By Sarah Burnett Gentry
Special to LIVE!
May 15, 2008

There is nothing mysterious about the goal of the "5th Ever Somewhat Annual MYSTERYFEST V.” The festival gives musicians around Texas a chance to raise money for a deserving individual while providing the community two nights of affordable live music and other entertainment.

More than 60 musicians –- locals and acts from Denton, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Austin -- will come together on June 6 and 7 to play music, pitch washers, and compete in a 42 tournament with the goal of raising money for Cris Paz, a local citizen suffering from cancer.

MYSTERYFEST V will be held at the Water Valley Community Park and admission is a suggested donation of $10 per day. All donations for Cris Paz will be accepted and are greatly encouraged. T-shirts will also be pre-sold for $15 at Gandy Ink, beginning on May 1st, to raise additional funds for Paz. Gandy Ink is located at 2027 Industrial Ave and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Criselda “Cris” Paz was born in Pecos, Texas, and relocated to San Angelo from Midland in 1990. She is a single mother with three children, ages 14, 16, and 22. Her fight against cancer began with what she thought was back pain and led into cancer of the pelvis, spine, sternum and also stage 4 breast cancer. She is currently enduring 10 rounds of chemo and six weeks of radiation, which has yielded only limited success thus far.

Recently, Paz has been working many extra hours at Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas to cover the heavy workload that been brought on by the recent FLDS cases from Eldorado. The long hours have taken a toll on her mental, physical, and emotional well-being. On the weekends, her family comes to San Angelo from Eldorado and Pecos to help take care of her home and children. Local KIXY radio station personality Chris Cortes is Paz’s nephew and also lends a helping hand during this long and very difficult process.

San Angelo musician Darren Morrison helped stage the first MYSTERYFEST in 1999 when he was a member of the now-defunct band NDC.

“The NDC Mystery Band started the Fest in 1999 as a way to get local musicians together and raise some money for a good cause," Morrison said. Previous Fests have benefited a Lake View coach with cancer, a Christoval citizen with diverticulitis, and an ASU music scholarship fund.

“The NDC boys have all gone their separate ways, and most of them are still playing with various bands. These bands form the bulk of our line-up, culminating with an NDC Mystery Band reunion Saturday night, June 7th.

“We’ve learned a few things over the years, ways to become more efficient, to put on a better show. But it still requires a tremendous amount of work to put on an event like this one. Were it not for dozens of volunteers, the show would never take place.”

Some improvements to MYSTERYFEST V that will be seen this year include barbecue and soft drink concessions (also available on a donation basis) by Jim & Fran Miller, a washer pitching competition, and “The First Ever Official Unofficial World Championship 42 Tournament.” The 42 tournament starts Saturday at 11:00 am and the entry fee is $25.00. The format for the competition includes Straight 42, with no Splash, Plunge, or Sevens, and Forced Nello only.

Festivities will begin around 7 p.m. On Friday, June 6, with acoustic singer/songwriter sets being performed until midnight on the Tradewind Sound Songwriters Stage. Full bands take the Gandy Ink Main Stage Saturday at noon and rock the park until midnight. Post-show campfire jams generally last until the wee hours or the morning.

Primitive camping sites are open to the public. Camping is free and highly recommended. Festival-goers are welcome to bring anything except glass to the Water Valley Community Park.

“The main purpose here is to raise some money for Cris Paz," Morrison said. "But at the same time, there’s no reason that folks should have to spend a fortune just to have a good time. There is no charge for camping, and the park is beautiful; so bring your tent, bring your family, bring some refreshments, get some barbecue from The Millers when you don’t feel like cooking, and cook your own when you do. Tom Green County will probably have a burn ban in effect by June 6, so if you bring along a small grill you ought to bring a water bucket, too.

But most importantly, we hope you’ll come with plans to stay throughout the event. There’s plenty of room and plenty of reasons to stay, especially since it benefits such a great cause.”

Special thanks for making this event happen go to Cris Paz and family, Bright Brewing Co. at Eola School, Gandy Ink, Tradewind Sound, Jim & Fran Miller, Menking Web Solutions, Texas Coffee Company, Tarpley Music, all the musicians participating, and many others.

If you are interested in contributing to the Cris Paz fund, becoming an event sponsor, purchasing a T-shirt or coming to the event, contact Darren Morrison at info@mysteryfest.com or 325-234-9110. Private donations will be accepted at Crockett National Bank, located at 502 S. Koenigheim, beginning in May.

For More Information on MYSTERYFEST V, visit www.MysteryFest.com and www.myspace.com/MysteryFest. See you on June 6!

 

Friday night
7:20 to 8:00 p.m.	Corby White
8:05 to 8:45	Monty Branham
8:50 to 9:35	Bob Simpson
9:40 to 10:30	Coke Hendry
10:35 to 11:25	Jackson Parten\
Saturday
Noon to 12:40 p.m.	Morrison Family Band
12:50 to 1:20	The Epitome of Everything
1:30 to 2:10	The Flinchers
2:20 to 3:00	Brushfire
3:10 to 3:50	Mark Cullimore Band
4:00 to 4:40	Concho Bandits
4:50 to 5:30	Brother Dave
5:40 to 6:20	Front Porch Gypsies
6:30 to 7:15	Indianola Railroad
7:25 to 8:10	Corby White Band
8:25 to 9:10	The Barbacks
9:20 to 10:05	Fryza Lyza
10:20 to 11:30	NDC Mystery Band