I'm melting!

Guess what: It's hotter than hell and we're still parked behind Big Texas Dance Hall, as we approach 3pm. The AC guy did show and did his deed, but we're experiencing some electrical snafu. Gyro's done his best and it's going to be okay once we can "plug in", from what I hear. We had hotel rooms last night and slept great, but the cold was fleeting as the day went on. Not even sure if I am making any sense at this point, as it's just miserable right now. I look about the bus and see beads of sweat on KT, Fish and Gyro. Just can't see everyone else, sure their just as drippy. Looks like we're about to pull out now and head to the Jolly Fox in Huntsville. No showers at this venue so maybe we can just get a runner to take us to the prison...maybe we'll pick up an extra gig on cell-block D. Fish & KT are now taking turns on my guitar. She gets around. Paul's up front with Chris, helping keep Gyro from going insane. Let's see what else will happen.

Hot & sticky

We made it to Big Texas Dance Hall in Webster, TX. Didn't take long to see the misery in everyone's eye's with the AC being out. Chris was the last one up (maybe he tied one on last night...maybe not, if his Mom is reading this). With my workouts lately, I spend 20 minutes at the conclusion of each day in the dry sauna. Thank God! It actually prepared me a little for this weekend. Poor ol' Gyro had to drive in this crap, too. He didn't have the luxery of sitting on the cool ice chest or sticking his head out the top hatch at 60mph. We got to the venue early and everyone pitched in like troopers. We even beat the sound company by a couple of hours. Paul & KT looked like a couple of vacationing "good fellas" kickin' back by the pool at the hotel. With this heat, it only took minutes to get our rooms secured for the night. Later, Paul, Fish & I went to eat early on at IHOP. Then, it was soundcheck time. Gyro & Chris had it ringing like the performance of their lifetime. Afterwards, we all chilled (ha, ha) at the hotel and any hole we could find some cool air in. A guy came to fix the AC. He had to replace the compressor. Well, true to the Cooder Curse, the one he brought was locked up, too...just like the damn thing we had originally. So, morning is the time relief is on the way (if all goes well). It's late now and showtime is coming fast. Gyro's trying to catch a few ZZZzz's beside me on the couch, as Paul pours himself a bloody mary to lose himself in some form of cooler mindset. Here we go.

Hills Cafe in Austin

As I just started this entry, Fish just said, "Whatever you do, don't ever quote me." Damn! We're chilling out in the parking lot of Midnight Rodeo in Austin. We played earlier at Hills Cafe and ended up here, thanks to our friends at KVET and good old Russel (Midnight Rodeo Manager). The show went quite well, with Fish making his official debut on drums. He got words of praise from several fans and even Kevin Fowler, who graced up with his presence. Paul's working with Fish a lot to get him up to speed on the Cooder-way...bass & drums are a tight grouping. Matt's vocals were in good form as he sang his heart out and had the ladies melting in their seats (he did have an advantage with the freakin' heat today). Speaking of heat, the Cooder Curse strikes, again and the AC is out on the bus. We were sweating an hour before we arrived in Austin. Yuck! Gyro & Chris worked quite efficiently and got the guys up for soundcheck in a flash. This was an on the air gig for radio, so there was little room for error. The Guru & his faithful apprentice knocked it out and all went smooth tech-wise. So, we loaded in within an hour and were bound for Midnight Rodeo. Great friends like Gary Turner & Julie Kidwell showed up, too. Nick's in the back lounge right now playing Playstation 2. I just climbed in from the roof of the bus (soooo much cooler up there) reading a book by the streetlight. KT's in bed, Paul quickly followed and Matt is preparing for the bunk now, too. Fish went to get something to eat with an Austin area friend (hope they remember my taquitos). Got a call from my cousin Glen Bethke tonight. He works merch for Roger Creager. If you're ever at a Creager show, stop in & say "hi"...tell him Rock sent you and you'll get a FREE...handshake. He's cheap, like me, too. No, we just try to battle off the "What can I have for free" crap so the guys can feed their families. If you only knew the begging we deal with...but don't stop, it makes us feel like gods. Well, we got Fish as drummer, Paul's contemplating Catholicism, KT got a haircut, Matt's defeated the smoking habit, Gyro's #1 on the list to buy a cool house, Chris has his hair in a ponytail and Nick has stopped harassing me about my diet. What great times we're living in!

A weekend of goodbyes & welcomes

We did the Harley Rally show, again in Lubbock. It was held at Wild West and turned out to be a pretty damn good crowd. Cooder Graw played two shows this night, one at 8pm and one at 11pm. The first one was more of a private party performance for the rally. The second was deffinately a rock-hard concert for the public. The Charlie Shafter Band played in between the two Cooder shows and did an incredible job. If you haven't heard these guys, check out www.charlieshafter.com. The Cooder shows featured Fish playing guitar. And this show also marked the last weekend of shows with Cooder for our Brother, Kelly B. Test; as he is formed a new band with Mike Mancy.

Okay, let's jump into Larry Joe Taylor's Festival, cause that's deffinately where the action happened and our world changed. We arrived early, thanks to Gyro's steady hands and we all wasted no time waking up for this mammoth event. As we were waking and ready to let the good times roll, greats like Susan Gibson & Jason Boland were crawling away from their night of partying. A passing of the torch as it would become. First thing I had to do was go find Papa's campsite (Guy Bagwell for you first time readers). Found him in good spirits and with his neck recovering from that aweful break...Sara Lee wont have him complaining anymore about her cooking (he claims he fell). Papa's campsite was a small community of it's own with Great folks about (Hey there Jim-Bob!). Soon, Fish had his "little friend" arrive (Holli) and they toured the festival grounds on their rookie year here. Sissy & Randy arrived not long after and quickly blended in with the rowdy crowds. Randy found many a new friend and blended well over at the Bagwell campsite. Sissy just loved the jewelry...Guy's a true artist. Matt had Erin there, too and it was surely a family affair at LJT's this year. That made it all the more fun, too. Heather was there, thankfully cause she'll be just as missed with Test departing.

NEWS FLASH: Fish gets the job as drummer for Cooder Graw! It's a done deal and exciting to have someone young and energetic as Fish Hunt pick up the torch. Big shoes to fill!

Folks we're now home in Amarillo and I best go. We're tired and only have two days to reorganize for next week. Hate to cut in short, but damn there were some hard tears and great times at Larry Joe's. Paul & I even broke down in the hall thinking about Test leaving. It is hard and will take time. Matt, Nick & Fish kicked ass playing, entertaining the crowd with guitar playing at Papa's camp, while KT joined Reckless Kelly over at Crazy Ray's site. GREAT TIMES! I will write more as I remember more.

God Bless TEST and give our new FISH the means to kick some rear.

Guadapalooza

We all went to Guadapalooza today, as Matt was scheduled to play. Our front man, Matthew, was in great company with Cody Canada, Stoney LaRue, Jason Boland, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Mike Mancy and numerous other Texas Music greats. Haven't seen so many "Big Deals" in one area since Boland's wedding. Fish was swimming in awe getting to meet some of the best in the industry. Matt put on a hell of a show and actually drew several onlookers up to the stage front for a closer listen. Chris certainly tied one on and was feeling pretty good by nights end. Paul was just going crazy wanting us to watch "Hotel Rwanda" before he has to return it to the video store tomorrow. It was good to see Cody & Shannon Canada at this event. Shannon looked awesome and you couldn't tell she was with child. Her & Shelby are both expecting and you couldn't see two more proud papas than Cody & Wade. The weather was incredible and Fish & I took in a box of crawfish on the VIP balcony while watching the show. And yes, I agree, it's not worth the work (crawfish).

Now, we're all chilln' on the bus. Gyro worked out everyone's transportation woes. When a dozen people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to figure out how & when to get home, it's nice to have Gyro the Guru around to calm the storm. It was hecktic.

Grease enjoyed his trip out, I know. He is one of us now...feel sorry for his wife. He worked his tail off, loading, setting up, cleaning, fighting (see Alamo story), helping take care of his bro. Actually, I must say that I feel like we're all brothers now...Grease is awesome! Grease is the word....

We're almost to the airport in Austin, dropping off Nick, Matt, Test and even Chris (I think). Well, maybe we're staying the night here near the airport, who knows? But whatever happens, I am glad to be in it with my Brothers: Matt, KT, Paul, Test, Fish, Gyro, Chris, Buffalo, Grease and Steve. Time to reenter that other world.

The Alamo

We awoke to the beating of parade drums, as we sat in the parking lot of St Mary's University. The Fiesta Oyster Bake is a cool festival in San Antonio. The weather today was hot. Every once in a while a nice breeze would whip in and refresh us. We walked around to find our stage since there were about 5 to chose from. We found ours and it was a little ways from the bus. That was okay though cause we did have some loaders, driving "Gators" around the campus. There was a nice crowd starting to build, so any help weaving our way to our stage would be appreciated.

Finally, we got that merch in (Thanks to ol' George Martin) and I was eager to get set up. Had to divy up the merch, so that we could send some of every item out to Larry Joe Taylor's Festival early.

Aaron Watson, then Randy Rogers and finally Cooder. Fish was assigned the guitar for this show. Test played damn good and was enjoying his short stent left with the Cooder boys before he ventures out with Mike Mancy. He will be extremely missed as a musician and a friend. IF...if, if, if Fish or whoever else takes the drums, he will have big shoes to fill.

After what was a fantastic show, exploded on campus, most the guys stayed around to watch Reckless Kelly bring a close to the night. The nice little crowd from earlier had evolved into a huge mob, littered with the typical festivalish share of drunks in the crowd.

Grease (Grant Turner, remember) helped me and the loaders to get stuff moving back to the bus. As we were loading the trailer, the most peculiar thing happened. Grease & I caught some freaks urinating all over the rear of our bus. Well, that didn't set well with us Cooder Crew boys and we went after them. I pushed one guy over the trailer hitch and Grease jumped right in ready to rumble. We must have resembled Jim & Davy, with the opposing side mounting their assault on us in great numbers...yet still, we did not flintch and held our ground. Grease went from healer nurse to Rocky Marciano in a flash. And as we were about to throw fists, the loaders, whom double as extra security detail ran up to defend our Alamo with us. Danny Shenz, Justin & Jason Aguilar and Hank Schott were our backup and they ran the pricks off. As we were pumped with adrenaline and giving the "high fives", the enemy returned. This time, right before the could mount their attack, several San Antonio Police and State Troopers jumped from the crowd and ended up kicking approximately 15 people off the premisis. Victory!

Chris made sure the rest of the bus was loaded to precision and we were locked and loaded. We got on the bus and learned that Paul almost fell victim to that bunch of young roughians. What a night.

Poor ol' Gyro can finally catch some rest tonight. He is just plumb worn-out after all the driving, fixing the bus, babysitting us boys, running sound, etc, etc. Yall throw some prayers out to our buddy Gyro. He deserves many a blessing for his sacrifices for us. He even fixed that pesky bus door that hasn't even been unable to lock the past two weeks.

It's late now. Fish is watching Saturday Night Live, after his nightly "I am whipped" talk with Holli, Chris & Matt are watching the movie "Blow" in the back lounge (not a porn), while everyone else has drifted to sleep, having put in more than a full day. Thanks this week to our friends: George, Danny, Justin, Jason, Hank and the numerous others that worked to make this machine work. See ya on the road.

Done in Durant

This show in Durant looked like it was going to suck. Seriously, at 10:pm there were approximately 15 people in the building. We've had worse, once before. The showtime got pushed back to 11:pm to allow for more people to arrive. Some more did show, too. I got up there to announce the band and told them how lucky they were to get an intimate, private show with "the hardest working band in Texas." It wasn't long till the patrons took control of the bar, picking up their tables and settled in the middle of the dance floor. It was cool and reminded me of those shows you've seen on TV with Elvis and the small crowds. The football guys from Southeastern were here, too and those dudes know how to bring life to the party. This performance was another chart topper in my book. Fish was on drums tonight and freakin' rocked! You could hear his own style starting to develope and come out. Okay, the Fish has got to stay in some capacity with this outfit, in my humble opinion. Else some other band is going to have this multi-talented young man putting wind in their sails. I know Hays Carll is pretty fond of the Fish already. Well, whatever the three wise men decided, it will be the right choice for the band. What do yall think??? Well, David Ball is hauling Fish over to the hotel to get his laundry and we're just waiting for his return to wake Gyro and head off to San Antonio. We even got our merch shipments waiting in Temple to be picked up...in great gratitude to George Martin.

So, got one reply siding with Nick on the diet. Wow, someone picked the fiddle player over the cardiologist. Bold choice. Maybe we can get Paul to prescribe medicine and KT to do the opthomology and we're in business. Had to raz you on that one, of course. See yall tomorrow.

Waiting for the show

David Ball showed up here in Durant. He spent some time visiting Papaw, watching him get his neck stretched by that device and decided to come on up and visit. He even brought us more of those bracelets everybody's been buying. Damn, we sold out of those things three times already. Hot item at the merch table that's for certain. Fish got his own bracelett, too. And yes, it says "Fish". Speaking of Fish, he had to run over to the hotel and wash his bedding. What do yall think: Should we put plastic down? Or maybe we should just trust he learned a lesson last night about partying too hard with the more experienced Cooder Crew? I think it's lesson learned.

Come on, you all can write replys to all my entries and we would love to hear from you.

Roadhouse

We're in Durant now. As I write, soundcheck is about to be performed. We all just got through eating here. The guys attempted soundcheck earlier, but some fella got pissy that it was interrupting his meal in the diner section. So, the guys accomodated the grump and waited till now.

On a personal note: Just got in from working out at a gym here in Durant, Oklahoma. In fact, I have been working out a lot lately and am now about to conquere day 11 of the Atkins Diet. Folks, it works! You have to take the suppliments and read the book...do it right. In doing so, I have reached 205 lbs now. Remember back when the pictures of me & Tom Green came out on the internet. I was over 220+ then. The real change is how it made me feel inside. Matt, believe it or not was a great inspiration, as he quit smoking and drinking, it made me rethink my health path. Fish has been a huge help, too as he watches what I order when we're out and he will be the first to reprimand me if need be. So, day 11 with less than 20 carbs per day intake and taking all the required Atkins suppliments...IT'S AWESOME! Nick still hounds me that it isn't healthy, but I decided to listen to the cardiologist over the fiddle player. Anybody want to join me in my quest for weight loss??? Paul's about to jump into it, too and that will help a lot. Let's make this Cooder Festival Season a healthy one and shave off those beer guts and make our ladies proud to be seen with us.

Anyway, I best get ready to run the guys to the hotel. We are all needing showers desperately. Fish especially, after last night. He's on the drums tonight and that's exciting. Although, I will say that some of us were just quite intrigued to have him on the guitar last night. He's damn animated and you can tell he's having fun. God Only Knows!

Talked to Guy Bagwell today. Don't yall go around forgetting our Papa. He's recovering quite well from his neck break and says to tell everyone "hi". Breakin' a neck...he will do anything to get out of work. Just kidding, he's the type that can out work any of us...including YOU. Keep those prayers for Guy coming folks and let's get him back on the road with us soon. We miss him dearly and love that ol' coot.

Leaving Las Midland

Done! Tonight's show went off GREAT! Fish took up the guitar and played some "slide" during the whole show. It only complimented the sound and this was a show you could most certainly feel. Gyro had the place LOUD and rockin'. We were a little concerned earlier when Test missed his flight. Luckily, he made it in the nick of time and the show exploded from the first chord. During "Clarksdale", I literally got chill-bumps and Grease Faulker (KT's bro) was feeling it, too.

Well, someone over fed the Fish and he quickly made his way to the toilet. We didn't flush him though...he was salvagable. He still did some work at load out and we got underway expeditiously. Paul went to bed pretty early. Test is in the back with Buffalo, Chris & KT. Matt is getting ready to hit the bunk, too. Me? Hell, who knows...might come back and write some more later. Or at least chat with Gyro a bit as he takes on the road.

Midland time

Had a nice time hanging with Fish, Red (Chris' new name), Gyrodeo and Matt last night on the bus. We bought a new PS2 game for the bus (Call of Duty) and spent most the night cleaning the bus and preparing & repairing electronics on our mobile castle. Red did an excellent job, must say, repairing the Playstation...Gyro's protege' has proven himself once again. Nothing is ever broken with Gyro & Red nearby. We're in Midland now. Yea, back at The Ranch. Judy's so awesome to us every time and even got us hotel rooms just across the pasture. Soundcheck was so different today. Why? Well, we had a dude audition for the drummer spot, Nick wasn't here and Fish was playing some slide guitar aside Matt. It was pretty cool stuff. Grant Turner (KT's brother) is making a guest appearance this trip. His new name is "Grease Faulker". Grease is too long a story to explain here, the Faulker is cause he's a male nurse (see "Meet the Parents" movie). He's a cool dude and even brought snacks. The weather out here is awesome. Spring time is deffinately here, although it felt quite Summer. Many of the fellas are heading to the hotel now. Such a nice day, Matt decided to walk over to the hotel. Guess he's liking those new, smoke-free lungs. Talk to ya later!

Oklahoma now

We're passing through Oklahoma. Actually, Gyro said he wants to stop just shy of OK City to avoid having to drive in that traffic. Good thing, too cause he's certainly busted his ass today driving, doing sound, etc. He's probably due for some serious Zzzz's. Chris is up here keeping him company. Sometimes I look at them and can only think: Batman & Robin.

Was in the back just a few minutes ago with KT, Paul & Fish. Paul's watching the Pope's funeral on TV. Great man! And certainly in a better place now.

We took one intermission to listen to the CD of infamous "Rockin' Roger". KT said Ragweed loves this guy. Sorry folks, the CD isn't available to the public though. Speaking of other musicians, if any of you are in the DFW area and not able to come out to Abilene for the Cooder show, please, go see The Charlie Shafter Band...at 8.0's downtown Ft Worth from 1-4pm and then opening for the incredible Mike Mancy at Adaire's in Dallas (Deep Ellum) at 9:00pm. If you can't come see Cooder, at least help support those musicians in your area that are swim up the stream...the mainstream (know what I mean). Tell 'em Cooder sent ya!

Gyro, Chris & I are jamming to Elton John now. Yea, we're all versitle in music. "B-B-B-Benny & the jets..." Think it's time to go tuck Fish in his bunk and head off to bed. We're in Amarillo tomorrow and that's going to be awesome! I am going to try and sell an autographed copy of the movie "SAW". It sucked! So, we figured if the band signs it, we can turn around and get our money back on it. Either that or flex Wal-Mart's liberal return policy. Should have seen us autographing a bad strawberry, too...okay, not all our ideas are reality based.

Arkansas

We had a pretty good time in Springdale, Arkansas. We got there on time and loaded in pretty easy. There was some tension on the bus...nothing too horrible, but we just have a lot going on and it's taking a toll. Trying to restructure with Test leaving and getting ourselves organized has been consuming. However, at the end of the day, all was well. The crowd was thin, but the guys really did put on a damn good show. Come time for KT's guitar solo in Clarksdale, fans were gathering near the stage and rockin' out. Jon even had a chance to jump up on the drums, again and rock out with his rooster out! Hey, speaking of roosters, Test wanted me to say, "Chris is a Dirty Bird!" O'yea, Nick just said, "will you put this in there" and bit me on the arm. See, all is normal on the Iron Fortress tonight as we make our way out of Clinton's home state. Man, sure is beautiful here though. We just stopped for gas. Gyro's pumping it (gas that is) and Fish (Jon's nickname) just went inside to pay. Nick & I had to call out Fish on his jealousy tonight. Try to interrupt Fish when he's talking to any girl. Chris, Matt, Nick & I are going to work on the Fish. Although, there is one girl he seems to fancy more & more. Hmmm. Could our Fish be getting whipped already? He even bought a cell phone headset, just to talk to this particular girl that we wont mention by name (Holli). Got to give him some grief, since he's the Fish. Okay, let's have fun with this blog system now: Would like your replies here on how long Fish should've waited to buy the phone headset to talk with his gal???

Wow!!

Paul in the hall has turned into Paul on the ball, as he's got me up on this new system for doing the Road Diary. It's pretty cool cause now I can write from the road via Gyro's wireless internet. We're all really just getting up, as we arrived in Springdale, Arkansas. The trip up here is awe inspiring with the ozarks abound, humbling us all. Matt's putting his boots on, KT's just sitting here watching for someone to leave trash around, Crisp, Gyro & Paul are up front navigating us through town, Jon just grabbed himself a Dr.Pepper (as he's still cleaning the sleep from his eyes) and Nick's still in bed, as is Test. Hey, we just turned onto Emma Avenue, Matt's wanting to steal the sign for his sweet daughter, but we best find a Molly Blvd before we take any action...fair is fair.

Hope you all enjoy this new system and we'll all learn it together and have some fun on here. Things are good and all of Cooder says "hi".

The new road diary

Welcome to Rock's new Road Diary. Now you can post your replies to Rock's ramblings, ask him a question, tell him where to go, or whatever. Feel free to discuss all things Cooder, but we do ask that you keep your comments PG-rated, as persons of all ages (as in children) will be reading and participating in this blog. Thanks for visiting, and Rock looks forward to reading your comments!