Mustang Mike and Friends: Now That’s What I Call Off-Season

By Chris Manson November 1, 2007 Issue

It’s what you call an off-season gig as “Mustang” Mike Silberhorn and his band set up for a poolside concert at the Destin apartment complex where vocalist-guitarist Blake Griffiths lives.

“They have parties here fairly regularly,” says vocalist-guitarist Larry “Darnell” Esco. “From what I heard, the last band really sucked, so they’re giving us a shot. This is sort of like an audition.”

Mustang Mike and Friends had been playing three days a week at Watercolor and two nights at Ball’s Out Sports Bar in Santa Rosa Beach. Griffiths says it dropped to one night a week almost overnight. Those who don’t live in Griffiths’ apartment complex can still enjoy the band every Tuesday at Ball’s Out from 4 to 8 p.m.

However, tonight’s semi-exclusive engagement does not keep out the non-residents. “We’re friends of the band,” one guy says. “We thought we’d come over and encourage them.”

The band — whose newest member is bassist Ronald Best — plays mostly classic rock, along with assorted compositions by the likes of Jethro Tull, Jimmy Buffett, and Keith Urban. Tonight they kick off with Griffiths singing the Sun Records classic Good Rockin’ Tonight. Griffiths has a pleasant voice; still, the song’s nasty intentions come through loud and clear. Silberhorn bangs out a nice 36-bar electric guitar solo, as the two rhythm players compensate for the lack of a drummer.

As the sun sets, more residents and friends of the band drop by with covered dishes and food. I see no reason to gripe when they place most of the goodies on the table I’ve commandeered on behalf of The Press.

Next, the band does John Mellencamp’s Pink Houses, with Esco’s harmony singing offering a nice counterpoint. Esco played at the Boathouse with Kemosabe, back in the 1990s when the place was barely bringing in $100 a night. He currently runs a painting business. (The rest of the band members have day jobs, too. Griffiths works for the South Walton Fire District, Best is in property management, and Silberhorn is a draftsman.)

Other songs in the repertoire include Steve Miller’s Dance, Dance, Dance (countrified), Lay Down Sally (as expected, kind of laid-back), and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s Teach Your Children (good use of all the singers). Since harmonizing seems to come so natural to these guys, I’m a little disappointed there isn’t anything from my beloved Everly Brothers in the set list. Yet.

“Anyone who asks for Free Bird is going in the pool,” Esco says before the band launches into some interesting blues material, including Before You Accuse Me and Ice Cream Man, a song familiar to fans of the first Van Halen album.

I’m delighted when they switch gears with Pink Floyd’s best song, Wish You Were Here. “It’s all about having fun and making good music,” Silberhorn says. He and Best are neighbors and have collaborated on original material. Everyone in the band writes, and they are constantly expanding the song list with everything from Steely Dan and James Taylor to Barenaked Ladies.

“If you suggest them, we’ll learn them and play them,” Silberhorn says. “There’s nothing we won’t really play.” Although if you holler out for some Skynyrd, you had better at least know how to dog paddle.

Friends of The Beat:
• Gileah and the Ghost Train. Gileah’s second disc is even better than her first as she explores matters of the heart and spirit, considerably aided by first-rate production.
• The WaCo Ramblers. Having played more than 300 gigs last year, the Red Rocker and company more than convince on their first studio set. Starting the disc with a Jimmie Rodgers song lets you know exactly where they’re coming from, and the original songs that follow hardly disgrace the Father of Country Music.
• Robert & James: Standing in the Sun. This DeFuniak Springs duo offers a short but solid country-gospel effort.

The Beat Recommends:
• The Shys: Astoria (Sire) Noisy punk music that reveals the overrated White Stripes for the second-rate Zep clones they are. They just parted ways with their label, and have posted a free download of their new song Well Connected on their Myspace page.
• Slang: Soul Love An’ Groove (myspace.com/slangmusic) Carlos Santana and George Clinton had a baby, and they named it Slang.
• Genesis: Duke and Abacab (Rhino) Spectacular CD-plus-DVD reissues of the band’s best albums from 1976-1982, before Phil Collins became a solo superstar.
• Radiohead: In Rainbows (www.inrainbows.com) The number of huge bands parting ways with corrupt record labels continues as the art-rock heroes practically give away their new, excellent disc on the Net.

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