The Mavericks headline Rock the Ruins at Holliday Park

The Mavericks headline Rock the Ruins at Holliday Park

By: Kevin Vickery

On August 17th, I made my way to Holliday Park which is roughly about equally North of downtown, Indianapolis as it is South of Carmel to see one of my favorite bands, The Mavericks for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The Mavericks first hit the scene in 1989 as a country band, later signed in 1994 by MCA Records and went on to record the album, “What a Crying Shame” which was certified as platinum and charted heavily with songs like title track, “What a Crying Shame”, as well as “O What a Thrill”, “There Goes My Heart”, and, “All that Heaven Would Allow”.  During this timeframe, the band went on to earn a Grammy, two CMA awards, and three ACM awards.

Personally, I’ve loved The Mavericks since the first time I heard them but have never really understood why they were marketed as a “country” band.  Their style is so influenced by such a much broader scope including Tex-Mex, Tejano, western swing, Cuban rhythms, Jamaican ska, and classic jazz/R&B, that it still amazes me that the country music format is where they landed.

They also have a particular penchant for fashion that separates their look from anything that would be considered “country” especially by today’s pop-country standards.  In short, you’re not going to find trucker caps and bedazzled jeans on a guy singing songs about dirt roads and drinking moonshine from a Dixie Cup at a Mavericks show.

My personal experience in working with The Mavericks was back in 1996 when I was the Project Manager for The Crown Royal Country Music Concert Series and they closed out the last six dates of our tour along with Junior Brown as the support act.  We traveled together and did cool, smaller theater gigs at The Fox Theaters of Atlanta, GA, St. Louis, MO and Boulder, CO, as well as other venues in Reno NV, and Los Angeles, CA.  I remember my tour mates and I visiting retro clothing shops near Hollywood & Vine during our off day in LA and buying clothes to fit the Mavericks fashion vibe.  To this day, I still have a brown suede western jacket, trimmed in orange thread from the 70s that I bought in the 90s on that tour.

From then to now, the band line-up has changed a bit. Raul Malo still fronts the band with a booming baritone vocal style that is reminiscent of a cross between crooners like Chris Isaak and a young Elvis Presley. 

Co-founder, Paul Deakin has always been confidently holding the beat since the band’s inception.

Former side-man, but now band member, Jerry Dale McFadden offers a combination of keyboardist extraordinaire and the brightest, most colorful fashion you’ll find in so called, “country” music.

Guitarist, Eddie Perez, has all the look and twice the tone of any guitarist the band has ever had before him. 

His Fender Telecaster and Fender Vibrolux amp reminds me of an old, spaghetti western soundtrack that when coupled with the surf guitar sound of Raul Malo’s Fender Jaguar tone through his Fender Deluxe seem like they should be playing the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino film.

The Mavericks’ touring band also features a host of additional musicians including, Max Abrams on saxophone, Julio Diaz on the trumpet, and accordionist, Percy Cardona. These guys really round out the band’s sound and make the show feel less like a simple concert and more like a big, South American fiesta.

Their show was heavy on new material from their, latest “Moon & Stars” album and while I did miss hearing some of their earlier hits, their high energy and musically diverse set left me not mad at them for omitting some of the older tunes.

The show at Holliday Park opened with a set from Nicole Atkins who has recorded six full length albums and several EPs over the span of her 20 year musical career. The Neptune, New Jersey born singer/songwriter’s original songs performed with her band were real crowd pleasers but she was at her best when she returned to the stage and joined The Mavericks on their duo version of, “Live Close By, Visit Often”, a song Raul Malo co-wrote with K.T. Oslin for her album of the same name in 2001.

After the show, I spoke with my friend and fellow concertgoer, Ben Long from Anderson and got his thoughts about the experience.  He said, “The band was definitely having a good time on stage and that’s what always makes a show fun to watch – it’s infectious.”  He added, “The show was killer, and even though I only knew a couple songs that they played, I’d go back and see them again tomorrow.”

Before that night, I had never been to Holliday Park and was unfamiliar with the Rock the Ruins concert series.  That title comes from the “ruins” located at the main entrance and elsewhere throughout the park.

The Ruins at Holliday Park, look like they came straight from an ancient Roman palace but the provenance of The Ruins isn’t quite as ancient as their appearance might have you believe. Most of the structures are actually the remains of the former St. Paul Building in Manhattan, NY. Completed in 1898 and demolished in 1958, it was once one of the tallest skyscrapers in New York City, standing 26 stories tall.

The most prominent feature of the St. Paul building were the three squatting figures, made from Indiana limestone, collectively known as “The Races of Man.” Created in the 1890s by sculptor Karl Bitter, the bodies are said to represent people of different ethnicities working together to hold up the building. When the St. Paul building was scheduled for demolition, The Committee to Preserve American Art stepped in to save the building’s works of art. Several organizations and entities in the United States made requests for the sculptures, with Indianapolis ultimately winning, landing them at Holliday Park and thusly inspiring the name for the, “Rock the Ruins” concert series.

So, if you have the chance, I would highly recommend a trip to Holliday Park in Indianapolis to check out the art and architecture of the ruins and if you can make it for a Rock The Ruins show there, I promise you won’t be disappointed by this cool, family friendly venue.

For more information about the concert series presented by The Vogue and hosted by Holliday Park, follow their Facebook page or visit rocktheruins.com.

To learn more about Holliday Park go to their website at hollidaypark.org

The Mavericks tour schedule, merchandise and other information are available at themavericksband.com.

Find additional information including tour schedule and merchandise for Nicole Adkins at nicoleadkins.com