Hey everyone, I don't even remember the last time I posted anything...guess I've been outta touch. Shocker there, I know. Anyway, I'm relieved to announce that The Slack's sophomore effort, "The Deep End", is finished, in hand, and set for release on Idol Records on January 19th, 2010.

The cd release party will be Friday, January 22nd at Sons Of Hermann Hall, with support to be determined soon.

I've posted a few tracks for your listening enjoyment and/or annoyance, depending on which side of the ol' Slack fence you fall.

The final track listing for the album is:

1. Infatuations Never Last
2. The Fine Art Of Bleeding
3. Frostbite
4. The Deep End
5. Truth & Fiction
6. Follow On
7. Pipe Dream
8. The Rug
9. Indier Than Thou
10. The Talk
11. What If
12. Maybe Heaven

What's the single gonna be? Hell if I know. Make some suggestions! Somebody!

Thanks for listening...and Happy Thanksgiving!

CH 11/24/09

Hey, wow, good press! The Slack is featured in August issue of Modern Luxury magazine...nice things are written, and there's a fancy picture of us all dressed up.

Go to this link:

http://www.modernluxury.com/magazines_dallas.php

Click on the "Modern Luxury Dallas" image, then go to "contents" and "radar music".

And there you have it.

Don't forget Eric's birthday party on Wednesday at Club Dada, featuring The Slack, Salim, Solly, Doug Burr, FFC, Escort Service, and a lot of drinks.

CH
August 3, 2008

So, it’s been a rather strange year thus far in Slackland, and March has been positively bizarre. Our shows keep getting a little stranger, and depending on a variety of circumstances, either better or worse!

It’s been a little hard adapting to the four-piece lineup, without the second guitar, mainly because it requires me to be on my toes at all times. In the five-piece lineup, I could relax a lot more, but being the only guitarist now, I’ve gotta have my act together at all times. And sometimes I don’t :)

The first March show at LBG was frustrating, because we started way late, at almost 1am. We were supposed to play before midnight, but the openers got a late start, and then the PA stopped working and Eric’s bass amp crapped out. Weird luck. By the time we started at 1am, I was gone...way too many shots. Good thing we got it all on film.

Even weirder were the two shows without Sluthy, cause he’s been outta town. We got called at the last second to play a Gezellig show, cause somebody cancelled. So I agreed to play solo, but then Tom and Eric both showed up and we had a blast doing random cover requests and stripped down versions of new and old songs. We wound up doing about half of "The Wall" before the whole thing was said and done, and one of my oldest friends, Craig, showed up and ended up sitting in with us. Surreal, to say the least.

Last night at Sons of Hermann was okay, I suppose. Sluthy is still out of town, so we just did another show with the three of us. It’s cool to play stripped down, but I’m kinda over it. I want my Sluth back. We debuted a few new tunes and showcased a bunch of stuff from the upcoming record, though they were sparse and rough, to say the least. Perhaps I’m the only one criticizing them.

Here are the setlists from the three March shows thus far:

3/21/08 Sons Of Hermann Hall, Dallas, TX
(with Salim Nourallah and Solly)

Breaking Down, Truth And Fiction > You Deserve Better, Infatuations Never Last, Under The Bus, Follow On, Act Together*, On Your Mark**, Punchy, If There’s A Heaven, Pipe Dream > Houses Of The Holy***, The Thief

* - Ron Wood cover, first time played

** - new Slack song, first time played

*** - Led Zeppelin cover, first time played

Steve Luthye was out of town and unable to attend, so this was a rare power trio appearance – the second one in a row.

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3/12/08 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

Act Together^, Loving Cup^, Grey Seal^, A Day In The Life^, Blackout^, Oh! You Pretty Things^, If There’s A Heaven^, Pipe Dream, Clabber Girl, Free Utah, Doolin’ Blue On Grass, Karma Police, Whisper^, Sexy Sadie^ > The Great Gig In The Sky^, For No One^, Blackbird^, I’m So Tired^, No More Country Living, Lady Madonna^, She’s A Rainbow^, Sweet Pea Pie^, Making Plans For Nigel^, Punchy, Blackhearted > Hots On For Nowhere > Blackhearted, Heartbreaker, The Thief, Infatuations Never Last, Good Luck, Choking On Pills, What’s To Come, The Shocker, In The Flesh?, Run Like Hell, Truth And Fiction, The Thin Ice > Another Brick In The Wall (Part One) > The Happiest Days Of Our Lives > Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two), Mother, Comfortably Numb

E: Nobody Home^

^ - performed by Chris alone

Chris played the first seven songs alone at the upright piano. Tom Bridwell and subsequently Eric Neal joined and played most of the show, as an electric trio. This gig was a last minute thing, filling in for a band that cancelled that night at Gezellig. Steve Luthye was out of town and did not play.

Craig Pentecost sat in on piano on "Mother" and acoustic guitar on "Comfortably Numb".
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3/7/08 Lakewood Bar & Grill, Dallas, TX

The Ocean > The Dallas Curse, The Thief, You Deserve Better, The Denial Twist, Infatuations Never Last, Blackout, Pipe Dream, What’s To Come, The Green > Good Luck, The Shocker, I Want You (She’s So Heavy)

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So now then...we’ve gotta play one more show this month, and hopefully it’s gonna be off the hook. It’s for Lion Dog Records and their showcase at Liquid Lounge...Sluthy will be back, we’re gonna practice, good times will be had.

In other news, the album is coming along slowly...we’ve got a lot of work to do, but the songs are there and we’re pretty stoked about it. I’ve got a tentative title that I like, "Truth And Fiction". It helps that there’s a song of the same name, I guess. And we’re filming it too...our new friend Kevin is a filmmaker and he’s decided to make a film about The Slack and all our trials and tribulations in this jacked up industry. I smell a Razzie :)

Oh yes, and for those who listen, I’ll try and update the audio soon, I know it’s way old.

Thanks and all that,

CH
3/22/08

All Things Slack – Spring Update

People Of Earth…Slack Fans…Slack Haters…Folks Who Don't Know And Could Care Less Who The Slack Are:

Here is your spring update on All Things Slack, most of which I'm sure you will find riveting. It's a must-read. Topics include lineup changes, recent shows, a brand new studio album, and other mind-numbing ramblings from Yours Truly.

I – Farewell, Dave

As some of you might have noticed at our last few shows, our super talented bassist David DeShazo is no longer with us. It's nothing bad or bitter, Dave was just having trouble balancing multiple jobs with doing The Slack and in the end, it was becoming too difficult for us all to coordinate schedules. So Dave politely stepped aside to allow us to focus on what we're hoping to be a productive year in Slackdom. Dave will continue working with his songwriting project Stereo Rookie as well as other bands, including his cover project The Spread. And he may pop up here and there at Slack shows…the invitation is always open. We love Dave and we hope to play with him again someday.

In the meantime, we're gonna push forward with the wickedly talented Eric on bass, which was his original job in this band anyway. Guitar is just one of many things he does extremely well. We would like to expand to a five-piece again in the future, but we're gonna wait til the right guy comes along. For now, we've got a record to finish…but more on that later.

II - Recent Shows

Hey…we've been playing…have you noticed? When are you bastards gonna start coming to see us play? I say "you bastards" in reference to those of you who blow off coming to our shows…you're missing out. We're having a lot of fun, getting better, and we've got a lot of new material. So, if you didn't like the old stuff, just give the new stuff a chance ?

Some nights, we play as an unplugged trio, and other nights, we crank it to eleven. At the Trio shows, there's usually a 90% chance we'll go off on strange cover tangents as the shots line up on the stage…as evidenced by the recent setlists. "Anything Goes" is our current mantra.

Here are some recent setlists:

2/23/08 Iron Horse Pub, Wichita Falls, TX
(opening for Bigloo)

Are You Listening? > Wishful Sinking, Breaking Down, Pipe Dream, Blackout, Infatuations Never Last, Truth And Fiction*, The Big Picture, Melting Walls > What's To Come, Follow On*, You Deserve Better, The Thief, The Ocean^

^ - Led Zeppelin cover, first time played with the full band

* - new Slack originals, first time played with the full band


2/21/08 City Tavern, Dallas, TX

I: The Thief, Are You Listening?, I'm A Boy, Wishful Sinking, Something In Your Way, Blackout, Something, Magnolia, Going To California, Good Luck, Breaking Down, Melting Walls, No More Country Living

II: Porch Swing, Koka, Sanctuary, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Insatiable, Free Utah, Uncle Fucka, You Deserve Better, The Ocean, Follow On, Infatuations Never Last, Pipe Dream, Bitter Beer Face, I Want You (She's So Heavy), I'm Always In Love

Eric Neal and Steve Luthye played the entire show with CH, as The Slack Trio.


2/20/08 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

I: Breaking Down, Something In Your Way, Leaving Chicago, Summer's Calling, Istanbul (Not Constantinople), The Thief, Going To California, Choking On Pills, Porch Swing, I've Just Seen A Face*, Follow On, Free Utah, No More Country Living

II: Lounge, You Deserve Better, Fearless, Mister Would You Please Help My Pony?, Slither, Give A Little Bit, Uncle Fucka, The Big Picture, Sweet Virginia, Torn And Frayed, Dead, Bitter Beer Face, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, Something, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Stone Cold Bush, Gimme Shelter, The Ocean

Eric Neal and Steve Luthye played the entire show with CH, as The Slack Trio.

-------------------

III – New Studio Album

Yes, that's correct…we are in the studio right now working on the follow-up to last year's Wishful Sinking. Paul Williams is co-producing and we're hoping to get the record finished by summer for a fall release. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We've already begun playing several of the songs onstage, including "Follow On", "Truth And Fiction", "Infatuations Never Last", "Pipe Dream", and "If There's A Heaven". Other tracks include "The Wind In My Sail", "The Deep End", "What If", "On Your Mark", "Say The Word (aka Never Alone)", "Porch Swing", "Behind The Wheel", "Sweet Pea Pie", and "Love Is Surreal".

We'll probably whittle it down to a dozen or maybe even fewer for the final release. Stay tuned.

Keep checking the myspace pages for new audio, new shows, and new album updates…I'm gonna do my best to actually promote and do something with this band! That is, if you people actually care. If you don't, we're just gonna quit. Woe is us.

Thanks for listening…if you're listening. If you're not, may you be eternally cursed with a Toby Keith song stuck in your head.

CH
2/25/08

Man...this was rough. I'm sick and my voice was completely shot to hell. I figured I'd be okay, but after the first song, it was obvious I was not. So, we kinda took a detour down memory lane and played a bunch of tunes from the "good ol' days"...you know, my crazy prog-rock instrumentals.

It was actually a relief, and a bit of a kick, to dust off those tunes. I would assume that anyone seeing us who was familiar with our records might've had a bit of a shocker (literally), but I guess that's what's fun about it...expected the unexpected with this crew.

Here's what we played:

29 – 1/30/08 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

I: The Thief, The Denial Twist*, Infatuations Never Last, What's To Come, I Want You (She's So Heavy)**, Blackhearted > Hots On For Nowhere > Blackhearted, Pipe Dream, Lounge, Midget Rodeo***, You Deserve Better

II: Film At Eleven***, Bitter Beer Face*** > Journeyman Butcher, Uncle Fucka

E: America, Fuck Yeah (Bummer Version)^^^, The Shocker, I'm A Boy

Dave DeShazo was unable to attend, so Eric Neal played bass.

* - White Stripes cover, first time played.

** - Beatles cover, first time played.

*** - old Olospo song, first time played by The Slack.

^^^ - Team America cover, first time played.

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Now it's time to get ill. Wait, I'm already ill. Now it's time to get well. Gotta take a few days off and get my health (and voice) back.

The Slack will return in February with new material from the upcoming studio album, and a few other surprises.

I'll keep you posted...thanks for listening.

CH
2/1/08

Ah yes, back to Gezellig, and good times were had.

I'm not gonna lie and tell you we were the tightest band in town last night...but there was energy. We managed to have quite a bit of spontaneous fun, including the show opener - a Beatles tune we'd never rehearsed together (it was requested by Gezellig owner Ryan)...we just winged it after a brief discussion of the arrangement beforehand. We also dusted off some oldies like "Nothing New", "Confusion", and "Mark It Eight" - long time no play.

There was a brand new Slack original - "Infatuations Never Last", which we're very excited about...it wasn't 100% ready, but we gave it a shot anyway, and the response seemed to be quite good. I'm sure it'll get better in the coming weeks.

The end of the show dissolved into drunken silliness (as usual), with Eric taking over on bass and me going off on a Zeppelin tangent - again at the request of Ryan. I guess it made up for my weak stab at ragtime piano a few songs earlier :)

Here's what we played:

1/16/08 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

I: She Said She Said*, Breaking Down, Hey Chicken, Are You Listening > Wishful Sinking, Nothing New > Summer's Ending, Broken > Confusion**, Infatuations Never Last***, The Thief

II: Leaving Chicago, Mark It Eight**, Blackout, Where Have All The Good Times Gone%, Porch Swing, Pipe Dream, What's To Come, You Deserve Better, Sweet Pea Pie > Smoke, If There's A Heaven, Choking On Pills

E: Lounge, Intro/Heartbreaker solo > Blackhearted > Hots On For Nowhere > Blackhearted

* - Beatles cover, first time played.

** - Old Olospo song, first time played by The Slack.

*** - New Slack song, first time played.

% - with "Shocker" jam (which ended abruptly)

"Sweet Pea", "Smoke", and "Heaven" featured CH on piano. "Smoke" featured EN on bass.

EN played bass during the 'encore set'.

=========

As always, many thanks to everyone who comes out and listens.

CH
1/17/08

Well, we made it thru our first official year as The Slack. We played three shows this week to finish out 2007, and despite somewhat questionable health, we managed to rock three different cities.

Now, we willl return to the studio/rehearsal space and figure out our plan for 2008. A new record is in the works, and we'll be playing shows again sometime in January...stay tuned for more info.

In the meantime, here are the setlists from the last three shows:

Show 26 - 12/14/07 Cornerstone Pub, Little Rock, AR

I: The Shocker, Under The Bus, Choking On Pills > I Can't Explain, Even If You Don't, Melting Walls, The Green > Wishful Sinking, What's To Come, Misty Mountain Hop

II: Panama, Mr. Brownstone, You Deserve Better, Punchy, Lounge, Blackhearted > Hots On For Nowhere > Blackhearted, The Thief, Stone Cold Bush, Journeyman Butcher, Good Luck

E: The Dallas Curse, A Quick One While He's Away

David DeShazo was unable to attend, so Eric Neal played bass.

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Show 25 - 12/13/07 Dan's Silverleaf, Denton, TX

I: What's To Come, Under The Bus, Pipe Dream, Melting Walls > Watching The Detectives^ > The Thief^^, Breaking Down, Porch Swing, Riot Radio, Wishful Sinking > The Dallas Curse, The Shocker

II: Fearless > Pull It Together > Dancing Days, Good Luck, Blackout, Generals And Majors > Step Up, I'm A Boy, No More Country Living

^ - with David DeShazo on lead vocals

^^ - with "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" intro

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Show 24 - 12/12/07 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

I: Good Luck > The Green > The Dallas Curse, You Deserve Better, Breaking Down, Blackout, Melting Walls > Slither, Insatiable, Punchy, Riot Radio, Birthday Cake, Under The Bus, Can't You Hear Me Knocking

II: Misty Mountain Hop, Panama, Step Up > Summer's Ending, Pipe Dream, Porch Swing, Wishful Sinking, I'm A Boy, The Thief, The Shocker

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Thanks to everyone who listened to our album and our shows this year.

There's more music to come...

CH
12/15/07

Would you be surprised if I said that a) we had a great time at Gezellig, or b) that I got really drunk?

23 – 11/28/07 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

I: The Bends, You Deserve Better > Punchy, Wishful Sinking > Riot Radio, Slightly Open Ears^, Blackout, Porch Swing, Summer's Calling, Slack > What's To Come^^ > I'm A Boy*

II: Dancing Days** > Pull It Together, Breaking Down, The Thief, Pipe Dream, The Big Picture, The Way That He Sings, Heaven, Sweet Pea Pie%, Dead$, Your Time Is Gonna Come, The Shocker

^ - first time played as The Slack

^^ - with "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)" interlude, in honor of the late Kevin Dubrow.

* - Who cover, first time played

** - Led Zeppelin cover, first time played

% - new original, first time played

$ - They Might Be Giants cover, first time played

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Thanks to everyone, especially you. Go Cowboys.

CH
11/29/07

The Slack's new album, "Wishful Sinking", is now available on I-tunes! Finally!

The songs include:

The Tunnel
You Deserve Better
Leaving Chicago
Nothing New
Wishful Sinking
Insatiable
Breaking Down
The Thief
Whisper
Blackout
Birthday Cake
Weathering The Storm
The Big Picture
What's To Come

Though we live in this ADD-afflicted I-pod shuffle society, ingesting music in short, disposable, juxtaposed doses...please check out the entire album in its natural sequence...it's meant to be heard as a whole...and what else do you have to do for the next 45 minutes?

Thanks for listening,

CH
11/21/07

PS - Happy Thanksgiving!

Great show at the Moon last night...Lifters were fantastic, their record is really good...we had a good set ourselves, despite Eric's absence. The opening band, Live Oak Decline, played a great "Paranoid Android" at the end of their set, so we responded with "Let Down".

Looking forward to playing The Moon again!

11/17/07 The Moon Bar, Fort Worth, TX

The Thief, Breaking Down, The Green > Good Luck, You Deserve Better, Let Down, Blackout, The Shocker, Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Eric Neal was absent for this show, so it was played as a four-piece.

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Thanks to everyone who came out!

CH
11/18/07