Our Musicians Today-with LINKS!

Tubie & The Touchtones

Tubie is a popular local act, but he is also an award winning songwriter and recording artist.

Tubie Pushee is an old school rock & roll, electric guitar gunslinger who can do it all. Time and talent have shaped him into a guitar virtuoso, a music machine that can put out credible rock, country or blues with ease and professionalism. And he is a prolific songwriter as well. Good musicians seem to be everywhere, but decent songwriters are rare. Tubie can cover classic rock till the cows come home, but he is making his name statewide with his original music, delivered up with class and force with the help of his all-star band. Recently Michael Gaskins has added a wonderful texture to the Touchtones' sound with his saxophones. This is a "git down" dance band, who deliver the most bang for the buck!

Tubie and his band have performed at the Navasota Bluesfest many times.

more info at Tubie's website.




Randy Pavlock at the 2009 Navasota Bluesfest

Randy Pavlock



Navasota’s favorite son has to be Randy Pavlock, who in times past could be found around town slicing the night air with his usual fare, Grimes blues-rock. He is a popular opener for big time rock groups these days, but if you get lucky you might catch him using an old blues trick, playing slide on his guitar with a beer bottle, out on the streets... Just like the blues legends of yore.



Maybe it's because he's from my hometown. Or because he is a very likable young man. But Randy Pavlock is engaging, compelling, and his music stirs something deep. And he polishes off his arsenal of hard driving music with royal abandon. He is the young Prince of Rock. And he is our prince. I still feel his guitar when I get home after midnight, and so I enter this blog. Dang you Randy for keeping me up!

more info at Randy's website.




The McNallys


Navasota’s own John and Lise McNally are seasoned, unpretentious musicians, able to deliver several different styles with equal command, but seem to be continuously forging a niche of their own. I can testify that we still have not heard all the treasures up their sleeves. It is always a pleasure to watch talented couples perform together, as there is often a special, tangible energy between the players.

A youthful, mighty-mite blond, Lise McNally has the most crystal clear voice, capable of singing A cappella, expertly guiding a tune along to satisfy all of your expectations, and yet with her winsome personal interpretation it invariably adds up to a bit more. She can sing pretty. She can “get down and dirty” as she says. And she can surprisingly belt out relentless rock lyrics with convincing emotion. Hubbie John is right there, meeting the challenge, respectfully, lovingly, artistically sensitive to her vocals, accompanying that stellar song with classical rockin’ jazz guitar.

On one set they might play American classics like Moon River, Vincent, and some Beatles hits, each done with their own easy flair. Or more contemporary numbers by Men at Work and George Harrison. They are fun yet devoted musicians who have a natural, intimate style that makes them a welcome bonus whenever you cross their path.




Mike Gallo


The more I know musicians, the more I appreciate how they usually defy categorization. Mance Lipscomb, Navasota's famous "bluesman," was not really such a bluesman as as "songster" as he called it. But he was definately an American original.

Mike Gallo is much the same, having gathered a large body of influences and assimilated them and is certainly at a musical prime of his own. He defies any label, yet in one of his performances one can hear folk, rock, pop, and a bit of blues as well. Mike is like all of us, he is constantly learning and experimenting, and thus fashioning today's music for today. He will show up with his guitar... and gadgets... and then amaze you with the sounds that he can generate and what he can do with them. The first time I ever saw him, he was engrossed with the new technolgy, digital sounds and stuff nobody understood. He was offering, pretty much all by himself, an impressive array of original songs.

Mike Gallo is an American original in every sense of the word. The ultimate long-haired real deal hippie; a soft spoken, musical brain-child who is a creative genius first and an entertainer as matter of practicality. He is in it because music is what he is all about. Not money or fame or whatever. He seems genuinely to be happy with simple applause. He comes to give a part of himself. Therefore he is always coming up with something, and his work is fresh and refreshing. And his work has, like Mance, a kind of integrity born from a well spent life.

I have watched him and his wife raise their family here in Grimes County, seen them at school functions, always there for their child, watched them dancing at the Bluesfest, and never suspected what genius was hangin' out. Windy Hill Winery in Washington County discovered his incredible talent and has had him perform there many times in the past couple of years. It is a perfect fit.

Good wine and good original music, now there's a lasting combination! And like wine, Mike's music is intoxicating and just gets better with time.




Misslette the Singing Cowgirl

Love of music and sharing it with others has propelled this bubbly entertainer into a lifetime of professional performance. Misslette is a versatile veteran, who can hold her own whether she is playing country western, spiritual or blues music. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, she also plays harmonica, saxophone and various percussion instruments.

It is not unusual to see her singing, playing the harp and her guitar all in one song, and she does it as if it is routine. Her strong, western, womanly vocals are inspiring and uplifting, and her positve energy is infectious.

Recently Misslette has begun to appear with a new Brazos Valley Band, of which I am proud to introduce...



Puente also known as Old Bridge Rhythm Band


Chris Puente is a young man I have known for around thirty years. In other words most of his life. His parents were very talented performers that I knew when we lived in Plantersville. Chris has taken the family knack for song and made a real contributuion to Texas music. Erin Marie Kost, his accompanist plays a mean saw, and YOU HAVE TO HEAR HER! It is too wild, and beautiful!

Puente delivers driving, grinding, time travelling blues lyrics out of some Louisiana juke joint alter ego that enters his throat when he begins to sing... all while his graceful partner begins to make a saw whine and sing like sirens from deep down in a place that makes you instantly think that this is something so cool that it is ahead of its time, and you are the first to partake of this fresh and invigorating sound, or something so old that Druids once danced to its vibrations...

HERE IS AN ARTICLE ABOUT CHRIS AND HIS LATEST ENDEAVORS:

http://russellcushman.blogspot.com/2012/08/theres-room-at-dogtrot-old-bridge.html




Jacob Austin Band:

Jacob Austin is a young, very tall prodigy on the mandolin, who trained his talented parents to accompany him without hovering too much, resulting in a fun acoustic trio of gospel- bluegrass- country-rock that uplifts and fascinates like a real band. You will actually forget that two of the members gave birth to the third one... they play like accomplished equals and yet with the kind of synergy only available to those who have spent years together. Which they have. Jacob is a songwriter as well, and sings with the kind of youthful, vigorous voice that is rare and arresting.

The Jacob Austin Band is wholesome, impeccable, disciplined and yet natural and unpretentious. They are sure to be a crowd pleaser. The Austins stay busy travelling all around Texas, playing for churches and festivals and other lucky audiences, who find them an inspiration as a musical family.






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