04.27.2013 - Judge Bean's - Keller, TX

Another fun one comes and goes... 

Last night we played at a place called Judge Bean's in Keller, TX. Kind of a restaurant/bar type of place, not exactly where you'd probably expect to see us playing. But, we were playing there for our booking agent's birthday bash. So, what the heck, right?

We needed to fill a four hour slot. So, in an effort keep both the crowd and ourselves entertained for that long, we decided to mix things up a little bit. For starters, we printed out a list of pretty much every cover song we knew. We gave that list to Marti (our agent) and said, "What do you want to hear first?" We continued with that format the remainder of the night. We'd finish a song, then ask her what we were playing next. It made the night pass quickly and was a nice change of pace for us. 

We also invited Eric Wagner up to  play a few acoustic songs. Sounded good... so, of course, we asked him back when we re-started our set and he sat in on guitar for Margaritaville (yeah, we played "that" song LOL) and then switched to harmonica on our song, Into The Night. Really nice job on the harmonica! Think we're gonna have to be callin' on that boy again. Anyway, it was fun. Very fun. If you guys get a chance, go check out his music - Thank you for helping us out, Eric!

There was a real party vibe in the air - people not connected to the birthday crowd were just having a good ol' time. I think that (and probably a few of those $1.75 Shiners) kept us all on our toes and in good form.  

Highlights for me this time were when Heath, out of the blue, started playing and singing The One I Love by REM. Sounded good, the crowd started singing along, so I whipped up a drum beat on the control pads and Cisco got the groove going on the congas, then we, as a whole room, all finished the song. I hate to say it, but playing Margaritaville with Eric and a bunch of well-lit ladies on stage was a high point as well. Those of you who know me well, know that, while I am a fan of Jimmy Buffett, I am not a big fan of that song. It worked for that moment, though. 

Probably biggest personal highlight was during Tailgate To The Beach. Before we played it, some guys were asking for a George Jones song - for obvious reasons. I told them, "No, I am not going to play a half-assed version of a classic Jones song just because he has died, it would be tacky." They accepted that answer. Then, I explained what Tailgate To The Beach was about and we played the song. Now for the highlight... around the 2nd verse, I look over and a girl is starting to tear up. I make eye contact, then continue around the room as I do. When I come back to her, tears all over the place. It was wild to see a song I had written move someone to tears. At the end of the song, her whole group of friends stood up and applauded. Then, several of them went over and I saw them buying CD's. I was very flattered. 

So, that was a Saturday night in the metropolis of Keller. I hear we have driven "Party Marti" into retirement. Mission accomplished. Below are some pics I stole from Amy Ludwig on Facebook... thanks, Amy (thanks for the chocolate cake, too)! 

Next couple of shows are expected to be super fun... so, stayed tuned. Until then, stay gold... RH

Cisco and I - Judging from the lack of guitar on me, probably during Sangria Wine. 

Pretty sure this was during Margaritaville...

04.26.2013 - Rangers Ballpark - Arlington, TX

Wow, what a fun night!

Sand Dollar Rodeo are about fests... we like them, we attend them, we embrace them. We call them George. George is our friend. Tonight was the Texas Food Truckin' Fest at the Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. 

I can't tell you how cool it was to pull up to a humongous stadium and load our gear in. You set a rack down, look up and see these towering walls. Intimidating and exciting at the same time. I've done some high profile shows in my past, but this was just kind of weird because every time I'd look over, I saw the largeness of this place. It was a rush. 

And the rush continued... this was an original show, no covers (ok, we did one... thank you St. Somewhere, we played your song Postcard because we like the damned song). It was so nice to have a fun crowd enjoying what we do. There's a slight buzz going on about us right now... earlier in the day, we got a favorable review in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and DFW.com Magazine, we've been added to rotation on several radio stations this week. Kind of weird to have people finally almost starting to recognize us and what we're doing. It reminds me of 20+ years ago when I was playing with another up and coming band that winded up doing pretty well. It's a good feeling. 

Anyway, the sound guys were awesome. Brad, who ran our sound... I can't thank you enough. That may have been the best monitor mix I've had to date. Oh, and they were nice guys. We like nice guys. 

This was one of those shows where I can't point out a true highlight - it was fun seeing the little girls dancing, it was nice to hear the applause of our sending a big ole chug of beer and a tractor ride in the sky to George Jones as we dedicated Tailgate To The Beach to the Possum, it was cool to see see the laughter on peoples faces as we did Fried Okra. It was just a good night overall. 

Tomorrow night... we head back to Keller, TX and I expect a wacky night. It is our booking agent, Marti's, birthday. We plan on doing our "show" then getting a little stupid. If you're around Keller tomorrow night... come on out... could be a good one... I'll report back then. 

Until then... Stay gold, ponykids.
RH

Rangers Ballpark - Arlington, Texas

04.12.2013 - Keller Tavern - Keller, TX

Ahh... the Spring weather continues and I welcome it with open arms!

This was our second time playing at The Keller Tavern. It's a nice place to stop by for a beer. If you're ever in that part of Keller (old Main Street), pop in and you'll probably have a nice visit. Neat little area of town and the smell of food in the air is wonderful. 

The last time we played there, it was still Winter and we had to play inside. It stormed and hailed. Playing inside was the right thing to do. But, it is entirely too small for us in there, very much what you think of as a pub or tavern, so we were glad to know we'd be playing outside on their patio the next time. Their patio is good sized, open and just feels fun. 

Tonight's show was "interesting." We had a decent crowd throughout the night, patio remained full at all times. But, after playing an all original show at The Venue last show, we honestly had a hard time getting into it at the beginning. As we were loading in, I noticed that none of the flyers we dropped off were up. Par for the course. Places like this are fun, but they really don't care who the band playing is. They just want some unoffensive background music while they sell drinks. 

Now, don't get me wrong, the show went fine. By the end of the night, the crowd was drunk, dancing and having a good ol' time. Just a completely different experience from last weekend. We have one more show on the books at this place and we're going to play with the set list a bit and see if we can't get them pumped up a bit earlier in the evening. Just a little difficult on a 4 hour show (which is why we no longer accept 4 hour bookings LOL). Watch the main Sand Dollar Rodeo website schedule at www.SandDollarRodeo.com for the next date - it's at the end of May, I believe. Could be wrong, check the website! 

My personal highlight of the evening... being tortured in numerous rounds of SongPop after the show and into the wee hours of the morning by J. It's ok J. You and your hair band / rock ballads are going down. I'm saving all my classic country favorites just for you!

Stay gold kids...
RH

View from behind the stage at Keller Tavern

04.06.2013 - The Venue - Gun Barrel City, TX

Looks like I'm a day or two late - sorry.. it's been one of those weeks. I've been incredibly busy with the business side of SDR and this is the first bit of down time I've had since the show! Sorry! 

What a great night! This past Saturday night, I'm proud to say that Sand Dollar Rodeo was the first band to play The Venue at GBC Music in Gun Barrel City. It was their grand opening and they had us and August & J in for the night. 

I can't say enough good things about the place and the people. Dino has a great place with a concept I really like. By day, it's a musical instrument store. Then at night... the lights go down, the cocktails come out and the volume goes up. Nice sound and lighting. Nice staff. Really friendly folks in the crowd. It truly was a pleasure to play there and I wish them nothing but the best of success. If you're a band passing through the area and are looking for a stopover between the larger cities (Gun Barrel City is not), I would highly recommend checking into The Venue. 

I can't really pinpoint any specific highlights of this show as we enjoyed it the whole time. It was so nice to be able to play our show as it's intended to be and the crowd was very receptive. Also, it's always fun sharing a bill with August & J. They are nice guys, good music - check them out over at www.AugustandJ.com . Oh, wait, there was a highlight I do remember... the gas station next door had Bud Light Chelada and excellent chicken salad sandwiches - GBC Valero Rocks :) Oh, and another... it was the first show we've had since the CD came out - and we sold some - that was kind of cool! 

Ok, kids... this weekend, we return to the Keller Tavern for an outdoor show. Despite the hail storm, we had a good show at Keller Tavern last time and are really looking forward to throwing you guys a party outside this time! Fingers crossed for no rain - talk to you then! 

Stay gold,

Roy

Heath in the dressing room...