Another One Bites The Dust... Looking Back On 2013

Well, an early Happy New Year to you all! 

It's New Year's Eve and I can't help but reflect on this past year. It's been a year of excitement, ups, downs and all arounds!

At this hour last year I was still trying to learn lyrics for our first proper show as Sand Dollar Rodeo and was nervously hoping all would work itself out by show time on the 4th. It was at a place called Fred's and we were to play for 3 hours. Prior to this show, Heath and I had only performed as a duo and only had to fill an hour or so, tops. 

I remember showing up, not being able to find a place to park and worrying like crazy that I was going to be the one to make us late to our first paying gig. I wound up unloading all my gear on the side of the place, then parking about a mile away. I ran back to the venue, only to find that the sound guy wasn't even there yet - whew! 

At that time, we thought we might be a country band. Maybe. Most everything we had on the books were country bars. So, we front loaded some country covers and made the best of it those first few shows. I learned a lot early in the year. One important thing I learned was that, if you're going to play a classic country cover, be prepared for requests for country standards the rest of the night. After a few months we ditched any classic country covers. It was never the direction we wanted to go, we just needed enough material to fill a 3 or 4 hour slot and no one complains when you nail an Alabama song. 

As I look back over my blog entries, I am reminded of some wild nights, some frustrating nights and some just plain confusing nights...

Dirt Roads Dance Hall in the Aledo area... that's where we learned that some musicians really are jerks, regardless what they say to your face. We also learned there, that we are not a honky tonk cover band. They wanted to dance to George Strait - we closed our set with Bow Wow Wow. We had people dancing and they seemed to have fun. But, we were reminded in a follow up email from the venue that we wouldn't be coming back. The bar bashed us and our agent, the headliner bashed us and our agent. In retrospect, pardon my French, but fuck 'em. The bar closed shortly thereafter and the headliner is still playing gigs for "exposure." We're still going strong... and getting paid. 

Wet Creek Bar in Fort Worth... Our first biker bar. I remember holes punched in the bathroom walls. I remember burly bikers grooving to our music. The show itself went fine but, again, it wasn't the direction we thought we needed to be going. I couldn't visualize any of the people who actually liked our music going there. 

Keller Tavern... all I can say about playing Keller Tavern is that, if we're ever in a drought again, book us at Keller Tavern. We played there 3, maybe 4 times last year. Every time it stormed. I remember playing there the first time, like in January, and it hailed. I always thought we had potential there. But, the weather gods were never with us. Plus, they had a young, trendy crowd and, as we would come to realize as the year went on, our fans are our age. 

Ahh, then there's the Happy Armadillo in Everman. First time I've ever been told to stop before I even started. We showed up, set up, started sound check and they told us we didn't sound right for their crowd. They said they only booked rock or classic country cover bands. We were like, umm... did you listen to our demo and read our bio (which says we play original music) before you booked us? We were out of there before 8pm, didn't get paid, then they had the nerve to call the cops on us after the show as we were talking with our booking agent in the lot afterwards. The cops just laughed. No issues. Heath and I laugh about it now. But, it left a bad taste in our mouths and started making us a little jaded when it came to future bookings. 

Early in the year, we played Hollywood & Vine in Glen Rose for the first time. It's a long drive, we had no idea what to expect. Because it was a small town, we started off with a couple of the classic country covers and eased them into our stuff. It worked and began a nice relationship with the place. We have played there several times over the year and really enjoy playing there. Nowadays, we don't have to kick off with the covers! 

By late Spring, we had figured out what we didn't want to do. We knew that, unless we wanted to be a straight out cover band, we were not right for "bars." I started exploring other booking options - festivals, bowling alleys, beer... I was at one of the beer festivals and noticed that some of the local breweries were having live music during their tours. Cool - daytime shows, beer. Sign us up! And so began the beer shows. They are great fun and we have no immediate plans of ending those types of gigs. Same with the bowling alley shows. As strange as it might sound, it's a fun gig. And, again, as we began figuring out our market, we knew that people our age would be more inclined to see us at 8pm at a bowling alley than at 11pm in a bar. 

We've played a lot of shows over 2013 - most every weekend - too many shows to go into detail about on this post. (I post after every show with more details. You're on that site now, so if you want some reading material and are curious, read away after this post). We learned a lot. That's probably what I value most from this year is the knowledge we gained. We made some mistakes. But, we learned a lot and I wouldn't undo any of it. 

Highlights of the year, for me, would be releasing the GPS To Nowhere CD - then actually seeing sales come in from it. Another - Bringing this idea I had around this time in 2011 to full life - into full band form by Summer. It's such a different, more exciting experience, to hear us play with live bass and a live drummer. I am very thankful to have landed Brian on bass. I hear him improvise on songs like Tailgate to the Beach and think, "man, I wish I had recorded my bass part that way." I really like his playing and enjoy having him to my left, often laughing at me.

The biggest highlight of all is the fact that we're still here and have no plans of backing off - Heath and I still have the same excitement for what we're doing as the first time we got together. We have had some good challenges. We're not kids and, for the most part, younger crowds like bands their own age. Also, we don't sound like everyone else. It's not really intentional, we just sound like ourselves. We have no plans on giving into a set genre other than our own. It's tough to get booked when you're doing something original like that. People like it, but the venues don't know what to do with it. It's not country, it's not rock, etc. Patience and more fans will solve that problem over time. Finally, it's nice to end the year with a few bucks in the band bank account. Until the last 6 months, Heath and I have done nothing but pour money into the band. Having a few bucks to pay for, oh say, rehearsal rooms, is a nice luxury. 

I also have to send out a big THANK YOU to a core group of folks: Mike, Allyson, Brian, Cisco & Marti. If it weren't for you guys, Heath and I might never have been able to get this little "band" out of my studio and onto a stage. Through all your work and cooperation, I have had a really fun year and, while my bones ache like an over 40 victim of fate after a show, I feel like I'm 18 again the rest of the time. I can't thank you all enough for allowing me to put this in motion. I thank Heath a great deal for sticking with me. I feel like, not only did I meet someone I enjoy working with with, I made a good friend as well. Thanks, Mr. "like the candy bar" Frazier.

Then, there's YOU. Those of you who have embraced us from the beginning. Brian, Kristi, Jeff, Shelly and the whole McKinney gang. The Willow Park bunch at Frazierville. The two or three folks at the end of every show who come up and talk to us, maybe buy a CD or buy us a drink. Thank you guys so much for your support. I truly appreciate it. 

2014 will be a time for change and growth. As some of you have heard, Cisco will be leaving us to pursue other interests. It's amicable, has nothing to do with the band - he's actually not leaving for another band, rather a day job. It's understandable. While we're making money now, it's not enough for someone to support an entire household. You do what you've got to do. He has been a great asset and will be missed. Taking over on drums this weekend will be Tony. Yes, we have rehearsal tomorrow, NY's Day, to ready for the show. Won't be a late night for me! So, once again, I'm back where I was this night last year - wondering if it will go smoothly on Saturday. Luckily, now I know that, regardless of how it goes, things will work out and we'll move forward. 

We have new material in the works as well. You'll start hearing some of that probably in a few shows and we are tentatively planning the new album to be done and out the latter part of 2014. Additionally, we plan to continue focusing on and catering to our market - look for more shows at unconventional places. Places you want to go to rather having to stay up til 2am to see us. We're working hard on making that happen. 

Ok, I've probably taken up enough of your New Year's Eve! I'm going to leave you with a link to a little Spotify playlist I put together this morning. This is every song we've played live this year. Well, every song but Postcard. It was an independent release by a band called St Somewhere and it doesn't exist on Spotify. You'll have to use your imagination on that one. Everything else is there. You'll be able to see how we danced around genres as we defined what we wanted our shows to sound like. We never played all of these songs in one set, so I pieced it together as closely as they flowed as I could. Hopefully, it will put a smile on your face. The link is at the bottom - just click it - you know you want to.

I hope everyone has a great evening and stays safe. Have a super 2014 and we'll see you next year! 

Stay gold,

Roy

Sand Dollar Rodeo 2013 Playlist

10 from 13

Well, as the year winds down, no shows for the rest of the year, so time for a little fun on the blog. Next week, I'll be posting a Sand Dollar Rodeo year in review with all sorts of fun stuff. But, for now, thought I'd share a few reviews of albums I've been listening this past year. So, here's my top 10 from 2013... 

1. Not In The Face! EP - Not In The Face

This is a new EP from a band out of Austin called... Not In The Face. They have restored my faith in the future of rock music. I don't buy a lot of rock anymore. Mainly because it's just plain boring. NITF are anything but boring. In fact, they are so not boring that I bought into their Kickstarter type fundraiser campaign (and I'm not fond of those). Key tracks from this little EP for me are Brass Tacks and Almost Tonight. All of the songs are great, but those two are extra good. In the past year, NITF have been pushing hard, emerging beyond Texas. I expect you'll be hearing a lot from them next year. They are officially my new favorite band. If they don't find you, go find them. You won't regret it! You can view the Brass Tacks video here - http://youtu.be/rK9Ebx5zgUY . 

Mood: Daytime fun stuff. 

2. Echogenetic - Front Line Assembly

This has probably been my favorite album of the year. It gets the most repeats while in the deck. I have always been a fan of FLA and was really looking forward to this release. It delivered exactly what I wanted. It's not often you finish an album feeling completely satisfied. It's funny, critics have called this FLA's attempt at dub step. Well, maybe, if you've never heard them before. They were doing dub step style edits back in the late 80's. I remember when my old band was opening for them in the early 90's, talking with them about how they do what they do. No rules. Nothing new there. Still no rules. But, it's got a bright and shiny mastering job that just makes it sound brilliant. If you like industrial / electronic stuff, and haven't heard this yet, go get it now. If you've never explored this type of stuff, think Pink Floyd meets technology. Best listened to in full, in headphones. Favorite tracks are Blood and Ghosts. If I had to choose a favorite of 2013, this is the one. 

Mood: Late night, driving alone music. 

3. Splinter - Gary Numan

Another really satisfying album. I saw Gary in Boston a year or two ago in a tiny club (Paradise Rock Club) while he was demo-ing these songs. He was trying to balance his new sound with Pleasure Principle era. The transition was a little rough then. He has finally found a nice mesh between the old and new. At moments, it feels very Telekon (another of my favorite albums of all time). The production on this one is really nice, as well. Much better than his last couple of releases. If I have any critique, it would be that he needs to back off from the NIN keyboard lines. They're not needed and make it feel a bit hokey. He was a big influence on Trent, no need to feed off that more than you have to. Regardless, a really good album that I'm glad to own. Mood: More late night, driving alone music. 

4. Hesitation Marks - Nine Inch Nails

While we're mentioning Trent, might as well knock this one out... Hmm... hard to say. I find it an enjoyable album. I'm ok fine with it not being "angry." But, there's nothing groundbreaking going on. No songs that really knock your socks off. If anything, it sounds a little lazy to me. But, it does have its moments. I can say that I have played it more than once or twice and, as usual, it will probably grow on me over time. I guess my biggest issue with it is the sounds he's using. In recent years he's really got into that modular smooth sound. I prefer a more harsh synth sound (thank you, Front Line Assembly). Despite that, a good addition to the record collection.

Mood: Even more late night, driving alone music. Can you tell I drive alone late at night a lot? 

5. Delta Machine - Depeche Mode

What can I say? DM do what they do and they do it well. While they're still hanging onto some signature sounds that, at times, seem a little forced, it's a great album, some cool sounds here and there and David Gahan's voice is still in good shape... although, does anyone else think Martin Gore is starting to sound like an old woman? Just me? Ok, I'll move on... jokes aside, I've played this one often.

Mood: Night time. 

6. Bored With Prozac and the Internet - TV Mania

This was a long awaited jewel for me. The project was originally put together in the late 90's by Nick Rhodes & Warren Cuccurullo from Duran Duran. They made a buzz about it, had some label issues, then the masters were "misplaced." As a result, the album was shelved. Last year, they found the tapes and in 2013 we finally got to hear it! It's funny how fresh it still sounds - it's still relevent in today's electronic music scene. This is one you don't want to buy if you're looking for Rio outtakes. It's very abstract, more of a soundscape. But, there's some real beauty to be found in it. As TV Mania, they also wrote for Blondie. One of the songs Blondie recorded was called Pop Trash Movie. Blondie's label 86'd it and it was later released as a Duran song on the Pop Trash album. This album has many moments with that Pop Trash vibe. You'll feel it more than you hear it. It's not for everyone, more for those into listening to things outside of the genre box. But, I adore it. 

Mood: Really late night driving, alone, of course. 

7. What The... - Black Flag

After 20 or so years, bam, a new Black Flag album? Yeah, there's a lot of back story on the why. But, I'm not going to get into the politics. The reviews of this album have been horrible. I understand why. This is possibly the worst mix I've heard since I went into the studio on my own the first time. The problem is the guitar overdubs. Mind you, Greg Ginn is my favorite guitarist in the world (aside from Heath Frazier, of course). I love where he goes musically. He thinks, musically, in a way that others simply don't. That being said, listen to it. Listen to it in headphones and listen closely. When the overdubbed guitars drop out, you can still hear Black Flag in there. Real Black Flag. And, it's great! It's like he recorded the band, then added his overdubs way too loud. Actually, that's got to be what he did. The songs, to me, are the next logical step, musically, where Black Flag left off. Unfortunately, most can't make it through the bad mix. It's hard to hear the vocals and hard to hear the drums. Just as you get that warm familiar SST vibe, the overdubs come in and kill it. I seriously hope they re-mix and re-release. At its core, it really is a good album and I hate to see a bad mix ruin it for them. Fingers crossed for a redo in 2014. 

Mood: Party time.

8. Fuse - Keith Urban

Now for a change of gears... this is just a fun album. Country, pop, whatever you want to call it, it's good stuff. I really like how he's brought the synths more forward in the mix. Nothing groundbreaking, Brad Paisley's been playing with synths for years. But, the balance is really nice on this album. My favorite track is "Even The Stars Fall 4 U." Pop it in for just some light fun. My bet is Keith duets with Kylie Minogue before too long. 

Mood: Daytime, top off, driving - with friends!

9. Swings Both Ways - Robbie Williams

I really wish the US would discover Robbie Williams. He's huge in Europe, has been for years. He's one of the best entertainers out there right now. So, since you're probably not familiar with him, let me say this - Robbie has no format. No genre. He does what he wants. He's done standards, rap, disco, rock, country, etc. It works for him. This album is a nod back at the big band stuff with modern thrown into the mix. It's really hard to describe. But, if you've got a sense of humor and like genuinely fun, good stuff. Check this out. I mean, how many albums have a song called "No One Likes A Fat Pop Star?" Another standout track is his rendition of "Minnie the Moocher."

Mood: Cocktails and a Chaser or ten.

10. Trouble - Randy Rogers Band

So glad to see Randy getting some national attention with this album. He's been a Texas treasure for quite some time now. Listen to this album and you'll hear what Top 40 country is going to sound like when it gets over its current "pop" phase. Randy is an excellent songwriter with a unique voice. Another that's hard to explain - you just have to listen. The obvious favorite track for me is "Fuzzy." 

Mood: Bar hoppin' and boot scootin'

So, those were pretty much the ones I played over and over this year. If you haven't heard some of them, be sure to check them out. Music, to me, is a constant journey. I'm always looking for something different, something good, and something both different and good is even better. Talk to you in a few days for the SDR year end run down!

Stay gold,

RH

12.14.2013 - Community Beer Company - Dallas, TX

Well, I guess we're done for the year. Last show was cancelled due to an ice storm that effectively shut North Texas down for about 3 days. Looking back, it's probably better that everyone stayed safe at home. So, it was nice to be able to play again. Felt like we hadn't played in ages. 

This was another of the beer shows... as I've said before, they're a different bird. No stages, very casual, just setup wherever it's convenient and play. Sometimes it's fun to just be able to do that and not worry about the usual stage headaches that pop up throughout a night. No falling off this stage... well, I guess you could. There is a lot of beer. They're also daytime shows, so it's just a really a different feeling for me. More like I'm going to a social event than to work. 

The show itself went fine. No major technical difficulties, aside from having a pad channel go out on my controller during Carry Me Home. I don't think anyone really noticed other than me, though. I'll be spending the next days figuring what's wrong with it. Luckily, I have backups of all my gear, so not the end of the world if the thing has completed its lifespan. 

As I had mentioned, it was the last show of the year for us. 2013 has been an exciting year for us. We've made some good moves, made some mistakes, too... and it has been a real learning experience. When I was much younger, I played in a band that had good sized management, marketing, etc.and we never really played clubs and places like I am now. We just just would play concert halls a few weeks a year, all originals aside from a cover of Dirty Deeds to close the show. Totally different beast now. We've played a lot of shows this year. We've played a lot of songs. It's been a lot of fun and I wouldn't undo any of it. 

2014 will be an interesting year as we move things forward. There will be changes. There will be new originals. There are quite a few we've written since the GPS disc was released and we're eager to get them into the shows. For now, I am going to have a little fun over the next weeks. 

First off, I will probably do one more blog post, just looking back over the year, letting you guys know some of the goofy things that have happened to us over the year. I also am working on a mix of some of the music I used to spin when I DJ'd at an afterhours club in the late 80's - it should be a good laugh and make everyone that knows the songs feel really old (LOL), working on a remix of Into The Night as well. Oh, Paul Kane (Island Castaways Band) and I are trading ideas on a new song or two for them. Gonna be a busy Winter. Busy is good.

I'm going to put together a Spotify playlist of all the songs we've played on stage this year. That will be fun and you'll see how many crazy things we've actually played live! Unfortunately, one of those - one of our favorites - is a little obscure and isn't available on Spotify. So... have a little video from Saturday below. It's a song called Postcard by the band St. Somewhere. We've played it at almost every show, even when just Heath and I played by ourselves for a couple shows in 2012. Heck, we might have played it at every show - kind of our soundcheck song when we don't have time for a soundcheck. A bit sentimental for all sorts of reasons as it has grown with us. 

Thanks, again, for reading... I'll talk to y'all soon!

Stay gold,
RH

11.30.2013 - Caddo Street Grill - Cleburne, TX

Eh, sometimes you just have one of those nights, right? 

I was really looking forward to last nights show in Cleburne. The first time we were there, it went well. It wasn't crazy busy, but they said they liked us and re-booked. Last night, something was just off. I noticed when I got there, there were not as many cars as last time. Mind you, this was hours and hours before our time, not the same crowd that would be there for us. But, it was an odd indicator as last time, the place was packed early. 

Anyway, loaded in, got setup in time, no major drama in setup and sound check. A couple even started dancing to GPS to Nowhere at sound check. Then, at 9pm, we start the show and it was the weirdest thing. It was like performing in a mirrored box. It's like we could see the crowd, but they could see us. At times, we wondered if they could hear us. We start a song, finish it, then it would be followed by silence. We were reading body language and the crowd was fine, no unhappy / we hate your music faces, crossed arms or the like. They were just unresponsive. 

I entertained myself by getting out my credit card and buying the band several pitchers of beer. Oh well. It probably wasn't the right choice, but it felt right at the moment. Oh, and I bought the table of bikers that came in late a beer. Hell, they were the only ones having a party. I threw beads at them, taunted them and they had a blast.  They were nice, paid attention, sang along and had fun. I'm glad they came or my night would have been even further off. I'm fine if I know you don't like me, but it's the weirdest thing to just get no response at all out of a crowd. Not even a "can you play Casey Donahew?" from drunk girls.  That's one I hear a lot. For the record, drunk girls like Casey Donahew. Know you know. You're welcome. 

At the end of our set, it just kind of ended. Nothing spectacular. It just ended. We packed up, said goodbye and left for Fort Worth. 

Nights like this happen, not the end of the world. Like I said, it wasn't bad. We sounded fine, no complaints from the crowd or staff. It was just "odd." I stopped at a McDonald's on the highway, loaded up a mix of October Faction, Saccharine Trust and Tom Troccoli's Dog, then zoned out for the ride home... Breathe in, breathe out, move on... talk to you kids next week. 

Stay gold,

RH

11.23.2013 - Martin House Brewing Company - Fort Worth, TX

What a fun day!

You never know exactly what you're going to get with a brewery. Some are great big, some are tiny, some do stuff, some don't. The beer crowd hang at their favorites on tour days. It's just the thing to do.

I will say that Martin House was a pleasant surprise. I had sampled their beers at one of the beer fests before, so I knew we'd be ok on that level. But, I just wasn't too sure about the building itself. Luckily, there was plenty of room for us to play inside. If you're not in the Texas area, just so you know, it's cold this weekend... like ice storm cold. Anyway, that was another unknown. No one knew if the weather was going to keep folks inside. Luckily, a few hundred showed up. Actually, I don't know the final headcount, but that's what it looked, somewhere around there. Not bad for a crappy day outside. 

As we were finishing setup, we noticed a table going up. Oh boy, it was Junior's Lone Star Sauce! I had sampled (and purchased) their BBQ sauces at a previous beer fest as well. It's some tasty stuff and I highly recommend it. Go check out their Facebook page and tell 'em SDR sent you! In talking with them after the show, they're actually based in Roanoke (where I live). I think I see us playing some of the same venues again in the future. Beer, BBQ Sauce and Sand Dollar Rodeo. That combo works for me.

The show itself was fun. It was actually really fun. I haven't had that good of a time on stage in a while. And the beer... well, my personal choice for the day was called Day Break. I tried several others, but kept going back to Day Break. Heath, Brian & Cisco looked like they were having a good time as well. Later in the night, Heath and I were joking that we're just going to play breweries from here on out. I mean, beer fun folks and being done at 4:30pm rather than 1am... yup, breweries are ok by me. A big "thank you" to Cody Martin & the Martin House Brewing Company gang for having us, hopefully we'll be back there again next year. 

Since I am horrible at remembering to take pictures, Brian was kind enough to email me some that he snapped. Oh, I did take a picture of the sauces that came home with me. Until next time...

Stay gold,

RFH

Good n plenty - Love the Juniors Texas Heat sauces!

View from the Martin House loading dock - That's downtown Fort Worth.

I think Pac Man won. I know it wasn't me.

Yeah, just in case there's any questions where these pics came from LOL. Thanks, Brian. 

Pretzel Stout.

Loved the keg benches at Martin House Brewing Company.

11.16.2013 - Cowtown Bowling Palace - Fort Worth, TX

Well, hello strangers!

I know it's only been a few weeks, but it seems like forever since we've played live. I guess, after playing most every week since January, I'm in a bit of of a routine now. The brief time off felt kind of odd. I kept busy, though. I spent time working on the bidness side of things for the upcoming Island Holiday release, worked on two new songs and I went to Eli Young Band's House Party at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, TX. That was a fun show - I really enjoyed Josh Abbott Band as well - they may have been better than the headliner. "Band" on a band name. That word on a band name always confuses and irritates me. Why do it? Pet peeve... when we were first starting out, we were frequently billed as "Sand Dollar Band" or "The Sand Dollar Rodeo Band." I'm kind of a jerk about it now. If the name of the band is wrong, I have the venues correct it. As much as we like to think that music and being in a band is about the art, we're selling a brand. My brand name doesn't have "band" in its name :)  Ahh... I'm getting off track...

Back to last night! Like I said, seemed like forever since we'd played or seen each other. Heath and I showed up early and knocked back a pitcher while we got things into place. The bowling alley is such a casual environment compared to clubs. It's nice to play there. 

For the most part, the night was drama free. Cisco forgot his cymbals, so he had to make a mad dash to get them before show time. Somehow, he made it back in time. Glad it was a local show. Local show means local friends as well... was nice to see Heath & Brian's families again.

Last night may have been the largest crowd out at Cowtown to date. Pretty sure all the lanes were full the bulk of the night and I noticed more people than usual turned backwards in the lanes watching us. I'm glad about that. I like people and places that are willing to try new things. So, I really hope this continues to work out for Cowtown. 

We'll be back there on December 7th. This may be the last one for a while. So, if you're in the area and have been thinking about coming out, you might want to get off your butt and do it!

So, next week the "I'll Just Have A (TX) Beer" tour continues... we will be at a new brewery called Martin House. Looking forward to sampling... oh, and seeing you there as well! 

Stay gold,

RH

PS: Back to that Island Holiday release... I'm sure you know, but just in case you don't... Our new "Christmas-ish" single will be released on Black Friday. The song will be a free download for anyone on our mailing list. It will also be on sale at Amazon, iTunes, etc. But, hey, get it free from us! If you're not already on the list, go sign up right here - http://ow.ly/qpmW1 - Thanks! 

10.26.2013 - Hollywood & Vine - Glen Rose, TX

Guess we had a little luck behind us this time!

As you've heard us mention several times now, this was to be our last show at Hollywood & Vine of 2013. We really enjoy playing there, staff is great, good okra, Elvis upstairs, sand... yeah, we like it. It's offbeat enough that we kind of fit in there. Anyway, mixed feelings before the show since I was going in knowing that we wouldn't be back until Spring or Summer next year. 

Then there was the weather... While Wanda & Curtis are super nice and would let us play inside in a heartbeat, we have too much stuff nowadays and we're just too damned loud to setup inside. Back to the "last time for a while" thing - I showed up early in the day to have lunch there at H&V, kind of soak things in and enjoy the town for a change. I really like Glen Rose and I'm usually having to be right in, right out. Anyway, I was glad to be there early as the potential for storms was increasing. 

Growing up in Oklahoma, you get really good at reading a radar and predicting the development and movement of storms. If I wasn't doing music, I'd probably be a meteorologist. Seriously, weather fascinates me and terrifies me at the same time. It's like riding a roller coaster - same rush. I love a rush. So, back to my point, I was able to watch the radar for a couple hours, follow how the lines were developing and such. Eventually, I made the call that, yes, we will play outside. I figured, worst case (just from my own predictions) was that we might see a few sprinkles and if it rained, it wouldn't last long during the time slot we were to play. I spoke to the owners and we all agreed that, if it started raining, we'd just cover the gear real quick and take a break until whatever was going on blew over. 

With the rain threat, the outdoor crowd was hit and miss. At times, it looked busy. Other times, when it would get dark and damp, it would thin out. It's a shame about that. I think the 4 of us are finally starting to gel on stage. In our latest formation, we're doing some tricky stuff for a band of our size and (lack of) budget. I think we were all happy with the way we sounded last night. There are always going to be mistakes - it really is live, mistakes are going to happen. As usual, I got the giggles and got lost in a song (I blame Heath's wife, Allyson). But, it flowed and grooved, it's feeling like we are finally starting to become a live band rather than 4 guys on stage playing Sand Dollar Rodeo songs. It was nice. We had fun, too. That's probably the most important thing. Once we start playing, we're having a good time on stage and goofing around with each other. I'm enjoying having Brian to my left. He and I seem to be communicating pretty well within the songs and seem to find humor in a lot of the same things that go on during a show. Then there's Heath. He cracks me up once he gets in the mood. If I ever start to get pissed over something technical that's going on, I just have to look over at him, he'll make a face at me and start dancing around the stage and I forget all about whatever the problem is. Cisco... let me say that if you're ever able to sit close to the stage at one of our shows, do it. Cisco is very vocal during our shows. None of it is on a microphone (and that's probably a good thing), but there are wise cracks coming out of him from start to finish. He sings and shouts along. If you ever see me getting ready to start a serious song, then see me totally lose my composure, it's probably because of Cisco. Did I say we had fun last night? Actually, we had fun all weekend. Fun is good. 

As the show is going on, I notice natures disco lights blinking in the distance. They're getting closer. Still getting closer. I'm guessing around 10pm, lightning is getting too close for comfort, the wind has picked up, cool breeze in the air and you can smell the rain. I knew our time was limited so we blazed through the last few songs and, yup, about 3/4 way through Rodeo Radio here comes the rain. Starts out light but clears out the crowd quickly. Everyone running inside to stay dry and avoid lightning. I notice the time and thank them for coming out, announce it's the end of the show (it was only 10 minutes short of what we had planned on doing). We start running Visqueen all over our gear as fast as possible and bam, here comes the real heavy rain, thunder and lightning. 

Once we were sure everything electronic was unplugged and covered, we hung out on the covered portion of the stage and slowly packed gear while we waited for the rain to pass. About an hour or so later, if finally cleared out. 

As I was driving later that night, I realized how lucky we were. Where highway 67 and I-35 meet, no power at all. It was creepy - entrance/exit ramp for a major highway pitch black - not even flashing street lights. There could have been such a bad wreck there. Luckily, the police were setting up and directing the on/off-ramp traffic. I drove a block or two beyond the entrance ramp of 35 to see what was going on. It was just a storm. Knocked out the area power, debris all over the entrance (lots of rocks, gravel and such). That kind of stuff. We could have easily lost a lot of our gear or been electrocuted had this happened on top of us 20 miles or so to the West. 

That was our last night at Hollywood & Vine this year. In addition to just liking the place, it holds a soft spot for Heath and I. It was one of the first venues to take chance on us and book us to play there. We appreciate that more than they probably know. Unless there's a change in ownership or something really funky happens, we'll always come back. 

Speaking of coming back, the place is open year 'round. Only reason we're not going back for a while is just because we need to play outside and Winter is coming. I might just go back in a week or two as a customer.  Hell, I'm pretty sure I will! Anyway, if you have a free Saturday and a few hours to drive around Texas, please go visit our friends at Hollywood & Vine, tell Wanda & Curtis that Roy from SDR sent ya! Make a day of it and check out Glen Rose. Neat stuff around there, dinosaurs, interesting town in general, nice people, and the food at Hollywood & Vine is really good. Reasonably priced compared to DFW, Austin or Houston, too! 

We've been hitting the shows hard and heavy lately. It's been a lot of fun, but hey, I need to get some new music for you guys, right? Well, we've got two weeks off from live work now. Monday I am to finish mixing the next single (the free one) called Island Holiday. 

If you don't know the info... we're releasing a semi-Christmas song called Island Holiday on Black Friday (stop making me laugh, Allyson). The song will be free if you're on our mailing list, paid if you just want to buy it through iTunes/Amazon, etc. Up to you. I'd get it free. Also, Brian and I will be following it up with a couple of remixes. Those will not be for sale anywhere. They will only be free downloads for our mailing list, that will be the only way to get the remixes. So, if you're not on the list... go to our main site, www.SandDollarRodeo.com and join the list - it's free and we don't send a ton out, maybe one email a month. Get on over there and I'll be talking to you soon!

Stay gold,

RH

Club sandwich and fried okra at Hollywood & Vine!

Glasshopper... you should find another path to spiritual happiness... being on my monitor isn't a good idea.

10.25.2013 - The Score - Fort Worth, TX

So, I'm running behind this weekend - sorry. We'll catch things up today!

First time playing at The Score in Fort Worth. Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to it. I had never been there, hadn't heard anything about it around town, and it was going to be an all-nighter show. I just had this gut feeling that it was going to be one of "those" places where I pull up and sit in the car 20 minutes deciding whether or not to go in. I seem to recall doing that at a place called Wet Creek early in the year. Plus, as many of you know, I am not a fan of most of the popular sports - football and baseball bore the Hell out of me - I like going to baseball games because I like hot dogs and beer and the friends I am there with. I'm not there for the game itself. Anyway, the place billed itself as a sports bar. Yippee. 

As I pull in the lot, out comes Heath all smiley as usual. He had booked this show, actually he used to play pool there years ago, so he was a little more familiar with the place. I walk in and was happy to find a nice mid-sized stage, dance floor and a decent light show. Additionally, it was an older venue and not the cookie cutter Yuppieville, USA sports bar in the corner of a shopping center. The crowd were more working class and bikers. I let out a sigh of relief and got ready for the night. 

The show itself was went fine. Light crowd, but we sold a CD or two, had some folks dance, etc. Brian, Cisco, Heath and I played fairly tight. A few issues with my guitar playing - still have some irritation from the finger issue of last week, didn't play guitar all week to allow for healing. But, my playing was tolerable. 

Some of Heath's friends from high school or maybe earlier school, Paul & Joe, showed up. The beer and shots flowed. It was a fun night for both the crowd and the band that night. 

After the show, we're doing our "thank you's" out in the crowd and I see Heath making this goofy "oh my God" face. I'm like, "what?" He had been talking with this really large (as in tall and wide, not fat) man. Heath comes over and goes, "oh blah blah blah blah... that's so and so (name was Greek to me)." I go, who? Yeah, here's where I am a bad local - Heath says, "Dallas Cowboys, he played Roger Staubach era, Hall of Fame... Rayfield Wright." I'm like, ok. Heath keeps talking to the guy, I come back by and  Rayfield grabs me and says, get your camera and starts taking off his rings - and starts putting them on Heath's hands. Super Bowl ring, Hall of Fame ring... you get the picture. Heath is just glowing, it was fun to watch. Note: Heath, if I've got any of those ring names or what not wrong, feel free to post below and correct me - you know how swift I am on football facts.  

Anyway, Rayfield was a very charming person to talk with and it was nice to meet him. Turns out that he lives around Heath's place and they see him at the grocery store from time to time. If you've never seen someone fairly well known in a situation like that, it's kind of funny. You want to be cool and casual, but at the same time you want to go and talk to them. When I lived in Leon Springs (San Antonio), my local grocery store was across the street from a gated community called The Dominion. Most of the San Antonio Spurs live there, George Strait has a house there, Tommy Lee Jones, Alice from the Brady Bunch, all sorts of people... and you'd see them at the store all the time. I remember the first time I met Tim Duncan from the Spurs - WOW! That is a tall man! And it's kind of funny to see him pushing a little grocery cart. I'd see George Strait and Ann Davis (Alice) in Mailboxes Etc all the time. I helped Stone Cold Steve Austin pack up Christmas presents to send his kids in England one afternoon at Mailboxes Etc. He was a really nice guy. Anyway, I'm getting off track... we had a pro football player in the house and it elevated the buzz of the overall night. While I am not a football fan, I do respect anyone that can navigate the pro sports system. It's just like the music industry, same thing, different color. 

At the end of the night, things had gone well. The lady that booked had asked us back. We think we'll do this place again, for sure, just have to find a date that works. Write it down, I could actually like a sports bar...

Heath & Rayfield

Sand Dollar Rodeo (L to R: Brian, Cisco, Heath, Roy) and Rayfield Wright post-show @ The Score, Ft. Worth 10/2013

10.19.2013 - Railhead - Willow Park, TX

BBQ, wild women and fried okra. That pretty much sums up last night!

This was our first time playing at Railhead, my first time to visit the place. I had heard of it, it's hard not to know about it, if you live around the metroplex and / or ever listen to 95.9 The Ranch out of Fort Worth. For some reason, this little BBQ joint has become a hot spot for live music. For example: You Troubador Texas TV show fans will be familiar with a guy who played there on Tuesday by the name of Zane Williams. Anyway, obviously they get some decent names and supposedly it's not too easy to get booked there (thank you, Heath). We were looking forward to seeing what it was all about, for sure. 

I'll admit that when I got there, it was not what I expected. No stage. Really? Yeah, really. The bands just setup where it's convenient. Ok, that's how they do, we'll roll with it. We setup in kind of a garage door area that opens up to the parking lot. Heath, Brian and I each had our own door!

When we arrived, we were briefed on band rules from the house staff. Things started to fall into place... I think I now know how they get some of these bigger regional names coming back to play a little BBQ place with no stage. Ummm... they treat the bands really well. Beyond its paying more than most similar venues, they really took care of us. Super friendly staff. Oh, bands also get free dinner and beer all night. When you're doing what we do, a free meal can go a long way... especially when fried okra is on the menu. Thank you, Railhead! 

I don't eat before shows, but about midway I placed my order so I could take it and eat afterwards. My plate came with a choice of 3 sides. Well, duh... okra, okra and okra. As much as I love me some fried okra, it's never as good cold. So, I brought it on stage and the four of us had a little fun with it. Heath and I will have Brian and Cisco hooked before too long. BTW, I could care less about receiving tips. In fact, I don't like the whole tipping thing as it encourages requests. But, if you bring me fried okra, it's worth way more than cash :) 

Despite having something going on with my middle finger (not sure what it is just yet - it's swollen and hurts a lot), things were fun and went well. Playing guitar last night made it worse, though. Really painful and big today. Anyway, that threw off some of my playing. I had trouble holding the pick and doing the fast strumming I usually do. Must have dropped a good 20 picks. Then, when I would play the keyboards, it was direct pressure on it and really was not fun. Luckily, I didn't screw up the parts too bad and, unless you just know the details of the songs really well, you wouldn't have noticed. I really hope my finger is back to its normal self by the next show! 

What happens now? More like what happened next... So, as you guys know, we don't play a lot of slow songs or songs with a heavy message. We like to keep the shows a party and don't want to bring people down. So, we usually limit it to 2 slow songs a night. One of them was What Happens Now. 

Wow, talk about getting lost and killing a mood. Yes, I did! But, there was a good reason... so,  whether you guys know it or not, bands can see (and do see) most everything you guys do in the crowd. Starting to follow me now? So, there were these three women kind of in front of me, a tad to my right. I explain what the song is about, we kick in and I see one of them pass her phone to the one right in front of me. My direct view was kind of looking down and into her phone... and on her screen... well, let me fast forward to after the show when the one pulls me over and explains that she was trying to find a popular image of a man with a giant rooster on a leash, the image is titled, "World's Largest Cock." So, she Googled just that. Needless to say, her search returned much more than pictures of roosters. They had no idea I could see their screens when they decided to share the images with each other. So, back to the song, I see this going on and start cracking up. I tried to hold back the laughing, but just couldn't. Then, I got lost in the song. So, yes, blame it all on me, I screwed up What Happens Now last night. But, I had a fun time doing it. After that, I pretty much heckled those ladies the rest of the night. Good times. 

This was a local show for Heath. I think he lives about 3 miles away from the place and his family lives in the area as well. So, it was Frazierville Pt. 2. Always a fun time when his parents and family come out to one of the shows. 

Anyway, it was fun night. The crowd seemed to have a good time and we did, too. Met some really nice folks. Hopefully, we will be back out there again next year. 

Next week, I think we're in Ft. Worth on Friday then out to Glen Rose on Saturday. Last Hollywood & Vine show (Glen Rose) of the year for us, which is sad. I like H&V. So, if you haven't been out there all year, now is the time. It's a really neat outdoor stage. Unfortunately, it's getting to be that time of year where outdoor isn't going to work. So, last one - hope to see y'all there. Until then... 

Stay gold,

RH

Sand Dollar Rodeo @ Railhead - Willow Park, TX

10.12.2013 - Cowtown Bowling Palace - Fort Worth, TX

Well, first off, I'm in a much better mood today than I was yesterday. That should tell you a little how last night went, right? 

After the issues on Friday's show, I asked everyone to show up early Saturday. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time for a good sound check, make sure we worked out any bugs from the previous night. I showed up around 6pm... right as a big ole storm exploded over the place. I didn't know how long it was going to last. It had pretty much popped real quick. So, I had a beer at the bar and decided to give it a few minutes to pass. It did and I was able to load in without getting soaked. Shortly thereafter, Heath, Cisco and Brian arrived. We got setup and had everything in place well before we were able to do sound check. I was relieved. 

As for the performance, it sounded about 75% better than the night before. As I've said in previous posts, this is an odd gig. You don't get a lot of interaction with the crowd while you're playing, mainly just afterwards when you're walking around is when you get feedback. I was in a pretty good mood and I guess it showed. We had quite a few people playing along with us for beads, had a girl decide she needed to sing a Pat Green song - so we let her, I had some fun on the mic with the staff and my favorite off-duty police officer / security guy (not really sure which he is - guess I should ask next time).  Oh, and I sang a pretty horrible version of Happy Birthday twice. I should have never learned the words to that song. I'm going to make sure I forget those lyrics by the next gig. I will gladly wish someone a happy birthday on the mic, but we're not TGI Fridays - and it messes with the flow of our show (in my head anyways). 

Speaking of crowd manners and asking us to do stuff while we're on stage, it's so interesting to see how crowds change over time. Back when I was attending a lot of shows (rather than playing them), no one would have ever tried to interrupt a band on stage. I mean, while the girl wanting to sing Pat Green was fine at this particular place and I was in the right mood for it, if that would have been during a regular "concert" show, she would have never made it close enough to attempt it. Most bands, especially us, have the evening set list pre-planned. There's an art to designing the flow. We often learn words and songs, plan guitar switches, plan tunings, etc. based on that flow. You mess with the flow and it can throw the band off. Even more so when the band is trying to build momentum and alter the various moods of the crowd. 

For example: We start out these long nights with what I call "the beach set." It's an hour or so long and has some "beachy" stuff. If we play Margaritaville that night, it's going to be in that set along with songs like Carry Me Home. By the end of that set, we've introduced a little more country. The second set, which I call "the main concert" is pretty much that. We play a couple hours without stopping. We start out high energy and keep building it. The sound gets louder, the guitars start distorting more and it's designed to work the crowd up and up. If you've never been there at the end of the night when we close with a certain song (no spoilers for those that have not been there), we pretty much sound like a rock band, very little country at that point. Guess that's why we're alt-country LOL. Anyway, back to my point...  There was an article in one of the Austin papers recently about how inconsiderate concert goers have become in recent years. It spoke of the "I paid my money, it's MY night" folks. I remember seeing Jack Ingram at an acoustic show in the Boston area a year or two ago. You couldn't pay attention to the show because of the drunk girls having their girls night out. People asked them to keep it down, the girls would tell them off. Finally, management cut them off and they left. I like loud, rowdy and drunk. I really do. Don't get me wrong, but take it to a Creager show, a strip club or somewhere appropriate for loud and rowdy. Think of this, even if you don't care about how the band feels about it, do you really think anyone (other than your table of friends) wants you disrupting things? Um... they paid to get in as well. Oh, and if you want to make requests... do us all a favor and go somewhere with a jukebox. Ok, enough on that, it was a good night - I just got off on a thought and kept typing. Sorry. Let's move on...

Like I said, we sounded a whole lot better and had a lot of fun and look forward to doing it again on November 16th. If you haven't been to see us there before, it's only $10 and includes 2 hours of unlimited bowling with your cover charge. Also, pitchers of Bud Light are only $7.50 - it's one of the cheaper nights out and I highly recommend it. 

At the end of the night, I was pleased and slept a whole lot better than the night before. Oh, hey, and Brian got some new jeans. Check them out below - he was really proud of those jeans :)

Stay gold and I'll talk to you next week,
RFH

10.11.2013 - Reno Red's - Roanoke, TX

Hmm... well, sometimes you just have one of those nights. Last night was one of them...

I won't go into a lot of detail, but there were some delays in getting things up and running, so we wound up not having a sound check and starting a few minutes late. First song, sound was off and, as I was tweaking it, my strap lock (the thing that locks my guitar strap in place) broke. My guitar fell straight to the floor and busted the E string (which I use a lot). I'm lucky it only broke a string, a drop like that should have broken the neck. Anyway, that threw things off. Then, since we didn't sound check, we had a horrible time syncing the click track. I've had better nights, for sure!

In the end, it wasn't terrible. But, I didn't feel good about the performance. Kind of a shame since I like the place so much. This was a restaurant in my home town. Not really the kind of place that would normally host a band like us, but they were up for trying and I really wanted it to go better than it did. On a side note, the staff were great. Very nice group of people - if you're ever passing through Roanoke, be sure to check them out! We also met some nice folks that stuck it out til the end of night with us (thank you).

At the end of the night, the manager asked us back. I was happy (and surprised) about that. But, lots of work to be done our end to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Tonight, we brush off the dirt and move forward ...

A picture I stole from Brian's wife, Carrie's, Facebook page - Neat little stage!

10.04.2013 - Chubby's - Fort Worth, TX

Happy Saturday, Happy Fall! 

So, as you might have read on my last post, Cisco had some family issues and, as things turned, he was not going to be able to perform with us last night. We were all pretty bummed at the thought of having to play without him. We're really starting to get a good chemistry between us and don't want to revert back to a fully sequenced show. But, we also didn't want to cancel the show and leave the venue hanging. So, I did my thing with the drum machines earlier in the week and put together a temporary drummer for the night. 

It's fair to say that we were concerned about how it would turn out. Heath and I used to play this way before we brought on Cisco & Brian. But, it's been a long time since we've done things that way and none of us had rehearsed it all together. With the short notice of Cisco having to go to Minnesota, though, we decided to it was the only option and we'd make the best of it. 

This was our first time playing at Chubby's. The show was booked quite a while back and none of us really had any idea what to expect from the place. Was it a restaurant? A concert hall? Dive bar? We didn't really know anything other than that they claim a mean burger. 

We were pleasantly surprised to find it was kind of all of the above. Yes, they serve food.and a good portion of the place is a bar. Outside they have, as I read on their website, "the big stage." They had an incredibly friendly staff that took more than good care of us all night. 

We started our set without an intro and just went directly into Postcard. I didn't want to address the absent drummer issue until we had played the first song. 

I'm always amazed at how people perceive "bands." With my musical past, having worked in primarily electronic bands my whole career, it's no issue for me to go see a band with 2 people on stage. I understand how it works. For the average Joe, it's almost like you're screwing with their minds. They want to like it. You see them tap their feet, groove to the beat. Then, they look at the stage and get this confused look on their face, kind of like when a dog cocks his head and looks at you funny - you know the look. You can tell they're trying to grasp how that much sound comes out of so few people. I've noticed this being the case more in Texas than anywhere. I think it's because we've been playing country friendly venues that have just never seen this before. Anyway, I wanted to see how the crowd was going to react before we delivered the whole story about our drummer situation for the night. My thoughts were that, if they didn't give that confused look, we don't mention it and keep playing without putting any downer thoughts in peoples minds. If we get the look, we tell them what's going on. 

Well, it's Fort Worth... and, yes, I saw the look. No big deal, we explained the situation, told them we didn't want to leave them hanging without a show and then we tore into the rest of set. 

It was so funny - after the quick explanation, no more confused looks. Folks were dancing and having a good time. Mission accomplished. 

We received quite a few nice compliments about our music throughout the night from both the staff and crowd. Especially on the originals. I had a man pull me aside while I was walking through and he told me that What Happens Now was the highlight for him and that the song was a "money maker." I was flattered. On a side note: That song sounds about a thousand times better live than it does on the recording. It was a challenge in the studio and I never felt that we captured the mix like it should have been captured. Additionally, when I'm able to set it up and explain what it's about, people really pay attention to the lyrics and it's neat for me to watch their reactions. Who knows, live album? We'll see. If so, maybe we'll give it another shot then. 

So, once again, it all worked out. Yay! 

Oh, and you should have been there for a super duper rare performance... Heath's daughter, Fernie, was having a birthday! I can honestly say that I've never played "Happy Birthday To You" live before. But, I knew about it before hand and learned it on guitar. So, what the heck, we did it! 

Interesting things and highlights of the night: Birthday cake, chicken fried hamburgers, kind words from the audience. Oh, and birthday cake. Did I say cake? I seriously love cake. Thanks, Allyson! 

Ok, so that was last night. Below is a picture I stole from someone's Facebook page. Until next time...

Stay gold, 

RH

Sand Dollar Rodeo @ Chubby's - Fort Worth, TX

09.28.2013 - Caddo Street Grill - Cleburne, TX

Happy Sunday! Now, let's talk about last night...

I am going to start off by saying that yesterday had all the ingredients for a really REALLY horrible night. I got a call early in the day from my drummer, Cisco, letting me know that he had a death in the family and was concerned about our show next weekend as he may have to go to Minnesota for a funeral. Ok, life happens, we'll deal with it. The good news was that he would be there tonight. Well, kind of...

Since this was our first time at this venue and we were having an opening act (who would be using our sound system), I asked everyone to be there a little earlier than usual. A few minutes after 7pm, I get a text from Cisco - dealing with funeral arrangements, hoping to be there by 7:30. 7:30 comes and goes... finally, around 8 he arrives. Whew, ok, everything else was setup, just had to get him in place, do a sound check and we'd be fine. Wrong...

So, he gets set up and finds that, amidst all the family stuff he was dealing with, he forgot to pack the pedal for his bass drum. That's a bad thing. A very bad thing. So, he sets up and says he's going to run back to Fort Worth and grab one and be back in time for us to go on at 10pm.

9:12  a text comes in... "see if you can have the opener play an extra song to two to buy some time... on my way."

9:48... "Sorry, not gonna make it by 10."

9:54... "Probably another 30 to 45 minutes..."

10:15... "Burleson."

10:34... "Cleburne city limits."

10:43... "5 minutes away."

Meanwhile, at 10pm we've got a room full of people wanting live music. Heath and I are pretty much stressed out beyond belief. Finally, we had to make the decision to fire up the drum machine and play "something" in case it was going to take even longer. So, we sucked it up, explained to the audience that there had been a family emergency going on all day, told them what was happening, and then we started playing.

About 2 or 3 songs in, here comes Cisco. I'm pretty sure you could hear Heath, Brian and I sigh of relief all the way to Dallas. Cisco puts his bass pedal on, sits down and we kick on the full show.

Maybe we need more drama like this in our lives? We played better than we've probably ever played as a 4 piece. About the 3rd song (with Cisco) we noticed the crowd was starting to have a lot of fun, dance floor started filling, the beads started flying and it turned into quite the party.

What started as a really bad night ended up being one of our best shows to date. We got a lot of comments from the staff that they really enjoyed it, had a lot of people sign up for our mailing list, and Caddo Street asked us back for a return visit towards the end of the year. Can't complain about that!

On the way home, as I play video car arcade to avoid the drunks on the road, I started laughing out loud about how crazy this kind of life is. Then I laughed even harder at the thought that I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

This was my first time in Cleburne. Nice little town. Highway 67 seems to be proving a friend... same road to get to Glen Rose. Same type of genuine people. I look forward to 67 again in October at Hollywood & Vine.

On a side note, I gotta tell you about this girl that opened for us. I say girl because, as I heard it, she just turned 17. As Heath, Brian and I were standing there watching her, I jokingly said, "crap, I don't want to sing after her." Yeah, she's really good. I expect we're going to be hearing a lot more from her in the future and we hope to play with her again, for sure. Check out some quick clips I shot of her from the side of the stage to hear her voice. Still amazed that she's only 17. Thanks to Marti Ludwig for booking this show months and months ago and thanks for putting us in contact with Jade!

Ok, kids... I've been good all weekend. It's Sunday and is finally past Noon so all us sinners can finally buy beer in Texas. Hope you all have a great rest of the weekend and I'll be talking to you again after our show next week in Forth Worth at Chubby's. Until then...

Stay gold,
RH

09.13.2013 - Cowtown Bowling Palace - Fort Worth, TX

Ok, ok, so I'm having a hard time blogging about these bowling alley gigs lately. Sorry. It's not that they're bad or anything, just the last couple haven't had any big moments that I find worthy of writing about.

This show... We implemented a full click track system without practicing with it first. Why, yes, I do think Jason Voorhees was in the house. A little rough on some songs, but overall, it's going to work.

Don't get me wrong by the short post - I love playing these bowling alley gigs and the people in the crowd seem to be having a great time. It's a fun night. There just wasn't a lot to write about this time. Maybe you should show up and cause a little somethin' to write about next time! We'll be back at the alley next month... until then...

Stay gold,
RH