3 Balls of Fire, AKA The Men with the Burning Guitars,
was formed in 1987 by guitarist/songwriter Burnin' Mike
Vernon. Vernon, born in 1954 (Albuquerque, NM), joined his
first band, Stoned Catsup, in Arlington, Texas, in 1969.
From '73-'75 Vernon studied Spanish guitar at the Univ.
of Texas-El Paso and then returned to the Dallas-Ft. Worth
area where he played in various jazz, blues, rock, and western
bands. During this time he had the opportunity to sit in
with such greats as Freddie King, Big Joe Turner, Stevie
Ray Vaughan, and Gary Duncan of the Quicksilver Messenger
Service.
In '79 he formed the instrumental group Perry Mason &
the Defendants and cut two 45's for the Mars label. The
group played all over the north Texas area and Oklahoma.
By '82 the band's sound turned decidedly surf in nature
as the band performed surf guitar songs from the '60's and
originals by Vernon.
In 1985, Vernon moved to Austin and formed 3 Balls of Fire.
Joining in on bass and drums was Vic Gerrard and Chris Stix
Staples, forming the tightly-wound rhythm section on the
Balls' self-titled debut recording on Amazing Records in
1987.
In 1989, Gerard and Staples joined Two Hoots and a Holler,
and Vernon kept the group alive by adding Jackie Newhouse
(Stevie Ray Vaughan's bassist until 1980) and a revolving
list of stellar players from the Austin area. In the early
'90's, the group released two cassettes, toured from Louisiana
to California, had their music featured in the movie Good
Girl, Bad Girl, and opened for Dick Dale's first national
tour in Austin in 1993.
