05.25.2013 - Frazierville - Willow Park, TX

Another day, another rodeo…  saw that on a t-shirt the other day while I was at the stockyards. So true. Bought the shirt…

Last night we played a private party at Heath’s parent’s house. I had a feeling it could be a good time… and when I showed up and saw Heath’s son making Everclear jello shots, I knew what we were in for. Yeah, it was a fun time.

We don’t play as many private parties as I’d like. While I dislike bar gigs, the festivals and private parties are often some of my favorites.  At the private parties, it’s nice to be able to relax before and after you play, you get a better chance to talk with the folks in the crowd and such. I know that, with all the keyboard stuff I use on stage, there are always some questions about it. “What is that thing?” is the common one for the Alesis MIDI controller I use and, at a private party, I will often walk you up on the stage and show you how it works.  That casualness is kind of pleasant.

Again, we were dealing with the weather. But, this time we lucked out. It rained right before I got there, no rain the rest of the day. Humid, humid, humid, but no rain! The crowd was fun, the keg was cold, the sangria tasty, the hot dogs in abundance. We played a little over two hours, think we did all the album songs, a couple other originals I had written in the past (Tonga Juice and Island Holiday), then a few appropriate covers… Margaritaville and Sangria Wine… Lonely Boy by Black Keys. Ok, that one may not match the rest, but it’s a fun song to play – we’ll probably keep that in the set for a while. At parties like this, we just go with the flow and play what feels right.

Performance wise, I wasn’t too happy with myself. The night before, we played for 4 hours and I pushed my voice too hard – that’s too long to be running your mouth at a high level and is yet another reason we’re backing off from the 4 hour shows. Plus, I’m not sure if it was the weather, maybe I’m getting a chest cold, both? I don’t know, but I had a really hard time hitting the higher notes or anything extended on Saturday. Heath & Cisco said I didn’t sound bad, but I would have like to have sounded better.  Today my voice is shot – coughing here and there, feel like I’ve been inhaling mold for a week. Good news is that we have next weekend off, so I can rest the voice and get things back under control before the next shows start back up.

Aside from that, it was a great party. I had a really good time, think we all did. Thanks to Phillip & Lynn for having us out – it was a really nice time!

Stay gold,

RH

05.24.2013 - Keller Tavern - Keller, TX

What a night!

This was our third time playing at Keller Tavern. Remember, this was the place with the nice, large, patio bar? Well, each time we’ve played there, we’ve had a problem with the weather. Guess 3^rd time was the charm… We arrive, it’s extremely humid. The bar has checked the weather and determined it would be ok to play outside. Wrong. Backing up, as you guys know, I grew up in Oklahoma – I know how to read a radar and am pretty good at predicting storms. I was not thrilled about setting up outside. We use a lot of electronics. Electronics and rain are not a good mix.

So, we are getting ready to soundcheck and the wind picks up – 50 mph gusts – a storm is coming. The bar decides we can setup inside. We tear everything down, move it inside (luckily we beat the rain) and then set it up again. Once again, a great deck and we’re playing inside, shoved in a little corner, can barely move on stage. I appreciate that they let us play inside (rather than cancelling and not paying us). But, that place is just too small for all of our stuff.

As for the rest of the night… it was fine. I am not a fan of 4 hour shows and, running through my head the whole night, was a constant happy reminder that this was probably our last one. It was very satisfying knowing that I was probably singing Alabama’s Give Me One More Shot for the last time. Nothing against the song itself, but playing that long requires more covers than we want to be playing. It also takes its toll on your voice, in a big way.

Anyway, we survived the night. No highlights… oh wait, yes there was… yet another wrong billing! Friday night we were The Sand Dollar Band, once again. Oh well, they spelled it right on the check. 

RH

05.04.2013 - Mayfest - Fort Worth, TX

Ok, I know, I know... I'm very late in posting this one! I came home the night of this show, had about half of a beer and fell right asleep on the couch. After that, it's been on the "to do" list since then. Sorry. 

Part of the problem in my getting motivated to make this post is the lack of things to say. It was a good show, I love fests. The sound was good, weather was nice, etc. Although, that started a several week battle with chapped lips - like really bad chapped lips. It was bright and sunny, plus very windy. I would up with sun and wind burned lips. The weeks following have been a challenge as I try to sing - they crack, bleed, etc. Finally, as of yesterday, I am pretty much healed. Thanks to lots of aloe, E and this stuff I found at another fest, Grapevine's Main Street Days a week later, called Udder Balm. Wow, talk about some soothing stuff. Anyway, lips are ok now and I will make a point to have SPF on my lips in any future outdoor shows. 

The other highlight, for me, was the shuttle service. Mayfest has a lot of people there, cars did not have access to the stage we were playing. So, they shuttled the bands and their gear in to the stage area. Oh, and only one vehicle in the pre-loading area. That part was funny - we loaded everything we had into Heath's SUV. Heath drove, I was in the passenger seat, Cisco on my lap. It had to be hilarious to look at - I know the checkpoint police were laughing away. 

Anyway, we make it to the loading area, unpack Heath's car and then wait on the shuttle. The "shuttle" arrives. Not what I pictured - it was those little golf cart thingies, some with trailers on back. Ok, fine, it works. We load up and then notice the beers in the drivers cup holders. Yeah, they were volunteers and, clearly, drinking was allowed. That was a fun little ride, that's probably all I need to say, right? I can't believe that nothing bounced out along the way. Seriously, it was a fun ride, though. 

In the end, all worked out, shuttle in, shuttle out, check waiting for us at the end of the shuttle ride. Can't beat that. Hopefully, we will play this one again next year. It was a nice time!

RH

Shuttle load out... 

05.03.2013 - Wild Rooster - Fort Worth, TX

Well, I came home from this show tired, all in a good mood, got a beer, had some frozen pizza, got ready to write the blog... fell alseep. Sorry for the delay, folks. Catch up time!

First time playing at the Wild Rooster, so really didn't know what to expect. We had heard they had a decent sound system and that was enough to make us happy. We've had some really crappy ones in the past. Anytime there's rumor of "good sound" it makes a good impact on the pre-show mood. The bar itself reminded me of a younger, almost yuppie-ish, version of Hank's in McKinney. But, then again, it didn't. I don't know. I could see a metal band in there more than a country band. Just that kind of vibe. Staff was nice and friendly, though. No complaints. Cheap beer, too! 

We were also opening for a band by the name of Whiskey Confessions. I had heard a couple of their songs online and really didn't know what to expect in the full show. That unknown element is always fun as well. 

The show itself went fine. Really, nothing special about it. We played, the crowd seemed to enjoy it, we didn't run anyone off. What more can you ask when you're the opening band, right? Actually, I felt better after Whiskey Confessions came on. While they played a few originals, I didn't realize they were going to be doing mostly covers. That fact, right there, changed my opinion of how the night went. The fact we made it through our set without anyone making a request or bitching about the originals... or leaving, makes me feel just fine. The Whiskey Confessions guys were friendly, wouldn't be surprised if we paired up again on their side of the state in the future. 

As I said, no real highlights for the show itself. As I can recall, Fried Okra went over best with that crowd. I would like to play for the same crowd again, after they're more familiar with our music. They were a fun enough crowd. They just didn't know our songs. Oh... wait, there was a couple in the crowd that seemed to know some of the words... yeah, Heath's parents came out to the show. It was nice meeting them and I think they had a good time! 

So, that's it for Wild Rooster. Next morning... fest mode! 

RH