, I did not receive one single response from the readers of Thunder Roads Texas! However, when I posed to same questions to my biker friends on Facebook along with questions about country-western and tribute bands, I received over ONE-HUNDRED RESPONSES in a matter of a couple of hours! The following are a few comments from my biker friends on Facebook:
Brenda: “David Allen Coe, George Thorogood, Charlie Parker Band. Bands will get me there. No music… Not going.”
Sheri: “live music has one of the largest impacts on if we actually visit the rally. Not [going] to a rally with no music or if they have a DJ. If I wanted to listen to a DJ – I have Sirrus and would rather ride!”
Abby: Mark May, Charlie Parker, ‘Lectric Ed & The Welders.”
Joel: “Always in it for the music.”
Abby: “Tribute bands are for douches.”
Kitti: “…bands at rallies are PROBABLY the biggest draw. The Mustang Sally Band!
Linda: “check out the music first thing. Most tribute bands suck… Very few good ones. Wolff’s new band [Loosely Tight]… Bert Wills.
Darcy: “bands who have their own sound but can also do justice to a cover song.”
Yvonne: “what’s a rally without music?”
Madelen: Benny Brasket, Dave Nevling.”
Steven: “Blues Crew.”
Michelle: “ Abraham’s Tree.” they ask… ‘Who’s playing’, no rap or hip hop… ONLY Classic Rock ,Blues, some country.”
Dick: “I don’t go for tribute bands… am also peeved by bands that have the name of the original band but [have] only 1 person from the original band and sound WORSE than the nearest tribute band.”
Jimmy: “Ghostriders Band, Artimus Pyle.”
Ashley: “”music will make the event! Mark May, Electric Soul, The Dogs.”
Mojo: [no bands] “is like having a frat party without beer.”
Pat: “Toman Bros.”
Walter: “No tribute bands. Either do your own stuff or be a good cover band.”
Perry: Country? Hank Jr., Country can be played at rallies… like the old style country… Not the new teeny bopper or new main stream country… old style southern rock or blues…”
Aaron: “Blues Crew, John Epperson & Drivin’ Blind from Waco, The Dogz, Wide Open Throttle, The Dean Seltser Band from Austin… The crowds always seem to like them.”
Brooke: “Nightbird.” (a Stevie Nicks Tribute Band)
Ed: “Blues Crew”.
Dennis: “Misbehavin’, Cody Kouba, Jonah Ramirez.”
Joyce: “David Allan Coe”.
Mike: “David Allan Coe, Kevin Fowler, Willie Nelson, Ray Willy Hubbard, Jason Allen,Randy Rogers, Eli Young, Gary Allen, Max Stalling, Hank III, Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt.”
Stacy: “Keith Urban, Trace Adkins.”
Nicki: “Hank Williams, Jr.”
Mo: “ David Allan Coe.”
Gary: “Mustang Sally.”
Vicki: “Gary Allen”.
Dawn: “Steve Krase, Mark May, Matt Leddy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, David Allan Coe, Gary Allen… We appreciate good music.”
Abby: “Carolyn Wonderland.”
Walter: Texas country… A mix of country, rock and blues… Kevin Fowler, Bleu Edmonston, Randy Rogers, David Allan Coe.”
So there you have it folks, bands that Bikers in Southeast Texas want to see/hear or hear about. I’ll try to do some interviews with these artists in coming months for future articles in Thunder Roads Texas. I’m sure that there are dozens more bands that bikers like that are not mentioned here so I welcome your continued suggestions at meangene@genekelton.com..
Just for the record, I omitted my own band name from the above list of suggestions, but thanks those of you who included Mean Gene Kelton & The Die Hards in your recommendations. I appreciate it. For the sake of credibility, you may view the list of comments in their entirety by friending me on Facebook then – scroll down to see my “older posts” dated June 1st and June 2nd.
Thanks. Ride safe.Mean Gene Kelton
