Biography

The El Orbits is a band that specializes in the great music heard throughout the southwest United States, and particularly Texas, through the last 40 years. The band likes to play sets comprising of pop radio swing standards from the 50's and 60's, country hits from your grandfather's AM car radio, and nearly forgotten Gulf Coast R&B favorites. The result is a band that somewhat defies immediate definition, and can turn on a dime stylistically. The El Orbits began in 1997 when two members of the Houston based Banana Blender Surprise decided to form a "lounge" combo to play a weekly show at the Satellite Lounge. Out of a few rehearsals and some great old records came The El Orbits, playing every Monday night and hosting Bingo games during their shows (see the history section for more info). Years later, the band has rotated several members in and out of the band and continues to evolve. This is a band that is equally at home in a smoky club on a Saturday night or a country club golf course on a Sunday evening. Check out our albums page for info on our recordings, which are very popular and fun! For some members of the band The El Orbits is as much of a lifestyle as a musical endeavor. Lead singer/drummer David Beebe enjoys performing five to six nights a week in his many band projects, but places The El Orbits first. Guitarist/pianist Jim Henkel has parlayed his experience in The E Orbits into becoming the de facto spokesperson for several other bands he plays with, including the Beatles cover band Beetle and the 70's flavored Light Rock Express. New for 2003 was the acquisition of a dedicated El Orbits office space above the Continental Club and its flashing neon sign in Houston. The office functions as a two room storage space for strange instruments, hundreds of record albums, equipment used for rehearsals, special projects and a dedicated office space for the management of the parent company, Banana Blender Inc., which controls several bands, automobiles, pinball machines and jukeboxes. The El Orbits are a regional traveling band, playing regularly in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and basically wherever their market takes them. Summer of 2003 includes trips to Maine, Nantucket, and a three week tour out west to California. The band continues to add fans and friends to the big picture. Fortunately, the band has had ample touring supplies in hand for quite some time including a nicely dented and broken in brown 1980 Chevrolet Suburban (The Brown Chariot), a 1994 custom built yellow "RC Cola" cargo trailer, a 1967 Suburban (The Murgatroyd) for emergency use, several early 1970's full size Ford products, sound and lighting systems, and experience in long driving hours. Check the schedule page to see if we'll be near you soon! Bingo is and always will be an element to many El Orbits shows. The band provides free Bingo cards, prizes and fun whenever we host a Bingo night. All games are always free and there's never a cover charge when we play a Bingo show, in accordance with Texas state law. We or one of our excellent 'Bingo girls" calls numbers between songs and eventually a collection of small but unique prizes is delivered to the Bingo winner. Lastly, without fans this band would be a sinking ship. We thank all of the fans, supporters, clubs, booking agents, friends and family for helping the band have as much fun as we do! It's all about the fun in the music!