Happy New Year everybody. Here we go again, Obama in the White House for 3 maybe more years. Change is in the air and we are there, riding the winds of change. 2010 is the year for the road! We got to hit it and get it. "Have Gig, Will Travel" is the call for 2010 and The Renown Sound is coming with One Eye Open!
The Scatman

The Catalina Room was a great room to play.
Because of  the acoustics of the room, you don't have to play loud to be heard through out the room.  When we started back in August it was dead by the second set. By the middle of October Mr Deere was talking to me about handling the entertainment for his room. By November we had music from Tuesdays to the Sunday Brunch. It was fun helping Mr Deere build the room, but it was time for us to go. We planed to finish our obligation to the New Years Eve gig being our finale of our stay. Unfortunately our untimely departure was a surprise without a doubt. It was just a lesson to remind me how important the entertainment contract is to the musician.

It was a win win situation in that we helped build the room for Mr Deere and he gave us the springboard to get back in the eyes and ears of the Dallas public. We met a lot of great people at the Catalina and look forward to seeing them again. I am grateful for the opportunity that the Catalina presented to us and recommend the Catalina to all musicians , but take a contract with you, not just your calendar.

I am excited about 2010 and the opportunities ahead of us. The new year will find us just down the street from the Catalina, so we hope to see a lot of the same people there.
Richard "The ScatMan" Martinez

It's all about growth. Everything that happens in our life, is simply the next lesson. My friend Hoyte said, "The only thing you can predict in life, is that life is unpredictable".
Richard "The Scatman" Martinez

It's been a real education building the site, but I did it.  I think I like it better than the first site that my former business manager built, and then took away from me. It's like my dad has always told me, "Everything that looks too good to be true, usually is". The good news is that now I can manage the site myself, and don't have to wait for somebody else to make the updates. As my friend James Curtis, (Papa Fly) would say, "Good New is here again".

Richard  "The Scatman" Martinez

I've been playing music in the saloon's since I was 14 yrs. old. It amazes me that the bands play so loud in these small rooms and people sit in front of the stage and take it all in. I remember standing out side of the "Hole in the Wall" listening to the band and drinking my beer. The band sounded great Jackie Don and the boys were on fire on Thursdays at the "Hole". With all those amps on the stage even the drummer had to work hard to be heard. My mentor Gary Rosenblatt used to tell us that if we played in tune the sound would travel just as fast as if you were playing loud, but your not offending anybodies ears. After so many DB's your ears shut down.

It's a pleasant change working at the Catalina. The owner L.R. Deere is a lover of the Musical Arts, but like my mentor he dosen't think it needs to be loud to be good. I got to tell you that playing his room is a wonderful experience. The acoustics in the room are the best I have seen in the Dallas venues, and the fact that the volume is way down you can listen to great music and enjoy your company at the same time. It's a win win situation. Bringing the volume down on my stage gives me more control over my Trombone because my lips aren't flapping out of the end of my bell, and the dancers love it because they don't have to worry about broken ear drums from turning in front of me as I play. What do I know? Again I tell you, I think that what we are doing at the Catalina is fast becoming the next big happening in Dallas

I'm Just Sayin'

Well I have finally restored my website, so here I am. The All Star Jam at the Catalina was off the chain tonight. Our guest artist was guitar great Texas Slim and this man came to play. It was a world class stage with Texas Slim and keyboard legend John "Slick" Banks. With Peter Kaplan kicking time and Nate Robinson sticking his bass in the pocket it didn't take long to set the stage on fire.

The 2nd set just got better with 2 of the best harp players in the metroplex  hit the stage. First Paul Harrington took the stage with Mercy Mercy on his mind. The band started bumping and Paul started blowing and his version of Mercy Mercy got every body jumping. Then Cheryl Arena took the stage with Grazing in the Grass. She did not disappoint, and when they had the stage together they brought the house down !

When we thought it couldn't get any better the 3rd set started and my fiend "Salty Dog" grabbed the mic with James Browns Sex Machine. It was like Salty was channeling JB into the room and the band followed him right into the groove. The Band was funky, funky, funky, so funky James Brown would have loved it. Salty was singing and dancing just like the God Father of Soul. 

I want to thank all the great musicians that support the jam. Lemmon Ave in Dallas has a history of great musical rooms, Mother Blues, Stricky Taboo, Tim Ballards Artist &Tapistry, The Recovery Room, and The Catalina is on the way to being the next Musical Happening on Lemmon and in Dallas !

Richard "The Scatman" Martinez