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