Rodeo Radio Event And Other Stuff..

Greetings and salutations to all! I hope your having a good week! I know, I am. Yes, it's been another busy week on the SDR front, so let's get right to, the latest news.

We will be performing live, this Saturday, December 15th at 8pm CST. This is for a private Christmas party, in McKinney, Texas. The good new is, though, that you can join in on the fun, too! That's right! We will be broadcasting, live from the Christmas party! You can access the performance, by going to our website, www.sanddollarrodeo.com and clicking on the "SDR" logo at the top of the page. Just to clarify though, this will be an audio, only, feed. We do not have the capabilities, at present time, for a video cast. We are really excited, as this will be our first live performance, since the Angels In Tropical Shirts benefit, back on September 22, of this year. We will be debuting, quite a bit of new material. We may also throw in a Christmas song or two, so be sure and log on. It should be a great time!

In other news, we have received three nominations, from the internet radio site, Beach Front Radio. Two of our songs, GPS To Nowhere and Carry Me Home, have been nominated for song of the year. SDR, has also been nominated for band of the year. We are very excited and humbled by the nominations. If you get a chance, could you please stop by Beach Front Radio's website located here www.beachfrontradio.com and vote for your favorite SDR song, out of the two listed above. Feel free to go ahead and vote us, band of the year, also, if you feel we are deserving.

Marti has been busy, as well. She has booked several new shows for us. We were originally scheduled to play Boozer's, in Weatherford, on February 15. That show was cancelled, due to the club closing. Instead, we will be playing at the Oui Lounge on February 15 at 9pm. The Oui is located at 3509 Bluebonnet Circle, Ft. Worth, Texas. For more information on the Oui Lounge, please feel free to check out their Facebook page.

The next night, February 16th, we will be heading south to Glen Rose, Texas, for a show at Hollywood and Vine. SDR will take the stage at 7pm. For more information on Hollywood and Vine, check out their website www.hollywoodandvinerestaurant.com Looks like some good food!

 

On Saturday, March 2, SDR will make it's first appearance in Dallas, at the Across the Street Bar. This is ironically enough, across the street from the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU), hence it's name. You can check out their website here www.acrossthestreetbar.com  Joining us, on this night, will be August & J. I went to school with both of these guys, and they are awesome! Both musically, and personally. They are currently promoting their latest album, entitled "40".  You can check them out at their official website located here www.augustandj.com While your at it, please check out the new music video, for their latest single, entitled, "For Once" I have embeded it, at the bottom of this blog post. This video is picking up a lot of steam, and is at almost 3,000,000 views, as of this blog posting. We are really looking forward to this show. So, if your in Dallas, that night, c'mon by. The show starts at 9:30pm.

We will be at Woody Creek BBQ on Friday, March 8, at 7pm. This is the Ft. Worth location, next to Ridgmar Mall, located at 6986 Green Oaks Road. I just wanted to clarify this, as they also have a location out in Springtown, Texas. For more information on Woody Creek, you can visit them here www.woodycreekbbq.com They have some great barbeque, so come on out and join us, for dinner and a cold drink.

On Saturday, March 23, we will be back at Hollywood and Vine, in Glen Rose, at 7pm. Glen Rose is a really neat, little town. They have Dinosaur Valley State Park, which is really cool. For more information, check them out here http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/dinosaur-valley They also have Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. This place is really neat. You can drive through the park, and various animals, and critters will come right up to your car! It is really something you should experience, at least once. If you have kids, they will love it! Heck, I love it, but I'm a kid at heart. For more information on Fossil Rim, please check out their website here www.fossilrim.org We plan on hitting both of these places, on one of our trips down to Glen Rose. So bring the family out, make a day out of it, and then relax, with some food and music, afterwords.

Well, that's all I have for this week. Thanks for reading, and for your continued support! Talk to ya soon!

 

 

Another Busy Week

Well, just as the title suggests, it was another busy week on the SDR front. Roy and I spent the last week, working on the new album. The album is coming together, very nicely. We made a couple of decisions on the album, that brings it more into focus, and gives us a gameplan on finishing it. First, we decided on a title. We kicked around several ideas including, just calling it Sand Dollar Rodeo, but eventually decided on, GPS To Nowhere. It's named after one of our songs, that has the same name. We think it describes us perfectly, as we have no idea where this journey will eventually take us.

We also made a decision about a song, that was on the bubble. It's a song called What Happens Now. We always planned on playing it at the live shows, but were unsure on whether to include it on the album or not. You see, it's sort of a Christmas song, but it has a message, that can be applied year round. We want to promote this message throughout the year, not just at Christmas, so we decided to include it on the album. You will probably also hear this song at most, if not all, of our live shows, as well.

We have decided to include at least 12 tracks on the album, but more then likely, it will end up being 13 tracks. Right now, we have 11 slots filled. In addition, we have one acoustic instrumental piece, where the lyrics are still being written. This song is slated to be included on the album. Roy and I, also have a couple of other songs that we are working on. I have some lyrics and a basic melody, for a possible song, and Roy is working on another song idea, that is basically at the same stage as the one I'm working on. We will see how things go with these, and make a decision shortly.

As of right now, 7 of the tracks are basically done. We still have some tweaks to do here and there, but the hard part is done. The music is basically done, for two other songs. We just need to record the vocals for these two. We have two other songs, where the backing tracks are done. I still need to record the guitar tracks for these, and Roy needs to add the vocals. The aforementioned acoustic track, still needs the lyrics finished, and the other instruments added. Recording has not even begun ,on this one, yet.

To say we are excited about the album, would be an understatement! We can't wait to get it done, and in to your hands!

On the live show front, their have been a couple of changes. First, our show scheduled for Saturday, January 5, 2013, at Wet Willie's is still on. The club has changed names and owners, though. The new name of the club is called The Dirt Road Dance Hall.

I noticed this, as I was driving home, on Sunday afternoon. This club sits right off of Interstate 20, at the west outskirts of Fort Worth. Anytime, I drive into Fort Worth, I pass right by it. I really didn't think anything about it at the time, though later on, at home, it finally hit me, like a ton of bricks! New owners, new management, do we still have a show there? I went into panic mode, and told my wife, that I was going to go down there and see what was going on. Ever the penny pincher, she said, "Why don't you just call down there, before wasting gas?" I said, "I doubt anyone is down there on a Sunday afternoon." She said, "Well, I'm going to find out, before you waste your time, driving down there." She proceeded to call the club, and actually reached someone. She asked them about the name change, and was about to let them go, when I held up my hands, and whispered, "Wait! I need to know the status of our show!" She told the guy, "Hold on a minute, my husband wants to talk to you." She then handed me the phone, without any warning. I talked to the guy and explained my reason for calling. He said that I needed to talk to the person, who books the shows. I was transferred to him, explained who I was, and the situation. He proceeded to tell me, that Marti had called him, and cancelled the show! I knew this had to be a mistake, so I quickly found my phone, and called Marti, while having the other guy on my wife's phone. I quickly explained everything, as fast as I could, and asked her if she had cancelled the show. She said, "No!!", and continued on, "I have been over this, with them, a thousand times!" I won't repeat everything else that was said, on here, but let's just say that Marti, was a little aggravated.

The next few minutes were total chaos, on my end. I had a phone in each ear, and pen and paper, in hand. Marti was talking in one ear, and the booking agent, for the club, was talking in the other. After several minutes, he confirmed that he still had us on the books, and was looking forward to seeing us. Marti and I, breathed a sigh of relief. She said she was still going to send a follow up email, to confirm everything. The next morning, she sent a confirmation email, advising that everything was still on. Whew! What a crazy Sunday, that turned out to be!

We've also had a change, with our February 15, 2013 booking, at Boozer's, in Weatherford. Marti received a call from them, advising that they had sold the location. They have another location in Granbury. We are not sure, if they sold both locations or not. The booking agent at Boozer's, told Marti that they were trying to book as many shows, as possible, at the Granbury location. As of now, we are not sure if we will be playing in Granbury, or not. We will update our website www.sanddollarrodeo.com , as soon as we have more information.

Marti, has also reached out to some big names, in the Texas music industry, about us possibly being an opening act, for some of them. No word yet, on anything, but we are very excited about the possibilities.

That's all I have for now. Talk to ya next week, possibly, probably, or for sure!

The Latest News

Whew! Well, it's been a very busy last couple of weeks, for me. Both personally, and with Sand Dollar Rodeo. Last week, of course, was Thanksgiving week. I took some time off from my day job, but still seemed just as busy. Among other things, I had to get my drivers license renewed, take care of some guitar maintenance, and put up Christmas lights!

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time. Am I thankful, for anything? You bet I am! I have been blessed beyond belief. I have a wonderful, immediate and extended family, as well as some great friends! I've finally found a great musical project that I am super excited about, and to top it all off, Christmas is coming! I love this time of year. I'm also thankful for the roof over my head, and a car that starts every time. I celebrated a birthday, on the 24th of this month, and couldn't have asked for a better day! I'm thankful for another year on this earth, and looking forward to what 2013 has in store for me. I know this may not seem like much, but it is to me, and it seems like a lot of times, we take these types of blessings for granted. I know that I have been guilty of that, in the past. I have so many other things to be thankful for, that I could probably write a book about it.

On the SDR front, it has been a very busy, couple of weeks. Roy and I auditioned a percussionist, to help us with the live shows. I had previously met him, when I was working with the Talking Heads tribute band. We went through all the songs, and he picked them up quickly. After the rehearsal, we offered him the job, and he accepted. His name is Cisco, so when you see his name mentioned in future blog posts, you will know who I'm talking about. We all meshed really well, and I'm looking forward to a long, and fun, working relationship. I'm really glad that we did not have to place ads, and audition a lot of people.

This past weekend, Roy and I worked on the upcoming album. We made a lot of progress, and are really excited about it. We completed the music tracks for two new songs, and will spend this upcoming weekend, recording, as well. December will be a very busy month as we alternate between recording, and getting ready for the upcoming live shows.

Speaking of live shows, Marti booked another show for us. We will be making our first appearance in Weatherford, Texas, on Friday, February 15, 2013. We will be playing at Boozers. Showtime is 9pm. If you are in the area that day, drop on by and see us! It will be a good time. For more information on Boozer's, you can check out their website here www.boozersbar.net Marti is also working on several other shows. She has so many irons in the fire, right now, that I can't keep up with them all. This is a very good thing though, so I'm not complaining!

Roy has been hard at work, as well. He has totally overhauled, and redesigned our website. You can check it out here www.sanddollarrodeo.com Roy has also started a blog, of his own, called Holliday Road. His blog will primarily focus on the details of each SDR live show, including, the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. Here is a link to his blog http://royholliday.blogspot.com or you can find a link to it on the official SDR website, listed above. So, what are you waiting for? Go check it out! Their should be some interesting stories coming up.

Well, that about wraps it up for now. Until next time, as Jerry Springer would say, "Take care of yourselves and each other." And to Maury, "No, I am NOT the father!" Talk to ya soon, and stay safe out there!

Happenings And Events

Hello gang! It's been a busy, and eventful last couple of weeks, around the SDR fold. I wanted to hop on here, to give everyone the lowdown, on what's happening. Not the old TV show, mind you, but with us!

First off, we have regretfully decided to cancel our Rodeo Radio event, which was originally scheduled for this Saturday, November 17. While we hate to do this, it's actually not a bad thing. You see, Marti has already booked five live shows for us. These shows will kick off in January. As a result, we have had to shift gears, and really start preparing for these shows. We also have a live show scheduled in McKinney, Texas, at 8pm on Saturday, December 15. This is a private Christmas party. We are, however, looking at broadcasting this performance, over the internet. I will keep you up to date on this, as we get closer to the date.

With that said, we have also decided to expand our lineup, for the live shows. We will be adding a percussionist. We plan to meet with a potential percussionist, this Saturday. This is another reason for the cancellation of Rodeo Radio. Hopefully, all will go well with this, and we can continue moving forward.

As I stated earlier, we are very busy, preparing for our live shows. We are in the process, of putting together some cover tunes, to fill out our set. Learning covers, is a time consuming experience. While you can sometimes take some liberties with them, for the most part, you want to stick to the original formula. We've all heard bad cover versions of songs, and how awful they can be. Roy and I are trying to avoid this, and thus, we are being super selective on the cover songs that we will play, and what liberties we will take with them.

Our primary focus though, is the original music. That is our passion, and what we enjoy doing the most. It's the reason, SDR exists. We are working hard on our debut album, and hope to have it out, early next year. We have not set a deadline on the album. It will be done, when it's done. Hopefully, sooner then later, though. We are currently, in the process, of writing several new songs. These will be added to the setlist, as they are completed.

2013, looks to be avery promising year, and we are looking forward to bringing our music to you. Marti, is filling our calendar up very quickly. If you are interested in booking SDR, please contact her her here eventsbymarti@sbcglobal.net Below, is a listing of all of our shows, currently on the books:

Friday, January 4, 2013-Fred's Texas Cafe, Ft.Worth, TX 7pm, No Cover

Saturday, January 5, 2013-Wild Wet Willie's Saloon, Aledo, TX 9pm, $10

Saturday, January 12, 2013-Keller Tavern, Keller, TX 8pm, No Cover

Friday, January 25, 2013-Buffalo West, Ft.Worth, TX 7pm, No Cover

Saturday, May 4, 2013-Mayfest, Ft. Worth, TX 6:30pm, Park Admission

For more information on these shows please check out our reverb page at www.reverbnation.com/sandollarrodeo You can also check us out on our official site at www.sanddollarrodeo.com our facebook page www.facebook.com/sanddollarrodeo or our Twitter feed @SandDollarRodeo

We anticipate several other shows, being booked, over the next several weeks. Please feel free to check the sites, for updates. That's all I got for now. Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!

Ahh...Craigslist!

I have a confession to make. I think I may have an addiction. This is a very common thing, among musicians. Heck, even Roy, has an addiction. His, is called fried okra! For more information on that, please check out our song, with the same name here www.sanddollarrodeo.com  As for mine, it's not a food, drink, or drug, but a website. The website in question? You guessed it, it's Craigslist. For those of you not familar with it, it's basically an online garage sale and/or classified ads website. You can place, and respond to ads, for free. What's really nice, is you do not have to give out your personal contact information. If you place an ad, you can set it up with an anonymous email link. That way, the person that responds to your ad, does not have access to your real email address, until you want them to. The site contains ads, for just about everything, that you can imagine. From items for sale, to job listings, garage sale ads, services, housing, and personal ads. I would probably avoid the last one though, but that's just my opinion.

I was introduced to Craigslist, through a buddy of mine, who is a bass player. We've known each other since grade school, and have played together in a few projects, over the years.

Let me stop right here, for a moment. Most musicians have a condition called G.A.S. No, it's not a build up of flatulence, but a condition known as Gear Aquisition Syndrome. I'm not making this up! Don't believe me, Google it! You'll see many musicians, make reference to it.

Anyway, my friend, as I, had this condition. I still have it, to some degree. Whenever, someone in the band would mention something about gear, he would say, "Craigslist." I noticed that he was buying and selling, quite a bit of geat on there. He was getting, said gear, at great prices too!

I started scanning Craigslist, in my spare time. I was never looking for anything, in particular, just kind of seeing what it was all about. My first experience, with any sort of transaction, occured a few months later. It was actually on a guitar trade. Big surprise, huh?

I had acquired a Paul Reed Smith, several months before. At the time, I thought it was the perfect guitar, for me. It played like butter, and looked great, but I never bonded with it. One of the mistakes that I made, was not testing it out with my amp. I guess I was just so blinded, by the G.A.S, that I figured it would sound fine with my rig. To make a long story short, I could never get that guitar dialed in, with my rig. I was not happy, with the way it sounded. The pickups on it were very hot, which made it almost impossible to get a nice clean sound. I was really disappointed, and trying to figure out what to do, next. I really dreaded telling my wife this, as I had bugged her to death about this guitar, and how much I "needed" it. I finally got up the courage to broach the subject with her, and she was very understanding. I just explained the way I was feeling, about the situation. She suggested that I look at either selling it, or maybe work out a trade on another guitar.

I decided to start browsing Craigslist, to see what was out there, and what I might be interested in. A couple of Gibson Les Pauls caught my eye, but my thinking was, "Yeah, right! That will never happen, so just forget about it." I had always wanted one, but they can be very pricey. I found out, through my research, that Gibson made a lower end Les Paul called a "Studio". It didn't have all of the bells and whistles of the more fancier models, but I thought, "Why not go try one?"

I headed out to Guitar Center one day, to check them out. I played several of them and thought they sounded pretty good, and were nice and all, but they didn't "wow" me. I discussed a trade with them, but the terms were laughable, and I declined. I discussed the dilemma, with a guitar player, friend of mine, and he suggested swapping out the pickups. I explored the option, but it was going to run me about $350.00 to do this, and their was no guarantee that I would be satisified with the sound, once it was done. I decided against the pickup swap, and continued looking for a deal on Craigslist.

On Labor Day morning, 2010, I was off of work, for the holiday. I was browsing Craigslist, when I ran across an ad, that caught my eye. The person was looking to sell or trade his Gibson Les Paul "Classic", for a Paul Reed Smith. The model he was looking for, just so happened, to be the one that I had! I contacted him, to see if he would be interested in working something out. He responded, rather quickly, asking if I could send him some pictures of my guitar. I sent the pictures, and received a response, that he was interested in my guitar. He lived about 30 minutes away, and I agreed to meet him at his place, much to my wife's dismay!

The only way this deal was going to happen, would be a straight up trade, and I was not sure if that was gonna happen, or not. You see, this guitar had been upgraded with some Seymour Duncan pickups, and he was asking about $300 more, then what my guitar had cost me. It was a fair price, for what it was. I figured it was worth the chance to drive out, though. The worst he could say, was no, right?

As I mentioned earlier, my wife was not real happy with this arrangement. I guess she was having paranoid visions of me walking into Leatherface's, Jason's or Michael Myers' lair, or some such. She had strict instructions for me to text her when I got there, text her five minutes after that, and to text her, when I was leaving. Failure to comply, would result in her calling the police, and having them dispatched to this guy's address. I thought she was overreacting, a little, but I complied, as that would be a very embarrassing situation, and I really hoped to work out a deal. I'm sure, the police showing up at this guy's house, would have killed any deal.

I grabbed my amp and guitar, and headed over to the location. I texted my wife, to let her know I had made it. I met the guy, and knew right away that he was not a serial killer. Still, I obliged my wife, and sent her another text, informing her that I was still alive and well.

I plugged that guitar up to my amp, and knew right away that I wanted it bad! It was perfect. It played like a dream, and had a nice warm sound. The other guy was checking out my guitar. I honestly didn't think he would do the deal. Best case, I thought he might trade, and ask for $200 to $300 on my end, which I was not in a position to do. He agreed, that the guitar had really hot pickups in it, and that he would probably want to change them out. I had mentioned this to him, before we ever met, just to make sure he would still be interested. I told him how much I was quoted for a pickup change, and figured that would be the end of the deal. He looked over the guitar for sometime and finally said, "Well, I can't believe that I'm about to trade a Les Paul, but I really like yours better." Trying to hide my out and out joy, was nearly impossible. I honestly couldn't believe that the deal was going down! I was going, to be going, home with a Les Paul! At this point, I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could, before he could change his mind. I loaded up my amp and new guitar, texted my wife, to let her know that I survived, and headed home.

From that point on, I was hooked. I became a Cragislist "junkie". I was always looking, for some sort of deal. My wife would mention something, that she might want, and I would always jump on Craigslist first. Mainly, I just wanted to see if their were any awesome deals out there.

Last summer, 2011, I had my first experiences, selling on Craigslist. I was in the market for a new road bicycle, and decided to part with a couple of items. The first item was a lower end guitar, that I was no longer using. This was a great little guitar but, it was just taking up space now. I received quite a few responses, but only one concrete offer. I cringed at the offer though, as the guy lived in Abilene, which is about 2 hours west, of me. He proposed that we meet in Eastland, which would be an hour drive for both of us. He said he would give me my asking price, so I agreed to it. My wife was really not thrilled about this, as she said, "Well, I guess I get to spend my Friday evening, going to Eastland." I was somewhat surprised by this, and asked, "Your going with me?" She responded, "Uh, yeah! Do you think I'm going to let you drive all the way out there to meet some stranger?" I just laughed, and told her that I would be fine, but she was having none of that.

We headed out, and met the gentleman in a Wal Mart parking lot. He had his wife with him, also. I guess she was probably thinking the same thing, that my wife was. He looked over the guitar, was satisfied, and handed me the cash. We visited for a few minutes, until both of our wives rolled down the car windows, indicating that it was time to go. On the way home, we stopped in Strawn, Texas, for a great meal at Mary's Cafe. If your ever out that way, be sure and check it out. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

My next deal was on a bicycle, that I had purchased from Wal Mart. This, along with the guitar, were going towards the purchase of my new road bike. My wife insisted that I buy an inexpensive bike, first, to see if I would enjoy the sport. I reluctantly agreed, but in hindsight, it was the smart decision. I rode my Wal Mart bike, for a little over a month, and was hooked. I decided it was time to upgrade and my wife agreed. The thing that we didn't realize though, was we could have returned the bike within 30 days, and received a full refund, no questions asked. We missed the deadline by a few days, though.

I had been scouring Craigslist, looking for a good used bike. I did a lot of research, and narrowed my choices, down to a few models, that I liked. In the end though, I decided to buy a new bike, as these types of bikes require some maintenance, and mechanical skills. I possessed neither, at the time. Another added bonus was, that the bike store could professionally fit me to the most appropriate bike. They also offered lifetime adjustments on the bike, itself. I decided to forego the Craigslist route, this time, even though I could have found a used bike, cheaper. In the long run, I know I made the right choice.

I listed my Wal Mart bike, on Craigslist, for $125. I was hoping to get $100 for it, but if someone offered to pay the asking price, all the better. Again, I received several inquiries, but only one of them turned serious. The guy asked if I would be willing to take $100, if he liked it, and I agreed to this. He lived near downtown Ft. Worth, so we decided to meet at my sister's hair salon. They have a nice size parking lot, that allowed him to test the bike out. My wife was ectatic, as she did not have to go! I guess, she figured that a parking lot in broad daylight, was safe enough. We met, he road the bike, liked it, and tried to talk me down to $80. I refused, and he agreed to the $100. With that, I was able to purchase my new road bike.

So far, I've had great experiences, using Craigslist. The people that I've met and conversed with, have all been very nice. As stated, in my previous blog post, it's how Roy and I first became aquainted. It was also the vehicle I used, to land the gig with the Talking Heads tribute band, and it's how Marti became our booking agent. I've also used it to research products, and listed a garage sale ad, among other things. To date, I've only had one item listed, that never did sell. It was a guitar amp, and for whatever reason, I never received a single response on that ad. I re-listed it several times, before giving up, and selling it to a music store. I was able to get my asking price, from the music store, which was a surprise.

Today, I still jump on almost everyday. I usually skim the musicians section, looking for shows. I'm starting to see venues advertise on there, more and more. The House Of Blues-Dallas, actually had an ad on there, a couple of weeks ago. They were looking for local bands, in our genre. When I saw the ad, I immediately contacted Marti, to advise her of what I had found. She was on step ahead of me though, and had already seen the ad, and submitted to it. She told me that she was a "Craigslist Junkie", as well.

I also check out the musical instruments from time to time. I'm not really in the market for anything, at present time. It's fun to look though, and who knows? You might just run into that , "Deal of the Century", and I would hate to miss that! Wouldn't you?

The only other advice that I can give, is to use common sense. You probably already know this, because you are smart, but it's still worth mentioning. I would never, ever give any type of bank or credit card info to anyone. Go with cash, and meet in person. I would also advise that you bring someone with you, if you plan on meeting at a home, or a place that is not populated. I know I was joking around, with my wife's caution, but she is right. You never can be too cautious, in this day and age. Other then that, just have fun with it.

Lastly, no, I am not a paid endorser of the site. Although, maybe I should be, ehh????

Gigging

Playing live is the lifeblood for most bands. Whether they want to call it a concert, gig, or live performance etc., it all means the same thing, which is getting out, and connecting with your audience, in a face to face setting. It's the single best way for an unknown band to develop a following, and earn fans, in my opinion. It's also the main way, that up and coming bands, as well as established ones, generate income, these days.

Before the age of mp3's, iTunes, and digital distribution, artists earned most of their income from album sales and hit singles. Back then, an artist would would put out an album, and tour to promote the album. The tour's goal was basically to break even. Some might earn a little and some might lose a little, but all in all, it was not the artist's main source of income.

In today's world, the exact opposite occurs. An artist signed to a major label, hardly earns anything on album sales, unless it is a smash hit and sells millions. These days, the artist's primary source of income is through touring, and playing live shows. Have you noticed how much more, concert tickets are these days? The reason why? The artist still needs to be able to cover the costs involved, in putting on the show, and now needs to be able to make a profit from the show, as they are no longer generating income from album sales. Where as before, a show was done to support an album, now an album is done to support a show.

To date, Sand Dollar Rodeo has played two live shows, and one internet broadcast. Roy originally booked the two live shows, as Roy Holliday solo shows. We changed them to Sand Dollar Rodeo shows, once Roy and I teamed up. We thought this would be a great way to get SDR jump started. The first ever Sand Dollar Rodeo show, was held in McKinney, Texas, at the Mack Farm, on September 2, 2012. The event, was a brand new festival called "Okra Fest", that was hosted by Jeff and Shelly Mack. Jeff is a part of the filming crew, for the televison show Troubadour, TX, which chronicles the lives of Texas musicians, all across the state. For more information, and show times, check out their website at http://trobadourtx.com

Our second show was held in Seven Points, Texas, on September 22, 2012. The event, was the "Angels In Tropical Shirts" cancer benefit. It was an all day event, and featured many other talented musicians such as Ben Reyna, Scotty Lee Shuffield, Lucky Boyd, Terry Rasor, Don Burke, Mike Elras, Joe Bennett, Dennis Davis, and The Bad Monkeys. This is a wonderful benefit and it raised over $14,000.00, for cancer research.

Our first ever internet broadcas,t occured on October 20, 2012. We plan to do these from time to time, as our schedule allows. We call these shows, "Rodeo Radio". We had a nice response from our first broadcast, and had listeners tuned in all over the country. Among the states represented, were Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachussetts, and of course Texas. If I missed your state, please forgive me! I'll do better next time, I promise!

One of the hurdles, facing new bands, is just being able to book a show. You can sound great, have a great promo pack, really present yourself well, and still have a problem, landing gigs. I think there are probably muliple reasons that this may happen, but I think the biggest one, the venue is concerned with is, "How big is your following?" I can see that being a concern for a venue, as the last thing that they want to do, is bring in a band, pay them, pay their staff, and then have an empty venue. It's a real Catch-22. On the band side you can say, "How are we supposed to build up a following, if no one will book us, and let us play?" I think this is the reason a lot of bands, fold up the tents. You have to believe in yourself, plus have an incredible drive, and passion for what you are doing.

Roy and I were previously spending a tremendous amount of time, trying to obtain show bookings. A lot of times, we would get no response back from the venue at all. One venue, in particular, had a phone number listed on it's website, to call for bookings. I contacted this number several times, left messages, and received no call back. There were numerous others, that wanted you to email information to them. I would follow the instructions, and get no response back. When I would get a response back, it was usually something along the lines of, "What kind of following do you have?" "How much do you charge?" "Do you also play covers?" "How many gigs have you played?', and so on. The last one, was an actual question I received. I'm thinking, "Huh, what does that have to do with anything?" I had one venue contact me, said they liked the music, and wanted to book us. I replied back, that day, and told them, "That sounded great." I asked them for some more details, never heard anything back, so I contacted them again, a few days later. They responded back, that day, with more details. I replied back, the same day, to confirm a date and time, and again, never heard back from them. I attempted to follow up, five days later, and never received a response back.

Roy was having the same kind of issues, that I was. One day, he said, " This is almost getting comical." I agreed and asked, "I know it sounds ridiculous, but should we maybe look at getting a booking agent?" He agreed with me that it was ridiculous, at our level, to need an agent. He came up with an idea, to post an ad on Craigslist, (ahh... Craigslist again), to get feedback on our music, and to get opinions on where we should be looking for gigs. He received a response from a booking agent, named Marti, who said she liked our music, said their was a good market for it, and that she could get us booked.

Shortly thereafter, we had a conference call with Marti, to go over all the details. We decided to bring her aboard, to handle all of the bookings for SDR. Roy and I handed over all of our booking information, to her, that we had been working on.

Marti is off to a running start, and has been doing a phenomenal job. She has already been able to make contact with several of the venues, that Roy and I were unable to. She just booked a show at a venue, that I had no luck with, and is in the process of booking several other shows. If you are interested in booking SDR for an event, please email Marti here eventsbymarti@sbcglobal.net with information, and she will contact you back.

Roy and I both felt like a weight had been lifted off of our shoulders, when we brought Marti onboard. This has freed us up to concentrate on other areas of SDR, namely rehearsing, writing new music, and recording our album. We plan to hit the live shows hard, starting in January 2013. Until then, feel free to catch one of our Rodeo Radio events. The next one is scheduled for Saturday, November 17, 2012, at 2pm Central Time. For more information on Rodeo Radio, please check out my blog post entitled "Rodeo Radio." You can also find out more, at our official website www.sanddollarrodeo.com

Well, that's all I have for now. Until next time, thanks for reading and I'll talk to you soon!

How Heath & Roy Met Part 2

Authors note: This is Part 2 of a two part series. You can check out Part 1 in the blog archive.

Roy had mentioned to me, that he performs some Christmas shows during the Holiday Season, and asked if I would possibly be interested in playing some guitar. I said, "Sure, I'm always open for different things." We left it that, and said we would stay in touch. I was really bummed, because I really wanted to work with him, but knew I had a bunch of Talking Heads songs to get ready in a short amount of time, so I focused my energies on that.

The week of the audition, the bass player called me and said some new developments were forcing them to cancel that week's practice and he asked, "Could we move it to next week?" I had a real sinking feeling, but said, "Sure." He  went on to explain that the keyboard player, who also had the rehearsal space, had decided to quit. "Well, this is not sounding good.", I thought. He told me not to worry about it though, and that the good news is, the drummer had a rehearsal space that was close to me in Weatherford. He also asked if I could learn two more songs for the audition, to bring the total to 12. I said, "Sure", and we agreed to keep in contact over the next week.

The following week, I show up at the appointed time. The bass player contacts me and says that he and the singer are running late, and to go ahead and meet the drummer and get my stuff set up. This is starting to not sit well with me, but he goes on to explain that the singer lives in Addison and was meeting him in Arlington, to ride out together.

Let me stop right here, for a minute. For those of you not familiar with Texas, it's a very big and spread out place. The singer's location was about an hour and fifteen minutes and the bass player lived about forty five minutes, to an hour away depending on traffic. The singer had run into traffic, on the way to the bass player's house, and that is why they were running late. Honestly, I was shocked at this revelation! I decided to cut them some slack, because anyone willing to drive that far for band practice had to be dedicated, right?

They eventually show up, we meet and greet, and then get to the business at hand. We started jamming and when the singer opened his mouth, I thought I was jamming with David Byrne! He had the nuances down and everything. He even had the grey suit that Byrne made famous in the movie, Stop Making Sense. The rehearsal went great and I nailed my parts. You usually only get one chance to make a first impression, so I worked really hard on my parts. They invited me to join and I gladly accepted. The only thing they were missing was a good keyboard player, and some backing vocals. It was the first week in March and our debut gig was already booked for May 19, 2012. Finally, some momentum! The bass player said he was going to place an ad on Craigslist for a keyboard player. I advised him that I knew of someone who would be perfect for the job. Guess who? He told me to contact him and he would hold off on placing the ad.

I contacted Roy, the next day to see, if he would be interested in joining up. He told me to let him listen to the music and he would let me know. He contacted me back the next day and said, "That while he liked some of their songs, he was not interested in doing a whole set of nothing but Talking Heads." He also mentioned to me that he was looking to start a "Trop Rock" project. I had never heard of this term before, so I asked him what it was. He said, "It's a genre of music that is real popular in New England, the East Coast and Florida." He said that it catered to the "Parrot Head" crowd. Now, I knew who the Parrot Head crowd was. That's Jimmy Buffet's domain. While, I love and have immense respect for Jimmy's music, my thought was, "Oh lord, I'll have to play Margaritaville and an assortment of other Buffet songs all night." I told him that I didn't think I would be the right person for the gig, and that I really didn't have the time to commit to two bands at this time. He said he understood, and we agreed to keep the lines of communication open.

I contacted our bass player and advised him that he should go ahead and place the ad. To make a long story short, we were never able to find a keyboard player. The bass player and drummer actually met with the original keyboard, and begged her to come back on, but she was not interested. We trudged on as a four piece and prepared for our first gig. The keyboard situation really had an affect on our setlist and what we could and couldn't play. One of the most glaring omissions from our setlist was Once In A Lifetime, which is pretty much, the most popular song in the band's catalog. The only other one that I thing might rival it, is Burning Down The House, and thankfully, we were able to pull that one off. For the most part though, we stuck to the Heads early catalog, simply because we had the instrumentation to cover it.

The Talking Heads started out as a three piece band with David Byrne on lead vocals and guitar, Tina Weymouth on bass, and Chris Frantz on the drums. Their first two albums contained a very minimalistic approach, so we stuck with material off of those albums, some hits that we could pull off in between, and material off of one of their later albums called True Stories, which was a very guitar heavy album and contained their massive hit Wild, Wild Life.

As the gig neared, our bass player came into rehearsal one day, and announced that the venue that we were playing at, on May 19th, wanted to have a a band play the Sunday before, on Mother's Day. They wanted us to play from Noon until about 2pm. We would get full payment for this gig. We all agreed to do it, and just considered it a paid dress rehearsal.

The venue was Central Market in Ft. Worth. This is a high end grocery/food store that hosts bands on an outdoor stage during the late sping through early fall months. The bands typically play on Friday and Saturday nights from 6-9pm, which is when the store closes. The music is all over the map from original bands, to classic rock, country, and a whole host of other genres.

We showed up on Mother's Day, at about 10am, to set up our gear. This turned out to be a disorganized mess from the get go. The store manager came out, when he saw us unloading and said, "We're having a band today?" He looked kind of scared and bewildered. Our bass player proceeded to tell him, that the booking agent with Central Market, booked us and if he had any questions, to contact her. He left and made a mad dash back in the store, to round up employees, so that they could get the patio set up with food and drink.

We began our soundcheck and the manager came back rather quickly and asked, "If we could turn down?" We told him we would take care of it and he went back inside. By this time, I'm just kind of laughing about the situation. This is actually the second time this has happened to me. The first was in high school. I was in a band with some school friends. We were playing at a high school dance, and one of the chaperone moms came over and said rather bluntly, "Turn it down!" My poor buddy that was running our sound, and recording us with a jam box, questioned back, "Turn it down?", she responded, "Yes, it's so loud we can't even hear ourselves talk!" This is a verbatim conversation. I know, because I have heard the cassette recording many, many times. Honestly, looking back on it, if I was that lady I would have probably just told us to, "TURN IT OFF!", as we were terrible.

We started our set right around noon, and thought we were sounding really good. There were some people mingling around, and they seemed to be enjoying it. After our second song, the manager came running out and said, "Guys, I hate to ask you this again, but could you please turn it down? I can hear you all the way inside the store." We didn't think we were that loud, but we went ahead and obliged. The third song we played was Psycho Killer. It's a pretty intense song, and the manager was running back out at the end of that song, and asked us, "Guys, do you have anything that is not so heavy, or something that is a little more mellow?" By this time, I am totally cracking up! My bass player tells the guy, "Man, sorry this is all we got, we are what we are." He replied, "Well ok, but can you guys try not to be so intense?", and left. We actually never saw him the rest of the day.

During the break, we were all asking the bass player if we should even come back the following Saturday, and he said, "Oh sure, it will be fine, as it will be an evening gig and people will be eating and drinking. We'll be fine." We just all kind of looked at each other and went, "Ok?" The second set was actually a lot of fun. Quite a few people had gathered on the patio area, drinking wine and eating food. The second set had a lot of hits in it, and people were dancing and having a good time. It was still kind of weird scene, though. I mean, people jamming out to a Talking Heads tribute band on Mother's Day? If I wasn't there, I don't think I would have believed it. We finished up, made some really decent tips, and received a lot of compliments from the audience, after the show.

The following week, on the day of our show, I received a call from the bass player. It was around noon or so. He said he needed to talk to me about some things. He said he hated to do this before a show, but he wanted to let me know that he was going to have to step away from the band for awhile. He mentioned personnal and family reasons. I asked him, "When?", and he said, "After this gig." I asked him how long he anticipated being out, and he said, "Maybe until October." He said that the singer had another friend, who was a bass player, and could probably fill in for him. We had two other gigs scheduled for June 22 and July 7. He had booked these gigs. I asked him what we were going to do about these, and he said he would have to cancel them. Talk about a downer. There really wasn't anything I could say. I was disappointed, but I wasn't going to berate the guy. I had no idea what was going on with him, and it wasn't my place to judge. Still, it felt like a kick in the gut.

I mentioned earlier, that we were really limited on our setlist without the keyboards. As a result, we did not have enough material to fill the 6-9 time slot on May 19th. Another area tribute band called, Oliver's Army, had been trying to get in to Central Market for awhile. They are an Elvis Costello tribute band. Our bass player had made contact with them, to see about trading gigs. In other words, we would open for one of their shows, and they would open one of ours. When our bass player informed them that we had a gig lined up at Central Market, they immediately agreed to come over and open for us. The plan was for them to play from 6-7 and we would play from 7:30-9.

Well, when we arrived at Central Market to set up, the plans had already changed. You see, there is a church that overlooks the patio area of Central Market, and they own the land that it sits on. They had a wedding at the church that night, that just so happened to be from 6-7. The church told Central Market, no music from 6-7, as they didn't want it interfering with the wedding. We had no choice but to adjust the schedule. Now, each band would do an hour set each, as Central Market still wanted to close at 9pm. This was frustrating, because if we had known about the wedding in advance, we would have had enough material to play the show all by ourselves. We ended up having way more material then we needed, and had to huddle up and decide what to cut out of the set.

The show ended up going very well. We had a nice crowd that really enjoyed both bands. Little did I know, at the time, that this would be the last Talking Heads gig. After the show, we all kind of went our own ways, for a couple of weeks. The drummer had been in touch with bass player, and had picked up my pay from the show. Since we lived fairly close to each other, I went by one day to pick up my pay. The drummer mentioned to me that we should get back together and have a practice. I agreed, and said I would get in touch with the singer to see what was going on. I contacted our singer to see what was happening, and he said that he had been in touch with his friend, who played bass, and that he was interested in joining up with us.

We met the following week, and had a great practice. The bass player had all the tunes down, and actually played them better then the original bass player. At the end of the practice, the drummer informed us, that we might want to start looking for a replacement. I was pretty shocked at this revelation, but he went on to explain that he had joined up with a Texas Country band, and that they had shows scheduled throughout July. He wasn't going to have the time to balance that, plus play in the Talking Heads band. As I left rehearsal that day, I figured the band was just about done at this point.

I was surprised the following week when I received a call from the singer. He said that he really wanted to continue on with this, and thought we really had some momentum going, before we lost our bass player and drummer. He said he had a friend, who was a drummer, that might be interested in joining. We agreed to move the rehearsals to Dallas, as both the singer and bass player lived over there, as well as the potential drummer.

The singer's drummer friend, decided he was not interested in joining up. Our singer ran an ad on Craigslist, and received a response very quickly. We set a rehearsal date, with the new drummer, the following week. The rehearsal went well, and we decided to welcome the new drummer aboard. The next order of business was to find that elusive keyboard player. We placed another ad for a keyboard player. In the meantime, the four of us continued rehearsing on Sunday afternoons. We ended up receiving one response from the ad, but it never panned out.

One evening in late July, I was scanning the musicians classifieds on Craigslist. I was looking for a keyboard player for the band, when I ran across an ad that caught my eye. The ad was looking for a guitar player, for a "Trop Rock/Country/Buffett" original project. "This sounds awfully familar", I thought. Their were some sound clips included in the ad. I listened, and really liked the material. Then it hit me, this has to be Roy! I decided right then and there, that I was going to try and work with this guy, or at least meet with him in person. I figured, I would refer back to one of my old emails and reply to him directly, verses replying to the Craigslist ad. Terror set in though, as I could not locate his contact information. I went all through my email account, to no avail. I immediately located the Craigslist ad and fired off a reply. I remember starting the reply with, "Is this Roy?", real creepy right? Anyway, he responded back later that evening and said, "Yeah, it's me, small world, huh?" He was looking to get together, about once a week, on the weekend. I explained, that I was still working with the Talking Heads band, and he was cool with that. We planned to get together the following week, on a Saturday.

That Saturday arrived, and I made my way out to Roanoke, Texas. I was finally going to meet the guy, that I had been conversing with on and off, over the last seven months. We met, and hit it off right away. We had a great rehearsal session, determined it was a fit, and decided to start working together.

My schedule was about to get really hectic over the next few weeks, as I was now working on two music projects. Sand Dollar Rodeo was dedicated for Saturdays, and the Talking Heads would be on Sundays. I ran with this schedule for several weeks. We were still looking for a keyboard player in the Talking Heads, and after working with Roy for several weeks, I knew he could do it. I broached the subject with him, but he wasn't too interested. It didn't really bother me though, as I was trying to plan my exit from the Talking Heads, by this time.

I wrestled with the decision to leave the Talking Heads for awhile. Mainly, because I knew how much it meant to the lead singer. I had developed a nice friendship with him, that still exists today.This was the only thing musically, he had ever wanted to do. I also knew, deep down, that if I left, the whole thing was done. I felt horrible about it, but I knew it was the best decision for me.

There are many reasons that I decided to leave the Talking Heads. Mainly, it killed my entire Sunday. I was driving to Dallas, which is an hour away from my home. So, I was spending two hours on the road. The bass player and singer both kept saying every week, that they were going to get us a show booked at so and so place. The next week, when I would come to practice, I would ask them how the gigs were coming along, and they would say something to the effect of, "Oh, I didn't get a chance to do anything on that." This went on for several weeks. Another reason, we could not find a keyboard player, for whatever reason. Without a keyboard player, there was really no way to do this type of band, the way it should be done. And lastly, someone was always late to practice. We are not talking about five or ten minutes either. Their was one instance, where the bass player was not there, the singer called him to see what was up, and he said he was playing disk golf and had lost track of time! He was over an hour late! We had several instances, where the drummer was driving back from a gig in Austin, would call, say he is running late due to traffic, and be an hour late! This really irritated me, as I was already giving up a ton of my weekend family time for this. I finally decided that the negatives outweighed the positives, and that it was time to cut bait. I realized that this band was never going to go anywhere, and that I was wasting my time. Part of the reason, that I stayed as long as I did, is that I had already invested so much time and energy into it, and I wanted to see the payoff. But, it was not to be.

I made the dreadful call to the singer, to let him know that I could not do it anymore. I was honest with him, and went over the reasons, I listed above. I also told him about Sand Dollar Rodeo, and the potential that I saw with it. He seemed to understand my reasons, and said he would probably do the same thing, if he were in my shoes. We have stayed in touch, and he is a really good guy.

I've had a blast working with Roy over the last few months. Sand Dollar Rodeo is just getting started, and I see a lot of fun times in our future. We are both on the same page, as to where we want to take this, and are working very hard to make it happen. The funny thing is though, it dosen't feel like work at all, and that's the way it should be, as far as I'm concerned.

Rodeo Radio

Hey gang! I just wanted to drop a quick post on here, and let you know about an event that Sand Dollar Rodeo is  hosting tomorrow. It is our first ever "Rodeo Radio" event! "What is Rodeo Radio?", you ask. Well, it is a very informal Internet concert. You can catch it here http://www.sanddollarrodeo.com/radio.html  The event will take place Saturday, October 20, 2012  at 2pm Central Time. We are in Texas and are currently on Daylight Savings Time. So that means, if your location is not on Daylight Savings time, then you will need to adjust accordingly.

We plan to have a great, laid back time sharing some of our music with you, along with some stories in between, and an option for you to ask us some questions over Facebook. Here is a link to our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/sanddollarrodeo   We will read and respond to as many questions as we can, live and over the air.

While you're at it, feel feel free to visit our official website http://sanddollarrodeo.com and join the "Radio Republic". The Radio Republic is our official fan club and email mailing list. We promise not to spam your inbox everyday with useless information. You will get an update about once a month and we will email you information on live performances and such. Our website also has links for our official social media sites. Feel free to check those out and give us a "follow" on Twitter or a "like" on Facebook, if that is your thing. If you have any further questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I will get back to you. Thanks for reading and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow!


P.S Stay tuned for, "How Heath & Roy Met Part 2", coming next week! If you missed Part 1, go read it now!

How Heath & Roy Met: Part 1

Author's note: This is a two part blog. I originally wanted it to be one post, but I have so much information to share on this subject, that I thought it would be better to serve it up in two parts. Look for Part 2 coming very soon and thanks for reading!-Heath



Late last year, a cover project that I was involved with dissolved. This was a very informal group, made up of some very good friends. We were playing a mix of classic rock and country covers. We played a few gigs and house parties, but nothing too big or serious. It was mainly for fun and stress relief, from the everyday vigors of life.

As I previously stated, it was very informal, which meant we would get together whenever we could. We might get together one night a week, for several weeks in a row, or it might be several weeks in a row that we did not meet. It just kind of depended on everyone's schedule and availability.

During one particular lull, I was getting the itch to do something with a little more substance to it. I started checking the musicians section on Craigslist, to see what was out there. I found an ad that was looking for a guitar player. The ad described the project as an original, alternative, country band, that featured a female singer. I was intrigued, so I applied. I went and met with them shortly thereafter and we hit it off. They welcomed me aboard and we started working together. I informed my prior band that I was leaving to work on this new project. They understood and gave me their blessing. After this, they jammed on without me for a few more months, and then called it a day. I'm still good friends with all these guys. We parted on great terms and I still see them quite frequently.

My time with the alternative country band was short lived. They seemed to be going for a sound more along the lines of Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum. While, I have nothing against those artists and I respect their work immensely, it was really not the musical direction I was looking to go. We parted ways right after Thanksgiving and I decided to take the rest of the year off, from music, and enjoy the holiday season with my family.

A new year usually means a chance to start anew, and that was no different for me. I felt reinvigorated after a relaxing holiday season and some time away from work. I decided it was time to find my next musical project. I began checking out the musicians classifieds on Craigslist again. Do you see a pattern here? In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm a bit of a Craigslist junkie. But, alas, that's a subject for another day. Now, where was I? Oh yes, I was checking the Craigslist ads, but nothing was standing out to me. I was discussing the situation with my wife and she said, "Why don't you start your own group?" My reaction was, "I've never thought of that!" I continued, "It sounds like a great plan, but I have no idea what type of group to put together." She proceeded to ask me, "what types of music do you enjoy playing?" I went over the various genres, but nothing was sounding very appealing until I mentioned 80's New Wave Music! I figured she would immediately shoot that suggestion down, as she was not a very big fan of 80's music in general and especially not that "New Wave" crap, as I have heard her so eloquently refer to it in the past. But, she saw me light up and said, "There's your answer."

We were already a week into January, so it was time to get this pony moving! I jumped onto Craigslist, "don't laugh", and posted my ad for an "80's New Wave Startup Band". I was looking for a bass player, drummer, male and female lead singer, and most importantly, a keyboard player. If you plan on playing the 80's, then a solid keyboard player is essential to pulling off most of these songs.

Once the ad was posted, I quickly received a response from a bass player. He advised that he also knew a drummer, who was interested in the project. The best news was that they had a place to practice! This, of course, moved them to the top of the list! The next response I received was from a keyboard player who called himself Roy. Man! I was pinching myself by this time! I had a response from a keyboard player! I was so stoked, because I had the band pieces in place within a matter of days.

Roy and I hit it off right away. We discussed the project in detail and I knew that he was the right man for the job. At the time, he was wrapping up a recording project with a band from the New England area. He explained that once the project was finished, he would be looking to get out and gig again. He was a big fan of the new wave 80's music and we began shooting songs back and forth to each other and agreeing on all of them! I told Roy that I would work on coordinating everyone else and would get back to him ASAP!

In the meantime, I had a male singer respond. He said he could pull it off. He didn't have any sound clips, but I was not too worried. I figured we bring him in, audition him, and go from there. Next, I had a response from a killer female singer. She had her act together and was the complete package. She had her own website, complete with sound clips, and she sounded great! We were now ready to begin.

I decided that it would probably be best in the beginning to bring us together in small groups, verses bringing us all in at once. I consulted with Roy on this and he agreed. I contacted the bass player and suggested that he, the drummer and I get together first and see how things go. We picked out a few songs to learn and planned to meet the following week to go over everything and see if we would mesh.

A day before we were set to meet, the bass player contacted me and advised that he had something come up and wouldn't be able to make it. He apologized and asked if we could re-schedule for the following week. I said, "no problem, and I understand that things happen." He also suggested that we go ahead and bring in one of the singers. I agreed to this and contacted the female singer to see if she could come out the following week. She said she could, so we set up a time for the following week. I contacted Roy to update him on everything, and he said, "cool, just keep me in the loop."

The next week, the bass player contacted me again, on the day before we were set to meet. He advised that the drummer would be unable to make it. Since the drummer had the practice space, I had no choice but to cancel. I contacted the the female singer, explained everything, apologized, and advised that we would try it again next week. She was real nice about it, said she understood and said next week sounded good. I also contacted Roy to let him know the latest and that we were going to try it again the following week. He was cool, said that he understood how hard it was to get a start up off the ground and running, and asked me to keep him in the loop.

By this time, I was starting to get a little frustrated. It was mid February and we had not been able to get a single practice in. I re-posted the ad on Craigslist, primarily to see if I could locate another bass player and/or drummer. I contacted Roy, to let him know what I was doing, and to explain that I still wanted him to play keyboards. He thanked me for keeping him in the loop and said he understood.

This time, I had a response from another drummer, who did not have a place to practice, another male lead singer, and a guitar player. None of these panned out. I continued to scan Craigslist, for other potential musicians, and ran across an ad for a Talking Heads tribute band. They were seeking a lead guitar player and a drummer. "Hmmm....," I thought, "this sounded kind of interesting.

We were scheduled to meet on Thursday, of the following week. I decided to contact the bass player on the Tuesday before, to confirm everything. He said we were still on, so I contacted the female singer to let her know and she said she would be ready to go.

That Thursday, a few hours before we were set to meet, the bass player contacted me and advised that the drummer would not be able to make it again. He claimed, that he didn't know why. I told him I was done messing around with with this drummer and was going to look for a replacement. He said he understood and would probably do the same thing, if he were in my shoes. I contacted the female singer and never heard back from her. This was the final straw for her and I couldn't blame her.

I spent a couple of days contemplating my next move and decided to check Craigslist again. I was mainly looking for a drummer, or anyone who might have a rehearsal space. I was also scanning for a female singer, as I knew that I had just lost mine. While I was scanning, I ran across the Talking Heads tribute ad again, only this time they were only needing a lead guitar player to complete their lineup. I thought, "What the heck?" ,and immediately applied. I received a response from the bass player, later that afternoon, and we visited on the phone for about an hour. The first thing he told me was, "Yes, we have a legitimate David Byrne." I said, "Good, because that was the first thing I was going to ask you." He said, "I know." and laughed. Our first visit went well, and he scheduled an audition for the following week.

I was really excited, as this band already had three paying gigs on the books! He emailed me a list of ten songs and asked me to learn them for the following week.

At this point, I decided to shut down my pursuit of the 80's band. It had been such a struggle. It was now late February, and I had not even been able to get one rehearsal together. I thought, if it's this difficult to get everyone together, when interest should be at it's peak, then what will it be like six months down the road?

Out of courtesy for all involved, I contacted each person to let them know that I was no longer going to pursue this project. The only two people that I heard back from was the bass player and Roy. The bass player said he understood the frustration, and that was about it. Roy said he was really appreciative of me, for letting him know and keeping him in the loop on everything. He said, "that is a very rare quality in this industry.", and he is 100% correct. I've experienced the other side of it first hand, and it is incredibly frustrating. This is why I always try to treat people the way that I would like to be treated. I am nowhere near perfect though, and have fallen short many times, so don't think I am a Saint, or anything like that.

Ok folks this is the end of Part 1 of "How Heath & Roy Met" Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon, and thanks for reading!



 

The Introduction

Well, hello there and thanks for stopping by. My name is Heath and this is a blog dedicated to chronicling the progress and musical adventures of Sand Dollar Rodeo.

What is Sand Dollar Rodeo, you ask? Well, it is a musical duo consisting of Mr. Roy Holliday and myself. I play electric lead guitar, along with some acoustic guitar, and some bass here and there. I will also contribute some backing vocals from time to time. Now Roy, on the other hand, is the mad wizard. He is a very accomplished piano and keyboard player and a darn good acoustic guitar player to boot. He also handles our lead vocals and has a great baritone voice.

We are both children of the 80's and thus, were influenced by a wide range of new wave and alternative bands such as Duran Duran, Devo, The Cure, Inxs, U2 and many, many more.

Our sound has been described as a mish mash of Texas Country, Jimmy Buffett, and 80's New Wave all rolled into one. We try not to take ourselves too seriously, therefore, our songs maintain a lighthearted and fun vibe, for the most part.

We are currently working on our debut album and planning on an early 2013 release date. We look forward to this journey, wherever it may take us and hope you will come along for the ride, as well! Ciao!

P.S. Tune in next time to see how Roy & Heath met!