Luv Ya Pete Mayes
When the Friends of the Blues – Montgomery County started the Blues Series at Montgomery College (now Lone Star College – Montgomery), we were very interested in getting Pete Mayes out for an evening. Even though Pete’s good friend, Art Dietz was a member of the FOB, Pete’s health, and the need for someone to drive him, made the logistics for Pete’s participation very problematic. (The Blues Series was scheduled each semester from the spring of 2000 to the spring of 2003.) Although he didn’t appear in the series, Art did see that Pete was part of the 10th Anniversary community celebration of the opening of the Montgomery College campus in August of 2005.
Most people who love Pete Mayes know that the best place to experience Pete and his music was at his place, the Double Bayou Dance Hall, near Anahuac, Texas. We were fortunate to see Pete several times at the Dance Hall. Pete and his live music will be missed. You can read more about Pete at the following sites:
Houston Chronicle September 2008
Houston Chronicle December 2008
Beaumont Enterprise
Houston Press
The Examiner
In the just-published “The Rise of A Contemporary Sound – Texas Blues,” by Alan Govenar, Pete wrote:
“The blues is the truth. If you start doing blues and there’s something about it that isn’t true, there’s no way for you to sell it to the people. If you’re telling the truth, the people can feel it, but if you’re telling a bunch of lies, it’s not going to work too well.”
We luv ya, Pete! May you rest in peace.
kenne
Nice post, Kenne, and thanks for getting it out there with such great photos as well.
See you soon.
Steve Sucher
713-204-2965 cell
RIP…man about town and all about the blues!!! Everyone turned out for Pete when he played. I wish I could have been to more of them. There are benchmark players in our short lives but Mr. Mayes is Blues. Man, how many more???
Reblogged this on Becoming is Superior to Being and commented:
At the beginning of each month, I tend to review previous blog postings for that month. Ten-fifteen years ago, we frequently would stop at Pete Mayes’s Double Bayou Dance Hall in Double Bayou, Texas, on our way to spend some time over the Christmas Holiday in New Orleans. Pete knew what many of us know, “The blues is the truth. . .” — kenne