Writer of songs shares love of music, writing

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

Mike Blakely performs at The Wild Horse Grill, which is located in Marble Falls. Blakely says he enjoys writing his own songs. - Photo by Mandy Spikes

August 28, 2003 -- Mike Blakely is a man who loves the country and western life. From writing stories to creating songs, he surrounds himself in the western atmosphere that is associated with Texas. He began his career early and during the years has become a major icon in the Texas writing and music scene.

This Central Texan from Marble Falls says his love for songwriting came first.

"My dad was a fiddle player and we always had musicians in the house, so music was just a part of my life." By the time he was in high school, Blakely was already in a "garage honkytonk band."

While growing up, he also knew he wanted to write books, but he didn't know how to get started. "I was just a country boy from Wharton County. But my English teachers kept telling me to write stories. They gave me a lot of the encouragement I needed."

After graduation, Blakely spent a few years in the Air Force. He then went on to college to pursue a degree in journalism. "Basically, my idea was to become a professional writer and make lots of money.

"I started working in journalism as a free lance writer for various papers. At the same time, I was still writing more country and western songs and performing again. I wrote a lot of bad songs during that time, but I feel that it's better to get those songs out of the way."

After freelance writing for a few years, Blakely decided to write his first novel. At age 29, he completed his first novel and became a published fiction writer with his debut release, "The Glory Trial."

"This novel is a historical western novel. Having grown up on a ranch and loving the outdoors, I have a great appreciation for the American West."

He then moved to Marble Falls and became more involved with the music scene there. "This is not your typical small town music scene. I have found that in Marble Falls, there is more of an emphasis on song writing. You won't find that in many other places."

While in Marble Falls, he met Larry Nye, who was a guitar player and the owner of Lazy L Recording Studio. Together, with Donnie Price, who is a bassist and promoter, the three formed the band known as Mike Blakely y Los Yahoos. The band has played all over the world, from Texas to Switzerland. "We have developed a huge fan base in Switzerland."

The trio also formed their own record label, Swing Rider Records, releasing three albums of songs written or co-written by Mike Blakely.

"We saw a chance to create our own record label and get our music out to the public in our own way. We did this all without using the big business system that is typical in place like Nashville, TN.

"When I went to Nashville to pitch my songs, I ran into the typical run around that is associated with the major-label country music business. It was then I decided to focus on recording and performing my own songs for the fans.

"The Texas music scene has exploded in the past few years," stated Blakely. "Texas artists can now make a living recording music and playing shows only for a Texas audience.

"At the moment, there is a huge national mass market in the country music business and it's in Nashville. But I foresee a day when some major record labels begin to show up in Texas."

He states that Texas has rescued country and western music at least three times. "These three times are during the Willie Nelson era, the George Straight era, and the Pat Green era."

Currently, Blakely is right in the middle of writing a trilogy about the adobe walls area in the Texas Panhandle. At the same time, he has just released a new CD titled, "Faded Blue".

"I am also on the verge of debuting my first annual music festival called Mike Blakely's First Annual Texamericana Fandango. It will take place Sept. 12-13 in Luckenbach. We are really excited to see how it turns out."

For more information on Mike Blakely, visit www.mikeblakely.com. For more information on the music festival, call 830-693-5817 or e-mail: mike@281.com.