Houston has long been home of the blues. Maybe it’s the result of the sprawling, muggy, cement city filled with hard working people from all walks of life just trying to make a living. Maybe it’s a vibe that just moves along the Gulf Coast creating the many sounds unique to the region.
All those influences are caught up in the latest album by Houston’s The Mighty Orq who will celebrate the release of Stolen on September 14 at The Armadillo Palace with support from another beloved Houston band, Grifters & Shills.
Stolen will be available for streaming, download and purchase this Friday with physical copies available at Saturday’s release show.
“Houston is such a musically artistically rich environment and so growing up here and really experiencing so much of that has had really a tremendous impact on the music that I love and the music that I want to play,” says Orq.
“Houston is such a musically artistically rich environment and so growing up here and really experiencing so much of that has had really a tremendous impact on the music that I love and the music that I want to play.”
The Mighty Orq makes a big impression standing tall, sharply dressed with the guitar chops of rugged old blues man and the gritty vocals to match. Underneath his ferocious, foot stomping guitar playing there are tender and intricate melodies and a voice that comes from somewhere so deep only the real blues can reside there.
Growing up, Orq was drawn to the blues and knew he could access the city’s bustling scene by hitting up local spots like The Big Easy. “I didn’t have to ‘sneak in’ because I probably weighed what I weigh now and my beard was a lot longer so I would just go in,” says Orq recalling how the teenager would don slacks and a tie to order cokes at the bar.
“I wasn’t trying to get anybody in trouble,” he says. “I would just go and listen to guys like Texas Johnny Brown or Joe ‘Guitar’ Hughes and just try and absorb the goodness you know.”
Stolen reflects all of the Gulf Coast sounds and more with tracks ranging from a second line inspired number with “Shongaloo” to the beast of an acoustic instrumental track, “Suspended.”
“Instrumental music to me feels the most natural. I could do instrumental music all day and I really love it because of how you can sort of imply a story without necessarily having to spell it out in words.”
Stolen opens up with the in-your-face, distorted opening of “Boogie Man” warning of humanity’s own self destructive tendencies reflected in Orq’s guttural singing and fiery guitar licks.
The title track shows a more bluegrass, finger picking style which Orq adapts to his own instrument, a conscious result of a “wacky tuning” configuration and a way to avoid lugging a banjo around to his gigs.
Orq usually packs a large arsenal of guitars for his gigs but one in particular, and the one used on “Stolen” has special meaning to him as it was left to Orq by Houston bluesman Luther Rada of Luther And The Healers.
Rada, who passed away in 2018, became a friend and mentor to a young Orq who at the time was playing in the Tony Vega Band.
“Luther was one of these guys that was really supportive and he wanted to get to know you. He would offer advice and encouragement so over a 20 year period we got to be really good friends. He was always such a good friend, good human and mentor to a lot of up and coming artists.”
“Stolen” was written about the infamous bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd and was being considered for use in a podcast. Though ultimately it was not picked up, another track from the album, “Outlaw” did become the theme song for the podcast Legends Of The Old West.
“I really tried to sort of tell the story in images and pictures rather than a more traditional narrative style. I just try to see something and describe it and I felt like I was really happy with how both of those turned out,” says Orq of the poetic and cinematic tracks.
Stolen on the whole reflects Orq’s many influences and embodies a wide scope of experiences and feelings evoked behind every track that when put together really highlight all of what the Gulf Coast has to offer musically.
“I feel like that sort of range in intensity and emotion is a pretty accurate representation of not only what happens at a live show but also sort of how I, and probably most people, experience the world. I feel like it’s a pretty accurate representation. A lot of times, life is a roller coaster.”
Stolen will be available for streaming and purchase on Friday, September 13 and The Mighty Orq will celebrate with an album release on Saturday, September 14 at The Armadillo Palace, 5015 Kirby, 8 p.m, $15-20.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
