Tantra Coffeehouse 1/12/12

Ian Lee (guitar, violin), Jason Wilkinson (percussion) and I performed a song swap show tonight in San Marcos, TX tonight. Ian would play a tune, then I'd play one of my originals, and Jason would keep a cool groove on either his djembe or electronic drum pad. I had a great time! Even though it was about 40 degrees outside, we had a full tent of folks hanging out listening to us. I hope that we can do more shows together soon. Ian and Jason are lots of fun to perform with.

Location:Tantra Coffeehouse 1/12/12

Westchase Marriott 1/6/12

Tonight, I performed with Ed Conway in Houston, TX for the Texas Dance Educators, via a Howl At The Moon Piano-To-Go show. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's the skinny: Howl At The Moon is a request-based dueling piano bar, with locations around the country, and when a person or a company wants the Howl experience at a private party not held at the bar, we take the show to them, i.e. Piano-To-Go! Ed is a great player and easy to work with, and the crowd loved our show. The organizers of the evening's festivities liked it so much, they want us back next year to play even longer than this show!

AJ's Ale House NB 1/5/12

Friday night dancing at AJ's, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

I played a show tonight in New Braunfels, TX with Chris Wallis. It started a bit slow, but the crowd came in and instantly got into the groove with us. We played the most varied song list I think we've ever done at AJ's. The crowd had a good time challenging us, and I feel we delivered for them! Chris, once again, stepped up and made my job easy! See you next Friday at AJ's!

AJ's Ale House NB 12/31/11

NYE 2011 AJ's Ale House, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Happy New Year!!!
Chris Wallis and I rocked in the holiday in New Braunfels with a full house at AJ's. Lots of fun and cool requests were happening all night long. The crowd was there to party, and party they did. 2012 was welcomed by little party favors and requests for Prince's immortal classic, 1999. It was great performing the gig with Chris, too. He's a talented dude!

AJ's Ale House 12/30/11

Another eve eve at AJ's!, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Our tale of New Year's Eve Eve in New Braunfels, TX, begins with the great Chris Wallis on drums taking the stage. Not a huge introduction to a tale, but the crowd loved his beats to the classic tunes they requested like Johnny B. Goode and Drive My Car! The crowd really was the big story, but I wanted to make sure Chris and I were mentioned in the narrative, so there you go. See you tomorrow night for more fun at AJ's!

AJ's Ale House 12/23/11

Christmas Eve Eve at AJ's Ale House, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Christmas Eve Eve in New Braunfels, TX with Chris Wallis was cool. We had a big crowd, full of people who were there to visit family, and then go with said family to said family's favorite watering hole. We pulled out all the stops and tried to keep the party going all night long! Chris just keeps surprising me with his mad drumming skills, and he will return with me to AJ's next weekend for a couple of big shows ending with New Year's Eve!!!

Howl At The Moon 12/22/11

Playing Bass at Howl in San Antonio, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

After performing at the Coffee Pot in San Marcos, I headed south to Howl at the Moon in San Antonio to perform a dueling piano show on the river walk. When I wasn't on a piano, I filled in on bass or drums, while the other players jumped on horns or pianos. Lots of requests and lots of people filled the club. If you still haven't been to a Howl, you should go experience it for yourself!

The Coffee Pot Bistro 12/22/11

Ian Lee and Dan Holmes Christmas Swing Along, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

The first show of my fun-filled Thursday evening began with Ian Lee in San Marcos, TX at our Christmas Swing Along! We performed a bunch of holiday tunes for the crowd, and we even had a chance to sing happy birthday to Ian's grandmother who had come out to see him! Ian is a talented violin & guitar player, who also has a great voice. We're preparing to head into the studio soon, which should be cool. Thanks to the folks at the Coffee Pot for having us out to play a set for them!

AJ's Ale House 12/17/11

Packed House at AJ's!, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Last night was packed out in New Braunfels, TX with Chris Wallis and I. Chris killed the drum parts of some pretty difficult tunes like "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen and "Rock and Roll" by Led Zepplin. The crowd really dug in and threw us some great requests. They stayed right until the very end, and then asked us to play longer! Thanks to everyone who came out to make it a fun night.

Cypress Creek Cafe 12/16/11

Cypress Creek Cafe with Marc Benno, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

I performed my first show with Marc Benno tonight in Wimberly, TX at Cypress Creek Cafe. It started off with a bit of a sound issue with the P.A., but it was quickly worked out for a fun show. Marc played guitar and sang his tunes while Kevin (drums), Bennett (bass), Mark & Leon (guitars) and I backed him up. The crowd danced and hung out with us all evening! Cool!

AJ's Ale House 12/15/11

AJ's in Marble Falls, TX, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Thursday night in Marble Falls, TX was busy with requests for Joe Resnick and I. We had them up and dancing from the beginning of the night. Joe really is a great drummer, and he made it clear tonight. Fun show with a fun crowd made a long drive on a rainy night to and from the club from my house well worth the trip!

Hilton Americas Houston 12/10/11

Dan Holmes & Greg Hejja at a Piano-To-Go Show in Houston, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Tonight I found myself performing for the folks at BHP, at the Hilton Americas Houston Texas with Ed Conway and Greg Hejja for about 1,200 people. Huge party with a band in the center of the room who played while we were on break, and a DJ in the hallway leading into the main ballroom where we were. People were migleing all over as entertainment hit them on all sides. Greg, Ed and I had a good time, and I'm glad the folks at BHP enjoyed the show!

Marriott Houston Westchase 12/09/11

Global Edge Party for Howl's Piano-To-Go, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

I teamed up with Ed Conway to perform a Howl At The Moon Piano-To-Go show for the Global Edge Consultants Christmas Party in Houston, TX. There were guests from all over the world there, so the requests we got were much more varied than some other shows I've done. Ed played great, and by the end of the night, we had them all on the dance floor!

MCM Elegante Hotel 12/2/11

Dan Holmes at Howl's Piano-To-Go Show, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

I performed with Aaron Beumeler at a Howl At The Moon's (Houston) Piano-To-Go Show on Friday night in Beaumont, TX. We were there for a company holiday party for Automated Logic. The show was great, and the crowd stayed involved from our first note to our last. Aaron really engaged the crowd throughout the evening, and at one point had everyone participating in a "My Bonnie" call-down. It was very cool to see 98% of the crowd eagerly play along and followAaron's every direction! I had a singer join me for a rendition of "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay" which resulted in a standing ovation from the crowd. Overall, the night was a great success and fun for the crowd and us!

AJ's Ale House 11/25/11

Busy Night-After-Thanksgiving, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Wooo... what a busy post-Thanksgiving Friday night in New Braunfels, TX! Joe Resnick and I held the crowd in the bar for a solid three hours while playing their requests. Every seat was full by 10p, and we had several birthdays and bachlorette parties out to celebrate, so the show got very crazy very quickly. My thanks to Joe for being such a big help by keeping the show moving forward!

AJ's Ale House 11/23/11

Night Before Thanksgiving at AJ's, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

The night before Thanksgiving was a blast at AJ's in New Braunfels! Joe Renick drummed the night away, and was fantastic. I finally met Perry (the man who has mysteriously signed my checks for the past few months) and I received tons of compliments from the crowd! I can't wait for my Friday night return!

AJ's Ale House 11/18/11

Friday Night at AJ's!, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

AJ's was hopping tonight! Tons of requests flooded the piano all night long, and the people were there to dance and party. Several birthdays and engagements made for some fun, as I called them to the stage! I'm glad I was able to help out tonight, because I was called in at the last minute to perform with the great Joe Resnick at AJ's in New Braunfels, TX due to Summer (one of the other piano players) fell ill. I hope she feels better soon!

Carle Wedding 11/12/11

Carle Wedding Howl at the Moon Piano-to-go Show, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Last night, I traveled with Jeff Gaynor to the Houston area to perform an on-site, Howl at the Moon Piano-to-go Show for a big wedding. Kevin and Stacey were the happy couple, and their family and friends were ready to party and have a good time. We performed all the fun sing along tunes, plus tons of requests (including "Stacey's Mom", which was requested a dozen times). We kept them dancing and singing all night long, and everyone had a great time!

AJ's Ale House 11/10/11

AJ's Ale House in Marble Falls, TX, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Thursday night in Marble Falls, TX started off with people toward the back of the club, and as we played, they moved up and started requested songs! I had a fun time performing with Joe Resnick, and we ended up performing over due to the requests which kept coming up. Hope to see everyone again next time I'm in Marble Falls!

AJ's Ale House 11/4/11

Packed House at AJ's Ale House, a photo by Dan Holmes Group on Flickr.

Joe Resnick and I had a great time in New Braunfels, TX last night. Wurstfest was just getting started just a couple of miles away, so we were a bit afraid it might be slow, but the crowds came in for the show! Tons of requests and lots of crowd participation always makes the night more fun for everyone, and that's just how last night's show was!