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. |
No comments:
Post a Comment