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The west coast tour was golden! Having never been west no longer than three days maximum, the seven days in California and the 13 days out west were phenomenal.
I didn't make the Reno, NV show, but was on deck for the San Fran show at the Boom Boom Room made famous by John Lee Hooker if I'm not mistaken. This was the night before the Jimmy Kimmel taping, April 30. We thought the sound system at the Boom Boom wasn't all that grand, but the audience loved the set. We realize that as artists, we can be our own worst critics. After leaving San Fran, we packed up and headed for Los Angeles excited about Kimmel. Three hours into a six hour drive, our trailer had a tire blow out that bent the trailer guard and damaged the rim. We were to be expected in Los Angeles at noon and without the flat tire, we were only going to be within an hour of being on time. However, we did make it to Kimmel and as most of you were witness, it was a great show.
Wanna say THANK YOU to those of you who sent special words of support, excitement, and positive energy all around. A solid THANK YOU as well to those who made it happen and were there in the flesh to see us through the Kimmel ordeal.
Kimmel lead to West Hollywood for the Viper Room show the following night and after social at the well known, Rainbow Room, who serves a nice after hours pizza. Viper Room was hot and sweaty like we like it. A capacity crowd was there as well. Not that what followed was bad, it was just different. The show in Agoura City at the Canyon Club was a youth rock extravaganza with some really great bands, but they were kids, so we had to curtail the language and be on our best behavior. While on stage, JT whispered to me that he felt like he was deflowering the kids. I simply laughed because that's exactly what was happening.
Later that night, we drove back to Los Angeles for drinks and a come down at the House of Blues where we received the best VIP treatment. The staff was class A.
The House of Blues Santa Barbara was our next stop. We did an acoustic set. The stage has been teh smallest actual stage we've ever played. However, the folks loved us. this was one of the few places we sold merchandise, which always helps. Orangevale follwed a one day hiatus spent traveling. The Boardwalk was a great place with guitars on the ceiling. There wasn't a large crowd and of the few people that showed up, some gifted me a gold coat. I love it! It's dramatic, but it goes perfect with the Scorpio in me.
So, Moe's Alley followed in Santa Cruz. This was a no show - show as well, but the people who were there were great and either had heard about us or were glad they had heard us. We gained at least five new followers at each venue.
From Santa Cruz, we went to San Luis Obispo and played Downtown Brew. This was a good show and free to the public. A decent turnout, we rocked it becaue the crowd wanted it. As much as we loved California, this was our last night and we were eager to be out because it meant that we were headed back to Texas and folks were starting to get homesick.
We played the Hard Rock Las Vegas next and almost got kicked out the hotel for having mary jane on the stage. Yes it was lit and being smoked, but you gotta be inside circle to know details. I wanted to gamble but seemed to run outta money the day before I got to Vegas and was re-upped the day we left. I did a lot of walking. Our hotel was about two miles from the strip. I was sore about not being able to spend at H&M. The hotel is boss and would love to stay there again.
Toby Keith's I Love This Bar, bar and grill was our next spot and what I recall of it was it was a bonafied country bar. Being in Cali so much, I think I'd forgotten that it was possible that we could still be doing a show at a country bar. This was a grand bar and grill. Large, open, well staffed and dancing patrons. Dudes flinging chicks around their backs, up in the air, and down on the floor in cowboy boots! The food was good and the Hyatt they put us up in was perfect. The beds were the kind you melt in. It was a great last place to stay.
Our final show was in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We'd been there before and it was pretty much the same. There was a bigger crowd and we sold merch. Lots of people came from El Paso and said we'd fare well at either Le Grange or 101 Bar.
Overall, we survived and now we are gearing up for the album release show on April 17 at the House of Blues Dallas. Will you be there?
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