It's just another searing hot Texas afternoon. On the bluffs of the Guadalupe River, Justin Murray, guitarist and lead vocalist of Devil's Hollow Trio, points as a raft full of river-goers tumbles over the rapids. "That never gets old!" Murray laughs. He looks back at his rhythm section, the bearded, bandana-wearing, bassist Dwight "D.W." Howe, and newcomer W.J. Robinson (Perk, The Drugstore Cowboys, Transponder) on drums, as they share a laugh before shuffling into a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Redhouse". The crowd of Memorial Weekend traffic, a mixture of bikers, frat boys, and sun-baked families, mingle on the patio, enjoying the breeze, brews, and blues. Some inquisitive listeners, their attention grabbed as Murray finishes a solo, proceed forward, throwing a wad of moist dollar bills from their swim trunks into the tip jar, sign up on the band's e-mail list and grab one of the band's demo disks available, earning the appreciative smile and bow from Howe from on-stage. Despite the cheap sunglasses obscuring his eyes from the crowd, he's keeping a watchful eye on the everyone's reactions. This is a crowd they need to entertain. This is a crowd that needs to go home after a long day on the river with a song stuck in their head, a CD in hand, and a story to tell.

"Right here is where it starts," Dwight says, cracking open a beer between sets at Bubba's Big Deck in Gruene, Texas, located directly beside the flowing Guadalupe. "You're never going to get anywhere in this state if you don't have one good place you can always fall back to and relax, play some music, and see your friends." It's this sense of camaraderie that really stresses the power of Devil's Hollow Trio. "Really, at the end of all of it, these guys are my best friends first, and band members second," Murray adds. "I mean, all this guy ever does is borrow money from me when we're not playing, so we have gotta be at least good friends then, right?" he continues, joking at the 21-year-old bassist. Dwight shrugs without much of an answer. "Eh, well it's true," he laughs. "When we go out each day to a show, we all know what we want, and that sense of unity and focus is the first step in keeping the band tight musically on stage," Murray continues, bringing the conversation back on track. "We know that we have to go out there and play each show knowing that there is someone out there who hasn't heard us before, and we WANT them to hear us," he stresses. "If you wanna do this for a living, you gotta go out there and do it and not let up. Don't let them [the audience] even think for a second that you're not giving it your all."

And their tour schedule reflects the 'give-it-your-all' mentality; following this blisteringly hot afternoon gig, Devil's Hollow Trio will pack up and rush to San Antonio through Memorial Day traffic to take stage a couple hours later for a Saturday night gig at Main Street Bar for another 4-hour gig. The next day the band will return to New Braunfels to continue recording their upcoming EP at the band's former rehearsal studio downtown, in the old KNBT building, a local, renowned Americana station they hope will soon be playing their music. That night, the band will take it easy, heading to the newly opened Whitewater Amphitheater down the road to catch a headlining set from fellow Texas power trio Los Lonely Boys, whom Dwight received the chance to jam with back in 2006, playing bass on three songs at a San Angelo club performance. "Those guys are unnaturally talented," Howe reflects. Justin cracks about how he wishes he had the same harmonies the Garza Brothers [of Los Lonely Boys] possess backing him, gently jabbing at Howe and Robinson as he starts up the steps to the stage.

As the band returns to stage, another raft of river-goes flips while going down the rapids. "HA HA! Another one for the river!" Howe exclaims triumphantly, pointing out the incident from stage. "For those of you who don't get eaten by the river today, we'll be playing out at River Road Icehouse right here in New Braunfels again on Thursday," Murray points out to the crowd, now growing in size as the sun sets behind the oak trees. "We got another set for you guys, then we gotta split down to San Antonio for another gig," he continues. "So, if any of you are in San Antonio tonight, we'll be there too. We're just about everywhere. In San Antonio, in New Braunfels, in your CD player, in your garage practicing when you get home tonight...I'll just say it, we're following you," Howe threatens with a laugh, "I'm just kidding. Or am I?". Before he can continue, drummer Robinson interrupts him, getting the band back on track with an original tune, "Ring Around You".

This summer, Devil's Hollow Trio will be bringing their brand of hard-driving, blues-infused Southern Rock & Roll across the state, kicking off with shows in central Texas and Houston in June. July kicks off the trio's most impressive month of touring yet, with a headlining all-nighter in New Braunfels on July 3rd at popular River Road Icehouse. The following night, the band will host the 4th of July Jam at Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio, a prime music venue and eatery, with a line-up consisting of prodigious teenage blues quartet The All-In Blues Band, Southern rock's Flywood, and established San Antonio country/Southern rock band The Drugstore Cowboys, formed in 1972 by Dub Robinson, father of DHT's drummer, WJ. Soon after, Devil's Hollow Trio will embark on a two-week American Southwest tour, performing in Murray's native California near San Francisco, the Autism Jams Blues Festival in Reno benefitting the Autism Coalition of Nevada, and additional dates forthcoming. The band will return to Texas by August, when they will be headlining the Freeport Summertime Blues Festival on Labor Day Friday. Devil's Hollow Trio anticipates an early summer release of their upcoming EP, with a full-length debut album scheduled to drop later this summer or early fall.

THE NEWS YOU NEED
Devil's Hollow will be opening for DEL CASTILLO on December 27th at Sam's Burger Joint!

Tickets are on sale now at http://samsburgerjoint.frontgatetickets.com

Get 'em before they're gone!