Busy. Playing guitar all day, prepping the Ocean of Stars music as well as refreshing the Ironclad music for Thursday.
Meeting tomorrow with Heather Webb at 1pm to run over bass parts, then getting a room at the Music Lab for a full band rehearsal around 7pm. JRAB will be meeting me there around 5:30 to run over drums before everyone else gets there.
I am really fucking excited about this, mainly since it is purely for the fun of making music with good friends and great players. Nothing really riding on this other than my reputation, ha! Trying to stay visible on Red River but also finally share the stage with some people I've been wanting to share the stage with for a long time. Feel very honored to have had Adrian, Heather, JRAB and Michael agree to do this. Especially given the time constraints and everyone's busy schedule. Still a chance it could fall apart if someone unfortunately has to bail but that looking less likely now.
And I feel a huge sense of accomplishment just getting this far with it: I put together a band in about 2 weeks flat to play perform music I wrote every single note to, and all involved are very accomplished musicians who play for a living. It will be loose, but it ain't gonna suck! Looking forward to doing a set with Ironclad as well, always fun playing with them. Thursday is gonna be a blast. But time slots have shuffled a bit, so it will take some conscious effort to stay on the sober side since Ironclad will now be closing the night:
1am IRONCLAD
12am Marshall Dylan
11pm Adrian and the Sickness
10pm Ocean of Stars
9pm Looking for Bucho
Awesome awesome awesome. Gotta run. Have another set of music to go over and hopefuly some sleep to catch up on before tonight at Friends with ETB.
Will recap the weekend in a bit.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
OK, line-up change for the OCEAN OF STARS set.
Was supposed to meet with Richard Lamm today to go over drum parts but while I was working out guitars with Adrian Conner he texted saying he had a family re-union on June 3 (date of show).
Well shit. Wasn't really surprised, Richard is a great guy but bless his heart he can be a little scatterbrained, heh. Figured if worse came to worse I can just bring my 8-track and we can play to the darn drum tracks. But left a message for Adrian Flores from Ironclad and called JRAB (King's X drum tech/RAZR13 drummer) up. Turns he is available and totally down. Thanks for saving the day, bro!
So yeah, had a great session with Adrian, very cool to finally jam with her. Hell of a player, can't wait to get us all onstage. Full band rehearsal slated for Tuesday of next week, will prolly meet with JRAB during that afternoon, and need to schedule with Heather Webb as well to show her bass parts. Get everyone a working knowledge of the tunes before throwing everyone in a room together...
Ironclad won't be practicing for this gig, cause that's how we roll. We have not had a band rehearsal in almost a year and a half, and have played about 5-6 shows since. And most of them have been awesome, so there ya go. Guess we might want to think about jamming some day so we can write some new tunes, heh.
Practice with Shandon tonight for the "Sahm Covers Sahm" set on Sunday. Will have time today now to refresh some of the music. But part of me wants to not worry about it and know that tonight I will still know the songs, or at least be pretty damn close.
Was supposed to meet with Richard Lamm today to go over drum parts but while I was working out guitars with Adrian Conner he texted saying he had a family re-union on June 3 (date of show).
Well shit. Wasn't really surprised, Richard is a great guy but bless his heart he can be a little scatterbrained, heh. Figured if worse came to worse I can just bring my 8-track and we can play to the darn drum tracks. But left a message for Adrian Flores from Ironclad and called JRAB (King's X drum tech/RAZR13 drummer) up. Turns he is available and totally down. Thanks for saving the day, bro!
So yeah, had a great session with Adrian, very cool to finally jam with her. Hell of a player, can't wait to get us all onstage. Full band rehearsal slated for Tuesday of next week, will prolly meet with JRAB during that afternoon, and need to schedule with Heather Webb as well to show her bass parts. Get everyone a working knowledge of the tunes before throwing everyone in a room together...
Ironclad won't be practicing for this gig, cause that's how we roll. We have not had a band rehearsal in almost a year and a half, and have played about 5-6 shows since. And most of them have been awesome, so there ya go. Guess we might want to think about jamming some day so we can write some new tunes, heh.
Practice with Shandon tonight for the "Sahm Covers Sahm" set on Sunday. Will have time today now to refresh some of the music. But part of me wants to not worry about it and know that tonight I will still know the songs, or at least be pretty damn close.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Just got back from a productive session with Michael McDaniel (ETB) working out sax parts for the OCEAN OF STARS set on June 3 at Headhunters.
Sounds really cool, having him do a lot of the melody lines to free up rhythm guitar parts, and he'll be adding stuff here and there and taking some solos. Want to make sure him and Adrian get some trigger time to showcase their talents, rather than have it be Danny G Wank Fest 2010. Have the afternoon off before Eric Tessmer Band tonight at Friends.
Tomorrow have my first HAAM doctor appointment, then at noon getting together with Adrian Conner (Adrian and the Sickness) to work on guitar parts for OCEAN OF STARS material. Worked out that way w/our schedules but actually is a better order, can get the sax straightened out before working on guitars. Hopefully will get together with Richard Lamm (ETB) tomorrow as well to work on drums. Then practice with Shandon Sahm 7:30 for a Sunday May 30 "Sahm Cover Sahm" set headlining at Saxon Pub (moved from Threadgill's World HQ, just found that out). Still need to meet with Heather Webb (Adrian and the Sickness) to go over bass parts for OoS set, hopefully next week before full band rehearsal (still need to line that up, Tues night would be best). Figure it much better to work with everyone individually before getting them all in a room together and showing everybody everything at the same time. Still a 50/50 chance of success/failure with this particular endeavor, and those odds are fine by me.
Just glad there's even a slight possibility of playing some of the solo material as-is with some players I've been wanting to work with for a long time. Might be a little loose, but I think it will be really cool.
Wed-Sat will be in Corpus and Houston for my mom's retirement party and the ETB cd release shows in H-town and CC.
THE MOTHER TRUCKERS INVADE FLORIDA!
The trip to Florida with the Truckers over the weekend was a total blast! I have never been to FL before so was able to cross one more state off my list of the ones I've been too. For the continental US just have Maine now, and for all 50 need it and Alaska. Yay!
Bought a gig bag to carry my bass like a carry-on cause I am still shellshocked about traveling with instruments after my Les Paul studio had the headstock break during a flight. Teal had doubts as to whether Southwest would let me. So the three of us had all our guitfiddles in hardshell cases in the belly of the plane. They were fine, there and back. Flight was uneventful and smooth, navigating the Orlando airport no problem, getting the rental SUV a snap. Nice drive to New Smyrna Beach, so damn tropical/swampy/rainforest/wetlands. Found the Ocean Walk Condos where Pete the Beat's brother-in-law Mike aka "Smitty" was putting the three of us up. Very nice, fucking huge and rather swank.
Hit the beach before sunset, an easy walk from our building. Gorgeous beach, water nice and warm. Cream white sand which made weird squeaking/creaking noises when you shuffled your feet. Lots of shells. This was gonna be awesome! That night ate at a place "downtown", the Breakers I believe it was called but I could be wrong. Table on back patio overlooking the ocean (dark at this point but still really nice). Had fish n chips but less than impressed. We couldn't help but notice people congregating on the beach, asked the waitress what was up and she said that there was going to be a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral in about 15 minutes. Awesome! Made our way down and waited. And waited. And waited. After we noticed most of the people had bailed, asked some stragglers what was up. "Oh, they called it off." Well shit.
Next morning Josh and Teal went off to check out the boardwalk behind our building, which led back into the tangles of mangroves. I went to the beach. An even more gorgeous day, sunny with a gentle breeze and occasional sets of breaking waves. Took long walks in both directions, went in the water a bit (supposedly shark infested), took pics. Lots of families and lovely young bikini girls. Bumped into Josh and Teal coming from the other way. Got showered and changed and we made our way to Smitty's to set up for the party.
Smitty's place was awesome! Just outside of New Smyrna Beach on land pretty much carved out of the jungle. Nice house with separate garage, barn converted into a Man Cave with a pool table, which opened into the screened-in pool area. In the far corner a swampy pond that would connect with other wetlands in the jungle in times of heavy rain, and fenced off due to alligators brought in by aforementioned weather conditions. Joked with Josh and Teal about swimming in it, probably come out of the water in a bodysuit of leeches, heh!
Smitty had a tent for the tables and a tent for the stage, and rented some top notch backline gear and a PA better than most clubs. Spared no expense! Lots of family and they were all great. Pete's wife Denise's (Smitty's sister) birthday falls almost on his but separated by a few years, so it was a big party for both of them. Killer food, had turkey breast, potato/egg salad, this big weird and tasty roll and some truly amazing baked beans. Plus two kegs of beer in a tent and a full bar on the house patio. These people really know how to party! When a cat appeared from behind the garage 2 little girls went to go pick him up and pet him. Then they yelled "SNAKE!!!", dropped the cat and ran back to the house! Josh, Teal and I went to investigate, and sure enough there was a little bitty coiled up snake with markings I couldn't identify. If was a baby rattler than it would be more dangerous than an adult, as they can't control how much venom they inflict. But Smitty the Snake Wrangler ID'd it as a harmless Florida Garter Snake and tossed it towards the trees with a shovel.
Sun went down by the time we went on. First set the 2 snake girls and 2 friends were doing interpretive ballet moves to the music. Distractingly cute and utterly hilarious, it was awesome! Played good, had fun. Despite the sun being down it didn't affect the humidity at all so let's just say we were sweating like women of the night in a house of worship, heh! Second set even more fun and raucous. Nice to have a copy of the new album so I can figure out what basslines I settled on, heh. Called back up to do an encore! Afterwards hit the bar and hung out, evidently the rocket launch was rescheduled for that night so we all waited looking southward. But then word filtered that the launch was scrubbed AGAIN. Ah well. Talked with lotsa nice people, everyone was great. Before we finally left tried to show the beautiful Asian girl the moon on Smitty's telescope which someone drunkenly brought out earlier. But after 3 Jack Daniels on the rocks was unable to find the damn moon despite 2 previous successes. So much for being all romantic and whatnot. As we left Smitty printed out my flight info and talked with some of Pete's friends/family about arranging a ride to the airport.
Next morning wanted to hit the beach one last time but chilled instead. Would have been too much rush to go there then come back and shower/pack before catching my shuttle. While smoking a cig on the back patio the blinds from Josh and Teal's room opened. Looked over in time to catch Josh's bare ass. We're going to be traveling a lot soon, might as well get used to it now, heh! Caught my ride and said goodbyes to Pete and Denise. Full minivan, still not sure who was who re: Denise's family. The Robert Smith guy was her nephew, that's about all I can remember. Drive to Orlando airport uneventful, no problems finding my way to the SW ticket counter or my gate. Flight was smooth save for some bumps coming back into Austin. Attractive woman one seat over, ring on her finger so politely offered my Cheese Nips but other than that read 'Blood Meridian' and slept.
Flying over the Gulf the pilot pointed out the BP oil spill off our left side (was sitting on the left, score). Brownish tendrils running north and south from our vantage. We'll see how my phone pics come out, didn't have time to grab my camera from the overhead bin (note to self, fly with camera at my feet). Landed in Austin and that was that. At home, whereas 24 hours previous I was sitting on a beach on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. I love this job.
Sounds really cool, having him do a lot of the melody lines to free up rhythm guitar parts, and he'll be adding stuff here and there and taking some solos. Want to make sure him and Adrian get some trigger time to showcase their talents, rather than have it be Danny G Wank Fest 2010. Have the afternoon off before Eric Tessmer Band tonight at Friends.
Tomorrow have my first HAAM doctor appointment, then at noon getting together with Adrian Conner (Adrian and the Sickness) to work on guitar parts for OCEAN OF STARS material. Worked out that way w/our schedules but actually is a better order, can get the sax straightened out before working on guitars. Hopefully will get together with Richard Lamm (ETB) tomorrow as well to work on drums. Then practice with Shandon Sahm 7:30 for a Sunday May 30 "Sahm Cover Sahm" set headlining at Saxon Pub (moved from Threadgill's World HQ, just found that out). Still need to meet with Heather Webb (Adrian and the Sickness) to go over bass parts for OoS set, hopefully next week before full band rehearsal (still need to line that up, Tues night would be best). Figure it much better to work with everyone individually before getting them all in a room together and showing everybody everything at the same time. Still a 50/50 chance of success/failure with this particular endeavor, and those odds are fine by me.
Just glad there's even a slight possibility of playing some of the solo material as-is with some players I've been wanting to work with for a long time. Might be a little loose, but I think it will be really cool.
Wed-Sat will be in Corpus and Houston for my mom's retirement party and the ETB cd release shows in H-town and CC.
THE MOTHER TRUCKERS INVADE FLORIDA!
The trip to Florida with the Truckers over the weekend was a total blast! I have never been to FL before so was able to cross one more state off my list of the ones I've been too. For the continental US just have Maine now, and for all 50 need it and Alaska. Yay!
Bought a gig bag to carry my bass like a carry-on cause I am still shellshocked about traveling with instruments after my Les Paul studio had the headstock break during a flight. Teal had doubts as to whether Southwest would let me. So the three of us had all our guitfiddles in hardshell cases in the belly of the plane. They were fine, there and back. Flight was uneventful and smooth, navigating the Orlando airport no problem, getting the rental SUV a snap. Nice drive to New Smyrna Beach, so damn tropical/swampy/rainforest/wetlands. Found the Ocean Walk Condos where Pete the Beat's brother-in-law Mike aka "Smitty" was putting the three of us up. Very nice, fucking huge and rather swank.
Hit the beach before sunset, an easy walk from our building. Gorgeous beach, water nice and warm. Cream white sand which made weird squeaking/creaking noises when you shuffled your feet. Lots of shells. This was gonna be awesome! That night ate at a place "downtown", the Breakers I believe it was called but I could be wrong. Table on back patio overlooking the ocean (dark at this point but still really nice). Had fish n chips but less than impressed. We couldn't help but notice people congregating on the beach, asked the waitress what was up and she said that there was going to be a rocket launch from Cape Canaveral in about 15 minutes. Awesome! Made our way down and waited. And waited. And waited. After we noticed most of the people had bailed, asked some stragglers what was up. "Oh, they called it off." Well shit.
Next morning Josh and Teal went off to check out the boardwalk behind our building, which led back into the tangles of mangroves. I went to the beach. An even more gorgeous day, sunny with a gentle breeze and occasional sets of breaking waves. Took long walks in both directions, went in the water a bit (supposedly shark infested), took pics. Lots of families and lovely young bikini girls. Bumped into Josh and Teal coming from the other way. Got showered and changed and we made our way to Smitty's to set up for the party.
Smitty's place was awesome! Just outside of New Smyrna Beach on land pretty much carved out of the jungle. Nice house with separate garage, barn converted into a Man Cave with a pool table, which opened into the screened-in pool area. In the far corner a swampy pond that would connect with other wetlands in the jungle in times of heavy rain, and fenced off due to alligators brought in by aforementioned weather conditions. Joked with Josh and Teal about swimming in it, probably come out of the water in a bodysuit of leeches, heh!
Smitty had a tent for the tables and a tent for the stage, and rented some top notch backline gear and a PA better than most clubs. Spared no expense! Lots of family and they were all great. Pete's wife Denise's (Smitty's sister) birthday falls almost on his but separated by a few years, so it was a big party for both of them. Killer food, had turkey breast, potato/egg salad, this big weird and tasty roll and some truly amazing baked beans. Plus two kegs of beer in a tent and a full bar on the house patio. These people really know how to party! When a cat appeared from behind the garage 2 little girls went to go pick him up and pet him. Then they yelled "SNAKE!!!", dropped the cat and ran back to the house! Josh, Teal and I went to investigate, and sure enough there was a little bitty coiled up snake with markings I couldn't identify. If was a baby rattler than it would be more dangerous than an adult, as they can't control how much venom they inflict. But Smitty the Snake Wrangler ID'd it as a harmless Florida Garter Snake and tossed it towards the trees with a shovel.
Sun went down by the time we went on. First set the 2 snake girls and 2 friends were doing interpretive ballet moves to the music. Distractingly cute and utterly hilarious, it was awesome! Played good, had fun. Despite the sun being down it didn't affect the humidity at all so let's just say we were sweating like women of the night in a house of worship, heh! Second set even more fun and raucous. Nice to have a copy of the new album so I can figure out what basslines I settled on, heh. Called back up to do an encore! Afterwards hit the bar and hung out, evidently the rocket launch was rescheduled for that night so we all waited looking southward. But then word filtered that the launch was scrubbed AGAIN. Ah well. Talked with lotsa nice people, everyone was great. Before we finally left tried to show the beautiful Asian girl the moon on Smitty's telescope which someone drunkenly brought out earlier. But after 3 Jack Daniels on the rocks was unable to find the damn moon despite 2 previous successes. So much for being all romantic and whatnot. As we left Smitty printed out my flight info and talked with some of Pete's friends/family about arranging a ride to the airport.
Next morning wanted to hit the beach one last time but chilled instead. Would have been too much rush to go there then come back and shower/pack before catching my shuttle. While smoking a cig on the back patio the blinds from Josh and Teal's room opened. Looked over in time to catch Josh's bare ass. We're going to be traveling a lot soon, might as well get used to it now, heh! Caught my ride and said goodbyes to Pete and Denise. Full minivan, still not sure who was who re: Denise's family. The Robert Smith guy was her nephew, that's about all I can remember. Drive to Orlando airport uneventful, no problems finding my way to the SW ticket counter or my gate. Flight was smooth save for some bumps coming back into Austin. Attractive woman one seat over, ring on her finger so politely offered my Cheese Nips but other than that read 'Blood Meridian' and slept.
Flying over the Gulf the pilot pointed out the BP oil spill off our left side (was sitting on the left, score). Brownish tendrils running north and south from our vantage. We'll see how my phone pics come out, didn't have time to grab my camera from the overhead bin (note to self, fly with camera at my feet). Landed in Austin and that was that. At home, whereas 24 hours previous I was sitting on a beach on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. I love this job.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Got a burn of the new Mother Truckers album "Van Tour" last night!!!
It sounds effing amazing, and no you can't hear it yet ;) Check out samplers on the Truckers page. I think we are officially a rock band now, you know what I mean when ya hear it! Met up with Josh and Teal at the Saxon Pub last night, listened to a few tunes in Goldie Hawn then went back inside to check out Deadman and hang with friends.
And Deadman is fucking amazing, you need to check them out. Most of the crowd last night were musicians, if that says anything. And one of the many reasons to love Austin TX, that you can go see a musical act of that caliber on a fucking Tuesday night.
Just got back from the Post Office, printed up a bio and one-sheet and sent "Ocean of Stars" CD's to the All That Is Heavy store and Hellride Music for review and possible online distro. It is time to get the ball rolling on the solo album, want to get some reviews and land some possible distro before I officially unveil it. So spent this morning online getting contact info for aforementioned websites as well as Low Desert Punk Records, Small Stone Records, Arclight Records as well as Brainticket Records, who awhile back expressed interest in selling the Ironclad "American Dream" EP on their website. Doubt it will be picked up, but selling it online via reputable channels is good enough for me.
Have I mentioned that the Marcus and Mike from MASTERY (Billy Milano's new project) have been staying here past few weeks? Sometimes I forget to write about really obvious shit. Billy brought them down from Toronto to record an album with him (very VERY technical metal), and praised their work ethic before they arrived.
Just gotta say they have been MODEL house guests. When not at the studio writing/rehearsing/recording, they are either (A) in their room tweaking guitar riffs I can barely wrap my head around, (B) cooking/eating (quite an appetite on those boys, heh) or (C) showering. Really nice guys, Billy was spot on re: how hard they will be working while down here, and the dogs love them. Although Brutus did do a number on one of their shoe insoles right now while I was gone...
ETB's gig Monday night at Friends was effing dead. Severe Thunderstorm watch, thunderheads building at all corners of the sky, and as the saying goes there was "one heck of a light show" driving downtown. I mean holy shit, it was like Lord of the Rings lightning. At one point multiple bolts arcing across the entire sky from East to West, spawning offshoot bolts that shot groundward and others that continued on like spiderwebs. Just, wow.
So yeah, was raining but stopped which didn't help the crowd, at all. A few people here and there really digging it but other than that just a paid practice. The few enthusiastic new fans sending rounds of shots to the stage such that I had to switch to water by the end of the night. We made $8 in tips per man, and Michael alone had a $12 bar tab. Livin the dream.
And I say "Living the Dream" as a two-meaning term of endearment. Being a working musician is every bit the adventure you think it is, but can also suck in ways you can't possibly even imagine.
ETB tonight at Maggie Mae's, 9pm, flying to Florida with the Truckers this weekend to play a wedding. I need to invest in a high-quality gig bag to take my bass on the plane WITH ME, as only time I've ever flown with an instrument (in a heavy duty hardshell case) was put in with the luggage and the goddamn headstock was broken. NOT LEAVING ANOTHER GUITAR WITH BAGGAGE HANDLERS EVER EVER AGAIN.
It sounds effing amazing, and no you can't hear it yet ;) Check out samplers on the Truckers page. I think we are officially a rock band now, you know what I mean when ya hear it! Met up with Josh and Teal at the Saxon Pub last night, listened to a few tunes in Goldie Hawn then went back inside to check out Deadman and hang with friends.
And Deadman is fucking amazing, you need to check them out. Most of the crowd last night were musicians, if that says anything. And one of the many reasons to love Austin TX, that you can go see a musical act of that caliber on a fucking Tuesday night.
Just got back from the Post Office, printed up a bio and one-sheet and sent "Ocean of Stars" CD's to the All That Is Heavy store and Hellride Music for review and possible online distro. It is time to get the ball rolling on the solo album, want to get some reviews and land some possible distro before I officially unveil it. So spent this morning online getting contact info for aforementioned websites as well as Low Desert Punk Records, Small Stone Records, Arclight Records as well as Brainticket Records, who awhile back expressed interest in selling the Ironclad "American Dream" EP on their website. Doubt it will be picked up, but selling it online via reputable channels is good enough for me.
Have I mentioned that the Marcus and Mike from MASTERY (Billy Milano's new project) have been staying here past few weeks? Sometimes I forget to write about really obvious shit. Billy brought them down from Toronto to record an album with him (very VERY technical metal), and praised their work ethic before they arrived.
Just gotta say they have been MODEL house guests. When not at the studio writing/rehearsing/recording, they are either (A) in their room tweaking guitar riffs I can barely wrap my head around, (B) cooking/eating (quite an appetite on those boys, heh) or (C) showering. Really nice guys, Billy was spot on re: how hard they will be working while down here, and the dogs love them. Although Brutus did do a number on one of their shoe insoles right now while I was gone...
ETB's gig Monday night at Friends was effing dead. Severe Thunderstorm watch, thunderheads building at all corners of the sky, and as the saying goes there was "one heck of a light show" driving downtown. I mean holy shit, it was like Lord of the Rings lightning. At one point multiple bolts arcing across the entire sky from East to West, spawning offshoot bolts that shot groundward and others that continued on like spiderwebs. Just, wow.
So yeah, was raining but stopped which didn't help the crowd, at all. A few people here and there really digging it but other than that just a paid practice. The few enthusiastic new fans sending rounds of shots to the stage such that I had to switch to water by the end of the night. We made $8 in tips per man, and Michael alone had a $12 bar tab. Livin the dream.
And I say "Living the Dream" as a two-meaning term of endearment. Being a working musician is every bit the adventure you think it is, but can also suck in ways you can't possibly even imagine.
ETB tonight at Maggie Mae's, 9pm, flying to Florida with the Truckers this weekend to play a wedding. I need to invest in a high-quality gig bag to take my bass on the plane WITH ME, as only time I've ever flown with an instrument (in a heavy duty hardshell case) was put in with the luggage and the goddamn headstock was broken. NOT LEAVING ANOTHER GUITAR WITH BAGGAGE HANDLERS EVER EVER AGAIN.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Spent a wonderful day yesterday doing f--- all, but will get to that in a minute.
Heard back from Heather Webb and she is available. Awesome. So looks like the one-off solo thing may happen after all, heh. Have no illusions about how busy Adrian and Heather are (Adrian and the Sickness, Adrian also plays full time w/Hell's Belles), or how busy I am. But there is a narrow window of opportunity to give it a shot so why the hell not? Line up for Danny G's OCEAN OF STARS: Myself (duh), Adrian Conner (guitar), Heather Webb (bass), and Michael McDaniel & Richard Lamm from ETB (saxophone/drums, respectively). This could be really fucking cool. Have sax to cover some guitar melody lines and free up a rhythm part, and sure he has his own ideas.
Thinking of the following for a setlist, no order:
Ocean of Stars
Hammerfoot
Dig That Hole Deep
Laguna Madre
Great Divide
Sidewinder
First three tunes from "Ocean of Stars", last 3 from "Red River Day Care". Check my Facebook page to stream them, link to the right. Didn't want to do anything too musically out there due to time constraints. Getting excited about finally playing some of this stuff, but also keeping in mind this could easily not happen at all, at least this time around. This will also be my first time as a full-on band leader... Fingers crossed!
So Sunday lounged around house. Deanna had Erin over and they cooked breakfast enchiladas, who brought her 4 chihuahuas over. So in addition to Dooley (D's big Lab), Ginger (D's little poodle), Trixie (D's 19-YO chihuahua), Nacho (my chihuahua) and Brutus (friend's goofy young black pit mix) there were 8 dogs total of varying size (mostly small) running around the house/backyard. Was like a goddamn circus, heh. Good times.
San Angelo w/ETB on Friday went GREAT. We will def be back soon. Yeah, rained at first but cleared up for the drive. Until we got there and had to load, then the skies reopened with apocalyptic clouds that seems really confused as to which way they all wanted to go. Crazy. And no, turns out we were not on the bill with Amplified Heat, they were evidently playing another venue in town. Well shit, went on Facebook and made the correction.
Drive was a blast, had Mariah the merch girl in tow. Lots of stupid fun with her, Richard and I. Stopped at Cooper's BBQ in Llano after Tessmer raved about it whole drive up. Oh man, it was indeed awesome. Grabbed a sticker and bought a coozie.
Riding in Boss Hoss
Scenery > TV x 1000
Cooper's BBQ
Uh oh...
The venue (Steel Penny Pub) was cool, had this weird square-ish stage that was actually deeper than it was wide. No big deal, we all fit! Not a huge crowd but the people there totally dug it. Must have signed 10 CD's during set break, kudos to Mariah for being on top of it and making sure to track down every wayward band member when something needed to be signed.
Then had a total rockstar moment before second set. Stage was about 2 feet high with a chair in front to act as a step (for us older guys). Stepped onto chair. Ankle buckled, as did the chair. I fall forward onto the stage, banging my R shin something fierce. Impact w/shin caused me to pitch sideways and spill off onto the floor. So I did about the only thing I could do in such a situation: threw my arms in the air in a triumphant "TA-DA!" and took a deep bow. Then managed to get back onstage without busting my ass again. 3 days later I still have an ace bandage on it (my shin, not my ass). Livin the dream.
Great sets and great show, then the all-night drive. Got back into Austin Saturday morning around first light, drove Michael back to South Austin. Slept as much as I could but still seem to always wake up around 9:45-10am-ish. Weird. Took another nap before driving to Zilker Clubhouse for the wedding The Mother Truckers were playing that day. Hot as hell at 3pm for load-in/soundcheck (playing outside) but by 7pm it would be nice, and it was. Got in another nap when we broke for dinner.
The wedding was cool, the first gay marriage I'd attended and hopefully *NOT* the last (not-so-veiled political statement). Kinda weird being at any kind of wedding as a recent divorcee, but was a blast. Sun went down behind a thunderhead, then reappeared briefly underneath the anvil sending an awesome crimson splash across the much-changed downtown skyline. Shoulda brought my camera. Got done, got paid, tore down and said my goodbyes before hauling ass to Antone's for the later ETB set.
Which was great but a hurry up an wait situation. Big jam with Pinetop Perkins, WC Clark, Marcia Ball and other big names. Crazy seeing so many Grammy winners onstage doing a big blues jam. Which was awesome and all, but we didn't know if we'd actually have time to PLAY when it was over. But Antone's was going to pay us whether we played or not, so that was awesome. Like subsidized farmers getting paid to NOT grow corn, heh. Then Tessmer was invited onstage to play some guitar among all the greats, that was fucking awesome and good for him! Hopefully some people would stick around for us, heh.
This was also the night of the Baxter Memorial show at Headhunter's, marking the 2-year anniversary of his death after a motorcycle accident. I didn't really know him personally, but he was a good friend to the Red River Community. Wish I could have been there, as many close friends are still deeply affected by it, Deanna specifically as they were dating and very much in love at the time. So I tried to steal away and at least make an appearance, but Tessmer said we could go on in 15-minutes, an hour, or not at all. Well shit.
But we finally did go on, and threw down a pretty solid and quick set. Had some very loyal and hardcore fans who stayed all night (and evidently were giving some of the other players a good-natured hard time, heh). Things got a little hazy after the 2nd or 3rd round of shots appeared to the stage, heh. Def feeling the love.
All in all, was a very good and very profitable weekend. May have the money for new bass speakers by end of the month if not sooner, and may actually be able to pay my rent IN FULL beginning of June.
ETB at Friends Monday, Maggie Mae's on Wednesday, then the Truckers fly to Florida to play another wedding. Should be a blast, staying in condos and using rented gear. And to think this is a "business" trip, ha!
Heard back from Heather Webb and she is available. Awesome. So looks like the one-off solo thing may happen after all, heh. Have no illusions about how busy Adrian and Heather are (Adrian and the Sickness, Adrian also plays full time w/Hell's Belles), or how busy I am. But there is a narrow window of opportunity to give it a shot so why the hell not? Line up for Danny G's OCEAN OF STARS: Myself (duh), Adrian Conner (guitar), Heather Webb (bass), and Michael McDaniel & Richard Lamm from ETB (saxophone/drums, respectively). This could be really fucking cool. Have sax to cover some guitar melody lines and free up a rhythm part, and sure he has his own ideas.
Thinking of the following for a setlist, no order:
Ocean of Stars
Hammerfoot
Dig That Hole Deep
Laguna Madre
Great Divide
Sidewinder
First three tunes from "Ocean of Stars", last 3 from "Red River Day Care". Check my Facebook page to stream them, link to the right. Didn't want to do anything too musically out there due to time constraints. Getting excited about finally playing some of this stuff, but also keeping in mind this could easily not happen at all, at least this time around. This will also be my first time as a full-on band leader... Fingers crossed!
So Sunday lounged around house. Deanna had Erin over and they cooked breakfast enchiladas, who brought her 4 chihuahuas over. So in addition to Dooley (D's big Lab), Ginger (D's little poodle), Trixie (D's 19-YO chihuahua), Nacho (my chihuahua) and Brutus (friend's goofy young black pit mix) there were 8 dogs total of varying size (mostly small) running around the house/backyard. Was like a goddamn circus, heh. Good times.
San Angelo w/ETB on Friday went GREAT. We will def be back soon. Yeah, rained at first but cleared up for the drive. Until we got there and had to load, then the skies reopened with apocalyptic clouds that seems really confused as to which way they all wanted to go. Crazy. And no, turns out we were not on the bill with Amplified Heat, they were evidently playing another venue in town. Well shit, went on Facebook and made the correction.
Drive was a blast, had Mariah the merch girl in tow. Lots of stupid fun with her, Richard and I. Stopped at Cooper's BBQ in Llano after Tessmer raved about it whole drive up. Oh man, it was indeed awesome. Grabbed a sticker and bought a coozie.
Riding in Boss Hoss
Scenery > TV x 1000
Cooper's BBQ
Uh oh...
The venue (Steel Penny Pub) was cool, had this weird square-ish stage that was actually deeper than it was wide. No big deal, we all fit! Not a huge crowd but the people there totally dug it. Must have signed 10 CD's during set break, kudos to Mariah for being on top of it and making sure to track down every wayward band member when something needed to be signed.
Then had a total rockstar moment before second set. Stage was about 2 feet high with a chair in front to act as a step (for us older guys). Stepped onto chair. Ankle buckled, as did the chair. I fall forward onto the stage, banging my R shin something fierce. Impact w/shin caused me to pitch sideways and spill off onto the floor. So I did about the only thing I could do in such a situation: threw my arms in the air in a triumphant "TA-DA!" and took a deep bow. Then managed to get back onstage without busting my ass again. 3 days later I still have an ace bandage on it (my shin, not my ass). Livin the dream.
Great sets and great show, then the all-night drive. Got back into Austin Saturday morning around first light, drove Michael back to South Austin. Slept as much as I could but still seem to always wake up around 9:45-10am-ish. Weird. Took another nap before driving to Zilker Clubhouse for the wedding The Mother Truckers were playing that day. Hot as hell at 3pm for load-in/soundcheck (playing outside) but by 7pm it would be nice, and it was. Got in another nap when we broke for dinner.
The wedding was cool, the first gay marriage I'd attended and hopefully *NOT* the last (not-so-veiled political statement). Kinda weird being at any kind of wedding as a recent divorcee, but was a blast. Sun went down behind a thunderhead, then reappeared briefly underneath the anvil sending an awesome crimson splash across the much-changed downtown skyline. Shoulda brought my camera. Got done, got paid, tore down and said my goodbyes before hauling ass to Antone's for the later ETB set.
Which was great but a hurry up an wait situation. Big jam with Pinetop Perkins, WC Clark, Marcia Ball and other big names. Crazy seeing so many Grammy winners onstage doing a big blues jam. Which was awesome and all, but we didn't know if we'd actually have time to PLAY when it was over. But Antone's was going to pay us whether we played or not, so that was awesome. Like subsidized farmers getting paid to NOT grow corn, heh. Then Tessmer was invited onstage to play some guitar among all the greats, that was fucking awesome and good for him! Hopefully some people would stick around for us, heh.
This was also the night of the Baxter Memorial show at Headhunter's, marking the 2-year anniversary of his death after a motorcycle accident. I didn't really know him personally, but he was a good friend to the Red River Community. Wish I could have been there, as many close friends are still deeply affected by it, Deanna specifically as they were dating and very much in love at the time. So I tried to steal away and at least make an appearance, but Tessmer said we could go on in 15-minutes, an hour, or not at all. Well shit.
But we finally did go on, and threw down a pretty solid and quick set. Had some very loyal and hardcore fans who stayed all night (and evidently were giving some of the other players a good-natured hard time, heh). Things got a little hazy after the 2nd or 3rd round of shots appeared to the stage, heh. Def feeling the love.
All in all, was a very good and very profitable weekend. May have the money for new bass speakers by end of the month if not sooner, and may actually be able to pay my rent IN FULL beginning of June.
ETB at Friends Monday, Maggie Mae's on Wednesday, then the Truckers fly to Florida to play another wedding. Should be a blast, staying in condos and using rented gear. And to think this is a "business" trip, ha!
Friday, May 14, 2010
A lovely rainy morning for the drive to San Angelo.
Checking the radar looks like someone went to work on Central Texas on MS Paint. Lotta green and red. Looks like it should fizzle out, that's good. Hopefully won't affect the overnight drive back. Eric Tessmer Band tonight at the Steel Penny with the mighty Amplified Heat. Fuck yeah, this is gonna be awesome.
Last night at Friends was one for the record books. ETB played well, kinda thin crowd. Bumped into a lovely lady I met at Maggie Mae's late last month. Was a slow Wednesday night, we were being friendly and flirty. Handed me a slip of paper and a pen. I wrote my phone number. She laughed and freaked out, "My boyfriend is here! I just wanted an autograph!!!" Oops, heh! So she turned up last night, single this time. We got reacquainted in the Friends back hallway. Kept my number this time around. Good times.
So yeah, hopefully tonight will be awesome. Never been to the Steel Penny, haven't been to San Angelo since the Southern Gun Culture days (early 00's). May the Gods of Driving safely deliver Boss Hoss (ETB van) and the AH van to and from San Angelo without incident, or at least with a good story to tell if something does go awry.
Checking the radar looks like someone went to work on Central Texas on MS Paint. Lotta green and red. Looks like it should fizzle out, that's good. Hopefully won't affect the overnight drive back. Eric Tessmer Band tonight at the Steel Penny with the mighty Amplified Heat. Fuck yeah, this is gonna be awesome.
Last night at Friends was one for the record books. ETB played well, kinda thin crowd. Bumped into a lovely lady I met at Maggie Mae's late last month. Was a slow Wednesday night, we were being friendly and flirty. Handed me a slip of paper and a pen. I wrote my phone number. She laughed and freaked out, "My boyfriend is here! I just wanted an autograph!!!" Oops, heh! So she turned up last night, single this time. We got reacquainted in the Friends back hallway. Kept my number this time around. Good times.
So yeah, hopefully tonight will be awesome. Never been to the Steel Penny, haven't been to San Angelo since the Southern Gun Culture days (early 00's). May the Gods of Driving safely deliver Boss Hoss (ETB van) and the AH van to and from San Angelo without incident, or at least with a good story to tell if something does go awry.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
This weekend piling up fast.
ETB offered a closing slot tonight at Friends. Yeah, sure, why not? Was looking forward to having a day/night off before the long weekend, but my bank account will thank me. So next few days as follows:
Thursday: ETB @ Friends
Friday: ETB @ Steel Penny in San Angelo w/Amplified Heat
Saturday: Mother Truckers private event, then ETB @ Antone's
Driving straight back after San Angelo rather than hang with the Heat boys so I can be well-rested (and on time) for Saturday.
Have talked to Richard from ETB about playing drums for the solo one-off and he's down. Talked to Tank (Ironclad bassist) as well, but he is too busy with the studio and various projects. Called Heather Webb from Adrian and the Sickness and waiting to hear back. Also talked to Michael from ETB about maybe doing some horn on certain songs, couple of tunes have a rhythm guitar and 2 melody lines, will sound empty without all 3. Guitar/saxophone melodies would be pretty fucking cool.
If I can have a line-up by the weekend I can e-mail tracks and start working with the players first thing next week. Figure a 6-song/30 minute set is an attainable goal. If it can be done w/o too much hassle, awesome. But if it does not come together easily, will have to put it off for now. Thinking of billing it as Danny G's OCEAN OF STARS, as it will be a 100% solo project rather than more of a brainchild project like Ironclad.
Last night with ETB @ BD Riley's was a good day at the office, to say the least. Semi-private party w/a guarantee as well as people dumping the contents of their wallets into the tip tub. One guy left a $100 bill. Awesome.
Fun show, good crowd. Had our bro Casey Epps sing a few tunes. During the shot walk Eric gave his guitar to his friend Alan who solo'd over 'How Many More Times'. I then handed Eric my bass who took it from there. Then Alan handed me the guitar and I solo'd for awhile. Good times! Came home with enough money to cover what I owe on rent + utilities + internet, and still have money in my wallet and an un-cashed check from video production work last month.
Realized one thing last night, I need a fuckin hair cut bad. Gettin too long. I know it's too long when I wear it tied back all the time and I get lazy about combing it. Getting to where it not only gets caught in my tuning pegs/under fretted notes/sticks to my face/gets inhaled when I try to sing, but summer is already here in Central Texas and it's just too fuckin hot to have such a Cousin Itt mop of tangles and fuck knots. Will talk to Deanna's friend Erin about a trim.
Will take the rest of the day off til the gig, was thinking of mowing and maybe taking Nacho running. Fuck that, I really need to rest.
Bill Webb at Austin Vintage will be calling later today re: the wiring of my stricken Isovent cab. With the next few weekends being quite lucrative may actually have money for new speakers. That and discovered the annoying rattling from the low E tuning key on my bass is not from the key housing, but from the actual key part being loose in the tuner. Well shit. Fixed it punk rock style with some duct tape, seems to be working so far, and looks much less obvious than a piece of paper jammed behind the key.
ETB offered a closing slot tonight at Friends. Yeah, sure, why not? Was looking forward to having a day/night off before the long weekend, but my bank account will thank me. So next few days as follows:
Thursday: ETB @ Friends
Friday: ETB @ Steel Penny in San Angelo w/Amplified Heat
Saturday: Mother Truckers private event, then ETB @ Antone's
Driving straight back after San Angelo rather than hang with the Heat boys so I can be well-rested (and on time) for Saturday.
Have talked to Richard from ETB about playing drums for the solo one-off and he's down. Talked to Tank (Ironclad bassist) as well, but he is too busy with the studio and various projects. Called Heather Webb from Adrian and the Sickness and waiting to hear back. Also talked to Michael from ETB about maybe doing some horn on certain songs, couple of tunes have a rhythm guitar and 2 melody lines, will sound empty without all 3. Guitar/saxophone melodies would be pretty fucking cool.
If I can have a line-up by the weekend I can e-mail tracks and start working with the players first thing next week. Figure a 6-song/30 minute set is an attainable goal. If it can be done w/o too much hassle, awesome. But if it does not come together easily, will have to put it off for now. Thinking of billing it as Danny G's OCEAN OF STARS, as it will be a 100% solo project rather than more of a brainchild project like Ironclad.
Last night with ETB @ BD Riley's was a good day at the office, to say the least. Semi-private party w/a guarantee as well as people dumping the contents of their wallets into the tip tub. One guy left a $100 bill. Awesome.
Fun show, good crowd. Had our bro Casey Epps sing a few tunes. During the shot walk Eric gave his guitar to his friend Alan who solo'd over 'How Many More Times'. I then handed Eric my bass who took it from there. Then Alan handed me the guitar and I solo'd for awhile. Good times! Came home with enough money to cover what I owe on rent + utilities + internet, and still have money in my wallet and an un-cashed check from video production work last month.
Realized one thing last night, I need a fuckin hair cut bad. Gettin too long. I know it's too long when I wear it tied back all the time and I get lazy about combing it. Getting to where it not only gets caught in my tuning pegs/under fretted notes/sticks to my face/gets inhaled when I try to sing, but summer is already here in Central Texas and it's just too fuckin hot to have such a Cousin Itt mop of tangles and fuck knots. Will talk to Deanna's friend Erin about a trim.
Will take the rest of the day off til the gig, was thinking of mowing and maybe taking Nacho running. Fuck that, I really need to rest.
Bill Webb at Austin Vintage will be calling later today re: the wiring of my stricken Isovent cab. With the next few weekends being quite lucrative may actually have money for new speakers. That and discovered the annoying rattling from the low E tuning key on my bass is not from the key housing, but from the actual key part being loose in the tuner. Well shit. Fixed it punk rock style with some duct tape, seems to be working so far, and looks much less obvious than a piece of paper jammed behind the key.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Whoops, life got away from me.
So I may be putting together at least a one-off solo band to play some 'Ocean of Stars' and 'Red River Day Care' material for a date in June. It's my friend Val's birthday and looks like Ironclad will be able to play it. Awesome enough. But figured "Why stop there?" So called Adrian Conner about playing 2nd guitar since Adrian and the Sickness will be on that bill as well. She's down so far! Called Richard from ETB about drumming, haven't heard back. Will talk to Tim from Ironclad bout playing bass, since he will be there that night as well, heh. If he can't due to time constraints at the studio he works at, maybe ask Heather Webb from AATS since she'll be there that night too. Makes sense. We'll see how it goes.
Right now listening to Rolling Stones 'Tumblin Dice' to learn by Mother Truckers practice tomorrow, that along with "Waitin on a Friend" and Skynyrd "Call Me The Breeze" for a wedding we're playing at the Zilker Clubhouse on Saturday. Speaking of which, gonna be a long-ass weekend. Play with ETB at the Steel Penny in San Angelo Friday night, then drive back overnight so I can load in at the wedding at 3pm. Then will haul ass to Antone's to play a last-minute ETB show later than night. Welcome to my life. Sucks we have no time to promote the Antone's show and ETB will have played for free on 6th Street twice that week already.
Last night with ETB @ Friends was alright, not an atypical Monday. Opening band finished an hour early. Thanks, guys. So we went on at 9:30, I was already toast by set break around 11-something. And we still had to play another set. Damn. But we called it a little early so that was good. Felt pretty sloppy as I haven't touched an instrument since Wednesday of last week.
Tomorrow have 6pm Truckers practice, then an unusual Wednesday night at BD Riley's on 6th Street. Private-ish party with a guarantee so bring it on. Will help me get caught up on bills, at least for this month...
Was in a very heavy mood going into last weekend. Was so burned out and tired after our bi-monthly Wednesday ETB Maggie Mae's show that I grabbed my gear and took off early rather than stay all night waiting to get paid. Burned out on 6th Street. Burned out on playing all the time for a payout that's not always worth it. With the divorce I am worse off financially now than I was 10 years ago when I first moved to Austin. The money (gigs, mostly) is usually there when I need it, but it is still very hairy from month to month. Can barely afford dog food. But hard times are like rough seas, you have to keep a steady course and just get through it. And try not to sink.
So then after my Wednesday night doldrums, got an early Thursday AM text from the Big Name TX Country band asking if I was available for Friday and Saturday. Seriously?!? Never mind I had been planning for 2 weeks to spend the weekend in Corpus Christi w/my family for Mother's Day. Wanted to call the guy back and tell him "No, and don't ever call me again. Screw you and screw Big Name TX Country artist." The whole situation has been nothing but squirrely for the past year. But an big opportunity is a big opportunity, as much as I'd like to be Rock N Roll and "keep it real" and that would be a good example of "when keeping it real goes wrong", heh.
So called the contact and he apologized for the late notice and could hear the frustration in my voice, said he was waiting back to hear from a bassist he called right before me. Told him I'd be available if needed. $500 when I really need it is $500, just sayin. But previous guy came through, so instead of making more than twice what I still owed in rent I had a wonderful weekend with my family. It's all good.
So I may be putting together at least a one-off solo band to play some 'Ocean of Stars' and 'Red River Day Care' material for a date in June. It's my friend Val's birthday and looks like Ironclad will be able to play it. Awesome enough. But figured "Why stop there?" So called Adrian Conner about playing 2nd guitar since Adrian and the Sickness will be on that bill as well. She's down so far! Called Richard from ETB about drumming, haven't heard back. Will talk to Tim from Ironclad bout playing bass, since he will be there that night as well, heh. If he can't due to time constraints at the studio he works at, maybe ask Heather Webb from AATS since she'll be there that night too. Makes sense. We'll see how it goes.
Right now listening to Rolling Stones 'Tumblin Dice' to learn by Mother Truckers practice tomorrow, that along with "Waitin on a Friend" and Skynyrd "Call Me The Breeze" for a wedding we're playing at the Zilker Clubhouse on Saturday. Speaking of which, gonna be a long-ass weekend. Play with ETB at the Steel Penny in San Angelo Friday night, then drive back overnight so I can load in at the wedding at 3pm. Then will haul ass to Antone's to play a last-minute ETB show later than night. Welcome to my life. Sucks we have no time to promote the Antone's show and ETB will have played for free on 6th Street twice that week already.
Last night with ETB @ Friends was alright, not an atypical Monday. Opening band finished an hour early. Thanks, guys. So we went on at 9:30, I was already toast by set break around 11-something. And we still had to play another set. Damn. But we called it a little early so that was good. Felt pretty sloppy as I haven't touched an instrument since Wednesday of last week.
Tomorrow have 6pm Truckers practice, then an unusual Wednesday night at BD Riley's on 6th Street. Private-ish party with a guarantee so bring it on. Will help me get caught up on bills, at least for this month...
Was in a very heavy mood going into last weekend. Was so burned out and tired after our bi-monthly Wednesday ETB Maggie Mae's show that I grabbed my gear and took off early rather than stay all night waiting to get paid. Burned out on 6th Street. Burned out on playing all the time for a payout that's not always worth it. With the divorce I am worse off financially now than I was 10 years ago when I first moved to Austin. The money (gigs, mostly) is usually there when I need it, but it is still very hairy from month to month. Can barely afford dog food. But hard times are like rough seas, you have to keep a steady course and just get through it. And try not to sink.
So then after my Wednesday night doldrums, got an early Thursday AM text from the Big Name TX Country band asking if I was available for Friday and Saturday. Seriously?!? Never mind I had been planning for 2 weeks to spend the weekend in Corpus Christi w/my family for Mother's Day. Wanted to call the guy back and tell him "No, and don't ever call me again. Screw you and screw Big Name TX Country artist." The whole situation has been nothing but squirrely for the past year. But an big opportunity is a big opportunity, as much as I'd like to be Rock N Roll and "keep it real" and that would be a good example of "when keeping it real goes wrong", heh.
So called the contact and he apologized for the late notice and could hear the frustration in my voice, said he was waiting back to hear from a bassist he called right before me. Told him I'd be available if needed. $500 when I really need it is $500, just sayin. But previous guy came through, so instead of making more than twice what I still owed in rent I had a wonderful weekend with my family. It's all good.
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