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You’ll be a lucky son of a gun when you catch the country-western band the Lucky Sons at the May 1st Cruise Nite! Members of the Lucky Sons are (l to r) Jim Stephenson, Jim McCarthy, Paul Skeels, Ray Magee and Martin Young. |
Lucky Sons: Acclaimed country-western
band to appear at Cruise Nite
April 29, 2015
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
You’ll be a lucky son of a gun at the May 1st Cruise Nite where an acclaimed country-western band will be offering a unique blend from Hank Williams to the Flying Burrito Brothers.
The Lucky Sons will tune up at 5:15 p.m. under the East Main Street Clock Tower for Cruise Nite, the most popular car show in Ventura County.
Members of the Lucky Sons are all accomplished musicians: Jim Stephenson (bass guitar, vocals), Jim McCarthy (drums, vocals), Paul Skeels (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ray Magee (pedal steel guitar, vocals), and Martin Young (lead guitar) have performed with other groups and Skeels — Santa Paula’s former fire chief — is also a member of the classic rock ’n’ rolling Cruise Knights. Stephenson is also a resident of Santa Paula while the rest of the Lucky Sons live in Ojai.
According to Skeels, “The Lucky Sons in their current lineup came together for a series of performances at Ojai’s Deer Lodge starting in June, 2014,” although individual members had performed “in various configurations for many years prior to that.”
Skeels used the example of Stephenson, Magee and himself who 20 years ago were members of the uniquely named (even for a band) Cletus Bumpus & The Other Guys.
“Ray, Jim and Martin have been part of the Ojai music scene for decades,” noted Skeels, “in fact, Martin is a professional musician who toured for years as part of Clint Black’s band.”
About eight years ago Skeels, Magee, Stephenson and McCarthy were performing as Ellsworth Barranca at the Star Lounge in Ventura when they realized “No one understood the band name and it was not a good marketing tool.
“During a beer break,” said Skeels, “the band was rechristened ‘Lucky Sons’ in an effort to be more accessible.”
Their music certainly is accessible to those who love fine country-western: a look at the band’s set-list reveals major influences by Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, The Flying Burrito Brothers and others. Skeels said his favorite songs include Travelin’ Man, All My Ex’es (Live in Texas), White Line Fever, and Streets of Bakersfield.
The Lucky Sons have plenty of dates to fulfill as well as others each member must breakaway for.
In Skeels case that means this Saturday (April 25) when he’ll be playing and singing classic rock with the Cruise Knights for two shows, the third straight year the band has appeared at the National Street Rod Association Western Regional Meet at the Kern County Fair Grounds in Bakersfield.
But noted Skeels, who after he retired from the SPFD again displayed his attorney’s shingle, “Still can’t quit my day job, though…”
Cruise Nite is held the First Friday of each month from April through October from 5 p.m. to dusk. East Main Street in historic Downtown Santa Paula is closed from 10th to 7th to display hundreds of pre-1975 vehicles and there are plenty of delicious places to grab a snack or a full meal and other refreshments.
Cruise Nite is sponsored each month by the Santa Paula Police Officers Association and the Chamber of Commerce.
