Mayfest and The Lake

Hello everyone! Hope all is well. It's spring and we are in full show mode right now. We have a couple of more shows this week, so I wanted to get this post out early.

This Thursday, May 1st, Roy and I will be doing an acoustic show at Lake Weatherford Marina. I found out that they were hosting live music, last fall, from my parents. They had met some friends and family out at the lake on a Thursday to eat burgers, and listen to the music. I contacted them about playing out there, shortly thereafter, but they were already booked for the rest of the season, and asked me to check back with them in March. Since it's a totally outdoor venue, they only host live music between April and September. I contacted them in March and we set up the date.

Like I said earlier, there is plenty of fresh grilled food and plenty of drinks, both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. There is also sand volleyball, if your so inclined. The marina is located at 210 W. Lake Dr., Weatherford, TX 76087. We go on at 7pm, so come on out and get your weekend started early with us! You can check out more info on the marina here www.lakeweatherfordmarina.com

If Weatherford/Hudson Oaks, is too far away, then you can catch us again on Saturday, May 3rd at Fort Worth Mayfest. This is one of the biggest festivals around and it will run from Thursday, May 1st until Sunday, May 4th. We will be on the Riverbank Stage at 6:30pm on Saturday. The schedule runs tight so it will be a 6:30 sharp start, and we will be playing until 7:30pm. Please note that their are 3 stages dedicated to live music: The Main Stage, Art Stage, and Riverbank Stage. If your coming out to see us, or just going to the fest, in general, I would highly recommend you to allow plenty of time for traffic. It will be very busy. This, and The Main Street Arts Festival, are the two biggest festivals in the Fort Worth area. There are plenty of activities for the whole family. There is no way that I can list everything that Mayfest has to offer. Well, I guess I could, but that would take all night. So, I will direct you to their website instead www.mayfest.org You can find out about everything here. It's chock full of information, and includes the complete schedule for all of their entertainment stages. If you come on Saturday, be sure and bring the sunscreen. The forecast is calling for sunny skies with a temperature of 91 degrees, with a 0% chance of rain.

If you are coming out on Thursday, you might actually want to wear a long sleeve t-shirt, or bring a light jacket. The forecast is calling for the temperature to drop into the 60's during our set, with winds out of the NNW at 10-15mph. It could get chilly with that wind coming off of the lake. Roy will probably love it though!

Well, that's Texas for you, right? As they always say about our weather, "if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes, and it will change.

Ok, well I better close this one out. I need to practice for tomorrow night. Hope you can make it out to one or both of the shows this week. One things for sure, they will both be very different, but fun! Thanks, as always, for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!

Martin House Round 2

Ahh... spring is finally in the air. I think old man winter has finally petered out, around here. Last weekend, Roy and I got a taste of the spring weather at Cobra Brewing. The weather was gorgeous and about 80 degrees, without a cloud in the sky. This turned out to be an outdoor gig, our first since October of last year. We both ended up sunburned, as we didn't think about packing any sunscreen. Honestly, we didn't know what to expect as we had never visited Cobra Brewing before. The thought of being outside never crossed our minds. Oh well, we have several outdoor shows coming up this spring, so I guess I better throw the sunscreen into the gig bag. You can read more about last weeks gig, on Roy's blog found here www.royholliday.blogspot.com

So, last November, we played at Martin House Brewing Company, for the first time. It's located right in the heart of Fort Worth. The address is 220 S. Sylvania Ave., Suite 209, Fort Worth, TX 76111. I remember it being a cold and dreary day. I get cold really easily, so I dressed in layers. Not only did I have my heavy jacket, but I also wore a flannel long sleeve shirt and a long sleeve t-shirt. I was really glad I did, as we found out that the inside of the brewery does not have heating, or air conditioning. We had a great time though and booked a follow up show, that next Monday. They are booked pretty far out, as April 26th was the first available date that they had. We jumped on it, so here we are.

This Saturday will be a lot different then the last time, weather wise. We are looking at a high of 88. When we were visiting with them, the last time, they mentioned that they like to have the bands play outside, when the weather permits. I'm assuming that we will be outside this Saturday, unless it rains, but right now their is only a 10% chance. The tour runs from 2-5pm. The tour is actually more of an open house. You will be able to see all the brewery equipment, as you relax and enjoy the beers. You can hangout either indoors or out. They also provide some games like cornhole, washers, and ladder golf. Your welcome to bring your own games, as well. They do have limited seating, but you are free to bring your own chairs, tables, and shade implements. A tour, guided by one of the brewery employees will start in the back of the building around 4:30pm, and lasts about 20 minutes. They will tell you a bit about their history and how the company was started, and they will explain how they make beer and how all of the equipment works.

They are pet and family friendly, but due to local health codes, dogs must stay in the outside areas. Kids will too, if they get unruly! Ha ha!

Admission for the event is $10. The admission covers your pint glass and brewery tour, plus 3 pints of beer. The bar closes at 4:45pm. They do accept cash and credit cards. Also, the Crow Bros food truck www.facebook.com/crowbrothers will be on hand to dole out some tasty treats!

I don't know about you, but this seems like a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, in my opinion. Much better than yard work, don't ya think?

Ok, that's all I've got for now. We hope to see you Saturday. Stay tuned, and I'll talk at ya soon!

Junior's Lone Star Sauce One Year Anniversay Party, And The New Website

Ok, well that title is a mouthful, huh? Last November, we played a show at Martin House Brewery. Incidentally, we will be back there next weekend on April 26th. Hey, never too early to promote a show, right? Anyway, on our initial visit to Martin House, their was a vendor set up, selling homemade barbeque sauce. They were giving out free samples, and I could not resist. Every flavor I tried was absolutely fabulous! I'm serious, this is some of the best BBQ sauce that I have ever tasted. I went home that day, with a jar of the August, which is the hot stuff. And let me tell you, it's hot! We had a great time with them that day, and have since, developed a great friendship with Pittmaster Tex and Chrissie Morgan, who own Juniors.

Awhile back, they contacted us to see if we would be interested in playing at their one year anniversary party. Roy and I were in from the word go. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it work for a full band show. Mainly, it was just the time of day, plus some of our members already had prior commitments that day. So, Roy and I decided to see if they would be interested in us coming out and doing an acoustic set. They were, so we booked it.

The event will take place this Saturday, April 19th at Cobra Brewing Company. They are located at 146 Whatley Ave, Lewisville, Texas 75057. The doors open at high noon! As Junior's website states, this is the start of an annual festival. Juniors is releasing a special new sauce, that they claim, is gonna make August look pathetic!

Cobra Brewing will be releasing two special beers for the event. A Double IPA, and also a Smoked Jalapeno IPA, that they collaborated on, with Juniors. Square One Cafe https://m.facebook.com/squareonecafe  will be on hand to serve up some amazing food, including Junior's Lone Star Sauce.

Juniors is also teaming up with the North Texas Beard Alliance, for an awesome facial hair competition. The categories are:

Full Beard Natural
Partial Beard
Sideburns/Chops
Mustache
Female Faux (Or real if you got it)/Whiskerinas

Here are the sponsors for the competition:

Louisiana Beard & Facial Hair Association
www.facebook.com/louisianabeard

Rex Wax: Handmade Moustache Wax
www.facebook.com/rexwax

Ava Bayba Soaps-Texas Beer Soap
www.facebook.com/avabaybasoaps

K & L Bohemian Bling
www.facebook.com/klbohobling

Texas Beer Camp
www.facebook.com/texasbeercamp

Mackey' Rods
www.facebook.com/mackeyrods

Firehouse Moustache Wax
www.facebook.com/firehouse-moustache-wax

Dubs Stache Wax
www.facebook.com/dubsstachewax

Moonshine Beard Care Line
www.facebook.com/moonshinebeardcareline

Save The Beard
www.facebook.com/loveforthebeard

The .50 Cal Alpha Opener
www.facebook.com/thealphaopener

Bluebeards Original
www.facebook.com/bluebeards-original

Beard Apparel
www.facebook.com/beardapparel

Beard Balm
www.facebook.com/beardbalm

Beard Head
www.facebook.com/beardhead

Sniffingbutt Dog Bone Brewery
www.facebook.com/sniffingbuttdogteats

Lucky Scruff Beard Oil
www.facebook.com/luckyscruff

Uprise Design
www.facebook.com/uprisedesign

Moose-Stache Wax
www.facebook.com/moosestachewax

South Carolina Beard Club
www.facebook.com/scbeardclub

Abrahams Beard Shampoo
www.facebook.com/wwjwlnc

Fisticuffs Mustache Wax
www.facebook.com/fisticuffsmustachewax

Known Felon
www.facebook.com/knownfelon4men

If you get a chance, please check out their Facebook pages.

Now, if all that isn't enough, their will be 3 bands playing. Roy and I will kick things off, with our acoustic set. The Rhythm and Beards www.facebook.com/TheRhythmAndBeards will follow us, and The Driftin Outlaw Band www.facebook.com/thedriftinoutlawband will close things out.

This is going to be a great time and we are expecting a great crowd. If your in the Lewisville area, you should stop by, it's going to be a great day! You can check out Junior's official site here www.juniorstexassauce.com You can order sauce, and check out all kinds of cool stuff.

Speaking of websites, I have some news on ours. As I've briefly mentioned here, we have been working on redesigning ours. It is live now, but we still be adding more material over the next few weeks. So, it's still (semi) under construction, but its at the point where we feel comfortable enough to make it public. You can check it out here www.sanddollarrodeo.com Feel free to give us feedback! We hope you enjoy it.

Ok, that's all for now. We hope to see you in Lewisville, this weekend! Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!

Our 50th Show

Hmm...any guesses as to what this blog post is about? Ha ha! Yes, this weekend will be the 50th Sand Dollar Rodeo show. I actually stumbled on this tidbit, by accident. We are in the process of doing a complete overhaul of our main website. This website is not "live", as of yet. All changes are being made behind the scenes. Once it does go live though, I think you are really going to like it.

One of the features of the new site, will be an archive of every live show, that we have played. This feature is actually available on our current site, as well. Roy had emailed me, to advise that this feature was now on the new site, too. I scrolled around and looked. I then decided to count them all. I do not know what possessed me to do this. I guess I was just curious. This was a few weeks ago and we were at 47. The Fort Worth Convention Center was #48, and Cowtown Bowling, the next night was #49.

Oddly enough, #50 will be back at the Cowtown Bowling Palace again. I say oddly, because it's kind of a quirky schedule. We usually like to put at least a month, in between visits, to the same venue. Usually the venues prefer this as well. It's mainly so that you do not oversaturate yourself, in a given location. In this case though, they offered both dates at the same time, so we figured, if they don't mind, then neither do we. We were just at Cowtown on March 29. We will be back, this Saturday, April 12 at 9pm.

This is a great deal. For $10, you get 2 hours of unlimited bowling, plus live music. They have a full service kitchen, plus plenty of cold drinks. Both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. If you are planning on coming, you might want to come early, or heck, it may not even matter. Suffice to say, they were packed last time. It was over an hour wait, for a lane. But hey, that's no big deal, right? There is plenty of room to hang out, listen to us, and catch a ballgame on the big screen. That's one of Brian's favorite things to do, during our break! Cowtown is located at 4333 River Oaks Blvd., Ft. Worth, TX. So come on out and celebrate our 50th show with us! We hope you can make it out.

Well, that's all I have for now, but stay tuned! We will have more details on the new website, over the next coming weeks. We will also have quite a few spring shows to talk about. More details about those, will come, as the dates draw nearer. Thanks as always for reading, and your support, and I'll talk to ya on the flipside!