Una Noche De La Gloria - SA's City Wide Music Festival Takes Over The Westside

Una Noche De La Gloria
SA's City Wide Music Festival Takes Over The Westside

Art. You can find it in music, in our fashion, in our spokenword.  Art is in our homes. It defines usand shapes us into the people we are today.  Imagine walking into a neighborhood in SanAntonio and seeing almost every form of art being represented on one singleblock.  From photography to poetry, fromlive art painting to a runway of exotic clothing.  Many vibrant colors to absorb all at once andbeing presented in a way like no other.  This is not a dream.  This is one man’s vision that has quicklyturned into a reality with the help of a tight knit community.   Ahumble group of artists, musicians, poets & volunteers have made thispossible going on its third year this October. Prepare to be amazed.

There are many contributing factors and behind the scenesupporters that fuel Una Noche De La Gloria. I had the pleasure of recently attending the “La Gloria” press event atthe Museo Alameda that brought out a few local supporters of the project.  A well received $2,500 donation was presentedto Velasquez quickly matched by the art department of Our Lady of The LakeUniversity.  Actor Jesse Borrego was onhand to give a few words of encouragement stating that he was working on havinga “La Gloria” live web cast viewing in Los Angeles and maybe even Paris.  Artists can look forward to the possibilitythat art collectors on the other side of the world can see what amazing talentour great city has to offer.  Among theother local celebrities attending the press event was the legendary  San Antonio artist Jesse Trevino and Marcelino Villanueva thewinner of the 2012 Fiesta Poster Design contest.  The official unveiling will take place early2012.

Where did all this begin? Gabriel Velasquez & his brother Roger, who was a very talentedmusician, became heavily involved in the local music industry at a young age herein San Antonio.   
“I was part of the first generation of street DJ’s here inSan Antonio.  This was the beginning ofthe club scene.  Dancing was part of theculture.”  Velasquez continues, “So whileall that clubbing going on when all the 20 year old DJ’s were working in theclubs there was no street scene.  So wecreated that street scene and that included 14 to 16 year old discjockeys.  All you needed was a truck, andthere was these new sounds systems and turntables the accessibility to allthat.” Velasquez states with enthusiasm. “It was during that time that I hit the street and became a disc jockey.When I went to Trinity I joined the college radio and I started off inclassical music then ended up where I really wanted to be at and that wasJazz.  Blue Label Jazz is what I learnedthen I began to create a more interesting fusion at Trinity.  The year was 1985. I had a lot of support fromthe station.  A couple years later I heard that KSYM was lookingfor a jazz director.  They had recently lost LadyJ, and I went over there and became the jazz director.”  Wanting to create something originalVelasquez took all his experience in being a street DJ, mixed it with a varietyof Spanish and English jams and used that for his on air program. 

After years of organizing many successful exhibitions bothin and around the art and music community, Velasquez soon became a wellrespected leader and organizer in the city being involved with numerous largescaled projects.  He was soon invited byMayor Hardberger to be the main art organizers of the well known event known asLuminaria in Hemisphere Park.  He organizedover 150 local Hispanic artists to be part of the kick off to this eventlabeled “Arts Night in SA”.  Afterhelping make this event a complete success Velasquez went on to create UnaNoche De La Gloria. “What comes after Luminaria?” He asks rhetorically. “Well Luminariais the light. After the light comes the glory.”

“The term comes from the religious concept.” He continues. “Thismeans what we really want to happen in the arts is for our paintings to bebought, our bands to be hired, and our poets to be heard.  Co Founder Jesse Trevino told me at thebeginning.”  ‘We have to focus on the onething that we think is most important.  Ifyou really want to give an artist an award, buy one of his paintings. That’sthe greatest award you can give them.’  “Werealized what we really want to happen was self determination, work forceparticipation.”

“This is not an event. It is a bi product of the all work we do year round.” Velasquezexplains.  “The work that we do is notorganizing the event, but its strengthening our social network.  Una Noche De La Gloria is an art communitybuilding project.  That network of about100 people behind La Gloria did not know each other before this event.  The whole reason behind La Gloria is to learnfrom each other and grow as a community. In the end we hope to create a littlebit of a revolution to the way we look at ourselves as artists.”

 Una Noche De LaGloria will take place October 8th 2011 on the corner of Guadalupe& Brazos and extends up toS San Jacinto St primarily in the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Discrict. This isan all day event.  Come out and witnessthe product of the imagination and organization of a great community.  Bring an open mind, buy some artwork andprepare to experience una noche like no other.

 “Una Noche de LaGloria is a professional development strategy for independent artists organizedand managed by the Contemporary Art and Literature Organization (CALO) and co-sponsored by Councilman David Medina.”


G.Tomas Vasquez 2011

gtomasvphoto@yahoo.com

Backbeat Magazine #22 2012 Issue

To view entire Issue please visit http://backbeatzine.com

 

 

 

Burlesque troops march into San Antonio

"While walking in, a curtain draws, a light has dimmed, and the show begins"

Feathers, bright colors, low lighting and a packed venue are just about enough to keep anyone interested.  I wasn’t stumbling out of one of SA’s favorite Main Street hot spots.  I was actually invited to Jump Start Theater in the Blue Star art complex.  This was my first official visit to a “Burlesque” show here in San Antonio.  Complete with a music soundtrack dating from 40’s big band to 90’s rockabilly, a bit of silly humor, a few props and women of all sizes.  Yet the most entertaining act of the evening was the one spinning a hula hoop while showing off her backbreaking yoga skills.  That was most impressive. If this doesn’t tickle your fancy & if you don’t want to spend half of your paycheck purchasing brews across the way, there’s a weekly burlesque show just a short drive down Broadway. Dixie’s Bar off Broadway & 410 hosts a weekly gig complete with a full band and exotic looking dancers.  If you can get there early enough to grab a table amongst the smoke filled noisy establishment then you’re in luck.  Quite the different setting from our previous locale, I still prefer the theatre type setting. 

Devil Bunnies

“We’ve been together on and off since 2008 but not until towards the end of last year we actually started focusing on the group itself.” Kassy continues, “We’re working on getting a strong set of girls, currently its 5 of us.”  Rose Munoz & Kassy Lovejoy have been working hard to get the word out and in turn they are building up a huge fan base.   “The first time is became involved with burlesque was when my best friend was actually a female impersonator burlesque performer in Dallas.  I had always wanted to get into it and during that time no one was actually performing burlesque here in San Antonio.” Kassy states “I first got thrown into it during a performance at The Saint. My friend entered a drag queen contest and I helped his as a backup dancer to help him with the whole burlesque routine. The crowds’ response was great and we ended up getting second place.” Soon after Kassy teamed up with Rose & Jessica and they started doing a vaudeville event that included magicians, comedians and performers.  When that event went south Rose and the group created “Bite Fest” This year her brainchild will be celebrating its fourth year under a different name.  Rose is also working on the first annual San Antonio Burlesque Festival so keep your ears open for news of that coming this summer.  “I hoping to get that started in the summer.  I definitely want to make that big so we want to bring people from everywhere and have them come down here.  There’s so many different styles, so many different groups even just in Texas. I want to be able to work with everybody” Rose says with a smile.

Deathrockets Grotesque Burlesque

“I wanted to do burlesque since I was a little kid.” Rachet Von Nightmare recalls her early memories.  “I was raised really alternatively. I got introduced to bands like Bauhaus and KMFDM cause that was what my father was into.  So of course the scene that sounds that is very artistic and out there. I started watching Dita Von Tease and have been involved with ballet for around 15 years.” “Bloodfest was really our coming out party.” Presley continues, “The classical style of burlesque kind of bored us a little bit. We finally got to do a lot of blood play. I dance to Manson’s Spade and I drain a heart all over, blood everywhere and it was so fascinating to me.  I like that darker side of anything and that’s really the direction that we wanted to take.”  “We did a lot of shows at Wax Lounge when we started.” Rachet states.  “That’s where our roots are. That’s where we built up our confidence.  I never really felt that I had the body to do this but after the first time I took my bra off with my pasties on it felt so liberating.”  The duo hails from New Braunfels and they have quickly found a place they feel comfortable letting loose in our big city. “All of our friends and everyone from the scene here have been very accepting of what we do. We’ve been doing shows at The Thirsty Camel, Clicks and Korova” Rachet says.   

The Scarlet Darlings

Katie Red & Annabella Lugosi established the Scarlet Darlings in 2009. When they began to search new members, each dancer had to pass a strict audition before joining.  This extremely diverse troupe brings in many different elements to their unique style of burlesque.   For those of the alternative lifestyle; Boylesque, a male equivalent to burlesque, is a unique feature that separates this group from the rest of the troupes in SA.  “We’ve performed at Korova, we do a weekly show at Dixie’s, we just signed on for a bi-monthly show at Nightrocker and we have a lot of cool performances coming up at Overtime Theater and Jumpstart Theatre. We like the theater setting more than the bar setting. “ Annabella explains.  “We’ve done so many themed shows. We recently did a late night picture show which was all movie themed performances.  Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland we’re among some of the characters we portrayed. It was awesome.  We also did a sin & vices show were everyone did their own original sin.  This weekend were doing a TV themed show, X-files & Dexter were some of the skits.”  “We do incorporate a lot of different things in our show.  Like singing, we sing together on stage, we like to use comedy, we’re currently are looking for a comedian to use in our shows.” Blue Carolina continues.  “We want more comedy acts actual skits in our show more than just a strip tease.”

Oh Baby Burlesque!

One of the newest troupes to take the scene by storm was founded a couple years ago by the rambunctious Panty Oakley.  Making their weekly home at a country rock bar just north of downtown, they seem to be making waves all over SA. “Burlesque is pretty inspiring, we really want to have a positive stage presence & we want to be a positive inspiration for women.  I know that everyone is so sick of seeing emaciated models & girls with big fake boobs.  Most regular women are not like that.” Panty Oakley wants to send a message that all women are beautiful not just the ones that are worshiped by the media. “Every one of our dancers are really different.  Jessica is a graphic artist, Nicole is a working, going to school mom & Dickie used to be in a group called super happy fun time burlesque when he was in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   Every last Saturday of the month we do a themed show.” Panty continues, “Its fun, it’s silly, we don’t charge a cover. It’s an hour long show, with a break in the middle, with really wicked amazing drink specials at Dixie’s all the time. This has been our home venue since August.” 

Stars & Garters Burlesque

Stars & Garters has been around since December of 2008, complete with five dancer’s two emcees and a dedicated panty wrangler this group puts on a pretty big production.  “The burlesque scene in San Antonio has grown really quickly.  I stated doing burlesque back in Austin back in 2005 that was joining an already established scene. “Blue Valentine, the group’s founder and leader helps take the show to a more professional level.

”I did my first show in August of 2006 with a group at the Cameo Theater; we were the Not Too Blue Burlesque.  We began swapping gigs from here and Austin until about 2008; we called it a burlesque exchange.”  Suki Jones giggles, “I had an obsession as a teenager with a musical cabaret and to me it was the progression.  Since then I’ve always had an interest in it and then the owner of the Cameo decided he wanted to do it. He helped put together our production since he had previous experience hosting burlesque shows in the 80’s.”

 “I lived in Austin for the past 10 years and there was already a thriving burlesque scene there.” Blue valentine remembers, “So after going to many shows and events I wanted to figure out how to be part of it.  The problem I kept running into was that it the dancers were always your typical very thin girls and I’m a plus sized woman.  So I started Big Star Burlesque in Austin which is an all plus sized burlesque troupe and the only one in the nation at that time.  That’s how I kind of became involved in it.  When I moved back to San Antonio I didn’t want to stop doing it so I started putting shows together.”

Miss Chevious brings experience to Stars and Garters. “I have been doing dance and theater since I was in elementary school and throughout high school.  When I saw the Suicide Girls perform a burlesque show at the White Rabbit a few years back, after that I went to a Goth convention show at Jump Start and I thought that was amazing.  Then about a year and a half ago I found Stars & Garters online and I auditioned for them & I’ve been part of their group ever since.  Harvey Wallbanger is the troupes emcee and comic relief. “I introduce the lovely ladies, tell some bad jokes and try to be charming as much as I can. Have fun, keep the energy up and keep the ball rolling.

So guys and gals it seems as if the once out-dated art of burlesque is making a comeback, and everyone is welcomed.

G.Tomas Vasquez 2011

gtomasvphoto@yahoo.com

Perish The Land

  BRINGING THE METAL BACK INTO TEXAS

 They say practice makes perfect.  If nothing in this world is perfect then what are we striving for?  Excellence, I assume. You can always tell the ones who strive for excellence by the perfect timing, the melodically smooth transitions, and overall professionalism. So when you are interviewing a band, what better place to meet up than at their sanctuary, the garage where they spend countless hours and days working into the late night. Burning through guitar strings and drum sticks trying to lay down that perfect riff.   We can almost feel the energy flowing though the room as Jesse, drummer for Perish The Land, discusses the bands growth and development since its beginning.   

“Our practice stage was for about two and a half years when we were like ‘We need to come up with a name, man.’ We wanted something that had some meaning behind it.” (Maybe next time MONKEY KNUCKLE)  “At that point I was going through some rough times in my life.”  Jesse explains. “We all get that feeling when we just want to say ‘F**k the world.’ You don’t want to use that as a band name so instead we thought of Perish The Land. Perish as in ‘destroy or conquer’. At first the guys hated it, but a few days later we all agreed it had a nice ring to it so it stuck.”  When asked how they would describe their style of music, Edward, lead vocals for the group, articulates, “Heavy, F**king Metal...” as he opens a new can of Bud Light he adds, “Actually, we prefer TEXAS METAL”

Currently the band is taking a short break to gear up for their upcoming cd release show May 15^th at Jacks Patio Bar. The show will feature themselves along with Deadpool, Inovo and Brink of Disaster. “Basically what we’re trying to do is make sure that this show will kick the most ass possible.”  Edward states, “We’re doing everything we can to make sure we have some bad ass shirts available.  We’re all putting a lot of money into merch, flyers and of course the cd. We’re gonna make sure this shows turns some heads.”  Their self titled cd will have a 3 track demo that was mastered and edited by Chris Leak, who has done some work with Cinderella and Van Halen, followed by a full EP release coming out early 2011.

Perish The Lands’ outstanding confidence and talent is visible both on and off stage. It was apparent even in the quick but awe-defying personal show they gave us. The obvious respect they have for each other clearly present especially between Rene and Josh as they try to push each other to strive.  Jesse with his amazing double-bass, in sync with Blue keeping the pace and Edward’s voice to bring it all together. All of them share a passion for music noticeably burning inside.  Aside from being inspired by bands such as Pantera and Lamb of God, some of the members also have other musical backgrounds that they offer to the group.  “Josh puts in a lot of blues, classic, and rock influence.” Jesse shares, “Along with metal, rock and death metal that we all grew up listening to.” “With a little Southern flavor”, Edward adds.

Perish The Land know the meaning of patience and dedication, something that many bands in San Antonio, should take note.  From practicing three to four times a week sometimes up to five hours a day everything for the band seems to be falling into place.  “Every goal that we set for ourselves we are reaching in almost half the time.”  Josh continues, “Right now we’re just getting everything ready so when our tour dates come around we’ll be prepared.”

“We always run into bands that we see struggling and we never pass up the chance to offer a helping hand. Just as our friends Deadpool did for us. ” Jesse says, “Many successful bands out there will see you struggling on the floor and they’ll just walk by and kick the dust in your face.  We don’t want to be that type of band so we try and help out the scene as much as we can.” 

                                                                 Photo By Brian Barbier

                                                                                         

Perish The Land has come a long way since its formation almost three years ago and they show no signs of slowing down. Self proclaimed as one of the hardest working bands in San Antonio, the group aims to bring the Metal back into Texas. “We just don’t want to be just a band on the radio,” Jesse states confidently. “We want to be a movement, the next big thing out of Texas.”  We wish them luck as they attempt to carry their success above and beyond our Alamo City.

Conquering the Land

Jesse-Drums, Rene-Guitar, Edward-Singer, Blue-Bass, Josh-Guitar

G.Tomas Vasquez 2010

gtomasvphoto@yahoo.com

Backbeat Magazine #8 May 2010 Issue

To view entire Issue please visit http://backbeatzine.com

Krazy Vatos Emporium

Danny De La Paz makes himself at home in our Alamo City.

Story & Photos By: G.Tomas Vasquez 2010

Whenever residents of the Alamo City think of the south side different opinions seem to vary from person to person.  What we don't often realize and sometimes forget is that just south of downtown lies a unique and historic culture that is sometimes forgotten.   During the past few years one thing that has changed drastically about San Antonio is the extreme business growth on our city’s south side.  Businesses big and small, restaurant chains, live music venues/bars, new housing and apartment growth now cover the once slightly desolate area of our great city. 

When actors Danny De La Paz and Jesse Borrego were ready to open up a store dedicated to the Latin culture they were a bit amazed none others resided here in San Antonio. “I’ve been coming and going for over 25 years.” States De La Paz, “And I’ve grown to love the city and la raza that’s here in San Antonio. How can you have so many people from the culture live here and not a single retail store exist that caters to them and the people that appreciate the culture?”  (For all you college graduates, La Raza is Spanish for the race)

Krazy Vatos Emporium, which had its grand opening last October, is the product of a long time history of friendship.  De La Paz and Borrego’s idea was to provide Hispanic culture to our city by displaying artwork and art inspired novelties for sale.  “When you’re in San Antonio, there is a certain vibe you feel.  It’s very different from Los Angeles.”  Danny states when asked about opening his store in our city, “There is a certain kind of feeling you have when you’re there and I really like that feeling.”

The store provides high end pottery shipped from various parts of Mexico, hard to find DVDs and vintage movie memorabilia, local artwork and hand crafted items from San Antonio to California. Who could ask for a more perfect location than 2342 S Presa just southeast of downtown? 

“Many of our local artists work are featured at our store and we are going to continue to do that.”   There is so much talent out there it’s just amazing the amount of talent there is in San Antonio.”  De La Paz states proudly,” We love being able to give that talent a showcase.”

Danny De La Paz and Jesse Borrego are currently involved with different big projects at the moment.  De La Paz is in Los Angeles currently promoting his play, “The BLVD”, that was written by himself and Joseph Castel.  Borrego was not available due to schedule conflicts promoting his role in “La Mission”.  This upcoming film featuring Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Valdez is an inspiring drama that touches on the challenges and the triumphs of life on the street along with current political and social issues. The BLVD is showing March 11^th through April 18^th at The Macha Theatre in West Hollywood and La Mission will hit theaters everywhere April 16^th.”

One visit to the Krazy Vatos Facebook page and you can view weekly updates with photos of new merchandise along with previews of what the store and the actors are involved in.  Captions like “Give your Tio this shirt.”, “We got this one last week, Ese!” and “It’s a nice day in SA so Krazy Vatos is in a good mood.  We’re having a sale on all the 16oz (loteria) pint glasses” grace the pictures of their facebook page.  The Krazy Vatos are also gearing up to promote a new clothing line that will be available exclusively at the store on S. Presa and online.

When asked for advice about failure and success to our readers Danny De La Paz shared this:  “Believe in yourself.  There is no defeat; there are challenges and many times disappointments, but never defeat.  As long as you get right back up, brush yourself off and keep moving forward you’ll never be defeated.  We are here to learn how we can serve our community and help the people around us.”

"Do not overlook these humble and unique gems that are the backbone of our culture."

Backbeat Magazine # 7 April 2010 Issue
To view entire Issue please visit http://backbeatzine.com

Jai Roots & The Herb N Cafe Project

WORLD WORN REGGAE

Jai from Jai Roots & The Herb N Cafe Project

story by: G.Tomas Vasquez 2010

Each and every city in the world, no matter how big or small has its own unique history of culture, traditions and, of course, music. 

Singer and Songwriter Jai Lopez has been traveling the world getting his share of music and culture from all over.  Since 2006 he has been bringing it all together to produce a sound so multi-cultural he boasts it as being a product straight out of San Antonio.

Jai "Roots" Lopez was born in Brooklyn and raised on the island of St. Croix of the Virgin Islands  but He spent most of his life in San Antonio and That’s exactly what his music reverberates.  “I’m from the Islands and my music has an island urban twang, it’s not cumbia based but in was created in San Antonio, a lot of inspiration for my music was given to me here.  So in some certain way shape or form this music belongs to San Antonio.”

The sound cannot be summed up in just one word. It is Reggae/Roots with Latin swing and an urban feel. You can enjoy listening to these tunes while barbqing in your backyard surrounded by tiki torches and still be taken to the islands.  Still some songs really make you want to get your cumbia merengue dance on.

No matter how near or far we travel people will always listen to music as an outlet to vent their frustrations or share their happy memories with loved ones.  Music can be used as a tool to prepare one’s mind when going to war or sooth and relax ones soul when feeling the pain of a broken heart.   He confidently feels that traveling outside of your city will help you grow and find your calling by learning from those experiences.  “I always tell people leave.” Jai states, “A lot of people here don’t leave.  It’s not like where you’re at ain’t got it going on. You benefit when you go and explore and see yourself in another setting.  You put yourself around in a big city like a setting like New York is different where everybody is trying to make it. Everybody has a game and a lot of people, their  game is real tight.  They got a plan. We’re independent, so brothers that are doing what we’re doing over there are doing it on another level.  It’s crazy when you go in a big city because you gotta be confident in what you’re doing.  That’s the good thing of what a big city does for you.  You surround yourself with people like that and instead of getting intimidated you get inspired” 

This is not the first time Jai has been part of a musical group.  “I had another band called Jemeya that ran from 99 until 2002.” Jai continues, “It started out as a trio; Carlos, myself and Maya.  We started building it up and it turning to an electric project and it was doing good and we even got label attention.”  Eventually that project ended when Maya went back to Spain and Jai left the county to travel.

His growing fan base here in our great city is apparent at each and every show where they perform.  His many travels have taught him to be grateful for the welcomed feeling he gets from being in San Antonio.  Even being from the rough parts of New York has showed him the unique differences each city has to offer.    “You can’t compare stuff that San Antonio has with New York.  New York will always be New York, but San Antonio has the hill country.” Jai continues, “San Antonio has a different vibe because it’s close to the border.  It’s a brown city which makes me feel good being home.  It’s like I’m home.”

Jai Roots & The Herb N Café Project is now currently recording their long awaited EP at Sprocket Productions. Complete with 6 tracks which features the hot single “Buena" which was co-produced by Jai and San Antonio based McCumba Music.  Make sure to keep your ears open for their CD release that includes 2 live songs coming out later this year.  Not only is Jai Lopez heavily involved in the music scene but he’s also putting together a journal of his experiences on paper.  “I won’t call myself a writer but I’m trying to write a book.  I write what I feel.  It’s about my experiences with everything and the people I’ve met along my journey that has helped me to see this and helped me see that.”

 Another group breaking out of SA and making it big could give our humble city some long overdue exposure.  It seems as if Jai already has his heart set on giving San Antonio all the credit. It doesn’t matter where I go.  Even though I’m from St. Croix and Brooklyn I tell em San Antonio.  I represented San Antonio for 11 years with a band outta Mexico called Veracruz traveling the world.  When they introduced me they introduced me from San Antonio.  I’ve done a lot of stuff where I’ve put this place on the map.  This city has got something magical man I tell you.”  Jai states proudly.  “San Antonio is like a baby city which is good for us. You’re doing big things, I feel like I’m doing big things, everybody I’ve been coming across now is growing and the city is growing so were growing right along with the city.

The positive energy and emotion was felt when seeing them perform at the annual Reggae Salute Festival at Sunken Gardens this father’s day weekend.  The sun was blazing and the shade was scarce but The Herb N Café Project still managed to get people out of their seats and get them moving and grooving during their set.  So instead of staying in this evening grab your local music publication and find out where the next Jai Roots and The Herb N Café Project is playing!  You will not be disappointed.

  “The band is who I am, worldly yet urban, a musical representation of countries, islands, the hills, and the rainforests from all corners of the world; this is where I come from."
- Jai Roots

Members:
Jai Roots, lead vocals, percussion
Maya Guirao, guitar, back-up vocals                                                                                                 Carlos “Chamo” Brunicardi, accessories   
Alex McCumba, keyboard, production
Jim Kalson, bass
Ruben Hernandez, drums
Eric Rosales, guitar

For booking: http://jairoots.com/

Backbeat Magazine #10 July 2010 Issue
To view entire Issue please visit http://backbeatzine.com

Alamo City Roller Girls

THE RULES HAVE CHANGED

The Alamo City Roller Girls Roll On 

Story by: G.Tomas Vasquez 2010

If you’re planning to attend a Roller Derby bout in San Antonio this year, don’t forget to bring plenty of ice packs, wheel chair lubricant and a couple of those absurdly large bottles of generic aspirin. By the time the night is through you’re going to be driving at least one of these gals to the emergency room.  Ok all joking aside, the Alamo City Roller girls are some of the sweetest ladies I’ve had the pleasure of working with; but don’t get me wrong, when push comes to shove these girls live and breathe Roller Derby.   They can recite their teammates cutesy but catchy ego names plus jersey numbers like the back of their hand, they are able to quickly quote the laws of the game like scripture and still have enough spirit to toss back a beer or two with their rivals at each after-bout celebration.  These accountants, students, doctors and lawyer assistants are meeting 2 to 3 times a week in our parking lots and skating rinks without our knowledge.  No, they’re not up to any criminal mischief or late night sorority initiation rituals, these gals are training hard year round to face teams from around Texas and even the world.

The Alamo City Roller Girls SA,TX, was established in 2005 by” Kitty Glitter” and “Nita Spankin”. With some inspiration by a Roller Derby Event seen in Austin TX, brought the idea of a San Antonio Roller Girl team to life. “We started with two women that had an idea to get a roller derby league started in San Antonio.” states Christina “Punk Roxy” Ramirez co owner of the team, “They first saw it while attending a roller derby event in Austin and little by little started to recruit skaters along with volunteers that started to make it happen through word of mouth.”

 The Austin Convention Center has been the home for many banked track roller derby competitions and due to the ACRG’s determination and commitment, the fan base in SA is now starting to grow.  From the San Antonio Museum of Art parking lot practice on Wednesdays to the weekly bouts at the Rollercade skating rink at 223 Recoleta Rd every Sunday evening it seems that even their families have to schedule appointments to see them. “It’s like a second job, so you really have to be committed to it,” Jennifer Moreno aka Juno Juantes states.

You may think after seeing last year’s “Whip It” based on a true story about a roller girl from Bodeen, TX, that being a Roller Girl is nothing but late night parties, food fights, elbows to the face and typical young adult rebellion.  For the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association that depiction is not entirely true.  “Flat track and banked track are two different animals,” states Veronica Smith aka “Miss Treater” one the teams veteran skaters.  Banked tracks may look more exciting and fast paced but it’s really more like street basketball with limited “rules”.  Being WFTDA certified not only sets the regulations of the competition but also put rules into place that ensure the safety of the girls. “We’re more focused on the sport and competing,” said Punk Roxy, “Banked track leagues don’t really interact with other cities as far as trying to compete on a national level and they mainly stick to contending with their own home teams in their own city. The good thing about flat track roller derby is that you can play just about anywhere.”  “Yea”, continued Juno Juantes, “Any place you have a flat smooth surface, you can skate. The roller girls from Corpus Christi play in a large area called Fairview, which has cement floors that make it almost look like an airplane hangar.”  Although the ACRG’s will remain competing on a flat track, they would love to try skating on a banked track just for fun.  “I think I would just love to try it”, stated Miss Treater. 

Before you consider becoming a roller girl you need to realize that this sport is not a walk in the park.  Some of these girls have witnessed or experienced sprained ankles, broken wrists, bruised arms and even concussions. 

“During a game I saw a girl fall, hit her head on the wall and have to be carried out on a stretcher” says Punk Roxy. Miss Treater recalls an injury to a new skater on a rival team.  “It was her first game; she was skating upright when she suddenly got hit. She fell backwards to the ground then stood up then fell down again, that was very scary. She was taken to the hospital with a concussion”  “I remember somebody at practice that broke her ankle”, continues Baum Threat, “She had to go through really intense rehab and had to have screws in her leg for a really long time. I don’t think she ever wanted to skate again.”  “Once you get over your fear of breaking something you’re good to go.”  Juno Juantes states confidently while the others chuckle. 

Being in a rink with over thirty sweaty women traveling at break neck speeds things are sure to get heated.  I know you’re probably conjuring up images of girl on girl roller derby UFC mud wrestling action but sorry guys, during these competitions the WFTDA pretty much draws the line on that issue.  “The sport has evolved so much in the past years that the rules have changed.” States Miss Treater, “Now the focus is being athletic, so if you want to fight then you’re going to get kicked out of the game because everyone is here to skate, have a good time and score points.  The game has changed so much.”  “It still happens though, nothing can stop an accident from happening, and I’ve even gotten punched in the face by our opponents or by girls on our own team.” Says Juno Juantes

To all you parents and husbands not to worry, the WFTDA is here to make sure all of the girls on both teams, are fully covered with insurance before even setting a single wheel on the track.  “Everyone has to have insurance to play at either home or away games. “This is actually our second year that WFTDA provides us with insurance that the league pays for”, states Punk Roxy. “Everyone on our team has to have insurance to play.” Continues Yesenia Garcia aka Sally Limon who handles the girls insurance coverage. “If someone comes to our turf, we have them covered as well.  It's all about safety.” 

On top of practicing weekly and competing monthly the group also makes time to be involved with community events, fundraisers and non-profit organizations.  Rick Garza, owner and founder of Metal Werks Garage had nothing but praise for the girls.  “They volunteered to help us organize and host our 1^st and 2^nd Annual So-Tex Showdown Events.”  The So-Tex Showdown is held once a year and is a competition that involves classic cars, hot rods, rat rods and custom bikes. “I have nothing but good things to say about the group, they helped from beginning to end.”  Last year the event raised over $1,000 for a scholarship donated to a high school student to attend automated technology classes at St. Phillips Community College.

The majority of these girls at are able to share nostalgic memories of being dropped off by their parents at the local skating rink. Now, many years later, they would never have imagined they would be returning to relive those memories once again.

“I grew up at the Rollercade, so for me it’s weird to be back there skating with Roller Derby because that’s where I went when I was younger”, Punk Roxy continues “I remember going every Saturday night when there was a skate and dance, that was my stomping ground and of course I grew out of that. Years later a friend of mine from college was in the ACRG’s, her name was The Hammer, and she was with the group from the beginning. She invited me out and when I finally did I fell in love with it. From that first moment I witnessed the awesomeness of roller derby, I said to myself I’m going to do this.  After that it took me like two years to get enough courage to try out and finally get in it.”

“I was taking my daughter skating when she was seven and when we arrived, there was a sign on the door that said MEET THE ALAMO CITY ROLLER GIRLS”, Miss Treater recalls, “After leaving the rink I called my husband and asked him ‘What would you think if I played roller derby? ‘I think that would be the coolest thing you have ever done in your life!’ he stated.  So before I was convinced to go through with joining, I went to Austin to see a game.  I had to make sure this was for me, I knew I was either going to love it or hate it.  After a few minutes of watching the Texas Roller Girls in action, I could hardly contain myself and at that point I knew I had to join.”

Juno Juantes first heard about the Alamo City Roller Girls back in 2005. “After about two years I went out to see a few bouts and I wanted to be out there hitting chicks too!  I knew that it was going to be a big commitment and at the time my daughter was too young. We also have to purchase all of our own gear, skates and everything so you have to be prepared financially.  When you’re on the side watching it seems easy, but once you get out there you realize it’s really hard work. It becomes a passion sometimes you want to get away but then it sucks you back in because you’ve fallen in love with the sport.

“Everyone who knows me is always surprised that I play roller derby.”  Sally Limon states, “My coworkers think that I’m this nice person but once I get on the rink I get to be a totally different character, I get to be aggressive and mean. I love it!”

Traveling doesn’t come cheap these days so when the girls need to travel the find any means necessary to raise money for their expenses.  “We recently had a fundraiser; everyone donated clothing and used items. We actually made quite a bit of money.”  Miss Treater continues “We’re also having a bar b q at the end of February as well as speed dating event in March.”  “We’re working on ironing out the details yea but were definitely having this event for all our single friends.” Said Punk Roxy

“For our first travel bout we are going to be heading to Knoxville Tennessee in July and in our south central region they’re the furthest ones away.” according to Alison Baum aka “Baum Threat”, the ACRG’s interleague relations coordinator “Whoever wins that competition will affect the ranking of our region. Eventually if we beat all our competition we might be able to play a bout against a London Roller Derby Team!”

Even when the season is over there is no slowing down. The Alamo City Rollergirls will also be participating in the Battle of Flowers Parade, King Williams Parade and Multiple Sclerosis walk. Throughout the year they also team up to gather food and clothing for the homeless.   The ACRG’s have practice 2 to 3 times a week all year long and they also have their tryouts every first Tuesday of the month at The Rollercade 7pm sharp.

Their first unofficial bout of the 2010 season will be with the Crude City Roller Girls in Corpus Christi March 13^th and their first home competition will be here in San Antonio against the Spindle Top Roller Girls from Beaumont TX.  For information about future bouts, ticket prices, and events the girls are involved in you can go to alamocityrollergirls.com

If this is the first time hearing about Roller Derby in San Antonio then you need to get out more.  Those of you that say there is nothing to do in SA then you’re not looking hard enough.  So grab your kids or friends and spend a Sunday evening with the Alamo City Rollergirls.  They provide live music, no charge for the kiddos and ice cold beer for sale for us older kids.  As far as that London versus Texas Bout, I would love to see that happen and I would definitely pay good money to see.

http://alamocityrollergirls.com/

Backbeat Magazine #6 March 2010 Issue

To view entire Issue please visit http://backbeatzine.com

New week. New Dreams

Been real busy this holiday season.  Apart from family visits most of my time has been consumed by work.

The daily Revolution Room, Rebar, Tuckers and Eclipse online posts are usually the first things I take care of when I begin my day.  It's my job to update the fans of these pages of daily drink and lunch specials, up & coming events and flyers.

Once a month I host an event called Official First Saturday at Rebar.  This February 5th will be the 3 year anniversary of this art & music event.  We have some great talent booked for this day.  Hope you can make it.

I did have some bad news to share.  I just started handling all the booking at a bar called Eclipse that was located just around the corner.  5 minutes from the crib, 2 minutes from the gig.  Well the truth is one of the owners partners was extremely unhappy over some business deal gone wrong so he felt it would be better to come in a 6am and completely tear up the joint.  From cutting the beer keg lines and destroying property, to stealing all the liquor and taking a lot of equipment that didn't belong to him.  I'm not certain of the exact details and it doesn't make a difference to me to know the truth anyway.  The point is the owner and GM informed me that we were just not going to be in business any more.  They asked if I wanted to come by and see all the damage that was made but I felt that was pointless.  After many triumphs and failures I've simply learned to get up, dust yourself off and move on to the next project.  P.S. This was going to be my first time booking the entire calender at a live music venue. Live and Learn. Goodbye Eclipse.  Ok What's next?

Its getting late and I better get started on my article on The Uptown Creepers.  I'm already past the due date, I think.....

Tomorrow - 8th Annual Amps & Easels Festival 2011.  Should I even bother?

Stay Up.

Tomas