House Of Bricks 12/30/10

Dan Holmes & Duke Tumatoe
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Our first return trip to Des Moines, IA since Blues On Grand closed found us in a nice, big club, packed wall-to-wall with Duke fans. There was an opening act, and they played various stuff by groups like Zeppelin. We sold some CDs and retreated to our hotel immediately after the show. That 7+ hour drive with a 3+ hour show makes for a long day. I decided to do a quick blog entry while Bill Ritter snores his head off in his bed. BREATH RIGHT STRIPS, BILL! BREATH RIGHT!

Lakeview Manor 12/22/10

Next Thursday, She's 101
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

My grandmother will be 101 next Thursday, and all she's asked me to do was to come play for her. So today, Jake Hahn, Bill Ritter and I made arrangements to perform for her and some of the other folks at Lakeview. She played the bells for us as we did some Christmas songs, and she was right on rhythm. I think she (and the other residents) had a good time. They didn't want us to leave!

Bob & Tom Show 12/22/10

Bob, Dan and Tom
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Today was a bit sad for me because it was my last day (in the foreseeable future, anyway) on the Bob and Tom show before I move. I've done the show every Wednesday during football season with Duke Tumatoe since 2000, and I've made a lot of friends I'll miss.
Today, we not only performed the NFL song, but also Duke's song "It's Christmas" with background vocals provided by Becky Kavoian (Bob's wife). Fun day, and a fun 10 years. Thanks, guys!

Blues House Party 12/21/10

Dan Holmes and Matt Socey
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I recorded an hour-long interview with the host of Blues House Party, Matt Socey in the new WFYI performance room. It should air in a few weeks. We discussed everything from the piano player who influenced me to my favorite songs. He also gave a nice plug for my two new CDs, Acoustic I & Acoustic II, available now. Matt has always been a great supporter of live music and the Indy scene, so please support WFYI whenever they ask you to!!!

I do!

Little River Casino 12/18/10

Dan Holmes at Little River Casino
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

So tonight in Manistee, MI, I celebrated my 7th anniversary with my wife by performing in a casino, while she had a drink or two in Austin, TX. I wish I could've been with her, either here or there, but this year-end has been hard. Soon, we'll celebrate all the holidays together. But for now, I keep performing for great fans of the world famous Duke Tumatoe. It was snowy, but the roads were fine. I like this casino, except for the smoke. You could put that at the end of all my sentences, I guess.

"I liked___________ , except for the smoke."

Little River Casino 12/17/10

Dan Holmes at Little River Casino
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Manastee, Michigan is about 6-1/2 hours from my (current) home, and after driving all day, we performed four 45 minute shows. It was great to play with Joe and Duke again after being away for a week. The crowd was thin, but appreciative. I know several CDs were sold and the people who were there had a great time. Joe filled me in on what Bill and I missed while we were off performing our other gig last weekend. Sounds like the guys had fun with Jack Joseph and James Hill. I'm gonna miss this band...

Bob & Tom Show 12/15/10

Dan Holmes & Bill Ritter on Bob & Tom
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Bob and Tom with Chick and Kristie today was fun. Everyone was in a good mood, and Duke had another great football song. I think someday, they should take all of the football songs he's done and put them on a CD which would come as a gift from the NFL with every season pass sold. I doubt anyone else would like this idea, but that's ok. I'm fine with being unpopular.

SUMC Childcare 12/14/10

Performing at SUMC Childcare
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

In Speedway, Indiana, Bill Ritter and I performed tonight for the kids and parents during the scene changes for the Christmas show the children put on. We pulled out all of our holiday classics, and had fun watching the different acts cycle through. They had kids tapping & tumbling, singing & dancing, bell ringing and parading all night! Pretty cool daycare show.

Zydeco's 12/12/10

DHG at Brunch
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Bill Ritter and I drove from our morning performance in Indy to Mooresville to meet up with Jake Hahn and Steve Brunner for our brunch show. I've got to say, after this weekend, I'm convinced there is nothing these guys couldn't handle. I threw every type of music, band configuration, and volume requests at them, and they did it all like they'd done it a million times before. All smiles and laughs today while we brought our volume so low, we could hear the wind howling along with our tunes! Thank you fellas, for making this a great weekend. And thank you Deb, for, you know, owning Zydeco's and being cool and junk...

7th & 8th UCC 12/12/10

At 7th & 8th United Christian Church
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

After last night's show, I had a hard time falling asleep because I felt so good about the performance. I was afraid I wouldn't get up in time to make it to perform our Christmas set at this westside Indy church, but I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go at 7:30am. I drove to Bill Ritter's house through the snow and ice to pick him, and we made it with plenty of time to run through a few ideas before performing. We finished and had to leave very quickly because we were scheduled to start our brunch performance at 11:00am in Mooresville, IN at Zydeco's.

Indiana Roof Ballroom 12/11/10

Dan Holmes Group at the Roof
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I put together a big band, and we performed swinging versions of 1930's through today's music for a show in downtown Indianapolis. Barnes and Thornburg law firm hired us for their holiday party, and I was able to pull together some of the most professional players in the country to do the show. All of them are great friends I've known for years, and I am happy to say that the show went off without a hitch! The evening started with Bill Ritter and I performing in the middle of the floor with Angela Ingersoll on top of the piano for about an hour and a half. Then, we did two big band shows. At one point, a friend of mine, Brian Weir-Harden (who works at the law firm) sat in with the band for a few songs, and sounded great. My biggest hope is that I have a chance to get this band back together for more shows in the future! Now, if I could only figure out a way to include all of the other great musicians I have the opportunity to play with on a regular basis in the group...

SUMC 12/10/10

Angela Ingersoll at SUMC
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

We performed our swing show for the folks at Speedway UMC, and I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun at a show! I mean, don't get me wrong, I have fun at every show, but there were so many factors which made this a special night for me. First and foremost, Angela Ingresoll is a great singer whom I've know since she was five years old. We haven't had a chance to work together until tonight, and she was fantastic. Then there was the best band guys in town on stage;
Steve Brunner (drums, one of my oldest collaborators for my CDs and a great friend)
Bill Ritter (upright bass, my awesome brother-in-law-once-removed-ish)
Jake Hahn (guitar, the guy I'd choose to write with every day and one of my best friends)
Paul Schafer (alto sax, always fun to work and super long winded...in a good way)
Doug McCoy (trombone, it's always a party with him and Jeff)
Jeff Gill (tenor sax, it's always a party with him and Doug)
and we were also joined by Alan Burke on vocals, who I had never had a chance to work with until tonight, and he was fantastic!

Lastly, the crowd was full of friends, family and neighbors who reminded me why I'll miss Indy. Thank you to everyone tonight!!!

Indiana Live Casino 12/9/10

Dan at Indiana LIVE Casino
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Tonight I performed for a private event at the Shelbyville, IN casino in the Fountain Room. The people who were in the room watched part of the Colts game while I performed my two-hour show. They seemed to enjoy my music, judging by the smiles and slight nods sent my way. It was a very cool atmosphere and a surprise to see but yet another room I hadn't been in at the casino!

Static Shack 12/8/10

Donnie Baker and Dan Holmes
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

While I was at the Bob and Tom Show today, I was talking to the producer, Dean, about the CDs I'm about to release. I told him I had to go to the studio to finish the artwork for the covers, and he asked if I'd play piano on a Donnie Baker tune (I swear to God he did), so I spent the afternoon cutting a great track which will soon air on the Bob and Tom Show. I'm not saying what the track was, but you'll hear me pulling out my best Billy Powell licks.

Bob and Tom Show 12/8/10

Chick McGee and Dan Holmes
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Chick McGee and I shared a parting handshake after I told him that I had no pictures of he and I together after knowing him for years. I'm nearing the end of my ten-year run on the Bob and Tom Show, so it's nice to have some memory pictures. Bill Ritter, Duke Tumatoe and I performed the NFL song once again, and Duke never fails to keep everyone smiling. I'm gonna miss doing the show on Wednesdays. I guess I'll have to just come back and visit!

Static Shack 12/7/10

Finishing My Songs At Static Shack
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I finished the last few tracks today for my CDs. I hope they will be available just before Christmas, but officially, they won't be on iTunes for a couple months, I'm sure. Anyone who would like to purchase a copy of one or both, just send me an email! The session was great, and Alan Johnson at the Static Shack made all the tracks sound full and uniform. I can't wait!
For those of you who are interested, there will be two CDs available; Acoustic I and Acoustic II. They have 14 songs each, and both feature acoustic piano and vocal versions of my tunes from my previous albums "Pure", "Burning Down", and "Mismatched and Disheveled" plus a bunch of songs recorded here for the first time!

Kingston Mines 12/4/10

Kingston Mines 12/4/10
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

My last night (in the foreseeable future) at the Chicago club was a blast. Lots of people and dancing. I hope that when I get to Texas, I can find a club with people as great as the staff and patrons of Kingston Mines. Joe, Duke, and Bill were all playing great, and it made it easy for me to relax and enjoy the night. If you look closely at the picture, you can see Doc (owner of Kingston Mines) and Rob (owner of B.L.U.E.S.) sharing a laugh in the front row!

Kingston Mines 12/3/10

Kingston Mines 12/3/10
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Chicago had a bunch of snow dumped on it as we were playing our first set, which I thought would keep people from leaving their homes. I was wrong. The place packed out, and I'm convinced everyone had a great time. Not a ton of people would sing along, but I think that there was an unusual amount of non-english speaking folks in the crowd. On break, I heard German, French, Spanish, and (I think) Russian. Pretty diverse, but they stayed until the end of our show at 3:30am,

Allison Mansion 12/1/10

USGBC show at Allison Mansion
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Myself, Bill Ritter and Joe Maddox performed for the USGBC show on the campus of Marion College in Indianapolis tonight. They have a very nice Steinway grand piano in a marble room, so I had a great night playing it. We provided background music for the event, and we decided to perform mostly instrumentals and some Christmas tunes. The tree must've inspired us or something....
Thank you to all the members of the Green Build for having us come back to perform for you again this year. I hope we can do it again in 2011!

Bob and Tom Show 12/1/10

LIVE on the Bob and Tom Show
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

December started off with laughs this morning on the Bob and Tom Show. They have decided to introduce Bill Ritter as Larry (last week he was Steve), and they played one of Duke's recorded Christmas songs after we played this week's NFL song. I think next week we may perform a live version of one of his Christmas tunes. Should be good!

Callahan's 11/27/10

The Crowd at Callahan's
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I like performing in this club in Auburn Hills, MI. The crowd really pays attention to what we're doing, and it's always packed. Good food, too (I had a pizza). Joe Maddox was killing the drums, and Bill was thumping through the provided bass rig (which was a good thing they had it because of the damage done to his personal rig last night was too much to fix quickly). Duke's guitar sounded great through the P.A. and I could actually hear myself with ease! There was an opening act, "The Flying Crowbars" who sounded good as they ran through their set, too!

Stagecoach Barn 11/26/10

Dan Holmes at the Stagecoach Barn in Richland, MI
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I spent my birthday performing in Richland, MI on a bitterly cold night. We loaded in and had some dinner. The, once the show began, got two songs into the night when I saw Bill's bass rig had fallen forward due to vibrations and landed on it's face, which broke his cables and input jacks. He quickly re-configured his set up, then the night went by smoothly. Duke's CD has been delayed (again) but he had the first copies of it with him tonight. It looks good, and I'm sure it will be huge for him. Once again, some odd dancing and a few strange people, but mostly great Duke fans out for a good night.

Key Palace Theater 11/24/10

Looking at the crowd in Key Palace Theater
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Our trip to Red Key, Indiana, was bitter-sweet for Duke's annual pre-Thanksgiving Day show, due to the recent passing of the owner (and long-time friend of Duke's) Charlie Noble. We were happy to be there and perform in one of the coolest venues around, but it was sad without Charlie. That said, we had a good night, considering it was raining/sleeting most of the evening, which scared some folks away. This will be one of those gigs I'll remember for many reasons, but mostly for the idea that the venue for the blues which Charlie brought to life is still letting the music continue his memory. I wish his family all the best!

Bob and Tom Show 11/24/10

On the Bob and Tom Show
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Kristi was back this week, and I once again invaded her side of the desk with my keyboard, which she very graciously lets me do each week. Tom (jokingly) introduced us as "Dan, Duke and Steve....I mean, Bill Ritter". We played through the song and listened to Chick announce the segment, "Things We Learned On The Show Today", which they've been doing for a few weeks now. Like a bullet-point presentation of the morning's show, as rattled off by Tom.

Static Shack 11/23/10

Mixdown with Alan Johnson
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Mix of the songs I recorded last week is going great! I think I've got plenty of tunes to put together a really good representation of how I sound when it's just me and a piano. Alan is a trooper, marching through one of my songs after the other. Next for me is maybe the hardest part; choosing which tunes to release!

Leroy's Hot Stuff 11/20/10

Leroy's Hot Stuff
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Joe Maddox's mom took some pictures of us in Porter, IN tonight at the great Mexican restaurant/bar, Leroy's Hot Stuff. Great crowds of Duke fans showed up, which made the evening fun for us to perform. I had a chance to talk with several people who were excited to see me play, and then sad when I told them I was moving to Texas. By the second set, everyone took Duke's advice from earlier in the evening to "Get Loose". Lot's of dancing and singing randomly during the second set!

Porter's Oyster Bar 11/19/10

Performing at Porter's Oyster Bar
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Crystal Lake, IL has a venue where Duke's fans like to congregate. This restaurant was packed full of long-time Duke-lovers, which made the show worth the five hour drive. We set up in a corner, under a big-screen TV (which was off, thank you) and played two 90-minute shows. Afterwards, Bill and I drove to our motel (in Merrillville, IN, about 2-hours away) while Duke took Joe to Gary, IN and then drove himself to Indianapolis. I didn't get to bed until about 6:00am...rough night of driving!

Bob and Tom 11/17/10

Waiting to go on the air
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

Kristi Lee was absent today from the show, so I hope she feels better soon. Bill, Duke and I performed for Bob, Tom and Chick, and of course, the rest of the listening audience. Good show today! My only wish is that we would have a bit more time to stretch out what we do. I really love performing.

Howl At The Moon 11/16/10

Everyone On Stage!
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

I took the stage in downtown Indy with Joanna, right after Jeremy and Jay's shift ended. We started at 9:45 and played for eight people until 10p, at which point they all left. We ended up using the rest of the night to work on new material and practice some band set stuff together. It was productive, just with no people to perform for.

Whitey's 11/13/10

Joe Maddox & Dan Holmes at Whitey's
Originally uploaded by Dan Holmes Group

We arrived in Burlington, Iowa about four hours early for our show, so Bill and I decided that we'd set up, and then go find somewhere to hang out before we had to be back at the club. After driving around for about a half hour, we realized that Whitey's was the only place open we'd want to be. So, we headed back and hung out until showtime. A great crowd, good P.A. guys, a friendly bar staff and some delicious pizza were all waiting for us before the end of the night. Joe played great, as always, and Duke helped Bill with his dance steps. The only down side was the five-hour-plus drive home after the show.