Ray Rodriguez is the drummer you dream of if you’re a kid dreaming of playing music. Never makes a mistake. Photographic memory of every song he’s ever heard. Steady and right. Brilliant mind & deep soul & funny as hell.
Besides being our famously groovy bass player, Bill Small is a guitar slinger, songwriter, super-pro class session singer, engineer, producer and personal coach.
Corby Schaub made himself famous in the Ryan Bingham Band, but this has been his home for 5 years. In the last year, he finished a degree, got a cool job, started a family, all while continuing to be the most unique guitar player I’ve ever known, and continuing to produce records for other artists.
JimmyDaddy is a great soul singer, country singer, and rock n roll singer (remind me to tell you about when we heard him sing “Helter Skelter” in Memphis). He also has major label cuts in Nashville, and was on a major label his own self. And: He has the tri-fecta of cool appearances: The Grand Ol’ Opry, MTV, and Hee-Haw.
Ron Flynt is as cool as cool gets: His band signed a major label deal in California right out of college. Toured everywhere. Worked with the coolest folks in music, went home to Oklahoma, started a family, moved to Austin & built a reputation as a musician’s musician. He opened a brilliant workspace/recording studio, Jumping Dog, that is adored by all. He is our yogi.
Bart de Win is our European band member, a piano virtuoso and a brilliant singer & writer. Also the closest human to Cary Grant as we’re liable to meet. The only issue is that he lives in The Netherlands, so we don’t have him all the time.
Tina Wilkins is our chick singer; we have a really, really good one. And she makes us look a lot better.
As for me, The Mystiqueros have provided me with the chance to be in a real, kick-ass touring band that plays original music. That was my dream. And the gravy on that dream (“Dream gravy”...Hmmm) is that it has been the most fun I’ve ever had.
10 years, 4 records, 1,500+ gigs, A hundred thousand miles. 14 states, 2 continents, 9 full-time members past & present, and many, many on-stage guests. Honky-tonks, dives, parking lots, dancehalls, festivals, theaters. Too many great nights to remember. Oceans of laughter. A lot of beers. Good beers, because we care about that.
We’ve been a home for wayward souls, and a circus. A house band, a backing band.
Openers, Headliners. A touring band playing original music that fears no one, ever.
We’re a band that can musically reference Sly Stone & Ray Price in one song.
We can play the fire out of all sorts of stuff, as long as we don’t have to do it the same way twice. We can play four hours, straight - You know that.
We’re a band that can play your wedding ceremony, as sweet as you please, and then shake the walls of the bar down the street an hour later. We’re the Mystiqueros.
- Walt Wilkins 2017.