A Unique Blend of Tejano

A Unique Blend of Tejano

Bruce Von Stiers

David Beck describes himself as a “tall, goofy white boy.” That might not seem to be such a strange depiction of a musician. But it might be if you knew what kind of music that David plays. What music is that, you ask? It is Tejano music. What? Yes, that is the style of music that David plays. In fact, his band is called David Beck's Tejano Weekend.

For those not familiar with it, Tejano is a mixture of Mexican and U.S. music with some traditional polka styled German and Czech dance rhythms. At least, that's how I'd describe the music. The music uses a lot of bajo sexto, guitar and accordion. Selena was noted for having brought Tejano music to the forefront along with artists such as David Lee Garza.

During the last few years, David's band has recorded a bit of music. All of it was met with critical acclaim and secured the band a decent sized fan base. This year finds David Beck's Tejano Weekend with a brand new album. The title of the album is David Beck's Tejano Weekend Vol. 2. It is a follow-up album to Vol. 1, which was released in 2019.

The album has ten songs and a play time of thirty-five minutes.

Dees Stribling is the drummer for the band. David Herrera is the accordion player. John Saucedo plays guitar and Peter Huysman is on keyboards. As for the band's leader, David Beck, he plays the upright bass and does the lead vocals. For the album a few other people stepped in to help round out the sound. These people were Paul Uride, Sarah Millenary, Brian Donohoe and Tony Browne. Tejano legend David Lee Garza helps out on a couple of songs.

The album begins with a melodic song called A Deal of a Lifetime. It's about giving her his heart and that she can give it back. The song is a nice introduction to the various stylings that the band uses in their particular blend of Tejano music. And it is the first song on the album that features the accordion of David Lee Garza.

For Someone's Sake is a great song with heartfelt vocals and nice keys and accordion playing.

Shouting Your Name has more of a traditional Tejano styling.

Put Me In Jail is the second song that features David Lee Garza. It is a toe-tapping song with great vocals and music.

The band gives a Tejano feel to the Billy Joe Shaver song Live Forever. It is very nicely done.

Laugh And Say Goodbye has a nice melodic tone. The press release for the album calls this song a dance floor changer. I do agree that is a nice, mellow song that can be danced to.

There is a pretty decent love ballad on the album called I Rush In (Just Like A Fool).

That is followed up by a sad love lost lament called No Liquor Strong Enough.

The band does a pretty decent cover of the Vince Gill song, Go Rest High On That Mountain. The tempo is quite a bit faster than the original but they make it work.

The final song on the album is the toe-tapping tune A Weight On Her Shoulders. By the time the chorus comes up a second time, you might just find yourself singing along.

Tejano is something that I normally don't review. And I don't have any of it in my music collection. But I do like the music, especially the way it melds a bunch of different culture's music into a cohesive sound. David Beck and his band, David Beck's Tejano Weekend, add a whole new layer to Tejano music. Their unique take is refreshing and very entertaining.

You can find David Beck's Tejano Weekend on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tejanoweekend and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DavidBecksTejanoWeekend/ They also have an official web site at https://www.davidbeckstejanoweekend.com/ . There you can find more information about the band and the new album. You can also watch music videos that include songs from the new album.

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