YOUNG GUNS MUSIC MAGAZINE Oct 2015
KRISTI MILLER KMK VISIONS San Antonio
Special Features
Featured Artists Marisa Flores San Antonio, Tx
Elora & Gasoline Alley San Antonio, Tx
San Antonio Music Awards Bill E. Mixon Actor San Antonio
IINSIDE
THIS ISSUE
Kristi Miller
KMK VISIONS San Antonio P.6
Marisa Flores San Antonio, Tx P.11
Elora & Gasoline Alley San Antonio, Tx P.14
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Special Features San Antonio Music Awards P. 17
Bill E. Mixon San Antonio P.19
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OUR SENIOR EDITOR
ELORA Every month our email gets filled with lots of questions about how to submit info to be considered for publication in our magazine. We thought we'd answer the top three questions that were asked this month. 1. Does Young Guns only feature "young" artist? A: The answer is no. Although our publication focuses on up and coming new artists, there are no age limits. We are committed to supporting all genres of music and all ages of artist. 2. How do I submit my info and what do you look for? A: We ask that you submit your or your band's bio via email to: info@younggunsmusicmagazine.com. Within the bio we'd like you to include as much information about your group or yourself as possible. For example, when you first began to perform? How old were you? Who or what inspired you? How did you come up with the name of your band? ...etc. The more info you provide us the better. 3. What about pictures, what do you want or look for? A: Pictures must be high quality. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures are important. Make sure they represent you and your music. Hope this helps and hope to hear from you!
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80's Music for San Antonio and beyond; Your New Vice The Breakfast Club
with Jay Tope and Kris Kidd
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KRISTI MILLER KMK VISIONS
Specializing in event planning for non-profit organizations and music promotions is what Kristi Millers’ not-profit organization, KMK Visions is all about. Launched in August 2015, Kristi’s KMK Visions is already moving forward full steam ahead with its first fund raising event for Kid’s Kids. The event is scheduled to take place on October 18, 2015 at Sam’s Burger located at 330 E. Grayson Street in San Antonio, Texas with doors opening at 1:00 pm. Kidd’s Kids, primary goal is to provide children (ages 5 to 12), who have a chronic or terminal illness or are physically challenged, with an unforgettable adventure. Throughout the year, Kidd’s Kids work hard to raise the funds necessary to send these special kids on an allexpenses paid, fun-filled, vacation to Walt Disney World® in Florida. Most of the funding comes from donations made by listeners to the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning radio show, corporate sponsors, and fundraising events sponsored by such organizations as KMK Visions. When Young Guns Music Magazine learned about KMK Visions and Kristi Miller we wanted to share her story with our readers to help the community become more aware of her and KMK Visions. So we took our first opportunity to talk with her. YGMM: What motivated you to take on this great adventure? KMK: I grew up as an only child to a single mom. I remember watching her going through struggles of her own. Struggles that were the reason my mom and I found ourselves moving a little more than we would have liked. My mom and I moved “A LOT” LOL. I learned to not grow too attached to people or things. Instead I would develop a special bond or connection to music. I would put on shows in the back yard for the local dogs and cats that would wonder around the house. However, I was never able to carry a tune….bummer LOL. YGMM: So that explains your passion for music. How does the event planning for non-profits fit in to the mix? KMK. In 1999 I attended Texas Lutheran University. I was originally a biology major until I met a Social Science Professor who was so engaging. The professor was so full of life and passion … I found myself wanting to be her”. She influenced me so much that I ended up graduating in 2002 with a BA in Social Work which helped me find my niche in life working with child welfare and helping young children with their needs.
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YGMM: Why Kidd’s Kids? KMK: Years ago, while driving to school, I turned the radio on to basically keep from falling asleep. It was early in the morning and I needed something to listen to that would keep my attention and focus. I turned the station to 96.1 and heard a talk show host talking about a charity that he called Kidd’s Kids. I had never listened to morning shows before as they always seemed so negative and boring to me. However something in this man’s (Kid Kraddick) voice grabbed my attention and kept it. He played audio clips of the trip that he provided for terminally ill children and their families. Needless to say, I balled like a baby all the way to school that day. From that moment on I was a devout listener. Over the years I felt as if I had become part of a family. Kidd and his cohosts shared laughter and heartaches, as families do. About three years ago, I decided that I wanted to be a part of this amazing charity that provides trips to terminally ill and mentally challenged children and their families. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I made the choice to do something Sadly a couple years ago, I heard the report that Kidd Kraddick had passed away unexpectedly. My heart ached. Not only for his friends and family but for all the listeners that had been encouraged and motivated through this man. I worried for the children who hadn’t yet been touched by the charity of Kidd’s Kids. After that I decided no more talk, it was time to actually do what I could to honor a man that has touched so many lives. So here I am. YGMM: So how are things shaping up for your newly launched non-profit and the upcoming event? KMK: At this time, it’s a small operation but I see big things on the horizon. I can honestly say that I love doing this…I get to combine helping others with my passion of music…..that’s pretty darn cool. Kristi credits her personal experiences in helping children and her passion for music as the main drivers for launching KMK Visions. She said that since 2010, she had the privilege of getting to know some great people that have extraordinary talents in the music business and that to take on such an endeavor she would need help. So she called upon the assistance of a local band BKWDS/FWDS to help her out in the coordination of her first event and so far things are looking up. All great organizations start off small, but we believe that Kristi Millers’ star is on the rise and a bright future in the event planning awaits her. YGMM wants to wish her the very best in the coming years with all of her future endeavors that will surely not only benefit others, but be great hits.
Photography By Robert Benites www.RobertBenites.Com email: robert@RobertBenites.Com
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Young Guns Music Magazine is committed to supporting community organizations that help foster the learning of music and the arts to our young. We pledge to do all we can to help such organizations with our time, talent and financial support. Daily, many children are neglected, left behind, and face immense danger, it goes unseen and unknown to many of us. On school days, parents are at work, between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00pm. These are peak hours for teens and children to fall into the deadly trap of peer pressure, bullying, crime, drugs, gangs, teen pregnancies, child abuse, neglect and the most terrifying of all, child abduction. Inspire a Child USA is a non-profit organization in San Antonio, Texas that raises funds to establish a foundation for after school programs, internet resources and summer camps to schools and community organizations at no cost. Its goal is to help reduce, if not, eliminate these atrocities by inspiring the children to do great things through arts training. Programs are designed to help develop a basic creative arts and arts technology curriculum with variants customized to different age groups, skill levels and cultures. Find out more by visiting: http://www.InspireAChildUSA.com
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Marisa Flores San Antonio, Tx
Since she was nine, Marisa Flores has entertained audiences of all ages and over the years she has developed into one of the best singer/songwriter in San Antonio, Texas. She is extremely versatile in performing a wide range of genres but appears most comfortable performing country music. Not only can this young beautiful talent sing, she also strums a mean guitar and surprise her audiences with her skills playing the banjo, ukulele, piano and harmonica. Marisa has compiled a number of performances performed in numerous venues including Cowboys Dancehall with Billy Currington to the Third Coast Theater in Port Aransas with Lloyd Maines (father of Natalie Maines) and Grammy award winner, Terri Hendrix. Each performance has been significant for her career in the music industry. She was also cast as a performer at Fiesta Texas’s for their 2014 contemporary country show, Roadhouse Country, and their Broadway Show, Ovation. She showcased all of her talent by not only singing and playing her guitar, but also dancing. The Broadway themed show, Ovation, was nominated for Best Live Production in the United States by the IAAPA committee. She says she felt truly honored to be apart of an award winning show and to have been given the opportunity to share her talent. Since her Fiesta Texas days, she has continued to work hard in developing her talents as an artists. “I’m always writing or spending time learning a new instrument. There is no doubt that music is a big part of my life and I love singing, but I hope that one day I’ll be recognized for my song writing as well”.
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While music remains a big part of her life, Marisa still manages to remain focused on her education ambitions and activity in her community. She currently is enrolled at the University of the Incarnate Word as a PreMed student majoring in biology. She is also an active leader in her church and community. In 2014, she was recognized for her leadership skills by being included in the Inaugural edition of Who is Who in San Antonio published by Laura Thompson. She also sings in St. Monica’s young adult choir and plays music for the weddings and quinceaùeras hosted by the church. She feels that it is important to lead by example and remain a positive role model for her young fans and hopes to be blessed with more opportunities to perform and share her love of music with the world. Music and medicine are two very challenging career paths. They may both have their unique differences, but at the same time possess their own healing qualities and as challenging as each path may be, people who have had the opportunity to know Marisa her to be a visionary in anything she sets her sights on and if there is anyone who can be successful at both careers; it is her. We are confident that we have not heard the last of this talented Young Gun and Young Guns Music Magazine plans to keep you updated with her success.
Photos by Cheri Stanton
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They are San Antonio’s and South Texas’ hottest rising stars in the regional music scene. If you haven’t heard of Elora & Gasoline Alley; we don’t know where you’ve been. They have been rocking the South Texas music scene winning awards left and right. Elora & Gasoline Alley are made up of members ranging in age from 14 – 18 years of age. Members include: Nick Valdez (14) Lead Guitar, Elise Garcia (18) Drums, and Nick Williams (15) Bass, with 16 year power house vocalist Elora fronting the band. Don’t let their youth fool you. They are all seasoned musicians. The group’s founding members, Elora and her brother Nick Valdez, have over 400 performances under their belts and have performed to crowds across South Texas for the past 6 years. Drummer Elise Garcia recently celebrated her fourth year with the band and Bassist Nicholas Williams completing his first year. Elora & Gasoline Alley are a heavily book act performing an average of 90 performances a year across South Texas. They have performed for major events in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Corpus Christi, New Braunfels, Round Rock, Beeville, Floresville and Kerrville, Texas just to name a few. In 2012, with release of her debut single: Dance the Night Away from her Rock the Cure Elora became the youngest artists to earn the #1 Ranking on Reverbnation’s Pop and Rock Chart for San Antonio, Texas and in 2013, with the release of her first full album, she repeated once earning the #1 Ranking on Reverbnation’s Pop and Rock Chart.
In 2013, at age 14, Elora was the youngest nominee for Best Singer/Song Writer by the San Antonio Music Awards. In 2014, she became the youngest honoree to be included in the Inaugural 2014 Who’s Who in San Antonio Women’s for accomplishments in her music, community services and leadership as a role model to young girls. In January 2015, she was named “Artist of the Year” by TMV Café Radio and in August 2015 she again became the youngest winner of the San Antonio Music Awards as “Best Female Vocalist”. In addition, each member of her band received a nomination for their respected instrument. Nick Valdez was nominated Best Guitarist, Elise Garcia received a nomination for Best Drummer, and Nicholas Williams received a nomination for Best Bassist. Although the band members fell short of getting a win in their respected individual categories they all were honored to have been selected as nominees. This near win for band members set a fire among the band’s fan base known as “Elorians”. In September 2015, the entire band again received five nominations for the San Antonio Current’s – San Antonio Music Wards; this time with a different outcome. Elora & Gasoline Alley Swept the San Antonio Current’s Music Awards with wins for: Best Vocalist: Elora, Best Guitarist: Nick Valdez, Best Drummer: Elise Garcia and Best Bassist; Nicholas Williams. The band also won the award for: Best Underrated Band. With all winning the Best in their class and the band as a whole winning the Best Underrated Award it created a paradox. 15
Elora explained that she encouraged the band’s fan base to vote for them as the Best Underrated mostly because there didn’t appear to be a category available for Classic Rock or Pop Rock. “Although we can play it, we’re really not a Hard Rock or Metal Band so that category was chosen and we simply thought it would be funny if we won”. Young Guns Music Magazine asked Elora what was next on the horizon for her and her band mates. Elora stated “We’ve got a pretty big fan base and I guess it’s because we perform a lot in South Texas. People enjoy our Classic Rock, County, and Original Music but we’ve been getting a lot of requests for Tejano or Spanish Rock music. So over the past few months we’ve been developing a Spanish Rock set and plan to go into the studio in November to produce an EP. We’re excited about it and hope our fans will enjoy our EP. We think it will simply widen our fan base and hopefully open up other opportunities for us”. Elora & Gasoline Alley are a group of young artists who you can expect to hear a lot more about in the near future. Stay tuned Eloraians.
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WINNERS On Saturday, September 26, 2015, the San Antonio Current Celebrated its third Annual San Antonio Music Awards Showcase celebrating San Antonio's local music scene and top artists. The event took place on the vibrant St. Mary's Strip with a number of venues participating which included Paper Tiger, High-Tones, Tycoon Flats, Faust Tavern, La Botanica, Lamplight, Amp Room, 1011, and the Korova with 40 bands and DJs performing on 10 stages in one central San Antonio hot spot for music. This year there were over 23,000 votes case in determining the winners in selected catagories. And the Winners were: BEST ACCORDIONIST Alvaro del Norte BEST GUITARIST Nick Valdez (Elora & Gasoline Alley) BEST VOCALIST Elora (Elora & Gasoline Alley BEST KEYBOARDIST Eloy Espinoza (The Ranch Road Band/Groupo Texas Heat) BEST BASSIST Nick Williams (Elora & Gasoline Alley) BEST DRUMMER Elise Garcia (Elora & Gasoline Alley) BEST SONG Hotel Lobby (Michael J. & The Foxes
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BEST ALBUM Desert Sons (Lonely Horse) BEST VIDEO Strong (Kae Hache) BEST INDIE BAND Deer Vibes MOST UNDERRATED ARTIST Elora & Gasoline Alley BEST TEJANO/CONJUNTO BAND Groupo Texas Heat BEST ALT-LATINO BAND Creciendo Fuerte BEST HARD ROCK/METAL BAND Ramanon BEST PUNK BAND FEA BEST INSTRUMENTAL BAND Verisimilitude BEST HIP HOP ARTIST Richie Branson BEST RAP ARTIST Niki Symone BEST SINGER/ SONGWRITER Dylan Tanner BEST COUNTRY/AMERICANA BAND The Ranch Road Band BEST BLUES ARTIST/BAND Smokehouse Guitar Army BEST JAZZ BAND The Azul Experience
Bill E. Mixon Actor San Antonio, Texas
Many people may not realize it but San Antonio has a rich history of some pretty well-known actors who call San Antonio home. From Joan Crawford and Carol Burnett to Jesse Borrego and Tommy Lee Jones and the list could go on. In addition to some heavy hitting actors calling San Antonio their home, San Antonio has also had its share of movies that have been filmed in the Alamo city. While San Antonio doesn't bring the same celluloid cache as its north neighbor Austin, a number of films have been shot throughout the area including the very first Academy Award winner for Best Picture as well as George Clooney's directorial debut. Movies such as Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls staring Jim Carey, 8 Seconds staring Luke Perry portraying the legendary Bull Riding Champion Lane Frost, and Miss Congeniality starring Sandra Bullock all have a San Antonio connection. Because of San Antonio’s rich history, our editors thought it would only be fitting to cover some up and coming actors as well as some seasoned talent which brings us to our first YGMM featured actor Bill E. Mixon. Bill’s journey into acting and modeling started at a young age (15) while attending Central Catholic High School and ultimately graduating from Mac Arthur High School in 1982. Now 52, the San Antonio native’s schedule seems to always be filled with auditions or shooting on location for films and commercials. Some of his recent roles have been as a cameraman in the upcoming movie "My All American" and as The Ghost in "Targeted, Lost in Austin". He was also featured in "The Adventures of Pepper and Paula", "A Dog Walkers Christmas Tale", "Lazer Team" and "The Sauce". He has also enjoyed working on TV series including "American Crime", "Dusk till Dawn", "The Leftovers" and HGTV "FLIP N MOVE". In addition to films, some may recognize him as being in casts in some local commercials for such brands as Radio Shack, Verizon, Toyota, Weeva Books, Kia and Public Service Announcements for Texas Health. Young Guns Music Magazine had the opportunity to ask Bill a few questions about his acting career and how it all started for him.
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YGMM: So tell us how your acting career all started. BM: I started acting in grade school then in High School. One of my first plays I performed in was Romeo and Juliet; I got to play Romeo. I also had the opportunity to meet Roddy McDowell at the Earl Holloman Dinner Theatre her in San Antonio in 1980. Roddy McDowell played a lot of character throughout his career but one of his famous roles was playing Cornelious in the original Planted of the Apes and he was also a staple on many TV series like Columbo. I was able to talk to him at great length and he encouraged me to continue with my acting ambitions and keep at it. It was not too long after that I started modeling for the local clothing store that sold custom women's clothes. They would make me my own outfits to walk the runway with a few of the models at their rooftop shows on St Mary's street. YGMM: What was the hardest thing for you to overcome breaking into the business and what advice would you give someone who is just starting out or thinking about getting into acting. BM: I really don’t recall having any big challenges breaking into the business; it came easy for me. The advice I would give a young person starting out is to develop a style unique to themselves and take that style into training with an improv group like The Denials who train at the Overtime theatre. Community Theatre is also a really good training ground for the aspiring actor. Other things to consider and learn is voice work. Maybe even take up some dancing, singing or even juggling. The point here is to make yourself well rounded. Even performing skits and posting them on Facebook or YouTube can help prepare you for the big time. YGMM: How do you prepare for a role or audition? BM: Preparing for an audition, I rehearse the role using my own video camera. I usually take about 20 takes trying to get the mannerisms and timing right of the role I’m auditioning for. I’ll take the time to look at what I feel works best and I may even do a few more takes to try to improve. For the actual audition, I go all out by doing my own hair and make up and stay focused until the whole thing is over. I am a method actor. Once I even ran three miles before going into an audition for the part of a marathon runner. I came into the casting room huffing and puffing and sweaty and was cast on the spot. YGMM: Do you do this for a living or do you have another profession? BM: As far as acting; No. I’m a writer as well and have a patented invention that I marketing along with my books.
YGMM: You’ve written books? BM: Yes. I’ve written eight books. I’ve seemed to always have had a talent for stories and poetry. One of my books is titled: Lejeune. Lejeune is the main character of my book; he is a vampire and is rescued by his love. In the book his love is not given a name. He only calls her Love or The One. It’s a love story and is set in San Antonio. It includes the Vatican and the Pope. Anyone who reads it and lives in the area will recognize the places I wrote about in the book. It’s my hope to one day bring my book to life in a movie or maybe a TV series. YGMM: If you were able to bring your book to life now, who would you like to see cast in its major roles? BM: Matt Damon would be my choice for Lejeune. Kristen Dunst for Love. There is an evil congress of Vampires and a hideous Enforcer Vampire called Praxis . Johnny Depp would be my choice for Praxis. I would love the Congress of vampires to be cast from my close knit acting group called the Central TX Actor’s Group. John Hall, Carlton Coudle, June Griffin Garcia, Ginger Joy and Laura Hanson would all be some great local actors to cast. YGMM: That all really sounds exciting. You mentioned that some of the scenes or settings is in San Antonio. What do you think of San Antonio as a place to shoot movies? BM: I think that San Antonio is primed for great acting roles to come up in the near future. The city is seeking out new productions to film here and I know of a Christian production company that recently moved here from Colorado that is filming religious movies. Stephen Baldwin recently filmed with them. I’m currently cast in a film called “Targeted” which is going to be filmed here and another film I was cast in called “My All American” was filmed here so I would say that it is a positive place to be yet at the same time I would also say that if you really want to do more work in Texas, the mecca for actors is Austin; that is where the studios are. We agree with Bill, San Antonio is primed for filming at some great locations throughout the city and we’re confident Bill will continue to be a big part of the future film making in San Antonio.
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