WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT US . . .
“The oh-so-up-and-coming Blues Mafia is on the edge of saying . . . hello to the major leagues. These Austin School of Music grads boast well-schooled musicians like guitarists Max Frost and Patrick Mertens, bassist Kai Roach, and drummer Chris Copeland, but their calling card is vocalist Sasha Ortiz . . . her voice is commanding, soaring, sultry, and strong beyond her 20 years. Close your eyes and listen: nothing about their rootsy blues-rock sound suggests anything but dedication and professionalism. As easy to watch as she is to hear, Ortiz ought to be snapped up by the Antone’s stable, but she’s doing fine where she is.”
- Margaret Moser, Earache Austin Music Blog, Austin Chronicle (Mar 02, 2009)
FROM FREDDY-SO-READY -- “music so good it’s criminal”
FROM FLANFIRE -- "a group of seasoned professionals who are . . . wowing audiences with their intricate rhythms and blazing vocals."
FROM LUNA LIVE: "Music So Good It's Criminal" is their mantra and we couldn't have said it better ourselves. Most of them aren't even of legal age, so I guess it's fitting. Vocalist Sasha Ortiz is a mighty little thing.catch them live and you'll see what I mean. Serving up gritty Blues and deep, low-down Soul, this Austin based group has been busy taking their sound all over the US and Europe. Currently, this is their only San Antonio spot, so catch them while you can.
FROM BALCONY TV: Blues Mafia, from Austin Texas, bring back the cool with their smooth blend of honest-to-goodness blues and sultry soul. The overall sound conjures images of an intimate bar, with a hazy cloud of heat and smoke and a beautiful singer alternately purring and growling into the microphone. It’s refreshingly new, yet has the comfortable feeling you get from music that has sprouted from established roots. . . . it’s only a matter of time before this band become a breakaway smash – chasing out the current penchant for rap, hip-hop and pop-tastic ballads and ushering in a new soul revival. HERES A LINK TO A VIDEO OF US ON EXTRA T.V. Seriously, sign up for our email list. It's the best way to keep in touch, because we don't send out a lot of bulletins. You’ll get 1 or 2 emails a month about shows, exclusive song previews, and info on the other bands and music that we recommend. You can email us back, and you can unsubscribe anytime. We NEVER give your email to anyone else. That would be lame.
View Blues Mafia's EPK
THE STORY SO FAR . . . . We met through music school. Max, Kai & Chris were introduced by guitar teacher Cid Sanchez. Pat and Chris were friends from high school and had been in a Rock Camp band with Kai & Sasha.
The four guys got together in the summer of 2006 as Blues Mafia and started rehearsing with the idea that Pat and Max would do vocals. Dave Sebree, founder of Austin School of Music, needed a band to represent the school for some high-profile gigs. He said that if the guys would add Sasha to the group, we could play those dates. We rehearsed enough material for one short set and played The Paramount, The Glenn at the Backyard, Movies In The Park, and First Night. We found that we liked the sound and shared an eclectic taste in music. We’re all fans of old-school rock, funk, soul and jazz as well as new artists.
We started writing together, and gigging whenever possible in the Austin area, finding a home base at Jovita’s, a venue known for showcasing regional favorites like Seth Walker, The Gourds, Don Walser, and Gary Clark, Jr.
We took a trip to LA in January 2008, exploring management and recording options and playing at The Roxy, the AC Supper Club and Molly Malone’s. A win at the Blastbeat regional finals in May, 2008 got us tickets to Dublin for the World Finals in December, where we came in second and met some amazing artists and made new friends from all over the world.
We paid for our first recording in the summer of 2007 through a win in a band competition, working with engineer Chet Himes at ASM studios in a one-day marathon, self-produced session that resulted in a 3-song CD.
Our next studio project was produced by Dave Sebree in fall of 2008, and once again we worked with our man Chet Himes. We recorded 8 songs, all originals except for one written for us by Hudson Mueller.
We owe a lot to those who came before us – the list of artists who have influenced us is too long for this space. Some are known only around Austin, some are world-famous. Like many of them, we fell in love with the blues and started playing professionally before we were 21. We're older now than when we first got together, but one thing hasn't changed: we're all about the music, always.
