Rising Up Within Austin's Music Scene

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct.1, 2008 -- Nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

Just ask any musician seeking fame and fortune. Getting to Easy Street isn't easy. Groups argue about direction, they struggle to get gigs and, in the end, every band breaks up.

But sometimes, that's just what you need.

"I was shucking oysters for a living and playing in a band that was about to move to another city," said Joe Lewis, singer and frontman for the Austin-based Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears. "I was about to give it up."

Before the rest of the band moved, they had one piece of unfinished business: an opening gig for the legendary Little Richard during the 2007 Forty Acres Fest on the University of Texas campus.

When the show's organizer, UT student Zach Ernst, heard that Lewis would be without a band, he seized on the opportunity to form a new one. That was just last year -- now Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears are playing Lollapalooza and the Austin City Limits Music Festivals.

Rapid success only seems easy, though. Along with the pitfalls that can ensnare any band, music is an industry so notoriously competitive that getting signed to a record deal almost looks impossible. Members of Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears struggle with day jobs and personal lives. And despite interest from labels, they've yet to sign an actual record deal.

"Well, if it were easy, I guess everyone would do it," says Ian "Big Show" Varley, the Honey Bears' keyboardist. In his 30s, Varley holds down a full-time job as a software designer and is also a grad student at UT. "It's hard to strike a balance."

At 26 years old, there's talent-fueled urgency and energy in Lewis' act. Often described as a "soul shouter," he was quoted saying before this year's South by Southwest music festival, "I want to be on the level of James Brown. I want to be the black Elvis."

While he eyes fame and fortune, the band's recent success isn't something Lewis takes for granted.

"I'm a high school dropout -- if I weren't doing this, I don't know what I'd be doing," he said. "Maybe in jail."