Look closely at the photos hanging on the walls of La Palapa, a dim but well-kept cantina in Austin, Texas, and you'll see the recurring image of a tall, strapping young man with flashing dark eyes and a smile as wide as the room, he and his guitar surrounded by admiring fans in every frame. Pete Benz launched his career here 6 years ago, serving up a unique brand of traditional country music, and as his ever-growing audiences enthusiastically eat it up, his star continues to rise. The self-taught singer/songwriter has combined an uncanny talent for storytelling with an innate musical gift to create powerful, traditional country songs and deliver them straight from the heart'with a heap of charisma that keeps audiences coming back for another helping. For as long as he can remember, Pete Benz has been playing with words, writing poetry and songs. As Benz grew and matured into a 6'4", 230-pound athlete, football took precedence over the songs and led him to college in San Marcos, Texas. That is, until the day he and his roommate bought guitars and began teaching themselves how to play. As he learned to express himself musically, the songs came flooding back, and Benz knew he was hooked. While still in college, Benz was storing up valuable lessons about winning over audiences that still inspire the high-energy, participatory shows he wows crowds with today. On the weekends, he worked as a bouncer at Ivory Cats, a popular sing-along piano bar smack in the middle of Austin's vibrant Sixth Street music scene. Although already an avid songwriter, the aspiring musician had never sung in front of an audience before, until that fateful night when the boss called him off the door to come up front and sing a verse of "Friends in Low Places"'made famous by another well-known former bouncer, Garth Brooks. Benz didn't hesitate to get up in front of the crowd. "Ultimately, I knew that I'd have to sing," says Benz. "I was writing all these songs, and if nobody else would sing them, I knew I'd have to do it myself." The handsome football player was a natural on stage. His magnetic charisma and rough-velvet voice made up for his singing inexperience, and his spontaneous performance resonated with the audience to the point where he soon became a regular on stage, singing eight or nine songs a night to enthusiastic crowds and getting better and better with every performance. "The main thing I learned at Ivory Cats was how to connect with the audience," he chuckles, remembering the Battles of the Sexes he mischievously incited to spark crowd participation. "I may not have been the most experienced singer, but once I got the crowd with me, it didn't matter. In the end, it was all about good music and everyone having fun." Shortly thereafter, Benz took the first steps towards his dream career in country music. He left college and returned home to South Texas to work, write songs and continue learning as much as he could about country music. Any information he could get his hands on'how to write music, guitar and singing techniques, tips on the business side of music'Benz studied thirstily. And when big-name acts came to town, Pete Benz was right up front, talking his way through to the stars to try and glean any words of advice they would offer on how to reach the top. After a year, a determined Benz had honed his skills and knowledge, and built enough of a repertoire to return to Austin and take the next step in following his dream. Working as a driver's education instructor, the routes he established for students led'not surprisingly'to potential venues all over Austin as he sought out places that didn't have live music and convinced the owners to let him play for tips. He already had a couple of regular gigs under his belt the day a student drove him to La Palapa, the same venue that had launched Rick Trevino's musical career. Leaving his students in the car, Benz stepped out, swapped the baseball cap for his cowboy hat, took a deep breath and walked in to talk to the owner. He walked out with a Thursday night gig and within a few months had quit teaching driver's ed to become a full-time musician. A few short years later, this self-taught singer/songwriter has grown into both his talent and desire. With a smooth, rich voice and a dynamic stage presence to showcase his heartfelt, hard-hitting songs, Pete Benz has truly come into his own. He has earned a base of loyal fans who have made him one of the most requested artists on Austin's hottest country stations. People outside of Austin have started to take notice of Benz, too. He has shared the stage with such notable acts as Rick Trevino, Joe Diffie, Ty Herndon, James Bonamy and Delbert McClinton. And he recently signed with Sonic Sorbet, a label formed by two industry heavyweights, Beeb Birtles and Bill Cuomo, who together have combined record sales of over 100 million. Pete Benz is on his way up. With insight far beyond his years, this young musician observes and explores slices of life in his songs that resonate deep within each and every listener, delivering an emotional wallop that will take your breath away. He's riding the crest of music that is distinctly his own, created in the tradition of the greatest country singer/songwriters, but stamped with the unmistakable flair of his own extraordinary talent.