Johnny Cash Tribute Band Coming to San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX - This September marks 13 years since the legendary Johnny Cash has passed, but there is an extraordinary tribute band who wants to keep his music alive.

Dylan Crain, out of Austin, Texas, is the Director of Media Relations for Atomic Music Group. He handles the social media management for several bands, from Metal to Rock to Country, and all in between. He is especially proud to announce that this Thursday, Sept. 1, San Diego band Cash'd Out will present the Premier Johnny Cash Show, right here in San Angelo.

Crain said, "Cash'd Out is currently on a tour nationwide as the only act endorsed by the official Johnny Cash website, winning six Best Tribute/Cover Band nods from the San Diego Music Awards, as well as praise from the Cash family." 

The band is comprised of Doug Benson-Lead Vocals and guitar, Kevin Manuel-lead guitarist and band manager, George Bernardo-drums, and Stephen Rey-bass.

Crain added, "Nina Anderson and Briggit Rains are added whenever they need to fill in for the June Carter part of the show. The ladies mostly do shows with the band when they play California gigs as they both have their own things going on."

The band has a pretty devoted following in California, and Crain hopes to extend their fan base bringing them in this direction.

"Doug has a great stage presence and kind of evokes what Johnny did, but other than that, he's a real laid back personable normal guy," explained Crain. "All of the band members are just grateful to be a part of this tribute band and do it for the love of the music."

When front man Doug Benson was asked when he realized he had the "gift," he humbly said, "I was a fiber optic engineer, traveling the country and would sing karaoke. People kept telling me I sounded like Johnny Cash so I just picked up a guitar and started teaching myself chords. After some time, I got comfortable with it, put out an ad, got a hold of Kevin, and started the band; it's pretty much history from there."

Benson added, "A couple of years ago, we had a symphony backing us, which was an awesome experience. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us record any of it (the performance) as those musicians are pretty much their own entities. We have plans to do it again someday; we just played the fourth of July event at the San Diego Bay before the fireworks, which was pretty spectacular." 

As for the band's fan base, he said "At one show, it was about 100 degrees outside, and when we took a break, a guy tapped me on the shoulder saying my son wanted to say hi to you. The 6-year-old boy was dressed in a black 3 piece suit just like Johnny would wear. It's a pretty incredible following for Johnny Cash: everyone from 6 years old to up in their 90s."

Benson continued, "One of the reasons we started playing is to bring the 'good' music back. We want to remind everybody what good old country music is all about. We've never been to San Angelo and are hoping to build enough of a fan base to play bigger venues. We typically do about an hour and forty-five minute set and then are always willing to do an encore of three or four more songs."

Although they do have a basic set list, he added, "Really, it's all about what the fans want to hear so we kind of leave it up to them. It's kind of just a laid back fun little thing."

As part of the show, Benson tells the story of the "Man in Black' leading into the particular song like a narrative.They will play his well-known hits such as Ring of Fire, Walk the Line, Cocaine Blues, and Folsom, and Benson added, "We like to throw a few more in there." 

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As for his message to the fans, Benson said, "I just want to thank them all for letting us do Johnny Cash's music for them. It's been an honor for us to be considered the 'best Johnny Cash tribute band' out there, and it's all because of the fans. We admire and honor him in everything that we do, so being able to perform for them is really special."
 

The band will have t-shirts, hats, embroidered jacket patches, and more at their merch table, but no CDs.

Benson explained, "We have plans to put a CD out, hopefully sometime this year."  

So gather up your friends and go check them out next Thursday, September 1 (click here for the venue). The cover charge is $10.

For upcoming events promoted by AMG, check Dylan out on Facebook at Atomic Music Group, and for more information on the band, go to their Facebook page and http://www.cashdout.com.