COVER STORY

Beaming up with Black Joe Lewis

Austin musician says he grew up loving 'Star Trek' because it combines some of his faovrite things

By Patrick Caldwell
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, May 07, 2009

Soulful, yet nerdy

One Austinite you'll likely find in the opening-weekend audience of J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek' is garage soul sensation Black Joe Lewis. Lewis, who grew up in Round Rock, is the front man for swinging '70s Stax throwbacks Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. The band has garnered rave reviews from the New York Post and the Los Angeles Times and a write-up in the April issue of Spin. Lewis and his band, though usually clad in suits, have played several shows in classic 'Star Trek' uniforms.

Lewis, a longtime fan of the franchise, spent his childhood watching episodes of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' with his father. The series combined his interest in large military organizations — young Black Joe Lewis was also a 'GI Joe' devotee — with his fondness for science fiction and space travel. And while many die-hard Trekkies have their doubts about Abrams' reboot, Lewis is cautiously optimistic.

'This movie, I hope it's good, man. It looks like it's going to be cool. I hope they don't make it like — I mean, they got all these young people in it, so I hope it doesn't have everybody falling in love. I hope it's not like "Dawson's Creek" or anything,' Lewis says. 'I'm hoping they stick to the original Gene Roddenberry plan.'

And while Lewis' affection for the show and occasional forays into costumed performance may not jibe with the band's ultra-cool image, he's not concerned.

'Everybody's down with it, everybody enjoys wearing it and we have a good time,' Lewis says. 'I kind of like it cause I don't see anybody else doing it. Yeah, it might seem nerdy to some people, but I mean, who cares? Some people like that are crazy. You got to have fun every now and then.'

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears open Friday night for Lucero at Emo's, 603 Red River St. Doors open at 8. 477-3667.

Black Joe Lewis recommends

Favorite Star Trek episode: 'Conspiracy'

'There's this one in 'The Next Generation' where the Starfleet admirals are possessed by these aliens that go through the back of your neck and they try to like secretly take over. So it's kind of like this Illuminati type of deal. So they're aliens being all crooked and nobody knows they're possessed. Picard figures it out and they've got to fight these aliens and blow one of them up. I think that would be one of my favorites.'

Favorite Star Trek movie: 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'

'Out of all of the movies, I gotta go with 'The Wrath of Khan.' I just think (William) Shatner's really good in it. And Ricardo Montalbán is like the perfect person to play that character. I like the villain and Kirk fighting it out. And it's cool all the way around — it's got good comedy, good action and that good sad part at the end. The battle at the end with Kirk outsmarting this total maniac — I just like the way Shatner plays it. It's really exciting.'