For those of you that do not know, I am not much of a morning person. In fact, no one in my immediate family is. My older son is practically a vampire, and it's not uncommon for my two younger daughters (7 & 5) to sleep in till 9am or later, if they have the chance to. The one exception, might be my wife. But honestly, I think it's more a product, of her training her body to go to bed at a decent hour. As I said, I've never been a morning person. I like to stay up late, as that seems to be when I'm the sharpest. My motivation, and creativity really kicks in after 9pm.
It's funny, one of my favorite songwriters, Robert Earl Keen, told a similar tale on one of his live albums. He stated that he is a lazy person, by nature. He likes to stay up late, and sleep in. First of all, I don't consider myself a lazy person, my body is just more comfortable, with later nights and later mornings. I suspect that Robert Earl Keen is the same way. Anyway, he went on and said that this motivated him to pursue music, as a career. "This will perfect for me.", he said. Well, he cut his first single, and went to talk to a radio station about playing it, and maybe doing an interview. The guy at the radio station said, "Sure, we'll give it a spin. Be here at 6am on Saturday." Robert Earl said, "Man, it's already going bad for me." He went on to describe some other things, in the story, but I have always been able to relate to this tidbit.
Now, Roy on the other hand, is a major morning person. I've received emails from him, in the 4am range. And no, he was not up all night! He is pretty much the exact opposite of me. He is at his creative best, early in the morning. So, I guess that pretty much makes SDR, and almost 24 hour venture, huh? I've sent him plenty of emails, well after midnight, that I know he won't see, until the next day. Likewise, when he sends me something in the wee hours, he knows that he will most likely not hear back from me, until at least 9am. The only time I see 4am, is if I have been up all night!
Now, with all of that out of the way, we have a very different type of gig, that we are playing this weekend. Texas has a lot of craft brewers, i.e. craft beer. These establishments, have really taken off in recent years, and I am glad to see it. I will admit it here, I am a beer snob. There is nothing better then a full bodied, great tasting beer. I don't drink beer to get drunk, although, if it's a really great beer, I might overindulge every once in awhile. Sorry, but I am not much of a fan of light beer, i.e. Miller Lite, Coors Light, and Bud Light. If I wanted carbonated water, I would just buy that instead. No offense, to anyone who enjoys these, but they are just not my style. I love to go to the store, and find a new beer to try. Sometimes, it works great, and sometimes, not so great. That's part of the fun, for me. Almost every time I go though, I inevitably see some dude walking out with a 30 pack of Keystone Light, and I'm just thinking, "Man, what are you doing?" But, to each his own, I guess. A lot of my buddies can't believe that I will pay $9.00 or more, for a six pack of beer. They say, "Man, you could've gotten a 12 or 18 pack of insert, "common domestic beer" here, I just tell them, that for me, "It's quality, not quantity."
Roy also enjoys good quality beer. He went to a craft beer festival a few weeks ago, and met with several of the brewers. A real popular thing that happens with these brewers is, that they give Saturday afternoon tours of their facility. Free beer samples, are usually included. It's also becoming a popular trend, to have a live band come in during these events. We have a couple of these events coming up, over the next couple of weeks. The first one will be this Saturday at the Firewheel Brewery. The Firewheel Brewery is located at 2806 Lewing Lane, Rowlett, Texas. When Roy was booking this show, I remember him saying, "Hey, would you like to play at a brewery?" "Sure, I said. He replied back, "Ok, we will be playing at Firewheel Brewery, in Rowlett, from 11am-3pm." The Robert Earl Keen thought, came into my head, "Oh man, it's already going bad for me, man!" This brewery is 69 miles from my house. I will probably need to be up by 7:00am, at the latest. Not very rock n roll, is it? I move slow in the morning! Luckily, Cisco has come to the rescue. He lives pretty close to me, and has volunteered to drive me. I think I am going to take him up on it. I can get an extra hour of sleep, on the way over! Just kidding! I wouldn't do that to him.
In all actuality, I'm really looking forward to this gig, but damn, that's early! I'm not a morning beer drinker, but I may have to make an exception here! So, if your in the Rowlett area, on Saturday morning/early afternoon, you should drop by the Firewheel Brewery, for a tour, some music, and of course, some beer! Roy told me, that some of our friends from McKinney, may be coming. I hope they do, as we have been desperately trying to get back up that way, for a show. It's been too long! They are some great folks, and I hope to see them on Saturday.
Ok, I'm done for now. If you have any questions, please wait until 10am to contact me, ok? Over and out!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Bassin' And Bowling
Well, this post is way overdue! Last week, I had a rough draft ready, for what was supposed to be last week's blog post. But, alas! Good ole' AT&T prevented that from happening, as our internet, went down at some point last Thursday. Not only that, but since we also have U-verse, that meant no TV either. In hindsight, it's really not that big of deal. A lot of people have a lot more worries, then this. I'm really blessed, and if this is the worst thing to happen to me, over the past week, then I've got it pretty good.
I usually like to post on Thursday's. I have made exceptions, in the past, but Thursdays usually work out the best. Monday's and Tuesday's, are normally when I work on a rough draft, and Wednesday's are when we feature our song of the week. Although, that will be winding down after next week, as we will feature the last song from the GPS To Nowhere album. So, with all of this out of the way, let's get to the latest.
We have been looking at expanding the live band, for some time now. Roy and I, have gone back and forth, over which piece to add next. We couldn't decide whether to go keyboards, or bass guitar. In the end though, we decided that bass guitar would be the best way to expand the live band, at this point. The main reason, is that Roy has a real unique way of running our keyboards, plus he plays some live keyboards during our show. We though for presentation, as well as live sound, that a bass player would have a more, immediate impact.
We ran ads on Craigslist and Facebook, for the last few weeks. We had a lot of responses. Some really strange things happened, on some of these exchanges. For example, we had one applicant email us, and say he was interested. We emailed back, said great, and tried to set up an audition time, He then emailed us back, later, and said he wouldn't be the right fit, but good luck with your project. What the heck? We had another one, that said he was going to start learning bass, and wanted to get involved with a band. He said he was a great Tuba player though, and thought he could add to our sound! Actually, none of this really surprised me. Musicians can be a flaky lot. In the past, these sort of things have happened to me, on numerous occasions. As I mentioned on here, in one of my initial blog posts, trying to recruit musicians can be a nightmare. When I was trying to put together an 80's New Wave band, I never could get anyone together, to even have an initial meeting/rehearsal. Exhausted from the process, I finally gave up on the idea.
I honestly don't remember how many people submitted for our bass player position, but I would like to thank them all, for expressing an interest. We set the audition date for June 8th. We were originally supposed to play a show on that date, but had to cancel it for personal reasons. We decided that this would be a great day to do the auditions. We had three applicants, that we were able to schedule. We scheduled them for 10:30am, 12:30pm, and 2:30pm. We wanted to allow plenty of time, for each applicant. We gave each of them the same four songs to learn. The songs we used for the audition were GPS To Nowhere, Rodeo Radio, Tailgate To The Beach, and Fried Okra. We thought that this would be a good mix, as each song has quite a different feel, from the other.
Each applicant showed up on time, and all three, were very good players. In addition, we got along really well with each applicant, too. This made the decision even more difficult. In the end, we offered the position to Carlos Shilinsky. Carlos is a very accomplished bass player. He also has a great personality and a funny sense of humor. He will fit in with us, very well. I'm super excited to have him on board. He should be joining us for live shows, in the very near future. I would also like to personally thank the other two applicants, for driving out and auditioning. Again, they were both great players, and made this decision, very difficult for us. I wish them both, the best.
Speaking of live shows, we will be back at it again this weekend. This will be a very different experience for us, as we are playing at the Cowtown Bowling Palace. Yes, you read that right. By the name, you can guess what it is, right? I thought so. Roy found this one, I don't remember how, and Marti booked it. Anyway, the theme is Bowling with the Bands. I honestly, have no idea what to expect at this show, but I am really looking forward to it. We will be there this Saturday, June 22. It's a late show, as we do not take the stage until 10pm. Cowtown Bowling Palace is located at 4333 River Oaks Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas. Admission is $10, and from what I understand, that includes bowling, for the night. Pretty good deal, if you ask me. Anyway, I hope you can make it out, if your in the area.
Well, that's all folks! Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!
I usually like to post on Thursday's. I have made exceptions, in the past, but Thursdays usually work out the best. Monday's and Tuesday's, are normally when I work on a rough draft, and Wednesday's are when we feature our song of the week. Although, that will be winding down after next week, as we will feature the last song from the GPS To Nowhere album. So, with all of this out of the way, let's get to the latest.
We have been looking at expanding the live band, for some time now. Roy and I, have gone back and forth, over which piece to add next. We couldn't decide whether to go keyboards, or bass guitar. In the end though, we decided that bass guitar would be the best way to expand the live band, at this point. The main reason, is that Roy has a real unique way of running our keyboards, plus he plays some live keyboards during our show. We though for presentation, as well as live sound, that a bass player would have a more, immediate impact.
We ran ads on Craigslist and Facebook, for the last few weeks. We had a lot of responses. Some really strange things happened, on some of these exchanges. For example, we had one applicant email us, and say he was interested. We emailed back, said great, and tried to set up an audition time, He then emailed us back, later, and said he wouldn't be the right fit, but good luck with your project. What the heck? We had another one, that said he was going to start learning bass, and wanted to get involved with a band. He said he was a great Tuba player though, and thought he could add to our sound! Actually, none of this really surprised me. Musicians can be a flaky lot. In the past, these sort of things have happened to me, on numerous occasions. As I mentioned on here, in one of my initial blog posts, trying to recruit musicians can be a nightmare. When I was trying to put together an 80's New Wave band, I never could get anyone together, to even have an initial meeting/rehearsal. Exhausted from the process, I finally gave up on the idea.
I honestly don't remember how many people submitted for our bass player position, but I would like to thank them all, for expressing an interest. We set the audition date for June 8th. We were originally supposed to play a show on that date, but had to cancel it for personal reasons. We decided that this would be a great day to do the auditions. We had three applicants, that we were able to schedule. We scheduled them for 10:30am, 12:30pm, and 2:30pm. We wanted to allow plenty of time, for each applicant. We gave each of them the same four songs to learn. The songs we used for the audition were GPS To Nowhere, Rodeo Radio, Tailgate To The Beach, and Fried Okra. We thought that this would be a good mix, as each song has quite a different feel, from the other.
Each applicant showed up on time, and all three, were very good players. In addition, we got along really well with each applicant, too. This made the decision even more difficult. In the end, we offered the position to Carlos Shilinsky. Carlos is a very accomplished bass player. He also has a great personality and a funny sense of humor. He will fit in with us, very well. I'm super excited to have him on board. He should be joining us for live shows, in the very near future. I would also like to personally thank the other two applicants, for driving out and auditioning. Again, they were both great players, and made this decision, very difficult for us. I wish them both, the best.
Speaking of live shows, we will be back at it again this weekend. This will be a very different experience for us, as we are playing at the Cowtown Bowling Palace. Yes, you read that right. By the name, you can guess what it is, right? I thought so. Roy found this one, I don't remember how, and Marti booked it. Anyway, the theme is Bowling with the Bands. I honestly, have no idea what to expect at this show, but I am really looking forward to it. We will be there this Saturday, June 22. It's a late show, as we do not take the stage until 10pm. Cowtown Bowling Palace is located at 4333 River Oaks Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas. Admission is $10, and from what I understand, that includes bowling, for the night. Pretty good deal, if you ask me. Anyway, I hope you can make it out, if your in the area.
Well, that's all folks! Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Summers A Comin'
The official start of summer is not until June 21st. However, around these parts (Texas that is), most people tend to celebrate summer's arrival, over Memorial Day weekend. We've always considered Sand Dollar Rodeo, a summer party band. Not that we won't do shows, throughout the whole year, because we do that, as well. If any of you know Roy, then you know he loves Christmas, just as much as summer. Summer seems to be our season, though. Outdoor shows, parties, festivals, you name it. That's what we thrive on. If you listen to our music, I think that you will agree. A cold drink, driving or taking a road trip, the beach, heck, even Fried Okra! It all goes hand in hand.
We will be kicking off our summer season in grand style, this weekend. We have a pair of shows scheduled for this Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, we will return to the Keller Tavern, located at 128 S. Main St., Keller, Texas. SDR will take the stage at 8pm. The weather should be perfect, well perfect for me, anyway. Temperatures should be in the mid to lower 80's. By the end of the evening, temperatures should be in the lower 70's. This continues a cooler then normal weather pattern for us. This has been the coolest spring, that I can remember, and I have lived in Texas, all of my life. We are usually well into the 90's, by this time of year. Nighttime lows are usually in the mid 70's, at the lowest. Hey, I'm not complaining though. I will take this normal then cooler weather, for as long as it wants to continue. So, come and kick off your Memorial Day weekend with us at the Keller Tavern.
Saturday will be a quick turnaround for us, as we will be playing a private party, out at my folks' house. We will be going on at 4pm, and playing a straight through set (no breaks). The weather should be great. A daytime high of 84, is in the forecast. If you are reading this, and coming to the party, we look forward to seeing you. It should be a great time!
On that note, Sand Dollar Rodeo is available for summer parties, get-togethers, or whatever! If you are interested in booking a private event, please email us at info@sanddollarrodeo.com You can also contact Roy, or I directly, if you prefer.
With all this talk about the weather, let's not forget the people of Granbury and Cleburne, Texas. They were hit hard by tornadoes, last week. I have been to both of these lovely towns, many times. SDR played in Granbury back in March, and we are scheduled to play in Cleburne, on September 28th. Also, please remember the people of Moore, Oklahoma. All of these people, need our thoughts, prayers, and help. Their are many ways you can help. There are too many sites, to list them all here, but if you run a Google search, or better yet, check your favorite social media site, then their should be plenty of information on where and how, we can all help. Whether it's a monetary donation, donating items, or traveling to the areas hit and helping with the clean up, we can all do our part, to help these folks get back on their feet again.
Ok gang, that's all I've got for this week. As always, thanks for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!
We will be kicking off our summer season in grand style, this weekend. We have a pair of shows scheduled for this Friday and Saturday. On Friday night, we will return to the Keller Tavern, located at 128 S. Main St., Keller, Texas. SDR will take the stage at 8pm. The weather should be perfect, well perfect for me, anyway. Temperatures should be in the mid to lower 80's. By the end of the evening, temperatures should be in the lower 70's. This continues a cooler then normal weather pattern for us. This has been the coolest spring, that I can remember, and I have lived in Texas, all of my life. We are usually well into the 90's, by this time of year. Nighttime lows are usually in the mid 70's, at the lowest. Hey, I'm not complaining though. I will take this normal then cooler weather, for as long as it wants to continue. So, come and kick off your Memorial Day weekend with us at the Keller Tavern.
Saturday will be a quick turnaround for us, as we will be playing a private party, out at my folks' house. We will be going on at 4pm, and playing a straight through set (no breaks). The weather should be great. A daytime high of 84, is in the forecast. If you are reading this, and coming to the party, we look forward to seeing you. It should be a great time!
On that note, Sand Dollar Rodeo is available for summer parties, get-togethers, or whatever! If you are interested in booking a private event, please email us at info@sanddollarrodeo.com You can also contact Roy, or I directly, if you prefer.
With all this talk about the weather, let's not forget the people of Granbury and Cleburne, Texas. They were hit hard by tornadoes, last week. I have been to both of these lovely towns, many times. SDR played in Granbury back in March, and we are scheduled to play in Cleburne, on September 28th. Also, please remember the people of Moore, Oklahoma. All of these people, need our thoughts, prayers, and help. Their are many ways you can help. There are too many sites, to list them all here, but if you run a Google search, or better yet, check your favorite social media site, then their should be plenty of information on where and how, we can all help. Whether it's a monetary donation, donating items, or traveling to the areas hit and helping with the clean up, we can all do our part, to help these folks get back on their feet again.
Ok gang, that's all I've got for this week. As always, thanks for reading, and I'll talk to ya soon!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
A New Amp Part 2, And My Blogging Buddy
Back on March 18, 2013, I published a blog post chronicling some equipment changes. Among those, was the purchase of a new/used amp off of Craigslist. For complete details on this, you can check out this blog post, in the archives.
I'm sure you've guessed by now, that this blog post is about another new amp. Well, if you did guess this, then you would be correct! I replaced my Traynor Custom Valve 40, with a Fender Hot Rod Deville. That name sounds more like a car, then a guitar amp, doesn't it? I never was head over heels, about the Traynor. It's a solid amp, and a lot of players like them. Unfortunately, I was not one of them. I really did not like the way my guitars were sounding, through this amp. You may ask, "Well, why did you buy it in the first place?" That's a very good question, that I will try and address in this post.
As I has mentioned, in my prior blog referenced above, we were playing a gig at Lynn's Saloon, when my main amp went out. We had gigs lined up, for the next several weeks. I needed something fast! My time, during the week is limited. I didn't have time to go driving all over creation, searching for amps. Plus, I was on a tight budget. At this time, we were knee deep with the album, so I had expenses, related to that. I have a great music store, that I do a lot of business with, here in Fort Worth. They are called Zoo Music. I would give you a link to their website, but, they do not have a website! They have plenty of amps, but the main problem was, that I could not find anything that I liked, that was within my budget. So, I decided to go the Craigslist route. I found the Traynor, fairly quickly, it was within my price range, and it was a close drive. I played it, and it sounded good, but I knew it would never be a long term solution. Their were several other amps that I had looked at on Craigslist, but I just did not have the time to go try them all out. If nothing else, I thought that this would be a good backup amp. I could use it, until my main amp was repaired.
It didn't take long, to realize that this amp was not working for me. We were playing a show at the Venue, in Gun Barrel City. They recorded this performance, and I though my guitar tone sounded thin and hollow. Our very next gig, at Keller Tavern, was more of the same. This was a show, where we were running our own sound. Roy and I usually take turns, standing out in front of the stage, to get levels. When it was my turn, I was playing my guitar, along with all the other instruments, and I thought it sounded awful. I tried tweaking the settings on the amp, but nothing seemed to sound right. I made it through the gig, but decided on the way home, that it was time to get my main amp into the shop.
I called the amp tech, that Zoo had recommended. He is a one man operation. I have found that this is usually a great thing. These types of guys usually do great work, and really know their stuff. The only downside is, he is a one main operation. He said he had no way to quote me a time frame, or price, until he did an initial analysis. I understood this, and accepted that it might be awhile before he could look at it. I dropped the amp off to him on April 27. He still has it! We had two gigs scheduled the next weekend. I was somehow hoping that maybe he had at least looked at it. I was wrong though. I resigned myself to the fact, that it could be several weeks or more, before my amp would be ready.
On the way home, from dropping off the amp, I was passing right by a used music store, called Music Go Round. I decided to stop in, and see what they had. I looked at several amps, but nothing really caught my eye. A salesman was talking to me, as we walked around the store, when I spotted a Marshall half stack. I kind of laughed, and said, "That looks pretty cool, but I think it would be overkill, for what I need." The salesman said, "You should try it out, it's really not that bad." I decided, "What the heck, might as well." I found a Strat on the wall and plugged it up. I was amazed at the tone, coming out of this thing! It sounded great! The price seemed pretty good, as well. They had it marked for $799.99, but said that they could sell it for $750.00, without me even saying anything. I'm thinking, "Wow, $750 for a Marshall? That sounds like a great deal!" For those of you not familiar with guitar amps, Marshalls are some of the most revered amps, in music history. They are a British amp. They were/are the amp of choice for many guitar players, including greats like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Angus Young, and Slash, among others. They have also made their way into country music, in recent years. In hindsight, I'm glad that I didn't have $750 on me, that day, or I probably would have brought it home.
I decided at this point, that I was going to go ahead and invest in a nice, higher end amp. While I love my main amp, that is currently in the shop, these amps are well known for their reliability issues. I've researched several forums, where players have had multiple issues with them. The amp is a Crate Vintage Club 50. Mark Knopfler, from Dire Straits, used to use this same amp, but quit, because of the reliability issues. It's a shame, because these amps, sound great. With Sand Dollar Rodeo gigging, as much as we are, I need to have reliable equipment. The Traynor was going bye-bye. My Vintage Club, and that Marshall, just slayed it, as far as tone goes.
I went home and started researching Marshall amps. I'm glad I did. I found out, that the amp I was looking at, was not very good quality. It was a MA 100. These amps are now discontinued, and manufactured in Vietnam. Most forums were stating, that you could get a lot nicer Marshall, for about the same price, as what Music Go Round was asking. This was on the used market, of course. As I completed more research, a lot of people were recommending another model of Marshall, called the DSL. It came in either a 50 or 100 watt head. I started pricing them on Craigslist, and they were coming in at about $800 for the head, and another $400-$500, for the speaker cabinet. Ouch! This was getting pretty steep!
I decided not to limit myself to Marshall. I went ahead and put the Traynor on Craigslist, just to see what would happen. I listed it for the same price, that I had bought it for, a month earlier. I started researching all kinds of makes and models of various amps, from companies such as Fender, Peavy, Orange, Blackstar, and Dr. Z. These companies make some phenomenal amps. While, I would love to own a top of the line model, from one of these companies, that was not in the cards. These companies offer high end amps, that can go up into the thousands of dollars. I didn't have that type of cash. The nice thing though, is that these companies also make some awesome amps, that run anywhere from $500-$1200.
In the meantime, I had received a response on my Craigslist ad. The email had actually gone to my spam folder, so I didn't see it for a few days. I called the guy and we talked about it. I told him that my other amp was in the shop, and that as soon as I received word that it was done, I would contact him. He was good with that , and said he was in no hurray.
We played our two gigs on May 3rd & 4th. That Sunday, May 5th, I decided to go to Guitar Center and check out several amps, that were on my list. I knew that I wanted at lease a 50 watt tube amp, with at least two speakers. This was not so much for the volume, but for fullness, and clean headroom. My Vintage Club is 50 watts, and has two twelve inch speakers. The Traynor was 40 watts, and had one ten inch speaker. I've tried several other amps that had single speakers, and I just do not like the way they sound, for me. Many players, use these types of amps however, and sound great through them. It's all about personal preference, and playing styles.
After playing through several amps, I narrowed it down to two, that I liked. One was a Marshall DSL 100, and the other was a Fender Hot Rod Deville. The Deville was a 60 watt amp with two twelve inch speakers. The Marshall was a 100 watt head, that would need a speaker cabinet. I really liked the Marshall's clean setting, but the drive channel was basically un -useable, for me. I could not get a good overdrive tone out of it, at all. The Fender had a really good clean tone, and a decent overdrive channel. Fender amps also work really well with overdrive pedals. The salesman let me try the amp with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and a Boss Blues Driver pedal. I use a BBB Green Screamer, with my rig. It's sort of a tube screamer clone, but I really like it a lot better then an actual tube screamer. It's a great pedal that my lovely wife bought me for Christmas, this past year. I was really wishing that I had this pedal with me. Later on, my wife came into Guitar Center, after she had finished her shopping. I asked her to listen to the two amps. She loved the clean channel on the Marshall, but hated the overdrive channel, as did I. She went so far as to say, "I don't think, I could come hear you play, if your guitar sounded like that." She liked the overdrive on the Fender amp, much better, as did I. This was actually strange to me, as Fenders are known for their cleans, and Marshalls are known for their overdrive.
The Fender was priced at $949, and the Marshall was $899, but that was just for the head. I would still need a speaker cabinet, so in the long run, I would be looking at about $1200 for the Marshall. My wife was encouraging me to purchase something new, so that I could get a warranty. I was seriously considering this, but just couldn't justify these prices. Amps are kind of like cars in that, the moment you take them out of the store, they tend to lose about 40% of their value. I had seen used Hot Rod Deville's on Craigslist, from $400-$600, depending on the condition that they were in. I also found a used Marshall DSL for $500. The DSL was now out, however. I told the salesman that I needed to think about the Fender amp.
When we left Guitar Center, I asked my wife if she would mind stopping my Music Go Round, to listen to the Marshall, that they had. I knew that the DSL was supposed to be a much better amp, but I liked the way the MA sounded, better. We went into the music store, and I couldn't find the Marshall. The salesman told me that it had sold. That was ok, I realized that amp, wasn't meant to be.
I researched some more amps over the weekend, including an Orange Dual Terror, and a Peavy Classic 50. I had played a Classic 50 at another music store, awhile back, and thought it sounded pretty good. The Dual Terror, had some nice sounding sound clips on YouTube. My dream rig is an Orange Rockerverb 50 or 100, but these amps are way out of my price range, right now.
My music store, Zoo, sometimes advertises on Craigslist, oddly enough. They had a Peavy Classic 50 come in on a trade, and had it listed. They are also an Orange dealer, and I knew that they had the Dual Terror. I went in on the following Monday, May 6. I decided I would try these two amps. I was not impressed, with either one. I then spotted a Fender Hot Rod Deville. It was bigger, and different from the one I had demoed, at Guitar Center. I started asking about it. For one, it had four 10 inch speakers in it, as opposed to two 12 inch speakers. I hooked my guitar up and knew immediately that this was the one. It had a great clean sound and a very serviceable drive channel. I wasn't as concerned about the drive channel, as I was about the clean channel. I knew that my Green Screamer, could get plenty of overdrive. I really did like the tone, much better then the one I had played at Guitar Center. I think the four ten inch speakers made the difference.
This amp was also USA made, where the one at Guitar Center, was made in Mexico. Their is nothing wrong with the Mexican made Fender products, but I prefer the American made stuff. It tends to hold its value better, and the build quality is generally better. The price was right too. The only negative was, that this amp was used. That meant, no warranty. I was ok with this though, as I've never had any issues with any gear, that I have purchased from Zoo.
I put the amp on layaway, mainly to protect against it being sold. I had some gig money coming in, and I knew that if I could sell the Traynor, then I would be good to go.
I contacted the gentleman, later that evening, about the Traynor. We decided to meet up at Zoo, the following Saturday, so he could try it out. We met this past Saturday, May 11th. He demoed the amp for about 30 minutes, and then said he would take it. I was really giddy at this point, as I could now get mine out of layaway.
So far, I am really happy with the amp. I can't wait to try it out at our next gig. Roy also has some new toys, as he purchased some new PA speakers. He sent pictures, and man! I can't wait to hear what they sound like! Cisco, also bought some new toys. Not sure, what he bought, but I'm sure I'll see it at the next gig.
On another note, I must confess that as I sit her typing this, I don't feel quite right. You see, I had a blogging buddy, that would help me out with these posts. I type these up on a laptop , in my recliner. My blogging/late night buddy, was our Siamese cat, named Sarah. Sarah passed away this past Monday at the age of 18. Sarah was always interested in my late night activities. Whether it was blogging, playing a video game, or just watching a TV show. Whenever the girls went to bed, and I grabbed the laptop, Sarah knew it was time to help. She would come in, and be meowing up a storm, until I picked her up and put her in the recliner, beside me. She would then proceed to "help" me, keep my notes straight. If I was playing a video game, Sarah would rub and push on the controller, to help me along. She also enjoyed the acoustic guitar. The electrics were too loud for her, but anytime I brought out the acoustic, late at night, she was there, rubbing up against the guitar and meowing along.
Over the past few weeks, Sarah became really ill. We are not sure why, or how it happened. She lost her trademark meow, and was really having a difficult time with everything. The last time we sat together was on May 4th, after our Mayfest show. She was really weak, and her voice was just about gone, but she managed to creep up to my chair. I was actually planning on going to bed, at the time, but she wanted to sit for awhile. We just kind of sat there for a bit. I put on some music, and we just chilled for an hour or so. When she was ready to go to bed, she let me know, and I picked her up, and put her in her bed.
She weakened considerably, over the next week or so. This past Sunday, I could hear her faint meow. It was about 11:30pm. She was in the hallway that leads to our bedroom. I got up to check on her. This was usually prime time for us. I'm not sure, what she was wanting, so I just sat in the hall with her, and petted her for a little while. The hallway was about midway from her bed, to the litter box. I'm not sure if she was trying to make it to the litter box, or not. I didn't really know what to do. She was having a hard time, walking, by this point. I didn't want to carry her to bed, and have her make that walk again, if she was trying to get to the litter box. I also didn't want to take her to the litter box, and have her have to make the long walk, back to her bed.
I think now, that she telling me goodbye. We had put a soft spot to lay, in between her bed, and the litter box. Sometimes, she would also climb into bed, with our lab mixed dog. I felt that she would be ok, so I went to bed.
The next morning, I went and checked on her, when I was getting ready to leave for work. She was in her bed, and very weak. I softly petted her head, and told her I would see her after work. She passed away, later that morning, in my wife's arms.
It's been a tough week for my family. I've been doing ok, up until now. The last part of this blog post has been extremely difficult to write. I know though, that her spirit is still with all of us. It's hard to explain, but we have all felt her presence. It's comforting in a way. Sarah, will never be forgotten. The same way, as our other pets, who passed before her, are not. Our pets really are a part of our family. Even the snake! Thanks as always, for reading, and I'll talk to ya later,
I'm sure you've guessed by now, that this blog post is about another new amp. Well, if you did guess this, then you would be correct! I replaced my Traynor Custom Valve 40, with a Fender Hot Rod Deville. That name sounds more like a car, then a guitar amp, doesn't it? I never was head over heels, about the Traynor. It's a solid amp, and a lot of players like them. Unfortunately, I was not one of them. I really did not like the way my guitars were sounding, through this amp. You may ask, "Well, why did you buy it in the first place?" That's a very good question, that I will try and address in this post.
As I has mentioned, in my prior blog referenced above, we were playing a gig at Lynn's Saloon, when my main amp went out. We had gigs lined up, for the next several weeks. I needed something fast! My time, during the week is limited. I didn't have time to go driving all over creation, searching for amps. Plus, I was on a tight budget. At this time, we were knee deep with the album, so I had expenses, related to that. I have a great music store, that I do a lot of business with, here in Fort Worth. They are called Zoo Music. I would give you a link to their website, but, they do not have a website! They have plenty of amps, but the main problem was, that I could not find anything that I liked, that was within my budget. So, I decided to go the Craigslist route. I found the Traynor, fairly quickly, it was within my price range, and it was a close drive. I played it, and it sounded good, but I knew it would never be a long term solution. Their were several other amps that I had looked at on Craigslist, but I just did not have the time to go try them all out. If nothing else, I thought that this would be a good backup amp. I could use it, until my main amp was repaired.
It didn't take long, to realize that this amp was not working for me. We were playing a show at the Venue, in Gun Barrel City. They recorded this performance, and I though my guitar tone sounded thin and hollow. Our very next gig, at Keller Tavern, was more of the same. This was a show, where we were running our own sound. Roy and I usually take turns, standing out in front of the stage, to get levels. When it was my turn, I was playing my guitar, along with all the other instruments, and I thought it sounded awful. I tried tweaking the settings on the amp, but nothing seemed to sound right. I made it through the gig, but decided on the way home, that it was time to get my main amp into the shop.
I called the amp tech, that Zoo had recommended. He is a one man operation. I have found that this is usually a great thing. These types of guys usually do great work, and really know their stuff. The only downside is, he is a one main operation. He said he had no way to quote me a time frame, or price, until he did an initial analysis. I understood this, and accepted that it might be awhile before he could look at it. I dropped the amp off to him on April 27. He still has it! We had two gigs scheduled the next weekend. I was somehow hoping that maybe he had at least looked at it. I was wrong though. I resigned myself to the fact, that it could be several weeks or more, before my amp would be ready.
On the way home, from dropping off the amp, I was passing right by a used music store, called Music Go Round. I decided to stop in, and see what they had. I looked at several amps, but nothing really caught my eye. A salesman was talking to me, as we walked around the store, when I spotted a Marshall half stack. I kind of laughed, and said, "That looks pretty cool, but I think it would be overkill, for what I need." The salesman said, "You should try it out, it's really not that bad." I decided, "What the heck, might as well." I found a Strat on the wall and plugged it up. I was amazed at the tone, coming out of this thing! It sounded great! The price seemed pretty good, as well. They had it marked for $799.99, but said that they could sell it for $750.00, without me even saying anything. I'm thinking, "Wow, $750 for a Marshall? That sounds like a great deal!" For those of you not familiar with guitar amps, Marshalls are some of the most revered amps, in music history. They are a British amp. They were/are the amp of choice for many guitar players, including greats like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Angus Young, and Slash, among others. They have also made their way into country music, in recent years. In hindsight, I'm glad that I didn't have $750 on me, that day, or I probably would have brought it home.
I decided at this point, that I was going to go ahead and invest in a nice, higher end amp. While I love my main amp, that is currently in the shop, these amps are well known for their reliability issues. I've researched several forums, where players have had multiple issues with them. The amp is a Crate Vintage Club 50. Mark Knopfler, from Dire Straits, used to use this same amp, but quit, because of the reliability issues. It's a shame, because these amps, sound great. With Sand Dollar Rodeo gigging, as much as we are, I need to have reliable equipment. The Traynor was going bye-bye. My Vintage Club, and that Marshall, just slayed it, as far as tone goes.
I went home and started researching Marshall amps. I'm glad I did. I found out, that the amp I was looking at, was not very good quality. It was a MA 100. These amps are now discontinued, and manufactured in Vietnam. Most forums were stating, that you could get a lot nicer Marshall, for about the same price, as what Music Go Round was asking. This was on the used market, of course. As I completed more research, a lot of people were recommending another model of Marshall, called the DSL. It came in either a 50 or 100 watt head. I started pricing them on Craigslist, and they were coming in at about $800 for the head, and another $400-$500, for the speaker cabinet. Ouch! This was getting pretty steep!
I decided not to limit myself to Marshall. I went ahead and put the Traynor on Craigslist, just to see what would happen. I listed it for the same price, that I had bought it for, a month earlier. I started researching all kinds of makes and models of various amps, from companies such as Fender, Peavy, Orange, Blackstar, and Dr. Z. These companies make some phenomenal amps. While, I would love to own a top of the line model, from one of these companies, that was not in the cards. These companies offer high end amps, that can go up into the thousands of dollars. I didn't have that type of cash. The nice thing though, is that these companies also make some awesome amps, that run anywhere from $500-$1200.
In the meantime, I had received a response on my Craigslist ad. The email had actually gone to my spam folder, so I didn't see it for a few days. I called the guy and we talked about it. I told him that my other amp was in the shop, and that as soon as I received word that it was done, I would contact him. He was good with that , and said he was in no hurray.
We played our two gigs on May 3rd & 4th. That Sunday, May 5th, I decided to go to Guitar Center and check out several amps, that were on my list. I knew that I wanted at lease a 50 watt tube amp, with at least two speakers. This was not so much for the volume, but for fullness, and clean headroom. My Vintage Club is 50 watts, and has two twelve inch speakers. The Traynor was 40 watts, and had one ten inch speaker. I've tried several other amps that had single speakers, and I just do not like the way they sound, for me. Many players, use these types of amps however, and sound great through them. It's all about personal preference, and playing styles.
After playing through several amps, I narrowed it down to two, that I liked. One was a Marshall DSL 100, and the other was a Fender Hot Rod Deville. The Deville was a 60 watt amp with two twelve inch speakers. The Marshall was a 100 watt head, that would need a speaker cabinet. I really liked the Marshall's clean setting, but the drive channel was basically un -useable, for me. I could not get a good overdrive tone out of it, at all. The Fender had a really good clean tone, and a decent overdrive channel. Fender amps also work really well with overdrive pedals. The salesman let me try the amp with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and a Boss Blues Driver pedal. I use a BBB Green Screamer, with my rig. It's sort of a tube screamer clone, but I really like it a lot better then an actual tube screamer. It's a great pedal that my lovely wife bought me for Christmas, this past year. I was really wishing that I had this pedal with me. Later on, my wife came into Guitar Center, after she had finished her shopping. I asked her to listen to the two amps. She loved the clean channel on the Marshall, but hated the overdrive channel, as did I. She went so far as to say, "I don't think, I could come hear you play, if your guitar sounded like that." She liked the overdrive on the Fender amp, much better, as did I. This was actually strange to me, as Fenders are known for their cleans, and Marshalls are known for their overdrive.
The Fender was priced at $949, and the Marshall was $899, but that was just for the head. I would still need a speaker cabinet, so in the long run, I would be looking at about $1200 for the Marshall. My wife was encouraging me to purchase something new, so that I could get a warranty. I was seriously considering this, but just couldn't justify these prices. Amps are kind of like cars in that, the moment you take them out of the store, they tend to lose about 40% of their value. I had seen used Hot Rod Deville's on Craigslist, from $400-$600, depending on the condition that they were in. I also found a used Marshall DSL for $500. The DSL was now out, however. I told the salesman that I needed to think about the Fender amp.
When we left Guitar Center, I asked my wife if she would mind stopping my Music Go Round, to listen to the Marshall, that they had. I knew that the DSL was supposed to be a much better amp, but I liked the way the MA sounded, better. We went into the music store, and I couldn't find the Marshall. The salesman told me that it had sold. That was ok, I realized that amp, wasn't meant to be.
I researched some more amps over the weekend, including an Orange Dual Terror, and a Peavy Classic 50. I had played a Classic 50 at another music store, awhile back, and thought it sounded pretty good. The Dual Terror, had some nice sounding sound clips on YouTube. My dream rig is an Orange Rockerverb 50 or 100, but these amps are way out of my price range, right now.
My music store, Zoo, sometimes advertises on Craigslist, oddly enough. They had a Peavy Classic 50 come in on a trade, and had it listed. They are also an Orange dealer, and I knew that they had the Dual Terror. I went in on the following Monday, May 6. I decided I would try these two amps. I was not impressed, with either one. I then spotted a Fender Hot Rod Deville. It was bigger, and different from the one I had demoed, at Guitar Center. I started asking about it. For one, it had four 10 inch speakers in it, as opposed to two 12 inch speakers. I hooked my guitar up and knew immediately that this was the one. It had a great clean sound and a very serviceable drive channel. I wasn't as concerned about the drive channel, as I was about the clean channel. I knew that my Green Screamer, could get plenty of overdrive. I really did like the tone, much better then the one I had played at Guitar Center. I think the four ten inch speakers made the difference.
This amp was also USA made, where the one at Guitar Center, was made in Mexico. Their is nothing wrong with the Mexican made Fender products, but I prefer the American made stuff. It tends to hold its value better, and the build quality is generally better. The price was right too. The only negative was, that this amp was used. That meant, no warranty. I was ok with this though, as I've never had any issues with any gear, that I have purchased from Zoo.
I put the amp on layaway, mainly to protect against it being sold. I had some gig money coming in, and I knew that if I could sell the Traynor, then I would be good to go.
I contacted the gentleman, later that evening, about the Traynor. We decided to meet up at Zoo, the following Saturday, so he could try it out. We met this past Saturday, May 11th. He demoed the amp for about 30 minutes, and then said he would take it. I was really giddy at this point, as I could now get mine out of layaway.
So far, I am really happy with the amp. I can't wait to try it out at our next gig. Roy also has some new toys, as he purchased some new PA speakers. He sent pictures, and man! I can't wait to hear what they sound like! Cisco, also bought some new toys. Not sure, what he bought, but I'm sure I'll see it at the next gig.
On another note, I must confess that as I sit her typing this, I don't feel quite right. You see, I had a blogging buddy, that would help me out with these posts. I type these up on a laptop , in my recliner. My blogging/late night buddy, was our Siamese cat, named Sarah. Sarah passed away this past Monday at the age of 18. Sarah was always interested in my late night activities. Whether it was blogging, playing a video game, or just watching a TV show. Whenever the girls went to bed, and I grabbed the laptop, Sarah knew it was time to help. She would come in, and be meowing up a storm, until I picked her up and put her in the recliner, beside me. She would then proceed to "help" me, keep my notes straight. If I was playing a video game, Sarah would rub and push on the controller, to help me along. She also enjoyed the acoustic guitar. The electrics were too loud for her, but anytime I brought out the acoustic, late at night, she was there, rubbing up against the guitar and meowing along.
Over the past few weeks, Sarah became really ill. We are not sure why, or how it happened. She lost her trademark meow, and was really having a difficult time with everything. The last time we sat together was on May 4th, after our Mayfest show. She was really weak, and her voice was just about gone, but she managed to creep up to my chair. I was actually planning on going to bed, at the time, but she wanted to sit for awhile. We just kind of sat there for a bit. I put on some music, and we just chilled for an hour or so. When she was ready to go to bed, she let me know, and I picked her up, and put her in her bed.
She weakened considerably, over the next week or so. This past Sunday, I could hear her faint meow. It was about 11:30pm. She was in the hallway that leads to our bedroom. I got up to check on her. This was usually prime time for us. I'm not sure, what she was wanting, so I just sat in the hall with her, and petted her for a little while. The hallway was about midway from her bed, to the litter box. I'm not sure if she was trying to make it to the litter box, or not. I didn't really know what to do. She was having a hard time, walking, by this point. I didn't want to carry her to bed, and have her make that walk again, if she was trying to get to the litter box. I also didn't want to take her to the litter box, and have her have to make the long walk, back to her bed.
I think now, that she telling me goodbye. We had put a soft spot to lay, in between her bed, and the litter box. Sometimes, she would also climb into bed, with our lab mixed dog. I felt that she would be ok, so I went to bed.
The next morning, I went and checked on her, when I was getting ready to leave for work. She was in her bed, and very weak. I softly petted her head, and told her I would see her after work. She passed away, later that morning, in my wife's arms.
It's been a tough week for my family. I've been doing ok, up until now. The last part of this blog post has been extremely difficult to write. I know though, that her spirit is still with all of us. It's hard to explain, but we have all felt her presence. It's comforting in a way. Sarah, will never be forgotten. The same way, as our other pets, who passed before her, are not. Our pets really are a part of our family. Even the snake! Thanks as always, for reading, and I'll talk to ya later,
Thursday, May 2, 2013
An Album Review, More Radio, And More Gigs
Hello there! Before I start with the new stuff, I just want to mention that we had a fun week, this past week. We had two great shows, this past weekend. On Friday, we played at the Texas Food Truckin' Fest. This was an awesome time, although, I did end up with a pretty bad case of indigestion. On Saturday, we celebrated Marti's birthday at Judge Bean's. This was a very unique show, and we were in rare form. With the exception of the first two songs, we worked without a setlist. We had Marti call out the songs, and we played them. We also had a few impromptu moments along the way, including an acapella sing along, of the old David Allen Coe song, You Never Even Called Me By My Name. For more details on these shows, be sure and check out Roy's blog, found here http://royholliday.blogspot.com Roy does a blog post, after every show that we play. He includes, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thankfully, most of it has been good!
Ok, enough of that, ha ha! Let's get down to new business. Our first album review, is on the books. The Star-Telegram reviewed our album, this past Friday. They have a weekend section, called DFW.com. If you are interested in reading the review, you can click on this link http://dfw.com/2013/04/24/783630/country-music-whiskey-folk-ramblers.html
On the radio front, we have had two more stations, pick up our album. The first one is called Permanent Vacation Radio, out of St. Augustine, Florida. You can check them out here, www.pvradio.com The second station, is Clay's Country Radio, out of Ireland! They are currently playing the title track, off of the album, "GPS To Nowhere". You can visit Clay's here www.clayscountryradio.com so log on and request GPS!
We have also submitted "GPS To Nowhere" to 95.9 The Ranch. They are a big station, in the DFW Metroplex, that specializes in artist's from Texas. Their request line phone number is 817-787-1959. So, if you would like to hear us on this station, please call and request "GPS To Nowhere" by Sand Dollar Rodeo. We really appreciate your support. You guys and gals, are the ones that make this thing happen! Their website is located here http://www.959theranch.com You can also request the song, from their website.
Show, shows, did someone mention shows? Oh yeah, that was me! This weekend, we will be back at it again. I am very excited, about this weekend's shows. On Friday night, we will be playing at the Wild Rooster, in Fort Worth, along with the Whiskey Confessions Band, out of Quitman, Texas. SDR will go on at 9:30, and Whiskey Confessions will be on about 30 minutes, after our set is concluded. For more information on Whiskey Confessions, you can check out their website here, www.WhiskeyConfessionsBand.com The Wild Rooster is located at 3204 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX. You can check out their website here, www.wildroosterbar.com This should be a fun night, so come on down!
Saturday, will be a quick turnaround for us, as we will be playing at Mayfest. Mayfest, ironically enough, is being held just down the road from the Wild Rooster, at Trinity Park. I may just spend the night on a park bench! We will be playing on the Riverbank Stage from 6:30 to 7:30pm. Our good friends, August & J, will also be appearing at Mayfest. They will be on the Shale Exploration Art Stage, from 8:30 to 10pm, on Saturday. For more information on Mayfest, be sure and check out their website located here, www.mayfest.org The weather for Saturday will be unseasonably cool, with a daytime high of 66 degrees and wind gusts between 12 and 20 mph. So, if you are coming out, grab a light jacket, or a heavy one, if you need it. This has been the coolest spring, I can ever remember. As I sit here typing this, it is 45 degrees, on May 2, in Texas!. We are under a freeze warning, as lows will be near, or below freezing in my area. When I arrived home this evening, my wife was covering up our garden, with bed sheets! We are normally in the mid 80's to low 90's, by this time of year. Oh well, nothing you can do about it, right?
Well, that's all I have for this week. Short and sweet, but a lot of information. Stay tuned for more, soon! See ya!
Ok, enough of that, ha ha! Let's get down to new business. Our first album review, is on the books. The Star-Telegram reviewed our album, this past Friday. They have a weekend section, called DFW.com. If you are interested in reading the review, you can click on this link http://dfw.com/2013/04/24/783630/country-music-whiskey-folk-ramblers.html
On the radio front, we have had two more stations, pick up our album. The first one is called Permanent Vacation Radio, out of St. Augustine, Florida. You can check them out here, www.pvradio.com The second station, is Clay's Country Radio, out of Ireland! They are currently playing the title track, off of the album, "GPS To Nowhere". You can visit Clay's here www.clayscountryradio.com so log on and request GPS!
We have also submitted "GPS To Nowhere" to 95.9 The Ranch. They are a big station, in the DFW Metroplex, that specializes in artist's from Texas. Their request line phone number is 817-787-1959. So, if you would like to hear us on this station, please call and request "GPS To Nowhere" by Sand Dollar Rodeo. We really appreciate your support. You guys and gals, are the ones that make this thing happen! Their website is located here http://www.959theranch.com You can also request the song, from their website.
Show, shows, did someone mention shows? Oh yeah, that was me! This weekend, we will be back at it again. I am very excited, about this weekend's shows. On Friday night, we will be playing at the Wild Rooster, in Fort Worth, along with the Whiskey Confessions Band, out of Quitman, Texas. SDR will go on at 9:30, and Whiskey Confessions will be on about 30 minutes, after our set is concluded. For more information on Whiskey Confessions, you can check out their website here, www.WhiskeyConfessionsBand.com The Wild Rooster is located at 3204 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX. You can check out their website here, www.wildroosterbar.com This should be a fun night, so come on down!
Saturday, will be a quick turnaround for us, as we will be playing at Mayfest. Mayfest, ironically enough, is being held just down the road from the Wild Rooster, at Trinity Park. I may just spend the night on a park bench! We will be playing on the Riverbank Stage from 6:30 to 7:30pm. Our good friends, August & J, will also be appearing at Mayfest. They will be on the Shale Exploration Art Stage, from 8:30 to 10pm, on Saturday. For more information on Mayfest, be sure and check out their website located here, www.mayfest.org The weather for Saturday will be unseasonably cool, with a daytime high of 66 degrees and wind gusts between 12 and 20 mph. So, if you are coming out, grab a light jacket, or a heavy one, if you need it. This has been the coolest spring, I can ever remember. As I sit here typing this, it is 45 degrees, on May 2, in Texas!. We are under a freeze warning, as lows will be near, or below freezing in my area. When I arrived home this evening, my wife was covering up our garden, with bed sheets! We are normally in the mid 80's to low 90's, by this time of year. Oh well, nothing you can do about it, right?
Well, that's all I have for this week. Short and sweet, but a lot of information. Stay tuned for more, soon! See ya!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A Bike Ride, Some Album Updates, And A Birthday!
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!
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!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The New Album And A Roadtrip
Well, after months of talking about it, the new album is finally here! To say we are excited about it, would be an understatement. The album was released this past Tuesday, April 2nd. It should be available at all digital outlets, by this weekend. If you are not seeing it at your favorite digital site, and cannot wait (lol), then you can order it directly from our website located here. http://www.sanddollarrodeo.com Just go to the merch section, and you should find it there. It's available, either as a digital download, or a CD. We will also have CD's available, at all future live shows.
For me, anyway, it's kind of a strange feeling to be done with it. I've been anticipating this day for months. I keep thinking, "Well, what do we do now/" I actually know what we do now, but still. What's funny is, right after it went live, I picked up the local newspaper and read my horoscope. I saved it, to share here. I am a Sagittarius, by the way. Here it is verbatim:
Take a victory lap. You've worked your tail off to get the job done, so take time to reap the spoils of your achievement. Take a much needed breather now; save new project starts for later.
I usually take these things, with a grain of salt, but I thought this was pretty wild.
I think, Roy was feeling a sense of relief. I'm not 100% sure, that's how he was feeling, but that's the jest, I got from him. I received an email from him around 8:00pm, on Tuesday. He stated that, everything he could do, was done, and that he was going to bed. Heck, I didn't blame him. We had spent a lot of late nights over the past month, or so, going over everything, listening to mixes, and trying to get it, "just right", so to speak.
I, on the other hand, was wired. Sleep was not an option, so I kept the computer close by, and played some XBOX360. I finally started getting sleepy, around midnight, and called it a night.
We sincerely hope you enjoy the new album. We are very proud of it. We have several new song ideas brewing between us, including a couple, that didn't make it on to this album. When we have enough material, we will cut another album, but we are in no hurray to do so. It will get done, when it's done. For now, we plan on promoting the GPS To Nowhere album. We will work on our new material, as time permits, and work them into the live shows, as they are completed.
In other news, we will be taking a little road trip to Gun Barrel City, Texas, this weekend. Gun Barrel City is located southeast of the DFW metroplex, near Cedar Creek Lake. It's about a 2 hour drive, for us. We will be playing at a brand new concert venue, simply titled "The Venue". The Venue was founded by Dino Perelli. This will be the first ever concert, here. We will be playing, with our good friends, August & J, who are promoting their latest album, entitled "40". The Venue, will also be filming, and webcasting the performance. You should be able to catch the show here http://tvtxus.wix.com/the-venue so be sure and tune in! SDR, will start at 8pm on Saturday, April 6. August & J will be on, shortly after our performance. We have been looking forward to this show, for a long time, and can't wait to come down there!
Ok, that's all for now. I think I'm gonna try, and get some rest. I have a busy weekend ahead. Thank you for reading, and for your support. Talk to ya soon!
For me, anyway, it's kind of a strange feeling to be done with it. I've been anticipating this day for months. I keep thinking, "Well, what do we do now/" I actually know what we do now, but still. What's funny is, right after it went live, I picked up the local newspaper and read my horoscope. I saved it, to share here. I am a Sagittarius, by the way. Here it is verbatim:
Take a victory lap. You've worked your tail off to get the job done, so take time to reap the spoils of your achievement. Take a much needed breather now; save new project starts for later.
I usually take these things, with a grain of salt, but I thought this was pretty wild.
I think, Roy was feeling a sense of relief. I'm not 100% sure, that's how he was feeling, but that's the jest, I got from him. I received an email from him around 8:00pm, on Tuesday. He stated that, everything he could do, was done, and that he was going to bed. Heck, I didn't blame him. We had spent a lot of late nights over the past month, or so, going over everything, listening to mixes, and trying to get it, "just right", so to speak.
I, on the other hand, was wired. Sleep was not an option, so I kept the computer close by, and played some XBOX360. I finally started getting sleepy, around midnight, and called it a night.
We sincerely hope you enjoy the new album. We are very proud of it. We have several new song ideas brewing between us, including a couple, that didn't make it on to this album. When we have enough material, we will cut another album, but we are in no hurray to do so. It will get done, when it's done. For now, we plan on promoting the GPS To Nowhere album. We will work on our new material, as time permits, and work them into the live shows, as they are completed.
In other news, we will be taking a little road trip to Gun Barrel City, Texas, this weekend. Gun Barrel City is located southeast of the DFW metroplex, near Cedar Creek Lake. It's about a 2 hour drive, for us. We will be playing at a brand new concert venue, simply titled "The Venue". The Venue was founded by Dino Perelli. This will be the first ever concert, here. We will be playing, with our good friends, August & J, who are promoting their latest album, entitled "40". The Venue, will also be filming, and webcasting the performance. You should be able to catch the show here http://tvtxus.wix.com/the-venue so be sure and tune in! SDR, will start at 8pm on Saturday, April 6. August & J will be on, shortly after our performance. We have been looking forward to this show, for a long time, and can't wait to come down there!
Ok, that's all for now. I think I'm gonna try, and get some rest. I have a busy weekend ahead. Thank you for reading, and for your support. Talk to ya soon!
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