THE BEANS
Spilling straight out of the diverse Montrose aluminum can, The Beans, are a blues based rock band that combine “vulgar pretense with deceptively literary lyrics into a rapturous rhythm based bliss.” I had the opportunity to listen to them at their alumni university, Saint Thomas, when the played a show back in November. The band of four with Sam Garza as vocals, Christian Galatoire on guitar, Daniel Taylor on bass, and Brendan Hall on drums, has caused quite a commotion in the Houston music scene. It is hard to give the band an exact label since Sam’s flexible voice is smooth like Ray-J at one minute, country the next, and can even transition into the preaches of that similar to Metallica. These alternating vocals, in my opinion, add diversity and and uniqueness to the band. “We all have such vast and divergent tastes that it seems impossible to compile a list of influences. I’ll just say we draw from blues, jazz, rock and roll, country, r&b, bluegrass, soul, rockabilly, funk, folk, pop, hip-hop, americana and more.” Imagine The Beatles meet Wilco, who end up at a party that The Rolling Stones through, and Bob Dylan seems to be the opening act. Imagine The Beans hanging out with these guys, who seem to be their influences.
“Los Frijoles” as their ethnic alter ego, the name “The Beans” was originally conceived by associate philosophy professor Dr. Terry Hall during a family dinner. “His education and learned manner undoubtedly enabled him to capture something simultaneously timeless and catchy.” Brendan Hall founded the band back in 2010, as a way of putting off searching for a career in the awful economy. Soon enough they found a place to practice released their demo. “Our music is largely blues-based rock. It is obviously an amalgamation of a large number of influences and styles, but a lot of the core and soul of our music is rooted in the blues”
My highest recommendation is to catch them band live. They’ve swept Montrose with back-to-back shows at venues like The Mink, Rudyards, Fitzgerald’s, and even restaurants around town. The good thing about The Beans is that they are a group of real genuine men, who’s noticeable passion about their music, doesn’t get to their heads. They’ve played at restaurants and had the opportunity to play for the Houston Press Show Case when they were nominated for ‘Best New Act,’ ‘Best Bassist,’ and ‘Best Drummer.’ “I feel like we are just adding to Houston’s re-emerging music scene. There has been a lot of good local music in Houston the last couple of years and we’re just keeping the momentum going,” said drummer Brendan Hall. They are currently working on their first album and have not announced a release date.
Their next show will be at Fitzgerald’s February 15, 2012, and they will be playing with ‘Jonathan Tyler’ and ‘The Northern Lights.’
For information on upcoming shows, booking, or to check out their demo visit:
facebook.com/beansband or follow them on Twitter @losbeans
