HARLINGEN — Country Western band Texas Heat had to hit the ground running.
“We’d only been together six days when we got our first gig,” said guitarist and lead singer Ryan Baker.
“And we only had one set of songs ready,” said guitarist Chris Marshall.
The job was an opening slot on a concert. The only problem was that the band in the number 2 spot was a no-show and the promoter needed Texas Heat to play more.
“So we did the same set but in reverse,” Marshall said.
Bass player Dondi Presley completes the lineup for Texas Heat. Both Presley and Marshall provide harmony vocals.
Texas Heat was a quintet and is now a trio. Baker said the band has gone through several personnel changes in the past few months.
“We lost a drummer and a fiddle player,” Baker said. “It’s hard to find the right people for this band.”
Marshall said Texas Heat requires a certain amount of dedication.
“We’re not just in it for the money,” he said. “We do this because we love to play and we love to entertain people.”
“We’re in it for the long haul,” Baker said. “We want to see how far we can take this and a lot of people aren’t ineterested in that. They just want to play on the weekends and never leave the Valley.”
The personnel changes came as the band began recording its first album, “Beer, Whiskey and Diamond Rings.”
An album of all original songs, it was recorded at Sugar Hill Studios in Houston. Beyonce and Freddy Fender are among the artists who have recorded at Sugar Hill.
“There’s a lot of history in that place,” Baker said.
Blues artist Guitar Shorty served as producer on the 10-track project.
“He helped us so much on this project,” Baker said.
The last cut on the CD is an instrumental, but didn’t necessarily start out that way. Shorty strummed a few notes. “It goes this way,” Shorty said and handed the guitar to Marshall.
“Shorty wanted me to add some lyrics but by the time Chris got through with it the song didn’t need any words,” Baker said.
Midway through the album is “Everytime it Rains,” a ballad about lost love. “I’ve had people cry when they heard that song,” he said.
But the fact of the matter is that it came right after he finished washing his truck — and it started pouring rain.
Upset about his wasted effort, Baker began playing his guitar and the song emerged.
“It’s kind of funny where some songs come from,” he said.
Texas Heat will be performing July 29 at Hillbilly’s in McAllen and July 13 at Wild Bill’s in Harlingen.
