San Antonio country band Fancy and the Fortunate Sons dropping debut album

Fancy will hold an album release party at Jaime's Place on Friday, Sept. 6, featuring Little Henry Lee of the Laveers.

click to enlarge Fancy, whose real name is Reanna Galicia, is supported by her backing band the Fortunate Sons. - Courtesy photo / Reanna Galicia
Courtesy photo / Reanna Galicia
Fancy, whose real name is Reanna Galicia, is supported by her backing band the Fortunate Sons.
If there's a tear in your beer, you may want to thank Fancy and the Fortunate Sons.

The San Antonio country and western band is set to release its debut album, Bad Habits & a Broken Heart, on Friday, Sept. 6. The new release is a catalogue of hard times, based on the real stories of hard-luck frontwoman and songwriter Reanna Galicia, who goes by Fancy.

"The whole album is based on struggle, whether it be my past substance abuse, life struggles or hustling like crazy to take care of my kids," said Galicia, who's juggling a music career with the challenges of life as a single working mom.

The hardscrabble storytelling is exemplified in tracks including "Pusher," a song in which the driving rhythm reflects the anxiety of a life on the other side of the law.

Cutting her teeth at local open mic nights over the past couple years, Galicia commanded the stage with her strong vocals and heartbreaking original songs. Eventually, enough people took notice, allowing her to assemble a backing band, with the collective now going by Fancy and the Fortunate Sons.

Fittingly, Galicia's voice calls Reba McIntyre to mind, and it was McIntyre who recorded one of the most popular versions of the Bobbie Gentry song "Fancy," the tale of another hard-luck woman and Galicia's self-given namesake. However, on the new album's bouncy western swing track "Clankity Clank," Galicia's dexterous yodels harken to the great Patsy Cline as well.

The album was recorded at NGL Records in "El Mero Weso," (San Antonio's West Side) right across the street from Patio Andaluz, a piece of San Anto history. Little Henry Lee of the Laveers, who visited Galicia in the studio, also will share the stage with her for an album release party scheduled for Friday, Sept. 6 at Jaime's Place. The outdoor venue is right next to the studio where the album took shape.
The release party will also feature masters of ceremony Rodawg and Johnie War, sets by DJ Cami and others, along with smashed burgers from Burger Foos. Galicia's event at the puro San Anto setting, blessed by forebears of the West Side Sound, will serve as something of a bridge between two of San Antonio's strongest identities, Chicano and country —both of which reside within Fancy.

"Although we think of Sunny [Ozuna] first when we think West Side Sound, I think Doug Sahm," said Galicia. "And what I'm trying to do is keep the San Antonio spirit alive through my own kind of sound."

Here's your one chance, Fancy. Don't let us down.

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