Stone River Boys

Former Hollisters front man Mike Barfield and Paladins guitar whiz Dave Gonzales seem like an odd musical pairing but, according to both, it's actually entirely logical.

"I met Mike the first time I ever played Houston, around 1982," says Gonzales. "I was a big fan of his bands the Rounders and the Hollisters. And I dug his records."

Barfield knew his partner in the Hacienda Brothers, Chris Gaffney, well from when the the Hollisters ruled Houston's alt-country scene in the late '90s and the groups were labelmates on Oakland-based HighTone Records, Gonzalez adds.

Had Gaffney not died rather suddenly of cancer in 2007, Gonzales and Barfield probably wouldn't be criss-crossing the country in a van together as the Stone River Boys. At the time of Gaffney's death, the Hacienda Brothers were one of the darlings of the alt-country scene and had just released Arizona Motel, which would prove to be their final album.

"Talk about being at a loss of how to go forward," says Gonzales, who, at the time of Gaffney's passing, had settled full time in Austin after a long career in San Diego and was faced with a slew of bookings.

"We had all these dates lined up and we were committed to pushing the album and trying to make Chris's family some money, so I looked up Mike because he was one of my favorite Austin cats," he adds. "I just knew people would like him as lead vocalist. We've done 40,000 miles together since then.

"We played some great shows on that first tour. The biggest was a huge Fender Guitars showcase in Nashville, where people just loved us," Gonzales notes. "And then one of those freaky things happened that moves you in a new direction."

While playing at Zoo Bar in Lincoln, Nebraska, Gonzales got a call from an old buddy with a nearby studio.

"So we went in and cut two of Mike's songs while we were there," recounts Gonzales, "and everybody was like, 'We really need to do this.' We did three more tours on a shoestring just so we could go up there and piece this album together."

There are some straight country tunes on the Stone River Boys' debut LP, Love on the Dial; one doesn't get too far into the album before realizing that the band is as much Joe Tex as Buck Owens. Songs like "Boomerang" and a stellar cover of Tyrone Davis's '60s soul hit "Can I Change My Mind" scream "country soul."

Barfield, who was born in Houston and lived here until the Hollisters broke up following guitarist Eric Danheim's move to Seattle, has found a new life alongside Gonzales.

"It's a huge creative spur being around Dave," he says. "His head is just jumping with ideas."

After moving to Austin, Barfield moved towards funk rather than country, as his self-ascribed­ moniker "Tyrant of Texas Funk" implies.

"You can be a country music lover, but in Houston you are going to also hear some funk and blues; it's just unavoidable," laughs Barfield. "That's just the way Houston is, and I was attracted to all of it."

Barfield sees his hometown as one of his newest band's key markets.

"We're not going to be like those bands that bypass Houston," he declares. "The thing about Houston is, you just have to keep showing up for work. Venues like Blanco's, the Continental and Mucky Duck are so varied, but that's an opportunity for us, not a negative."

"I have to listen to all that 'Houston's terrible' stuff in Austin all the time, so I'm almost immune to it," Barfield adds. "I tell 'em it's just like any other town, you have to work for it. But it's too big to ignore as a place to get your music in front of people. We're going to keep working hard, keep doing the tough gigs, and hopefully good things happen."

Gonzales, listed as one of Guitar Player magazine's "101 Forgotten Greats and Unsung Heroes," noted that he came from a household that was primarily into country music.

"I always wanted to play steel guitar, but I was too clumsy," he says.

"People think because the Paladins were this sort of hybrid rockabilly/blues thing that I'm not a country player, but I actually grew up on that stuff," says Gonzales, noting that his father's work took him to Buck Owens's home turf of Bakersfield.

"Dad would come back from trips and tell me, 'I saw Tammy Wynette' or 'I saw Merle Haggard,' so I was into country very early," he says. "But a real eye-opener for me as a guitarist came after I found the Stax soul stuff and the Chicago blues guys and discovered that I could mingle the styles and it sounded cool.

"In this project, with killer players like Dave Biller in the studio and Gary Newcomb on the road, we get to be really creative with the steel guitar, and that sets us apart," Gonzales says.

Another secret weapon is legendary soul writer and producer Dan Penn, who worked with Gonzales on two Hacienda Brothers records. - Houston Press

It’s inspiring to hear Dave Gonzalez’s enthusiasm for his new album, "Love On the Dial," with the Stone River Boys . Over the last three decades, the legendary roots/rock guitarist has played thousands of gigs all over the world with his bands — the Paladins and the Hacienda Brothers.

And yet his excitement for music couldn’t be any higher.

Here’s why I suspect that’s happening. He’s still getting better at everything he does and more people are paying attention. Gonzalez and the Stone River Boys perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at Johnny’s Cathouse (1729 California St.) in downtown Redding. Tickets are $13.

As a guitarist and bandleader, Gonzalez has been blowing people’s minds for a long time. When I first saw the Paladins, I came away from the experience thinking, "I believe I’ve just seen the greatest rockabilly guitarist ever."

People still remember Gonzalez’s set with the Paladins opening up for Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Redding Convention Center in 1987. Stevie Ray was in his mesmerizing prime, but the Paladins held their own. Man, I would have loved to have seen that show.

Gonzalez remembers that after the Redding concert, both bands traveled to Reno for a show the next night. The weather was dicey heading over the pass to Susanville and Paladins were a bit late getting to the venue. When they arrived, Stevie Ray greeted them in the parking lot.

"As we backed in, he came up and said, ‘Are you guys OK? We were worried about you," Gonzalez said. "He was genuinely concerned. He was the real thing."

Redding has been a good town to Gonzalez and his bands. The Hacienda Brothers played one of their first gigs at Pio Loco. Not long after, country-soul act started perking up people’s ears all over the place. Gonzalez found a potent combination with the amazing soul-singer Chris Gaffney and soon they were being interviewed on NPR and playing bigger and bigger venues.

When I saw them performing at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco before several thousand, I thought, wow, they’re on their way. There was no denying the wicked combination of roots soul, style and performance.

But then Gaffney got sick just when he was starting to gain a much wider audience, and he succumbed to liver cancer two years ago. Gaffney was also a long-time sideman and close friend of Dave Alvin, and the tribute album, "The Man of Somebody’s Dreams," reveals just what a fantastic songwriter he was in addition to soul singer and bandleader. Gonzalez, Alvin, Los Lobos, Boz Skaggs, James McMurtry, Freddy Fender, Alejandro Escovedo and many others cover his great songs on that album.

When Gaffney got sick, Gonzalez traveled to Texas to round up musicians to tour and send money to Gaffney and his family. One of the first guys he came across was a friend he’d known from the music scene for years — Mike Barfield, who had led the Houston bands the Rounders and the Hollisters. A talented singer-songwriter-performer himself, Barfield was up for the new adventure.

Gonzalez and Barfield are now at the core of the new Stone River Boys.

When Gonzalez heard the songs Barfield had been carrying around with him, he instantly got a picture in his mind of how they could be recorded. Gonzalez had learned a lot from the great Dan Penn, who produced the three Hacienda Brothers albums.

He applied that knowledge to the new recording by the Stone River Boys, done in four sessions at Fuse Recording Studio in Lincoln, Neb., and at Premium Recording Studio in Austin, Texas, where Gonzalez now calls home.

"We traveled almost 40,000 miles last year and played a lot of gigs and everywhere we went people loved the band and they said, ‘We want your record,’" Gonzalez said by phone while on the road in Southern California yesterday. "Now we’ve got a brand new record and a great road band. We’re having a good time and it’s pretty exciting."

The band played one of its early gigs in Redding last year and it was excellent. I’m sure the band is even tighter now (they have a regular Wednesday gig at the Contenintal Club in Austin, which is one of the great clubs in arguably the greatest live music city in the United States).

There will be plenty of country soul and rockabilly and funk (and hopefully Mike Barfield’s funky dancing). Listen for sublime pedal steel guitar to play off Gonzalez’s incredible leads. I’m sure there will be some Hacienda Brothers tunes played. The spirit of Gaffney will be in the room.

"I learned so much working with Gaffney and writing with him," Gonzalez said. "When I first heard Mike (Barfield), I felt the same way about him. I know (Chris) would be real happy about the new band and the new songs. It’s a lot in the direction the Haciendas were going with that deep country and R&B. Mike’s got that great Texas rock ‘n’ roll and soul sensibility. There are a lot of similarities, and yet a lot of refreshing differences." - ANEWSCAFE.COM

Out of tragedy, new opportunities sometimes spring. With the passing of vocalist Chris Gaffney, the Hacienda Brothers were shuttered, and Gaffney’s partner, Dave Gonzalez, was left to seek a new musical outlet. As a founding member of the California-based Paladins, Gonzalez had explored rockabilly and blues, and crafted a reputation as an ace electric guitarist. His work with Gafney on three Hacienda Brothers studio albums refined his playing with quieter country and southern soul flavors. His new partner, the Texas-based Mike Barfield, cut his teeth leading the Houston-based Hollisters, folding together country-rock hillbilly twang, tic-tac train rhythms, and deadpan baritone vocals that brought to mind Johnny Cash and John Doe. After two group albums, Barfield turned solo, issuing the superb Living Stereo in 2002.

Barfield’s second solo album, The Tyrant, was heavier on the funk rhythms than his debut, and though elements of that remain in this new collaboration, its his background in southern soul, blues and swamp rock that makes him a natural fit with Gonzalez. This isn’t Hacienda Brothers Mark II, as Barfield and Gaffney are very different singers and songwriters, but the songs, including a few well-selected covers, draw on similar sources. Barfield reprises his cover of Tyrone Davis’ “Can I Change My Mind,” which appeared on Living Stereo in more raw form. Here the earlier twin guitar leads are replaced by Dave Biller’s pedal steel and James Sweeny’s Hammond organ, and the entire track finds a deeper, smoother soul groove atop Scott Esbeck’s bass line. Barfield also revisits his own “Lovers Prison,” slowing it down slightly and adding more bottom end. It ends up sounding like a winning cross between the Buckaroos and the Lovin’ Spoonful.

The album’s most unusual cover is a take on Goffin & King’s “Take a Giant Step” that melds the psychedelic inflections of the Monkees’ original (the B-side of their first single) with the slow tempo of Taj Mahal’s 1969 cover. Barfield and Gozalez’s originals, written both separately and together, include southern-funk dance numbers, country rock, and most winningly, country-soul tunes that include the Gonzalez-sung “Still Feel the Feeling” and the co-written “Love’s Gonna Make It.” Barfield’s Texas sensibilities fit well with the Memphis influences Gonzalez picked up working with Dan Penn [1 2 3], and both fold perfectly into the duo’s country roots. Backed by a band that’s equally at home with twang and deep bass, the Stone River Boys are all set to burn it up on the road.
- No Depression

If you stopped listening to the Stone River Boys’ debut album, Love on the Dial, after the opening track, the late Stephen Bruton’s “Bluebonnet Blue,” you’d be seduced into thinking that this was a shit hot Bakersfield bunch with an ironclad patent on honky tonk Country Blues. But keep your hot little hands off the remote and let Love on the Dial spin into the second track, because that’s where the revelation starts; listen carefully as the Stone River Boys transform Tyrone Davis’ 1968 hit “Can I Change My Mind” into a bona fide Country classic, with the swing and soul of the original intact and as good as new. By the time you’ve digested a good portion of “The Struggle,” the nebulous notion that this isn’t your standard Country album has blossomed into a full-fledged fact.

Just a little backstory will explain the fundamental difference between the Stone River Boys and run-of-the-mill Country acts. The Boys are built around the almost limitless talents of guitarist Dave Gonzalez, who was one of the primary sparkplugs in The Paldins and The Hacienda Brothers, and vocalist Mike Barfield, who earned the title “The Tyrant of Texas Funk” as a member of the much beloved Hollisters. The Haceindas were headed in this direction three years ago, but leading light Chris Gaffney’s cancer diagnosis and death derailed any further explorations. But Gonzalez and Barfield reconnected on a tribute tour to raise money for Gaffney and thus was planted the seed of the Stone River Boys. And what a wondrous tree has sprouted from that planting.

The band’s originals sound like they could have been lifted straight from a ’60s Bakersfield retrospective box set, except, of course, for the unmistakable air of Funk and Soul that permeates every steel guitar-tinted note. And the Stone River Boys’ choice of covers is even more surprising, from the aforementioned “Can I Change My Mind” to the Country classic “Special” from Nashville hit genies Jerry Foster and Bill Rice to an amazing spin through “Take a Giant Step,” the iconographic and much traveled Pop nugget from Carole King and Gerry Goffin.

There is so much cross-pollinated brilliance on Love on the Dial you might wonder if you’re responding to the Stone River Boys’ Funk or Country. Rest assured, the Boys are like a well-tuned muscle car: You’ll love all the individual components but you’ll be most impressed with the whole package once you hit the gas and go. - Cinncinati City Beat

Every region has its heroes, those who follow their hearts into the future without thinking what they'll find there. And Southern California can lay claim to guitarist Dave Gonzalez, who's played a pivotal role in the roots revivalism of bands like the Paladins and Hacienda Brothers.

Now Gonzalez's latest band, the Stone River Boys, is taking the timeless elements of country and soul, and mashing them together with rare sonic finesse. And while it took several decades — and some pretty challenging changes along the way — to reach this point, the talented Californian figures he's still on a path that's been more or less pre-ordained.

"It always seemed like there was a guitar around and there were always drums around," says Gonzalez of his early upbringing. "My grandmother was married to a guy in a pretty famous orchestra. I got a lot of country music from my dad and uncles. And I heard a lot of blues and jazz from my mother's side of the family. Plus, she was very young when I was born and loved listening to rock 'n roll. So I got to hear so much roots music, and I've always loved that style."

After years tearing up bars and ballrooms in the infamous Paladins, Gonzalez formed the Hacienda Brothers with Chris Gaffney, a SoCal legend still talked about with joyful reverence.

"The rewards of playing with Gaff were incredible," he says of his cohort, who passed away two years ago. "He's someone I always looked up to so much as a singer and songwriter. When he got sick, the Hacienda Brothers were just turning the corner to success, but then he was gone. It was heartbreaking."

That band had formed a close bond with Memphis soul man Dan Penn, whose mentorship Gonzalez embraces: "He'd been another hero of mine for a long, long time, and is continuing to be helpful with the Stone River Boys."

With Gaffney's sudden illness and death causing the demise of the Haciendas, Gonzalez played some all-star shows in Texas and quickly found a musical affinity with Houston-based musician Mike Barfield, previously of the Hollisters and the Rounders. It only took a few gigs for Gonzalez to realize he had discovered his next step.

"We were just ready," he says. "I think part of the healing of losing Gaff is staying on this road, bearing the torch and keeping it alive. People say this is sort of like the Hacienda Brothers, and that I'm still moving forward. I know this is what I'm supposed to do."

On the group's debut, Love On the Dial, Gonzalez and Barfield mix and match Stephen Bruton's "Bluebonnet Blue" and Tyrone Davis' "Can I Change Your Mind" with a whole mess of originals. They even manage to make a gorgeous rendition of Carole King and Gerry Goffin's "Take a Giant Step" sound both classic and new.

Few groups can bounce from style to style with a sturdy strength, gathering steam as they go and avoiding retro traps. The Stone River Boys have found the secret to doing it, and they're just getting started. - Colorado Springs Independent

The Hacienda Brothers were sweet. They could achieve these peak moments ("A Lot of Day Are Gone" is my personal fave) when co-founders Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez channeled the ghosts of Doug Sahm and Gram Parsons. Unfortunately, liver cancer claimed Gaffney's life in 2008, shortly after the release of Arizona Motel, arguably the best alblum the Haciendas ever recorded. By all accounts, Gonazlez was shattered. To cope, he has done what all great musicians do: bury himself in his music. The Stone River Boys have yet to ink a deal, but a handful of Myspace tracks sound pretty f'n killer. Not unlike the Haciendas. Gonazalez fuses country-and-Western and funky Southern soul into a gnarly brand or roots rock. As always, one of the main attractions is the dude's materful guitar work. It's truly awesome.
- Seattle Weekly by Justin F. Farrar

A certified badass from the Southern California blues scene, Gonzalez fronted the Paladins – a roots/rockabilly trio that gave him plenty of room to showcase his industrial-strength chops on a Guild X-550 archtop- for more than 20 years. A disciple of legendary West Coast blues guitarist Hollywood Fats- and a big fan of vintage country- Gonzalez’ no B.S. style reeks of everything that’s cool about classic American guitar music. - Guitar Player Magazine

It's early evening, barely dark, and Dave Gonzalez has just pulled into Santa Fe, N.M. He's been on the road all day driving in from Austin, and only minutes earlier, he was driving into a Southwestern sunset.

"It was so beautiful, man, and it's wonderful weather now—they say it might snow here tonight, which is a real relief, because it was such a brutal summer in Texas. And I know you had it bad in Tucson this year, too."

A roots-rock guitar hero and bandleader, Gonzalez is a journeyman musician with longtime ties to Tucson and the Southwest. A former member of the roots-rockabilly group The Paladins and the Western-soul band the Hacienda Brothers, he has crossed the desert more times than he cares to remember during a career of more than 25 years. But he never tires of doing it—as long as he can bring his music to the listening public.

These days, Gonzalez has a brand new bag: the Stone River Boys, a terrific combo that plays equal amounts of honky-tonk, roots rock and R&B, creating one of the freshest sounds to arise lately from the genre known loosely as Americana.

The Stone River Boys will make their first appearance in the Old Pueblo during the Tucson Weekly's 2009 Fall Club Crawl®. Gonzalez and company will play at 10:30 p.m. on the outdoor Bud Select Music Stage.

The Stone River Boys came together last year in the wake of the death from liver cancer of accordionist and singer Chris Gaffney, who was Gonzalez's partner in the Hacienda Brothers.

Gonzalez's voice still cracks a little when remembering Gaffney, who passed away in April 2008.

"I was trying to get a band together to play some benefit shows when Gaff got sick, to help raise some money for his treatment, but we'd barely got started, and he died unexpectedly. So we still formed the band and toured, and we were able to send some money back to his widow."

That all-star Austin-based band grew into the Stone River Boys, which prominently features the singing and songwriting of Mike Barfield, a friend of Gaffney's and a longtime Austin musician. Barfield led his own band, The Hollisters, for many years and has been working a unique brand of country-soul as a solo act, for which he's earned the nickname the "Tyrant of Texas Funk."

Gonzalez provides a little background: "Even before Chris got sick, Mike had expressed some interest in doing something (with me), and then he had these songs ready to go, and we started hitting venues as the Stone River Boys. We went into the studio, writing more material, and now we have 15 solid songs in the can. We're just looking for the right label to release the album."

The Stone River Boys are a true hybrid, developing serious soulful grooves while staying true to hard-core country. It's Stax soul meets the Bakersfield sound, imbued with touches of Duane Eddy and spaghetti-Western soundtracks, thanks to Gonzalez's signature baritone guitar sound.

"We're like right there in my (musical) home, between Don Rich and Steve Cropper," he says.

Barfield and Gonzalez have employed several musicians as Stone River Boys in the last year, some of them former members of the Hacienda Brothers. They've spent months woodshedding and honing their live act. When in Austin, the group holds down a weekly happy-hour gig at the famous Continental Club.

"But now we're touring and gonna be on the road for a while," Gonzalez says. "We'll be back at the Continental as soon as we return to town."

On the current tour, the Stone River Boys include drummer Justin Jones (formerly of Billy Bacon and the Forbidden Pigs), Hacienda Brothers bassist Dave Berzansky and steel-guitarist extraordinaire Dave Biller.

Although the Stone River Boys are Gonzalez's main focus, he's been busy in his spare time, writing and recording at his Austin-based studio with legendary blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite. The results of this collaboration will be featured on Musselwhite's next album.

"That's been a real pleasure and truly an honor. He's one of the great original harp players, and a deep soulful brother, let me tell you," he says.

"When Gaff passed away, Charlie wrote me the most beautiful e-mail and said, 'If you need a job, you've got one.' I've played with him a few times, but I said, 'I'm very flattered, but I need to play country; I can't play blues all the time.' So this project was the perfect compromise."

Whether playing blues, country, rootsy rock 'n' roll, R&B, swing or rockabilly, Gonzalez always has leaned toward music that is, for lack of a better word, old-fashioned. You won't likely be hearing a new Neptunes remix of a Stone River Boys single.

"I think what's missing in today's musical trends is the feel and sound and production of the classic records. That's what I want to capture in whatever music I happen to be playing. Newer is not always better in my book," Gonzalez says.

"I'm talking about the feel you get when you hear a classic like 'Do Right Woman,' 'I've Got a Tige - Tucson Weekly by Gene Armstrong