Tone It Up Records® proudly presents, “St. Jude By The Dashboard Light”, Max Rios’ sophomore effort. The recording features five original songs and an extended bonus track Max claims were developed on his many travels up and down the Texas highways in his 2003 Toyota Matrix. “St. Jude”, enlists guest performances by renowned accordionist - Joel Guzman, Grammy award winner - David DelaGarza, and Houston songstress - Myrna Sanders. So take hold of the wheel, roll the knob clockwise and experience what comes at you…through the dashboard light. South Congress Serenade A few years back, we landed our first gig in Austin. We were all a little nervous about the crowd accepting us. After a few songs, we felt we were going to be alright. There was this one gal who started dancing alone; she was in her own world. I remember looking over to Chucky and seeing a look of satisfaction on his face. Man, we’d weathered a number of gigs to get to this moment. South Congress came out of this experience and we felt it would be fitting to ask Joel Guzman to play accordion on it and give it that Austin vibe. Thankfully, he agreed to do it. The Waysiders would like to thank the ballerina in cowboy boots. Kick The Tires I was hanging out listening to some friends play in the Fort Bend area of Houston. This is a swanky part of H-town. The guys were doing their thing and the crowd was feeling it. After a few cold ones, I looked around the room and noticed there was a strong cougar presence working the room. As the night progressed (and the suds rose), I had this surreal image of being in a used car lot. I got nothing against late model fixer uppers trying to close the deal. Just thought I’d have a little fun with it. September Breeze A childhood friend calls me from time to time. I always have to block out a few hours when I take his calls cause’ he always has some heavy things to talk about. This particular night he asked me if I remembered an old girlfriend he had back when we were in a band in our teens. He said after all these years, he still goes back and parks in front of the house she used to live in. He says, "I know she’s not there. I’ve been married, had kids and gotten divorced but I always wonder how and where’s she’s been". He tells me, “You know we made a mistake back then and sometimes I wonder if we made two”. Yeah, I remember. What Were You Thinkin’ Like I said, I gotta block some time out for my bud cause’ he lays it on me. Here’s another one. This time he tells me about his marriage coming apart. Once the kids are old enough to go school his wife goes out and gets a part time job. It wasn’t long after she started working she caught the eye of the eighteen year old night manager. Things progressed and it wasn’t long till my friend was asking, ‘What Were You Thinkin’. Lil’ Tricycle: “Little Tricycle’ is a homage to my dad. About twenty or so years ago he told us that when he was a kid, all he wanted for Christmas was a little red tricycle. Several Christmases went by and no tricycle. One year he was sure he’d get that tricycle and that year he goes to the tree and finds an orange…one lonely orange. A few years back, I read Al Green’s autobiography (‘Take Me To The River’) and he told a similar story. Only, he got a bag of oranges. I felt there was a story there. That had to be a period thing that happened to a lot folks. I’m sure that was a formative experience that forged a drive in them. I think they both came out of it ok.