DENIZ TEK AND THE CONTINENTAL CLUB 2010

Deniz with Andy Bradley ....
chief engineer, grammy winning producer, and Sugar Hill studio owner.

The Continental Club started up in 1957 in Austin and featured swing jazz like Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. In the 60's it became a burlesque club and was home to exotic dancers Candy Barr, "Bubbles" Cash, and more. History of the Continental Club

By the 70's the Continental Club began to host rock music. When the Satellite Lounge in Houston closed down they moved the operation to the current midtown location and started it up as a second Continental Club.

GREAT TRISH BADGER PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURING DENIZ TEK

Across the street is Sig's Lagoon, a record store featuring the explosion of new vinyl records coming out these days, rare used vinyl, as well as retro and pop cultural artifacts and all kinds of cool stuff.

The band that backed me up was Love Street, who are master players and session cats at Sugar Hill. I've recorded with them before, including a wild version of You're Gonna Miss Me. Here was the line-up.

Guitar: Deniz Tek

Guitar: Kenny Cordray
Bass: Mark Andes
Keyboards: Paul English
Drums: Tyson Sheff

The Beetles, a Beatles tribute band, played first to a packed cheering house, most of whom departed the club when they finished their set around ten o'clock. They had their vocal parts down and from the back room actually did sound like the Beatles. We went on I think around 11.

First up Love Street did an original tune Under the Rainbow and the Peter Green classic Green Manalishi. Next up, I joined the band on stage and plugged in to the Mark3 Mesa Boogie combo amp, which I'd borrowed from Dan Workman at the studio. First two numbers were Tomas Escalante singing the Spirit tune "Got A Line On You". I've always loved that song and it was a kick toplay it hard with the original Spirit bass player Mark Andes.

Deniz Tek starts at 33:52

We picked up an instant connection and the song fired. It set the tone for a great set to follow. Tomas then sang the 1968 Fever Tree classic "San Francisco Girls"before leaving the stage to wild applause. Then we played my set, which was a mix of solo stuff and a couple of Radio Birdman tunes.

After the set, we hung out for a while. I had a few $4.50 G and T's from the bar, talked to some really nice people, and generally enjoyed a great evening of music. There are not many cool places like the Continental Club and Sid's Lagoon left. We need to support 'em. Staying home and watching movies is not an excuse!