02.10.2015 - Moving The Blog to RH.Com

Just a quick note:

As I am trying to get all of my things under one umbrella, I am migrating the Holliday Road blog over to my own server.

The new web address for the blog is http://www.royholliday.com/category/blog/ or you can simply go to www.RoyHolliday.com and navigate the main menu. It is under the "stuff" category.

I've been very happy with Blogger.com, no complaints, just trying to get everything in one place as I build out the next phase of projects.

I will be adding some non-show content to the blog, documenting my ever worsening driving addiction. It all ties in with the whole live show thing and will make more sense later as the whole site and branding evolve.

Thanks again for reading and I hope I will see you all on the other side in the future!

Stay Gold,
RH
www.RoyHolliday.com

01.10.2015 - Cobra Brewing - Lewisville, TX

Hey, look there - I remembered! 

Fun day at Cobra over in Lewisville on a cold and gray Saturday afternoon.

This show was originally booked months and months ago, back when we were trying out the acoustic thing. There was a scheduling issue and we wound up being placed in January. The lineup today: Heath, Trey and myself. 

In the time between then and now, we've backed off SDR acoustic a bit and I take the blame for that. When I write songs for Sand Dollar Rodeo, it's never been with the intention of having them played acoustic. I think we need to keep that mental picture of SDR being a full band rather than an acoustic band and make it known that, when an acoustic show does happen, it is a rare and special thing. They will happen again, without a doubt, just not as often as last year. 

That being said, it was a really nice time. I have always enjoyed playing the brewery tours and acoustic fits the environment. 

It was a great surprise to see all the pholks from Lone Star Parrot Head Club show up. Thank you - we appreciate that more than you know. I also love it when we get a good assortment of dogs in the audience. It's fair to say that we are a dog lovin' band and they tend to add a bit of laughter and smiles to the mix when they are present at our shows. I'll post a few pics below... there was this Dachshund that was hilarious - running laps around the brewery and trying to get the big white dog to play with 'em. Oh, and somehow we were setup next to a ping pong table this time... I don't remember that from the past times we've played there, but this time we had random ping pong balls flying on stage.. I think Trey and I just about fell over from laughing about it. Brewery gigs are a different beast. Shit like that happens and is all in good fun.

We had technical issues out the wazoo. Nothing major, but the monitors went out, Trey had a pedal go out, speaker stand died... it got to the point where we couldn't do anything but laugh about it. Oh yeah, I was kind of sick with a head cold, too LOL. 

Musically, it went ok. The three of us haven't played together since before the holidays. I played some acoustic solo shows, Trey did some fill-in work with other bands and Heath worked on booking stuff for later in 2015. Saturday was the first time we'd all seen each since November. I was a bit nervous about how it would go... luckily, it went fine and I will say that Trey's fingers were on fire. We did a version of Route 66 that I'd only played solo, they just followed me, then we improvised and it went pretty well all around. I think we might have to keep that one in our set! Anyway, there's only so much I can say without being too repetitive in these blogs. Long story short - it was a good day, great crowd and we look forward to doing it again. Cobra staff were friendly and hospitable, as always. Good beer, too. If you're in the Lewisville TX area, stop by and see them for a brewery tour and tasting.

That's it on the live front for a couple months, but don't assume we're sitting around twiddling our thumbs. Quite the opposite. I've got a new electronic album coming out Tuesday (it will be available at all of the usual outlets and will show up on the discography portion of this page once on sale), a new solo single coming out on Valentine's Day, all while writing and recording the next SDR release. Oh, and I will have a podcast going live by end of January. Rehearsal for SDR shows will go into overdrive mode here in a week as well. Next time you see us live, we'll have a slightly different look in the lineup (hi John), so lots and LOTS of rehearsals are on tap for us over the next months. Be sure to check out our show calendar at www.SandDollarRodeo.com - we have already started posting Spring dates, many more to come! 

Thanks, again, for your interest in what we do. See you soon! 

Stay gold,

RH

Roy@SandDollarRodeo.com

www.RoyHolliday.com

www.SandDollarRodeo.com

Pinball and Puppies...

The Target

The Chase... around and around we go...

I can see you back there in the bar line...

12.31.2014 - It's a Wrap!

Hello Strangers! 

Yes, it has been entirely too long since I've posted. I apologize for the absence and will try to keep things up to date in 2015. 

The past months have been busy ones. Since my last post, Sand Dollar Rodeo have played at The Chuggin' Monk, Pickles, Shannon Brewery, did a radio show taping at the world famous Thirsty Armadillo (with Nellie Olsen from Little House on the Prairie as our host), and performed at two benefits - the first for the Lone Star Parrot Head Club's Alzheimer fundraiser, then at an adoption event for Cody's Friends Animal Rescue. 

Aside from that, I also performed solo acoustic holiday gigs in December. That was a really neat experience for me. In all my years of playing live, I don't have much experience in playing by myself that way. I've done Christmas shows in the past that used backing tracks, but never anything stripped down like this, with just me and my guitar. Different, for sure. However, I enjoyed it and plan on continuing to do it in the future. For the record, all is well in SDR land, it's just me adding a little variety to life. Seems like every time I do something that isn't an SDR project, I get an inbox full of people asking if we've broken up. No, we haven't. Now you know.

Additionally, I spent a good chunk of the last 4 months working in the studio mastering instrumental and karaoke versions of the entire Sand Dollar Rodeo catalog, cleaning up and re-issuing some of my older material, all sorts of fun stuff that has kept me glued to a computer for hours and hours and hours. If you're interested in seeing the work in progress, go check out this page at my personal website. Again, a work in progress, there will be more to come soon. But, if you're at all curious of my back catalog, it's a good start. 

So, what is in store for 2015? 

One word: Lots! 

I am planning on keeping super busy. At the moment, we (SDR) are still working on the next album. It is expected to be released before Summer. We're also busy booking gigs and rehearsing for the shows. We've got a stripped down show coming up in January at Cobra Brewing (Lewisville, TX), then we'll be back on stage regularly starting around the end of April, so keep an eye on the SDR website for dates. 

I will also be releasing more material from my back catalog as well as a few new singles over the course of the year. Just some stuff that doesn't fit the SDR sound. Again, the band hasn't broken up LOL. More detail on those releases will be available at my website later in the year. Another fun new thing I'll be doing is a podcast, tied into a series of videos on YouTube. More on YouTube in a minute... 

Looking back, 2014 brought us our share of drama, but we've managed to survive. I've had a fun ride with SDR and I am really looking forward to whatever 2015 throws our way. 

So, back to today. It's New Year's Eve or, as I like to call it, "Amateur Night." I don't go out to celebrate and don't really need an excuse to get drunk. Hell, I can do that any night. So, I stay home and avoid the drunks on the road. Ok, now how does that tie into YouTube, right? I know that's what you were thinking, surely. 

I mentioned that I had been mastering karaoke versions of our songs earlier. Well, you guessed it - I've also been editing them into karaoke videos for YouTube and tonight, we'll be launching a little karaoke party just for you! 

You can access my karaoke channel on YouTube by clicking RIGHT HERE. 

Do the smart thing. Don't drink and drive. Drink and Sing Along with SDR at home tonight! All the cool kids will be doing it. Oh, and while you're at it, post a video on Facebook for us to see you rock out to your own version of one of our songs. Hope you enjoy the videos and have lots of fun with them.

As always, I thank you guys (so much) for the continued support of my musical endeavors. It is truly appreciated and you guys are the best - I'll see ya next year! 

Stay gold,

RH

09.12.2014 - GrapeFest - Grapevine, TX

Another fun one! 

As most of you already know, I'm a bit of a fest junkie. I love them like I love fairs. I have little doubt that I'd be a carnie if I weren't a musician. Same basic life... and I love it. I mean, who doesn't enjoy starting off their mornings to the delightful aroma of corn dogs, turkey legs and cigarette smoke? 

The weather for this show was if-y. We were booked rain or shine, so all of us got there early... soaked in the fest and waited around. There was a slight rain delay, but we were able to perform and had a great time. No real rain during our set. We lucked out and the show went fine. This lineup is really starting to gel... things are about to get real good, I think.

Highlights... for me, probably Fried Okra this time. I was channeling Vestal Goodman... enough said LOL. 

Vestal's looking for a city where the okra sizzles pretty, too!

Thanks to the Andy's with Epicenter for making us sound pretty, to Bud Light for making sure there was a roof over the stage to keep our gear dry, to Jeff at Epicenter for booking us and the the City of Grapevine for having us at their party. Also, a big thanks to all you familiar faces in the crowd... Mike, Misty, Sandy, Brian, Kristi, Jeff, Jan, Vicki, Randy... thank you so much for keeping us in business. You are very much appreciated! 

Tonight, we're off to Arlington for a last minute show at the Chuggin' Monk. If you're out and about tonight, come on down... multi-band bill, we got on at 10pm and will play about an hour. I'll see you there!

Until next time... stay gold, 

RH

www.SandDollarRodeo.com

Facebook.com/SandDollarRodeo

Twitter.com/SandDollarRodeo

08.30.2014 - Hollywood & Vine - Glen Rose, TX

I swear, this CRS disease is getting bad... I could have sworn I wrote after the acoustic gig at Lake Weatherford Marina. Today, I log in and realize that I didn't do it. I am over 40. Can I start blaming my age? Ok. Thanks... the Marina show was fun. Heath and I always get goofy on those acoustic shows. As I recall, the night ended with a guy coming up and playing a Led Zeppelin song. Heath sang, I played guitar. I don't know what the song was called. I just followed those two. We also did that "Dont tell me me no lies and keep your hands to yourself" song. The title is a blank for me right now. Again, I played guitar with him, he and Heath sang. Neither of the songs were really my cup of tea, but they were easy enough to play and it was fun. I think the Marina is pretty much done with Summer 2014, so hopefully we'll be out there again next Summer. Great environment. 

Speaking of Summer 2014, last night was our last show of the Summer at Hollywood & Vine. Soon, the weather will be too unpredictable for outdoor shows there (see my old posts about being rained out at H&V), so they are going to move things inside next month until Spring. Unfortunately, we just have too much stuff to fit on the indoor stage. So, unless it's acoustic, we probably won't be back until Spring.

Last night was a hot one. I think we were all soaked well before we started playing. Heat like that tends to suck the life out of you. It resulted in a serious lack of beer consumption on our part. Just too hot and humid. Can you believe I said that? It was. I chugged PowerAde Zero and had a Spark Energy to combat it. Of all nights, the crowd was generous and bought us a few rounds of beer, wanted to buy us more, but it was just too hot. One of us, probably me, would have gotten dehydrated and hit the floor had we drank like we were offered. Thank you, though. Always nice to have a mystery beer show up on stage. Very much appreciated!

Show, itself, went fine. I remembered to power up the PA this time (don't ask). Josh and Ken are coming along well. Things are starting to gel on stage again. Good response from the crowd and Heath got his first experience of people dancing while he sang a song. Neat feeling, Heath, huh? Oh yeah... Heath is singing a new original song of ours! We've been easing in new material last couple of shows. I think we played 3 from the forthcoming album last night. It was a good night.

Next show, we're at Grapefest in Grapevine, TX. These are the kind of shows we really like doing. Not an all-nighter, just a straight on concert with pretty much all original music. I hope to see you there - it will be a good one... and we're on the Bud Light stage. Wonder if we'll get the courtesy cooler? Uh oh... Check our schedule at www.sanddollarrodeo.com for details. As I understand it, there is no admission charge at the festival before 5pm that day, so come on out and see us for free! 

Until then... Stay gold.

RFH

08.02.2014 - Railhead - Willow Park, TX

Hello Strangers,

It's 2am, I have a beer and some tasty Mexican "mush" leftover from last night. The Day Mars Invaded Earth on the DVR. I can't complain.

So, yes, I know I am overdue... past due. But, hopefully, not late enough to appear on my credit report. It hasn't been 30 days yet, has it? Regardless, I guess I should explain before I recap the show...

To be honest, I simply haven't wanted to write or talk about that show at Hollywood & Vine a while back. The night was very difficult for me. I could tell from the minute we all got together in Glen Rose that there was some tension and things didn't feel like the usual "team" kind of feeling. At times, I was flat out uncomfortable on stage because of the tension I could feel going on behind me. There's an odd thing that happens in a band. You tend to bond, like family, and you also feel dynamics, as a family does.

That night would be our last playing with Brian & Tony. Many factors involved in why it turned out that way. Very different factors. Timing was the only similarity. But, to spare you from reading a whole book tonight, it's probably best to just say that, while we love what we do, it is a business and sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Tony was a really nice guy. Brian, he and I just seemed in tune, musically, from day one. Love the guy and his playing style. I wish them nothing but the best. Shit happens. I will leave it at that. Years from now, you can buy the book for the details. We all move on.

After that, Heath and I went into panic mode. Luckily, we had a break in shows, so we had a few weeks to try to find replacements. However, after the emotional side of letting go, we just didn't want warm bodies. We wanted personalities that were right and guys who might get our long term goal (whether they knew it or not). So, we started auditioning...

In the mean time, Heath and I played an acoustic show at Cobra Brewing in Lewisville (another one where I didn't do the blog). A week, maybe a few days earlier, I can't remember, we hired Josh Drewes on bass. I want to say a day before or after, we hired Ken Woods on drums. I don't have the calendar with me right now - don't hold me to the dates, they'll be accurate when you buy the book LOL. Anyway, we were feeling much better by the time of the Cobra gig.

Cobra show... typical brewery gig. If you have never seen Heath and I at one, you should! It's a totally different vibe from our normal shows. Aside from not being full band, it's just a different state of mind for us. We play different material, don't take ourselves too seriously and just get stupid with the crowd. It was a good one... and we'll be doing it again at Cobra on December 13th, Mark your calendars!

So, after that, it was time to get our shit together with the new lineup. I can't tell you what an odd time it was for Heath, Trey and I. For one, I had been writing material for the new album and the original plan was an all new show come August. Oops... lineup change, that can't happen right now. With less than a month to put a three hour show together, we had to back up a bit. Sometimes, you just have to play Margaritaville because everyone knows how to play it! The good news, LOTS of new material coming your way this Fall. The Bad news... there really wasn't any, it worked out fine and we got in a few new ones in...

Of those, if you were there, you heard Heath's Keith Richards debut. He sang a whopping two songs tonight! Heath did a great take on Robert Earl Keen's I'm Coming Home and also sang a new original he wrote called Old Aledo. Good job, Heath (like the candy bar). Another we got in was one I wrote called Population You & Me. Oh, and to tell you how much NOT a country band we are, we did I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink by Merle Haggard for the first time ever. It was kind of fun and our piano boy wonder, Trey, knocked it out of the park on the solos!

Overall, it was a really good night. Yes, we had a few technical issues. But, considering that our rhythm section has been with us less than a month, screw it. It was just fine. The crowd seemed to have had a good time.

I have to send out some great big kudos to Ken & Josh for learning 30 songs that quick. I also need to thank Trey for being a trooper and keeping things together with them while I taunt the crowd. It only works when we're all in the same mindset and I thank all the guys for being into it tonight. It was a pleasure playing with you all. It felt good and I look forward to the next one. Things are about to get real good. I can feel it.

Oh, and thank you Dr. Phil for the glamour shots pre-show. Yeah, it was a long day... we were probably in Willow Park way before you were today...  oh look, now The Exorcist is on... or were those the proofs of me from the photo shoot?  Well, the Exorcist really in on. The other... eh...my night is complete.

Thanks for reading... stay gold,
RFH

Souvenirs from Railhead... gotta love being on the wrong side of the tracks!

06.13.2104 - Reno Red's - Roanoke, TX

Well, I am playing catch up. The past week has been crazy and busy. So, we will be quick and to the point on this one!

So, so night. Not sure what was going on around town, but every place in the downtown area was dead slow. Oh, and it was Friday the13th. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

This was another acoustic show and was the first time I've brought out my 12 string. Tried a few new things on it, some you may hear again, some you may not LOL.

All in all, pretty routine night. Not a lot to write home about on this one. As usual, great food, fun staff and Mr. Dan (the manager) is great. I hear he sings, too.... oh yeah, at the end a staff member came up and sang a few songs. I need to track down her name, she had a really nice voice!

After that, I came home, reorganized gear for full band mode and was in bed by 3 or 4 am... such is life.

I'll catch you guys up what happened the next night sometime this week!

Til then, stay gold.
RH