Houston Texas is the home of a distinctive brand of blues music that encompasses a wide range of blues styles. The Houston blues sound ranges from down-home country blues through Texas shuffles to Louisiana swamp and classic Chicago-style blues. This unique sound that once filled the clubs and icehouses of Houston is often forgotten in the history of American blues music. The H-Town Jukes keep this sound alive by faithfully recreating it in shows throughout the Houston area and Southeast Texas.In early 2003, at a weekly jam session held at Danelectro’s club in Houston, Larry Bernal and Steve Gilbert were paired onstage for the first time. They quickly found out their styles complimented each other well, and a close friendship was born. In May of that year, Houston blues legend Joe “Guitar†Hughes passed away. Hughes was a well-known guitarist on the Houston blues scene, and both Larry and Steve had sat in separately with Joe at club shows in the past. It was at Joe “Guitar†Hughes’ funeral that Larry and Steve decided that the time was right to begin playing shows in the Houston area. They named the band the Dukes of Houston, in honor of Joe “Guitar†Hughes mid-1950s band, the Dukes of Rhythm.This incarnation of the band (later known as Larry and the Jukes) played clubs around the area from 2004-2006, often employing Houston blues scene legends Eugene “Spare Time†Murray and Charles McCall on bass guitar and Johnny Prejean on drums. The band decided to take an extended break in August 2006 in order to work on other projects.In March 2007, the decision was made to re-form the band, and a new band name was in order. Combining their two previous band names, Larry Bernal and Steve Gilbert decided to call the band The H-Town Jukes. Larry and Steve had been looking for a standup bass player to augment their sound, and they found one in Kirk Schafer, a veteran of the Houston music scene. To round out the band, Larry and Steve found Houston theatre musician and big band drummer Donny Payne, who augments the sound with his cocktail drum kit.The H-Town Jukes keep their sound true to the blues of Houston’s past, playing original blues tunes and cover blues songs from the 1940s-1960s. Blues artists the band covers include Lightnin’ Hopkins, Johnny “Clyde†Copeland, “Juke Boy†Bonner. Slim Harpo, and Jimmy Reed. The H-Town Jukes play regularly around the Houston area and Southeast Texas, and plan to begin recording their debut CD later this year.
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