By Jeff Walker
Features Editor
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When Del David started Klassic Kountry Gold, he did so under two conditions.
One was that none of its members take any money from playing. Second, any money raised would go to help veterans in need.
It wasn’t long before David had nine musicians knocking on his door.
The Air Force veteran spent 50 years in the military, but now he gives back by playing classic country songs — standard fare such as Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Bob Wills, with a little George Strait thrown in — with proceeds benefitting homeless war veterans. The band plays regularly at local churches and the Geronimo VFW Sunday dances.
And Klassic Kountry Gold will kick off tonight’s Summer in the Park concert at 7:30 p.m. at San Marcos Plaza Park.
“We don’t do ‘new’ country, there’s too much of that around already,” David said. “There’s no need to compete with that. People in my age range love the old country.”
A native of Alma, Mich., David eventually moved to Center with his seven sisters and 10 brothers. He joined the military at age 15, taking advantage of the fact that the local courthouse had burned down recently, taking with it all birth certificate records.
In the Air Force, David worked as a Combat Medic, a Jet Engine Technician, Television Engineer and recruiter, stationed all over the country and in Guam, Thailand and Korea. He retired from military service in June 2008 and, after seeing countless homeless vets roaming the streets, he decided to help.
“People don’t understand that it’s not normal to kill another human being,” David said. “It’s affected a lot of these vets emotionally and mentally, so they wind up with guilt problems, and then they get to where their family and jobs fall apart and they wind up on the streets. It’s really hard on them, and it’s not getting any better.”
But he and Klassic Kountry Gold are changing that, one Johnny Cash song at a time.
For many traditional Celtic bands, it’s a one-date-a-year gig. But not for the local Irish group O’Malarkey!.
The five-piece band specializing in traditional Irish and Celtic tunes — some as old as 400 years — will perform at 8:30 p.m. tonight as the second act of the Summer in the Park series at San Marcos Plaza Park. The band has been together since 2001, playing regularly at festivals and local coffeeshops all over the Hill Country.
The band formed when fiddler Virginia Davis took a liking to Celtic music and needed someone to back up her vocals. So her boyfriend, long time local musician and dentist by day Gene Milligan offered to help.
“I didn’t have much exposure to (that kind of music) other than St. Patty's day,” Milligan said. “We just started kicking around some tunes and learning some simple songs, and it just evolved from there.”
A guitarist since age 14, Milligan has played with various blues and ska bands, including "Nobody's Bidness" and "L.A. Blues." Davis has played classical violin with the Austin Civic Orchestra and the Southwest Texas State Symphony, and currently plays with the Mid-Texas Symphony.
She also teaches bellydance classes in San Marcos and is a founding member of the Midnight Breeze Dance Company.
Sean McMains, who says he previously expressed his love for Irish music by singing “Danny Boy” to passersby on street corners, plays bass for the band. He also plays with the Patio Boys and his local church.
Marissa Harris sings and plays the bodhran and other assorted percussion instruments. Guitarist and percussionist Terri Cooper says she discovered her love of Celtic music as a patron and participant at renaissance festivals in both California and Texas.
The group has started its own Irish music “sessions” at Wake the Dead Coffeehouse in San Marcos every second and fourth Thursday of the month. Milligan says the band gets song ideas from the Internet, from fellow bands at festivals they play and by listening to Ed Miller’s “Across the Water” every Sunday on KUT 90.5.
And while the songs are generally old and leave little room for improvising, they are technically challenging.
“It’s up there with bluegrass technically., you’ve got to get all those notes in,” Milligan said. “It’s just a very uplifting music and for most people, it puts a smile on their face. That’ what we like.”
