Kentucky Six Gun hoping to find local fans for Southern rock

By: JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:14 PM PST ∞

So how does a group of guys from San Marcos and Vista end up starting a Southern rock band? For the members of Kentucky Six Gun, it was simply a desire to do something different musically.

Eryk Fleeson, drummer for the band, explained that the group came out of a prior band, Carol Ann, that most of the members of the current combo were in. While Carol Ann was a metal band ---- "like As I Lay Dying," as lead singer Joe Ries put it ---- the guys were wanting a change of direction.

"Carol Ann was doing OK, but we all decided to branch off," Fleeson said by phone during a recent group phone call after practice. "A couple of us were jamming and the others came by and liked it and we decided to stay with it.

"We wanted a little more emotion on the guitars and little more feeling in the music rather than just straight-forward all the time."

All that happened just last March, but the new band has already become a regular presence on the local rock scene through a heavy performance schedule. Still, not quite a year into the new venture, change is already afoot, The band said founding lead guitarist Diego Mendez has given notice, and Feb. 24's show at the Jumping Turtle will be his last with the band. (No hard feelings were reported, and the band is hoping to replace Mendez at some point in the near future.)

All four of the ongoing members said they're happy with the band's new sound and are hoping to make a push this year with a CD and, hopefully, a mini-tour to help establish the band's identity among fans.

Bassist Jim Warneke said the band's members range in age from 21 to 27, and with no kids, the time is ripe to pour their energy into the band.

"Everyone else has a girlfriend, and then I'm the single guy in college right now," Warneke said of their personal situations. "Everyone has a day job they work at, except me ---- I'm the college kid who's bumming around playing in a band."

Practicing at least three times per week in a dedicated facility, the members of Kentucky Six Gun are "trying to be as legit as possible."

Still, the members said losing Mendez is going to set them back a bit.

"With the lineup change, it will probably be a couple of months before we're back on track," Warneke said.

He added that even before Mendez decided to move on, the band had made a strategic decision to play fewer shows locally.

"Recently, we've been kind of cutting down. We were playing the same shows over and over again. We were playing with the same bands. Right now, we're trying to play with bigger bands. We've only been around for a year, so our name hasn't stretched that far."

But the members of Kentucky Six Gun said that the rock scene in San Diego County presents challenges in building a fan base. Too often, they said, when multiple bands share the bill, each band's fans only come inside to hear their favorite band, and then leave ---- undermining the purpose of a multiband show, which is to try to get new fans to hear your music.

"It's pretty one-sided as far as the fan base goes," Fleeson said. "They want to see the band they're there for, and they're not interested in anyone else."

Warneke echoed that thought, saying, "It might be the younger crowds; our music is aimed at high school-age people. We're trying to throw some old classic rock influences, but kids today are so stuck in their cliques. They're don't want to go outside their group. They'll go out and see their friend's band, but they won't stick around.

"Some people go out to a show just so they can look cool and say they were there, which is really weird to me."

Kentucky Six Gun, with Clifton, I Am the Ocean and Airbags Saved My Life

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 24

Where: The Jumping Turtle, 1660 Capalina Road, San Marcos

Tickets: $10

Info: (760) 471-7778 or thejumpingturtle.com

Web: myspace.com/kentuckysixgun

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