Discover Monday: San Antonio

I've lived in San Antonio for a year already and haven't even checked out the local scene. Work and such. Bleh. Anyway, I decided it was high time to see what was out there in my adopted hometown. The Verdict? Not much. At least that, not much that I could find with a cursory search of Google and - let's face it - if you're not on the first page of Google, you don't exist on the Internet.

I did find The Delviews, and - I'll tell ya - I don't hate it. Punk music with some ska influence. First song of their EP, which you can find for free here, was called "Hello Bones" and although I couldn't quite understand all the lyrics, I think it was about anorexia nervosa. I can dig it -- I've fought my own battle with Ana & Mia -- but that's a list for another day. A darker one. Maybe a Wildcard Wednesday some time in the near future. The song I think I enjoyed the most was "Looks Like You Just Broke Out of Lesbian Prison." I have no idea if the title has anything to do with what it was about but it was dark and soulful and hey, Orange Is The New Black just released a second season so why not? Overall, not bad for an EP - the mixing wasn't terrible, the vocals could be cleaner, but it's short, free, and the songs might grow on you. Give it a listen and if you like it and live in the San Antonio metropolitan area, get out and see 'em.

I also found Elora Valdez and if you enjoy yourself some Taylor Swift (I do!) and Selena Gomez (...er...when I'm drunk....). What's this kid about? You guessed it! Clean, sweet pop sugar with a slight country twang. The girl is 14-years-old and she sings about boys and being young and a whole bunch of stuff those of us on the edge of death don't quite remember. But the songs are catchy and she has a cute face and more importantly, she's obviously working her ass off. She's doing quite a few shows over the summer -- about one a week, some of which are on the same day -- and that's why she can afford professional quality tracks on her ReverbNation page and 38,000 fans. That's pretty impressive for any local artist. Shit, the kid even has decent quality merch....

I save the best for last ..... local trio The Rich Hands are more my speed. Think The Black Keys mixed with a hefty dose of 50s Rockabilly goodness. Their sound reminds of an early 60s beach filled with hipster teenagers -- all laidback and cool with a mysterious twang i.e. a solid bass line. I would be down to just hang out with these guys and listen to them jam, because that's what's best about blues-y bands -- they know their instruments and can just make it up on the fly and it'll sound good. You can get lost in the music and that's all I'm really looking to do most of the time. The recordings aren't quite as crisp as maybe you'd get from a big studio but it definitely gives the songs an old school vibe. I'm cool with that -- I've been listening to a lot of vinyl lately, anyway -- but I know some people *cough*The Boyfriend*cough* can't stand even a hint of static when listening to mp3s. For what it's worth, I'm really enjoying it. You can download the album at their bandcamp -- no price listed but paying supporters also get unlimited streaming on the Bandcamp app.

Discover More, Music Sluts!