Hello there! Well, it's been a few weeks, since we last visited. We've been busy promoting the new album, and staying busy, with behind the scenes stuff. We did take this past weekend off, however. It was a much needed break, for both Roy and I. Roy, attended a Zac Brown Band tailgate party, and concert on Friday. On Saturday, he headed down to the Fort Worth Main Street Arts Festival. I love this festival, and really wanted to go, but it was not in the cards for me, this year.
As I have mentioned before, I enjoy long distance road cycling. No, not the kind that occurs on a Harley Davidson, but the kind that happens on a bicycle. I participated in a ride, this past Saturday, called the Moritz Ride for Heroes. This is an annual bike rally, held in my hometown, of Aledo. It benefits the area volunteer fire departments of East Parker County, as well as the Parker County Sheriff's department. This year seemed especially significant. As most of you probably know, a horrible explosion occurred, in the town of West, Texas, last week. It occurred at a fertilizer plant, that had caught on fire. West, has a volunteer fire department, as do a lot of these smaller Texas towns. As the fire fighters were fighting the blaze, the plant exploded. As of the publishing date, of this blog post, 14 people have lost their lives. Among those, were five West volunteer firefighters, one off duty Dallas firefighter, who went to help with the blaze, and four emergency responders. This really hit close to home, for me. West, is not that far from me. Maybe 80 miles, or so. I have been through the town, many times.
A heavy heart was also felt for the people of Boston, and the surrounding areas. As of press time, three people lost their lives in the initial bomb blast, at the Boston Marathon. Over one hundred people were injured, and a police officer also lost his life, as he was cowardly gunned down this past Friday, by the suspects.
Personally, I was riding for the heroes of West and Boston, in addition to our heroes in Parker County. I talked to many riders, who felt the same way. They are all heroes, in my book. Everyday, these men and women go to work each day, and put their lives on the line. Kudos to all of them.
The ride proved to be very difficult, due to the windy conditions. The winds were coming out of the south at 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 25-30 mph, or so I was told. It certainly felt, every bit of that. The last 10 miles of the ride, were pretty much, straight into that south wind. Lots of hills were included in this last 10 miles, as well. I honestly, did not think I was going to make it. Several times, I thought about stopping, and calling it a day. On these types of rides, there are ride support vehicles, monitoring the route. If a rider gets in trouble, or can't make it in, they can catch a ride to the finish line. These are called SAG wagons. As I said earlier, their were several times, I thought about sagging in. Thoughts about West and Boston, kept me going though. I was determined to finish this ride, no matter what. Thankfully, I was able to finish the ride. I rode 65.93 miles in 4 hours and 47 minutes. Last year, I did this same ride in 4 hours and 2 minutes, so the wind had a huge effect on my time. I was pretty disappointed in my time, but I was glad that I was able to finish it. I'm already looking forward to next year's Ride For Heroes.
Switching gears now. As many of you know, our debut album "GPS To Nowhere", was released on April 2, 2013. We would like to thank everyone, who has purchased the album, listened, and provided feedback. We have received a lot of positive feedback, on the album. If you are interested in checking it out, you can listen to the whole thing for free, on Spotify! If you are interested in purchasing it, it is available at all of the usual digital outlets, including iTunes and Amazon. If you prefer a CD, we will have them available at all of our live shows, or you can order one from our website http://sanddollarrodeo.com
What is really exciting for us is, everyone that has listened to it, seems to have a different favorite song. From a musicians standpoint, this is what you always hope for.
We are now on regular rotation, at a couple of internet radio stations. Beachfront Radio www.beachfrontradio.com is currently playing "GPS To Nowhere", "What Kind Of Life Is This", and "Carry Me Home". We are normally featured on the Amish Beach Party, which airs from 1-3pm, on weekdays. If you get a chance, you should check out this station, sometime. They play a lot of cool music, that you won't hear, anywhere else.
Palpa Mac, www.PalpaMacRadio.com, out of Pasadena, Texas, has added Sing Along to it's regular rotation, so log on and show em' some love! Oh, and while your at it, be sure and request Sing Along, lol.
Island Time Radio www.islandtime.freeservers.com out of Parma, Ohio, contacted us this week. They are putting us on their weekly radio show. I'm not sure which song they are going to feature, as of press time. Even the radio stations seem to have their favorites!
We have also submitted the album, to several radio stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The status on these, are still pending. If they decide to add one of our songs to their rotation, we will let you know, so you can call in and request it!
I have one last note, on album promotions, that I would like to share. We have entered a contest, that Hertz Rental Cars is putting on. The Grand Prize winner will have their song featured on Hertz's You Tube channel, in a commercial. The entry requirement is, that artists must submit an original song that "embraces the spirit of travel, while capturing the essence of Hertz speed and highlighting our nation's love of cars." Well, guess what song we submitted? If you guessed "GPS To Nowhere", then you guessed right! We will see where this goes and keep you updated with any details, as they develop.
These week, we are playing a couple of live shows, that I'm really excited about. First up, this Friday, we will be playing at the Texas Food Truckin' Fest, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The festival starts at 4pm on Friday, and runs until 10pm. SDR will take the stage at 7pm. We are only playing for an hour, so be sure and get there on time, if you wanna catch us. This festival benefits the American Cancer Society, which is near and dear to my heart. I've had several close family members affected by this terrible disease. The festival, also runs all day on Saturday. So come on out and enjoy some great food, drinks, and live music. For information on this festival, check out their website located here http://texasfoodtruckinfest.com
On Saturday night, we will be celebrating Marti Ludwig's birthday. For those that don't know, Marti is our booking agent. The party will take place at Judge Beans. Judge Beans is located at 314 North Main Street, Keller, Texas. The party will start at 8pm. We are the host band, however, we believe that several of Marti's other bands, may be here as well. If any of you guys/gals, are reading this, feel free to come on down and play a song, or two, or three. We will have the ability to run acoustic guitars and vocals. Who knows, what surprises may await at this event. These types of gigs, are some of my favorites. So, don't be shy! C'mon down, wish Marti a Happy Birthday, have some food and drinks, and hang out with all of us. It should be a great time!
Well, I'm outta time for now. Thanks for reading, and your support! Talk to ya later!
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