So I’ve been gone for a while, my bad. Hope your not all pissed and stuff.
First things 1st, ‘Alright’ is holding steady at number 2 on the Texas Music Chart. Giving old Jacking Ram a run for his money as his spins are coming down a little, ‘Alright’ still going up. So keep bugging radio, it wood be damn sweet too see a little ol’ indie artist tackle the big machine, literally.
Are you on the Twitter yet? Folks, I hate embedding pics in too the blogs, its a pain. But still, I find funny things on the road and like too share, so they end up on Twitter. Go too www.twitter.com/bolandstraggler and be our friend. You will be glad you did.
Not sure their is any further official business so I guess I can get too the recap. Left off as we were heading for Denver, leaving Fort Worth an hour late cause of traffic in Austin. What other city has traffic at 9pm? No, not an accident, just traffic. Once the Austin kids arrive we leave out, get Brad and Grantpa in OKC, then keep heading north. I wake up a couple hours from Denver and ride shotgun the rest of the way in. Get a little lost with construction trying too get too the Grizzly Rose, but eventually we arrive 2 minutes late. Not bad for a 890 mile trip, good planning road manager that band must have…
Whisk Greg off too the hotel, load in and set up, grab some dinner and a nap and then its merch time. Playing in Denver on a Thursday, but the crowd is strong in numbers and definitely quality. New set list featuring more songs from ‘Comal County Blue’ doesn’t stop them at all. Afterwards Jason does his signing while I was greatly entertained by the locals. Following a 900 mile travel day with a 600 mile travel day, we make no haste in loading up and splitting soon after the show.
Again, sleep out the majority of the travel, turnpike booth in Topeka wake me up for the last few miles. Get parked, Greg again too the hotel as we do our thing. Fairly routine at this point, I’m sure that’s what your thinking. I will recommend the pizza place across the street, you can get a slice of pie with whatever you’re favorite toppings are. Mine was pepperoni, sausage and Canadian bacon (Canadian of course).
Doors at 8 and I’m there at merch. No one showed up until about 8:45 though, college toown in the summer only produces the true die hards. Candy Coburn opens the show, first time playing with her. Pretty much a pop sound, not quite my thing but people enjoyed it. JB&S goes on, merch is parked right in front of the PA so it’s super loud. No douchebaggery stage jumpers this time, which is a plus. The rest seemed fairly self explanatory, finish the show and load up the trailer. Next time you see Mikey, kick him for me. I tried too miss out of load out but even ASKED too be absent and he made me feel guilty. I hope bringing others down makes him feel better….
Another early bus call, this time too Pryor for Country Fever. Show isn’t til later but gotta check merch in early as they have sellers. Once that’s done, the day is just hanging out and waiting. Aaron Watson, Red Dirt Rangers, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Reckless Kelly and then JB&S. By then I found some food and a shower, in that order. Major technical problems with the sound company as JB&S starts off, the first 4 songs are tootally wasted due too a serious delay problem. You know when you hear bands ‘echo’ in parts of songs cause it sounds cool? Try all instruments/vocals on a continuous echo. Folks, it was bad.
Once the sound company got it figured out the rest of the show went off without a hiccup. Show over, get gear off stage and get ready for Ragweed. Hadn’t seen there show in a long time so was looking forward too it and too some new music. Unfortunately, every time they would start a new song I’d get a distress text from someone. Therefore, I almost ended up with nothing too report. Thankfully I got too hear the new cd after the show and I dig it. Lot of changes musically, lots of keys, lots of strange rhythm changes, not you’re normal Ragweed cd. So if you’re favorite Ragweed song is “Carneyman”, you may not like this album. Go ahead and buy it, prove me wrong all day. But for my money, this is they’re best yet.
Afterwards it’s vacation time, 10 days off the road. Roger went too Colorado, Jason went too the doctor, Noah went too Idaho with MILKDRIVE (shirts now available at their shows but apparently he can’t bring me one), Aaron went too Hawaii, I got a haircut. Yeah, that seems fair.
Start back on the road about 30 minutes from my house at the Glass Cactus. Its part of the Gaylord Resort in Grapevine, holy hell this place is nice. Played their a couple years ago, hope we play there again and again. Band sets up, I set up rooms and meal too be eaten later. Once sound check is done we head that way, grab some really good food at the restaurant in the resort/hotel building. I’m telling ya people, this place is incredible. Next time I’m bringing my golf clubs.
Back too the venue for the show, was fairly busy so didn’t pay much attention. I did like the fact the place was packed for a ‘country’ show as they don’t usually do well with their ‘country’ nights. I guess having over 1100 people is good for a ‘country’ show. Being in Grapevine, lots of friends out too play and the bus is kinda full once we get loaded out. I drop off left over pizza and hit the road, I vote for my bed for 3 hours over any after party on the bus.
Bus gets Roger and me at 7 am, I go right back too sleep and wake up in my home land, Canadian, Texas. Okay, really my folks came from the country of Canada, not the panhandle town. Get the bus parked and start unloading, take a guess what happens next….if you guessed sound check, you win big cash and prizes (without the cash)! Ok, double or nothing on the big cash and prizes (without the cash), what happened after sound check….that’s right, trip too the hotel! Now for the final round, what did I do when I got back too the bus…power nap! Yes, your our grand prize champion!
So Doug Moreland is there, I miss seeing Doug. One of the best people you could ever meet in this little world of ours. He had a couple problems during his set with the sound but it got fixed quick. As I said on the Twitter, nice too hear country music in Texas for a change. Tends too be a lot of 4 piece rock bands that think they are country just cause they are from Texas. You want country, listen too Doug, Eleven Hundred Springs, Jarrod Birmingham, Aaron Watson.
Back too the recap, show happens and we load out and head out. Long trip too New Braunfels made very relaxing by my 3rd too the last ambien. Man do I love ambien, which is probably good that I don’t get too take them that often. Its almost like someone that loves me is giving me a hug all night long. That hug lasts til we roll into New Braunfels. Sure it’s probably 100+ degrees at 1 in the afternoon but we load in anyway. I would do the whole quiz thing again but it really wasn’t funny the first time so I’ll just skip all that.
Long lost Django Walker opens the show. I’m stuck inside so I don’t see any of it, although I can hear it all. Probably my favorite part was Django said his dad was playing in Austin that night with Kellie Pickler, and on the tv commercials they’d, “show a pic of this drunk old man who I knew as my father, followed by this hot blonde, something just didn’t seem right.” Good too see Django again too, seems like all the old schoolers ae coming back.
JB&S goes on and I didn’t see any of it. I just sat in my corner with my fan and tried too not sweat as much as I could. I will tell you, putting effort into not doing something is just as hard as putting effort intoo doing something. Either way I was gonna sweat for load out so no point in trying too stay dry. Load and head home after, get ready for next Friday.
Still not sure why but the Thursday scheduled show in Harker Heights got cancelled. I’ve heard new owners and their doing away with the live concerts. Either way, I’ll take the extra day at home. We start out of Fort Worth early, grab Austin kids on the way south too Harlingen. Standard day except no sound check, Grant’s bass completely crapped out on him. No one could tell why but it wouldn’t make a sound. So that delays the day until Kyle Park gets too toown and we can use one of his. Eric lends Grantpa a 4-string Gibson and off sound check goes. Head for hotel, end up grabbing food at HEB and making our dinner in the hotel. Back too venue, Kyle plays his set without problems and then time for JB&S. Again, nothing from the bass rig. Grantpa killed Eric’s bass too! Or something did so he ended up playing a 5-string bass the rest of the night. Folks, that’s talent right there. Was there some mistakes, yes. Did it sound like Sid Vicious up there, not even.
Afterwards back too the hotel and fall asleep too Will Ferrell’s HBO show about George Bush. Wake up too Grantpa telling me we are at the checkpoint and I gotta get up. Scratch that, EVERYONE has too get off the bus. I’m the first of the sleepers off and before everyone is off, border patrol is going up and counting heads. Once we are all off they inspect the bus while gladly taking my bribe, uh, I mean free cds. It’s funny that they HAD too make sure there were no other bodies on the bus, but never checked the bays or in the trailer. Seriously, if you’re gonna make people get out of there beds, at least inspect properly.
I of course have no problem going right back too sleep and waking up in Kosciusko. It’s not really a toown, more of an intersection with a buiding. But they got a nice stage built up and plenty of high school kids ready too move our gear. While Mikey and Aaron set up, I run Greg too the hotel 15 miles away in Flooresville, grab a bucket of chicken and back too the hall. The rest of the day I just watched tv, not much else too do until Kyle Park starts at 7:30. Then Brandon Rhyder plays, then JB&S. So this time Grantpa uses James’ bass from Brandon Rhyder’s band. Although he didn’t break the mechanic of the instruments, towards the end of the show he did break the strap lock so Mikey had too run on stage just too hold the bass up til they figured it out. Lesson too be learned, don’t let Grantpa touch your bass.
Roll home afterwards, a couple hours at home and then take Jason too Railhead Bar B Que for the Texas Red Dirt Roads show with Justin Frazell. No one told me it was outside, the jeans were a bad idea. Only there for about an hour, show runs from 4 too 7 but gotta be at the Rockin’ Rodeo in Denton by 6:30 too dial Jason into Stooney’s sound board. If that sounds fancy yet easy too do, it is.
Doors open at 8 and that was the last moment of cold air we felt all night. About 700 of Jason and Stoney’s closest friends in the north Texas area came out, unfortunately none of them knew anything about commercial air conditioners. Possibly the warmest indoor show ever, you Texans just don’t know when enough is enough, haha. But they did there song swap for almost 3 hours and then listen too booty music while they signed autographs. Load out took all of however long it took me too pack merch and then it was home. Landed in my bed about 4, after I turned my a/c down too 68 degrees for the night.
Okay, your caught up. Don’t be mean too me anymore.