Blaine's Friday in San Angelo Saturday, who knows?

Last weekend was a great double gig weekend for us. I had a good time watching Zach Walther and The Cronkites on Friday. It was the first time for me to catch them live. They put on a good show for the Midland crowd and maintained a high energy level through their whole set. Saturday with The Band of Heathens was out of this world as usual. They are just so good live! I have to ask you out there is you can help me find a random song they covered though. The title is "Hurricane" and no it's not Dylan's hurricane. One resounding line was, "It'll take a whole lot more water to was away New Orleans" The premise of it was talking about New Orleans triumphing over Hurricane Katrina and it was the highlight of their set for me. I've gotten Leon Everett and a few other sounding alike names. iTunes of course, has little to offer and I have to get my hands on that song. If anyone knows it please feel free to make my day.

Friday we are playing at Blaine's Pub in San Angelo kicking off the weekend in a fine venue. It is going to be a packed house and a good rowdy time. Saturday I can't remember if we locked something down or not so I suppose that will have to be a surprise for us both.


Also, for everyone here in the Permian Basin. Go to google and type in Crude Fest Midland and see how many bands come up with it on their itinerary in May. That is a show to keep on your radar!

An Opening Kind of Weekend

Busy weekend ahead and I'm glad to say it. We picked up a fantastic bass player who is more than talented for our band. His name is Jeremy and before jumping in with us, was playing with three to four different bands. He plugged in on his first practice and never got lost in our songs. We are back to a five piece.


Friday we are playing with Zach Walther and The Cronkites at Kroc's bar in Midland, Tx. I found out about this today (Thursday) which was a pleasant surprise. Instead of running through our Saturday show's set at practice Friday, we get to open for a really great band. Not bad. This is my first time seeing Zach Walther and The Cronkites and I'm very excited to check them out. I'm already a fan of their album and am sure their live show will be just as great. Luke Leverett, their lead guitar player, is a tremendous presence. Seeing him playing live again alone will be a blast.





Saturday we are opening up for The Band of Heathens at The Hog Pit in Midland. There isn't much more to say about them. They are exploding in the scene and they just keep getting better. It's like pouring gas on a fire. Every time you think it's hot enough you walk up and pour some more on it. Really excited about seeing them again. Watching them with my jaw on the floor. Cursing at my unworthiness. You know the usual reaction in seeing them live.




This is a really fortunate weekend line up to introduce two new members to our band. The shows are low pressure, being opening gigs, and will be a great way of feeling each other out on a stage. It's going to be a great great weekend.

New Day Job, A New Guitar Player, and The Jam To Help Haiti

It was a busy holiday season and an even busier new years for me, and it looks as if after all the fretting we've found a new lead guitar player. His name is Cole he's in his early twenties and has been playing lead for roughly ten years. His sound is a great deal different than that of our old lead guitarist. It has begun to transform much of our songs that had a strong rock sub-theme into americana and bluegrass. It's exciting to see music you've played countless times morph and change into something fresh and new. Also, our search for the bass player perhaps has ended as well. We have a promising audition driving in to jam with us next week. Keep you fingers crossed!

Well, I just wanted to check in and make sure everyone knew I hadn't closed up shop in the blog world. I have just been extremely busy and none of it as of late had anything to do with music. We should be picking back up on our gigs in February so expect the posts to start picking up as well.

Also, our lead singer Cody Davidson is offering his time to do an acoustic show in San Angelo for a large concert benefiting The Haiti Relief Fund at Graham's Central Station on January 31'st. If you're in the area I suggest you get your tickets now. They have almost completely sold out and it's going to be a great great great line up.

Ho Hum and Boo Hiss

It has been an exceptionally busy holiday season and I apologize for getting lazy with the blog during this last month. The new year has come and wow what a wheelbarrow of changes it has brought. First, in the beginning of December our lead guitarist Chad let us know that he would no longer be able to play with us. He is leaving the band on good terms and is leaving because of familial issues that he has to put first in his life. No troubles, we will persevere and along the way change our sound, bring a new creative drive to the music, and rekindle a fire under the collective asses of the band. Then our bass player Ronnie has thrown in the towel. He has been complaining of back pain and recently found out that he has a cracked vertebrae and has been advised by his doctor to not even lift a bass. Shoot.

Still, I can still see some silver lining in these thunderheads. Both Chad and Ronnie were a bit older than the the rest of the band. They had been musicians in this niche of music for a long time and had played with a ton of great names. One thing I had always made note of was their slight lack of enthusiasm when it came to some of our more notable shows with larger names or on cool stages. I think they had already seen it all.

We will weather this storm. We will find a new guitarist and bass player. Along the way we will learn a great deal about our talents and flexibility and maybe have a new product once we get to the other side.

Finally, I will only spend a few sentences pouting about this one. Every year up in Steamboat, Colorado there is this amazing thing called the Musicfest. Everyone you could ever want to see on a stage in the world of Texas Country is up there having a grand time skiing, drinking, and playing amazing sold out shows at tiny ski town bars. I'm not there. Yuck.

But if you do want to follow all the fun in Steamboat some jerk named Jeff is up there taking stunning pictures and blogging 'til his fingers bleed.
http://americanmusicphotography.blogspot.com