Brian w/TJ Scarlett
photo© John
Blair
October 18th--Arlington
Vintage Guitar Show--Arlington, TX--It
has always been an honor for us to attend this prestigious show and sit
in or play a set, but this year, things were a little different.
The honor ante was upped as we were invited to host the show and jam on
Saturday night. I, personally, enjoy hosting a jam because the
challenge of "reading" so many players keeps you on your
toes. Oreo Blue kicked things off with a blistering set of
originals and a few covers. With all due respect to the pages of
players in wait, Gary set the bar at an unreachable height. His
tone and tenacity was described as "god-like" and
"deserving of national recognition". One on-looker told
me in the lobby during a break that he thought "Gary was the best
guitar player he had ever seen in person." Keep in mind that
the this was a guitar show with literally a room packed with players
from probably every country on the planet. As the show progressed,
we were joined on stage with co-host, Will
Ray, from the famous Hellecasters. Will's odd
approach to the instrument has gained him world recognition with his
bending and torturing a signature guitar. He made famous the
"Stealth Slide" and the B-Bender. A few bands got up and
played some tunes. I personally don't care for getting whole bands
up in a jam, but it kept things interesting. The Kendrick
Amplifiers (loud)
Band led by company president, Gerald Weber performed some interesting
stuff including a cover of Frankenstein. Then a band called
Excalibur relived their youth performing some prog-art rock. Then
the cattle calls came with dozens of guitarists hopping up for a tune or
two. This guy, Paul, from Tampa, Florida, might have gotten the
"gutsy" award for overcoming intimidation and proceeding to
tear up a version of Long Tall Sally. He had told me before
the show that he couldn't see himself getting on stage in front of all
those other players. My personal favorite portion of the night
came when performing with Rich Severson. A jazz guitarist from
California. He runs the Guitar
College in Cali and showed me and all those guitarists
how cool that medium is. I got cheek cramps from smiling while he
reinvented Bill Withers' classic, Ain't No Sunshine.
Special thanks to Dave Crocker of Fly-By-Night Music in Neosho, MO, and
the Amigos for having us and to all those cool people who stopped us at
the convention center the next day and poured out the compliments.
Stephen
photo© John
Blair
October 4th--BBBQ
Concert--Main Stage--Fayetteville, Arkansas-- I think that the
directors of the BBBQ made a terrific move in hiring three regional
stalwart bands for the headliners on the main night: The Nace
Brothers, Oreo Blue, and the Cate Brothers. All bands know how to
groove and keep the audience on its toes. If you recall, this same
lineup performed together at Gary's
50th Birthday event this past spring. It's a perfect
combination of bands skilled in performing art and styled for the
everyman. Oreo Blue has always had a penchant for raising the bar
at festivals and concerts with its signature energy and passion.
With a great sound system navigated by the folks at Barking Dog, the
band delivered a mean set of originals and some selections from the
recently released Jimi
Hendrix Tribute DVD. I think that
all 10,000+ at the show were shakin' by our set's end. The weather
was near perfect and Northwest Arkansas once again showed nearly 100,000
festival goers why it is a great showplace in America. Great
scenery, great entertainment, great hospitality, great food, and
you.
October 2nd--BBBQ
Kickoff--Jose's Streetside--Fayetteville, Arkansas--Tonight was
the kickoff for the Bikes, Blues, BBQ festival. Jose's, which was
HQ central for the weekend's event is one of my favorite places to eat
the entire world. Joe Fennel cooks up the most unique and best
Mexican anywhere. Jose's also used to host some of the best music
heard in Fayetteville back in the day. With the addition of the
patio, Joe continues the tradition. Joe is also an enormous
supporter of the University of Arkansas Track program that has won a
surreal 38 National Championships. By far the greatest collegiate
sports program of any kind. I am digressing, so, back to the
music... Tonight, Oreo Blue shared the stage with our friends, Joe Giles
& the Homewreckers. The Homewreckers are the reining best rock
band in NWA as voted at the OMA's. They are a fun bunch to
watch. We traded sets all night long to a packed house. The
Miss BBBQ preliminary was also held here tonight. Before the show,
Brian and I performed with the Amanda
Adams Band on the BBBQ second stage behind Jose's. That band
featuring members of Oreo Blue (Stephen & Brian) and members of the
TJ Scarlett Band (TJ & Dave) is also appearing regularly at clubs
around town. Check the tourdates for
more information
September 28th--Peter Read
Benefit Festival--George's, Fayetteville, Arkansas--Bob Kramer of
George's organized a benefit for Nightflying Entertainment founder,
Peter Read who suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke a while back.
Peter is fairing better, but he is still in need of assistance.
Showing up in support of Peter were nearly all of Northwest Arkansas's
notable musicians. (see flyer for the short list). Peter has
been one of the greatest supporters of live music in our region with his
inclusive free magazine that highlights all of our tourdates,
recordings, concerts, and new and notable events. Peter is a great
ambassador for all live performers, so please keep reading Nightflying
and when you can, offer support for Peter in his endeavor and in his
journey back to good health.
September 27th--George's
Majestic Lounge 76th Birthday Bash--Fayetteville, Arkansas--The
mainstay for the Arkansas club scene is 76 years old. Three of its
favorites graced the stage to help celebrate the longest continuously
running nightclub in the state: Oreo Blue, the Bel Aires, and the
Cate Brothers. It was a beautiful night and the crowd was generous
as always. The music was fantastic. A presentation was made
honoring the Harrison Family (owners) and Mary Hinton, the late matriarch
of the club. For those who have not been by the club in a while, a
new floor in the garden was also dedicated. It is an acid-stained
smooth concrete with the Georges Majestic embossed in its center.
Those of us who marveled at inebriated co-eds traverse the old
rock-laden floor will always have that to remember, but the new floor
looks great.
The Bel Aires
September 26th--The
Kitchen Pass--Neosho, Missouri--We appreciate the folks at all of
the Kitchen Pass restaurants. With the great food and staff, it
would be odd if the Pawlus boys didn't open up a slew of these across
the country.
September 13th--The Beach
Club--Mountain Home, Arkansas-- None of us like to drive a long
way. Our publicist says that when road travel exceeds 2 hours,
then we can take the Lear. Problem is...the publicists' secretary
sent out a memo that the Lear is undergoing repairs. So it
goes...hit the road. The beach club is an interesting spot.
Both indoor and outdoor accommodations and due to the aforementioned
foul weather this weekend, we moved indoors. The venue is hip and
has enormous potential for live entertainment. Rest assured we
will return when the Lear gets out of the shop! We appreciate some
of our fans for traveling from as far away as Tulsa. The majority
of the crowd was young and, being in Mountain Home, were a little
unfamiliar with high-quality live music. Our fans showed them the
way...it won't be long. They will learn.
This day was important for
Brian and I and about a million other Arkansans. Today, the
University of Arkansas Football Razorbacks put a whole-hog whoopin on
the Longhorns of the University of Texas. (38-28). With all
due respect to our fans in Texas, this storied (albeit lopsided) rivalry
is certainly best when the Hogs win...but this time they
dominated. Spirits were high enough to power the ride home along
those winding roads of highway 62. Go Hogs!!!
September 12th--Herb's
Downtown--Ft. Smith, Arkansas--The Goodmans have a superb reputation
as restauranteurs in the river valley, so it only makes sense for them
to sink their teeth into offering high quality live entertainment.
They have opened a super cool venue just down from the river on Garrison
in Ft. Smith offering outdoor music and dining as well as indoor music
and dining when the weather turns foul. This weekend, the weather
did the latter and we set up indoors in the roomy dining room. The
food was excellent and the hosts were overwhelmingly congenial. So
drop on down to Herbs and support these guys as they lift off their new
endeavor.
"Little Hurt"
Boudreaux
September 6th--Game Day at
Jim and Suzie's--Fayetteville, Arkansas--Finally. It's
football season and the Hogs are on tap to take on the Golden Hurricane
of Tulsa. Jim and Suzie invited us over for a pregame party at
their new, beautiful home. Dozens of friends and family were there
and the band played right up until game time. All along, great
food and drinks were served to get the folks geared up for the
game. This day was quite possibly the most beautiful of the year
with perfect temperatures and not a cloud in the sky. Great people
and great seats at the game. I was fortunate enough to go to the
game with my father which is a special time. Earlier in the day,
my own son played in his first football game as a 10-year-old. He
caught a pass and made some great blocks. Something about fathers
and sons and football in America. It signifies the change of the
seasons, the end of Summer, and the beginning of another chapter in
young man's life. By the way, the Hogs whipped the Hurricane
45-13. It was a great day.
Brian & Day Crowne and
friend, Ben Harrison
photo ©
John Blair
September 5th--The Rib
Shack--Ft. Smith, Arkansas--It has been about three years since we
have played the Rib Shack and the place has not changed. Like a
snapshot in time. The weather was perfect for an outdoor show and
it was nice to have a few of our loyal River Valley fans come in for the
show. They cook up some nice BBQ there at the Shack, so when you
are on the south side of town, drop in and get some!
