Rock's Road Diary

The Skinny

2005-12-18T15:20:00.000-06:00

Things used to be different. Yup. Gruene Hall was not a huge crowd this time around, but, they were a skinny crowd, and we like that. Elvis and Jesus opened up for Santa across town so things were a bit slow that night, but not to worry, Cooder has come together recently more than we ever thought possible, musically speaking of course. And I must apologize, if you haven't been at our shows lately, you don't really suck, and you aren't stupid, and you're probably not an idiot, but you have missed some glorious musical magic. And you're gay.

Our next show was at the Rockin Rodeo in Denton with Randy Rogers, a righteous romping regalia ripping into to the Arctic air. Yea it was butt biting cold. Poor Randy though, if he could only draw a crowd, or have some good songs, or get a good band. It was packed and one fun effer to play. (We'll be back around Feb. 23rd) The next night found our happy hearts hopping on down to San Angelo to Graham Central Station, our first time back to this particular stop since the late 1990's. Another great crowd and this one was decked with dancers and old friends. Also our best crowd in San Jello in a long time. This is a party town and we were happy to be back. We didn't get to go see Blaine, he had Billy Joe Shaver in town, and had to hear a little preaching.

Saturday found us fireside, Houston, Texas, the Firehouse Saloon, a fairly familiar favorite for the Fab five. (all right, I'll quit with the allit. in a bit) Suki, the in-house chef fed us famously and the folks who had come in looking for a fire truck, or a fireman, or some kind of help along those lines, finally figured out after three tequila shots, this was not "that" kind of firehouse and left screaming, "Fire." But, we all had a great time playing with the pencils on the benches and listening to the jukebox until the live music sparked the night off. Fans found the U-joints and Josh Owens starting the show with their own firedrills, so the night was packed with plenty of precautionary measures leading up to the actual pyrotechnics Cooder had to offer that night. FIRE.

Sunday we were off, and uh, I don't remember what we did. Monday we floated over to the 25th BGM Christmas party, at the Tavern in the Gruene, New Braunfels, with all kinds of yea-who's, Johnny Bush, Tommy Alverson, Ryan James, the Pearratz, Darren Tripp - DJ from a long way away, Twangcast folks, and of course Bill and Debbie Green and their whole entourage. Alot of other folks, who I'm not remembering, but who we love nonetheless. It was an awesome party and one of those you leave and remember why it is you do what you do. Good times, good times.

Tuesday and Wednesday were acoustic gigs and were both cool and very different than your weekend Cooder. Tuesday at Suede I met some great folks and took requests for about three hours from the hardcore Cooder fans. I played with Colby Logan who used to play with "Anytown". Wednesday, Buffalo and I played the Overtime Bar and Grill in Burleson, to a packed house, thanks in no small part to Casey Donahew, a Burleson picker who started the show.

We picked back up with the band around thursday and headed to Wichita Falls, another Graham Central Station, they must have one hell of a little railroad running. They've changed the stage around and made it larger and took out the karaoke room. They also shut the club down that night except the "Cowboys" portion, and there was a train load of effer's there. I'm crapping you negative. It was probably our largest showing there.

And speaking of a large showing, we definitely had our biggest crowd ever at Sweetwater. Of course it was the first time we played the Azteca, a very big Assteca at that, but since we played the Rattlesnake Roundup's, 3 and 4 years ago, we haven't been back to the Aguadulce of West Texas. In fact later that night, we all commented on how we were shocked at how many folks came out. Big crowd, yup. Biggest of the weekend.

Saturday, December 17, Waxahachie, our annual Christmas show, Texas Theatre. Amazing, this story ends like it began, this crowd was a bit, well, thin. Sorry, I think oftimes in terms of crowd size, probably because the band feeds off the energy you folks being there, gives us. Oh, we can play one freight load of a show to a small but robust grouping, but a certain amount of indescribable energy comes from the masses. Now don't get my murmurings wrong, we rocked around the christmas tree, KT played at least two, yup duex, christmas songs, and Buffalo and KT played Canon in D, and no one got married. And tonight we finished off the weekend on the radio with Justin Frazell on 99.5 the Wolf, the Front Porch Show. Now there is one cool cat, man. He has this big freakin show on one of the biggest radio stations in the nation, keep on rockin in the free radio world, Justin. Hey Amarillo, anybody listening?

Well, if for some reasonable reason I don't make it to the drawing board or the mailbox and you haven't gotten your Cooder Christmas Card yet..... wait, don't open any other cards until you get ours. Ours will be the best. Or just go ahead and open the others and pick out your favorite one and pretend it is from us, because, other than us saying, Hey, Merry Christmas Y'all, from the Cooders, a pretend card is as close as you'll get to the real thing. So find a good one, maybe with some fake snow on it, or a "far side" card, and scratch out Love Aunt Dorothy, and write in, ever so festivally, Love, the Cooders, Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Who Wants to go to Fire Lake?

2005-12-02T20:22:00.000-06:00

I demand a recount. So what, big whoop, want to fight about it? Here's a brief recount of the past two and a half week's events without any bias or musical references.

We last found ourselves about to get freaky at Floore Country Store, Saturday night, playing with Charlie Shafter and his band of miscreants. Practically normal show for the most part, and what looked like a country crowd, cool when country wasn't, ended up to be a freakin rockin buttload of musical joy. It was the best show of our lifetime and you were an idiot if you missed it.

Then Bird-day flew in and everyone went to Squanto's house for Turkey, Wampanoag stew, and fish-sticks. Oh and a bottle of red or white or whatever kind of mood were in that night.

Being Cooder Graw means outdoor shows must be scheduled either during the middle of summer.....or.......winter, whichever is likely to be more miserable to all those involved, and since winter is around the corner, we needed to test our grit. So last weekend meant Granbury and Mineral Wells would provide the perfect time for our outdoor exam. Well slap my long john's and call me a fool, here came the sun, doit-n-doodoo, it was nice and warm. Granbury, Mike's Ice House, was incredible, one of the greatest places known to man. If you weren't there you are an idiot.

Mineral Wells the next night was a private party. Sorry, I'm not allowed to tell you anything about the party by reason of a nondisclosure agreement we signed under duress, but it was great, huh, hard to believe, probably the best we have ever sounded as a band. Our buddy Tommy Alverson came by and played the better part of the night with us, we saved the worst part for later, after we had more than uno mas cerveza too many. This show was at the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, and there are only 96 stairs, in case anyone wanted to know. And, you guessed it, if you weren't there you weren't on the coolest guest list EVER.

The following weekend we went down to Fire Water. I'm not quite certain, but, was there a full moon, or free cable, or smoke on the water, or something weird going on last night, because once Cooder got cranked up, oh my god, look the hell out. Yea, it was two hours, count'em peeps, of Fire in the Sky. After we were done, we were just lucky to get all of the misdemeanants home and back to the bus. Enough said except that if you plan to be a juke box hero, remember that the glass on those things shatters, uh, rather easily. So you probably already know this, but those of you who weren't there, suck. Tonight is Durant, O.K. and tomorrow is Gruene Hall, each show will find us better than imaginable. Till our next amazing performance.

Martindale

Willie every Saturday Night

2005-11-19T16:49:00.000-06:00

Well, you guys haven't heard from me lately, so I thought I'd let you know how the pavement is treating us. We arrived at the bus' new home to find our tandem axled trailer missing a very crucial part, the very part that makes it tandem in fact, the second axle, which Gyro informed us, relieved itself from further duties somewhere between Abilene and Fort Worth. No two weeks notice, no complaints lodged, no lawyerly inquiries, just an outright AWOL. Well we loaded up the bus and moved to Beverly, Webster that is, down the road from NASA and home to Big Texas.

I guess there was some kind of 11:00 p.m. shuttle launch we weren't made aware of, because everyone seemed to be there, and not at the show. Of course, I say everyone, we were blessed with friends, Jim and Linda, Bubba and Debbie, Mike, others who make our shows regularly in the Houston area, but the shuttle watchers were busy elsewhere. That's alright, the folks at Big Tex made us feel like we didn't have to wipe our feet and we could feel at home, we had fun and the sound was great.

The next night was Schroeder, yea we played her, Hall, the second oldest dance hall in the state. We played our dance hall set, and had to go through our rigorous pre-show calculations and formula to figure out exactly which show to present to our apres-shuttle launching watching crowd there in betwixt Goliad and Victoria. For those of you possibly unfamiliar with the two very different shows his Cooderness has to offer, they are, using the vernacular of the lazy, our Country show and our Rock show. Our system for determining which show to employ is your basic, peak inside and see if it is an older, dancing crowd or a younger, drunker crowd. We quickly surmised all the hats and broom handled skirts meant one thing. Drink. We played and had a fun show, and we still threw a few U2 licks in to let everyone know U2 is not country.

And here we are at Floore Country store. The Charlie Shafter Band plays with us tonight. Ought to be a good night. Tamales and burgers await inside. The sign outside says, "Willie Nelson every Saturday night."

Martindale

Seperation anxiety

2005-11-05T15:59:00.000-06:00

Funny, I look back on the titles of my blog and just two entries ago, the title was "Neglect". I felt bad having not written in so long and then here I go, again. But as most of you know, I have been busy, busy, busy. The radio station has me working almost every day now. So, my time with Cooder Graw is limited.

However, I did manage to attend the show last night at The Horseman. The crowd was light...too light. Why? Willie Nelson & Ms.Womack were having some free show in Dallas, Cory Morrow was at Billy Bob's and Stoney LaRue was jammin' over at Woody's. Texas Music fans had to have been torn. And the usual loyal fans of Cooder may have felt like it was time to see someone else play this weekend since we're in the DFW area so much lately. I say "we" and that gets me a little emotional here. Feels like forever since I was on the bus last, traveling with my Brothers. I miss them, plain & simple. I was commissioned to announce the guys at The Horseman, like I have done at dozens of shows, but this time was different. This time I started with, "I am Rock, with 95.9 The Ranch..." It made me feel so seperated from the guys. You know, like that feeling when you bump into an old girlfriend/boyfriend...or maybe someone you knew back in high school. It was bitter-sweet to be up there announcing them as a seperate entity than myself.

Okay, the crowd sucked, like I said. It's usually much more packed in there. And I know that it affects the guys. They want that mob of fans, screaming at the stage-front, like so many times past. The girls winking upwards, wishing for a drummer or fiddle player for Christmas. Notice, I left out the others...they never get flirted with, right?

The intro the guys took on this show was quite unusual from the standard shows. I wont give it away though for those of you that are coming to a show soon. Well, on second thought, you should have had all your asses there anyway...so, they get announced while they aren't on stage. Then, the stage goes black and a Robert Johnson song begins to play over the sound system. For those of you not familiar with Robert Johnson, he was the blues guitarist that was reported to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his extreme talent (Clarksdale is about that). Then, the old blues tune's haunting sound fades and the guys jump in with a rockin' version of Dirty Little Hometown Girl. The folks that were there really liked it, as did I. It raised the level of excitement in the room and kicked things off well.

Later during the show, Fish was messing around with the beat from "Louisianna Saturday Night." Remember that old tune, "Well, ya get down the fiddle, ya get down the bow, kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor..." Matt decided to throw the lyrics out there and was quickly joined by KT & Paul. Then, the magic happened when Nick pulled on the bow and belted out perfectionism with the song. Everyone started singing along and dancing. It was spontaneous and beautiful.

As the night progressed, Matt pulled a couple of his acoustic tunes out while the guys went over to Woody's to check out Stoney for a few minutes. Everyone except Fish & Matt. It caught me off-guard when I heard Matt, "Let's get Fish up here to do a song." Strolling up to the front and donning one of Matt's Taylor guitars, Fish took the stage. He did his rendition of "Crazy Eddy's Last Hurrah" by Reckless Kelly. Not a song you would imagine being played acoustic, yet Fish stepped up and redefined what we are used to hearing. He shattered the mold of that coffee house acoustic singing blob and sounded fantastic...he really added life to it.

When all was said & done, the boys came around the merch stand to sign autographs. It was then I realized that there seemed to be more people in the place now. Brittney worked the merch stand nearly all night and did an incredible job of fighting the boredom, since the crowd was so thin. Got to meet her folks, too and her mom is way cool.

This was about the end of the night for me. I don't recall much else...if you know what I mean. Robin & I headed back to my place after dropping Arminda off at an IHOP in Bedford. I think Arminda had the same problem I did...well, not so much a problem as an escape. A drink or two isn't bad, right? Three?

David Ball just got home a bit ago. He spent a good part of the morning in the hospital after the show. Apparently, he caught a ride with some idiot that somehow went off the road. And in the confrontation between the car and the tree, the tree seems to be the victor. Luckily nobody died.

RANDOM PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE ABOVE STORY: If you want to have fun, cool, but STOP THE DAMN DRINKING AND DRIVING. Drink & drive and I hope you only kill yourself in the process. Too harsh? Bullshit! Dumb asses run around every weekend, drinking it up, laughing & chasing girls, wearing their starched up clothes, whatever, etc, etc....and they end up killing families. I'm done.

Can't leave you on that serious of a note, can I? Can I encourage each of you that read this to talk to just one other person about Cooder Graw this week. Introduce our music to someone that says "Cooder What?" Let's get the fire burning for this fresh winter season and build these crowds. Bring someone new to a show, play a CD at a party, tell them to check out the website...even read my mindless chattering here. Reply back to me here and let me know some cool stories of new faces we are conquering from the Nashville side of music. Let's put Texas Country on top and help Cooder to lead the way.

Any names, animals, events or botanical inferences in the above stories may be altered to protect the innocent.

Weird run

2005-10-23T15:57:00.000-05:00

The run this weekend was odd. We started out at the Firehouse Saloon in Houston. Usually, this is one of our better gigs. This time was different. There were maybe 50 people there. Hell, one of those was my friend Allen. Bubba was there with Mrs.Bubba. Kris Moseley was there, too. So, let's say there were about 46 present. This was set to be a damn good show, too. Mickey & The Motorcars were opening for us. There wasn't any reason to have less than a few hundred in attendance. Bubba mentioned that there was a "thing" for the Astros downtown, so many went to that. Come on, that sucks: The Astros can play the World Series anytime...this was Cooder Graw at the Firehouse! (That's sarcasm folks)

There were two guys that got in a scrap right before soundcheck. That was interesting to watch. People resorting to violence...never a good thing. But that's what big city living can do to folks. Always some excitement with Cooder Graw in town. Anyway, they made up and even stayed for the show. Thank goodness, we needed both of them there.

The show went decent. The guys sort of went into this "well, there's nobody here, let's party" mode. There were some mistakes made during the show, but hell, there wasn't enough people there to notice. And it was the first day out, so that tends to happen....right Bubba!? Some of the guys from Mickey & The Motorcars got up with our Cooder boys and jammed with them. That was something that sent some chills my way cause it ROCKED!

When the night ended, we packed up relatively fast and were ready to head towards Dallas.

I awoke the next morning, crawling from my bunk to the front lounge to find we were parked at "The House" in Fort Worth. Cool! Showers were taken and everyone was refreshed and ready (most everyone) for the show. Gyro steered us for Dallas and we made it to Gilley's. This performance was outside of Gilley's this time, in the parking lot. It was some big BBQ cookoff thing raising money for some kids thing. Okay, so I can't recall exactly what it was about, but hey, some kids are suffering, Cooder played and it was nice. Notice I said it was a BBQ thing. O'yea, you know they fed us BBQ. "This is some of the best you've ever had" was the theme at every station I stopped at...and every gig we've ever been to. Why is every venue dead-set on stuffing us with BBQ. I don't want to seem ungrateful, cause it's nice they do stuff, but somebody has to break the chain...someone has to speak up against the BBQ abuse going on with bands. Can we get some Mexican, Italian or hell, maybe some Chinese. I see why Nick tries to grab some sushi when we're anywhere near a decent town. Am I really babbling on about BBQ??? Crap.

Okay, so the weather was nice in Dallas. The Eli Young Band opened for us. Those are some bad ass dudes(got to love my expansive vocabulary). Little Rock fell asleep in his bunk after touring all the little peddler booths. I woked him up after we realized he was MIA past two songs into the set. Turns out he wasn't feeling good and had to take some medicine that knocked him out. Damn that Morphine!

Was a virtual family reunion for me, Fish & Little Rock...as usual when we're in Dallas. Uncle Bill made it out, as did Mikey, Sissy....okay, I can't name everyone anymore and we shall just say "The Family" to save my typing time.

Gary Turner & Warren Cole were at this show and that always means it will be fun. Gary & I spent some time yelling at KT on stage. You know how you always here people yelling at band members and you can't even understand them half the time. So, I just took it to the extreme, yelling: "Come on you F***ing puppet, play a damn song, you Bastard!" It just blended in and nobody noticed. Well, KT finally realized and had a good laugh. Warren seemed more subdued, probably since his lovely Stephanie wasn't able to come.

After the show we all vacated quickly. We had loaders! And Pat Babb showed up with some of his posse(although I would love to have that word pronounced differently). They helped load us and they saved us a lot of time. Robin & I made it to the house just before the bus. However, some of the guys weren't on the bus. Seems that Mike Mancy was playing at Adair's so some of them went to watch...and even play. I just know that there was a HUGE mess in the backyard of the house come morning. And you know that hot tub was used, too. Crazy guys. Although I know Matt was innocent, cause I saw him working on his article for Texas Music magazine all night.

Morning came and I went and got some donuts, much to the delight of Matt, Gyro, etc. I began working on my show for tonight for the radio station (95.9 The Ranch) and the guys got ready to head out to Amarillo. Today is a Katrina benefit there.

Time to go head to the station. All of you that read this, try to turn someone new onto the Road Diary, our whole website, etc. Help us to share the good music and the behind the scenes antics. Keep us all in your prayers and hope to see ya down the road.

Neglect?

2005-10-21T01:01:00.000-05:00

Have I neglected this blog so long that the 14th was my last entry. Okay, it's been busy, but damn there's so excuse for that. There's not a show tonight, yet thought I would write for the hell of it. Tomorrow we're headed for the round of gigs and just thought some insight into our lives here prior to leaving out would be interesting.

Matt was just on the computer for awhile working on some stuff. I say the word "stuff" cause I have no idea what he was doing. Paul, KT, Gyro, etc., are in the hot tub relaxing. I was in there for a little while and had to get out to work on stuff for my radio show this Sunday. Again, that's 95.9 The Ranch in Fort Worth (www.959theranch.com). Check out the show online if your not busy.

Bubba called me tonight to see if I would be at the show there in Houston. He's a cool cat and we all sure love him. He's done a lot for us and wanted to let me know he would be there for load-out. He's ready for some Cooder Graw after having to go through all that evacuation crap from that bitch Rita. Thank God, she spared the Houston area.

Paul just came in and is about to grab a shower. It's funny, our little quiet neighborhood and there sits our huge tour bus in front of the house. Actually, it almost takes up the houses beside us, too. KT just came in now to bring my jacket back to me. It's chilly outside...and no we're not gay.

Guess that's enough of this mindless chatter. Remember to live in the present moment and enjoy the things God is giving you NOW. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to be seen. If you don't like a situation you can deal with it, walk away from it or just accept it...either way, find peace. Okay, I am almost done with that book Nick read. Love you all!

Fair to Midland

2005-10-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

After a few days of being off the bus to do my radio stuff, the guys picked me up in Ft.Worth on the way to Midland. Sporting a chocolate milk for Gyro & some donunts for the boys, I arrived back on our silver fortress. We took off soon after my arrival and were bound for Midland to play "The Ranch" as we always do. Past two years we were there for Halloween, but a tad early this time.

As we were getting the stage set, The Charlie Shafter Band showed up to open for Cooder. This was a good sign for what would be a great night for music. We're carrying some of Charlie's music with us now, so if you don't have their CD "Orange", you need to make a little purchase at the next show. Seriously good music!

Charlie & his boys took the stage pretty early. The Crowd hadn't even really got in the club yet. Still, they rocked the house and got the energy rollin' for Cooder time. Matt & the boys took the stage and were quickly jammin'. Pat Babb & Justin came out. And Jayme, Aaron Watson's merch guy showed up to hang with me, Rodney & Shannon came out, too. Great guys & incredible musicians. Aaron's bus broke down, thus the visit by the Honkey...I mean, the Honkey Tonk Kid. Hey, Aaron, I know you read this, so where the hell were you last night??? O'wait, I forgot you owed the guys one for not coming to your show at The Horseman when we were off and in town. Now we're all even.

During the show, a friend of Robin's came by to say "hi". I went to show "Abby" the Cooder bus while the guys were playing. On the way out, one of the cops at the back door gave me some crap about Abby not being my wife, so she couldn't go out that door. Well, it's been a long week and I told him to "quit being a dick!" He said that cussing in front of him can get me arrested and I apologized saying, "Awe, I didn't know you were soooo sensitive." That spawned a whole incident between your beloved Rock and the police. But hey, I didn't go to jail and before the nights end it was all cool. It did feel good though to stand up to "The Man's" oppression and win. I say "win" cause I didn't end up in cuffs and Miss Abby did get to see the bus. Let me add that I do respect the cops out there; overworked & underpayed. But why......awe, hell, never mind....you know what I mean. We made peace and all was well. Two proud men in a pissing contest.

The night ended smoothly enough. Wish the crowd would've been better. Jacque Daniel's, the coolest DJ in Midlanc/Odessa said it was probably the weather. It had been raining all day there.

We got all loaded and were ready to head off. Gyro blew the horn and it was time to come running. Head count was right and we started to roll. Fish was already in bed. He had already vomitted earlier in the night (maybe something he ate???) Hell, we all felt pretty good and I even had to pull out Gyro's video camera to get the Paul & Fish show. We filmed KT while he slept (he looked so peaceful) and stayed up till around 5am discussing "The Power of Now" a great book that Nick read and I am in the middle of. Everybody should read it! It talks about living more in the present moment, leaving the past behind and not worrying so much about the future. Time is an illusion and problems, too. It's pretty cool.

One of the funniest things I heard last night was when Paul looked around, sitting in the back lounge, he smiled and said, "All you MF's are here for my entertainment." He was actually being pretty philisophical, how to look at life like everyone around you are just characters placed there by God to entertain you. Yea, we got pretty deep last night.

We determined that Little Rock is like a little Otto. He's quiet and always in the background. Some folks like to be there in the limelight. Even seen some that will walk onto the stage smugly at any chance they have to feel important. But Little Rock just hides well and still gets shit done. So, you may not see me writing about him all the time, but that's just cause he's like a Ninja or something, you even forget he's there. Gyro's been teaching him, stuff and let me tell you, there's nobody better to have as a mentor.

Well, it's morning/afternoon and we're all up now. KT wanted us to watch some Andy Griffith, to help settle us down. He said all that "Lords of Dogtown" and "Sin City" movie stuff had poisoned our brains and it was time to get back to some quality basics...I agree. Ya just can't go wrong with Andy. I will be getting off the bus after tonight, again so you'll have to bear with my absence once more. Hopefully, Matt will chime in with some of his words to satisfy that Road Diary craving.

Oldest surviving city

2005-10-08T08:40:00.000-05:00

Nacogdoches is rumored to be the oldest surviving town in the Great State of Texas. We were all excited about arriving there to open for our "Bro" Roger Creager. Before arriving at The Annex, had to stop by the radio station, so the guys could do their PR work. The DJ, Mike, was pretty cool there at KJCS. Usually, we are bearing CD's or shirts for the radio stations, but Mike made a first in our radio history...we left with something. Mike gave us a couple of "Bathroom Books" that have useless information in them. Sort of a trivia thing. Within minutes, I had learned about the modern use of "sterile maggots" in medicine and KT was hip on the beginings of cotton candy. Fish learned how much a human farts in a day and we learned to stay away from Fish. It was fun.

When we got to The Annex, we were met by some fan/friends, Pat Babb and two of his buddies that are too insignificant to name here....have to screw with 'em. They came to help us load and such. Glen, my cousin & merch guy for Creager, had me set to be next to him for the big night. However, the manager had to come around and literally measure our tables in conjunction with the surrounding bars & furniture to insure we didn't take up any unnecessary room. I could tell it would be one of those shows with somebody busting my balls over us selling some shirts & CD's at a show. Still, it worked out and I was ready. The guys didn't have too difficult a load-out really with Creager having a lot of his stuff for us to use. Still, loading absolutely sucks! Thanks to Pat and his sweet little girlfriends, it did go easier. I decided to hang out in the club and just see how the crowd would shape up and it didn't take long for them to start pouring in.

People made their way over to the merch stands, but they all wanted Creager stuff. So, being the gentle hearted guy I am, had to sell for my ABSENT cousin that decided to go to the hotel for awhile. By the time he rolled in, I had sold over $250 for him. Okay, I did make a couple of coozie sells for the home team, too. Overall, it was decent. There were certainly a lot of folks packed into this bar. And when Cooder took the stage, there were some cheers. Matt surprised me with jumping onto one of the front wedges (speakers in front of the artist on the stage). He stood up there jamming on his guitar during one song and the crowd loved it. Hell, I loved it. His recent burst of unpredictability on stage has me curious and more excited to watch the show. That's great though...two years of watching these cats and they can still throw a curve ball that will grab your attention. It's cool and besides, like Paul likes to quote the late Bobby Darrin, "People hear what they see." And lately, I hear some exciting stuff. and I see dead people.

The show was over way too soon for my taste, as well as many fans that made that clear to me. But when you're the opener...well, it just sucks that way some times. After all was said and done, we got everything loaded in. Gyro had to crash out. This double & triple duty wears thin on him. And if you know Gyro, he's one that doesn't need to be any more thin. This morning, as I write this, we are the only two up and he's not feeling up to par...so pray for Gyro to get well for me.

Some of the guys went off to bed pretty quick. Some went to a party that was at a home just a short walk from the bus. You can decide who did what. Creager & Matt did go down to the party together for a short showing. Many of the concert fans were there and those are two guys that do like to keep the pulse of their fan base...so it's nice they stroll in for a short visit. Can you imagine the look on the fans faces when Creager & Martindale stroll into the back yard to say "hi." That's cool...that's "Fonzy cool".

Between Little Rock & I, things without Chris haven't been too bad. We miss him, but we're getting the job done and things seem smooth. Fish is doing some extra stuff, too and Matt is no stranger to the pre-show set up drill. Well, it's time to maybe go check on Gyro, as he's driving up there. Am sure he could use a coke by now. Bubba & Mrs.Bubba are reading right now I bet, so let me send a shout out to my favorite Brother & Sister out there: YO BUBBA FAMILY...GLAD YOU SURVIVED THE HURRICANE!

See yall soon!

WHAT THE HELL

2005-10-07T13:26:00.000-05:00

What in the world am I doing here? This is Rock! I'm back...sort of. Am on the road helping out still, as my radio station schedule is permitting. So, the guys want me to keep on as long as I can until that one day when I am full-time at the station.

Good time to be back, too as Chris has moved on to pursue some other opportunties. Yea, we said goodbye last night to ol' Chris the monitor engineer. He's got a lot of other things on the burner and will probably find that fortune we all seek.

As I write, we are headed down to Nacogdoches for a show with Roger Creager. Though we love Roger, it will be hard to compete with the show last night at Tres Rios for Tommy Alverson's Family Gathering. Stoney LaRue, Mike Mancy and Steve Young played. If that last name (Steve Young) isn't familiar to you, then you need to say it over & over till it does. Mr.Young is one of the gentlemen that layed the seeds down for what we do today in country music. Steve Young was there with Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle and the like. Literally, by their side...check out the movie "Heartworn Highways" that my good friend James Attebery found online. If you buy that movie, you will have a musical experience.

Matt must have felt the energy in the crowd cause by the nights end, he was playing the washboard out on the railing of the stage front barrier. Then, during the encore, he layed down his Taylor guitar and grabbed his mic of the stand and went down into the barrier and joined with the Cooder fans to sing "Blister in the Sun". It was incredible. In the two years I have been with these guys, never have I seen Matt get so into the crowd in the literal sense. They went crazy and it raised the bar of the Cooder show. Again, you never know what will happen at a Cooder Graw concert. Paul faced off with Coby Weir when he joined the stage for the jam session. They looked like they were in some musical battle with those faces Coby makes. Nick had a little fan section of his own kickin' in front of him with girls mouthing all sorts of things my virgin ears dare not reveal. And Fish? He was mediocre. No, seriously, my little cousin was bad ass and set the tempo for what was a monumental performance by all. As we cross these rivers, and the trees sway in the cold air, I can't help but wish last night never ended.

You know, I have had many jobs in my day. None that have I kept this long. And being there last night just reinforced that I am where I need to be. My life has been years of searching for something...something that has had me drag myself through some tough times. And now, I am genuinely happy to be where I am at. My road brothers are dear to me and their music is indispensable in my life. We all have our journeys filled with good & bad. But the past is only the past and all we have is those precious moments today to build on and enjoy life from. Damn, I am getting too philisophical.

Okay, avoid this paragraph if you're tired of my talk about Robin. If you continue to read, don't give me any shit later about my mushy talk:

Robin was there and we had a blast together. She was as beautiful as ever! We were like best friends walking around the festivities together. That's really what she is to me, my best friend. We had a great time and are stronger than ever for all those that are "concerned".

Paul's playing the Playstation right now. KT's on the phone with our booking agent. Matt's hunting mustard for his sandwich. Gyro just pulled over to "relieve" himself. And all the kids are still sleeping...of course. Fish is going to have to get up soon to clean these damn floors though. That's his chore in the case de Cooder. And after that muddy, grassy festival, he's actually got some work ahead. Little Rock is still with us. He's picking up the slack left by Chris' position and running merch in my stead upon my radio dates. I love radio! And anyone that knows me (truly knows me) says it's the perfect place for me. Of course, with still being on the road now and the radio, I am BUSY and loving it...loving life for once.

Today we're playing with Roger Creager, as I said earlier. My cousin Glen will be there, as he does my job for Roger. Damn, it is like Kelly Test said, I am like George Bush, putting all my family in places of power. It's just that my family is passionate about Texas Music and desire no less than to be a cog in this great machine that we all enjoy so much.

I didn't mention yet, but Guy Bagwell (Papa) was there at the show. He was selling his jewelry and acting crazy as usual. I have got to get a link on here to his website, cause folks, that man makes & sells some incredible stuff! And he's one of the most funny & endearing men you'll ever meet. My real Dad was never a presence in my life. I never had a good solid Dad figure growing up...probably some link there with all the mistakes I've made. But my point is, Ol' Guy Bagwell is like that Dad. Hell, we all sort of have this obscure road family that we milk family warmth from out here. Matt & KT have been like older brothers. Paul is like that cool uncle. Gyro is like a Dad/cool uncle combo. And Nick, Fish, & little Rock are all my little sisters. Ha!

Well, it's time to move on to breakfast. Matt's sandwich is calling to me.

The Road of the Loving Hearts

2005-09-23T15:33:00.000-05:00

I don't know who Mr. Worth was, or I just can't remember my Texas history right now, but I sure am glad they decided to build a fort around his happy ass and stay a while. Man, I've been alot of places in my life and time, I've butchered alot of songs and stolen some sweet rhymes, but Mr. Worth's Fort takes my cake away. I believe you Fort Worthwhile folks ought to jump up and give yourselves a celebratory happy dance in honor of the fact that you have one smoking little village. Yea, the crowd was awesome and we had a blast. 95.9 The Ranch put on this series and those cats are some fine ranchers, indeed. 8.0 is a really cool place to play. We have been blessed this entire trip by other musicians being around, usually not because of us, but on this night, some members of Lyle Lovett's Large Band came for the show and we played them our "Front Porch with Mary Jane" bastardization. Cool Dudes. We played the show with Jarrod Birmingham and band. Cool dudes. Brian Rung plays with him and these guys rock. They stayed till after the show and then headed to Victoria to ride out the Storm. Hunker high boys, batten a hatch or two, and pour one down it before you do.

Then we were off down the road to Austin. Now I have to stop right here and say this, this trip has obviously been somewhat shaded by a possible rendezvous with Rita, and the attendant phone calls and text messages to friends and relatives. It's also been shaded with a confused plan of attack. Leave because of Rita and go up north and have a Hurricane, or fight the Hurricane by drinking a bunch of Rita's. It's a little strange to see the front come to your seawall. Why just two weeks ago, when everything seemed all quiet on the Eastern front, our neighbors in Louisiana packed a few belongings and headed to the high country. Now, with Rita proposing to offer more tekillya and salt than most Texans like in their frozen hurricanes, we ain't staying. We all saw what happened to those who couldn't or didn't evacuate LA, so we evacuated Texas. Well, most of us left most of it. Happily heading down the Road of the Loving Hearts, full of friendly faces and helpful vendors, open roads and low gas prices. I'm certain this was the case for every Galveston and Houston family as they left sea level for a U2 song. (elevasomething)

We hit Austin. We played La Zona Rosa with Randy Rogers, a benefit for The Texas School for the Blind. No alcohol was allowed, hmm, ok, sorority party obviously concerned for our health and eyesight. Because....I personally have seen two or three people drink themselves blind. O.K. Cool. We walked out to find Cory Morrow and Keith Gattis hanging out behind the club, cool. And clearly they hadn't gotten the news about drinking and blindness so, we pretended we didn't get the news either so as not to make anyone uncomfortable. And things.

After the show some of the boys headed to Reckless Kelly's shed to go get on top of it or what ever you do at a shedding, and made it back easily before the bus left the next day for our long trip to New Braunfels. Ahh, New Braunfels, home of KNBT, home of the river, Gonna be a fun night. All right, ya'll call me sometime. And things.
Martindale

Up the Trail

2005-09-19T16:54:00.000-05:00

I'm very glad we skipped the ultimate desecration of our musical souls, decided to forgo what any honorable samurai would've done after our Thursday and Friday shows, and made the journey to Chillicothe, Texas, for the 3rd annual Farm Fest thrown by the Texas Jack boys at the Flynn Family farm. I couldn't tell exactly what they grow out there other than tin barns full of welding equipment and good musicians, but whatever is in the water well, like rock and Led, works really, well, well. Yup, it was a great time, them Texas Jack boys can throw a party. The Mancy boys were there and all they do is rock and add fuel to the fire. Kelly Test played the entire show with us and that was a treat. Coby Wier jammed with us and if he could just get over his stage fright and play a solo longer than 30 seconds, he could really rock. Fish had to go to a wedding, showed up late and played electric guitar for the last half of the show. If you weren't there, you really did miss something. The crowd was awesome, perhaps driven somewhat by the full moon and the lightning threatening in the distance. Paul said it reminded him of the first Homer's Backyard Ball we played.

With all played and done, it was a good week. Little Rock did a great job and it won't be long before he earns himself a befitting moniker, instead of one inherited from Rock. I hope all who could tuned in to Rock on Sunday night for his initial airing on 95.9 the Ranch. He said he had several friends call in and he played four Cooder tunes. Keep it up Rock. Can you put in a good word with the Amarillo stations?

We're off now to Fort Worth for a show at 8.0. I love that place and Fort Worth in general, maybe because it's Cowtown and Amarillo is Horsetown, and there is some kind of undeniable bovine/equine relationship which reaches deep into the Texas psyche. Something which finds us reminiscing together for the Goodnight/Loving Trail and cattle drives through no man's lands, midnight stampedes, crossing boggy ford's and the campfire's spent together outside Dodge City before pay day, or not. All right, we'll see you next week.
Martindale

I Swear To Buda

2005-09-17T14:09:00.001-05:00

Friday Night highschool football in Texas boys, sorry. It's not like everyone was at the game, just the people who didn't come to the Fire Dept.'s fund raiser and fajita flop, and in a town like Buda, well that can add up quickly. We put on one incredible show though, that is something you can take to the Buda State Bank.

I hopped off the bus before sound check to find Kelly Turner and Deryl Dodd engaged in a discussion that went literally just like this, "Kelly, do you ever get burned out?" Now, if you know Deryl well, you know he opens his heart quickly to his friends, and I knew this was not going to be some, "hey, hows your hammer hanging?" type of hello/later dude affair. Lately I have been reading God Bless John Wayne, by Kinky Friedman, and I had read a line the night before where Willie had once told Kinky about life on the road and Willie said , " We just try to get from one town to the next without slashing our wrists." It ain't funny but it is. We all dream of playing stadiums but we play alot of gymnasiums and sport courts before you ever get to the end zone. We play gymnasiums when folks are at the stadiums, and play bars when folks are at the gyms. I really haven't thought about playing "Waltz Across Texas" with a razor blade across my fiddle arm, but when the power went off during Deryl's show last night for 37 minutes, I thought, as I stared up at D. D., do you ever get burned out? I swear to Buda, it's hard not to grow a tad jaded, but ole double D up there, with no Samurai Sword to properly commit Hari Kari and no bridge to jump from and no good clean razor blades, stood in the lights of the stage, waited patiently for the power, and when it returned, put on a great show. To answer your question Mr. Dodd, it's guys like you who keep us going. The crowd really was cool, truth be told, some hardcore Cooder fans were at the front, and my old buddy Cotton was there (aka Dickey).

Opening Night Ain't What it Used to be

2005-09-16T13:45:00.000-05:00

I must start out by saying, I miss ole Rock, and I sure hope he finds his forte in the Fort, being the new stud at the Ranch. I know there's no way me or any of us can fill his road boots so to speak, but from time to time we'll try to keep you guys up with at least some things Cooder.
We played in Brenham, at the Washington County Fair for opening night. Well, they call it opening night and it was, in reality, called opening night, but . . . Boland played the Kickoff Night which was the appreciation party for all of the fair preparer's, and twoTejano bands played the official "Load In your Livestock" party, and I think ZZ Top played a Luncheon for the Ladies auxilliary earlier that day, but COODER GRAW played opening night. In all fairness it was a fun show to say the least, the crowd really was great, up at the front the entire show and growing stronger throughout the night. It was a Wednesday night that could have been a Saturday night in any town in Texas. Thanks Brenham.
We played with Danged Ole Walker, aka Django Walker, and those guys are great. Just for clarification, the D is silent, and he is named after the great guitar player, Django Bells. Danged Ole is much like many things in Texas, he ain't pronounced like he looks. Just like Buda, like beautiful, and not like the Hindu deity, Miami is more like Miama if it is the Texas town, and Schroeder hall is not like NYPD blue and Silver Spoons Ricky, and alot more like shrae derr, and if you don't know how to pronounce Gruene Hall, please log off now. Dangit also if Danged Ole didn't get up and sing North East Texas women with us. Dang.
Our next night we headed to Austin for fun, frolic, and barbechew at Stubbs. We played with our old friend Max Stalling. We love Max, and Austin, and Stubbs is really cool, and I hated it that we had to play the day before Son Volt. I heard Son is a cool dude. The few people who caught this show saw something. Yup. The most interesting thing about last night was finding a place to park the bus. Somehow we found a great open parking lot, and about the time we powered down the main engine, the APD showed up, a chopper circling above, really, and two other federal vehicles on the way and in our line of site. Somehow the Cooder mobile had found its way to a Federal parking lot, and rather than make the arguement about tax money paying for the parking lot and all of that hooey, we just packed up our happy bus butts, got the H E double hockey stick off the parking lot we had paid for and quickly left the choppers and federal land behind. Yup.
So we just pulled up to Buda. Time to unload. Boo on the unload, Yea on the loaders.
Martindale

Rock's here

2005-09-14T20:56:00.000-05:00

Such an overwhelming, positive response from everyone on my change. Keep in mind, too that I will still be playing a role with Cooder Graw. Am rooming with a couple of the guys and looks like I will help on an administrative level. Plus, when I can, I hope to be on the road with the guys, helping out & PARTYING!!!

I'm at the station right now training and I got to tell you that there is a buzz about next weeks Cooder show at 8.0's in Fort Worth. Folks, make the trip for that one!

Let me know what yall think about me still doing the road diary, interviewing the guys weekly & relaying stories. If not, let me know who you think could best replace this task. Send some opinions on it....NOW!

Love you all...and as Bubba said, "It's not goodbye, it's see ya later!"

Goodbye???

2005-09-13T23:08:00.000-05:00

Some have heard the rumors by now that I am leaving Cooder Graw. Yes, I will be, so it seems. Am taking on the task of learning "radio" and making a start as a part-time on-air personality on 95.9FM The Ranch in Fort Worth. Sunday is my big audition day, but I have already been training at the station and will be through the next couple days. Everything looks good! It's exciting and overwhelming. My head is literally spinning and tears fill my eyes when I think of saying goodbye to my Brothers. We've laughed so hard together and cried, too. When Hefe died, Matt grabbed hold of me, as did Paul & everyone letting me know it was okay. We pulled pranks on eachother, argued and just sat silently watching movies, enjoying eachothers company. I am stepping off that traveling, iron fortress. I am vulnerable in this outside world and it's scary. Within a months time I have fallen in love, moved and am now changing careers (even though still in the music business). I don't know if I bit off more than I can chew or what?! Still, I will venture out in the spirit of adventure and love, trying to seek my fortune. There will be Rock sightings quite a bit, I hope.

My little Brother, "Little Rock", will be holding down the fort on the road for a little bit, while I take on the big Fort...Fort Worth. So, if he is out there at that old merch stand, give him some love.

By the way, Bubba told me to mention that the AC is fixed on the bus and running colder than ever. Damn, I will miss him, too. Hell, I will miss a hot bus from time to time.

This isn't the last you've heard from me folks. Sunday, at 7pm, you'll hear me make my radio debut if you tune in (even online I'm sure). Till then....

Corn-row

2005-09-12T13:34:00.000-05:00

Had a blast in Conroe...or "corn-row" as some of the locals said it. We got there early so our buddy Bubba could swing up to work on the air conditioning. Bubba worked his butt off and we still had to employ an extra local AC man for help. Even Mrs.Bubba came up...we had an army working on the damn thing. Is it fixed? Hell, I don't know. In fact, I think I give up asking. By the time it's fixed, we'll be in winter anyway and it wont matter.

While I was selling merch, a guy named Shannon Smith came up to me. He shook my hand, this dedicated Cooder fan and said he liked my blog writing. Shannon said, "When I read about your friend dying, man, I cried." Soon as he told me that, I had to hold back some tears inside. How amazing the human spirit, that I can write from my heart and some fella out near Houston reads it and "feels" it. It's guys like Shannon Smith that prove to me the good nature of people that still exists. Shannon's simple comment changed the tone of my night...for the better. Thanks my friend.

The guys took stage and the crowd was excited. Was worried at first since there wasn't many folks hanging around during the day near the stage, but when Cooder Graw jumped up there, I could see folks literally running towards the front of the stage. That sent some chill bumps through me as the people ran and the hard charging spagetti intro sounded off that the guys do. KT's lead guitar makes you get this old western feel, then BAM here comes the Cooder songs. Nick had a little flock of gals hanging at his feet that night. With Nick & Fish on stage, we got this young "OC" sort of thing going that the girls seem to really dig. A guy once said that Cooder was for old people, BUT I beg to differ. Our youthful crowd is definately present. We are loved by all ages! Here's some numbers I had crunched: College youths are 80% likely to miss class following the day of a Cooder Graw show in the same town. High School tardy slips are given at an incredible 37% higher rate post Cooder Concert. And senior citizens report an average drop of 24% in their hearing, living within 20 miles of a venue Cooder plays at. So, I would say we're hitting all demographics well these days. Poll numbers have a error margin between 1 & 100%.

After the show there was a mob scene at the autograph table. The guys could see & feel the love the crowd had for some real Texas Country Music. My buddy Bower was there, a discerning listener in the country scene and had a grin ear to ear when it was over. Attebery, the guy that introduced us to the "Heartworn Highways" movie came out, too and seemed like he had a great time. Both of which are under the age of 35 by the way. I want to mention Robin was there, but people are starting to give me a hard time about "all you ever do is write about Robin." So, in effort to please the critical groups, I will avoid mentioning that my love, Robin was there. In fact, I will be more conscious of my use of the word Robin in the future. Hey I heard there's a new movie coming with Batman & _____. As I write this, there's a sweet bird, a _____, sitting on the tree outside the window. Bonnie & Clyde liked to do some bank _____ in their day. Okay, that was a stretch.

Got to give a shout out to Texas Singer/Songwriter Aaron Watson! Yo Aaron...how's your dad, Gene?!

My lack of sleep is showing. Time to call ____ and start my day. Love you guys and can't wait to see you on the road.

Missing

2005-09-10T10:50:00.000-05:00

Missing so much writing time. Damn, having a girlfriend has kept me busy. Never fear, for I am back with the continuing saga of the Cooder boys and all our exploits.

Today we're headed down to Conroe, Tx for a big PRCA Rodeo show. Those are always fun. Usually all sorts of odd people to look at and the smell of funnel cake in the air. O' that smell! Last night I went up to The Horseman in Fort Worth. We had a gig in Weatherford, but it got cancelled for whatever messed up reason, so we were all off. Robin was working at The Horseman, so I decided to stray from the pack (that went to see Jack Ingram at Billy Bob's). Aaron Watson was playing and that was a treat. Aaron is a cool cat and he can really take you back with his real country style. Everyone thinks he's the son of Gene Watson...but....well, hell if that makes you go see him, believe away and have fun. I then decided to make a mini tour of music and went to Woody's to see Copperhead. That is a band to watch these days, too. Their edge-driven style is not only rockin', it's comfortable. Jeff, Gabe & the boys are fantastic to talk to and even better to listen to. I am sounding like the Accidental Tourist here.

After all that, it was time to go see Jack Ingram. Jack is a class act and it's no wonder why our bus was parked outside of Billy Bob's. His angry style of country will keep you guessing as to what's next. All the Cooder boys were backstage with Big Nate & Casey Mack, living the good life. They did pull a great joke on me though. Paul & KT got everyone in the damn room to give me shit about not answering my phone earlier in the day. They said, "We could've openend for Jack with 100% of the merch take, but we couldn't get ahold of you." O' how my Brothers played it well and kept me going. They even got Gallagher in on it and I felt like crap. However, I decided to be daring and wait for KT at one point to come out of the bathroom where I waited and applauded when he came out. He looked at me and I said, "Great performance", taking a chance that he would break, if this were a joke. AND HE DID! Yes, I was in the clear. It felt good to be with the guys, relaxing (after sweating that prank).

We did that show in Grapevine the other night and it was okay. Dumb thing was that it was a Bud Light stage Cooder played on and NO BEER. Sense that makes not. So, we did the whole Miller Lite in plastic cups routine. Chris had some techinical difficulties on the onset and it took about 3 extra hands before the guys even had monitors and vocals on stage. If you don't know what I mean by that...too bad, I am in a hurry. Matt just got a shot...not alcohol..as he's recovering from being sick. You wouldn't have guessed it to watch him play and I swear he flew through the air striking down on Suzi the Washboard. It was a damn good show performance wise.

Time to run so I am not late, catching crap from my Bro's. Visit www.elguapoband.bravehost.com Todd, Hefe's Brother is a musician and I had to put his link here. He won a competition recently at The Railhead and is going to open soon for Bruce Robison...COOL!

Shhhhh, it's private

2005-09-03T02:09:00.000-05:00

Private party tonight in Waxahatchie, Tx. So, I can't say anything...it's private.

Seriously, it was alright. It was in this huge, well manicured back yard of some elitest friends of our prominent band. We don't want to play for the wealthy, exclusively (per Tom Petty) , but tonight was fine. There was a cool swim pool there in the middle of the place and before the night was over KT & Paul ended up taking a swim. They waited till all the guests were gone, as not to illuminate the yard & attract bugs.

The show went good. The feel of it was definately different, as this was a more intimate affair. I did still hear one couple behind me with the man explaining to his wife, "Cooder is his first name, Graw is his last...not like Brooks & Dunn." Okay, moving on.

We're at the hotel now. While I was in the shower, Paul & Fish moved some furniture. UPSIDE DOWN. They said it gave character to the room. I think it's just a musician thing with hotel rooms. Poor little hotel rooms, the bastard sons of the housing industry, being pimped out to anyone with a valid ID & $40. And their main nemesis is the musician of all people. Explain that to me, please. So, what's going on in the bus? Matt's just in from showering and headed to bed. Buffalo, Pat and Fish are in the back lounge playing instruments and singing. Paul should be finishing his shower in the upside down room. KT is sleeping already, same as Gyro, etc.

Time for me to head to bunk, too. I've got Robin on the brain and need to shut down so I can get one day closer to seeing her. Do you hear this language I am using...she's chiseling away at Rock. I can't say "The Rock" or I get dirty letters from some Samoan Wrestler in the WWF. Anyway, it's late and I am out.

GATES!!!

2005-09-02T14:03:00.000-05:00

First I have to say, somewhere in Lubbock today is a good-hearted, little dude named "Gates". He was at the show last night and was beyond drunk. So, in the spirit of humanity, I put Gates to work. Nothing greater than seeing a dedicated, intoxicated fan trying to help us load. He was a lot of fun to be with, so Gates, wherever you are, we miss ya Brother!

Okay, time to back up. We arrived at the show and were greeted with loaders. It was actually "Pledges" for the KA frat that would be helping. Seeing how Pledges is Greek for "organized slavery", I took advantage of the situation the true character that we all know is Rock. These guys would do anything and were incredible at getting us loaded in and getting us fed, etc. Matt was so impressed with their efforts that he gave executive order 420: Free CD's. I distributed the music and some coozies out to our troops and they worked on like busy ants. Great guys, one and all.

The show started about 11:30pm. It was only around that time that I realized The Charlie Shafter Band was playing one block away at the Bluelight. Damn it! It sucks to compete with our Road Brothers, one block away. Was a great night for Tech students no matter where they went. Hey Joel & Charlie: Check our schedule next time, sorry we missed ya!

When Cooder came on stage, it was a huge crowd, mostly female. The ladies were everywhere and I think Fish was having sensory overload. He was like that cheetah on Animal Planet trying to pick the weakest prong horn antelope from the herd. Had to throw that in there for some dramatic visual effect...I love my cousin! Of course the girls looked like they wanted to surround him once he sang that Reckless Kelly song. The guys played a Jack Ingram song, too. They did Barbie Doll. One girl asked me when did they rehearse this song and I just laughed and told her, "never." But it sounded great and the mob in front of the stage was literally jumping.

The show ended weird. There was some hired DJ there that decided to jump in with some rap crap when Cooder still had 3 songs to go. That was pretty unprofessional. Paul, being the Irishman that he is decided to jump off stage and pay him a visit. No, there wasn't a fight (though nearly), but Paul just walked up to his laptop, ran his hands along the keys and slammed the DJ's little computer shut. The music stopped and we all had a good laugh...except the DJ that declared war on our favorite bass player. I made a leap from the merch table and was there in a flash to help dismantle the feud. Important to note that it wasn't the KA's fault and it was just the DJ that needed his ass handed to him. The KA's are GREAT and we would go back anytime and party with those guys.

Some young Cooder dedicated fans, Pat & James showed up. Pat's usually at all our Dallas shows, but transfered to Tech. They helped us load at the end of the night and stayed to party till around 5am. We had a blast with those guys! Pat reminds me of myself...when I was a youthful helper for Cooder. Now look where it got me, on the road and having a blast! Keep it up Pat. You never know.

It's morning now, about 2:30pm and I am done with this typing, so it's time to check my emails. Hopefully some love from Robin waiting for me. KT's layed out on the couch drifting off and denying it all the way. Fish is wandering aimlessly about. Paul is playing football on the Playstation2 and everyone else is asleep. Except for Gyro, of course, who is carrying us down the road in our mobile fortress. We're headed near Dallas, again. Deja Vu.

The Denton Fair

2005-08-31T00:28:00.000-05:00

As I was hanging out with Robin, watching some of the crap on CMT, I was reminded that I didn't include an entry for that night at the Denton County Fair. And that was an incredible show. People like Todd, Stu, Arminda, Mike McCall, Jonni Jewel, Mike & Bill Hunt showed up. So, what the hell have I been thinking?! It was an incredible time in Denton. I was late for load-in and that had me starting out on the wrong foot, but the folks at the fair really made me & the Cooder boys feel at home. Within 15 minutes there wasn't a care in the world. I was worried about the weather cause there was some rain out there early in the day. However, it didn't take long for the clouds to part and sunshine to prevail. In fact, it got pretty darn (damn) hot for awhile. After soundcheck, Fish & Nick cruised off site for some sushi. Buffalo loves his sushi. Isn't that sort of cannabalistic for Fish though? Anyway, they departed and the rest of us followed in Gyro's footsteps for some cheeseburgers. It wasn't a tasty "Big Kahuna" burger, but it did leave a mark. For the first time ever, I noticed that Gyro had a little belly showing. He did order a double though...that and love can do it to a man. Yea, he loves his job, life, etc. Matt & I were in line at the same time behind some preteen guys and I asked them who was playing tonight. They said they didn't know, but that "the guy that plays that dish on his belly was here last year." Hmmmm, who could that mean? We got a laugh on that one and took our burgers and headed for the bus. We would've at outside, but the flies were BAD. Had Gyro not had a double, they would've carried him plum off.

The show started without a prob. Shortly into the set, Chris called for me. He said the guys wanted me to work lights if I could find someone to watch merch. Well, little ol' Wichita was there and she was ready for the task. Between her & Todd I knew it would be covered. Then, within minutes, Little Bill showed up and I knew all would be well. You might recall Little Bill working lights for us when he toured with us one weekend past. He is my cousin & Fish's uncle, to put it into perspective for you. And considering he works for beer, the price was right! Must be something in the Hunt blood. Speaking of Hunt's, Uncle Bill is doing great, so Fish & I thank you all for the calls and prayers.

Lights are important in the shows, we are noticing. It's like Paul pointed out, "people hear what they see." It's from a movie, but he says it with such conviction that I had to quote him on it. Think it was originally Bobby Darin.

Matt even lead Shifting Gears into the reggae genre, again. The crowd was into it and seemed to love the show. There wasn't any body surfing, like in Abilene, but it was a good time to be had anyway. Hard to body surf when you're full on funnel cake and burgers anyway.

The night came to a close and we hurried to get packed. As it was a festival, we did all we could to be in a festive spirit...isn't that right Chris, Paul, Fish & "me"...O'yea, I was "festive" wasn't I?! Thank you Jonni for corrupting me. Afterwards, I was bound for Woody's with David Gilligan to meet up with the Mike Mancy Band & the Charlie Shafter Band (they rocked the Fort Worth area that night). Well, Robin was there, too...so need I say more. I know, I know, yall are sick of the Rock in love stuff. Then quit reading!

Seriously, it was a great night in Denton and was followed up with a fantastic after party with old friends like Mike, Test, Charlie and Joel. After reliving that night, writing about it here, I am not sure how I am to return to Robin & that CMT crap, but maybe I can change the channel before some bitch from Canada tries to sell herself off as country from the south.

Sorry for the SPAM ads that have popped up on the blog comments. Some company it bored out there. Think I will email each one and politely tell them to *#@% off. Nobody enters Rock's world without permission. Damn, I am mean tonight!

Special blessings out to our Brother Cody Canada: Shannon & Cody just had their little baby boy, Dierks Cobain Canada. Send your love out to them folks! Thank God the legends will live on....and on...

Abilene...Abilene

2005-08-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Abilene may be the prettiest town that some songwriter has ever seen, but it was the hottest damn town for us. We arrived in some blistering heat and KT said that this whole trip out was going to be 100+ weather to contend with. We were directed to park infront of this building that looked like a Church. Then, we were told that this was the place the show would be played in. A Church? Well, Corry Morrow played in it last year, so guess there's nothing wrong or overly sinful with Cooder performing there. Still, it's honestly a bit odd to haul our gear into the cathedral. Not that were a bus of demons, but you know the nightlife has some variation/deviation from the life of Gospel. Sadly. Still, it was a great building and we were happy to be there...and out of the heat. Yea, our bus hasn't bee cooling AGAIN. Think last I heard it was a compressor or something. Nothing like waking up in a pool of sweat in a bunk that could double as a pizza oven. Good thing was we had loaders. That sure took the edge off things. There was one guy named Travis that was surely a huge help. Good old Travis kept bottled water coming to me and shared in the load-in with enthusiasm. Can't ask for more than that.

After loading in, Travis took me over to the gym on campus there at McMurry University and I got a workout in. Nick was wanting to head over there, but he didn't have enough time with soundcheck rolling in. Luckily though, Nick has his mountain bike on the bus now, so he's got some recreational access wherever we go. Damn nice bike, too! I can say that Nick will always shoot for quality in the things he buys. Now I want to get one...he trumped my Wal~Mart special.

After some quick showers at the hotel, it was time for the show. Early show at 9pm. The crowd gathered up close to the stage front and security people had to be placed at the edge of the stage...if nothing else, to keep the crowd surfers from being washed up onto Matt & the boys. Yes, there really were people body surfing through the hundreds of fans. The guys love that sort of thing, too cause there comes an energy they can feel on stage. Now we just have to get KT to stage dive. Paul might if he gets some Jaegger in him. I've seen him leave the stage and walk across tables.

One funny note: When the guys play Shifting Gears now, they play half the song regular style and then slip into some reggae version. Yea, it's a bit odd and different, but some people dig it. I think it means that we're moving up in the scheme of things. If you watch that CMT "stuff", every artist has their little beach theme song. Look at Clint Black, "When my ship comes in" or that bald goof Kenny and his entire album cover. Guess you can see I am mixed in my own opinion, but it is the guys music and they'll express themselves as they feel at the time.

Hey, did anyone realize that KT's birthday was the day before mine??? Don't fret, I even forgot and had to do a make-up call after Fish called to remind me. Better late than never, so yall send some love out to our Bro Kelly Turner. If anyone on this bus deserves the best wishes, it's him. He turned ____ on the 23rd. No, he wont tell me the age, but I am guessing 35. We're all almost 35 now. Like wine, getting sweeter every year.

Today we're on this hot ass bus trotting along to Coupland, near Austin. I emailed directions to Robin to coax her down for the show. And it worked! Yep, I will be smiling all night.

Last night, a cool cat named Dru Willis came up (I've never met him before) and he asked about Hefe. That was awesome. To this day people are still talking about The Legend...our Hefe. I think we'll see Todd at the show tomorrow and that's cool. Maybe Kelly and Stu will come out, too and we can have a little family reunion. That's good medicine.

We're at a truck stop and the restroom is calling. I know, I know, TMI. No, I got to go in and get some ice...ha, ha.

Thank you all

2005-08-24T17:26:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for the wonderful Birthday wishes. As I turned 34 today, it was heartwarming to receive so many emails & calls. I was awakened at 9am with a knock at my hotel door. Ready to give the housekeeping girls a piece of my mind, I was stunned to see a delivery guy with a huge assortment of balloons from Robin. Attached to the strings was a bottle of water (damn, she knows me already). Then, KT called and sang Happy Birthday while playing piano...how sweet. It amazes me the real brotherhood that exists in this business.

Speaking of Birthdays, this past Monday was Guy Bagwell's birthday (Papa). I was bad son and didn't call in time, but did talk to him today. Folks, help me send out some birthday wishes to Papa. Don't forget, he has been our driver for quite awhile and before that was driving for Larry Joe Taylor...many a gig has been made with the help of our Papa (Guy Bagwell). He's an incredible fella and we all love him! Happy Birthday Papa!

With all the blessing on this 34th Birthday Robin was probably a top surprise. Then, I have to admit that I was blessed, too in hearing back from my old pal, Jimmy. Some know him as Buck or Jeff or even Shrek (for his mammoth strength...not his green color). He got wrapped up in a chick and sort of ditched our friendship for awhile. However, as God works his blessing in my life, Ol' Jimmy calls me and now we're picking up our friendship where we left off. That really made my year to have my Brother back. Jimmy & I used to go together to watch Cooder Graw, we went to EMT school together and worked several ranch jobs side by side. He's a special guy that's been there for me through quite a lot. Women are awesome, don't get me wrong, but there's a special bond between Brothers like Jimmy & I that is like gold. When I lost Hefe in my life it was even harder...now I know Hefe's working some "mojo" for me.

Well, this entry really turned out to be pretty personal I guess and not all about the band. Forgive me for not talking more about Matt, KT, Paul, Nick & Fish. It goes without saying that they are doing well. Fish is in Dallas visiting his grandpaw/my Uncle Bill. Thank you everyone for the well wishes & prayers for Uncle Bill during his surgery. Nick is probably recovering from the Stoney LaRue show last night in College Station. Lucky! Matt's on his way to an acoustic show in "somewhere" Texas. Paul's home doing....well, I haven't heard from him yet, but I bet he's maybe looking up movie times and doing website stuff. KT is brushing up on his piano skills and waiting to receive in the new merch shirts (you guys will love these). Gyro's out on his motorcycle trying to get perspective with the wind of freedom blowing across his face. And I am sitting here at Gyro's house watching reruns of M*A*S*H.

One cool note: I didn't know what to do with those balloons. They really wouldn't fit on the bus. So, I decided to write a letter. I addressed it to God and thanked him for all the people in my life...for Robin, my Cooder Brothers, Jimmy, David Ball, Attebery, Hefe & Todd, etc. Then, I attached the folded letter to the strings and sent it up into the West Texas sky. Maybe God will read it or maybe some farmer in Kansas will find it in one of his trees, but either way, I feel good today.

Mountain Time

2005-08-20T20:41:00.000-05:00

Robin told me that I have a lot to write about, so I thought I had better start. As more things come to my delinquent mind, may have to do some updating later. Till then...

We arrived via car to Red River, New Mexico (alias, Heaven on Earth). The bus went, but those of us that brought along our "significant others" traveled via private vehicle. We had to stop in Albequerque first...yea, I don't care that I miss spelled it...the show sucked. I did $6 in merch and there wasn't any crowd to speak of. So, let's bypass that chapter and move on to this wonderful time in Red River. We got here and had to load-in. Larry Joe Taylor's putting this deal on, so of course they sold merch for me. That was okay, since I had Robin with me anyway. Chris brought Kris, Fish had his woman Sarah (we call her "Wichita" since she's from Wichita Falls). I could do a whole entry on her cause she's a funny, backwoods gal that definitely holds her own. While driving there was a huge bug in the car and it landed on my shirt. Well, good ol' Wichita didn't hesitate in snatching the critter and chunkin' it out the "winder". She also told us all how to properly kill birds, attach stink bait and gave numerous examples on how to control a man (poor Fish). She's awesome though. Another quick story on "Wichita": Last night I sat in the back lounge of the bus and had a "moment" with my sweetheart, Robin. As I was in a drunken stupor, I said that I wanted to be her shadow (I know, I am a puss when it comes to her). Well, then with a ever so brief moment of silence, we hear, "Rock...that was so beautiful." We looked over and there was Wichita with tears in her eyes, listening....o'yea, she was drunk, too. Who wasn't?!

So, we got our sleeping arrangements worked out, after some bouts of drama. Seems there were not enough rooms, but with "awe..well", Gyro got everyone situated and life was good. I tell ya, I had a taste of Gyro life, driving up all this way toting the couples and IT SUCKS. I don't know how Gyro puts up with all of us, but GOD BLESS THAT MAN. He deserves the best in life...and I think he's getting it;)

The show was bad ass (to use a professional term). Before the show was over, Larry Joe Taylor, Keith Sykes and Richard Leigh were on stage singing with Matt and the boys. However, Larry Joe was on drums, Fish was on washboard, Keith was on Bass, Paul was on himself (doing his Frank Sinatra) and the place was rockin'. Being free this night, I had the honor of dancing with all the ladies. Well, Erin, Melinda, Wichita (even though she leads) and my Robin....and etc. There was a guy hitting on all of our girls for a while, but the Cooder Crew rose to the occasion and I think between Nick flashing his ring, my mean bald head and Fish staring him down, he took off. George was even sporting a blonde by nights end. She wore an extra large shirt, but it wasn't due to any waist line...know what I mean. George was truly in the mountains last night.

Life is nice out here. Today, we had some rain, but it cleared by showtime and the activities were in the park, instead of The Motherlode. It was awe inspiring to see Cooder Graw playing against the backdrop of what can only be called Gods best work. Robin and I did some shopping...and more shopping....and probably have more on the way thanks to her love of family & friends. Speaking of, want to send a "shout out" to all the sisters...yea, I know you're reading now. Knights do exist.

This romantic backdrop is waiting and I have a lovely woman with me...waiting ever so patiently, so forgive me for cutting this semi-short. What would you be doing? We have a wonderful room in a fantastic lodge and plenty of fresh air and intoxicants. Hmmmm. See ya on down the road.

The long road home

2005-08-15T16:56:00.000-05:00

Sitting here at the table in the front lounge of the bus and couldn't think of much else to do except maybe write. There's some weird problem with our air shocks, so we're feeling like we're riding on a freight train over a gravel road. KT's laying on the couch to my left, having fallen asleep to watching "Heartworn Highways". Paul's passed out in his bunk, trying to sleep the time away till we get home. We're probably somewhere near Cisco, if I heard Gyro right. I was up there talking to Gyro earlier and we both looked out at the expanse of land, when Gyro said, "Man, we sure have it all in Texas: Desert, mountains, hills, rivers, ocean, woods. It's like a whole country." Couldn't have said it better. We sort of take it for granted, passing through all these wonderful little towns. We see places that the big-wigs in Austin probably long forgot about. Fences made of stone, wood and wire...houses on blocks and some that take up that much. There's even been gardens growing with stalks of produce shooting up from the hood of a dilapidated old Dodge. We see the places where the sanitation system is called a "burn barrel" and the dogs fetch the food for the masters. There are ponds so overgrown with vegetation, instead of mirroring the sky, you can't tell they're there, except to see the three legged livestock stretching to drink. Add all that to some giant windmills and lightning in the distance and you have our trip home.

Next week is the trip to the mountains of New Mexico. We're all looking forward it. O'yea. See ya down the road in a few days.

Tiny Bubbles....

2005-08-14T18:20:00.000-05:00

Am at the bus right now, having just completed the river float. KT, George, Matt & I are back at the bus getting a few things. Then, we'll head back to the Lone Star Float House to watch Matt & Jason Boland play. Fish & Gyro are leading an expedition to refloat the river. So, they'll be nice and water logged. At least the kids will sleep well tonight and we can kick back and watch the DVD's Attebery left with us about Townes Van Zandt and the like.

Top Secret: I really miss Robin today. Sucked to see that Crisp had his Crist there. Fish had David Ball. And then there was me....lonely ol' Rock. Poor me, right?

We had a great time on the river and the crowd was nice. More people there than at El Campo for sure. Time to run....

And we're done

2005-08-14T03:33:00.000-05:00

We're finished for the week and tomorrow is the big float on the river. I had my stuff set up on the inside of the River Road Ice House and had ample room to sell, sell, sell. Just needed more damn customers. Guess river folks are like the college students, the funds are reserved for the beer. Can't blame 'em, I reckon.

The show was a damn impressive performance. I peeked out to the sea of heads that were illuminated by the back lights of the stage and was proud to see my Brothers on stage. Cooder Graw was amazing and they put on a show that had everybody rockin'.

Okay, I have to interrupt and tell you about this DVD that we're watching on the bus. My Bro, James Attebery from my high school days brought us a cool DVD called "Heartworm Highways". It's sort of a behind the scenes (or really "before the scenes") of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle and others. It's a pretty moving musical documentary about these incredible singer/songwriters that have inspired many of the people YOU love to listen to today. KT is watching with this amazed look on his face...as he adds some biographical facts about these musical characters. I don't like to sound like some kid, but damn this is some cool stuff that I can't even begin to explain to you. This is an experience.

In case you didn't know, our drummer, Fish, is now sporting a mohawk. He got some touch up work done on it today and it's more pronounced than before. Now, I wondered what folks would think and it didn't take too long to find out. I actually had 4 people tell me they liked the drummers mohawk. Well, Cooder Graw makes history, having the only mohawk in Texas Music. Musicians are different, that's for sure and they aren't afraid to do some things out of the norm to express themselves. Now we all know Fish is my cousin and I am pretty conservative about these things typically, but I have to admit I like it, too. He's an edge driven, emotionally charged true-blue musician and the hair suits him. He doesn't have to sport a cowboy hat to prove anything to anyone...not that cowboy hats are bad. Hell, I used to wear 'em quite often. It's just that Fish's way is a bit withdrawn from the norm and the fluff of the scene many of you get sold on out there (like somewhere-ville). To make a long story short: He's an artist. My whole point, before I went on my tangent was that due to his hair style, there were 4 fans that shaved their melons into mohawks after the show! What a colorful world we live in.

Well, tomorrow is the float and I best hit the bunk. There's some great times to come tomorrow.

Dude, what time is it???

2005-08-13T07:04:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am back. It's about 7:am and and I just got done talking to Robin. Looks like all is well, as we both admit missing eachother. I know, I know, blah, blah, blah...

Am up so late cause me, Paul, KT and Fish were under the influence...influence of sugar, from that damn cinnamon cake someone brought us and we decided to go ahead and load-in. Yea, we found the gate open and ramp to the stage there, so we took it upon ourselves to load-in. It was actually KT's idea and now, makes perfect sense. It's cooler now than it will be tomorrow afternoon. Now we can just wake up before soundcheck and do the minor stuff. We saved ourselves much time and effort. Guess we saved even more time & effort for Cristacean Mulloskmekolic (Chris' new name), Buffalo and Matt. Well, they'll probably appreciate it. The new name for Chris is in effort to preserve his rich ocean floor dwelling mentality...get it? Crustacean/Mullosk??? Yea, it's late. You should ask Paul, KT and Fish to do their lesbian thing....I was laughing my ass off. Did I just say, "ass"???? We watched the movie "Super Size Me" and it was awesome. That is a must rent, take it from us Cooder boys. Although we pumped full of junk food after it. Nick brought it and exposed us to an education on fast food. Hey there Arlington, Dallas and Ft Worth, you are mentioned in there as TOP FAT CITIES! Don't worry, we'll be joining soon.

O'yea, as we were stopped at a truck stop earlier, about 4am. There was another tour bus right beside us pumping gas. I asked who it was and the driver said, "System of a Down." That's cool, I guess. Fish was really pumped...he knows all these young, hip bands.

George is up here in the front lounge sleeping, so I better quit typing. Hope to see you all for the show tonight OR at least come float the river with us and some special guests.

Fish out of water..in the liquor

2005-08-13T01:35:00.000-05:00

Fish must have had a few, cause he's loud in my ear. O'well, it's a loud country, right?

We just finished the show in El Campo and in record time, loaded the bus and are headed towards the river. The show tonight was a bit thin. Think we had maybe 65 people, but that's actually good for here. Matt's chomping on a sandwich across from me. It's a ham & cheese on wheat, complimented with some BBQ Lays chips. He's laughing at me cause I am writing about his food. Nick just leaned in and said, "Hey, I am having some free range chicken wings...no hormones added...and vegies." We're all excited about the trip to the river. Man, I am cravin' some "other food" tonight. I might have to make my way to the back lounge and chomp down a sandwich myself. MAYBE.

So, let's forget about tonight. O'yea, tonight I opened up to Robin about more of my life. A lot of personal stuff. You know what it's like when you meet someone and get that little anxiety about when (if at all) you should open that closet with the skeletons...come on, we all have them. Mine aren't bad by comparison...especially if you watch Jerry Springer. But it's all relative, right? So, I told her some deep stuff. Why so early? Well, I sort of figured I dig her, really. And honesty & openess early can only help her make an intelligent decision about whether she would want to invest time in a relationship with me. I don't want to waste her time and don't want her to waste mine either. So, with that said, we shall see what tomorrow brings. I probably should've waited another day to let her catch up on sleep. We stayed up talking till about 8:00am this morning...that and my nose blowing fits spawned by some allergies. Damn, I am being open on this public blog. Just that I haven't met anyone that moved me like she has. I can even scroll through my phone and smile when I hit the R's. Maybe Tuff Hedeman was right, I am a puss.

Subject change: It's late, but it's early. You know that point in a night where you have to decide whether it's bed or breakfast. George, Bubba & Mrs. Bubba showed up tonight. Mrs.Bubba hurt her foot (long story), so yall send some prayers her way. We need her to recover fast, lose the excuses and join us at the river float Sunday. If you're reading this and aren't coming to the river float, then you suck! Okay, maybe you have some good excuse, but remember you only start dying when you stop living.

Is it morning already?

2005-08-12T08:17:00.000-05:00

Daylight is upon us and I have yet to sleep. My sinus woes have kept me up most the night and just finally took some Benedryl.

The show last night at Firewater was awesome. Of course it was packed and the energy out there was mesmerizing. Matt's new haircut was a success. I call him Rob Thomas (former front man of Matchbox 20) due to the similar hair style. It's the hip thing now with the short hair...I must really be in style then. Seriously, he looks great...and no, I am not gay. Not that there's anything wrong with those of you that are (unless your a dude). Matt's short hair, Paul playing barefoot, Fish with his pseudo-mohawkish thing...Nick & KT are still the same though. So, there's something old, something new for everyone. Who came out to this show? Let's see if I can get all the major players: Warren Cole & Stephanie, Gary Turner, The Colonel, Mike McCall, Amistad Arminda, Todd Mankin, Stu (alias Reservoir), Uncle Bill, Mikey and Aunt Sissy, Brittney (whom did bad ass selling merch), Robin Martin, Jonni & "Mike-Bill", etc. Yes, even "etc" was there, bless her heart.

Ever see Crisp stolling proudly on stage to change out Matt's guitars? As he did it tonight, my ever so funny cousin Mikey (Fish's Uncle), followed Chris' lead and took fresh drum sticks to Fish. It was hilarious. Speaking of some family, can we get some prayers out there for Fish's grandpaw (my Uncle), Bill Hunt, who is going in for a "ticker adjustment" (Texas for Triple Bi-pass surgery) this next week? Anyone got any uplifting stories or humerous tales from the hospital tables, feel free to email me and I will pass them on to good ol' Uncle Bill. Actually, he's probably doing the best about not worrying and just leaving it in God's good hands...it's the rest of the family that's runnin' crazy with anxiety. How 'bout some Cooder love for the Hunt family?

By the way, Little Bill is a 2%er for not showing up to run lights. Football season my ass!

The guys really did play a hell of a show. The manager even offered additional money to keep them playing. That tells ya something folks. Matt lead the boys on a musical journey that had a huge crowd captivated at the stage front. Sheer magic! Even Kelly Test came out and of course got a hand in on the percussion, rockin' out with Fish on the skins. Check out kellybtest.com to find out the latest on that cool cat. Him & Mike Mancy are out "Rockin' Balls".

Okay, Robin showed up tonight. Yea, the hang shirts are comin'. We hit it off guys and I think there might be something worth mentioning. KT asked me, in the most Andy Griffith style, if I was "courtin' her." Well, a little sugar is good for the system, right? Brittney manned the merch stand nearly all night to grant me some room to do some visitin'. However, she wasn't alone, as Molly & Emma Martindale helped. Yes, that's the Molly & Emma that are the exceptional daughters of Matt & Erin. It was precious watching them and I do believe they had their own little fans hanging out just to watch them work. $2 each and a package of Goldfish Crackers and Brittney had it made back there.

Well, it's so freakin' late that it's early. That Benedryl is almost in full force and my eyelids are getting heavier each minute. We're heading for El Campo next (in about 45 minutes). That's not one of my favorite shows, just because the crowds never seem to come out in droves like tonight. However, I will remain optomistic since there's been some damn cool buzz running through the air for Cooder Graw lately. I've always thought there's two roads that lead to fortune in this business: One is getting that one hit that launches you and puts that Tennessee money behind you. The second path is by just being out there day after day, year after year untill people have to like you for being so diligent through the years. Well, Matt & the boys of the Llano Estacado are certainly sprinting down the diligent path and helping us all gain some incredible memories. Life is just a bundle of moments anyway. And if you hang around Cooder Graw, you'll have some of the most memorable moments, you'll fill a lifetime.

Where's the hair?

2005-08-11T03:23:00.000-05:00

Something's in the air and Cooder's lost his hair. Fish showed up at my hotel room this morning sporting a new dew. It's a hybrid mohawk of sorts. Actually not bad either. I am pretty conservative on these things, even hating tatoos, but Fish looks alright. Drummers! However, the story doesn't end there, as Fish told me that Matt is now crowned with a buzz cut. Yes, folks you heard it here first...Matt's chopped off his hair. All this on aftermath of a review Fish read me from a fan in Amarillo stating that Cooder Graw had turned "Rock & Roll". Music is quite the interpretive art form, yet I wouldn't classify Cooder into the Rock genre by any means. In fact, it's more "outlaw country" than that toby keith crap you get on the CMT. Wait there's more, I learned that Charlie Shafter and Joel shaved their heads down. I knew it was dangerous to play American History X on the DVD player on the bus. Seriously, we will see what the hair looks like on the Cooder front man tomorrow. He had a gig in Mineral Wells, so we didn't get to see it live yet. My opinion, hell, I miss the whole cowboy hat thing...as I know many of you have expressed before. But we shall see.

Fish is laying here digesting his macaroni & cheese, before he settles off to bed. Little Bill was supposed to have our favorite percussionist on a diet, the path to good health, but that may have been a fleeting thing. What's going on Little Bill???

Speaking of dieting, my weight is now down to about 182 (naked). Yea, don't try & picture it. Got my cholesterol checked this week, too. So, what was the outcome of that: My cholesterol went DOWN 160 points. Where's all the crap talkers I was getting when I began my diet? Hmmm, I remember hearing from fans and even Nick, that Atkins was bad for you. Let's see, I have more energy that ever, feel better than I did in High School, lost 40 lbs and made a significant drop in cholesterol, and I have increased my weight lifting amounts three times in the past 3 months. Do the "nay sayers" even read the Atkins book or just like to talk sh**??? Now, Nick & I are plotting competing in a Sprint Triathlon in the next year. Tonight I looked on kellybtest.com and checked out the old pics of me he has. Wow!

KT's ailing right now with some pinched nerve or something. Wish the Jeff from Copperhead was around to cure it...he's a Chiropractor. Anyone know a good one for our lead guitarist? He's even got the heating pad in his bunk now.

Gyro's up there driving his ass off, as always. He's gearing up for the big move to Fort Worth. As am I! Will be nice to be closer to a big city (or two) and closer to some of our loved ones...Guy Bagwell, etc. You have to love the "etc.".

Speaking of Fort Worth, I met the most interesting gal named Robin Martin last time we played The Horseman...yes, that amazing night with Mike Mancy & Stoney LaRue. Robin works for the radio station there and has become a great friend in a short amount of time. Hmmm, could hang shirts be in the works? Only time will tell. Just wanted to introduce a new character that you may hear more about as the story unfolds.

Well, this week will have our big Cooder river float in New Braunfels. That's going to be a blast! Everyone from David Ball, Kris Moseley, my Brother David, James Attebery and countless other friends & family will be showing up for this one. We're all excited about the chance to hit the river, again. Maybe Bubba & Mrs Bubba will come up! Little Bill should come, but he'll probably be a "puss".

Speaking of the word "puss", we had the honor of having a special guest hang with us the other night at the Wormy Dog. Mr. Tuff Hedeman joined us for the show and some hang time on the bus afterwards. You should have seen our little star-struck Fish when Tuff actually gave him his cowboy hat. He was at a loss for words...well, really he wouldn't shut up, but it was cool. In return, you know that Tuff left the bus sporting his new Cooder cap. Just like in the movie "8 Seconds", Tuff told me "You're a puss." Had to promt him, but it was fun. That was a great time! Josh Owen, an artist that was on Nashville Star and opened for us, was hangin', too. KT, Josh & I were the last ones standing at the end of the night, watching good ol' Andy Griffith episodes.

Time to go talk to Gy-rodeo awhile and then slip off to bed. Tomorrow might be a GREAT day.

Stoned

2005-07-31T18:12:00.000-05:00

Stoney laid some magic on us last night that stoned us all. Stoned is the Stoney word for "stunned" now. Follow me?

As we were setting up yesterday, Toby called and said Stoney's guitar was lost by the airlines and they were on there way to a private gig in Austin. Well, with a call onto Matt, it was done and we had one of Matt's guitars (from his collection) ready and waiting. See, the music business isn't too cut-throat.

I had some family show up for soundcheck. My Brother Rocket (yes, his real name) & his wife Jenni , Mom, Dad & my little Brother Cody. After soundcheck was done, Little Bill, Jon & I left with the family to grab some grub.

Little Bill's been doing great on the road. Seriously, we run into quite a few of the folks that will just want to hang to drink up our beer, shoot up all our heroin, and beat our children. But Little Bill has quickly become our official lighting technician and overall Roadie. Need something done? Just ask Little Bill. You should hear him on guitar, too.

Anyway, the show went off well with the Eli Young Band kicking things off. Fish even got asked on stage to accompany them on guitar for a song. They got the heat turned up and the crowd was ready for some Cooder Graw. I introduced the band with my comical rendition of the "Tenacious D" opening. Okay, everyone go out and rent the HBO Special DVD of "Tenacious D". Nick brought his on the bus and it is EXTREMELY FUNNY.

The show was going well and then Stoney showed up and it kicked up a notch. KT turned his amp to 11 and it was "on like Donkey Kong". I know that within the confines of my little Road Diary, I have spoken about such bands as Mike Mancy, Charlie Shafter and No Justice. Amazing bands that encompass what REAL music is about. However, within a whole new demension is a man called Stoney LaRue. If music were Kung Fu, he would be that long bearded Master that all others would seek out. Within every circumstance of life and every character in it, lays an aura...and Stoney knows how to look at that aura, feel it's energy and put it into music for us all to appreciate. He truly moves people and his kinesthetic energy is boldly evident.

After the show is when the magic began on the back of the bus. The back lounge is where Stoney and Matt opened up some music that blew my mind. While Little Bill was sitting there, I looked over and smiled. He looked back and said, "I quit...I can't play anymore after witnessing this...we are truly blessed." Mike McCall, was in the back, too. I looked over at him and his mind was in another world, lured by Stoney and that acoustic performance, writing a song right before our eyes. We just thought The Horseman show was amazing...this was the appex of it all.
For some reason I had the munchies last night in a major way. Toby & I were in the expess lane last night. Little Bill and I hailed a cab to the local IHOP to discuss Cooder, Stoney and the world of Texas Music over a short-stack. Funny that the cab ride there cost us $12, but the ride back to the Midnight Rodeo cost only $3.75. Could we have been robbed by the local yellow cab? Claudia tried to hook us up with a good ride.

We're in Waco right now. Bubba Brannan just called to check on me. Him & Mrs. Bubba came to pick up Crisp this morning at 6:30am. I was sitting in the front jump seat, looking pretty rough. Bubba was there last night to fix our bus AC and celebrate his anniversary with Mrs. Bubba & the Cooder boys.

So, were here in Waco at Lakeside Tavern. It looks like we're in "No Man's Land." Toby & I asked the owner where the restroom is and he said, "Awe hell, just piss on the fence there if ya want to." Well, we peeked around and decided on the brush just past the big tree behind the stage area. As we walked off, Sambo (one of the Lakeside workers) said, "Just watch out for the rattlesnakes." We looked at eachother and proceeded with caution, shaking our heads in amazement of the array of characters we meet. And in the distance we hear him yell, again, "don't worry, you'll hear them if you get too close."

Update: Toby nor I were bit while urinating. The AC is very cold. The weather is hot. Crisp told Cris't that she likes to just do the shit he hates, Paul is obsessive compulsive, Little Bill got the stage lights and beer ready, AND we're all ready to go home.

Donuts Damn it

2005-07-30T09:02:00.000-05:00

Mmmm, I just couldn't resist waking up early today, slipping on the sunglasses to ward off the blinding sun and walking to the Daylight Donuts across from The Horseman in Fort Worth. No, you're not reading this wrong, we are parked over at The Horseman, but we didn't play there last night. Gyro likes this as a good resting point. We were at Wild West in Lubbock last night. Can you just imagine how many miles we put in in a months time. I'll have to ask Gyro what a typical fuel cost is per month.

There were actually a lot of people at Wild West last night. Didn't think we would have to many with school being out. They proved me wrong. After getting set up yesterday, we got a nice visit from Todd & Hefe's mom & sister. They brought us some tasty BBQ to quench those hunger pains. They've all really become family to us through all...well, you know. Special people and dear to us all.

Last night I went crazy on some carbs, crushing my latest run on "the diet". But now I will be jumping back on the wagon and making that final push to reach 180 lbs before my birthday, August 24th. Send the prayers, as I will need them on this final drive to weigh what I did back in JR High School on my 34th Birthday. If you keep up with the colorful characters, then you'll of course remember "Grease" (KT's bro). He told me last night that I looked like a totally different person. That meant a lot, especially coming from someone that I respect so much. He's already planning on joining us back on the road in April and I can't wait to see who we get in a rumble with then.

O'yea, after tasting some of "Mom's" BBQ yesterday, I had to use KT's car to drive back to Amarillo to the old bus. We had an extra compressor for the AC unit and needed to get it so Bubba can fix us up today in Austin. That drive sucked! KT called me, in his worrying way, to check on me at one point and asked where I was. Well, "Surrounded by farms" is all you can say out there. But you do get to pass through the creative name capitals, like "Happy, TX" or "New Deal, TX". Seems we started running out of names on that drive to conquere the west.

One reason I am up right now is to welcome aboard one of my favorite cousins (No, not Pat this time). My illusive cousin "Little Bill", is joining us for two days on the road. He is also the uncle of our beloved "Fish", to put things in perspective. He's been stuck in places like Colorado & Georgia over the past several years and is just getting reaquainted with Texas Music, again. Hmmmm, what do ya tell someone nowadays about the changes in our scene? Grab some Robert Earl Keen, Cooder, Creager, Ragweed & don't forget the Stoney. You could really do yourself a favor to snag the essential and bad ass Hayes Carll, Mike Mancy Band, No Justice, Eli Young Band, etc. My current CD collection is simple: Cooder, Keen, Stoney, Carll, Mancy & Ragweed. Now, if we can ever have a venue with all of them together....WOW!

Well, I best go and call "Papa" Bagwell since we're in town. He's got his neckbrace off finally & is probably going to be kickin' my butt if I neglect callin' home any longer.

Head glare

2005-07-29T04:03:00.000-05:00

My head glistened in the light as I rubbed in all the insect repellent in preparation for the Mesquito Festival. When we played the Rattlesnack Roundup, there were actual snakes all around of intimidating sizes. When we played the Gator Fest, Otto and I saw many an alligator...every size was intimidating. So, naturally, I had to take some precautions walking into the Mesquito Fest. Funny though, that a town would have a festival to honor one of lifes most disease ridden, annnoying, rancid creatures. Might as well had Fecal Fest. Anyone up for West Nile?

George was there at the show. He took Matt, Paul, KT & I out to dinner at a place that I will name later (when I can ask George that damn name). It was heavenly. Matt & I both selected the "Blackened Mahi" and gorged ourselves. Hey, it's Atkin's friendly. No mind altering substances to weaken my stand and coax me into deviating from the diet on this trip. This food was on target and better than this little unassuming building would let on. Afterwards, George took us on a mini-tour of the Texas coast and we ended up at another place that I can't name YET. Come on George: Call me. It was a little store/bar that was on the waterway and smelled of the sea. It was relaxing. In fact, it really took me back to days with Hefe, as I walked out to the dock side as the sun was begining to set. Matt found the owner of the place enjoying some beer with his patrons and picked up the Captains guitar. Pretty soon it was a tropical version of Guy Bagwell's campsite. There was singing and guitar passing, even a little dog running around trying to lick up the residue of shrimp gone by. We really didn't want to leave...but we did have a show to do.

Fish & Nick had gone with the boys that helped load to a local sushi bar. From what I heard it left a little to be desired...they should've went with us. But it was nice to be away from the kids for awhile and have a grown-up dinner. Quit laughing; you know I didn't mean that...........or did I?

Our own Captain, Gryo stayed back with the ship and hung with Crisp. Funny that everyone else will turn from the stage at the drop of a hat, but those sound guys are freakin' committed. They don't leave anything to chance and when we get to a gig, it's like Gyro owns that stage. But that's why he's a true professional. And that's why he gets the big bucks. No, he really doesn't get half the compensation he deserves....we would be bankrupt in a day.

The show wasn't really packed. In fact, the crowd left a lot to be desired. However, keep in mind, it was a Thursday night and most everyone was probably waiting for Robert Earl Keen tomorrow night. Can you blame them really? Hell, we wanted to wait around for that...the Father of Texas Country!

We had to pack and hit the road pretty quick for our long haul to Lubbock. Yep, Gyro is up there alone, trekin' on to the Llano Estacado. I am in my underwear as I write this, but still might go sit with him a few minutes to just let him know I care. Come on, driving to the local store sucks and Gyro is carring us across the damn nation of Texas. That's a feat.

Speakin' of drivers, I sure have missed ol' Guy Bagwell (Papa). His presence is sure missed out here. If nothing else, he was the one that could keep me "lined out". I best call him tomorrow.

Bubba & Mrs.Bubba were at the show tonight, too. Man, those are two awesome people. We meet hundreds of folks every week. We get told how this person or that person is the "biggest fan". Yet, when we run into people like Bubba & Mrs Bubba that will show up anywhere within a 200 mile radius, that's special! And how many fans will even make regular rounds to check on the lowly merch guy, making sure I have all the bottled water I need. See, that's one of the bonuses about doing this work in the first place.

Tonight, I did some praying before bed. Actually, the past few nights. My Mom gave me this little devotional booklet from Church and I've spent the past few nights reading and praying before going to bed. That's one thing I miss: Church. Paul, KT & I used to sit and have very spiritual talks and even pray together. Not lately though. I'm not trying to bum you out, just giving you all the good thoughts with the bad as we cross this country bringing you the music. I know we all don't talk about God because we're all probably a little ashamed for letting our spiritual life dwindle while we take part in this "other world." Hey, maybe you will pray for us when you're done reading. Tell ya what...I will pray for you tonight.....I promise.

Goodnight my friends.

Gambling!

2005-07-24T05:32:00.000-05:00

We just got in from GAMBLING. Never have I been to a casino and done that till tonight. We finished the show at "Sharpies." It was about half the size of The Golden Light and we were worried that it just wouldn't hold anybody. However, I must admit when I am wrong and say that it was pretty cool. We did decent on the merch end and the show was cool. Now, since the whole Horseman show, it would be next to impossible for anything to follow and get high reviews from me. Again though, it was a good show and we had a blast. I worked lights while selling the merch on this show. Sort of another little skill I am learning now in this business. It's like Paul said, from that movie about Bobby Darin: "People only hear what they see." So the lights are an important part in the production process...so I am learning.

Anyway, we got locked & loaded and a few of us headed to the casino. Some, just to check it out, but I was on a mission to make some winnings. George took a $100 bill and layed it out on the roulette table first off and won! That layed the groundwork for an exciting night. George gave me some "seed money" and I watched it grow up to $200 above the change he gave me. Had some tough runs at the higher blackjack tables, but ended up about $150 in the good. Even as I write, I am trying to convince myself not to take a cab back over there. Honestly, my bunk is calling and I can't wait to get out of the United States and back on Texas soil.

I think it was Brittney that commented on one of my entries about me having the coolest job around. Well, to be honest, she's right. Sure it has it's pitfalls and I run into more idiots than you would ever believe, but it's FUN. We make it fun.

Lastly, send some prayers out to Shannon Canada and the wonderful baby that's going to be blessing the world soon. Cody told me they are ready and I know Shannon is working her ass off trying to be the perfect future mom, wife and manager. So, just some encouraging prayers for our sister on the road.

We traveled back in time!

2005-07-23T05:04:00.000-05:00

It was like opening a book in the middle and reading a page that wont let you escape. You don't know how it all started, but the colorful characters and brilliant scenes unfolded as if by mojo.

The show at The Horseman was beyond explanation in script. I could maybe sit one on one with you and whisper the details, but that would only wet your appetite without bedding it down. If you're reading this cause you weren't able to attend...I feel quite sorry for you and hold great sympathy for the phenomenon that passed you by.

Cooder Graw rocked on some level that I've yet to see. Brittney worked merch for me most the night and her graciousness afforded me the opportunity to move up front and soak in the music my brothers created. I stood right upfront just in time for Clarksdale and was blown away. Coby Wier was handed KT's guitar and suddenly it wasn't 2005, as we were musically carried to around 1968 and the drugs were just starting to take effect. It was a Rock show and that doesn't imply that I performed...no, this was Cooder Graw in a musical brawl with everyone from The Mike Mancy Band. And when it heated to the boiling point of blissful insanity, out walks Stoney LaRue from backstage. Wait...think it's over? Nope! Tommy Alverson himself was given the Georgian greenlight to climb aboard and take the helm of this ship bound for somewhere only previously breeched by a "Yellow Submarine". It was surreal and fantastic. The fantastic four played here tonight: Stoney, Tommy, Mancy & Cooder. I got goosebumps watching and feeling that energy overflow from the stage and pour out onto my mind. Our beloved Kelly Test was in attendance, too and he joined the group on stage and "Rocked Balls". By the end of Clarksdale, he was on his knees pounding a tambourine on the ground at the foot of the drums. Ol' Test was looking good and his style added even more magnetism. It was nostalgic (did I spell that right?).

Gyro had the sound blasting clear and left nobody in want. Nick Reynolds and his gang of Cooder Crew Loaders (Pat & "the other guy") said they hadn't experienced a show like that before. Okay and let's checkout "Drunk Guy" for his opinion: David Gilligan (aka, Drunk Guy) just stared at the stage with this possessed smile, probably thankful he had to deliver some CD's from Smith Music. WE MISSED YOU BIG NATE! Mike McCall was in the audience with Gary Turner. Nice cowboy hat Mike...cute outfit accessorizing dude.

Todd, Stu, my incredible cousins Pat, David, Sissy & Mikey were there, along with the infamous David Ball. Fish's grandfather/my Uncle Bill had invited out their Pastor from Church. Last I saw, Uncle Bill turned in for the night and left the Pastor there Rockin' and enjoying the Texas Music experience. And as you can tell by my rambling, it was an experience tonight. But it only gets better...

...as the guys began to retire to the bus to recoup from the electric performance, I decided that it was time to break out the lawn chairs that Bubba & Mrs.Bubba bought us in Webster. Bubba & Co. would've been proud as their seats helped transform the side of the bus into a mini-festival of sorts. Started out with Fish jammin' on the acoustic and doing his best Jason Boland. Then, he had to grab his snare drum & brushes to play along with Matt & Stoney. Folks were coming out of the hotel, barefoot, in the spirit of Texas Music we've all experienced so well at Tommy's Gathering, Blaines PicNic and that bad ass Larry Joe Taylor's. Damn it was good! We were all starting to sing along and get full of the spirit that would've had Grammy's Pastor lost. When Fish started coming around for the first time and hangin' with me, we had tried to get him with Stoney, to play drums. Stoney wasn't ready for a drummer at the time, but last night, Fish finally got to play with him. Then, the police car rolled in and the PD said it was over. Yea, Fort Worth's finest pulled the curtain...they were just doing their job after some ass whipe at the hotel called to complain. Did that sound ugly? I meant "ass whipe" in the best possible way. See Patrick, you should've stayed and camped with Cooder for the "Tiny Joe Taylor Fest".

Toby Scott just said, "Hey man, say something about me in that Mother Faulker." Have to accomodate Toby. He's the man behind the scenes with ol' Stoney and he's been a dear friend to Cooder for awhile.

I don't know when I've been more proud of my guys, my Brothers on the road. They created magic. Stoney, Mancy & Tommy added something amazing, too that could never be duplicated. I even felt Hefe there...he must have been cause this was a night not of this world. I tossed my head back, with eyes closed and an evil smile, soaking in the tunes with the rest of the fans tonight. MMmmmmm, it was bliss. It was magical. It was Cooder Graw in concert.

Amended: It's the next morning and I had to edit my entry from last night. I was going to bed when I decided on joining Stoney, Tom Bigbee, Paul & Drunk Guy in the back lounge. We all wrote a song together, guided by the insanely artistic Stoney. He would hear something in the chords he was playing with and someone would add some words to his and he would say, "Yea, can you feel it? That feels good...yea, that's it." It wasn't till around 7:45am that Stoney made his way off the bus and disappeared into that white light coming from outside the bus. The lyrical magician made his way past the sleeping Todd, drunken David Ball and wall of beer cans. the night was over and it ended a perfect experience.

Fallin' asleep, but not at the wheel

2005-07-22T02:13:00.000-05:00

We were all pretty tired tonight. KT was up since 5am and I know Matt & I awoke at George's in College Station around 7:30am. Yea, keep laughing, I know that's actually not bad hours in general, but you have to realize, in our "Rock Star" world of sex, drugs & Rock-n-Roll (minus two of the three listed items) we live by a differnt clock. The "Rock Clock" revolves around waking somewhere between noon & 2pm. We hit the bunk on the tour bus between 4pm & 6pm. We have old Simpson's, Family Guy and Andy Griffith to watch in addition to cool movies (Slingblade, Full Metal Jacket, Sideways, Freeway) AND let's not forget hanging in the back of the bus listening to tunes ranging from Robert Johnson, Kings of Leon, Eli Young Band, Charlie Shafter & Rodney Crowell. O'yea, I can't forget the ever popular Playstation2 games (Boxing, Jeopardy, NCAA Football). Those are the real entertainers lately....thank you SONY.

The show at Cheatum Street was okay. Man, I wish we had some more people there, but it was better than we anticipated. Merch SUCKED. When I first got into this business I remember thinking I couldn't wait to be in the college towns. "I'll make lots of money, " I thought with my nieve little merch-mind. Ha! I would rather see us booked on a geriatric tour of New Jersey. Yea, that would be a money tour for Rock.

Nick, Fish & I are having a production meeting on the front of the bus right now. We're watching Simpson's and discussing show stuff.

Today was my off day from the diet. So, tomorrow is running & sweating. The weight loss continues. Come on folks, go to the store and get the Atkins Starter Pack. Will let you know when I quit losing.

What a night!!!

2005-07-15T03:16:00.000-05:00

Tonight was FUN! We had a show with Cross Canadian Ragweed and it was great. Hurricane Harry's was packed and you could literally walk on the heads. Okay, so we had to be "the opener" and we didn't really "bank" with the gig. However, it was FUN (notice the capital letters to emphasize my point) and we got the opportunity to play with "The boys from Oklahoma" (even though Cody is really from Texas). It helps increase our crowds here, too as people not previously exposed to Cooder(ha, ha) are able to see Cooder Graw in all it's pomp & glory.

I shaved my head by the way. And I am supposed to mention Cody kissed the smooth top of it. Please, don't take any of that out of context.

Now, were getting ready to head to George's house...soon as Grady gets tired of partying and singing 80's songs. McCoy (Ragweed's version of Gyro) is on the back of the bus, too. The merch sales did suck, to be honest, but that's college towns for ya. Nathan (Ragweed's version of me) didn't do that great either, so I don't feel bad.

Fish, Otto, Nick & I are watching Tenacious D on the TV now. Guess I will retire to my bunk till time to head to George's house. Then, it's time for "TVLand", praying for some Andy Griffith. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

...yea, I really did shave my head.

mornin'

2005-07-14T11:59:00.000-05:00

So what does "Rock" do every day? What happens in the day of "me"?

Well, I waken in my warm bunk. I say warm, but it should be cool...guess we're still having some mechanical delimas with that. Cooder Curse stuff, ya know. After using the "facilities" and measuring the keytones on my URINE (yea, I said URINE), it's time to find some Atkins stuff to eat. Typically, one Atkins bar & shake (total of 3 carbs). Then, I have to check on ol' Gyro up there in the drivers seat. He's usually ready for a tuna sandwich (quit laughing) and a cold Coca-Cola. Once he's set, it's time for me to get online and check emails, make merch calls, call my Mom, maybe call Chris Moseley and ask how my Brother David is doing at her camp, etc, etc.

Today we're opening for Cross Canadian Ragweed. Will be cool to hang with Cody & the guys. Grady is the character that even cracks me up. Got to see Cody & Randy that night we all stopped in at Willie's PicNic...the night Paul & I both shot the finger right in the face of the perverted and what I consider scumbag "David Allan Coe". Must admit I have grown up listening to his music and still have some songs that I LOVE. But seperate the music & the man and you'll find a worthy nemisis for God himself in that Coe fella. Trust me.

We're in Decatur now and making our way down to the College Station area for the show. Paul is starting some "Boxing" on the Playstation2. It's our favorite game on the bus. Nick, Paul & I are the best at it. We did buy a Jeopardy game for KT. Paul did excellent at it...once he had me online with Google, helping to find answers. Got to love it.

My heart's going out to people in London. Those PUSSY terrorists just keep at killing innocent people. Maybe now, the bleeding heart liberals calling for better treatment at "Gitmo" will buck-up and see we're just doing what needs to be done. Here's a bold statement: "ALL TERRORISTS MUST DIE!" Can you tell I get passionate about that subject?

Just got a sweet email from my Aunt Sissy. I'm going to have to get her to enter a blog for me sometime...she's got the writing gift, too.

UPDATE: Several members of the Cooder organization are moving away from Amarillo! Soon, we can all boast that Cooder Graw is based out of: Fort Worth! That's got to be one of our favorite towns and they really know country music there. My opinion is that Amarillo blows (hey, I could just be talking about the wind). The stations there never play Cooder, Boland or Ragweed. They think Toby is king...absolutely rediculous.

When we get to the venue, guess we'll load-out the gear. I will probably go biking for awhile, then visit with Cody & the boys. Should be a good time. Hope to see you all there...or somewhere SOON.

Rolling

2005-07-13T15:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a little bit since last I have written. Have been extremely busy and to be honest, I have been emotionally tied up with Hefe's passing. Here I am now and it's time to type away.

For those of you that read my "stuff" you know I have been on the Atkins Diet. A select few warned me about the dangers and how it was evil. To those few, I just wanted to say, "HA, HA, HA...I've lost about 35 lbs and feel GREAT!" Yep, this diet(taken by the book and followed strictly) has afforded me the opportunity to buy new clothes, feel terrific, expand my energy levels and lower my cholesterol. This diet is not about leaving out all carbs...there are specific phases and you actually add carbs as you go. But hell, sugar, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils aren't necessities for life. READ THE BOOK! It's great and that diet, coupled with the exercises I do, taken from sources like "Body for Life" and works of Sylvester Stallone have taken me to a new level of life.

Well, Matt just called and asked if I would "take the girls to Sonic". So, I have to run. Can you figure out what that is code for???

Love you all and will be back on track writing! Thanks for your love and compassion, especially: George, Cousin Patrick, Attebery, Arminda, all the Kelly's, Chanceman and hell, even Darren the Drumnut Nome.

A gulp of beautiful reality

2005-07-03T04:59:00.000-05:00

Paul & I were the last ones up on the bus and just went to bed. However, I couldn't lay there remembering tonight and not write about it, so in my underwear, I sit & type on.

Have you ever seen the movie "Crash"? It's an incredible piece of cinema that has no one story line...much like it's famous cousin, "Pulp Fiction". They deal with the different little stories that make up some stretch of entertainment in life. Tonight had those little brewing dramas that would've made James Cameron or Steven Spielberg cry (of course if you saw "War of the Worlds" Steve is probably crying over his loss on that one). Seriously though, tonight had some very human surprises that touched my heart. There's no justice to be done typing it here, but I am compeled to do so.

Clarksdale was next on the set list. Matt said something briefly about "this one if for Hefe". I sat ontop of my merch box and watched the song kick-off. Then, I saw Todd Mankin (Brother of our late "Hefe") stroll quietly & alone to the front of the stage. Todd stood there taking in the song and no doubt basking in reflection of his Brother. Clarksdale was Hefe's favorite Cooder song...and still is! Then, the most amazing thing happened: one couple, friends of Todd's, approached him and put their hands on his shoulder, saying "We're here for you." Then, two more...three more...five, seven, ten and MORE. My eyes filled with tears. I felt the cry coming up from the pit of my stomach, wanting to release the pain of losing Hefe and to rejoice in the human spirit of these people standing with Todd now. I couldn't take it any longer and flew from my perch and mixed myself into the group. Stu was there and helped guide me in near Todd, where I found a vacant spot on his right shoulder for my loving hand. My own Brother, David was there beside Todd with tears streaming down. He missed Hefe, too and was surely thinking about what he would do if we got seperated by God. I cried and smiled, as I watched Matt, Paul, Nick, KT and Fish rock with that song like never before. At one point, Fish pointed his drum stick in the air, as if saying, "I feel you Hefe" and came down like lightening upon his drum. You could feel every hair raise on the back of your neck as even more people joined in. Todd was almost directly infront of Nick and the crowd was ever so lopsided with the mob at that end. Todd's head fell a couple of times and I knew he was hurting and crying it out. I just held firm with all these people, some that I knew, some that were complete strangers to me. It was like that moment in Church when the preacher asked you to turn to your neighbor and shake hands (a religious ice breaker of sorts)...we all were there for one reason, yet were pretty much strangers by most deffinitions. KT had this compassionate look on his face as he stepped up for his solo...he knew. Matt kept this guarding smile, as to keep us all thinking the positive and looking into the happy side of lifes ever challenging mysteries. Nick seemed to have a look of amazement as to what was unfolding at his very feet. The coming together for Todd was truly inspirational. And this was just one segment of my night.

On this night, too, much of my family showed up. "Little Bill", as I like to call him, came from Georgia and had a great time with us. He drove non-stop from Georgia (I think that's up in those United States...not here in Texas) to see his first Cooder Graw concert. Little Bill is the one that taught Fish his first guitar chords. Amazing guy that I just loved to see. Now, if cousin Patrick & David could've found his way, there would've been a reunion going on for me & Fish. Uncle Bill, Sissy, Mikey, Little Bill...it was great to see them. Okay, I wont bore ya anymore with my family tree.

Another cool thing was a girl I got to visit with. Her name is that of a blossoming month and it was easy to feel Spring in the air. Wait, isn't this Summer time now? Anyway, I had a nice dinner date and made a new friend to visit with. I like that word "visit", just ask Gyro about that word. Heck, I may have to get me some hang-shirts now.

Fish, Nick & Chris(P) aren't here. They had some visiting to do with friends in town. Todd jumped ship and headed for the house...to throw a party! It's been a hell of a ride these past couple weeks. Tomorrow's in Houston and that should be good. Bubba & Mrs. Bubba are going to be there...they've become pretty cool friends to us now. They are just another shinning spot of this fantastic voyage we're on here. Amazing situations, phenomenal friends, powerful music and seamless love. Maybe I am just tired as I write this bla, bla, bla, blog. I really don't know who all reads this stuff, but let me just encourage those few that do to please live life with vigor and don't leave this earth with anything left to chance. Look out at those sunsets of human circumstance that hold so much promise. Have fun and truly live. Damn...I must be teetering on dillusional.........goodnight. Thank you Brent, Stu, David Ball & my dear Chris Moseley for all you did tonight, too. And thank goodness Brent didn't kill "Squiggy" for kicking him off stage;)

Message from Todd Mankin

2005-06-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

Where to start?

I would first of all like to relay how much it meant to me and the entire family that you guys were able to be in Lubbock for Jeff’s (Hefe's) special day. Matt, I cant quite put our appreciation into words. You and Mike were flawless. To the rest of the Cooder Graw family, another special thanks. You were all a part of it in one way or another.

I would now like to say a few things about Hefe, and his extraordinary life. My dear brother was truly a unique person. There are many clichés out there that I think are deliberated and over used when describing a special person or thing so I am not going to use any of those. I am going to tell you some of the things that people have told me about Hefe and how he touched their lives. This is therapeutic for me so please understand if my entry is a bit desultory at times...I was talking to a young man named Brent just last night. Brent is one of the newest on Hefe's protracted list friends (which expanded daily). Brent and Hefe met at a concert within the past two months or so. He was able to spend much special time with Hefe lately and told me just last night about a conversation that transpired between the two not long ago. Brent had struggled in the past with his faith in God and was not sure about the reality of a "higher power". Well, that was not acceptable to Hefe and Brent will forever be gracious for his urbane companionship. We didn’t discuss their conversation in depth, but I got sufficient information to confirm that Brent is not only a believer in Christ now, but also that he has been talking to him on a regular basis. I don’t think that you really had to discuss faith, or religion, or spirituality with Jeff to know that he was a strong follower. That was evident in his presence. His jovial demeanor helped him deliver his message. I mentioned during the funeral that my dear brother was near celestial, meaning that I could just sense that he had inner peace, especially during those final days. Jeff persona was definitely comforting, which has helped immensely during this grieving process. Stu(another close friend) and I talked on Saturday during a point when I was still in a state of shock. He said "you know Todd if Jeff being on this earth changed one person for the better, that’s why he was here." One, one person... The thing is, after these past few days I realize that he touched hundreds, maybe thousands of people and they are better people because of it. Jeffrey Adam "Hefe" Mankin is no longer physically with us, but his spirit lives on, inside each and every one of us. I have challenged myself to now use what he taught me and truly LIVE, not just breathe... I am going to acknowledge the small things like the color of the flowers in the neighborhood where we grew up. The fuzz on a baby’s ear, and the smell of fresh cut grass on Saturday morning. I have learned one last lesson from my brother and that is......who am I to overlook those things?? I leave you with a poem that I wrote tonight about Jeff:Into the sun we shall see your face. And, meet again yonder in that celestial place.For now watch through the clouds and shelter us from harm.As it is now Christ that holds you by the arm. Guide us on our journey 'till our life here is done.Help us to see that yours has finally begun.Now go dance with the angels in that happy way.Guard and direct us, should we ever stray....God Speed,

-Todd

New start

2005-06-30T20:39:00.000-05:00

Sitting at Gyro's with Fish, as we all wait for the bus to be ready. Most weeks, Gyro takes it in for professional service, so that it will run at peak performance...or so we pray.

Just caught up on some emails I missed this past crazy week. Had one from Todd that I will be posting for all to read here on the main page, got several from other fans supporting us in our loss of Hefe last week and had a great email from one of my most favorite cousins, Patrick Hunt. By the last name, Hunt, you can probably piece together that he's related to Fish, too. Patrick is awesome and sent a very endearing email that will certainly help me get through it all. After all, that's what we have to do. The alternative to "getting through it" isn't too appealing, so in the spirit of "Hefe", we will laugh (cry some) and press on to toil in this short time we share here till we meet that final REWARD. I recall the movie "The Apostle" with Robert Duvall. He said something like, "There's nothing bad about being called to Glory." Damn right!

So, allow me now post a little review by my dear friend Tommy about our Fort Worth show:

"Okay folks, Rock has asked us to give you our 2 cents worth once more. My wife and I decided instead of the boys coming to us we would go to them. That’s right folks we made a 3+ hours trip just to go see the boys. Okay, we must admit there was a little extra incentive for us to go. More on that in a little bit…stay tuned. First and foremost, we need to thank Rock and Tommy Wolfe with the Ranch for helping us get a bird’s eye view of the show. Watching the guys in their home state was quite a sight. Besides putting on their regular show the fans gotta couple of extra treats. Which brings us to the other reason we made the trip for the show. Kelly Test (former Cooder drummer) opened with his new crew, The Mike Mancy Band. (They rocked!) During Cooder’s set, Test made an appearance behind the drum kit one more time, giving Fish a break. Test also came back out with Coby Wier and they rocked out with the guys. Seeing Cooder playing in front of home state fans was a lot different than seeing them in Oklahoma cause of the greater fan interaction. Hopefully each time they play here in Oklahoma their fan base will continue to broaden. These guys are the real deal and deserve more acknowledgement than they get here in the Sooner state. For that matter, Texas-style country music deserves more exposure over all. Enough of our rant, we have to say one of the highlights of the night besides seeing Test of course, was seeing Rock dressed has a fast food employee in hair net and all. When we asked him why he was dressed that way he said he was as busy as a fast food worker so why not dress the part cause the menu consisted of a side dish of Shifting Gears and a main course of Wake Up…you get the idea. We love you, Rock! In closing, it was an all around awesome night in true Cooder fashion. Until next time folks…"

Well, thank you Tommy for the review on the show. Tonight, we're picking up Todd Mankin. He's joining us for a couple of nights on the road. Should be a good experience for him.

See yall on the road...

The Life

2005-06-26T03:40:00.000-05:00

As I write, many of us are sitting on the back of the bus. Just talked to Todd Mankin and he's with a mob of friends, sitting around a bonfire. They're in Lubbock staying up to see the sunrise. Hefe would love that! Tomorrow we're headed up that way. Tuesday is the funeral, at the South Plains Church of Christ (6802 Elkhart Ave.) at 2:00pm. Matt's been asked to sing at the service.

Wish I could describe the feelings running through my body. I am anxious to be there, yet dreading every mile that brings me closer to seeing my dear Brother, Jeff. That moment, when I walk towards Hefe and see him laying there resting will be the most painful time. The storm in my heart will swell to it's height and I will be lost. However, I wont be alone. I will be with my Brothers, Todd, Stu, Matt, Fish, KT, Paul, Gyro and the rest of the boys. In them will I only find my "port in the storm" and survive this.

In thinking about our Lord, GOD, I do find much comfort. I know that the Spirit & the body are two seperate entities and Jeff is all Spirit and loving every minute of it. He has all the answers that we ponder. He can never feel lost, pain or sorrow anymore. I mourn cause I am selfish. I want Hefe back so I can enjoy another trip to Galveston with him or laugh at his crazy alternate comical personalities. Guess only time will heal this void in my heart. Guess I will one day join Hefe in Heaven. Maybe this rant is my only sanctuary for now.

We all cried

2005-06-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

I was in the car with Julie Kidwell, just having picked up the Whataburger order for the guys. We had been on the road a couple of nights already and everyone was a bit hungry for something other than bus food. Darren walked down the pathway from the bus to the hotel parking lot where Julie & I sat. "Julie, Rock, I have some bad news...." As those words came from Darren's mouth, I surveyed the scene and saw Matt standing alone in the dirt field, not far from the bus, yet far enough to give the inclination he needed to be alone. Something was wrong and as Darren approached my side of the car, I saw everyone slowly climbing off the bus with an air of seriousness that only fed the quaking in my stomach. "Hefe is dead."

My dear friend, Jeff Mankin (Alias, "Hefe") was killed in a jetski accident at some lake near Waco.

Julie reached over and held my arm and her comforting touch allowed me to drop the tough guy "Rock" thing and I felt the tears. I said, "No, he's not" and did everything I could to argue the fact. Even called the hospital and demanded to know what was going on. Then I noticed I had a missed message from Stu (alias "Resevoir"). I listened to it only to hear the confirmation that literally broke my heart and revisted my old time nemesis "Sorrow". I wept and wept, calling out silently to the nearly full moon on the clear night sky..."NO, Hefe is okay!"

I walked along the path towards the bus and was approached by Matt. His stoic face and embracing arms dealt to cement the horrifying news that OUR friend was gone from this earth.

He was at the show...He was just in Fort Worth with us, partying, helping at the merch stand and doing his famous impersonations. He was sitting there with those aviator sunglasses we bought in Houston near my house...he was wearing that necklace he bought during our vacation to Glaveston to do some crabbing. I just asked him, "Man, are you ready to get back to the Hotel Galvaz?" He looked at me and answered with just enough hesitation to prove his sincerity, "That's all I have been thinking about lately...we have to get back down there."

Jeff Mankin, dearest friend, our "Hefe", has passed away...he's gone.

I called Mike Mancy to learn what details I could of the situtation. As I waited for Mike to answer, I raised my heavy head to see Paul making steps towards me. He couldn't look at me straight in the face and I knew why...it didn't matter, he broke down before his arms finished wrapping around me. We cried and we cried....and we cried. There was nothing else to do.

Todd Mankin, Hefe's brother then called me. That was the most difficult call I have ever answered. I knew he was the closest to Hefe and I knew the pain that was about to be unleashed with us talking. We did manage some words...even some chuckles, as we reflected on Hefe's humor...and then we lost it. We lost ourselves in that dark place that even good humor can't journey...and we cried.

My night has been long and the next days (and into the years) will be very difficult, often unmanagable, I anticipate. Please, extend all prayers to Todd and family. Please, pray to Our Lord for comfort for the family that bestowed on us the greatest friend, a true gift, a blessing: Jeff "Hefe" Mankin.

I close with a poem that Matt reflected on last night. He read this poem and joined us in forming a prayer circle under the night sky:

"This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done.
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death and the stars."

~Walt Whitman

What's that thing called AC?

2005-06-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

Well, we got the new bus, had some time in the heat with that messed up generator and now....we're still in the HEAT. Yea, we had to go yet another week without the benefit of that conditioned air we're hearing so much about. We look at our bunks and they just resemble stacked pizza ovens and we dare not crawl in.

The show at Crosby was tough on Gyro. He drove his butt off and fought the heat and exhaustion from Amarillo to the Houston area. That's a haul. If we were in Europe, Gyro would have driven through the equivelant of 4 countries. He's like a machine. Maybe that's it...this whole time, we never knew Gyro was some cyborg sent from the future to solve prob's and help the success of that hardest working band in Texas Music.

One good thing for sure was that we had Otto on this trip. And are wishing he was there EVERY trip. His expertise in this business through years of gruelling education & experience were an asset. Plus, he's just a "damn cool cat", to use a Mattism.

With dirt covering us, from the rodeo arena, it was time to head to Rockwall, TX. Cool thing about this show was this club, Southern Junction, was the first place I ever saw Cooder Graw (back in 2000). Paul & James were awesome to us and made sure we were well taken care of. Even had loaders; something we typically don't get the benefit of. Otto, Tattette and the boys got everything ready for the nights show without any problems. Gyro hung out doing some video and then quickly retired to the hotel to recover from all the heat & sleep deprivation. The show went great! The guys sounded fantastic and even through in some variations to current songs...you've got to get to a show if you haven't been in awhile! Have you heard the NEW washboard song?!

After the show, we headed to the hotel. Five hotel rooms were provided. Paul, KT, Otto & I decided to head to the pool for some late night swimming. We pushed the button for the elevator and it opened to reveal a table and chairs some prankster must have provided. NO, it wasn't me. However, we did have fun sitting at the table and going floor to floor in our mobile party room. Can you picture the elevator openening up and there are 4 guys chilling at a table? And 3 of those guys are in their bathing suits and pale white. It was great. Otto was the only one with a tan and that stems from his Balkin Island heritage....or is it Samoan...maybe Romanian? We got to the pool and had fun swimming and doing Tibetan Monk chants that echoed through the indoor pool building. It was bad ass. Paul & I then stayed up till daybreak playing Playstation boxing on the bus, despite the heat. I returned to my room to find KT sleeping, with his glasses on with MTV playing. I slid his glasses off his face and then retired myself. I had fun with my band of brothers. We made it through another week and you can feel the momentum building.

Too much time off

2005-06-03T01:48:00.000-05:00

Am writing from Amarillo, my dear friend Torri's apartment. Was just in Houston this morning and Gyro called and said he was flying me up. How could I pass on that opportunity? Of course flying isn't what it used to be for me. In my old age (okay, not that old really) I have developed the sweaty palm syndrome (NO, not the hairy palm) during take-off & landing. Maybe some sort of post 9/11 mental thing. Anyway, I am here now and waiting for the Gyro to get up this way with the bus. Now, when I say, "the bus" I do mean the new bus. Yea, we are in a bit of a different ride. We got our old bus back finally! I wont explain how & why here, so just ask around and get the scoop. It's been a long while since I have set foot in this bus. It's the first tour bus Chris and I climbed aboard, volunteering for Cooder a couple of years ago. In fact, we set out the very same night, from 8.0's in Ft Worth. How cool is that?! This is a far better ride and should make a huge difference mentally for each of us. What am I saying, Nick will find something to gripe about. Gyro's going to love driving this one. I must say that I don't know about what the situation is on getting ol' Papa back yet...don't forget about our Guy Bagwell folks! And I am still collecting money for his memorial fund. He's not dead, BUT he agreed to split the money with me that I collect. Hopefully, we will see Papa returning to the scene and adding even more flavor to our list of characters. The new website sure looks freakin' GREAT. Once again, Paul did a bad ass design on it.

Spontaneous yell: "Love you Julie Kidwill!" Sorry folks, just had to give a shout out to my home-girl. Wow, I am so "Street".

Next week I see we are headed to Southern Junction out in Rockwall, Tx. That's the first place I ever saw Cooder perform. I was in line (in a bad mood) with my girlfriend at the time (Mary Krawietz) and I said, "Who the F**** is Cooder Graw". Well, after the first couple of songs I was smiling ear to ear and loving the night. These guys moved my emotions with their music. Now, I get to tell folks just who Cooder Graw is. And nothings changed. Okay, maybe the musical chairs on drums, but really that's it. Matt leads the boys of the Llano Estacado into a show every night that has it's very own life. KT, Paul and Matt began something long ago that has done everything from save marriages (Matt got a letter from a couple stating so this last week), keeping troops entertained (there are humvee's with Cooder stickers in Iraq) and even just helping those lucky couples create a "Lifetime Stand"...maybe some "one nighters, too" but who's really keeping tabs? I hear that Otto is coming on the road with us for a couple of tours this month. That's awesome! He's the reason I got into this stuff. Folks, life is good and Cooder is rockin' on.

Hot as hell

2005-05-22T13:13:00.000-05:00

The gig over at the golf course was freakin' HOT! "Jaba the Hunt" nearly passed out, hovering delicately over his drums (he can't remember the last two songs he played). KT actually made a couple of errors in play (self admitted) and said he was just starting to see black spots. I even heard Matt belting out "Apollo Estacado" or something to that effect...yes, even our lead man was getting dillusional with the gateway to hell being open and spitting it's fury on the stage. We were all drained.

The next day had us with two gigs. And of course, they were both outdoors with 97 degree heat (at least). Flower Mound was hotter than the Colonial golf tournament. And Waxahatchie was just drained the last bit of energy we had. By nights end, everyone from Gyro to Matt was just sitting on the curb of the street, downtown, trying to cool down. We were supposed to have 5 hotel rooms, yet when we got there of course they only had 2 rooms left. Somebody dropped the ball and Cooder had to take another one in the .....

Well, we did get some showers and sleep. That water pouring down from that shower nozzel was more than refreshing and well overdue.

Today is Sunday and we're southbound on I45 heading to Houston. And yes, it's another outdoor gig. We're playing at Sam's Boat on Richmond Street. We're opening for Honeybrowne and it should be a good time as long as our AC holds up. It's been quite quirky this trip.

Time to sweat and await the freezing town of Houston...hey, I got to convince myself somehow.

Only two on the bus

2005-05-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

This is the oddest of combinations for our bus travel: Gyro & me. Yea, that's it and we're heading to Ft. Worth for some golf tournament gig. The rest of the band is in Amarillo, as they have a gig at Midnight Rodeo tonight. We had to depart early and leave our dear brothers since the bus has to be at the golf course before Tee Time (or kickoff time or whatever that's called). Where's Chris, you may wonder? The young Jedi is wrapped up in his latest girlfriend somewhere near Ft.Worth, waiting for me and his "Obie-won-kenobie" to arrive. I think her name is Chris, too...or maybe he's just dating himself. Okay Test, you're right, "Dirty Bird!"

Now a personal note: Does anyone out there in Cooderville know of an inexpensive vehicle I may be interested in purchasing? Yes, Rock needs some wheels. Though I have adored my constant visits to the panhandle, would love to venture off to the "real world" now on my off days. So, there's my plea and if anyone has the hookup on some sweet deal, just holler at me: cooder_rock@hotmail.com

Got to talk to Erin Martindale today. She was filling me in on the new addition to the Martindale family...a little lab puppy. She said it's been tough, having to take it out all the time in the middle of the night and then it just wants to play. I told her we can sympathize, as we've been trying to train Fish here on the bus.

Amarillo off days

2005-05-18T00:57:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the Golden Light watching Matt and Fish play guitar together. They may have an off day routine to do from now on...sounded GREAT! Right now, I am at Gyro's place watching something on one of those science channels and trying to catch up on some Charlie Shafter Band stuff. Fish & I stayed on the bus in Canyon Sunday night. We made us a Wal~Mart run and ended up getting 3 new Playstation games. 2 out of 3 are okay...I picked the 3rd, of course, damn it. Now, we're at the hotel, letting Carlos (the Travelodge guru) take care of us. How many night attendants of a hotel will permit you to use their car to make a late night Wal~Mart run or jot over to the Whataburger? If you're ever in Amarillo, go see Carlos at the Travelodge at Paramount & I40. Plus, you get free usage of the nearby Gold's Gym. Speaking of, I finally fell below the 200lbs mark. Yea, Rock is now 198 and still counting down. My goal is 188lbs. If you look at the old pics at Gruene Hall, where I let it all show with Tom Green, I was over 220lbs. I think we still have those pics up, if not, check out kellybtest.com. Still miss that character!

Special Guest Post

2005-05-18T00:54:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's taken so long folks! Forgive the Rockster, please. Been without a PC in Amarillo and well, if you know Amarillo, you can understand. The following is a special post by a dear Cooder friend/fan:

First of all, I’d like to thank Rock and Cooder Graw for allowing me to give my 2 cents worth of the Wormy Dog show. So here goes nothing…It was a packed night like almost all Wormy Dog shows are. The show seemed to have a special feel to it. Maybe it was cause of some of the fans that had come from Amarillo to see “the boys” play or maybe it was because it was the first night that us Oklahoma fans saw Fish behind the drum kit for a full show. As always it didn’t take long for the fans to start crowding around the stage. Matt’s vocals seemed very strong and clear, KT always seems to amaze me with his extra special solo during “Clarksdale”, Nick rocked out on the fiddle and mandolin as only he can, Paul seemed like he was having an extra special night on the bass, and for the newest Cooder member, Fish, I must say I was really impressed he kicked some major ass. The guys had changed up the set a little bit since the last time I saw them. One of the nice surprises was when they did their version of “She’s About a Mover”…very nice indeed. I noticed they also changed their musical style a little bit on “Boogaloo” nice touch. After they finished their set list the fans chanted, “One more song, one more song” and got 2 instead. The first of the two encore songs was an acoustic song by Matt that he had co-written with Stoney LaRue then the rest of Cooder came back on stage and they finished strong with “Dirty Little Hometown Girl” only after the crowd requested it. All in all, the fans seemed very pleased with the show I know this fan and his wife were. And in typical fashion, the guys made sure the fans left happy with autographed merchandise or hugs and handshakes. Well folks, that’s about it. Assuming Rock and “the boys” don’t think that I didn’t mess this up too bad maybe you’ll see me doing this again from time to time. On a final personal opinion the guys need to leave “She’s About a Mover” somewhere in the set they also need to record “I Ain’t Afraid”. If this Road Review seems a little biased my apologies, but these guys have been like friends and family for the past 2 years. If you haven’t been out to see them play yet, get off your tail and go! You’ll have a HELL of a time. Thanks and good-night!

<>Love ya guys, Tommy and Melissa Ennis

The day after

2005-05-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

Here at the Fish Tank (Jon's house). Last night at The White Elephant was cool. Gyro had it perfect and blew the people's socks off. I learned that The White Elephant is the bar where many segments of Walker Texas Ranger were filmed (CD's Place, if you know that show). Last night, there were no flying high kicks and bad acting, it just ROCKED. Everyone from Julie Kidwill, Judo, Hefe, David Ball, Julia Gulia and nearly the entire Hunt family (where the hell was Patrick & Brenda?) were there. There's was even a small line for autographs that contained numerous Pampa people...longing for just a handshake from their favorite Panhandle son.

For those of you non-believers, those who balked at the idea that Cooder had a new drummer and freaked out: Must have had a half dozen folks come compliment the chops of the young Fish addition to the band. Paul & Fish seem to be spreading their wings now and kickin' a beat that you can FEEL. Poor ol' KT...he was wedged beneath the stairs, on the stage. However, all eyes were on him when he kicked out that famous solo on Clarksdale. Nick was stage right this night and could reach over and tap Chris on the head with his bow. Nick had his usual share of ladies crowding his side of the stage. Matt was on cue and his voice rang true. He hammed it up for the crowd and don't think we could've fit one more body in the club.

Well, Fish is hounding me to go see the movie "Crash" with him & Holli. I am there relationship counselor now and this should be quite interesting...you know me.

As the Sun rises

2005-05-07T16:16:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful morning, after a crazy night. The opener was there and played in a timely manner.

Some things better left unsaid. Our show went okay. You could tell the guys were a little off in parts, but they pulled it together and had a crowd stage-side, as always. Hell, I think they could walk up there and do stand-up and the people would follow and cheer. Cooder has a certain magnetism. You know what I mean.

O’yea, if I don’t mention Geoff Spahr, then he’s really going to kick my ass next time I see him. So, to you my crazy friend, Geoff, I say, “thank you for being there.” Geoff almost showed me his tits at George’s house, but changed his mind quickly when his girlfriend came back from a stroll with George. Hey Geoff, why is a man twice your age taking care of your girlfriend anyway??? Folks, next time you’re at a Geoff Spahr concert, make sure to bring as many “vitality” aids as possible for ol’ Geoff…you can litter the stage with them.

Now I will be getting that ass kicking.

Chris Moseley showed up to help out at this Hall of Shame show. She’s a true Street Teamer (and that’s not even a real word, is it?). Where did James Attebery go?

Everyone’s in bed, except for Paul, George, Chris & I. We’ve been sitting on the back, solving the worlds problems, one drink at a time…well, they have. I love to listen though.

I sure caught a lot of hell about my praises towards Chris last night on the road diary. So, tonight, I want to talk about George. How many people will open their homes to a dozen folks, feed them, let them shower, give them reign of the TV and shuttle them wherever they want to go? One man will: George Martin. Earlier tonight, while there was some drama playing out with some guests at his house (nobody you know), George maintained and restored some civility and handled everything with the tact of a true gentleman. We, among other country bands, stop in at George’s place to sort of hideout and find some calm in the storm of the touring life. I think, he needs to just start a bed & breakfast and offer his fine services to the multitudes. Jesus would be proud. That’s not meant blasphemous by the way.

<>The daylight is really creeping in now and I may be the last creature of the night stirring. It’s time to go to my bunk, read a little and doze off. Hey, want to know what the enlightened Cooder folks read. Well, Matt is a Dan Brown man and peeked my interest in his works…awesome! Paul was last seen reading, The Purpose Driven Life. Chris read the ingredients on his beer bottle. Gyro read the road map and double checked it with his militaristic, mobile GPS system. KT is reading Hard Optimism, by his uncle Price Pritchett. Nick’s been seen in the not so distant past, reading some book on a football coach. Think he’s read The Junction Boys, too. Fish, read the instructions on the carpet cleaner after barfing in the hallway & his bunk…AGAIN. And I am reading The Gift of Fear, by Gavin de Becker. Goodnight!

In back of The Hall

2005-05-06T18:18:00.000-05:00

Just sitting here on the bus, parked behind the Hall of Fame in Bryan-College Station. Chris is in there trying to get the stage set. Gyro's relaxing after the drive, enjoying some Popeye's Fried Chicken with Matt. George was gracious enough to pick up some snacks to tide us over till the real feast at his house.

The weather is sure nice here. And it's even nicer to hide out in our air conditioned bus. Soundcheck is almost near and once the fried chicken is wiped off, the boys will be ready to go.

Hall of Shame bound

2005-05-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

We're just about in College Station and ready for the Texas Hall of Fame (Hall of Shame for you locals). It's a little warm on the bus, but the AC is working. Chris was trying to sleep-in a bit, till the kids (nick & fish) woke him, banging on his bunk, laughing and just being children...those boys will learn. Guess Fish still has to learn you don't mess with someone while their in their bunk sleeping. Nick should know better...and he does, that's what's sad. Got to have a respect of space on the bus.

Tonight is gearing up to be a nice time. A friend of mine from High School days, James Attebery is coming out. He caught his first Cooder show last week in Spring, for the Crawfish Festival. Now, he's hooked and traveling to College Station. He's a wild man and should make it a fun show. The good Colonel (Nick's dad) will be in attendance...that's a fun guy to talk to at a show...and a true hero. Kris Moseley will be there, too. She's got to be the #1 Street Team member ever. She comes to numerous shows and always jumps to help load, sell merch, clean & anything else to help the cause. Hmmm, I thought we had more Street Team members out there that professed, "I want to help." Spreading the word of Cooder Graw and getting their music out there is a family effort. We all have to chip in (if we say we're going to) and work at it. Can I get an Amen?!

KT's catching some ZZzz's on the front couch, Matt's strumming on the guitar, Chris is on the computer, Gyro's driving his heart out, Fish is just daydreaming, while looking at the guest list, Nick is playing Playstation2 and I don't know what Steve is doing. We're almost here now, so time to prepare for battle.

The birds are chirping

2005-05-06T05:45:00.000-05:00

It's about 5:45am and I am just about to head to my bunk. Left Fish (whom we know call BlowFish...you have to ask him yourselves....and NO, it's not gay) up in the hotel room. He's a great roommate, but I miss my own bunk. Chris and I stayed up a little late playing Playstation2. I have to note that Chris is probably one of the most underestimated people on this bus when it comes to compassion & caring. It's remarkable, when I look back now, how many nights he makes it a point to ask, "Everything allright Kev?" Or he may stop in the middle of doing something and say, "Dude, don't know if it matters, but sure do love ya man." And can you dare find anyone that could jump into a field totally opposite of what his formal schooling was for and rise to the occassion? Sure he has his mess ups once in a while, but those are sure fewer & further between than they were a week ago...and even less than the week before that. He's watched and listened to Gyro & Otto with intent on mastering this new trade. And with his work, he's brought a compassionate attitude. A couple of the guys often give him a hard time...and I know that there are those in his family that didn't approve of his choice to leave A&M to take this job; However, those folks just can't see the fun, loving and dedicated young man that I see and that secretly helps tie this bunch of odd balls together. Chris is family here and I just had to devote a little entry to our "little engine that could."

Here I am

2005-05-05T20:19:00.000-05:00

Jon said I should do this in a song.
Just don't want it to take very long.
My time is very dear & the hotel pool is near.
Jon said I should do this in a song.

Somehow we all ended up in Austin.
"Let's go see Otto, that'll be awesome."
At least that's what Rock thought,
After smoking too much....just kidding!
Somehow we all ended up in Austin.

Nobody has plans for tonight.
Matt's the only one thinking right
Staying in his room is his plan
watching reruns on TVLand
Nobody has plans for tonight.

We finally got the AC fixed.
Gyro was up to old tricks.
He got us up and running
And for hardly any money
We finally got the AC fixed.

We played in San Anton last night.
The County Line sure did treat us right.
We were up against the Spurs,
But our music was all you heard.
We played in San Anton last night.

KT just took out the trash.
Plenty of old bottles and some ash.
That's his big hobby
cleaning the front lobby.
KT just took out the trash.

Guess were running out of song.
Glad it didn't take very long.
Julie & BB
Are in the back waiting to see me
Guess this is the end of this song.

I'm melting!

2005-04-29T14:57:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-28T21:51:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-28T02:25:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-24T17:53:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-18T01:18:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-17T02:49:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-16T02:43:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-15T20:59:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-15T18:52:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-15T02:46:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-14T18:41:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-08T05:06:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-08T02:36:00.000-05:00

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!!

2005-04-07T13:56:00.000-05:00

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

2005-04-06T16:18:00.000-05:00

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!