This past weekend flew by. We played at the grand opening for Independent Ale Works, in Krum on Saturday afternoon, and then met with a potential keyboard player on Sunday afternoon. I spent a lot of time driving this weekend. I know, that's right up Roy's alley. As for me, I can take it or leave it. While it's not my favorite thing to do, it's also not horrible. Independent Ale Works is 56 miles from my house, so I drove 112 miles total, on Saturday. Roy lives about 38 miles from me, so I tacked on another 76, on Sunday. So between the two days, I burned a half a tank of gas, and spent about 3 hours in the car.
The main thing was the time, though. We hit the ground running, Saturday morning. My daughter had a basketball game. I loaded up, prior to going to the game, and then left straight from the game to go to Krum. I arrived home about 6pm Saturday. I unloaded, showered, and grabbed a bite to eat. By this time, it was well after 7pm. My girls were spending the night with their grandmother. We watched something on TV (I honestly don't remember what it was) at this point. By 10pm, I'm pretty sure I was asleep in my chair. My wife woke me up, to go to bed, and that was it. Party like a rock star, right?
The next morning, I got up, grabbed some breakfast, and went to the grocery store with my wife. By the time we got back, it was time to pack up and head to Roy's. It felt like I had hardly been home, from Saturday, before it was time to head out again. I'm not complaining about it. I love what we are doing, but man it felt hectic, this past weekend.
We met with Trey, on Sunday afternoon, and went over all of the material for the Railhead gig. The plan was for Trey to sit in with us, at this one gig. However, things went so well, that we asked Trey to come onboard full time. We all got along great, and I know he will fit in just fine with Tony and Brian. I'm really excited about this. Trey is a great player, and will enhance our sound immensely.
Trey will be joining us on stage, this Saturday night at the Railhead Smokehouse in Willow Park. The Railhead is located at 120 S. Ranch House Road. Downbeat will be at 7:30pm. I've personally heard from quite a few people, that will be attending. The patio area, where the bands play, is an indoor/outdoor area. I'm almost certain that it will be closed off, due to the cold weather. When the area is closed off, their is not near as many seats and tables, as when it's open. If your planning on attending, I would highly recommend that you call the Railhead and reserve a table. They can be reached at 817-441-2525, and they do take table reservations, on band nights.
The Railhead seems to be our baptism by fire, venue. This was where Tony played his first show with us, and now it will be Trey's. It's a fun place, and if you haven't ever been, then I urge you to c'mon on out on Saturday night. They have plenty of great barbeque, and cold drinks. Both of the alcoholic and non alcoholic variety. Kids are welcome, so don't let that stop you. They even have a play area for the kids.
This is a hometown gig for me. The venue is a whopping 4.5 miles from my house. No long drives for me, this weekend, so that will be nice. Ok, that's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see ya, Saturday!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
A New Brewery
Did someone say craft beer? Well, count me in! If you've been following the blog, then you know that Roy and I are big supporters of the craft beer movement. We have played at several brewery tours, and have had a blast at each one. Most of these breweries tend to start off in someone's garage or basement, so to speak. We've seen and heard, first hand, about the work and dedication, that these people put in. They kind of march to their own beat (kind of like us), and really just want people to appreciate a good beer. We can really relate to these folks and like to support them, in any way that we can.
This Saturday, we will be playing at a brand new craft brewery located in Krum, Texas. For those of you unfamiliar with Krum, it's right next to Denton. Denton, of course, is home to a bustling music scene, and is also home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University. It's a big college town.
The name of the brewery is Independent Ale Works. I received a call several weeks ago, from one of the owners, asking if we would be interested in playing their grand opening. He didn't have to twist my arm very hard, ha ha! This is going to be a little bigger than the usual 3 hour tour, that most breweries do. This one will be going on all day, so it will be more like a festival.
They plan on opening the doors at noon, and going until 8 or 9pm. One thing about breweries, it's a pretty laid back atmosphere, as far as time goes. From my understanding, their will be several food trucks, and at least 3 bands/musicians. Also at these events, their are usually several artists, some other vendors selling specialty items, and usually a food vendor selling homemade BBQ sauce, or something along those lines. Like I said, it's kind of a festival atmosphere.
As far as I know, we will be kicking off the music portion. We are scheduled to start at 3pm, but we may start a little earlier, if we are ready to go. We will see how the mood is, and go from there. I have heard that their may be a band before us, but I'm not sure about that, as of this moment. I do know that their will be two acts after us.
Our good buddy, Eric Wagner, will be taking the stage after us. Eric has a lot of great music, and you can check him out here www.reverbnation.com/ericwagner I'm hoping he shows up early and maybe we can persuade him to sit in on harmonica, with us, for a song or two.
Rock band Prostinaut will be closing things out, on Saturday night. These guys rock! Check em' out here www.reverbnation.com/prostinaut
All in all, it should be a great day. If your going to be in the Denton area on Saturday, you should come check it out. Heck, even if your not, I'm thinking a little road trip will be well worth it!
Independent Ale Works is located at 11555 US Hwy 380 West, Suite 208, Krum, Texas. It's about 4 miles, to the west of I-35. So, come on out and support this brand new craft brewery.
Ok, we plan to throw in a new song for this show, so I better get off of the computer, go pick up the guitar, and make sure I can play it. Damn Strait! Talk to ya soon!
This Saturday, we will be playing at a brand new craft brewery located in Krum, Texas. For those of you unfamiliar with Krum, it's right next to Denton. Denton, of course, is home to a bustling music scene, and is also home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University. It's a big college town.
The name of the brewery is Independent Ale Works. I received a call several weeks ago, from one of the owners, asking if we would be interested in playing their grand opening. He didn't have to twist my arm very hard, ha ha! This is going to be a little bigger than the usual 3 hour tour, that most breweries do. This one will be going on all day, so it will be more like a festival.
They plan on opening the doors at noon, and going until 8 or 9pm. One thing about breweries, it's a pretty laid back atmosphere, as far as time goes. From my understanding, their will be several food trucks, and at least 3 bands/musicians. Also at these events, their are usually several artists, some other vendors selling specialty items, and usually a food vendor selling homemade BBQ sauce, or something along those lines. Like I said, it's kind of a festival atmosphere.
As far as I know, we will be kicking off the music portion. We are scheduled to start at 3pm, but we may start a little earlier, if we are ready to go. We will see how the mood is, and go from there. I have heard that their may be a band before us, but I'm not sure about that, as of this moment. I do know that their will be two acts after us.
Our good buddy, Eric Wagner, will be taking the stage after us. Eric has a lot of great music, and you can check him out here www.reverbnation.com/ericwagner I'm hoping he shows up early and maybe we can persuade him to sit in on harmonica, with us, for a song or two.
Rock band Prostinaut will be closing things out, on Saturday night. These guys rock! Check em' out here www.reverbnation.com/prostinaut
All in all, it should be a great day. If your going to be in the Denton area on Saturday, you should come check it out. Heck, even if your not, I'm thinking a little road trip will be well worth it!
Independent Ale Works is located at 11555 US Hwy 380 West, Suite 208, Krum, Texas. It's about 4 miles, to the west of I-35. So, come on out and support this brand new craft brewery.
Ok, we plan to throw in a new song for this show, so I better get off of the computer, go pick up the guitar, and make sure I can play it. Damn Strait! Talk to ya soon!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Campfire Jam
Howdy partner! Well, this week is a little different. On a typical week, Monday's and Tuesday's are usually kind of slow around the SDR fold. We've usually had a show or two over the weekend, and will spend Monday and Tuesday kind of recovering from the weekend. Usually, I will start thinking about a blog post on Wednesday, and will usually get it published, late on Thursday night. Then, most of the time, it's time to start gearing up for the weekend show schedule.
This week is anything but ordinary, as we will be playing a show tomorrow night. The show will also be very different, as it is an acoustic show, and not a full band show. If you've listened to our music, then you know it has a lot of electric guitar and a lot of keyboards. It's not really acoustic based music, lol. Roy and I will be doing this one without Brian and Tony. We met this past weekend to go through the songs on the album, and see which ones would work acoustically, and which ones wouldn't. I was worried that none of them would work out acoustically, ha ha! Fortunately, most of them did work. We recorded mp3's of the acoustic arrangements, for practice, and when I went back and listened, I was pleasantly surprised. It was kind of neat to hear the songs stripped down to the bare bone. I'm actually, really looking forward to tomorrow night.
I've mentioned this gig, a couple of times in passing, but hear it is for reals. We were invited, several months ago, to come and play at the Bigstar97.com Campfire Jam. Bigstar97 is a local DFW internet radio station. Here is the link to the station www.bigstar97.com go check it out! The Campfire Jam is a song swap with various artists every week. This week, we will be playing with The Usrey Brothers. They have some really cool music, and Roy and I are really looking forward to meeting them. They really are brothers too! You can get some more information on The Usrey Brothers, and listen to some of their tunes here www.reverbnation.com/theusreybrothers Go check em' out!
The party will be happening at MacGyvers Food and Spirits in Burleson, Texas. They are located at 4276 East FM 1187. Showtime will be at 7pm tomorrow night. So, if your in the Burleson area tomorrow, or even if your not, make plans to come by MacGyvers tomorrow night. You can come have some dinner, listen to some tunes, and still be home at a decent time! But, if you can't make it, then please be sure to tune in to Bigstar97, at the above web address, and you can listen to it all, live!
Okay, that's about all the time I have for now. Time to go stretch those new acoustic strings and toughen up my fingertips. I'll talk to you soon, and thank you for reading!
This week is anything but ordinary, as we will be playing a show tomorrow night. The show will also be very different, as it is an acoustic show, and not a full band show. If you've listened to our music, then you know it has a lot of electric guitar and a lot of keyboards. It's not really acoustic based music, lol. Roy and I will be doing this one without Brian and Tony. We met this past weekend to go through the songs on the album, and see which ones would work acoustically, and which ones wouldn't. I was worried that none of them would work out acoustically, ha ha! Fortunately, most of them did work. We recorded mp3's of the acoustic arrangements, for practice, and when I went back and listened, I was pleasantly surprised. It was kind of neat to hear the songs stripped down to the bare bone. I'm actually, really looking forward to tomorrow night.
I've mentioned this gig, a couple of times in passing, but hear it is for reals. We were invited, several months ago, to come and play at the Bigstar97.com Campfire Jam. Bigstar97 is a local DFW internet radio station. Here is the link to the station www.bigstar97.com go check it out! The Campfire Jam is a song swap with various artists every week. This week, we will be playing with The Usrey Brothers. They have some really cool music, and Roy and I are really looking forward to meeting them. They really are brothers too! You can get some more information on The Usrey Brothers, and listen to some of their tunes here www.reverbnation.com/theusreybrothers Go check em' out!
The party will be happening at MacGyvers Food and Spirits in Burleson, Texas. They are located at 4276 East FM 1187. Showtime will be at 7pm tomorrow night. So, if your in the Burleson area tomorrow, or even if your not, make plans to come by MacGyvers tomorrow night. You can come have some dinner, listen to some tunes, and still be home at a decent time! But, if you can't make it, then please be sure to tune in to Bigstar97, at the above web address, and you can listen to it all, live!
Okay, that's about all the time I have for now. Time to go stretch those new acoustic strings and toughen up my fingertips. I'll talk to you soon, and thank you for reading!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Expanding The Band
Whew! Well, we made it through the Railhead gig last Saturday. I would be lying, if I told you that everything went perfectly. In all actuality, it was a very difficult show.
For me, things started off on the wrong foot, as soon as I woke up on Saturday morning. My wife informed me that her cellphone had fallen off the kitchen cabinet, at some point during the night. The screen was shattered. In the grand scheme of things, this was really not that big of a deal, but we do not have a home phone, so we needed to get the issue dealt with. We packed up the kids and headed to the AT&T store. They opened at 10am, we had a full day, so I wanted to get over there and get done.
We were not up for an upgrade, so it was going to be like $500 to replace my wife's phone. The AT&T lady referred us to a place that could repair the phone. It was actually just down the road, so that was good. We headed over there, showed them the phone, they said it would be $190 to repair the phone. I did try to negotiate the price down, but they wouldn't budge. We agreed to the repair price, and the lady said it would be ready by 4pm, that afternoon. We told them that we would not be able to get back over there, on Saturday. They were closed on Sunday, so we told them that we would pick it up on Monday.
To make a long story short, they ended up calling us about 30 minutes after we arrived home, and said the phone was ready. What the heck? If we would have known this, we would have just stayed in town. My wife wanted her phone, and decided to run back into town to pick it up.
I mentioned earlier, that in the grand scheme of thing, this was not that big of a deal. The reason I say this, is because we lost my aunt on New Year's Day, to cancer. Her funeral was also on Saturday. My wife wanted me to stay home, and try and have a little down time. The funeral was that afternoon, and then we were having a family get together after that. Not to mention, I also had a show that night.
Of course, she got stuck in traffic, on the way back to Fort Worth. She made it back home about 15 minutes before we needed to leave, to go to the funeral. We made it just in time. We had a family dinner, afterward. I stayed up until the last moment, ran home, changed clothes, loaded up my gear, and headed to Railhead. I felt very fortunate that this gig was basically in my backyard. Had it been out of town, or somewhere towards the Dallas side of the metroplex, I'm not sure what I would have done.
Anyway, by the time I made it to Railhead, I was pretty much frazzled. It had been a very long and emotionally draining day. For some reason though, the thought never crossed my mind that maybe we should cancel this show.
I wasn't the only one dealing with issues. Brian, our bass player, was sick as a dog. He showed up and looked really rough. He had not been feeling well at rehearsal either. I really appreciate him powering through it. Tony, of course being brand new, was taking every spare second that he had, to go out to his car and listen to the songs. He was studying all the way up until show time, and again during our break. I'm really amazed that he was able to step in and play the show with us.
Roy seemed really laid back about all the chaos. I imagine that deep down he was probably worried sick, but if he was, he never seemed to show it.
Our main issue, was going to be staying in time with the sequencers and click tracks. Unfortunately, this pretty much all falls on Tony. He is the drummer, so when your a musician, you naturally follow the tempo of your drummer.
Using a click and sequencers is really not all that uncommon. Usually it's done out of necessity or convenience. For example, with us, Roy can't sing, play acoustic guitar and keyboards, all at the same time. The keyboards are sequenced and set to a click track. So basically, our drummer is supposed to follow the keyboards. As long as we are all in tempo with this, everything will sound great, but if we get off by a half a beat or so, it can become a mess, really quickly. What happens is the keyboard is playing a different note, then the rest of the band, if we are off beat.
Some other notable bands that use sequencers live are U2 and Van Halen. I'm pretty sure it's out of necessity. Both bands are four pieces. In U2's case, The Edge plays both guitar and keyboards. In a live situation, it would be just about impossible for him to play all the keyboard parts, plus the guitar parts at the same time. A great example of this, would be on their song "Where The Streets Have No Name". If your unfamiliar with the song, it starts off with keyboards and then Edge plays the guitar riff over the top of it. It would be impossible for one person to play both of these parts live, so the keyboard parts are sequenced. It's the same concept that we are using. I would imagine that U2's system is much more sophisticated then ours, but you get the idea. If the live musicians get out of time with the sequenced parts, it's gonna be a mess. Edge will play some keyboard parts live, just as Roy does. But, it's only on certain songs, and usually its a solo type run or piano part. For example, Edge plays the piano part for "New Years Day" live; Roy does the same thing on our song "Into The Night".
I also mentioned Van Halen. Eddie does the same thing. He plays both keyboards and guitar on their albums. Pretty impossible, even for him, to do both live. They run the keyboards sequenced, during a concert, and he plays guitar live.
Roy advised us that if things started getting off tempo, then he would kill the sequencer and we would just finish the song, without the keyboards. This happened quite a few times throughout the night. When it did, he cut the keyboards and we finished out the song. The nice thing though, was that we were able to get right back into time, together. My wife, and parents noticed it some, but honestly, I think it's just because they have seen us so much, that they know what we are "supposed" to sound like. It wasn't bad, it was just kind of "raw" sounding, when we finished a song without the keyboards. The two biggest glares, to me, were "Carry Me Home" and "Tailgate To The Beach". They didn't sound bad per se, but they just sounded kind of empty.
You might be thinking, "Well heck, this is all on Tony", but that's not the case at all. Again, I thought Tony did a phenomenal job, under the circumstances. He had one audition, that was comprised of maybe a dozen songs, and then we had one rehearsal. At the rehearsal, we did run through every song that we played at Railhead, but still. Throwing 20 something songs at a guy, and then asking him to play with a click on top of that, was probably a little much. Long term, I think Tony will be just fine, and I'm really looking forward to working with him.
One more note about sequencers and clicks. When you use those, you are pretty much stuck to a rigid structure. In other words, there is really not any room for improvisation. You pretty much have to get all the notes in, to the space allotted. We've ditched the sequencing, for most of the covers that we play. What we've found, is that we have a lot more space to improvise and put on more of a "show", so to speak. We can break the song down, and let the crowd sing along, or whatever else we want to do. We noticed that we were able to do this same thing on the originals, when we had to cut the sequencing.
Now, ditching the keyboards on the live versions of our originals is not an option. While we want to have the freedom to improvise, we do not want to do it at the expense of our sound. So our options are to either continue with the sequencer and the click tracks, or bring in a live keyboard player. After the show, Roy and I both decided that we wanted to bring in a live keyboard player. Even though it will hurt us on the financial end, we think it's the best decision for the band, long term. It will free Roy up from having to worry about the keyboards, and all that entails. He will have more freedom to work the crowd, during the songs, plus it will allow us to continue to sound like us.
So, with all that out of the way, we are officially looking for a keyboard player to play with us live. If you know someone in the DFW area, who you think might be interested, please send them our way. Here is our ad. This is also posted on Craigslist. Have them check this out:
Seeking keyboard player for live work. You'll need a good basic library of synth sounds and basic B3 and piano knockoffs. We use Roland gear quite a bit in the studio. So, if you've got a Roland model from within the past 10 years or so, you'll probably have most of what you need. Something as simple as a Juno Di works fine. USB stick input is a big plus, as is sampling if you want to just sample our original sounds direct. USB/Sampling not a requirement, though.
For the past year, we've been running sequencing and the drummer plays to a click. We're looking to get away from constant sequencing to have more of a "live" feel. For the most part, there are multiple keyboard parts running at all times, not possible to re-create without sequencing. What we're looking for is someone to cover the key elements -- the main recognizable parts, not every part that's on the studio versions.
Basic requirements are: Have your own gear and transportation for local gigs around the metroplex and a few miles farther out, no drugs, 25-45 age range or around there, easy going personality, be available most weekends. I believe we played about 40 shows in 2013, pretty much all weekend dates. While it's not a full-time job, it's a little more than a casual commitment. We generally do not play free unless it's a really good cause, so yes, you will be paid. The studio version of the band is a duo. This is for a position within the live band - no writing/recording involved, just looking for someone for stage work.
Another big thing is the ability and discipline to practice on your own. With the amount we normally play, there's not a lot of free time for rehearsals. I've got to have someone willing to access our Drop Box, download the songs and the set lists, get familiar with them, then we'll get together a couple times before we bring you into the full live show. Most everyone in the band works during the week, so being computer literate and able to work on your own is very important.
I list Alt-Country / TX Country as our genre because it's the closest fit. We sound closest to country. However, we're kind of a hybrid. We're a little odd for the local country scene and use a lot of electronics. Sometimes we'll go into beach mode. Sometimes it sounds like rock. When we play covers, they're usually 80's songs, TX Country or Trop Rock. It's an odd blend, but it works.
You can listen to some of our songs and find out a little bit more about us on the following Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/sanddollarrodeo/app_2405167945
If interested, please email Roy at roy@sanddollarrodeo.com and he will get right back to you.
Ok, we are off this weekend, so Roy and I can hole up in the studio and work on acoustic arrangements for our songs. Yikes! We will be playing at Big Star 97's Campfire Jam on January 15th. I'll get you all the details for that, in the next blog post. Here's a hint though, it's an all acoustic show! Talk to ya soon, and thanks for reading!
For me, things started off on the wrong foot, as soon as I woke up on Saturday morning. My wife informed me that her cellphone had fallen off the kitchen cabinet, at some point during the night. The screen was shattered. In the grand scheme of things, this was really not that big of a deal, but we do not have a home phone, so we needed to get the issue dealt with. We packed up the kids and headed to the AT&T store. They opened at 10am, we had a full day, so I wanted to get over there and get done.
We were not up for an upgrade, so it was going to be like $500 to replace my wife's phone. The AT&T lady referred us to a place that could repair the phone. It was actually just down the road, so that was good. We headed over there, showed them the phone, they said it would be $190 to repair the phone. I did try to negotiate the price down, but they wouldn't budge. We agreed to the repair price, and the lady said it would be ready by 4pm, that afternoon. We told them that we would not be able to get back over there, on Saturday. They were closed on Sunday, so we told them that we would pick it up on Monday.
To make a long story short, they ended up calling us about 30 minutes after we arrived home, and said the phone was ready. What the heck? If we would have known this, we would have just stayed in town. My wife wanted her phone, and decided to run back into town to pick it up.
I mentioned earlier, that in the grand scheme of thing, this was not that big of a deal. The reason I say this, is because we lost my aunt on New Year's Day, to cancer. Her funeral was also on Saturday. My wife wanted me to stay home, and try and have a little down time. The funeral was that afternoon, and then we were having a family get together after that. Not to mention, I also had a show that night.
Of course, she got stuck in traffic, on the way back to Fort Worth. She made it back home about 15 minutes before we needed to leave, to go to the funeral. We made it just in time. We had a family dinner, afterward. I stayed up until the last moment, ran home, changed clothes, loaded up my gear, and headed to Railhead. I felt very fortunate that this gig was basically in my backyard. Had it been out of town, or somewhere towards the Dallas side of the metroplex, I'm not sure what I would have done.
Anyway, by the time I made it to Railhead, I was pretty much frazzled. It had been a very long and emotionally draining day. For some reason though, the thought never crossed my mind that maybe we should cancel this show.
I wasn't the only one dealing with issues. Brian, our bass player, was sick as a dog. He showed up and looked really rough. He had not been feeling well at rehearsal either. I really appreciate him powering through it. Tony, of course being brand new, was taking every spare second that he had, to go out to his car and listen to the songs. He was studying all the way up until show time, and again during our break. I'm really amazed that he was able to step in and play the show with us.
Roy seemed really laid back about all the chaos. I imagine that deep down he was probably worried sick, but if he was, he never seemed to show it.
Our main issue, was going to be staying in time with the sequencers and click tracks. Unfortunately, this pretty much all falls on Tony. He is the drummer, so when your a musician, you naturally follow the tempo of your drummer.
Using a click and sequencers is really not all that uncommon. Usually it's done out of necessity or convenience. For example, with us, Roy can't sing, play acoustic guitar and keyboards, all at the same time. The keyboards are sequenced and set to a click track. So basically, our drummer is supposed to follow the keyboards. As long as we are all in tempo with this, everything will sound great, but if we get off by a half a beat or so, it can become a mess, really quickly. What happens is the keyboard is playing a different note, then the rest of the band, if we are off beat.
Some other notable bands that use sequencers live are U2 and Van Halen. I'm pretty sure it's out of necessity. Both bands are four pieces. In U2's case, The Edge plays both guitar and keyboards. In a live situation, it would be just about impossible for him to play all the keyboard parts, plus the guitar parts at the same time. A great example of this, would be on their song "Where The Streets Have No Name". If your unfamiliar with the song, it starts off with keyboards and then Edge plays the guitar riff over the top of it. It would be impossible for one person to play both of these parts live, so the keyboard parts are sequenced. It's the same concept that we are using. I would imagine that U2's system is much more sophisticated then ours, but you get the idea. If the live musicians get out of time with the sequenced parts, it's gonna be a mess. Edge will play some keyboard parts live, just as Roy does. But, it's only on certain songs, and usually its a solo type run or piano part. For example, Edge plays the piano part for "New Years Day" live; Roy does the same thing on our song "Into The Night".
I also mentioned Van Halen. Eddie does the same thing. He plays both keyboards and guitar on their albums. Pretty impossible, even for him, to do both live. They run the keyboards sequenced, during a concert, and he plays guitar live.
Roy advised us that if things started getting off tempo, then he would kill the sequencer and we would just finish the song, without the keyboards. This happened quite a few times throughout the night. When it did, he cut the keyboards and we finished out the song. The nice thing though, was that we were able to get right back into time, together. My wife, and parents noticed it some, but honestly, I think it's just because they have seen us so much, that they know what we are "supposed" to sound like. It wasn't bad, it was just kind of "raw" sounding, when we finished a song without the keyboards. The two biggest glares, to me, were "Carry Me Home" and "Tailgate To The Beach". They didn't sound bad per se, but they just sounded kind of empty.
You might be thinking, "Well heck, this is all on Tony", but that's not the case at all. Again, I thought Tony did a phenomenal job, under the circumstances. He had one audition, that was comprised of maybe a dozen songs, and then we had one rehearsal. At the rehearsal, we did run through every song that we played at Railhead, but still. Throwing 20 something songs at a guy, and then asking him to play with a click on top of that, was probably a little much. Long term, I think Tony will be just fine, and I'm really looking forward to working with him.
One more note about sequencers and clicks. When you use those, you are pretty much stuck to a rigid structure. In other words, there is really not any room for improvisation. You pretty much have to get all the notes in, to the space allotted. We've ditched the sequencing, for most of the covers that we play. What we've found, is that we have a lot more space to improvise and put on more of a "show", so to speak. We can break the song down, and let the crowd sing along, or whatever else we want to do. We noticed that we were able to do this same thing on the originals, when we had to cut the sequencing.
Now, ditching the keyboards on the live versions of our originals is not an option. While we want to have the freedom to improvise, we do not want to do it at the expense of our sound. So our options are to either continue with the sequencer and the click tracks, or bring in a live keyboard player. After the show, Roy and I both decided that we wanted to bring in a live keyboard player. Even though it will hurt us on the financial end, we think it's the best decision for the band, long term. It will free Roy up from having to worry about the keyboards, and all that entails. He will have more freedom to work the crowd, during the songs, plus it will allow us to continue to sound like us.
So, with all that out of the way, we are officially looking for a keyboard player to play with us live. If you know someone in the DFW area, who you think might be interested, please send them our way. Here is our ad. This is also posted on Craigslist. Have them check this out:
Seeking keyboard player for live work. You'll need a good basic library of synth sounds and basic B3 and piano knockoffs. We use Roland gear quite a bit in the studio. So, if you've got a Roland model from within the past 10 years or so, you'll probably have most of what you need. Something as simple as a Juno Di works fine. USB stick input is a big plus, as is sampling if you want to just sample our original sounds direct. USB/Sampling not a requirement, though.
For the past year, we've been running sequencing and the drummer plays to a click. We're looking to get away from constant sequencing to have more of a "live" feel. For the most part, there are multiple keyboard parts running at all times, not possible to re-create without sequencing. What we're looking for is someone to cover the key elements -- the main recognizable parts, not every part that's on the studio versions.
Basic requirements are: Have your own gear and transportation for local gigs around the metroplex and a few miles farther out, no drugs, 25-45 age range or around there, easy going personality, be available most weekends. I believe we played about 40 shows in 2013, pretty much all weekend dates. While it's not a full-time job, it's a little more than a casual commitment. We generally do not play free unless it's a really good cause, so yes, you will be paid. The studio version of the band is a duo. This is for a position within the live band - no writing/recording involved, just looking for someone for stage work.
Another big thing is the ability and discipline to practice on your own. With the amount we normally play, there's not a lot of free time for rehearsals. I've got to have someone willing to access our Drop Box, download the songs and the set lists, get familiar with them, then we'll get together a couple times before we bring you into the full live show. Most everyone in the band works during the week, so being computer literate and able to work on your own is very important.
I list Alt-Country / TX Country as our genre because it's the closest fit. We sound closest to country. However, we're kind of a hybrid. We're a little odd for the local country scene and use a lot of electronics. Sometimes we'll go into beach mode. Sometimes it sounds like rock. When we play covers, they're usually 80's songs, TX Country or Trop Rock. It's an odd blend, but it works.
You can listen to some of our songs and find out a little bit more about us on the following Facebook page -
http://www.facebook.com/sanddollarrodeo/app_2405167945
If interested, please email Roy at roy@sanddollarrodeo.com and he will get right back to you.
Ok, we are off this weekend, so Roy and I can hole up in the studio and work on acoustic arrangements for our songs. Yikes! We will be playing at Big Star 97's Campfire Jam on January 15th. I'll get you all the details for that, in the next blog post. Here's a hint though, it's an all acoustic show! Talk to ya soon, and thanks for reading!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Hello New Year, It's So Good To See You
Alrighty, well now that 2013 is behind us, it's time to focus on 2014. But before we do that, I just want to say that 2013 was an incredible ride. A lot of up's and down's, but you know what? I wouldn't change a thing. Each event, whether good or bad, was a great learning experience. Roy recently posted an entire 2013 re-cap, on his blog. You can read it here www.royholliday.blogspot.com After you finish up here, go check it out!
So, the last time I posted, it was prior posted to Christmas. I hope you all had a great holiday season. It has been a really busy time for SDR. As I mentioned in my last post, our drummer Cisco, is having to move on. We held auditions for a new drummer on December 22. Out of the audition sessions, we were able to bring on a new drummer. His name is Tony. We are very thankful to have him on board.
The real work began after the audition process, however. Since December 22, we have been working with Tony, to get him up to speed on everything. Roy has been sending files to him, to practice with, and I've been manning the phones for any questions that he might have.
We were able to have a rehearsal on New Year's Day. While I don't think any of us wanted to spend our New Year's Day holiday rehearsing, we all knew that it was necessary. Since Tony lives in Wylie and I live in Aledo, about the closest middle ground was in Dallas. It was 30 something miles for Roy, Brian, and Tony, and 48 for me. I didn't really mind though. Tony drove all the way to west Fort Worth for his audition. I didn't think it was fair for him to drive all the way back out there on New Year's Day, and then drive out to Willow Park on Saturday for the show. We rented a rehearsal space off of Mockingbird Lane, in Dallas, for the rehearsal. We had the room from 12-6. I arrived a little after noon. It was a long rehearsal. We started a little after 1, and wrapped up a little after 5. By the time I loaded up and got on the road, it was almost 6, and by the time I arrived home it was almost 7. So as you can see, it was a long day. I want to thank Roy, Brian, and Tony for giving up their New Year's Day, to do this.
So, earlier I mentioned a show. Yes, we will be kicking off 2014 with a show at the Railhead Smokehouse, on Saturday, January 4, at 7:30pm. The Railhead is located at 120 S. Ranch House Rd., Willow Park, Texas. We are really looking forward to this one. We played our first show there on October 19th, and had a blast! So, delay that New Year's resolution by a few more days, and come have a party with us. They have plenty of great barbeque, ice cold beer, and other assorted beverages. Also, this will be Tony's first show with us, so if nothing else, come out and meet him, lol.
Ok, I have some rehearsing to do myself, so I better go. We have a lot of exciting stuff planned for 2014, so stay tuned, and I'll talk to you soon!
So, the last time I posted, it was prior posted to Christmas. I hope you all had a great holiday season. It has been a really busy time for SDR. As I mentioned in my last post, our drummer Cisco, is having to move on. We held auditions for a new drummer on December 22. Out of the audition sessions, we were able to bring on a new drummer. His name is Tony. We are very thankful to have him on board.
The real work began after the audition process, however. Since December 22, we have been working with Tony, to get him up to speed on everything. Roy has been sending files to him, to practice with, and I've been manning the phones for any questions that he might have.
We were able to have a rehearsal on New Year's Day. While I don't think any of us wanted to spend our New Year's Day holiday rehearsing, we all knew that it was necessary. Since Tony lives in Wylie and I live in Aledo, about the closest middle ground was in Dallas. It was 30 something miles for Roy, Brian, and Tony, and 48 for me. I didn't really mind though. Tony drove all the way to west Fort Worth for his audition. I didn't think it was fair for him to drive all the way back out there on New Year's Day, and then drive out to Willow Park on Saturday for the show. We rented a rehearsal space off of Mockingbird Lane, in Dallas, for the rehearsal. We had the room from 12-6. I arrived a little after noon. It was a long rehearsal. We started a little after 1, and wrapped up a little after 5. By the time I loaded up and got on the road, it was almost 6, and by the time I arrived home it was almost 7. So as you can see, it was a long day. I want to thank Roy, Brian, and Tony for giving up their New Year's Day, to do this.
So, earlier I mentioned a show. Yes, we will be kicking off 2014 with a show at the Railhead Smokehouse, on Saturday, January 4, at 7:30pm. The Railhead is located at 120 S. Ranch House Rd., Willow Park, Texas. We are really looking forward to this one. We played our first show there on October 19th, and had a blast! So, delay that New Year's resolution by a few more days, and come have a party with us. They have plenty of great barbeque, ice cold beer, and other assorted beverages. Also, this will be Tony's first show with us, so if nothing else, come out and meet him, lol.
Ok, I have some rehearsing to do myself, so I better go. We have a lot of exciting stuff planned for 2014, so stay tuned, and I'll talk to you soon!
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