The Krayolas Play Brooklyn's Bell House Today

In Texas, they like their legends. The Alamo, Sam Houston, even the Dallas Cowboys. And down in San Antonio they have another: the Krayolas, the band started in 1975 by the Saldana brothers, a pair of Mexican-American teenagers in love with powerpop. The great Augie Meyers, the Texas Tornado himself, calls them up to go in the studio with him, and Little Steven, Dave Marsh, and Ben Fong-Torres think they're the coolest thing since an iced bottle of Lone Star.

With the new iTunes album, Tormenta (Box Records; release: July 30, 2013; available for pre-order on iTunes), the Krayolas let the world in on the secret Texas has been keeping. The band will take the East Coast by storm in early August, with concerts in Richmond VA, Washington DC, New York, and Asbury Park NJ.

"Our moniker was the Tex-Mex Beatles for many years," observes drummer David Saldana. They were inspired by the Fab Four, the Who, all the great 45s of the 1960s. They toured with Nick Lowe and Joan Jett and shared stages with local heroes like the Sir Douglas Quintet ,the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the West Side Horns. As guitarist/singer (and admired music journalist) Hector Saldana puts it, "Our heart and soul are in San Antonio. We have a Mexican influence and this is a Mexican town. There's always been a vibrant music scene and we've been part of that."

COMING UP IN NYC:

THE KRAYOLAS (Tex-mex power pop from San Antonio)
08/07/2013, TONIGHT
Brooklyn, NY
The Bell House, 149 7th St.
Show: 8:00pm
Ph: (718) 643-6510
New album Tormento out on Box Records July 30