Concert Series breaks year-long silence Friday

GONZALES — After a year-long hiatus the Main Street Summer Concert Series presents six free concerts to shake up downtown Gonzales. First up is the Rocky King Band. The band will take the stage 7 p.m., Friday, June 2, on Confederates Square, in downtown Gonzales.

At an early age, King was exposed to the music of the legendary Hoyle Nix and his West Texas Cowboys. Rocky’s parents took him along to dances at the Stampede in Big Spring, where his love for the fiddle and country and western swing music was born. He was lucky to witness some of the finest dance music ever.

On his fifth birthday, his parents bought him a fiddle and took him to Jody Nix for his first lessons, where the “fire” was lit that still drives him today. In his teenage years, King learned easy tunes by ear, and realized he wanted to be a serious fiddle player. He received several scholarships to South Plains College including the Tiny Moore Memorial scholarship, a huge honor to Rocky! During his college years he took lessons from Ricky Boen and Ricky Turpin.

King has had the honor to play with several bands in the past ten years that play the music he loves, including some of his heroes. He is appreciative of the people who have allowed him to play, and further his knowledge of real country music and western swing, including: Justin Trevino, Darrell McCall, Tony Booth, Fiddlin’ Frenchie Burke, Curtis Potter, and many other great musicians.

King currently lives just south of Seguin and has assembled some great musicians to form the Rocky King Band.

Other band member include Michael Polasek, on drums and vocals; Kenny Grohmann, on steel guitar; Duane Wavra, on bass and vocals; and, Ricky Turpin on fiddle and vocals,

Polasek’s interest in playing drums began in the high school band in Jourdanton, Texas where he first realized that playing could be more than a hobby. He began playing in local country music bands, honing the skills that would eventually put him in demand in south Texas. He found himself regularly playing with bands such as Frenchie Burke; the Jim Byrom Band; The Dancehall Cowboys; Thompson, Lee and Company, and various other traditional country bands.

His musical influences include drummers: Buddy Harman, Eddie Bayers, Mike Kennedy, and John "Smiley" Reynolds; as well as Ray Price, Darrell McCall, Johnny Bush, Faron Young, Mel Tillis, and Justin Trevino. Michael currently lives in Seguin, Texas. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family and friends.

Wavra grew up in Columbus, with a family of musicians. His father and two brothers played in dance bands. Wavra's earliest memories are of going along to the dances where they played and wishing he could get up onstage and play too. In 1981, when he was 11 years old he started playing bass in his brother's band. Eventually he was playing trombone, trumpet, sax and clarinet.

When he was in high school Bob Wills and Ray Price really got him into country music. Then Wavra got some Johnny Bush recordings and that was it. That driving 4/4 Shuffle was where it was at and Duane became a Bush fanatic. In 1991 a dream came true when he was asked to join Johnny Bush and the Bandoleros . He worked with Bush for 9 years and was fortunate enough to record with him. John was kind enough to sing "Adriana's Song" at Duane's wedding. The great bass players Bob Moore and Junior Huskey are a big influence on Duane's playing style. As far as favorite singers, Johnny Bush, Ray Price, Darrell McCall, Tony Booth, and Curtis Potter are at the top.

Wavra lives in the Frelsburg area with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys hunting, collecting records and visiting with friends while listening to good music. He is enjoying working with Rocky and the Band, playing the music they love.

Turpin began his impressive musical career at age twelve, and has since played with Johnny Bush, Asleep At The Wheel, Rick Trevino and The Texas Playboys. He has recorded with Merle Haggard, George Strait, Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss, Huey Lewis, Lyle Lovett, Vince Gill, Brooks & Dunn, Riders In The Sky, Johnny Rodriguez, Marty Stewart, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson. He also played the fiddle intro on George Strait’s cut of “Big Balls in Cowtown” which was included in his box set.

Turpin's Career highlights include: Performances on Austin City Limits with The Texas Playboys and Asleep At The Wheel; Grand Ole Opry performances; and, Appearance on Hee-Haw.

Turpin's awards include: Texas State Champion Fiddler, four-time winner; Two Grammy™ Awards; World Series of Fiddling Champion; 1984 First Runner-Up, Grand Nationals in Weiser, Idaho; Terry Morris Memorial Award, 1998; Hall of Fame, Fiddlers Frolics in Hallettsville; and, Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame 2014.

Concerts will be presented at 7 p.m. each Friday in June, on Confederates Square in Downtown Gonzales: June 2 – Rocky King; June 9 – Zydeco Blanco; June 16 – Eclipse, Tribute to Journey; June 23 – Los Desperadoz; June 30 – D.J. Richter and Texxas.

The series finale will be 6 p.m., Tuesday, July 4 with Josh Ward headlining the Main Street Summer Concert Series Star Spangled Spectacular.