Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Jason Boland & the Stragglers at Cowboys Dancehall

It's been about a year since i have seen Jason Boland & the Stragglers. Quite a few changes have come about since then. Fiddler Noah Jeffries left to follow his dream with his own band MilkDrive, original Straggler Jeremy Watkins filled in but has since left the road and has been replaced by Cory Morrow's fiddle player Nick Worley. Steel guitarist, gutarist, and mandolin player extraordinaire Roger Ray considered leaving to support American Idol runner up and Fort Worth Texas native Casey James but thankfully has decided to remain a Straggler. Brad Rice has relied on Shine percussion but has switched to Spau
n. Jason shaved his head and grew a beard but long time bassist Grant Tracy is still his jolly ole self. Jason debuted a new song at Cowboys Dancehall San Antonio, i'm not sure what the title is but it sure was catchy both melodically and lyrically. It was great to catch up with everyone backstage and i'm looking forward to seeing them again soon, probably at the Lone Star Jam in Austin at the beginning of May if not sooner. Taking a good photo that i am happy with of Jason has always personally eluded me until that night. The a
bove photo is probably my personal best of Jason so far.

Brandon Rhyder at the San Antonio Rodeo kick off BBQ at Seaworld


Brandon Rhyder opened for the Departed at Sea World in San Antonio at the BBQ kick off party. Over 240 BBQ teams competed from all over the United States, the scale, presentation and the food was exceptional. I have seen episodes of the Discovery Channel series BBQ Pitmasters but it doesn't compare to experiencing an event like this in person and taking in the sights and smells of the art of BBQ. Saturday on the main stage not far into the offi
cial Sea World park Brandon Rhyder and old and new fans braved the cold to hear a great set. The temperature dipped into the lower thirties but the music k
ept everyone cozy. Bass player Keegan Reed shared the stage with his
brother Kyle for a couple songs and Brandon announced pl

ans to release an acoustic project he's been working on.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mike McClure & Javi Garcia at Sam's Burger Joint.


Living up in Michigan i always had Sam's Burger Joint in the back of my mind as a place i wanted to visit in San Antonio because of the great shows they bo
ok. It took me a while, a couple months to finally get to a show but i found a good one. I haven't seen Mike since Country Fever in Pryor Oklahoma back in 2009 and haven't ever seen Javi Garcia. Javi lives in N
ew Braunfels Texas and is a very intense singer songwriter who is able to get it out on stage and is surprisingly mellow off stage. Mike brought Bryon White from the Damn Quails
along and was with his regular powerhouse trio of Eric Hanson on drums and Tiny, also known as Tom
Skinner on bass. Mike was loose and having fun on stage taking requests and telli
ng some really funny stories, being at the front of the stage i yelled out to play "Belly of the Beast" and he played it right away, it's one of my favorite songs and it just plain rocks. Mike's latest disc is titled "50 Billion" and it's one of his best. Pick up
Javi's "Southern Horror" disc and the McClure produced Damn
Quails disc, good stuff.








Monday, January 16, 2012

Reckless Kelly at Cowboys Dancehall, San Antonio.




Austin's Reckless Kelly made a stop in San Antonio on their tour to play a Saturda
y night show at Cowboys Dancehall. With their latest album "Good Luck and True Love" nominate
d for a Grammy for best artwork and a reputation as one of the most uncompromising bands in the Red Dirt/Americana music scene i always know i am in for a solid show. Usually i saw them at Joe's in Chicago where the crowd is rowdy and energetic. The crowd at Cowboys was a little se
date but the band played as enthusiastically as anywhere else.




Monday, January 9, 2012

Eli Young Band at Cowboys Dancehall, San Antonio.




University of Texas and Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens is a fan and came out on stage to hand James Young a guitar and whether you like him or not, i now wish i would have k
nown and brought one of my rookie cards for him to sign. Tonight January 9, 2012, the band will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and they flew out to L.A. for the show yesterday. It's always great for me to see a band that you have followed for years see success on a National level and remain humble small town kids.



Sunday, January 1, 2012

Luckenbach Texas Calendar Photo

This image taken recently in Luckenbach Texas will be used on a new calendar that will be available for purchase inside this building, the famous Luckenbach post office building which is now the souvenir shop.