Vegas

Recorded in Austin at Cedar Creek Studios, the new album perfectly captures the band’s rockabilly style — evoking the 1950s combo sound with masterful execution of the rock ’n’ roll beat, on-the-mark vocals, and country steel guitar and upright bass. It’s a sound that draws more than 12,000 fans to the band’s annual Two Tons Tuesdays music series at Gruene Hall and has earned it Best Country Band honors for eight years from the band’s hometown entertainment weekly, San Antonio Current.

Bandleader and frontman Kevin Geil penned the Tex-Mex flavored title track “Vegas,” with its south-of-the-border horns and chicken-pickin’ guitar, for his wife, Elena, “because she loves Vegas and loves to drive.” She also gets credits for photographs in the new album.

Weighing in with Geil (lead vocals, acoustic guitar) on Vegas, produced by Lloyd Maines, are Dennis Fallon (electric guitar, harmonica), Ric Ramierez (upright bass, harmony vocals), Chris Dodds (drums, harmony vocals) and Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Famer Denny Mathis (also dobro). Additional layers of sound are supplied by Riley Osbourn (Hammond B3, piano) and Fernando Castillo (trumpets).

Other emphasis tracks on Vegas include the band’s signature tune, “Havana Moon,” and its popular rockabilly cover of The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated.” The album also contains a rare cover of Johnny Rivers’ “Secret Agent Man.”

“There’s songs that you just gotta play every night,” Geil says of Two Tons’ live shows. The band is all about performing live, so Geil doesn’t mind pulling out fan favorites. In fact, four cuts on Vegas are covers the band performs often. Release date: June 28, 2005.

"Two Tons of Steel is the archetypal Texas roadhouse band because they dish out a lusty mix of Western swing, honky-tonk and '50s rockabilly. In other words, every genre of music sanctioned by the state."

     - Gilbert Garcia, San Antonio Current

track		composer
Vegas		Kevin Geil
Drive You Home Tonite		Kevin Geil & Ric Ramirez
Your Kiss		Montie Warden & Tony Raimey
Unglued		Kevin Geil
Can't Stay With You		Kevin Geil
Havana Moon		Kevin Geil
Secret Agent Man		P.F. Sloan & S. Barri
Ice Cream Man		J. Brim; arranged by Kevin Geil
Baby You Got Me		Kevin Geil
I Wanna Be Sedated		J. Ramone
Red Hot		Emerson; arranged by Kevin Geil