Quick update

Busy busy busy, which is good good good.

Last weekend swung through Arizona with Thunderosa, hitting San Angelo TX on the way out.

Llano TX

The run was a blast, and a resounding success. Thursday in SATX was ok, slow night but fun. The AZ gigs rocked, as they are singer/guitartist AJ Mancabelli's old stomping grounds. Was great to get to share the stage with old friend Mike Mihina's band Love Mound in Tucson, and share the stage with him in AJ playing as Big Mean. Awesome times with awesome people!

San Angelo TX to Tucson AZ: 720 miles. Ouch. Drove straight to the venue.

West TX

El Paso TX

The Bashful Bandit, Tucson AZ

Tucson AZ the next morning

The Airplane Graveyard, Tucson AZ

Triple T Truck Stop, Tucson AZ. Recommended

En route to Phoenix AZ

Big Mean: AJ Mancabelli, Mike Mihina, Danny G at Chopper John's in PHX

Setting up for Thunderosa, photo by Kim Radke

AJ on the bar at Chopper John's

Good times. Mike Mihina, Drew "Deathproof" Underhill, AJ Mancabelli, Everett Dolgner, Danny G

Drove straight back from AZ, stopping again in Tucson on the way back to see more of AJ's friends.

Wow.

Tucson is the most metal city ever.

Moonrise somewhere in the desert

Got back into town at 8:30am Monday morning. Had 4pm Ocean of Stars rehearsal that afternoon.

Tuesday night was the benefit show for local bass legend Appa Perry at Skylark Lounge, who recently had a stroke and is just about back to 100% (!!!!!!!) but is still stuck with some hefty medical bills.

What an amazing night of music, and definitely an amazing showing of love and support for Appa, as well as a meeting of Austin music royalty. Gary Clarke Jr with Eve Monsees, missed Carolyn Wonderland. Local blues legend and master Alan Haynes, etc etc etc. Appa sat in with damn near all the bands.

Gary Clarke Jr and Eve Monsees

Gary and Appa

The Man Himself, Appa Perry

Alan Haynes and Appa

I got to play some bass as well with Ulrich Ellison (filling in for his wife/bassist Sabine Ellison), and was joined by our good friend Andy MacIntyre. Good friend and bandmate Adrian Conner in attendance, as well as Loca Maria from Maria's Taco Express.

Just, wow!

Wednesday night was the Gypsy Lounge show with Ocean of Stars.

A resounding success!

Radio came aboard to help promote the show. Good friend Loris Lowe of KLBJ-FM asked if I'd swing by Tuesday night for an interview for Local Licks, which due to the Appa benefit I had to regretfully decline.

That same day Laurie Gallardo of KUT-Austin asked for some music as she was featuring Ocean of Stars and myself on the Austin Music Minute. Wow!

The show was well attended for a Wednesday night in mid-December. PetCatMan opened the show with their experimental soundscapes. Very avant garde and Pink Floyd esque at time.

PetCatMan

OoS had a very good crowd and welcome reception, and we played a very strong set. My confidence (which has been admittedly up and down for quite awhile) in this musical experiment is now through the roof. Just wow. I have really assembled an amazing grouping of musicians :D

Ocean of Stars, photos courtesy Kristy Duff Wallace:

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive too! A good friend had this to say: "Just, WOW. This is the most amazing thing you've ever been involved in... the music is like something out of a dream!"

Holy shit.

But didn't get to have much time after our set to mingle, I then had to play a set with Thunderosa haha!

Tho OoS was the main attraction for the night, people stuck around for some fist-in-the-air rock n roll. Great set, as we were still hella tight from the weekend! Fun times!

Will post pics from the above events very soon.

In the meantime, I need to walk Nacho, pack and take a shower in prep for Thunderosa in McAllen and Laredo TX this weekend, and coming straight back Sunday to play the Saxon Pub with Deann Rene.

Gotta run!!!

December, and beyond

Had rehearsal last night with Adrian (and the Sickness).

That was a blast. Knocked the rust off some of the stuff we don't play very often and some of the harder songs. Playing in San Antonio Friday at the Tonic Bar, and we'll be playing all night.

Even tho there were some flubs, in general holy shit we sounded tight! Good to play with Adrian and Armando again as always! And hopefully we don't get rear-ended again at speed on I-35 like we did last time we played there...

The following week Ocean of Stars gets together mid-week to prep for the Dec 17 gig, then I will be covering some ground with Thunderosa that weekend.

Thurs Dec 11 in San Angelo at the Deadhorse, then hauling ass to play the next night in Tucson at The Bashful Bandit, then Saturday in Phoenix at Chopper John's. Then haul ass right back to Austin that Sunday, have hopefully another OoS rehearsal that Monday.

The kicker for the Thunderosa run is for one (or hopefully BOTH dates), AJ and I will be backing up our good friend Mike Mihina for Love Mound as the rhythm section. Mike is a top-notch individual, and a bad ass musician.

I first met Mike on the Southern Gun Culture 'March To The Sea' New Orleans-to-Los Angeles run in 2003. SGC played Tucson AZ with Love Mound and Solid Donkey. Great line up. Have been friends with Mike as well as Julia from S.D. ever since.

Reconnected with him in 2006 when Love Mound played during SXSW 2006, and consequently met AJ for the first time as he was drumming for Mike. I was putting together Ironclad at the time and asked AJ if he wanted to play drums. He never got back to me hahaha. A year or two later, Ironclad played with Love Mound again during SXSW in 2007-ish? at a record store which I can't even remember the name of now, but it was a great place and a great day party show.

Mike also came out to the Adrian and the Sickness Tucson show back in May. We talked about me doing some guest guitar tracks on the new Love Mound album, which I of course agreed to like a motherfucker!

We are still talking about that, and it will happen very very soon. Keep y'all posted!

The week after the break-neck AZ run is the Wed Dec 17 Gypsy Lounge show that Ocean of Stars is playing.

Which by promoting the show I inadvertently filled out the bill. Photographer/musician Ricardo Acevedo asked if his project PetCatMan could open, I replied it isn't really up to me but pointed him to Nancy LaBarbiera who offered us the date. She put them on the bill at 9pm before our 10pm. Then AJ asked, I directed him to Nancy, and now looks like Thunderosa is playing after OoS at 11pm. And I will be playing bass, as I and my bass rig will be there anyway. Hahaha.

Thursday Dec 18 I'll be playing with Heather Bishop for a Mobile Loaves and Fishes benefit/event. Then Friday and Saturday I will be playing the Rio Grande Valley with Thunderosa, in McAllen TX at Smokin Aces on the 19th and Laredo TX at The Cold Brew Rock n Metal Bar on the 20th. Then hauling ass back to Austin so I can play an afternoon set with Deann Rene Band at the Saxon Pub on Sunday the 21st.

Then probably spending the entire week of Christmas with my family. Returning to Austin to play with Sean Evan and the Very Handsome Band Saturday Dec 27 at Pat O'Brien's in San Antonio.

Busy busy busy. No plans yet for New Years Eve, but my schedule is certainly open.