By Johnny Griffith
There’s a new band in town. Okay, perhaps it’s more accurate to say there is a bunch of seasoned musicians who decided to get together, start something new, and now they’re making waves on stages all over the area. 6 Miles to Mixon is a collaboration of Matt and Rick Kindle, Gary Henson, Eric Dobbins, and Roy Hufstetler that has decades of experience in various other projects from all over this hemisphere. We caught up to the band this month to find out more about them.
Johnny: How did you all individually get started in music?
Gary: My Dad is a musician and I started going to his band’s rehearsals at around age 5 or 6. I started playing drums around age 8 or 9 and was playing gigs with my Dad by age 12.
Rick: I’ve been singing my whole life since starting in church but my first group was a doo wop quartet! It was a blast.. that’s where I fell in love with harmonies.
Matt: I got my singing from my dad, Rick. I have been singing all my life. Got my first guitar when I was 12 and I taught myself by watching the guys in my dad’s band. I joined his band when I was 17. Also, during my junior high and high school years, I played the trumpet which helped teach me a lot about reading music and music theory. I played in various country or rock bands during my years of education. I came back to Tyler in 2012 and my dad and I joined with a few guys to form what was called Texas Rebellion. We formed 6 Miles to Mixon at the end of 2017.
Roy: 6th grade band. I played drums/percussion all the way through high school. In 9th grade, I started playing bass in orchestra and electric bass in the high school jazz band. I actually lettered in Bass for Orchestra.
Eric: My love for music started when I was nine years old and took lessons from famed guitarist Larry Stanley in Tyler. I have played professionally since age 13, with my mom as my biggest fan. She was a music major in college and supported me all the way, even driving me back and forth to gigs. Since then I’ve had the privilege to work with some amazing acts along the way on stages like Billy Bob’s Texas, Stage Door, and The Opryland Hotel in Nashville. I even did a tour of South America for American Airlines promoting a non-stop flight from DFW to Lima, Peru.
Johnny: How did you guys meet?
6MtM: Gary was the common ground we all shared. He played in a band with Matt and Rick, and he had also played with Eric and Roy. Gary saw some potential with this lineup so we decided to go for it. The stars aligned and 6 Miles to Mixon was born.
Johnny: What about the name? What’s the story behind 6 Miles To Mixon?
6MtM: We had been toying around with different local town names and landmarks to describe who we are and where we are from. Mixon was a town name that kept popping up. Rick was driving down the road one day and saw a sign that said “Mixon 7 (miles)” but he thought “6” was catchier. He called Matt, who liked it, so it stuck.
Johnny: So would your style be described as primarily country or do you have a more accurate description?
6MtM: We would say Country with a Rock kick, and Rock with a splash of country. We ease people in with some Country and it’s what our fans like to dance to. We really like to kick it up with some Rock after things get pumping. It just feels natural.
Johnny: How would you describe a typical 6 Miles show?
6MtM: Pretty high energy! We’d rather people get up and dance. Don’t sit…get up and move. We are professional musicians and singers, but it really boils down to that we are just a group of guys wanting to have a good time, and we want the crowd to have a good time with us.
We play George Strait, Keith Urban, Merle Haggard, Jason Aldean, Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Garth Brooks, and many more, but we will also throw in some Tom Petty, The Eagles, Bad Company, Journey, Ed Sheeran, Prince, and some funk tunes. We play fun songs. We honor requests when possible because between all the experience in the band we have played just about everything at least once.
Johnny: Is a normal set primarily covers or do you have some originals you are working in as well?
6MtM: We primarily play covers, but we will throw in a few songs that Matt has written. We are currently playing five originals per night. We don’t wanna overwhelm people with stuff they don’t know. But it’s funny, after people have seen us a time or two, we’ll see people singing along with the originals. The self titled EP, “6 Miles to Mixon,” hit digital stores on June 19, 2019. Stream or download the songs before you come to our show for the first time or even if you have seen our show several times. We think you’re gonna like what you hear! And, when you do, it won’t be “stuff you don’t know” anymore.
Johnny: About how many shows a month are you booking?
6MtM: We play anywhere from two to six shows per month. We want to do more, and we’d like to spread to other areas. We’ve been together for only a year and a half so we hope word will get out about us and we can get into some of these venues where people are saying we need to play.
Johnny: Are you staying pretty local to East Texas or are you branching out of the area?
6MtM: Local right now, but we hope to spread further out. In past bands, we have individually played all over Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
Johnny: What are some “must see” shows coming up for the band the rest of the year?
6MtM: We like to think all of them are “must see,” but the Fireworks show at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Tyler on July 3rd is going to be amazing. It will be very high energy and a good all around time. If you can’t make that event, catch us whenever you can. We’d love to see you have a dancing good time out there.
Check out 6 Miles to Mixon at facebook.com/6milestomixon/ and www.6milestomixon.com/
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