Music

The Tejas Brothers are authentic purveyors of a decidedly Lone Star sound.

Not since the Texas Tornados has a band of musical hermanos so expertly merged country, Tejano, rock and blues. While these four Fort Worth guys aren't siblings, they sure are kin behind those instruments. We're talking guitar, accordion, bass and drums. What more do you need for that real border style?

Guitarist Chris Zalez was a bluesman. He was even making a living playing it onstage. But it was time for a change, he thought around 2006. He tapped into his childhood predilection for Mexican music, as well as a few other genres, and called in upright bassist John Garza, drummer Danny Cochran and singer-squeezebox player David Perez. Suddenly, the Tejas Brothers were born.

One listens to the group's self-titled, 11-song CD and two quick thoughts come to mind. First, dang, these musicians are a younger and hipper but just-as-real reincarnation of Texas Tornados, the lauded ensemble featuring Flaco Jimenez and the late Freddy Fender. And finally you say to yourself, "What took so long for Texas to produce another band like this?"

Better late than never, right? Mr. Perez penned most of the tunes on Tejas Brothers, including the cool, Tex-Mex stomp "Doing a Real Good Job" and the vintage, bolero-inspired ballad "Love Me or Leave Me Alone."

Respect for the Tejas Brothers has been almost instantaneous, at least judging by the guests on the disc. Matt Hillyer of rugged country-rock outfit Eleven Hundred Springs picks and sings, while bluesman Anson Funderburgh works his six-string magic on a couple of tracks.

But if you want to encapsulate the Tejas Brothers in three sentences, let Mr. Zalez do the talking.

"We're not just a cover band," he has said. "These are the kind of songs we write. This is the kind of music we love – genuine Texas music."

Amen, brothers.Plan your life

Tonight at 8 at McDavid Studio, 301 E. Fifth St., Fort Worth. $20. 1-877-212-4280, www.basshall.com.

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