Roy Trevino -- Self Titled

Roy Trevino's self-titled debut disc is a knockout. It came out last November 29 on Troubadour Records, and just in case it slipped your mind during the holidays, I thought I should write it up. Roy is based in south Texas, and he has been playing guitar and loving the blues since he was young. Early on, Roy was studying guitar with Ronnie Earl. This disc is produced by Jim Gaines. All the guitars and lead vocals here are by Roy. The rest of the band is JJ Johnson on drums (all but one track), Chris Maresh on bass, David Boyle on keyboards, Kyle Thompson on drums, (on the track "Little Girl,") Ed Hobizal on piano on two tracks ("La Luna" and "Little Girl."), John Nelson on percussion, and Robert Bailey and Vicki Hampton on background vocals. With the exception of Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself," all the songs were written by Roy.

The other nine songs all have some autobiographical background to Trevino's upbringing in South Texas. The bluesy, gospel opener "Gloria" is not the 60's rock song--this "Gloria" was the result of Roy wanting to write a blues mass. On "The Boy Can Play" he name-checks a host of his guitar influences, including Robert Johnson, Son House, through the three "Kings" and British guitarists Clapton, Beck Page and Green, and Texas homeboys Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter and the Vaughan brothers Jimmie and Stevie Ray. Throughout, Trevino also showcases his Mexican and Latin influences, especially on the songs "Sin Ella," "Trinidad," and "La Luna." In fact, the middle of the disc, from "Sin Ella" thru "La Luna" works as the emotional center of the disc, and these four songs show off Trevino's blues chops and his South Texas/Latin heritage big time. But the best blues guitar playing, I think, is on "Hurricanes" and "Going Away." The playing on "Hurricanes" reminds me a lot of early Johnny Winter, and I hope you know that is high praise. And "Going Away" is a powerhouse song--great lyrics and singing, and the guitar reminds me of Stevie Ray Vaughan. It is beautiful, lyrical and rooted in the South Texas blues.

This cd is on Troubadour Records. You can buy it at I-tunes, cdbaby and many other outlets. For more info on Roy Trevino, go to http://www.roy-trevino.com