Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tonight I visited an old friend who I had not seen in a while. He's my muse, of sorts. He's always got some sort of drama going on in his life and it tends to make for great songwriting material. Tonight he told about his wedding week.
He got married in Mexico and went down a few days before everybody else to get the lay of the land. Also, I gathered, to drink a lot of tequila and bid farewell to his wilder days.
He booked a room for something around $50 a night, but it was amazing! He had a view of the ocean, and access to a private beach. Everything was going well until he stumbled into his room late one night after a tequila tasting and found a small crab in his room. The crab was at the end of the bed and looked at my friend as if he had been interrupted during an important task. My friend froze and what followed was a good minute of silence, confusion, fear, posturing and uncertainty. Also drunkenness on the part of my friend. At that moment, the crab scurried under the bed. My friend, feeling comfortable in the knowledge of the common fact that crabs simply cannot climb bedsheets, went to sleep.
About that time in the story, my friend's cell phone rang. It was the Austin police. It seems he had enough unpaid parking fees that the police had booted his jeep. He bolted out the door without the common decency to finish his dang story.
Bottom line... where was this story going? I thought I had the makings of a great song. Maybe he and the crab became friends. Maybe a tidal pool came in and brought with it all of the crab's extended family - stranding my friend on the bed. Perhaps the crab found an alternate route to the top of the bed. Maybe my friend got up in the middle of the night to use the toilet and got snapped on his pinky toe. Who knows. In any case, I've got no material to go off of. I've never been so let down in my life.
Maybe sometime soon I'll find out what happened, and I'll let you know. Or maybe it's better left to the imagination. Maybe life is all about anticipation and the best stories are those that contain a little mystery. No, I think I'd rather know the end of the dad-gum story.
So I'm calling it a night. The band is playing a big show up north of Austin in Round Rock, TX. We'll be playing at a place called Junior's Ice House and Grill. http://www.juniorsgrillroundrock.com/ We go on at 6:30 and it's a free, all-ages show!
Here's a little bit of video from a recent show we had at Jovita's Mexican Restaurant in Austin, TX
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Always Late
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Well, it finally happened. We started one of our gigs late because our backup/lead singer, Jomo, was late. I would prefer to believe that he had car trouble or injured himself, but word on the street is that he was sitting at home watching Lifetime Movie Network.
As you may know, Rascal Red, the official lead singer of the band, owns all of the intellectual property and retains all of the bands income. He occasionally buys the band dinner if he feels that they have done well. But other than that, he shows no mercy and maintains a dictator-like grip on the band.
In 2002, when the band formed, Red had all the band members sign agreements, essentially locking them into a sort of indentured servitude. He has since failed to show up for a single gig, pay the band members anything, or even call or write. Jomo was forced to step in on the lead vocals. Brian was forced to drive the van. 8th Grade was forced to quit school and sell merchandise, and Robert was forced to pick up Red's banjo and take the lead.
But at Jovita's Mexican Restaurant this last weekend, Jomes began to take on an almost Rascal Red-Like persona. After showing up late, he promptly sang two mid-90's cover songs, causing the other band members to shed some tears. Then he got into a bar fight with a newly-landed emigrant and ran out of the bar with all the tips just before the end of the last song. True, the band has never made more than $14 in tips, but that was supposed to be divided unfairly by Red.
In short, Jomo is on thin ice. We'll see how it goes this weekend. We'll be returning to the Carousel Lounge on 52nd street in Austin. Show starts at 9:00 and goes until Midnight. It's free too, so don't miss it! Find out more on our gigs page.
Maybe we'll see you there.
Well, it finally happened. We started one of our gigs late because our backup/lead singer, Jomo, was late. I would prefer to believe that he had car trouble or injured himself, but word on the street is that he was sitting at home watching Lifetime Movie Network.
As you may know, Rascal Red, the official lead singer of the band, owns all of the intellectual property and retains all of the bands income. He occasionally buys the band dinner if he feels that they have done well. But other than that, he shows no mercy and maintains a dictator-like grip on the band.
In 2002, when the band formed, Red had all the band members sign agreements, essentially locking them into a sort of indentured servitude. He has since failed to show up for a single gig, pay the band members anything, or even call or write. Jomo was forced to step in on the lead vocals. Brian was forced to drive the van. 8th Grade was forced to quit school and sell merchandise, and Robert was forced to pick up Red's banjo and take the lead.
But at Jovita's Mexican Restaurant this last weekend, Jomes began to take on an almost Rascal Red-Like persona. After showing up late, he promptly sang two mid-90's cover songs, causing the other band members to shed some tears. Then he got into a bar fight with a newly-landed emigrant and ran out of the bar with all the tips just before the end of the last song. True, the band has never made more than $14 in tips, but that was supposed to be divided unfairly by Red.
In short, Jomo is on thin ice. We'll see how it goes this weekend. We'll be returning to the Carousel Lounge on 52nd street in Austin. Show starts at 9:00 and goes until Midnight. It's free too, so don't miss it! Find out more on our gigs page.
Maybe we'll see you there.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Back on the Carousel
Sunday, February 7, 2010
I can't sleep. That's the only time I think about blogging. "You're welcome" says my mild case of insomnia to you, the reader (don't shoot the messenger - I personally don't believe the blog is very good, and I'll be the first to admit it (primarily because I'm the only one who knows it exists (and check out how I can end the triple parenthetical sentence)))
Anyway, my point is that Rascal Red and The Possum Posse will be returning to the Carousel Lounge Thursday, the 11th of February. We had a great Christmas show there and they said we could come back.
We're getting excited, and that's why I can't sleep. That or the 3 cups of coffee I had at 4:30. Anyway, we hope to see you there Thursday!
I can't sleep. That's the only time I think about blogging. "You're welcome" says my mild case of insomnia to you, the reader (don't shoot the messenger - I personally don't believe the blog is very good, and I'll be the first to admit it (primarily because I'm the only one who knows it exists (and check out how I can end the triple parenthetical sentence)))
Anyway, my point is that Rascal Red and The Possum Posse will be returning to the Carousel Lounge Thursday, the 11th of February. We had a great Christmas show there and they said we could come back.
We're getting excited, and that's why I can't sleep. That or the 3 cups of coffee I had at 4:30. Anyway, we hope to see you there Thursday!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
That was fun!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Wow. We laid waste to the Eastland Bank Christmas Party. There were people fainting on the dance floor and women weeping for what I can only assume was joy. Overall, one of our better gigs. There was also a strange twist of fate when we found out that directly across the street, another band was playing at the same time as us. It made for the type of epic showdown you only see in the climax of a really good Vin Diesel movie. Maybe even an Arnold Schwarzenegger 80's movie. Not quite a Steven Segal movie, but close.
Essentially, the crowd had a choice. They could stay at the bank party where we were playing, or go across the street and listen to the other band, which was equipped with far superior equipment. Maybe the best way to describe their equipment situation is with another word besides "equipped" - but I'm not a writer.
Anyway, it was either them or us. People could have easily left the free food and beer and central heating of the bank party to go out into the sleet and blistering wind to listen to the other band in the parking lot across the street. But no! They stayed.
Bottom line, we pretty much won a battle of the bands this weekend. And that's not something we're going to forget anytime soon.
Wow. We laid waste to the Eastland Bank Christmas Party. There were people fainting on the dance floor and women weeping for what I can only assume was joy. Overall, one of our better gigs. There was also a strange twist of fate when we found out that directly across the street, another band was playing at the same time as us. It made for the type of epic showdown you only see in the climax of a really good Vin Diesel movie. Maybe even an Arnold Schwarzenegger 80's movie. Not quite a Steven Segal movie, but close.
Essentially, the crowd had a choice. They could stay at the bank party where we were playing, or go across the street and listen to the other band, which was equipped with far superior equipment. Maybe the best way to describe their equipment situation is with another word besides "equipped" - but I'm not a writer.
Anyway, it was either them or us. People could have easily left the free food and beer and central heating of the bank party to go out into the sleet and blistering wind to listen to the other band in the parking lot across the street. But no! They stayed.
Bottom line, we pretty much won a battle of the bands this weekend. And that's not something we're going to forget anytime soon.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Christmas in Eastland
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Well... we're getting ready to head to Eastland, Texas next weekend for a big Christmas Party at First Financial Bank of Eastland. If you've never been to Eastland, you're missing out on quite a bit of excitement, I'm sure. I don't know what the town is known for, but one thing is for sure... soon it will be known as the town that hosted the greatest band in the universe, possibly ever.
We've also added a 14-year-old guitar virtuoso from San Antonio to our lineup. He plays a mean telecaster and can throw back shots of Dr. Pepper like nobody's business. We've been working up some Christmas tunes, and can't wait to debut them next weekend.
Stay tuned for more...
Well... we're getting ready to head to Eastland, Texas next weekend for a big Christmas Party at First Financial Bank of Eastland. If you've never been to Eastland, you're missing out on quite a bit of excitement, I'm sure. I don't know what the town is known for, but one thing is for sure... soon it will be known as the town that hosted the greatest band in the universe, possibly ever.
We've also added a 14-year-old guitar virtuoso from San Antonio to our lineup. He plays a mean telecaster and can throw back shots of Dr. Pepper like nobody's business. We've been working up some Christmas tunes, and can't wait to debut them next weekend.
Stay tuned for more...
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