I have been remiss in not introducing y'all sooner to the guy whose inspiration this was, and who made it all happen.
Orlando Rios, publisher of Rockabilly Magazine.
A young man who figured out what he wants to do, went after it, and it's working out for him. No wonder he's smiling!
GDP: When and how did your interest in rockabilly begin and grow?
Orlando: My interest in rockabilly ironically grew from the 90s swing movement. I still remember flipping through the channels on TV and landing on VH1's Hard Rock Live. Brian Setzer was perfoming that episode with his orchestra. I immediately became enamored. The very next day I went out and bought all his albums.
From then on I started going further and further into the musical past and discovering all the greats like Cochran and Vincent. But there is no doubt that seeing Reverend Horton Heat live is what put me into the "I wanna do this for a living" mode.
GDP: Do you play an instrument or perform?
Orlando: I can play guitar, bass, upright bass, saxophone, and a little bit of piano. I'd like to think I'm best at playing the guitar though. I have a recording studio in my house and mess around with recording my own music. One day I'll play rockabily, then the next I'll play alternative - I love rockabilly but am no purist by any stretch. Since moving to Austin, my gigs have increased. I am still looking for solid band mates, however.
GDP: I take it you're not from Austin; where are you from?
Orlando: I am originally from a small town south of Corpus Christi, TX called Kingsville. It is a small town most known for the giant and historical King Ranch. I attended H.M. King High School, then went to Texas A&M - Kingsville University before moving to Austin almost four years ago.
GDP: What's your professional background and day job?
Orlando: I actually do Rockabilly Magazine for a living (which a lot of people can't believe). I started the magazine just as I was leaving high school and was always interested in business. Throughout my first years of college, the magazine just continued to grow and grow. It was about two years ago that I had to make a decision to either stay in college or not do the magazine (which is a full-time 7-day-a-week job). Being the young guy I am, and only a year left of school to finish, I chose to do the magazine.
GDP: How did you start the magazine?
Orlando: Well it's kind of a neat story. I started Rockabilly Magazine as a monthly when I was working at a local newspaper and started getting really interested in how a publication works. So, I saved all my paychecks to come out with the first 8-page, black and white, tabloid style newspaper magazine. I had an interview with Lee Rocker - not bad to start off with. After that issue, it just really took off each issue by issue. I had an interview with Brian Setzer by my 6th issue.
The magazine was first a website called rockabillyguitarist.com (2002), then it went to Rockabilly Monthly Magazine (2003), and now I just operate as Rockabilly Magazine.
GDP: How did you feel the TRR went?
Orlando:The Texas Rockabilly Revival was more than anything I could imagine. It took me a year to put that entire show together - and by no means was it easy. The Friday night of entertainment was great. I especially loved the Rockats reunion show (I wasn't born yet to be able to see them in the 80s!).
I would also think that everyone would agree that Saturday's show was something out of this world. To have my idols like Reverend Horton Heat and Lee Rocker do their sets – then play together on stage – was very meaningful to me.
I talked to Jim Heath after the show and told him how this was an absolute dream come true for me and how his show that I saw in Corpus Christi is what put me over the top into this industry. He was of course very happy to hear that.
All the band and fan feedback has been very very good. The event ran very smoothly and could not have gone much better, and having Gretsch involved brought this event as a 1st-year effort to another level. I mean, who can seriously have a bad time when Joe Carducci is around?
The current issue, front and back covers:
