Howl At the Moon 6/18/10

Dan Holmes at Howl
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

The triumphant return of DHG to Howl's happy hour was great! Joe had in his "Billy Bob" teeth when I got there, so I snapped a picture. We pulled out tons of tunes which we haven't played in a few months to please a bunch of fans. Joe and Bill sounded great, as usual. I even made them play some tunes I hope to record for the next CD. This show was the last one for a week for me. I'm taking this next week off! Later, everybody!

Mooresville Street Fest 6/17/10

DHG at the Mooresville Street Fest
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Mooresville had a huge, fun-filled street fest, and we were lucky enough to be involved. Mojo Gumbo performed first, then Chris Wolf did a set, and we closed out the night with our special guest, Andy Kopis, playing sax with us. Andy played on the past couple of CDs I released, so it was really fun working with him again. We performed on the sidewalk behind a bunch of trees and plants, but that didn't stop us from being heard. In fact, Joe and Bill were slamming so hard as the rhythm section that they blew a fuse inside Zydeco's!!! Woohoo!!!! Go, Joe!!! Go, Bill!!!

International Bay Fest 6/13/10

Karate Kids
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Sunday; we wake up in a hotel room in Milwaukee after getting about five hours of sleep and drive to Green Bay, WI. We performed on the WOZZ stage from 1p-5p, and had a great time. Every time we are in the area, people are so nice and helpful. An old friend of the band came out to see us, and we had a chance to walk around to see all the different carnival rides and karate demonstrations which had been going on all weekend. The only bad thing I had to face was the 8 hour drive home after the show. Uhggg....I'm tired!

Madam Carroll 6/12/10

Double Rainbow on the Madam Carroll
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

After the Winamac show, we drove home, slept, then got back on the road headed the same direction as yesterday to Monticello, IN. We drove through terribly high winds and lightening, then loaded onto the boat in the rain. Once we began to play, the sun came out, and my wife snapped a picture from the top deck of a double rainbow we sailed under. It wasn't very crowded, I'm sure, due to the weather, but we still had a good time. I met some new fans, then played until 12:30, loaded out, said goodbye to my wife (who graciously took our PA gear home in our truck), got in our car and drove to Milwaukee to get a few hours of sleep before our afternoon show in Green Bay!

Moss Creek Golf Club 6/11/10

Bill and Joe at Moss Creek
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

We left home for Winamac, IN (about a two-and-a-half hour drive north) and quickly realized: there is no good way to get there from here. Once we found our destination, we set up on a very nice golf course, inside of a gazebo. People danced and ate the crawfish boil. We played in the thick humidity. All was fine until I was almost deafened by mistake made on our mixer. I survived.
Thanks to the crew for taking some good photos!

Howl At the Moon 6/9/10

Howl On A Tuesday
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I was supposed to have a show tonight in Brownsburg, IN, but it was rained out. Minutes after finding out I had no gig, one of the guys from Howl in Indianapolis called to see if I could fill in for the evening!

I went down expecting a slow Tuesday, and before the end of the night, found I was playing to a very appreciative packed house. Tod, Jay, Rob and I played until 1:30a and lots of people told me they were going to come back to see us again.

Thanks goes out to Juggernaught for the photos.

Med Flory Jazz & Blues Fest 6/6/10

Dan Holmes at Med Flory Jazz & Blues Fest
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

As predicted, we only got about four hours of sleep after our the show last night, then it was back in the car and a drive to Logansport, IN for a fun, outdoor fest. Big stage and great weather made it fun for me. The sound company ran me through their P.A. (since my amp busted last night), and all went well. We all agreed that the organizers of this event had the best food vouchers we had ever seen...

Kingston Mines 6/5/10

Packed House at Kingston Mines
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

This marks my first ever mid-gig blog. We have one more set to go here in Chicago, and my amp is dead. The sound man has put me in the P.A. so all is well. I just had a nice long conversation with a woman named Amanda, along with her mom & dad, about life as a musician on the road. She didn't think I would name her in the blog, so I decided to prove her wrong. After this next set (our third and final of the night), we will be packing up very quickly and rushing to our hotel to get about three-and-a-half hours of sleep before we need to hit the road to make it to our 1pm show in Logansport, IN. Lots of dancing and a good crowd always makes Kingston Mines a good time. Only another two hours until bedtime!

Kingston Mines 6/4/10

Duke and Dan at Kingston Mines
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Chicago on a Friday night is always fun. We performed with Duke until 3:30am (4:30am Indy time) and I finally got to bed just as the sun was coming up. I had an issue with my gear on our third set, and it was a bit discouraging for me. I hope all is ok because we have tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon before I can get a replacement for some of my gear. Joe was tearing up the drums last night. Bill tried to speak while playing bass, but ended up with no words, but lots of funky grooves. Duke covered me while I was dealing with my gear. I hope tomorrow goes better for me.

Vollrath Tavern 6/3/10

DHG @ the Vollrath Tavern
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

We rocked the Vollrath in downtown Indy so hard, we blew up the amp which was powering the subs! Not really "blew up" as much as "shut down to reset", but that doesn't sound as powerful. Only a very few die-hard fans made it out to see the show, but we played like there were 500 people in the place. Cool venue, and I'd like to come back some night when we can get a crowd to follow us there!

Boonies 6/1/10

DHG Hosting The Open Stage At Boonies
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Avon, IN has a pretty cool new club called Boonies. All ages, smoke-free, with original material encouraged clubs (which still serve alcohol) is a super anomaly just about anywhere in the country, let alone the sometimes musical repression felt in Indiana. We hosted the open stage last night, and even though here weren't many players, we performed with some good players until about midnight. This is a cool venue, and I encourage people to go support them in their efforts to help original music survive!