April 25th--Fakouri's--Pine
Bluff, Arkansas--The untimely passing of Jay Fakouri threw us all
one of life's odd change-ups. Jay was young, vibrant and a great
fan of Oreo Blue and it is surely sad to perform in his namesake tavern
without him. His bride said that Jay wanted it that way and we are
sure that Jay's benevolent ghost was dancing away with all his family
and friends to Oreo Blue's grooves. The outpouring of locals was
testament to Jay's hospitality during his brief stay here on
Earth. Rock on wherever you are, Jay!
photo ©
John Blair
April 19th--Georges
Majestic Lounge--Fayetteville, Arkansas--Springfest is here and so
are the rains. Well, that's alright with us. We'll just move
indoors and invite Jennifer B and the Groove Kings to join us on
stage. The show was strong from start to finish crescendoing to an
unreal flurry of guitar strings from Gary's Stratocaster. Jennifer
B's new-look band sounded great and "Z" had the sound system
clicking on all cylinders. Oreo Blue reached back into its
original material for a strong first set for the first time in a while
in light of the Hendrix Tribute project. It felt great.
And...speaking of the Hendrix Project. Brian is wrapping things up
on the production and it looks like the May release is on
schedule.
March 28-29th--Pebbles
Lounge--Ft. Smith, Arkansas--In the on-again off-again life of this
venue in Ft. Smith, it looks as if the new ownership might have the wherewithal
to sustain a cool atmosphere for quite some time. They seem to
have a youthful energy about them and the room sounds great. Rod
and Brian tell of a time when that room would host national acts on a
regular basis. Maybe when the word gets out, that time will come
again. In the mean time, we had a great weekend making some new
fans in Ft. Smith. Some existing fans also showed. Most
notably, our new favorite fans from Gainesville, Texas drove all the way
up (I guess at least four hours) just to see the band for the
weekend. Now, that's dedication! Brian, Day, and I
took advantage of having a place to perform in the Fort by dropping by
the Rib Room to devour some awesome barbeque. We also bought some
cool shoes at Warren's in the mall from our buddy John.
photo by ©John Blair
March 22nd--Dallas Guitar
Show--Dallas, Texas--It is always a hoot making long road trips with
your buddies. Some stretches of time are spent listening to a
favorite CD and some are spent telling stories. This trip supplied
10 hours of stretches! Along for the ride in the newly christened
Rock & Roll Suburban was David Snell from the TJ Scarlett Band
sitting in for Rod on six-string bass, TJ Scarlett himself, and Bryan
Martin. Some fun stories were swapped...you'll have to corner us
at a show for any details. However, usually what is told on the
bus stays on the bus, so don't expect a lengthy yarn. The show was
fun and we got to see a few great bands. Our dinner at Maria's in
Deep Ellum was followed by a sensational house band with a world-class
Flamenco-style guitarist. We then moseyed on over to the
Redblooded Club for the invitation jam. We took the stage in the
second slot and Gary set the bar for all others to clear. At the
guitar show, well...there a just way too many guitars for me, but it is
really a nice event. If you go to Fair Park, you have to make your
way to the Old Mill for the best fried chicken in Dallas (just ask
Brian). Our performance was at 2pm and although the crowd was
small as the stage was severed from the main walkways, Gary again showed
his prowess. David filled in like a trooper on a few
difficult originals. Later, the Clint Strong Band from Nevada gave
us a great show of jazz guitar, B3 combo music. Very cool.
Special--March
6,7&8--Nashville, Tennessee--The Mix--It
was a long drive to Nashville TN, but well worth it after all was said
and done. I must say calling up our old friend and master engineer
Terry Alldaffer to mix the audio for our upcoming Hendrix Tribute DVD/CD
release was the ticket. Terry's new studio home, "Omni Sound
Studios" is a world class fascility and the entire Omni family are
absolute pros. Terry worked some magic for us and I'm very excited
about the new cd. Spending three days in music city got me
thinking about the next project already, but we still have to finish
this one. Terry Alldaffer is "the man" and I can't
wait to take the band back for a visit this fall for our next studio
album. Thanks to all the guys at Omni, Steve, Eric, Tye and Zack
for their help and hospitality. I highly recomend this studio to anyone
in any genre of music. Just check out their client roster at www.omnisoundstudios.com
and you'll know your in elite company. Well, I need to go see my
wife, so goodnight.--Brian
Crowne
photo by ©John Blair
March 1st--Gearheads--Neosho,
Missouri--Who'd a thought that such a small place could pack such a
punch? Neosho has always had a strong core of Oreo Blue fans being
that Gary hails from the area. The folks at Gearheads have moved
to a new location and although it is small, it has a big heart.
The cheeseburgers are excellent in the old-fashioned greasy-spoon
tradition. (I love 'em!). The band performed well coming
off our Hendrix tribute weekend. Brian highlighted the show with a
surrealistic performance on Watchtower.
photo © John Blair
