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Youre
back from a big tour to promote
your recent release. How was it?
Jen - It was
excellent, I have a great time
every trip out we make and they
seem to be getting better every
time. We played the Shake the
Shake Ball in Seattle this tour,
and it was one of the best events
I've ever been to-let alone been
lucky enough to be part of. I got
to hang out with Cari Lee a bit,
and meet Sid & Billy King in
addition to hanging out with tons
of cool folks and hearing some
great bands - what a memorable
weekend that was. The whole tour
was full of great crowds and a
good response to the new CD. We
actually sold out for the first
time ever and had to order more
to be shipped out to us when we
got to Colorado. I don't believe
I could have asked for more,
except to stay out a bit longer!
Tomcat - Tour's always
great. There's something that
goes along with a "in town
one night only" crowd that's
a little rowdier than when we're
at home and folks can see us on
any given weekend. I've also met
a lot of friends on the road that
I sorely miss when I'm back at
the house, so it's always good to
see them a couple of times a year.Deke
Dickerson recently said it was
getting harder and harder to do
this job due to the price of gaz
and the general lack of interest
toward live music. What do you
think of that?
Jen -Gas prices
are definetly a pain. As we
travel farther away from San
Antoniom the prices go up.
Especially this time, as we left
shortly after Hurricane Katrina
when prices were skyrocketing
everywhere. It makes you have to
pay more attention to where your
money is going on the road
because you have to make sure
there's enough gas money to get
to the next destination. We
travel with two vehicles as well,
so that almost doubles what we're
spending. But you do what's
necessary to spread your music
out there, and to that end, the
price is worth it. I don't know
that I've noticed a lack of
interest in live music - or maybe
I just don't pay enough attention.
Sometimes there's a packed house,
sometimes there's not. But, if
there's more than 10 people at a
show, well then hey...we were
able to get these folks out of
their comfortable houses and
hopefully they're having a good
time. We enjoy the music we play,
and hopefully, that's infectious
to the crowd - however big or
small that crowd might be. W're
still gonna be out there playing
and having fun doing it whether
the folks join us or not.
It
seems you like being on the road
Jen -Yep, I love
it. I can't believe I get paid to
travel and see new places and
meet so many cool people. There's
nothing like it. I wish we could
travel more, I always miss the
constant movement and excitement
after we return home and things
settle down.
What
about you Tomcat?
Tomcat - Life on
the road is a double edged sword
because of the ol' saying "there's
noo place like home", and I
think we can all relate to that.
Of course, I think we can also
all agree that there's nothing
like traveling to strange exotic
places, especially when most of
the time is spent with the party
revolving around us. I'm always
ancy to hit the road, but I'm
always ready to head back home
for some r&r after bustin' my
hump for a couple of months
straight. It's definitely a full-time
job when touring, where it's
pretty much part-time in our home
community.
Have
you been in Europe with The
Customatics?
Jen -Nope, not
yet, but we can't wait. I've
never travelled to Europe at all,
and to be able to do so with the
band would be awesome.
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How
did you get started playing
music? Is anyone else in your
family musically inclined?
Jen - I started singing
as a child. My dad has been a
musican since before I was born,
and I used to sing with him a bit
in front of the family. They
still have a recording of me
singing "I Bought A Goat"
with him when I was like 3 or 4 -
it's a tad embarassing actually.
My aunt likes to ambush me and
play it for friends. As I grew
up, I had a stint in the school
choir, and I would occasionally
get up with my dad's bands The
Crawdaddies and The Rafters and
do a few tunes but I didn't focus
on it till college. Currently,
I'm learning how to play the
mandolin and hope to pick up the
fiddle at some point.
Tomcat - I started
playing music at age 12 and
continued through college where I
recieved scholarships for music
in Mississippi for the big band
blues/ jazz band. Shortly
afterwards, I came back home to
San Antonio, Texas where I
baounced around in several bands
doing any number of styles before
I started turning more to my
roots (guess it's just in the
blood around these parts). My
father (from Portland Oregon)
always showed great promise with
his natural ability to pick up
any instrument and make music in
short order. He also had a
phenomenal voice, but the big
crowds didn't settle too well
with him. My brother (Casey
Miller)was the founding member of
The Bopkings, with whom I had the
fortune of being a member of for
quite some time. Together, with
friend Mike Nesloney, we were
able to capture the crown at the
2002 VLV rockabilly weekender's
battle of the bands, bringing the
trophy back to good ol' San
Antone where Cave Catt Sammy left
it from VLV 2000.What first
got you interested in music when
you were young?
Jen -Looking back, I'd
really have to say it was my dad
and grandfather. My dad was
always playing guitar and
singing, or listening to the
stereo. I remember music being in
the background throughout my
childhood - even if I wasn't
paying attention to it, it was
still there. My Pawpaw (grandfather
on my dad's side) played the
fiddle and accordion. He would
break them out and play cajun
tunes or Hank Williams and just
have the most serene look on his
face. You could tell he really
enjoyed it and that was
infectious - it made you want to
hang around and just listen.
Tomcat - Lots of
music stemming from the Austin
and surrounding areas. Growing up
in San Antonio and the hill
country, traditional music is
pretty much everywhere and a huge
part of our western heritage.
What
were your early musical
influences?
Jen -Besides my family,
I'd have to say Patsy Cline of
course...Hank Williams, Johnny
Horton, The Collins Kids. I
remember one of my aunt's playing
the Beatles a lot, and I'm sure
that influenced me a bit. My
influences didn't really develop
fully till I got older and
learned about other artists.
Charlene Artur, Bob Wills, the
gypsy flair and playfullness of
Django Reinhardt, the comedy and
fun of The Maddox Brothers and
Rose, the harmonies and
instrumentation of bluegrass and
hillbilly artists, the pain in
someone's voice (like George
Jones). There's a whole mix of
influences out there that I pull
from.
Tomcat - My
early influences, quite frankly,
were typical of of the times here
in the United States back in the
90's. I listened to anything from
grunge rock, punk, heavy metal,
and blues rock (any kind of rock
really) to rap, raggae, techno,
and house. Anything that rebelled
against tradition, which is
pretty darn common for most of us
when we're growing up, I think.
It took years of musical
experimentation before I ended up
falling in love with the very
thing I rebelled against as a kid
Youve
played with a band called Papa
& the Texas Three.
Could you tell us more about
that? Was it your first band?
Jen -Yes it was.
After seeing me sing every week
for 4 years or so at karaoke,
Papa originally asked me to come
up and start a singing a song or
two at his shows, and eventually
I became an actual member of the
group. It's been awhile since
then, I think that was 2000 or
2001 maybe. I only sang maybe 3
or 4 songs in a full night, but
as months passed, I'd get to add
a few more tunes here and there.
The songs they were doing were
more well known country artists
like Merle Haggard, Buck Owens,
Ernest Tubb. Fifties to seventies
country with some original tunes
of Papa's. So I was singing
popular songs from Patsy Cline,
Loretta Lynn with a Janis Martin
or Brenda Lee thrown in here or
there. As years went by, the band
changed members and names, I was
adding more rockabilly and
hillbilly numbers as I started to
sing more, and eventually became
the lead vocalist. After that, it
was decided the band needed an
overhaul. So we took away the
drums, switched to a stand up
bass, changed up the songs we
played (added more originals) and
became The Customatics.
Could
you tell us more about the
Customatics? I know that Tomcat
played with The Bop Kings,what
about the other members?
Jen -That's
correct. Tomcat joined up first,
he's the only founding member
besides myself still in the band.
Brian Duarte came along about a
year later as our acoustic
guitarist. He had been playing
upright for the San Antonio
pyschobilly band, The
Graverobbin' Bastards. Then
eventually he stepped up to lead
guitar and also now plays some
steel.
I
believe you have a new member on
acoustic guitar
Jen -Rich Alcorta just
recently joined this past August
as our new acoustic guitarist,
and will be doing a few tunes on
drums as well. Rich played guitar
in The Graverobbin' Bastards with
Brian and drums for a local blues
band called Step Aside. The three
of them together are something
else, let me tell you. Each one
is super talented, professional,
down to earth and a joy to work
with. I look forward to every
night on stage with them.
Tomcat,
besides the BopKings, did you
play in other bands?
Tomcat - I've
been lucky enough to have shared
the stage with a lot of amazing
musicians. Some of the best ones
are folks you'll probably never
hear of, but yes as I mentioned
earlier, I did play for the
Bopkings for awhile, but my
brother did 100% of the (rather
impressive in my opinion)
songwriting.
Werent
the BopKings supposed to have an
album on Rollin Rock after
Rock It To The Moon
Tomcat - You're
awfully informed to know anything
about that Fred. Yes, it was part
of winning at VLV 2002 that
Rockin' Ronnie Weiser offered (for
the first and last time ever) a
contract to record under his
label Rolling Rock. We never got
around to another album before
the unfortunate end of The
Bopkings.
How
did it feel to meet and sing with
a musical icon like Wanda
Jackson?
Jen - It was two nights
I'll never forget. The Friday
before the show, Wanda came over
to my house to rehearse her set.
Tomcat and Brian were backing her
up along with our friend Danny we
brought in from El Paso on drums
(who played with the late Star
Mountain Dreamers) and another
San Antoniolocal, Keith Magel on
piano. So the first time I get to
meet her is by opening the front
door and saying "come on in!"
The show the next evening was
packed, and the excitement was
contagious. Being up on stage
with her and seeing the crowd
reaction to her from that vantage
point was almost overwhelming. I
loved getting the chance to back
her up, and I hope she was happy
with the job the boys and I did.
Tomcat - Nothing
like it. It's always a HUGE honor
playing for the original artists
that innovated the style and
sound of traditional music and
helped pave the way for live
music to this day. You also
figure that they can pretty much
pick whoever to back them up, so
it's always a good feeling when
they pick you over so many other
possible candidates.
As
a woman in the music industry, do
you feel some discrimination?
Jen -I've had run-ins
with my fair share of creeps and
idiots, but I can't really think
of any deliberate discrimination.
Venues and the crowds seem to
have been receptive to us and
willing to give us a chance, and
that's a blessing for sure.
If
you could perform a duet with
anyone, alive and dead, who would
it be and why?
Jen -That's a
tough one there. Dead - I would
have to say The Maddox Brothers
and Rose. Their recordings are so
lively and fun. I could tell they
always had a balst with eachother
on stage and the show was never
boring. I love all the inside
jokes they would make like "there's
friendly Henry, the working
girl's best friend". Cracks
me up everytime. Alive, I'd say
Rosie Flores. I love her vocal
style, song selcetion and I think
we'd match well together. I've
gotten to open up for her once,
so maybe one of these days I'll
be up there right along side her!
Tomcat - George
Jones. No matter how much of an
off-night I might have on the
mic, singing like his will make
ya shine every time. Truly, an
artist that can move a real music
lover to tears.
What
was the biggest challenge making
Whiskey Nights?
Jen -Tomcat had the most
work to do on it. In addition to
playing, he recorded us, mixed
and mastered, produced - you name
it. He lost a lot of sleep making
it sound the way it does. I spent
a hefty chunk of my time
designing and putting together
the layout. Everything is done in
house - recording, artwork,
website, booking, media relations
- everything. We were also
preparing for tour, and training
Rich to come on. The summer flew
by and there wasn't much time to
think, we just had to "do".
Tomcat - The
fact that it's my first time
actually running a studio as an
engineer. Even after all my
education and wallet emptying for
high end equipment, it was a
learning process the whole way.
I'm looking forward to producing
the next album.
The
songs you write are either sung
by you or by Jen. Do you know
when you write who will sing the
song or not?
Tomcat - Most of the time, but
sometimes I have to make last
second switches before presenting
original material to the rest of
the gang for consideration.
Who
are your favourite bass-players?
Tomcat - Some of
my musical influences include
some of the very bass players
that you compared me to in our
latest cd's review. Guy's like
Kevin Smith, Sasso Battaglia (DiMaggio
Bros. "Rockabilly From the
Boots Up" release), and,
funny you should mention the very
man that got me started playing
upright years ago, Ric Ramirez.
As far as my song writing goes,
I'm a huge Johnny Horton and
Delmore Bros. fan. In fact, I
feel my harmonica playing is
reminiscent of the Delmore Bros.
style as well.
Well,
its not really music
related but tell us more about
Belle Starr
Jen -She is my
great great great (I don't really
know how many greats) aunt. When
I was younger, I just knew she
was an outlaw and that she wasn't
much of a looker. I did some more
research in college when I became
more interested in our family
history. There's a lot of
different stories out there about
her - lots of legends and tales
that contradict eachother. She
was an outlaw here in Texas (some
proclaim her to be a murderer),
the most I've been able to track
down with accuracy is that she
was a horse thief and
smuggler,occasionally helping out
on a bank robbery or two. She was
a forward thinking woman,
travelling all over the world
performing in cabarets and
saloons for a spell (maybe I got
it from her - ha!), and she
didn't let anyone push her around
either. It's also reported that
she helped out Jesse James' gang
quite a bit when they needed a
safe haven, and its claimed that
she was Cole Younger's one and
only. I like old west history and
I think's it's pretty cool that
we're related.
A
last word....
Jen -To you
Fred, I say thanks for taking an
interest in roots music. This
music is history and long living
and I hope everyone out there
gets as much enjoyment out of it
as I do.
Tomcat - Not
really sure about a last word,
but I would like to thank you and
your entire staff and
organization for your continued
support of traditional roots
music. I wish you and yours all
the very best and look forward to
the next issue. Here's a big ol'
Texas style thanks partners.
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