The Small Stars
Tijuana Dreams
© 2007 The Small Stars (641444003525)
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Brought to life in the minds of Fastball's Miles Zuniga and Jeff Groves, the Small Stars early beginnings go way back to Austin Texas circa 1989. The first performance by Guy Fantasy and Buddy Llamas was at a lesbian coffee house and sadly, before a second show could be arranged, rock bands, record deals, platinum albums and world tours got in their way.
Now, 15 years later with the preliminaries behind them, the duo has reunited and they've brought a few musicians with them.
The bands first (self-titled) release took Texas by storm granering much press and praise. "Otra Vez" became a regional number one song. The band was also chosen as a featured artist on Apple I-tunes Music Store's "Staff Favorites." The Austin Chronicle placed the Small Stars debut on the Best of 2005 list. A naked calendar, a west coast tour and over 200 shows later and the Small Stars are just getting started.
The band recently finished recording their 2nd CD entitled Tijuana Dreams. It was produced by Guy Fantasy and Buddy Llamas and engineered by Michael Crow. Super legend master-mixer Bob Clearmountain (Rolling Stones "Tattoo You" David Bowie's "Let's Dance", Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA", Roxy Music "Avalon" and so on) mixed the album. The Stars took all their favorite bits from the red light cabarets to the Latin glam-rock discos and super-sized them, streching the bands oeuvre(ouch). The Small Stars also recruited Texas legend Joe Ely to lend his impeccable voice to the country stylings of "That's What God Made Whiskey For."
Miles Zuniga as Guy Fantasy, singer, emcee is from Fastball/Big Car. Jeff Groves as Buddy Llamas as saxophonist/sidekick is also from Fastball/Big Car. John Bush as Brick Masterson on drums is currently in Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. Jeff Johnston as Godfrey McCambrige on bass plays in Li'l Cap'n Travis and Landis Armstrong as Richard Steele on guitar is in the El Orbits.
reviews
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A rare find ...
author: SuzanFirst of all, I'm a Fastball fan. There are a couple of songs from the Fastball albums that made me wish there was some sort of collaboration between Miles Zuniga and Jeff Groves, and luckily, it exists. Although the musical stylings are quite different, Fastball allowed me to stumble across The Small Stars, albeit a few years too late. But definitely better late than never, as this CD proves. Each song is inherently unique, and as a whole, it provides a refreshing combination of various genres that you wouldn't expect to find on a single album. I find myself putting "Love is Grand" and "Day Job" on repeat, and "Carnival" is another favorite. "Girl Trouble" works well with its haunting undertones, and people who dislike country music may change their minds with "That's What God Made Whiskey For." Overall, the album is creative and impressive, what good music should sound like, and it's something you won't want to stop listening to. I know I can't.
Great CD by a talented group of musicians
author: EricThis is an excellent CD. No two songs sound the same and all of them are really well done.
Fantastic! Great melodies and outstanding lyrics.
author: AnnieThis cd has everything you could ask for - fab tunes and lyrics which are both entertaining and thought provoking. Not a single dud on this, but my stand-out track would be Tijuana Dreams. Miles Zuniga is a rare talent and this is a great band.
miles "macca" zuniga writes great tunes
author: frankMiles Zuniga... is he related to Paul McCartney? His son? Sir Miles is one of the greatest songwriters of our time. And the critics don't seem to notice this, yet. But his time of recognition will come. I sent him an e-mail with my compliments and asked if he, maybe, is a bastardson of Sir Paul's ; ) He was so kind to reply: "It be nice if I was a descendant of Sir Paul McCartney but I don't think he ever toured Laredo, Texas." Anyway... Great tunes, with the Small Stars and ofcourse Fastball. Everybody enjoy this great melodic music! A fan from across the pond.
So much fun!
author: BradonI saw these guys live in Dallas last month at the House of Blues. I was there to see the Old 97's and really didn't want to listen to whoever was opening for them. The Small Stars came out and just by looking at them I knew it would be a fun show. They are incredible musicians and their music is so much fun. The CD is great, but you also need a copy of the first, self-titled CD to be complete.
- author: vicenç n. clar
Es uno de los mejores cd's que he podido escuchar en varios años. No conocia a estos "genios" y me parece que voy a seguir sus pasos. Desde España, más concretamente de las Islas Baleares, en Mallorca y desde un pueblo llamado ALARÓ, espero que sigan con esta mágia que llevan dentro. Como dicen en catalan " NO ATUREU MAI NOIS"
I loved Tijuana Dreams
author: Ita PekarekI loved Tijuana Dreams because the lyrics were humorous, just as I thought they'd be, and the Small Stars incorporated Latin themes into some songs. Day Job, Carnival, and Twenty-One are my favorites.
Tijuana Dreams, the band's second album, further develops a sound that's an impr
author: Dallas Morning NewsTijuana Dreams (Self-released) CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF: Oftentimes side projects simply confirm that the participants' principal project is the one that they are really good at. Not so the Small Stars, helmed by Guy Fantasy and Buddy Llamas (Fastball's Miles Zuniga and Jeff Groves, respectively). BREAK IT DOWN: Tijuana Dreams, the band's second album, further develops a sound that's an improbable blend of laidback lounge and '70s-vintage British power pop. An insouciant sense of humor (think: Buster Poindexter by way of Matamoros) helps fold together picaresque gambling tales (the Latin-flavored "Twenty-One"), worker's despair (the rocking "Day Job") and countrified heartbreak ("That's What God Made Whiskey For," featuring Joe Ely). I'M JUST SAYIN': Tijuana Dreams is what you might get from Bertolt Brecht if his day job were as a carny working the State Fair midway: a little weird, but a heckuva lot of fun to listen to. Matt Weitz
A different direction, still true to roots...
author: Don Shiner, Jr.This second CD is my favorite of the two.. The songs and music are more of a genuine band than the more humorous less serious tones of 1st CD. Yes, some of the songs and lyrics have this flavor, but this CD brings out the true talent and craftmanship this group can produce... Highly recommend it !!
- author: Austin Experience.com
XTC had the Dukes of Stratosphere. Garth Brooks had Chris Gains. And two members of Fastball (with a couple of friends) have their alter-ego as well--The Small Stars, a collection to Reno lounge singers. If Reno lounge singers had the talent of this crew, SXSW would move to Reno. Fortunately, we've got these guys close to home in Austin. The latest release, Tijuana Dreams, is a solid album with many tracks that could have easily been slated for the next Fastball album. But it also includes a few numbers that may have seemed a little out of place. A couple of tracks really play up the lounge singer persona, but even with some cheesiness thrown it, these guys can't escape their talent. Miles Zuniga (Guy Fantasy) and Jeff Groves (Buddy Llamas), both from Fastball, teamed up with John Bush (Brick Masterson), Jeff Johnston (Godfrey McCambridge), and Landis Armstrong (Richard Steele). Bush from the New Bohemians, Johnston from Li'l Cap'n Travis, and Armstrong from El Orbits provide a solid foundation for Zuniga and Groves to do what they do so well, belt out tunes with just enough pop-jingle in the chorus for it bore inside ones head without a likely chance to escape. I first heard the Small Stars on a Texas Music magazine CD compilation. "Otra Vez" was one of the highlights of the CD. Of 20 or so artists on the CD, the Small Stars was the first band that motivated me to purchase their CD. The self-titled album was well worth it. Very unique. Humorous at times. I was wondering if I should expect more of the same with Tijuana Dreams. More of the same would have been fine, but I discovered that these guys kicked it up a notch. Tracks like "Love is Grand" and "Sweet Sweet Sweet" present a unique problem for these guys. They will get out and eventually find a large audience. If the point of this alter-ego is to allow the band to perform with any anonymity and throw Fastball fans off their scent, it won't last long. I expect long lines outside any club the Small Stars play.
The songs take center stage
author: WiggiesMaybe its because of my driving habits, but listening to this in the car, it really felt a lot like listening to an LP. Side one takes me to work. Side two brings me home. The first half of this record is really, really, really good. Starting with "Let's Hit the Town," the Stars make good on the promise they've been showing in their live shows for the past couple of years. The song perfectly captures the knife's edge of irresponsible desperation, the exuberance of a man about to take the plunge into who-knows-what-but-you-can-damn-well-be-sure-it-isn't-good-for-you. "Love is Grand" follows, and does the impossible trick of capturing in just a few minutes the decline and fall of a doomed relationship while still celebrating the experience of living through it. The next two tracks are job-related anthems, "Twentyfourseven" and "Day Job," that any working stiff who's ever punched a clock when they'd rather be punching the boss (or her son Myron) can relate to. Things take a wistful turn with "Girl Trouble," which looks at a relationship on the rocks through a different, more objective, lens. Then we get, "Sweet, Sweet, Sweet," which distills the essence of crazy brand-new head-over-heels love into as delectable a pop confection as anyone could ever wish for. And then the second half. I'm not sure exactly how to put this, but the second half ... is even better. From "Carnival" to "That's What God Made Whiskey For" to "Bombarderos y Pistoleros" to "Twenty-One" to "Tijuana Dreams," the Small Stars cross over into a legendary territory. These last songs venture into other rhythms and other genres. "Carnival" is evocative of every cheesy traveling attraction that ever came to my hometown, all neon and cotton candy, bright and fun but seedy at the edges. Guest vocalist Joe Ely sings "That's What God Made Whiskey For," a song whose truths are so pointed that his steely voice provides the perfect hammer to drive them home. (I predict tons of airplay for this one, although if radio programmers had any powers of discernment independent of their corporate masters, they'd be hard pressed to pick any one of these songs to play more than any other.) With "Bombaderos" the Small Stars paint a landscape of the modern bordertown, fraught with danger and still harboring vestiges of how it used to be. "Twenty-One" somehow has a stronger latin beat here, which propels the action along, as the narrator takes his wild ride of chance. Finally, the title track, "Tijuana Dreams" evokes a half of a story, a punchline without the joke, a tragedy but you're not sure if it's the ending or beginning. Only the aching is for certain, the regret and shame and sorrow. The most striking thing for me about this album is the way the songs have taken center stage here, and the Small Stars, consummate musicians that they are, have created a space for these songs to expand into so their worlds can live and breathe. What I mean is, it's very different from the live show, where the considerable talents of these musicians are frequently on display. Listening to the album, I'm never struck by the blistering solos of guitarists Richard Steele and Guy Fantasy, nor the brilliantly inventive drumming of Brick Masterson. Instead, the arrangements, the instrumentation, the individual players' talent, all are subsumed in the service of these incredible songs, to give them their definitive versions, to let them go out into the world, to seek their fame and fortune. I think they will find it.
- author: Bob Ruggiero
The Small Stars' roster includes "Guy Fantasy," "Buddy Llamas" and "Richard Steele" (think about it), the alter egos of Fastball's Miles Zuniga, Jeff Groves and friends, who all remain in costumed character on stage. Surprisingly, their second record, Tijuana Dreams, brings not jokey lounge-lizard shtick but great pop-rock with dashes of Tex-Mex. In the first half, songs like "Let's Hit the Town," "Day Job" and "Girl Trouble" address the sort of post-graduation Austinite ennui all too real to thousands who grab a diploma but never leave town, disappearing into jobs at offices, coffeehouses and used CD stores. It's all covered in a coat of shimmering pop. The CD's second half takes a turn toward Mexico with tales of drug busts, grain alcohol-soaked nights and rolling dice. Highlights here are "That's What God Made Whiskey For" (with guest vocalist Joe Ely) and "Carnival," in which an illicit affair takes on a fun, magical tone amidst cotton candy and rides, set to a melody straight from the Drifters. "Carnival," in fact, is the finest track on Tijuana Dreams. At this point, the Small Stars' self-described mixture of "Frank Sinatra meets Mott the Hoople" is still a humorous side project, but their recorded effort hints at something that will outlive the ruffled-shirt-and-sunglasses stage look.