Houston Jones rolls On

I caught up with Travis Jones last night when Bay Area favorites Houston Jones gigged at Cafe Trieste in Berkeley. The date was part of an aggressive schedule of small venue and local radio appearances in the band's home territory. Last fall, HoJo won a bunch of awards in our Strawberry Best of the Fest poll. Since then, it played the Far West Folk Alliance, and is getting ready for what it hopes will be a breakout appearance in next month's International Folk Alliance conference in Austin.

Travis pointed out to me that the band hopes to follow the same route to national success travelled by their former compadres The Waybacks. Several members of Houston Jones are former Waybacks. The Waybacks gained national notice several years ago after wowwing showcase audiences at Folk Alliance.

Last night, HoJo played with its four-man ensemble in Trieste's tight quarters, which was packed with a good number of the band's regular fans. Travis, Glenn, Chris and Peter sounded in fine form as they played the band's regular repertoire of originals, covers and instrumentals.