April 21st--Crowder College Outdoor Concert Series--Neosho, MO--What beautiful weather for an outdoor concert!!!  It was a mild 69 degrees atop the flatbed stage overlooking the lawn at Crowder.  This is a nice event and a nice campus in which to have it.  We had a good turnout of locals and die-hard SW Missouri Oreo Blue fans out.  Would have been nice to see more co-eds at this event, but they are just getting this series under way.  Crowder College...home of the Rough Riders.  Good baseball team I hear. 

 

April 15th--2720 Club--Hot Springs, AR--You never know what you are going to get into with a new venue.  The first thing we noticed...this place is massive!  Huge dance floor, super high ceilings, etc.  We have a nice loyal fan base in the Hot Springs area and even though this was a new place, they rolled out like champs to help us break in the new joint.  After the evening was over, I think the place gets thumbs-up from Oreo Blue.  Maybe we have found a new Spa City venue to call home since the fall of the Ohio Club.  www.2720club.com

 

April 14th--Ava's Village Pub--Fort Smith, AR--Ava must not have been feeling well tonight... she was kind of grumpy and left a little early.  Nonetheless, we had a rocking good time at the pub with the loyal handful of our faithfuls.  Word is that the Philly sandwich is killer.  Go to Ava's and have a great time.  We do.

 

April 1st--The Trifecta!--George's Majestic Lounge--Fayetteville, AR--When we scale down for the Trifecta, things get kinda crazy.  We had a few of my friends from Hogville.net down for the party as well as a hoppin' birthday party on the loft.  We had a few guest dancers and cowbell players on stage...that was fun. 

 

March 25th--Wedding Reception--George's Majestic Lounge--Fayetteville, AR--Normally I don't report on wedding receptions, but in this particular case, the reception was held at George's in the Garden.  What I would say is that after it was all decorated up, it was a perfect place to hold a reception.  The natural lighting, the best sound stage in the region, and the excellent crew made it ideal for private functions like that.  So...if you have a function, but don't have a venue, you might call them at George's.  If you need a band...I know where you can find a great party band, too!

 

March 24th--George's Majestic Lounge--Fayetteville, AR--Home base!  Man...happy hours are cool, but they are way too short for me.  Two hours of music just gets me warmed up.  George's has by far the best sound system in the region and the best vibe in the region as well...so when the music is great, and then we are quitting at 8pm...it's like having sex but never getting to climax.  Speaking of climax...if you haven't tried Bob Yazetti's pizza at George's Majestic on a weekend, you need to.  Good God!

During this set, Gary went above and beyond...sacrificing his body and a Reverend Guitar for the cause.  Slamming his fist into the body of that Reverend (sounds kind of sacrilegious) and ultimately busting through cutting his hand and shattering the outer shell of the new axe. 

 

March 11th--Kitchen Pass--Parsons, KS--We had another rocking night at the KP.  If I recall...we played two long 2-hour sets on full stomachs from the great food at the KP.  We picked up a few new fans along the way pulling out some new material.  That venue may be small, but we work there like it's a huge concert event.  Thanks, Parsons.

 

March 10th--Home--It's always a nice surprise when a fan sends us photos of a past event.  A guy I met, Rod, on a local sports message board (Hogville.net) let me know he had some pics he took at our Gully Park concert in Fayetteville last year.  I will get a picture page up soon.  Here are a few.  Great pics, Rod!

 

photos by Rod Russell, "Chillinhoggie"

 

March 4th--Two Frogs Grill--Ardmore, OK--We have had a long standing tradition of making the trek to Ardmore and rocking south-central Oklahoma.  We have a lot of fans down there and we appreciate them rolling out no matter how long in between shows or no matter the venue.  Two Frogs has been the main stay since I have been in the band and let me say this much...the food is the best in the state.  The band makes it a point to get to Ardmore a few hours early just to make sure we get to eat at Two Frogs.  This night, we had an extremely appreciative crowd despite its size and we decided to "reward" them by not taking a break the entire night.  This drummer got dehydrated, but it was all good. 

The only mark on a great band trip is missing some stuff back home.  I coach my son's 7th grade basketball team and I had to miss a game today.  It makes me sick to do that, but our boys pulled off another victory for their absent coach to remain undefeated on the season.  One more game...Go Vipers!

 

March 3rd--Proctor & Gamble Party--Fayetteville, AR--In a fancy barn snuggled atop a hill in south Fayetteville, the folks at P&G threw a great employee appreciation party.  The event was dubbed Diamonds and Denim, so folks came donned in blue jeans with diamonds here and there.  The folks started off a little tentative, but they loosened up after a few drinks and some killer classics from Oreo Blue.  Thanks P&G!

 

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