It all goes back to Terlingua. Two Guys Walk Into a Bar’s 2024 debut album was recorded at Blackstone Recording Studio with co-owner Mark Randall (Christian Carlos Carvajal, Jeremy Hull, The Matthew Show), and it was such a success that said guys — Peter Gargiulo and Mike Terry — returned to the Fort Worth retreat for their follow-up. Devil’s Game will hit streaming platforms Fri, Oct 24, when it also will be celebrated with a performance at Our Taphouse.
“We wanted a rockier edge to the songs,” Gargiulo said, “and a lot of the arrangements came from Mark. It’s a little bit of a dark album with a Rolling Stones-like sound. Mike is a product of the ’70s, and I’m a product of the late ’70s. You have a lot of musical taste to it as a mix of Texas Indigenous roots mixed with Americana and rock.”
The new tracks are still in keeping with the guys’ style but indeed represent new, darker territory, diving into issues like death, heartache, and coming to terms with reality to complement the grittier sonics.
Songs like “Desperate Man,” “Devil’s Game,” “Dystopian Blues,” and “Heaven” also explore characters introduced in Terlingua. “Do You Feel Me” is a salute to veterans coming home from serving overseas and wanting to feel related to.
“We are now taking a dark turn into these different aspects of these characters’ lives,” Randall said.
Devil’s Game incorporates a lot of well-known local backing talent. Latin Express’ Lionicio Saenz played horns, Bethany Doolin and Morris Holdahl contributed vocals, Dave Cook covered saxophone, and Randall played bass, with Gargiulo and Terry on guitars.
“We did more collaboration this time and learned from the first album, and everything we do is in Fort Worth,” Terry said. “When we look for merchandise production or music, we take our business to Fort Worth. Each song has its own sonic landscape the way we wanted it to be, and working with Mark, this album was very much what we were trying to do.”
Two Guys Walk Into a Bar are thrilled to release Devil’s Game.
“Getting music out there … is an accomplishment,” Terry said. “A big piece of this album is what Mark Randall brings, and he’s like friends and family now.”
