I'll just start off by saying that each trip we go on is different, and to me each one is special for different reasons. These trips are so much fun, not only do I get to talk to my favorite artists and pick their brains, but I get to listen to great live shows and drink a few beers with my friends. I couldn't imagine a better gig. Each member of our little crew plays a very important role and without them this show wouldn't be possible.
Brother Josh was back with us this week and I know everyone was very thankful for his recovery. It's just not the same without him, last week at the Cory Morrow show when I looked at our table and didn't see 15 empty Budweiser bottles my heart kind of hurt. But, thankfully we had him back this week and the Budweiser's were flowing, which I think every great producer drinks during their show, right?
So, with the whole crew in tow, we left Dallas and headed to Abilene around 11:30am which was about an hour and half later than we had planned. We probably could have used the Angry Sound Guy's driving skills this time around since we were so far behind schedule, but you know I'm alive today and thankful for that. Brother Josh drove and got us there late but safe.
When we arrived at the Lucky Mule Saloon in Abilene, Brandon and his band were already doing sound check, which is not good because our equipment is supposed to be hooked up with theirs before the sound check starts. Because of our tardiness, we had about 30 minutes to spare while the band finished up their sound check. The Angry Sound Guy is not only angry; he also has an extreme case of ADD like I've never seen. So, as he sat waiting for the band to finish, he spotted a punching bag game out of the corner of his eye. I literally watched a fire in his eyes ignite when he saw this thing. It was one of those games where you put a dollar in and you hit it as hard as you can try to get the highest score.
Well $50 later and well into my interview with Brandon I could still hear the sound of that bag getting brutally beaten and the "ding ding" sound of points racking up. It got pretty bad because Josh had to set up all the equipment himself and there I was trying to interview Brandon Rhyder, but couldn't keep my eyes off of the sweating, grunting mess that was our sound guy.
Finally, my fiancee' Jessica went over and basically had to talk him off the ledge, because he kept hitting just below the highest score (he was convinced the game was rigged). She talked him in to giving the game a break for a little while, so he reluctantly joined Josh at the sound table. I finished up my interview with Brandon and the manager of Lucky Mule Saloon, Shaggy. Brandon Rhyder is an awesome guy and he cares so much about his fans. He is very aware of the fact that he wouldn't be doing what he is doing without them. He just seems like a really appreciative guy, and I had a good time talking with him.
Once the interviews were finished, we walked over to a little Hibachi restaurant called Bonzai. It's located off Clack St. in the same parking lot as the Lucky Mule Saloon. We sat around the hibachi table and watched the chef work. We had fried rice with vegetables, grilled chicken, shrimp, steak and scallops. The food was amazing but Chris Farley from Beverly Hills Ninja would have been a better chef, but we see ate the food nonetheless.
After dinner we went back over to the Saloon and had a couple of drinks until the opening act, No Justice, came on. They did a great job! We plan to go to their upcoming show at the Wormy Dog in Oklahoma, and record them. We are all excited and looking forward to that.
No Justice played for about an hour and then Brandon Rhyder came on. What an amazing concert! It was so cool to hear some of his new songs from his upcoming album "Head Above Water" that comes out Feb. 16th. Something else really cool about his new Album is the cover. It is one of the coolest album covers I have ever seen. I found out that Brandon's bass guitar player, James Hertless, designed it and did the photography. (Look to the top left of the page to see cover). Go to Itunes and get this album, you won't be disappointed! We are tearing up the highway and looking forward to next week with Josh Abbott!!
