Krystal ’s Cocktails KARAOKE Wednesday thru Sunday Upcoming Events at Krystal’s HAPPY HOUR 12-8 Sunday through Thursday 12-7 Friday and Saturday Live Music in March March 5th 3 Slue Town Strutters 17 Dale Watson 1st Anniversary Party Open noon until 2 a.m. 4 The Merles 18 TBA 7 days a week 5 Madelyn Victoria 20 Dale Watson BBQ, live music 6 Intexicated (live recording) and drink specials 11 Dennis Barnes 25 TBA and Big T 2X4’s 27 Misty Blue 13 TBA All Spurs games on Live Music 100 inch TV screen! Thursdays, Fridays Live & Sundays recording We are the most elegant at cocktail lounge on Big T Roadhouse with San Antonio’s DALE WATSON Northeast Side March 20th (210) 607-8710 12536 Nacogdoches Rd, 78217 www.Brookspub.biz March E NTERTAINMENT FRI 4 DARK CITY FRI 18 EDDIE & THE BOOZERS 13247 BANDERA RD, HELOTES, TX 78237 210-695-4941 SAT 5 CHERRY SAT 19 SPIT FIRE STREET HOOKERS FRI 25 MADISON’S LYRIC NOW FEATURING LIVE MUSIC! FRI 11 COLLISION MARCH BAND SCHEDULE FRI 4 APRIL HALL EVERY HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY SAT 5 JESSE STRATTON Wednesday Hosted by FRI 11 BONNIE LANG Amy Hermes MARCH 18TH SAT 12 FALLON FRANLIN EVERY FRI 18 BRYAN BROS Sunday Hosted by SAT 19 FRANCIE FRIENTINZ Adrian Rodriguez FRI 25 ELORA VALADEZ CLOSED SAT 26 ART & LISA EASTER SUNDAY Daily Drink Specials Everyday! Ask one of our beautiful bartenders for details. • 2 • Action Magazine, March 2016 advertising is worthless if you have nothing worth advertising Put your money where the music is. Advertise in Action Magazine • DEPARTMENTS • Sam Kindrick...........................................6 Editor & Publisher ................Sam Kindrick Everybody’s Somebody ..........................9 Advertising Sales ..............Amy Heller Reif ....................Action Staff Scatter Shots ........................................11 Photography.............................Action Staff Distribution............................Ronnie Reed Composition..........................Elise Taquino Volume 41 • Number 3 • FEATURE • Ruben V ..................................................4 Jacques E. Strap ...................................10 Jim Chesnut ..........................................12 Action Magazine, March 2016 • 3 • The powerful magic of blues rocker Ruben V By Sam Kindrick has established himself as been Ruben’s forte. He about other musicians, who looks as good as he were defining the time. I Ruben V’s smile is as the rocking blues face of has shared the stage with both living and deceased. sounds. wanted to play Stevie’s hot as his guitar. the San Antonio music everyone from Delbert The late Stevie Ray Ruben is a happily kind of music--to bend a Both light up the room. scene. McClinton to B.B. King, but Vaughan was the major in - married father and practi - guitar string like that be - Ruben V (as in Vela) Humility has always his favorite topics are fluence whose music did tioner of the Christian cause that was how I felt.” the most to shape the path faith, although he no That Vaughan show is that Ruben is on today. longer plays in non-de - what drove Vela back to On the San Antonio nominational churches as writing and playing, but scene, Mr. V calls South he did in past years. the musical metamorpho - Side blues godfather “I guess I kinda de - sis was just beginning. Jimmy Spacek and the cided that churches are After breaking from the late guitar master Chris buildings, and that God is metal scene, Ruben sur - Holzhaus his mentors. not confined to a building,” rounded himself with his Like both Spacek and Ruben said. “I can honor brothers, and they formed Holzhaus, Ruben V is an God where ever Imay be a group that began touring accomplished writer, working.” together. recording artist, producer, Ruben V has not al - Ruben’s bio material and vocalist who will al - ways been a guitar slinger says, “As time passed, the ways be defined by a of the rocking Texas blues shows became bigger and smoking, walking, talking, persuasion, and he was the four albums they put and crying electric guitar. just emerging from his out became heavier, but, “My guitar might early and troubled musical again, that sound wasn’t change shape and size,” life when I met him in that what Ruben had envi - Ruben says, “but those six Soledad Street tavern. sioned for himself. Forced strings will always be a Ruben’s music of today to confront the different part of who I am and who has been defined as a directions the brothers I have grown up to be.” fresh, smooth blend of were heading, Ruben Ruben V has released blues, Latin, soul, and parted ways with the eight solo CDs, 14 group blazing rock, but it hasn’t group to pursue his own albums, and he averages always been this way. musical path--one that more than 120 live shows Believe it or not, but was true to him, and one a year, more than proba - Ruben once landed an that has become the bly any other San Antonio indie record deal with his essence of Ruben V musician working today. heavy metal band Final music.” I will never forget the Assault. Continued on pg. 7 cold, rainy night I met A self-taught guitarist Ruben more than 20 who hit the road at age 15, years ago. It was in an up - Ruben played with a num - stairs room of a Soledad ber of bands before Final Street bar now known as Assault and the death of a Bond’s Rock Bar. I don’t bass player and friend that recall the bar’s name back made him start question - then, but I have never for - ing the direction in which Let us cater gotten the skinny little kid he was going. your holiday with long stringy hair who He says he felt lost and had just arrived in San An - disconnected. The heavy party or bring tonio from the Rio Grande metal bands of that day your party to Valley. He had a guitar were leaving him empty. with him. That’s what I re - Then he saw Stevie Texas Pride. call the most. The guitar Ray Vaughn in concert. was Ruben’s key to the “I was at a dark time in 210-649-3730 www.texaspridebbq.net The blazing guitar licks of Ruben V are accompanied by a city, and San Antonio has my life when I first saw adopted him like a native Stevie Ray Vaughan in singing voice and songwriting skills to match. He is the complete son, with all of us watch - concert,” Ruben recalls. “It package. ing as he developed into a was the opposite of the strapping stage presence heavy metal bands that 651-4541 4810 FM 1518 N. 1/4 MILE EAST OFF IH35 HOURS: 7 DAYS A WEEK • 4 • Action Magazine, March 2016 Action Magazine, March 2016 • 5 • It’s official now. We will follow up last April’s 40th Asleep At The Wheel. But Willie and Ray actually live in “For sure I think you should do it,” said Augie, anniversary Action Magazine blowout with another the Austin area, while the vast majority of Austin musi - the Texas Tornados leader who once toured the world show. cians are transients. Most of ours are home-grown. with The Sir Douglas Quintet. “And I have some ideas The 41st Annual Action Magazine Anniversary No setting moon for us that will make the next show run even smoother.” and Music Extravaganza will be held October 2 at the The prospect of holding another Action Maga - I had anguished over this decision, just as I had same location as the first--Texas Pride Barbecue on zine-sponsored concert never entered my mind as we tortured myself with black thoughts of impending doom Loop 1604 near Adkins. pumped and planned for the April 12 show last year. prior to other promotions that turned out great. The event has been moved to the fall for vari - This, I figured, would write finish to Sam Kindrick hijinks When I was with the Express and News, I inde - ous reasons. and outdoor foolishness under the sun and clouds of pendently hatched and promoted the First World’s First off, I needed time to decide whether a sec - Texas storm. I would just ride off, so to speak, into the Championship Menudo Cookoff in Raymond Russell ond concert should even be held. It took a lot of juice last snap, crackle, and pop of a setting neon moon, a Park. Willie Nelson headlined this one, and there were and tub-thumping to pull off the first highly successful drum roll and electric guitar wail saying adiose across 30 other bands on the bill, including Johnny Bush and event, and we did it despite torrential rains that hit early the South Texas prairie. the Bandoleros. before the daylong concert was to begin, and again that Mighty dramatic, I thought, but shit....Then There was pomp, flair, drama, and enough rib - night shortly after Johnny Rodriguez closed out the came the first voice. ald humor to satisfy the yearnings of even the most ad - event which drew more than a thousand people despite “Let’s do it again.” venturous. the inclement weather. It was Dub Robinson. Hot Pants Menudo We had internationally-known name performers What say? Famed San Antonio madam Theresa Brown for our 40trh anniversary show, ranging from Rodriguez “Let’s do it again,” said Robinson, leader of the and two of her girls were set up in a motor home with a to my friends Grammy winner Augie Meyers, Johnny Drug Store Cowboys Band. “I never had more fun with huge sign that read HOT PANTS MENUDO. Bush, Darrell and Mona McCall, Kinky Friedman, and any production in my life, and there are a whole bunch And in addition to Theresa, there were more Joe King Carrasco.