SIX MARKET BLVD  REVIEW                                
             
               East Texas Music Scene

                                                    Dennis and Brenda Kippa

Sometimes I am just plain wrong about things, and my wife is right. I know, that hurts, but I am a big enough man to admit it. She was right about the band Six Market Blvd. I was wrong and I am so glad I was. We were given a CD of Six Market Blvd music some time back and quite frankly I was not impressed. My wife, on the other hand, went nuts over them. She heard things that for whatever reason, I could not hear. Well, I played that CD a number of times, and after a bit, I heard what she heard. Then we saw them live at a well- known venue in south Tyler, and I was sold.

Six Market Blvd. is a Stephenville, Texas-based band, made up of Clayton Landau on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Josh Serrato on lead guitar and 12-string guitar, Ben Hussey on lead vocals, harmony, electric bass and stand up bass, Dallas Neal on drums and percussion, and Red Shahan on keyboard and lead vocals. All the members of this band are exceptional musicians. You need to key in on Josh on lead guitar. You will hear licks that you would swear are coming from Clapton and it was 1980 again. Very strong lead guitar. On lead vocals, Clayton Landau has a tenor voice that is unique and easy to listen to. Ben on bass has magic fingers that cover those stings and provide a base line for each cut on both of their CD's. Dallas is a great drummer who handles the bands' transitions well. Red is on keyboard and helps meld every thing together.

The latest CD “Shake It Down “has a number of cuts that stand out. First on the CD is “Say It” and it's the flagship tune. Great hooks, great transitions, and a big sound. The cuts “Mailbox”, “14 Miles From Home”, “Medina”, “Getting Older”, (aren’t we all?) and the fun one, “White Goose”, are tunes that are a real pleasure to listen too. And I mean you don't get tired of them. “Mailbox” is now a single and climbing the charts and is being played by radio stations all over the state of Texas. Their freshman effort, called “Running on Seven”, has several songs that have reached the top 25 chart in Texas.

The real treat comes when you see them live. It is a fun show with non- stop music. These boys work hard to give a great show each and every time they perform. They do over 175 dates a year, so they will come around to East Texas in short order and when they do, go see them. If you have to compare their music to something, you may have heard that Six Market Blvd. sounds like America or Pure Prairie League. Lyrics about love won and lost, old age, and radiator fluid on the ground are a few of the lyric hooks. Yes, I said radiator fluid on the ground.

Of course Six Market Blvd has a website, and they're on Twitter and Facebook'. And don't forget that you can often find performances on You Tube. Six market Blvd. doesn't disappoint there, either.

Well I hope you get out and see some of these great Texas bands and support them with your attendance at venues and buy their CD's and T shirts. That is what keeps them going. It's a brave new world out there, and that's how money is generated these days. That's a topic for another time, perhaps.

“THE WIFE'S VIEW”

Would you like to hear what grabbed my ear and made me act all silly about Six Market's music? All of it was interesting and fun to hear, but there were two songs in particular that went into my brain and simply set up residence there for several days. They're still there, actually, for reasons that are completely opposite.

The song “Getting Older” must have been born to this band in a moment of 'generational leap-frog'. To my mind, these boys shouldn't know what's in the mind of an old person but they do. This song tells a heart-breaking story, made all the more haunting by the nuances in Clayton Landau's voice that don't show up on any of his other vocals. The only way I can properly explain it to you is to reveal that I cry every time I hear it. I'm wasted with sweet tears that rip at my soul; it's just that spooky. (There. I've said it. Please don't judge me too harshly.)

The other song - “White Goose” - has a melody that is impossible to stop hearing. It will have you slapping at your ears, trying to shake yourself free of it. Then, when you think it's finally gone, it will creep back in again. That part is a lovely nuisance. The problem is that the last three notes don't seem to fit, and they had me yelling at the CD, that's how much I didn't like them. I was resigned to feeling this love it/hate those three notes thing forever, and then we went to see their live show. After delivering a show-stopping version of the song (and it's last three notes), Clayton smiled broadly and added “Cha-cha-cha!”. Now you know what the last three notes are, and now I'm finally in on the genius of adding them to this infectious song.

I could go on and on about what I liked about this music, but I'll stop right here; Dennis said it all already, and he's exactly right. Happy listening, everybody.

If you have comments or information you would like passed on, send an e-mail to us. Tell us about your favorite Texas band at easttexasmusicscene1@yahoo.com.