I hate Ybor City. Well, I shouldn’t
say that. I really shouldn’t blame
the godforsaken city, because it’s
not the city’s fault that I was
born with a navigation system of
a blind, deaf, mute bloodhound,
which has just recently lost its
sense of smell. I finally arrive at
the Skate park of Tampa, after
passing it three times. I dodge
through the parking lot which
resembles a High School party
more than the parking lot of a
concert, with beat-up cars a
decade old spread out sporadically
across the potholed black-top
parking lot. With kids dressed in
homemade punk rock hoodies,
smoking name brand cancer
sticks, chugging plastic cups full
of keg beer. Mike Wiebe,
frontman for Denton, TX’s
Riverboat Gamblers, stands out
yet blends in. His 6’3 lithe frame
leans against the Skate Park art
gallery building, a small one
hudred fifty zoned capacity building. His stature stands out all
though he sports the required uniform, of a faded blue hoodie,
torn jeans with a hole in the crotch. He leans calmly against the
building surrounded by a few dozens kids who have turned out
for the show tonight.
Texas has become the new “it” state, with bands sprouting
up like Chlamydia, who threw out a varsity cheerleading squad.
The days of Willie Nelson, Buck Owens and Buddy Holly have
long past. In Austin you have Blue October, and You Will Know
Us by the Trail of Dead, go over to Dallas and you’re likely to
hear of bands like Bowling for Soup, or The Degenerates, and
of course you could always slide on over to El Paso, where you
could revel in the glory days of At the Drive In, but you are
more than likely to hear about the former members new bands,
like Jim Ward’s Sparta or Omar Rodriguez’s Mars Volta.
However, in our quick little stroll around the lone star state we
have skipped over one major Mecca; Denton, TX, a college
town of 100,000 plus which is the city that spawned the biggest
Texas buzz band, which has been ten years in the making.
The Riverboat Gamblers have been Texas’s best kept secret
for ten years now with a name that was completely random.
While Austin bands at the time were coming up with extremely
flowery “emo” names, The Gamblers decided to be simple. “At
the time we were just so sick and tired of these whimsical
“emo” names like Snow Falling on Cedars, Wind of Our Times,
and we were just sick of that, so we went with something that
definitely didn’t sound whimsical.” Wiebe explains. Denton
natives The Riverboat Gamblers have left a trail of blood,
missing teeth, and not to mention lacerations and enough
medical bills to put a third world country in debt for the next
decade. However it’s all been worth it, according to frontman
Wiebe (aka Rookie Sensation) “It’s all part of the show man!
Give people what they pay for.” The best moment of every
Riverboat Gamblers show is when three hundred kids all reach
for their razors, chocolates or sidekicks to call the ambulance
only after taking a picture of Wiebe as he lays bleeding, or
climbs atop the Marshall Amplifier stacks; trust me it happens
every show. They have cultivated the audience, not to
mention their peers, landing opening slots for the likes of The
Rollins Band, X, Mc5, Flogging Molly, and Hot Water Music,
just to name a few.The Gamblers were formed in 1997 with
say that. I really shouldn’t blame
the godforsaken city, because it’s
not the city’s fault that I was
born with a navigation system of
a blind, deaf, mute bloodhound,
which has just recently lost its
sense of smell. I finally arrive at
the Skate park of Tampa, after
passing it three times. I dodge
through the parking lot which
resembles a High School party
more than the parking lot of a
concert, with beat-up cars a
decade old spread out sporadically
across the potholed black-top
parking lot. With kids dressed in
homemade punk rock hoodies,
smoking name brand cancer
sticks, chugging plastic cups full
of keg beer. Mike Wiebe,
frontman for Denton, TX’s
Riverboat Gamblers, stands out
yet blends in. His 6’3 lithe frame
leans against the Skate Park art
gallery building, a small one
hudred fifty zoned capacity building. His stature stands out all
though he sports the required uniform, of a faded blue hoodie,
torn jeans with a hole in the crotch. He leans calmly against the
building surrounded by a few dozens kids who have turned out
for the show tonight.
Texas has become the new “it” state, with bands sprouting
up like Chlamydia, who threw out a varsity cheerleading squad.
The days of Willie Nelson, Buck Owens and Buddy Holly have
long past. In Austin you have Blue October, and You Will Know
Us by the Trail of Dead, go over to Dallas and you’re likely to
hear of bands like Bowling for Soup, or The Degenerates, and
of course you could always slide on over to El Paso, where you
could revel in the glory days of At the Drive In, but you are
more than likely to hear about the former members new bands,
like Jim Ward’s Sparta or Omar Rodriguez’s Mars Volta.
However, in our quick little stroll around the lone star state we
have skipped over one major Mecca; Denton, TX, a college
town of 100,000 plus which is the city that spawned the biggest
Texas buzz band, which has been ten years in the making.
The Riverboat Gamblers have been Texas’s best kept secret
for ten years now with a name that was completely random.
While Austin bands at the time were coming up with extremely
flowery “emo” names, The Gamblers decided to be simple. “At
the time we were just so sick and tired of these whimsical
“emo” names like Snow Falling on Cedars, Wind of Our Times,
and we were just sick of that, so we went with something that
definitely didn’t sound whimsical.” Wiebe explains. Denton
natives The Riverboat Gamblers have left a trail of blood,
missing teeth, and not to mention lacerations and enough
medical bills to put a third world country in debt for the next
decade. However it’s all been worth it, according to frontman
Wiebe (aka Rookie Sensation) “It’s all part of the show man!
Give people what they pay for.” The best moment of every
Riverboat Gamblers show is when three hundred kids all reach
for their razors, chocolates or sidekicks to call the ambulance
only after taking a picture of Wiebe as he lays bleeding, or
climbs atop the Marshall Amplifier stacks; trust me it happens
every show. They have cultivated the audience, not to
mention their peers, landing opening slots for the likes of The
Rollins Band, X, Mc5, Flogging Molly, and Hot Water Music,
just to name a few.The Gamblers were formed in 1997 with
Wiebe on vocals, Patrick Lillard
(aka Mr. Lillard) on bass, Ian
MacDougal on guitar, Freddy
Castro (aka Fadi) on guitar, and
Tony Aguilar on drums. When Mr.
Lillard first formed The Gamblers,
his original plan was to emulate
Virginia punk-rock outfit, The
Candy Snatchers.
The Gamblers premier show
He has an animated demeanor; it would be hard to imagine him
without arms, how would he talk? It’s even more difficult to
imagine the 6’3, long-haired punk rocker with his wiry frame
getting hip to old Sinatra tunes. This is the same guy that breaks
fingers and jumps off Marshal stacks all for the audience.
By 2001 The Gamblers had busted out of the Denton, TX
college scene, which was just kind of how it happened. “We
never went in with the attitude of, Yeah, we’re gonna start a
band, and we’re gonna make it man!!” Wiebe explains, “It was
more of a realization of, like wow I guess we’re doing this full
time now.” Wiebe says as he tucks his hair behind his ears, “We
just kind of looked at how much time we were spending doing
it, and was like okay, I guess we’re doing this full time now.”
The Gamblers followed suit the only way they knew how with
DYI ethic, producing their own 7” single Jenna is a No Show.
The Gamblers simply traded the dive bars and house parties of
Texas for the rest of the country. “We did it gradually. One year
we toured a week, then the next year we toured three weeks,
and now we tour half the year if not more.” Wiebe says. Austin
Punk legend Tim Kerr, whose resume includes Big Boys, Death
Valley and Jack O’Fire, produced their debut record which was
released on the DC based label Vile Beat Records. Despite major
label interest, The Gamblers released their sophomore record
Something to Crow About through the San Francisco label
Gearhead Records. With strong momentum of Something to
Crow, The Gamblers smug mugs were plastered all through the
pages of Spin, Alternative Press and Revolver. In between
getting press based solely on their music, being hailed as the
next big thing in 2006, as well as getting press for their constant
visits to Emergency Rooms, not to mention constantly canceling
shows due to those very visits. Who can forget the picture of
Mr. Lillard plastered all over the internet with his bloody face
and all front teeth bashed out, after taking a microphone to the
face. “Yeah I did that.” Wiebe admits. “I was swinging the
microphone and it caught him in the face.” He says as he looks
down in shame a bit.
The Gamblers have fought the temptation to flock to the
major’s. “We’ll definitely do one more record on Volcom.”
Wiebe assures me, which is a feat in itself considering that the
four Gambler records were recorded on three different labels.
“We have just always wanted to rock forward, hit more
audiences. It seems that labels hit only certain audiences.”
Wiebe explains. “We just don’t want to play to just one scene.”
(aka Mr. Lillard) on bass, Ian
MacDougal on guitar, Freddy
Castro (aka Fadi) on guitar, and
Tony Aguilar on drums. When Mr.
Lillard first formed The Gamblers,
his original plan was to emulate
Virginia punk-rock outfit, The
Candy Snatchers.
The Gamblers premier show
- involved over the top performance
with songs about drinking and, of
course, gambling. With The
Gamblers firmly planting their
tongue deep into their cheek, a
practice that has followed The
Gamblers all the way to the
present, with their 2006 release To
the Confusion of Our Enemies, a
play on the infamous Sinatra toast
“…because a man without
enemies is a man without
character and if you stand up for
anything, someone is going to hate
you.” “Yeah, I like Sinatra, he’s
He has an animated demeanor; it would be hard to imagine him
without arms, how would he talk? It’s even more difficult to
imagine the 6’3, long-haired punk rocker with his wiry frame
getting hip to old Sinatra tunes. This is the same guy that breaks
fingers and jumps off Marshal stacks all for the audience.
By 2001 The Gamblers had busted out of the Denton, TX
college scene, which was just kind of how it happened. “We
never went in with the attitude of, Yeah, we’re gonna start a
band, and we’re gonna make it man!!” Wiebe explains, “It was
more of a realization of, like wow I guess we’re doing this full
time now.” Wiebe says as he tucks his hair behind his ears, “We
just kind of looked at how much time we were spending doing
it, and was like okay, I guess we’re doing this full time now.”
The Gamblers followed suit the only way they knew how with
DYI ethic, producing their own 7” single Jenna is a No Show.
The Gamblers simply traded the dive bars and house parties of
Texas for the rest of the country. “We did it gradually. One year
we toured a week, then the next year we toured three weeks,
and now we tour half the year if not more.” Wiebe says. Austin
Punk legend Tim Kerr, whose resume includes Big Boys, Death
Valley and Jack O’Fire, produced their debut record which was
released on the DC based label Vile Beat Records. Despite major
label interest, The Gamblers released their sophomore record
Something to Crow About through the San Francisco label
Gearhead Records. With strong momentum of Something to
Crow, The Gamblers smug mugs were plastered all through the
pages of Spin, Alternative Press and Revolver. In between
getting press based solely on their music, being hailed as the
next big thing in 2006, as well as getting press for their constant
visits to Emergency Rooms, not to mention constantly canceling
shows due to those very visits. Who can forget the picture of
Mr. Lillard plastered all over the internet with his bloody face
and all front teeth bashed out, after taking a microphone to the
face. “Yeah I did that.” Wiebe admits. “I was swinging the
microphone and it caught him in the face.” He says as he looks
down in shame a bit.
The Gamblers have fought the temptation to flock to the
major’s. “We’ll definitely do one more record on Volcom.”
Wiebe assures me, which is a feat in itself considering that the
four Gambler records were recorded on three different labels.
“We have just always wanted to rock forward, hit more
audiences. It seems that labels hit only certain audiences.”
Wiebe explains. “We just don’t want to play to just one scene.”
