April 25th--OMBA
Gala--Tulsa, OK--We have worked for Amy Bates before and she is
always spot-on and professional. This time around, she brought us
to Tulsa for the Oklahoma Mortgage Brokers Association annual gala...
Wow. What could we possibly do to liven up that party?
Well...we had a little help. Amy also hired a very good comedian
that was impersonating Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery.
This guy could have been Mike Myers for all we could tell. Nice
guy, too. We had him jump up on stage and sing a few oldies with
us like Soul Man, Twist and Shout, and the like. He also did some
of his own renditions of songs to backing tracks such as Snoop Dogg's
Mind on My Money, but with the lyrics changed to say, "I got my mind
on my mortgage and my mortgage on my mind." He also did a
hilarious version of Prince's Pussy Control. He kept the
crowd in stitches and he kept us from that daunting task of bringing
life to that particular party. Amy even took the stage to sing a
Linda Ronstadt classic...
April
24th--Home--Getting caught up again on the newsletter...
Let's see what I missed!
~4th Private Party Clarion
Inn (CEI) Bentonville, AR--The folks with CEI are so very generous to
keep inviting us to their functions. This was a stockholder's
party and it took them a little while to get unwound, but it was great
nonetheless.
~6th Friday Night Live! @ the 2720 Club Hot Springs, AR--This was
our first return to the 2720 Club in a year to the month. The 2720
is a dance club and most likely best suited for a DJ, but we had some
folks roll out to see us and from their feedback, were thrilled with our
performance.
~7th Landry's Fort Smith,
AR--It always seems that we work extraordinarily hard at the smallest
venues. Landry's has killer food. I think I have mentioned
that before, but as you know...we are connoisseurs of fine cuisine.
Landry's has also been pulling in some other fine entertainers as well,
so go check them out!
~12th Jose's Streetside CANCELED WEATHER Fayetteville, AR--Bummer...who
knew it would be 33 degrees and raining on April 12th?
~13th Roosters on Garrison, Fort Smith, AR-- I had mentioned before that
Oreo Blue had made a somewhat triumphant return to what used to be the
home base venue in the River Valley. This night...Friday, the 13th
would come to show that Oreo Blue was back at Roosters. It was a
more attentive crowd and great fun. A nationally recognized rock
band had just finished their set down the road at a concert hall and
came in to Roosters for a drink and to hear some local live music.
We think they were impressed...snapping photos of us with their cell
phones and clamoring for more. We gave them a copy of our DVD and
when one guy said, "We can watch this on the tour bus tomorrow!"
Another one said, "Hell...I'm watching it tonight!" (It was
2am...) That was nice. I'm pretty sure it was these guys:
http://www.myspace.com/theexies ~
http://www.the-exies.com/
~13th RazorFest Wheaties
Night of Champions@ Fayetteville Town Center (Oreo Blue Jazz Trio)
Fayetteville, AR--Adelaide and Rick Schaeffer are so giving. They
are massively positive people in such a gloomy world. This night
kicked off the Razorfest weekend at the University of Arkansas. We
did the jazz lounge set and it was cool...but then it was off to
Roosters for the late night zombie set.
~14th RazorFest @ University of Arkansas Main Stage Fayetteville,
AR--Man...it was cold and wet, but that didn't dampen our spirits.
As mentioned before, Razorfest is an event that benefits Champions for
Kids...an area support organization that supports various children's
charities. The festival is anchored by the University of Arkansas
spring football scrimmage, but there is so much more to do for kids and
families. Part of the festivities includes live music on a large
concert stage. Oreo Blue was the inaugural band for the event a
couple of years ago. This year, we started the event off.
Some other bands that performed were Thanks for Nothing, Full House,
Ultra Suede, and Nic & Sam. Despite the weather, we had a great
time for a great cause.
~20th Ava's Pub Fort Smith, AR--Once again, here we go working harder
the smaller the venue gets. There is something about performing
our music in a small room with people right up on us. Even though
Ava's is one of the last bastions of smoke-filled-clubs, it has a great
vibe to it and the folks that come to see us are always awesome.
~21st Private Fundraiser Party for St. James Day School Texarkana, TX--As
you know, I generally steer clear of chatting about our private
functions, but in this particular case, I thought it deserved mention.
I must admit that I know very little about the St. James Day School, but
the folks putting on this fundraiser were tremendous. They had
such a passion for making sure there was financial support for their
cause as well as making sure all the folks had a great time.
Gay Moss was a real sweetheart and made sure we were taken care of from
the very start. Even calling off the revelers from compelling us
to play until the wee hours knowing that we had a 5-hour drive ahead of
us.
So...there you have it.
The month so far.
March 31--In
Studio--Fayetteville, Arkansas--We started our new recording project
last night and finished rhythm tracking today. It was a long 14
hours or so and we still have a lot of work left to do. I am
excited about the finished product. Dan Robinson is proving to be a
high-quality sound engineer as suspected and he is great to work with.
The atmosphere in his studio is superb and tracking is coming along
smooth. Couldn't have asked for a better environment. We should have something for
release sometime in the first week of May or so. Finding time to
get tracks laid is tough, but we will get it done. Below are some
photos of the weekend tracking.
March 5th--RazorFest Draft
Party--Church @ Pinnacle Hills--Rogers, Arkansas--Oreo Blue was the
inaugural band for the Champions for Kids (www.championsforkids.org)
showcase event, RazorFest, two years ago. Unfortunately, we missed
last year's event, but we are back! Back to help Adelaide and Rick
Schaeffer raise awareness for children in our area that are less
fortunate. Tonight, we performed for the Draft Party where some of
the University of Arkansas' most famous athletes in Razorback history
were drafted onto teams that will play in a flag football exhibition on
April 14th at Razorback Stadium. Each of the teams is sponsored by
a non-profit charity organization. The event it April will be
bigger than ever. It is a massive community event for ALL children
and families. We performed a couple of songs between speakers and
dancers. A great young act also performed tonight. Twin
14-year-old girls, Nic and Sam, from Russellville put on a great show.
By the sounds of it, they might rocket into the national spotlight in a
few years if not sooner. Great people...
March 3rd--Rooster's on
Garrison--Fort Smith, Arkansas-- It's hard to believe that it is
March already. Spring is here so quickly, but I think we are all
ready to leave this cold weather behind. I will say that it was
one of the most spectacular drives down the mountain I have had in some
time. Off to the East, overlooking the Boston Mountains, the sky
was a dark electric blue. There was a golden yellow crescent moon
just above the horizon. As I peeked over a second time, I noticed
the crescent moon had turned to a half. Then, moments later, it
was at 3/4. I was watching a lunar eclipse unfold against that
beautiful backdrop. If I had only had my camera...
It was about 18 degrees
loading in and out of Roosters tonight. But I think we had a successful
return to what used to be sort of a home base in the early days of Oreo
Blue. Roosters was where the band recorded its Live By Demand
double CD and video. Some of the folks that were at the show
tonight chatted with us about those early days and how they remembered
the great performances by the band way back when. The clientele
might be a little different now and the hours are a little stranger
going until 3am. However, it was a good show and a good time.
Thanks to all of our loyal fans for braving the elements and the hours
to join us in this triumphant return. Playing til 3am is a bear,
but it was a beautiful morning despite the cold.
Having such a late start time
allowed us to go across the street to Gary's new guitar store (www.myspace.com/guitarsandmore)
and rehearse some new songs for our upcoming studio session.
Things are coming along with the new material and I am as excited as
ever to get back to recording. It has been a while (2003) since we
have put things to tape. Look for something new from the band in
early May...
