February 24th--Gypsy's on Dickson--Fayetteville, AR--Brian was
dog sick from all the way back to the trip to Houston. Never got
over whatever flu he had, so we went at this one as the trio. We
rocked that place as hard as we could. I was exhausted by nights'
end. We dragged some of our regular fans in to the Gypsy and they
had a great time. Earlier in the day, I was fortunate to have been
selected to throw out the first pitch at the University of Arkansas
Baseball Opening Weekend game. It was a great honor and tons of
fun. Below are a couple of pictures!
February 17th--Fujitsu/HP Party--Houston, TX--It was a long drive
to Houston, TX, for a party. However, the folks there treated us
like royalty. They were celebrating the 25 millionth hard drive
delivered to HP. That's a lot of drives! It was a smaller
group than I would have imagined, but it was a terrific party held at a
very unique location. An authentic looking Spanish villa called
the Fontoneu Mansion. It was a little chili to play in the grand
courtyard, so we moved inside to the ballroom. Those fine folks
danced and rocked the night away. The theme for the party was
meant for them to wear rock concert t-shirts and live in the moment.
The band worked its fannies off to give them the real rock show. I
think they liked it. They bought nearly every CD and t-shirt we
had in the trailer! Cool people. Worth the trip.
February 4th--Gary's Other 4th Annual 50th Birthday Party--Gearhead's
Grill--Neosho, MO--Playing small rooms is fun when they are packed.
This room was packed again per normal with Gary's biggest fans which
included his mother. I think the show rocked and we had the
Bannister Brothers sit in during the last set which was fun. Our
good friend Diana drove up from Sigler Music Center...the best music
store in Arkansas. Again...I was having too much fun to snap
photos, so send them in, too.
February 3rd--Gary's 4th Annual 50th Birthday Party--George's
Majestic--Fayetteville, AR--Of course, we all knew that it was going
to be a great night of music with the Cate Brothers, the Nace Brothers,
and us all adorning the stage. We decided to do the Ark-Mo Rock
Soul and Blues Review early after happy hour rather than late at night.
I think it was a success. Oreo Blue went on stage first to get
things fired up and it eventually morphed into all three bands on
stage together. I was too busy having fun on stage to take any
pictures, so if anyone has some, send them in.
January 27th--Ava's Village Pub--Fort Smith, AR--Back to Ava's
with the trio...I know that I've talked about how hard this band works
in previous posts, but this night, I was completely spent. Not
sure what got to me, but one might have thought that there were 20,000
people in that place rather than, say, 20. I have been watching
the Discovery Channel to see if there are any informative shows about
the Czech Republic or old Czechoslovakia. I hear from our hosts at
the Village Pub that "Czech Republic is beautiful country."
photo by Day Crowne
January 21st--The Steak Out--Jane, MO--When we walked into the
club area, the size of the room and the niceness of the facility warned
us that it could be a, well, not a rocking night like we expect.
We were wrong. This was a sold out show and every body in the
place came to see Oreo Blue. They were so appreciative that the
small crowd sounded double its size. Thanks, too, to Lou for
coming out and snapping pics.
January 20th--Jose's on Dickson--Fayetteville, AR--By far one of
my favorite Mexican restaurants ever. The vibe there is great, the
salsa is addictive, and the Chimichangas are other-worldly. Jose's
used to be the hottest hot spot for live music in Fayetteville for a
stretch some 20 years ago. They stopped having live music about 15
or so years ago and the street hadn't been the same. Of course
George's returned to its rightful place as king of the live music
venues, but the street needed Jose's live music back. At first,
when we took the stage, it was a little odd and small. However,
when the crowd erupted after our first song, it was just like old times
for the rest of the night...
January 13th--Ava's Village Pub--Fort Smith, AR--Since we will be
venturing out on the road more as the Gary Hutchison Trifecta, I figure
I will start reporting on those shows as well. It's a ton of fun
doing the trio show as we just rock out a little with fewer inhibitions.
Oreo Blue is far and away the most professional band I have ever been
associated with or have even known. So, when the trio ventures
out, we fly a little by the seat of our pants. Same intensity, but
a little less form. So, at Ava's Village Pub...a small quaint
little club...we rocked somebody's socks off. The hostesses are
really great. You won't find a couple of hot Czech Republic chicks
tending bar in many places in the USA, let alone little ole Fort Smith.
They are great and you should go hang out there some weekend....
January 6-7th--Cheeseburger in Paradise--Kansas City, KS--Once
again, it was a pleasurable trip to CiP and the fine metro of KC.
This time around, we went to see King Kong during our down time on
Saturday. Rod got a little vertigo watching those bi-planes
zipping around the monkey's head up on the Empire State Building.
That was funny. We had rocking shows both Friday and Saturday
night and thanks go our to our friends Patty and Melanie and Scott "Z"
for coming out again to weather our little storms. And the food
still kicks fanny at CiP...
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