Blues Mafia

Sasha Ortiz, Chris Copeland, Kai Roach, Max Frost & Pat Mertens – the members of Blues Mafia – were first brought together by Austin School of Music owner Dave Sebree and guitar teacher Cid Sanchez as essentially a “select team” of musicians who were all unusually accomplished for their age. They quickly found that they shared a love for classic rock, old-school blues, funk, jazz and soul, and a desire to evolve that music for their generation.

Their initial gigs were at top Austin venues such as The Paramount, The Glenn at the Backyard, and First night, and they soon found a home base at Jovita’s, a venue known as the launching pad for artists like Seth Walker, The Gourds, and Gary Clark, Jr. Over the past 3 years, they’ve played many of Austin’s top venues, including Antone’s, the Saxon Pub, Threadgill’s, Momo’s, and Tim’s Porch (formerly The Backyard).

In January 2008, they explored management and recording options in LA and played The Roxy, the AC Supper Club and Molly Malone’s. A win at the Blastbeat regional finals in May, 2008 got them tickets to Dublin for the World Finals in December, where they placed second and made friends with other young artists from all over the world.

A highlight of spring 2009 was a standing ovation for their performance at the Nina Simone Tribute at Austin's historic Victory Grill, which was a key destination on the Chittlin' Circuit of yesteryear.

In fall 2009, they are concentrating on venues outside of Austin, such as Houston's famed Walter's on Washington, and San Antonio's upscale Luna Live. They were finalists in the 16th Annual Blues Challenge for the Houston Blues Society in October, 2009.

They paid for their first recording in the summer of 2007 through a win in a band competition, working with engineer Chet Himes at ASM studios in a session that resulted in a 3-song EP.