Woody's, City Limits, And Locks of Love New Braunfels!

Well last weekend was a long and fun one. Our first show at the first annual Crude Fest was a short but good one. We jumped on stage at 2:00 and before we knew it we were back off stage headed to Brownwood for our show that night at Uncle Dave's Roadhouse. Crude Fest in general was a great success and I was happy to see the growing crowd filling up the fields to see some Texas Music in our neck of the woods. Our set was an opening slot to the T. Monitors were non-existent, the bass amp provided wasn't working, and we were cut earlier than our promised stage time. That's what ya get though when you're early on the first day. It was trial by error and we were the Guinea Pigs. I wasn't too worried about it. We got play our music to a new crowd and in the end that was satisfying enough.

 Stolen Facebook pics from Crude Fest

 Worst resolution picture of the crowd during Roger Craeger.

Uncle Dave's Roadhouse was fun just like last time we played there, but Brownwood listeners are a strange bunch. There were roughly 20 to 30 people there which wasn't too bad considering it was our 2'nd time in town and there was a wet T-shirt contest going on down the road. The people who filed in found there seat, drank their beers, and quietly watched the show. We tried all kinds of crowd interaction but aside from some local pals, there wasn't much response. What was really odd though was they were intensely watching the show, not talking much, but didn't make a noise. Again it was nice to spread the music in  new place to some new faces and life went on.

We woke up and drove back to Midland and opened for Deanna Carter at The Horseshoe Arena for the American Cancer Society's Cattle Baron Ball. It was a fun show. We got a separate stage from Deanna's but that was expected and we played a rocking set for Midland's finest. Deanna seemed nice and she had a semi enthusiastic, "ya'll might remember this one" kind of show. The drummer liked us a whole lot since he flew in to find that the sound company had provided him with the cheapest drum set in West Texas. He borrowed Darren's Snare, Cymbals, and kick drum pedal and was very grateful for it. We played a second set after Deanna was done to the leaving crowd and finished it up melting the faces of empty chairs and the crew cleaning up. Went home, had a beer, and slept the rest of the weekend away.

Coming up is another long crazy weekend. Friday May 21'st we will kick it off opening for William Clark Green at Woody's Tavern in Fort Worth. We pack up and wake up in Stephenville and are headlining City Limits on the 22'nd.

Sunday the 23'rd we make our way down to New Braunfels for a really special gig. It's the Locks of Love Benefit held at Billy's Icehouse. Last year we were supposed to head that way but Cody got a throat infection and we had to cancel. I went down anyways with my girlfriend and it was a blast. Amanda and I walked into the bar in the early afternoon and there was Cody Canada and Stephanie Briggs sitting up on stage having an acoustic song swap. The rest of the day followed suit with surprise guests and amazing performances. The most important thing to note about the whole event is that if you have some long hair, head over to the barber chairs in the corner. Fans and musicians alike (notably Cody Canada did last year) can cut their locks off and donate it to Alopecia and cancer patients. This will be a very important show for me because my father has alopecia and my girlfriend's mother recently passed from Ovarian Cancer. It is a great cause and I am very excited we decided to donate our time and music for the event.

Here's the poster from last year's event. Artwork courtesy of Stephanie Briggs. 

Old News Is The New News. Crude Fest, Deana Carter, and Our New Album

I'm really just posting out of habit today, and have little to share that hasn't already been said. So...let's recap.

Our band, The Cody Hughes Davidson Band, is going into the studio for our second album. We begin song prepping, writing, tweaking, and arguing next week. We start recording in June. I am really excited about this.

The second half of this month is going to be really hectic with shows. For example, one weekend we're playing the first annual Crude Fest in Greenwood,TX in a harsh early afternoon opener slot. Once we're done getting a nice sunburn we pack up and run to Brownwood,TX to headline at Uncle Dave's Roadhouse later that night. We finish that show, go to sleep, wake up, drive to Midland, and open for Deana Carter (Strawberry Wine) at The American Cancer Society Round Up. I'm really thankful that we're amping up our gig schedule with some very cool shows. We get to meet some bigger names and we're spreading our music outside of the same four bars we used to hit on heavy rotation. I could use more sleep though, just saying.

I go my new microphone in the mail and had a jam session with Cody yesterday. There was a huge improvement in tone and I'm no longer chained to a mic stand for our shows. The bells and whistles on this thing are outrageous and I really can't wait to play with it on stage.

Other than that, I'm enjoying my three day weekend off of work and gigs. I've molded a fine butt groove in the couch and caught up with my reading, napping, t.v. watching, and writing. Now I think it's time for a beer. See you soon.

WAITING ON THE MAIL.

Last weekend's shows were really fun for completely opposite reasons.

Rowena at the Turnrow was a blast because the place just felt like a party. We got there and hardly had enough room for our gear. Our stage was in the corner by the pool tables, but it felt right and we were all in a great mood. We played two sets of our songs in full band acoustic which was a cool thing. I've played plenty of acoustic sets with Cody but this was the first time everyone was involved and it sounded great. All the songs were broken down and sounded completely different. The crowd was having as much fun as we were which made the night perfect.

 Our tiny corner at The Turn Row in Rowena. Doesn't look like it here, but a really fun show.

Uncle Dave's Roadhouse in Brownwood was great for the exact opposite reason. The place is huge! Uncle Daves is a 150 year old building with three stories. Our stage was on the 2'nd floor looking over the dance floor. They have been open for only a few weeks, but I'm positive this place will be one of the better known venues once it starts catching on. Our problem was that a local band was having a first album CD release party. They had a 3 band line up of all local talent and the local radio station broadcasting for a few hours. Needles to say, if you were a Brownwoodian (?) my money would go to the bar that had all my friends playing and partying at. We rocked out a crowd of twenty. On the plus side, every person who was there bought a CD or shirt and we got booked for hopefully a better date. I can't wait to go back to Uncle Dave's Roadhouse. Check it out if you happen to pass through Brownwood.

A view of us setting up on stage from the 3'rd story balcony at Uncle Dave's Roadhouse. Cool Place.

The waiting on the mail title thing? I bought a new harmonica mic! I've been playing with my bulletproof 60's Shure 545s and have nothing bad to say about my tone. My objection that finally got to me? It weighs a million pounds. It's a pistol grip old school metal microphone. I play with it on a mic stand because my little wrists can not handle that weight through a whole set. The solution? Spend some money! I bought a Blows Me Away custom Sm57. It's the guts of a Shure sm57 stuffed in a smaller, lighter, aluminum body with a volume control and a Quarter inch butt instead of the regular low impedance XLR end. I'll let you know how it sounds when the UPS guy hurries up and gets it to me.

 Hell Yeah!

We are taking a 2 week hiatus from shows to focus on new music and tightening up our current tunes. Can't wait to get to the studio! 1 month and 1 week until we start recording album number 2!

Rowena Friday Brownwood Saturday

Well I'm back from New Orleans more tired than when I left. I need a vacation from my vacation.

Tomorrow we are hitting the road and heading down to Rowena, Texas. We will be playing at the Turnrow. Saturday night we'll be at Uncle Dave's Roadhouse in Brownwood, Texas. Never been to either places so I have little to go off of. I tried to do some google research on either place and didn't get much. They're both bars and they both don't have websites.... Should be a fun time for everyone who stumbles in.

For everyone hitting this site in their search for Rita Ballou, welcome. No this is not rawhide and velvet. You are welcome to stay and have a read. Hell, become a follower. Then you can go to her blog and do the same. Rita's Blog

Cody shared some great news with me and the rest of the band, but I'm going to hold off until I'm sure I can share the good word. Until then, have fun and go out and support live music.