Holliday Road: 03.01.2014 - Private Show @ Buckles

Well, hello strangers!

Yeah, it's the slow time of year for Sand Dollar Rodeo. Our schedule is about to kick into high gear next month. But, for now, things are a little slow on the live front. We're busy, don't misunderstand that, just not so busy on stage as much in February and March.

It was good to be back on stage. It really hasn't been that long since we've played live, but when you're used to doing it regularly, a week or two off seems like forever. I had a nice time today. Well, I had a nice time once I got there... thanks to construction and a wreck on 35, my 45 minute drive became a two hour drive and I was late for sound check. Oh well, what do you do, right? It's DFW.

Today we were booked at a private party in Aledo, Texas. Early gig. Load in at 2, show at 5. Stage clear at 8 sharp. The venue was a place called Buckles. We've actually played there before. It used to be called Wild Wet Willie's. I can't remember if that was the name of the place when we played there, but they've changed hands / changed names 3 times since we played there. Regardless, I thought I knew the venue and was prepared for an afternoon of thick cigarette smoke and funky sound. Boy, was I wrong! Whoever took this place over did a major overhaul on the place. It's very nice now. They still allow smoking in the bar, but they have good smoke eaters and you really didn't notice it. Mind you, I have nothing against smoking bars at all. Heck, I smoke - it doesn't bother me. But, last time we played there it was so thick and stale, it bothered my voice. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Kudos to the new crew for making it a really nice place to visit. Nice staff, excellent sound system. Tonight (after the private party) was to be their opening night and I wish them the best of luck with the place. As we were leaving, looked like they were getting a good crowd. Good for them!

Now for the show itself... playing private parties is weird. It's something bands do, but it's not a normal gig. You never know what's going to happen or what the crowd is going to be like. Plus, crowds at private parties don't give you the same feedback as a concert crowd. Think about it, you go to a private party, you're there for the party not so much to watch the band. You want to socialize with your friends, etc. Plus, this was a birthday party. Meaning, they really want to interact with the guest of honor (Happy Birthday, John) and are more focused on that than dancing or watching the band.

That being said, it was good. The place has a great dance floor and we had folks on it through much of our show. This wasn't really a country crowd. So, I'm extra happy to see that we had people dancing and having fun.

I thank our host, Alaina Tenseth, a great deal. Often at parties, you're bombarded with requests that have nothing to do with you're about or what you sound like and, when the booze gets flowing, the guests making those requests get quite rude. Paul & Joe from my old band, if you're reading this... remember that gig in Long Island, NY? We had really drunk women complaining that we wouldn't play the Electric Slide or Cha Cha this or that. They even bitched because we wouldn't play Lady GaGa. Really, Lady GaGa? No offense to her, I enjoy her music, but you guys hired us to play Margaritaville.What's wrong with this picture? I shit you not, they hired a band for a Jimmy Buffett themed beach party, the guests got drunk, and started giving us a hard time. Then, the old rich guys want to do a skit to Margaritaville. They say, you have to play Margaritaville at x time. We start playing it as instructed. Their cabana boy type assistant comes up to us, all hard ass, and tells us we need to play Margaritaville right now because they're ready - ummm.. we're playing it right now like you told us to do! They didn't even know the song. This is why I cringe whenever we get a party booking inquiry. Luckily, this was not the case tonight. Great crowd. They treated us with respect as a band that plays original music (although we through some fun covers in for the heck of it) and they had a good time. We had a good time. No complaints from me at all. Thank you, again, for being a great audience!

Highlights for me:

We played a new one I wrote called Good Time. We've only rehearsed it once and I was kind of worried how it would go over. It was nice to see feet tapping and to hear it actually happen on stage. Based on the physical response (toe tapping and dancing in place) from the country fans, I think this new one is going to do well and will be on the new album, for sure. It's a weird thing to be a songwriter. You, basically, are spilling your guts to the public and you never know what kind of response you're going to get. It's a very nervous thing to play a new song you've written live for the first time. I think this one's a keeper.

Another highlight was the dancing and seeing people smiling. We played Come Monday from Buffett. It packed the dance floor. It's a nice feeling, when you're doing a cover, to actually see that you're doing it well. The dance floor doesn't lie. If you're doing a song that was meant to be danced to, an empty dance floor (in a full room) is a bad sign. Not the case tonight. It was nice.

So, that's my review of the night. I had a really good time. I don't know if it's because Aledo is Heath's home town or if it's just the town itself. But, every time we have played there, I have felt good after the show.

Below, some pics from my resident photographer (and bass player), Brian. I swear, one of these days I'm going to remember to take pictures myself!

Party on Bill & Ted... So-Crates says we've got some fun on the horizon.

Stay gold,