MUSIC

Join Block 7 Wine Co. on Sunday afternoons for local live music performances that are stripped down, up close and personal. This week Nick Gaitan!

Nick Gaitan has played pachuco-boogie with Los Skarnales, sold records at Sig's Lagoon, taught English at Houston Community College, tended bar at the Continental Club and toured with Billy Joe Shaver. He funnels those experiences into this effortless, grandly entertaining disc, which captures the heart and soul of Houston life via country, conjunto, rockabilly and more. Gaitan's sturdy bass and vocals mesh perfectly with contributions from sultry singer Kam Franklin, accordionist Roberto Rodriguez, fiddler Hilary Sloan and a host of other familiar names. Listen closely -- your street might be mentioned in one of the terrific tunes. HOUSTON CHRONICLE- JOEY GUERRA

One lazy Houston afternoon, Umbrella Man bassist Nick Gaitan was sitting upstairs in his apartment on "The Island" at 3700 Main, the South Midtown building that houses the Continental Club, Tacos a Go-Go, Sig's Lagoon and Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge. At the time, Gaitan was pulling down shifts at all of them, and as he stared out his window at the Ensemble/HCC MetroRail station, the makings of a song began stirring in his head: "I just walked up from the station / 26 steps up in the rain..." He finished the song in about 20 minutes, before the ride he was waiting on showed up, and titled it "I've Found My Weakness in You" after the abundance of attractive women who populate the block most weekend (and some weekday) nights. Not long after, Gaitan's boss Billy Joe Shaver heard him rehearsing it on the tour bus and liked it so much, he's already cut a version for his still-unreleased next album. Still, the version Gaitan sings most every Tuesday at Umbrella Man's Continental gig — and has recorded for that band's forthcoming release — remains the definitive one. "Weakness" may be about a very specific piece of real estate and what goes on there, but its laid-back, down-home vibe makes it an anthem all Houston can get behind. HOUSTON PRESS CHRIS GRAY

Photo by Juan Campos.