August 31st--Two Frogs Grill--Ardmore, Oklahoma--We
might have to start another website to hold all the wonderful things we
could say about Aubry & Angela Harris and their club Two Frogs in
Ardmore OK. For many years now we have been honored to have a
great fan base in between OKC and Dallas, TX in this town of
thirty-something thousand people. Many of them have become friends
and not just fans or patrons. Couple this with the world class
food and atmosphere of Two Frogs and we actually look forward to a six hour
drive from home to make this show. We appreciate the respect Oreo
Blue is treated with in Ardmore and will always deliver 110% on stage.
This being said if you missed the show last Saturday might kick
yourself. We pulled out all the stops for Aubry and the crew.
The lights, the fog, the dueling drill and chainsaw routine and Gary's
tribute to Jimi Hendrix by humping, burning and destroying a guitar for
the people. It was definitely over the top and that's what we
wanted to our friends and fans in Ardmore. We hope to see you all
with friends at our next show.
Tyson Harris Rockin' the House
A special thanks for Aubry and Angela for their wonderful hospitality at
the club and for inviting us into their amazing new home. It made the
trip even cooler...if that is possible.--Brian Crowne
August 30th--The Blues Saloon-- OKC, Oklahoma--When
you think of Blues Bars I bet you would be thinking of The Blues Saloon
in OKC. Smokey, a little rough in appearance with lots of
character and attitude. Taking the stage at the Blues Saloon with Oreo is a blast because we know we can play the blues
with no compromise
and the crowd will rock. We have only played the Saloon a handful
of times over the last four years, but every show has been awesome.
Stacy the resident house drummer and soundman always dials it in right
and we're off to wherever we want to go musically. Of course it
is always good to see our good friend Martin Herlocher and whatever
posse he might bring out with him. We look forward to many more
fun filled shows at the Saloon in the future.--Brian
Crowne
August 29th--Ginger's
Chasers--Ft. Smith, Arkansas--Oreo Blue's debut at this new club in
Gary and Rod's hometown went mostly unnoticed by the hometown
folks. Not to worry. Those who did notice were pleasantly
surprised as the band stepped up in its fashion to rock the smallest
crowd in the biggest way. OB looks forward to its next engagement
at Chasers as the first proved a great time.
August 23rd--Jose's
Streetside--Fayetteville, Arkansas--
Jose’s is one of our favorite places to partake
to fine Mexican Quisine and the Streetside Patio has turned into a
consistently fun little gig for Oreo.
The patio isn’t very large, seats about 125, but it is open to
the legendary Dickson St. here in our home of Fayetteville.
Dickson St. could be compared to a small Burton St. or Beale St.
for its bars, restaurants and live music.
The staff at Jose’s is nothing short of exceptional from the
Mr. Joe Fennel on down to the dishwashers.
They run a tight ship that treats everyone with favor and it
shows why they’re one of the most successful establishments in
Northwest Arkansas after 23 years... I
think Stephen and I lost a few pounds during the sweltering setup, but
it was all worth it once the show started.
We had the privilege of bringing many new fans into the fold of
Oreo Blue and that’s always amazing after ten years.
It’s also amazing and fun to me that no matter how large or
small the show, my guys in Oreo Blue put on a show like it’s for
100,000 screaming fans. Night-in
and night-out Oreo finds the gas to deliver high-octane grooves that
can’t help but infect the most stubborn listener.
See you all soon.--Brian Crowne
August 17th--The ByPass--Joplin,
Missouri--It wasn't as hot as usual on the patio in August.
That made for a pleasant night for both the fans and the band.
Brian stole the show on Stormy Monday Blues while Gary continued
to amaze the home folks with his usual antics and mesmerizing
licks.
photo by ©
John Blair
The Crowd at
the ByPass Patio
August 11th--Battle of the
Sexes--Neosho Bowl--Neosho, Missouri--Well, the champ has been
unseated. In the annual Oreo Blue bowl-off, I had won the past two
years, but this year I was off my form. Brian had obviously been
practicing in the off season and came away with a victory bowling a 146
or something. I came from behind with about 20 pins less, but
still managed second place with Rod and Gary bringing up the rear.
If you have never seen Gary bowl, then I recommend it. Quite the
form, I must say. Thanks to our great friends from Neosho for
allowing us to partake in your annual party. It is always a
blast. The food is great, the bowling is a hoot, but best of all,
you folks are appreciative and supportive of Oreo Blue like no other,
and we thank you. And Brian doesn't need to get too attached to
his title...I'll be back.
photo by ©
John Blair
August 10th--Ugly's--Grand
Lake, Oklahoma--It had been some while since Oreo Blue had played
Ugly's. It is a cool deck club right on the lake. The crowd
was especially nice and spurned on the band to a few rousing
climaxes. This crowd was particularly fond of the classics, but
got hip with some Oreo Blue along the way. It was nice to have
some friends and family make the trip. A funny moment came when a
baby skunk decided to mosey around the stairwell leading to the only
bathrooms. If you like big, fancy, expensive boats, then head on
over to Ugly's. They have a whole fleet of 'em over
there.
August 9th--The Kitchen
Pass--Neosho, Missouri--Much has been said about the great Pawlus
brothers and their wonderful restaurants. If you want
embellishments about the food, please consult this newsletter over the
past three years. The band was zoning tonight. Sometimes we
just get that way. As a matter of fact, over the last 8 months or
so, it has been a regular event. Sometimes, the time off gets you
anxious and the juices get flowing. Some hot tunes tonight were Rock
Me Baby, Red House, and Sweet Little Angel. One
particular moment on the first note of Two Frogs Boogie, I
snapped the steel shaft of my bass drum beater clean in half! I
had to play the rest of the song with my left foot pedal. What a
challenge! We don't hold back, folks and sometimes stuff breaks
along the way...
photo by
Cherie Boudreaux
August 8th--Gully Park
Summer Concert Series--Fayetteville, Arkansas--In its third year
straight, Oreo Blue was selected to close out this summer's
series. This was by far the best year for the band and its
audience as the weather was fantastic and the band was performing as
strong as ever. Many familiar faces were abound as were many new
unfamiliar faces. Admittedly, after being off for three weeks, the
muscles were a little sore, but it was great to be back and it was great
to be treated to such a wonderful crowd. Oreo Blue would like to
thank the organizers of the event for having us around for a third
year. We look forward to the series next year. Thanks as
well to the folks from Zub who gave us some samples of their simple, yet
unique headwear. Check them out at www.zubwear.com.
photo by
Cherie Boudreaux
Special--July
19th--Home--Brian gets hitched...finally!--We are all looking
forward to the year's greatest celebration and, well...the end of an era
(so I am told). The lovely Day Yazzetti has tamed what couldn't be
tamed, has lassoed what couldn't be kept, and has fenced-in a wide-open
prairie. Oreo Blue will be taking some time off to allow Day and
Brian to celebrate their union and we will see you all back on the road
in August.
July 18th--Home--
 |
Norway is
on board with Oreo Blue!!! |
|
Radio Thorshammer likes a little Oreo
Blue and wants to play our songs on Norwegian Radio...cool! I mean
literally, too! Thanks to Eivind Henriksen...
July 17th--Hardscrabble
Country Club--Chuck Fawcett 50th Birthday Celebration--Happy
Half-Century, Chuck. What a great party. You should
celebrate the kinship you share with so many great folks. Thanks
for letting us be a part of it.
July 15th--Hardscrabble
Country Club Chamber of Commerce
Business After Hours--The Buy.com Classic--Rocking show. Good
eats. Lots of business folks. Golfers. Drinks.
Dancing. And in some cases, a combination of these things.
I'll let you use your imagination. Highlights were many as usual,
but lately my favorite re-addition to our set is What You Think About
Me from the Live-In
Demand double CD.
Nice, smooth, and cool.
July 12-13th--The Bayou
Club--Rogers, Arkansas--About three months ago, there was a news
article in our local paper that addressed the possibilities of extending
the restaurant smoking ban to nightclubs. For some reason popular
outcries will most likely keep that from happening, but when I am in my
grave from second-hand smoke maybe my heirs will have proof. Well,
my love for performing continues to outweigh my health concerns.
(hack!) On to the show...
Believe it or not, Oreo Blue continues to improve.
You know, if we keep working at it, maybe we will get this thing
down. Maybe since Brian is getting married this Saturday, he is
trying to get his fill of music before the honeymoon. I am not
sure, but it sure seems that the band is trying to prove a point.
Oreo Blue is the hardest working band in its market. Period.
On Saturday, Gary was unable to make the show and our good friend, Russ
Hutchison (no relation?), from Joe Giles and the Homewreckers joined us
on stage. What a blast! Nice to mix it up every now and
then. Russ led us through some fun classics and picked up quickly
on some of our standards. My favorite of the night was Little
Sister.
photo by ©Larry "LD"
Churchill
July 5-6th--The Rib Room--Ft. Smith, Arkansas--Uh...did
I mention that it's HOT in the River Valley in July? Geez...At
least the Rib Room had installed a misting system to cool things down a
bit. First and foremost, I have to rave on the barbeque at the Rib
Room. Brian says, "Don't tell Bill, but I would play here for
the food." I echo his sentiment and add that it is an Oreo
Blue consensus that the Rib Room has the best barbecue on either side
of the Mississippi AND the Arkansas Rivers. As for the
show...the crowd here is always appreciative whether they be long-time
OB fans or virgin listeners. There was a group of our fans
(friends) that converged on Ft. Smith from Pine Bluff, Hot Springs,
Little Rock, and elsewhere, bought a hotel room, and spent the whole
weekend watching our shows and listening to our CDs until the wee
hours. True fans...and we thank them for their loyalty. A
new, younger, fan caught our fancy this weekend as well. Little
9-year-old Gari Jane enjoyed the show and practiced her dance steps to a
little funky OB. You see, Gari Jane is destined to be a star
performer herself. You heard it here first. Just wait about
10 years or so...
We might have found ourselves a parallel to our
Authorized Midwest Photographer, John Blair, down here in the River
Valley. Seems Larry "LD" Churchill has an eye for still
photos himself. We would like to thank LD for hanging out at our
shows (braving both the heat and the volume for two straight
days). His work can be seen at his
site and here in the near
future on our photos pages.
p.s. Some excellent music was performed this
weekend as well. We were joined on stage by a guy named Scott who threw
down on some AC/DC and some Led Zeppelin. And I have forgotten
the trumpet player's name, but LD got some nice pics of him on Ain't No
Sunshine. Brian's performance on Stormy Monday made the
sweltering heat turn to a Hellacious boil...
photo by
©Larry "LD" Churchill
July
4th--Powerhouse Seafood Party on the Patio--Fayetteville, Arkansas--The
heat just keeps on coming with no end in sight! This Independence
Day was destined to be especially reflective and quite possibly somber
after last year's tragedy. In any event, Patriotism is at an
all-time high and Oreo Blue was ready to deliver our best for those
celebrating the holiday. The crowd was sun-baked but cheery as we sweltered
through our long sets. As expected, the crowd stood and cheered as
Gary delivered a powerful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner Jimi
Hendrix...er....Gary Hutchison style.
