Mark Pucci Media
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2011
Contact: Mark Pucci (770) 804-9555 / mpmedia@bellsouth.net
TEXAS BLUES GUITARIST ROY TREVIÑO COMES OUT SMOKIN’ ON NEW SELF-TITLED CD PRODUCED BY JIM GAINES, TO BE RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 29
PHARR, TX – South Texas-based blues guitarist/singer Roy Treviño announces the November 29 release of his debut self-titled CD on Troubadour Records, produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison). The new CD was recorded at Church House Studio in Austin, San Jose Studio in Pharr, and Busy at Play Studios in Nashville, and highlights Trevino’s stingingly fluid guitar lines and soulful vocals backed by a stellar cast of musicians.
“I had a list of folks in my mind that I had always wanted to work with and one of those was Chris Maresh, who plays bass with Eric Johnson,” says Treviño about the sessions. “He agreed and suggested a cool studio in Austin called Church House, an old Baptist church converted into a recording studio. The owner, David Boyle, is also a great keyboardist who has worked with a bunch of people including Robert Plant, Patti Griffin, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Justin Timberlake and Eric Johnson. After a false start with one drummer, I found one who had played with one of my buddies (Andres Cantisani) that had given me my first professional gig. It was none other than J.J. Johnson, who I had just watched on the John Mayer DVD, Where the Light Is, and been blown away by his playing. I called J.J. up and he agreed.
“Church House has a Neve Melbourne Console as its heart and we got some great sounds out of that and various other vintage gear and mics, all recorded in this old Baptist church in East Austin. We went down to my studio (San Jose Studios) in Pharr, Texas, for overdubs and recorded background vocals at my compadre Johnny Garcia’s (Trisha Yearwood’s and Garth Brooks’ guitarist and musical director) studio in Nashville.”
The tracks on Roy Treviño are all original songs, save for a cover of Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself,” which Treviño gives a suitably funky treatment with some added scintillating guitar sounds. “I absolutely love and respect Bob Marley; that’s why I was initially hesitant to put this on the album,” says Roy. “I thought that the concept of a Hendrix-y type of guitar in a funked-up Bob Marley tune would be cool. The playing of Chris Maresh, JJ Johnson and David Boyle sealed the deal; they did a phenomenal job.”
The album’s nine other tunes all have some autobiographical background to Roy Treviño’s upbringing in South Texas. The bluesy, gospel opener, “Gloria,” was the culmination of Treviño wanting to write a blues mass. On “The Boy Can Play,” he name-checks a host of guitarists who’ve influenced him over the years, including blues forefathers like Robert Johnson and Son House, through electric blues masters such as the three “Kings,” British guitar gods (Clapton, Beck, Page, Green) and Texas homeboys Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter and the Vaughan Brothers.
Throughout Roy Treviño, the guitarist/singer/songwriter showcases his Mexican and Latin influences, especially on the songs “Sin Ella,” with its Santana-esque guitar lines; the lush, tropical instrumental, “Trinidad;” and the beautiful, romantic mid-tempo “La Luna,” a song which began life under the moon on South Padre Island and was the first time he’d recorded with a nylon string guitar (“This song and ‘Sin Ella’ are my first recorded tunes in Spanish,” adds Treviño.).
Blues sounds are all over the new album, punctuated by Roy Treviño’s outstanding electric guitar and slide guitar work. “Thank You” was recorded live in the studio,” he recalls. “I had always wanted to write a minor blues tune that I thought was good and I am very happy with these results. I was definitely inspired by Led Zeppelin’s ‘Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You,’ one of my favorite minor blues tunes of all time. This song is about the danger of being lured into doing wrong, when someone does you wrong.”
The song “Going Away” displays some of Treviño’s most powerful blues playing on the album. “It’s a tune about a Civil War soldier having a last supper with his family and afterward explaining to his daughter why he’s going away to do something that he knows is right and necessary,” he says. “In order to accomplish good, we sometimes have to do things that we don’t want to do.”
Roy Treviño was born and raised in South Texas and first became enamored with the guitar and blues at a young age. He studied guitar with one of the best, Ronnie Earl, whose other “students” at the time included a young Sean Costello. Early on, he had a blues band (Kingpin) that recorded two albums and played shows with Three Dog Night, Esteban Jordan, Marcia Ball and Chicano blues legend, Randy Garibay. (Roy Trevino will appear soon in a documentary film on Garibay’s life directed by pioneering Chicano filmmaker, Efrain Guttierez.) “Lazy Lester would use us as his band when he would come to Texas. That was a blast,” Roy remembers. “It was with this band - Kingpin - that I worked with (harmonica virtuoso) Tim Gonzalez. We got to be great friends and it was he who suggested that I should do an album with Jim Gaines producing. I had heard the name, and when I looked up his discography was amazed at all the great records he had worked on. I got his number from Tim and called him up; but even though Jim had never heard of me, he was kind enough to ask me to send him some tunes. I did and he agreed to produce the record.”
Roy Treviño’s album is available for sale and downloads at such outlets as iTunes, CDBaby and many others. For more information, visit www.roy-trevino.com.
The Blues Report
A Collection Of The Best Blues News On The Net... The Blues Report Is A Blues Underground Network Presentation... http://www.bluesundergroundnetwork.com/
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Monday Morning Blues Review - Roy Trevino
This Self Titled Album is my first introduction to Roy Trevino, a South Texas-based Blues Guitarist and Singer, whom learned his Guitar prowess from studying from none other than the Legendary Ronnie Earl and along side Sean Costello whom was also one of Ronnie's students at the time. Although Roy Trevino's career seems a little sparse, he has had the good fortune to have fallen into the right crowd, at the right time, which included the good luck of having Legendary Producer Jim Gaines on board for his Debut Album. Jim Gaines Credits are far to long to show here, but please take a quick look on his website here ( http://www.bessieblues.com/gcredits.html ) to see the amazing list of Artists and Albums he has Produced and/or Co-Produced/Engineered.
"Roy Trevino" consists of 10 Tracks, of which all but one are originals, written by Trevino. The one Track which is not an original was Track 6 "Lively Up Yourself", a Bob Marley song. "Lively Up Yourself", is a song "which Marley used to open many of his concerts, in order to get the audience worked up; American R&B star Prince used it for the same purpose." Joining Roy Trevino on this album were J.J. Johnson (Drums), David Boyle (Keyboards), Chris Maresh (Bass), Kyle Thompson (Drums on Track 10 "Little Girl"), Ed Hobizal (Piano on Tracks 7 & 10 "La Luna"/"Little Girl"), and John Nelson (Percussion). Additional credits go to Robert Bailey, Vicki Hampton, and Roy Trevino (Background Vocals) and Roy Gonzalez, Jacob Gonzalez, and J.J. Johnson (Handclaps). Roy Trevino played all Guitars and did all Lead Vocals. "Roy Trevino" was mostly recorded at a "studio in Austin called Church House, an old Baptist church converted into a recording studio." Roy said, “Church House has a Neve Melbourne Console as its heart and we got some great sounds out of that and various other vintage gear and mics." I have noticed more bands and artists, nowadays, going for a more authentic vintage sound to their music, which I really like.
Roy Trevino starts off his album with 3 great Blues Rock songs that really show off his Singing and Guitar playing skills, of which my favorite was Track 2, the homage to previous Blues greats called "The Boy Can Play", but as good as those first 3 Tracks were, I really felt that the meat and potatoes of this album started with Track 4 "Sin Ella". "Sin Ella" starts off with Roy singing in Latin and has a distinctive Santana feel to it. For the 2nd half of the song he changes over to English which polishes off the Track nicely. From that Track on Roy Trevino shows off what he is really capable of, offering up a wide range of creatively performed songs, done in a variety of styles, including of course, the Reggae tinged Bob Marley cover.
With Roy Trevino's Debut release, he really shows us that he is no Flash In The Pan artist. Roy really knows his stuff and really knows how to get the message across when performing his songs, whether it be Straight Ahead Guitar Driven Blues Rock or a more intimately laced song such as his wonderfully done closing Track "Little Girl", one of my favorites on this album.
With such a strong Debut release, I feel Roy Trevino is on the cusp of really breaking out into the mainstream of great Singers, Songwriters, and Musicians, as he certainly has all the skills, and then some.
Roy Trevino "Roy Trevino" is an album I have no problem recommending to those that not only like Blues Rock, but also enjoy a little extra, as well.
I hope that Roy Trevino, gets his main website up soon, as he is an artist that deserves a good internet presence... Till then, please check him out on his Facebook Page.
Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)
Roy Treviño
South Texas-based blues guitarist/singer Roy Treviño has just released his debut self-titled CD on Troubadour Records, produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison). The new CD was recorded at Church House Studio in Austin, San Jose Studio in Pharr, and Busy at Play Studios in Nashville, and highlights Trevino’s stingingly fluid guitar lines and soulful vocals backed by a stellar cast of musicians.
“Church House has a Neve Melbourne Console as its heart and we got some great sounds out of that and various other vintage gear and mics, all recorded in this old Baptist church in East Austin. We went down to my studio (San Jose Studios) in Pharr, Texas, for overdubs and recorded background vocals at my compadre Johnny Garcia’s (Trisha Yearwood’s and Garth Brooks’ guitarist and musical director) studio in Nashville.”
All the tracks on Roy Treviño are original songs, save for a cover of Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself,” Review by blues festival guide
Roy Treviño
Roy Treviño
Available from Amazon.com.
A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
by Mark S. Tucker
(progdawg@hotmail.com).
Hot blues player Roy Treviño treads an interesting mid-ground between stripped-down sound fields and lush expansiveness. In both modes, though, in his self-titled debut the guy wields a fiercely clean sound with deep resonanace and tons of rhythm, often like an offshoot of Carlos Santana and his band. 'Neath an eye-catching cover, simple but dynamic, resides a cat who has as much a folk sensibility as, say, Richie Kotzen but whose lines more than a few times sound like Kim Simmonds' old days with a sidecar of Johnny Winter, the result possessed of a distinctive keening buzz gravid with resonance. Sin Ella shows his Santana side well, as does the instrumental Trinidad, and Treviño likes singing in Spanish as well as English, which lends a bit more musicality - I mean, I dig the hell out of my own tongue, but, c'mon y'all, Spanish has a LOT more music to it.
When I say this guitar slinger's ultra-clean, I damn well mean it, but he gets just as much fire and grit into every note as anyone around. His fingers aren't playing the notes, his heart is, and that big mid-chest organ has a truckload of feeling and muscle continually jumping out onto the fretboard. Producer Jim Gaines (Santana, SRV, Luther Allison, etc.) knows the real thing when he hears it, and his ears needed go no further than that first breath of Treviño. To accommodate the unique qualities of Roy's playing, he carted in a ton of engineers and, man, this is one of the very few cases where overkill just put ever more frosting on the cake instead of wiping it clean. This date's a great one, and the Roy isn't shy about tributizing past masters who paved the way, naming a ton of 'em (Page, Stevie Ray, Jimi, etc.) in The Boy Can Play.
La Luna brings in an exoticized ballad, a slow-shuffled south of the border number that provokes hips to sway and lips to smile languidly while a balmy afternoon shades into evening and city lights come up. The Sanatana influence is very clear here in the middle eight, with a solo Carlos would swoon over. Like boogie? Hurricanes is ZZ Top-styled boogie woogie with a metallic edge, and Treviño very obviously favors the distortion boxes, handling 'em masterfully, taming the gloriously noisy bastards down into his style while sacrificing nothing of their power and presence—the Hendrixian solo in Going Away lets everyone know who's leashed who here, tech or player. A hell of a lot is goin' on in this solo debut, presented with the flash, fire, and finesse of someone who's been around the block more than once.
Track List:
Gloria
The Boy Can Play
Hurricanes
Sin Ella
Trinidad
Lively Yourself Up
La Luna
Thank You
Going Away
Little Girl
All songs written by Treviño / Roel B. except
Lively Yourself Up (Bob Marley).
NASHVILLE BLUES SOCIETY – 12/14/11
ROY TREVINO
ROY TREVINO
TROUBADOUR RECORDS TR 001
GLORIA–THE BOY CAN PLAY–HURRICANES–SIN ELLA–TRINIDAD–LIVELY UP YOURSELF–LA LUNA–THANK YOU–GOING AWAY–LITTLE GIRL
Born in south Texas, a young Roy Trevino mentored under Ronnie Earl, and was soon fronting his own band. One of their highlights was backing Lazy Lester whenever he came to town, and harpman Tim Gonzalez urged Roy to seek out Jim Gaines to produce his album. The resulting set is Roy’s self-titled debut, and Gaines brought out the best this young guitar-slinger had to offer on nine smokin’ originals and one Bob Marley cover.
Roy is fluent on slide guitar, and holds nothing back on these cuts. Check out the call-and-response of the intense, gospel-flavored opener, “Gloria,’ which was originally intended to be a Mass written as blues. The elegant instrumental, “Trinidad,” has elements of Carlos Santana, while “Sin Ella” and the acoustic beauty of “La Luna” feature lyrics in English and Spanish. And, Roy gives a funky arrangement to Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself,” making it a highly-danceable affair.
We had two favorites, too. “Going Away” is the sad tale of a Civil War soldier’s last meal with his family before heading into battle, and its story is as powerful and poignant in today’s society as it was during the era for which it was written. And, Roy’s autobiography surfaces in “The Boy Can Play,” where he name-checks all his heroes and mentors. It features Roy’s guitar spouting deft lines after each lyric, then branching out for some nasty solo work.
Roy Trevino wields a mean guitar, and, under Jim Gaines’ tutelage, has crafted a deeply-soulful and highly satisfying set!! Until next time….Sheryl and Don Crow, Nashville Blues Society
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