Moonshine & Ale 6/29/23

I arrived back in Austin this afternoon from Indianapolis about 4p with my wife, and we hung out for a bit at home before I had to pack up and head to New Braunfels for Live Band Karaoke. Heather and Kevin met me there, and we had a pretty busy night. Lots of our regulars showed up to sing with us, and we played so they all could sing! Heather and I have a busy weekend now that our first of four shows is done. Tomorrow (Friday) we’ll be at Sean Patrick’s in San Marcos, TX, from 7p-10p. The next day, Saturday, we return to our old stomping grounds in Victoria, TX, to perform a 10p-1a show for our friends at Moonshine Drinkery. To wrap up the weekend, Sunday, we’ll be doing a full-band show from 6p-7:30p in New Braunfels at Moonshine & Ale, where Pancho Garza and Chris Wallis will join us to play a mix of tune from the ‘80s & ‘90s! Hope you can make it to a show! 

Robin Run Villiage 6/27/23

Bill Ritter asked if I would perform with him in Indianapolis for his mother-in-law Cherie’s 80th birthday because she said all she wanted for her birthday was “for Dan and Bill to play, and all my kids be there”, and I happily agreed! Cherie was a regular attendee at our shows for years before I moved to Texas. His brother and sister-in-law are also musicians, and they are known as Bomar & Ritter. Christine and I flew in yesterday and spent some time with my parents, and then we all met up for the party this evening. Before the show started, I found a door marked “Indoor Bowls”, which I’m still puzzled by. I also saw a random mummy, but left it alone. Bomar & Ritter started the night with their set, finished it out with her 95 year old father joining her on stage to sing “You Are My Sunshine”, then dinner was served. Bill and I played after dinner to about 30 guests for the party. We had a guest violinist join us to sing happy birthday, and also Bill’s goddaughter, Grace, sang a couple songs with us. To close out the night, Bomar & Ritter came back on the stage, and we all played a few tunes together. It was a fun evening! 

Moonshine & Ale 6/25/23

The Summer Concert Series continues! We performed a show full of piano rock hits tonight in New Braunfels. We started with “Baby, I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney, and worked though tunes by other artists including Leon Russell, Coldplay, Train, Billy Joel, Elton John, and many more. Pancho nailed all of the guitar solos while Kevin and Chris held the rhythm section tight. It made my job easy! I just played along on the piano and enjoyed the great music. After the show, I had a chance to talk to some of the people in the crowd, then we all went down the street to get some pizza. Next Sunday, Heather will be back on stage with me, and the Sunday show will be ‘80s and ‘90s tunes. Hope you can make it out! 

Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa 6/23/23

My partner Heather was at a wedding, so David Lee stepped in to perform a show with me for Groove Labs in Austin. We played for an Edward Jones event, and it went great! Lots of kiddos and young adults around, as well as adults who stood up and danced to our music. They sang along to everything from “Bohemian Rhapsody” to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. It was fun to perform with David again! 

Moonshine & Ale 6/18/23

We played a Father’s Day show at Moonshine & Ale in New Braunfels during the Summer Concert Series. Pancho on guitar, Chris on drums and Heather on bass made my job on keys easy and fun! Before the show, I saw a cute dog at Scoop Street next door to where we played. The show was a bunch of fun, and I’m looking forward to the next few Sunday band shows! 

Moonshine & Ale 6/17/23

We had so much fun in New Braunfels tonight! The crowd was LOUD! They sand everything from “Mr. Brightside” to “Can’t Help Falling In Love” at full volume. Heather and I swapped between drums and piano until we were joined by our friend Chris Wallis who took over drumming duties so I could focus on some serious keytar licks. That may be the best sentence I’ve ever written. All three of us will be back tomorrow, Sunday 6/18 with guitarist Pancho Garza for a full-band show at 6pm! Join us. 

Moonshine & Ale 6/16/23

Heather is such a positive force of nature, and I love getting to work with her all the time! We both made each other laugh while playing through the requests people gave us. It was different tonight because we had lots of off-center requests, but we played them and people sang along. I’m not sure I’ve ever had anyone ask me for The Beatles “Good Day Sunshine”, or for Heather to sing Fleetwood Mac’s “Little Lies”. 

Moonshine & Ale 6/15/23

The show tonight in New Braunfels went well! Heather, Pancho and I provided the backing music for singers for Live Band Karaoke, and we had a bunch of singers up. Heather did all the heavy lifting by running the show from the drums, while Pancho and I did our best to keep up with her. It was fun! Heather and I will be back for piano bar at Moonshine & Ale both Friday and Saturday night, and then we will perform a band show with Pancho and drummer Chris Wallis on Sunday at 6p! 

Moonshine & Ale 6/11/23

The Summer Concert series is here! Tonight was the first of eight full-band Sunday shows at Moonshine & Ale. Kevin Humphrey was on guitar, Chris Wallis on drums, Heather Shook on bass, and I played keys. Heather and I did swap instruments for a couple songs and we ran though hits of the ‘50s & ‘60s. We had a good crowd, and they danced! My wife took a bunch of great photos, and we all went over to the Black Whale for some food and post gig hang! 

Rockin J Piano Bar 6/10/23

We performed in Cedar Park tonight! Several birthdays were in the house, and we tried our best to make them all feel special. Heather and I swapped every half-hour between piano and drums, and we had fun supporting each other’s songs. She makes life better. I’m a lucky guy. 

The Beltonian Theatre 6/4/23

We had a little down-time before our third and final show of the weekend at The Beltonian Theater, so we walked around the town and ended up at the riverbank, talked with some ducks, and dangled our feet in the water for a while. Then we headed over to perform our show, and once again, it was a great crowd! We played from 6p to 9p all three nights this weekend, and we were really impressed by the amount of requests and the wide variety of songs that were brought to our pianos. Heather never ceases to impress me, and I’m so happy to be able to share the stage with her regularly. Of course, it shows in our chemistry together on stage so much so that, after almost every show, at least one person asks if we’re married. She’s the best work wife I could ask for! We’ll see everyone again at the Beltonian in December!

The Beltonian Theatre 6/3/23

So tonight was our second of three nights in Belton, and it was fantastic! We helped a happily married couple split up, and then get back together all while singing along with us. We sang to Donnie, and everyone out there should put a little Donnie in whatever you’re listening to. We did. We had one young fan dance pretty much constantly to our entire show, which made us happy to provide that type of experience for her. Heather was fantastic tonight, and she and I had truly fun time with everyone! See you at the Beltonian tomorrow for one more show!

The Beltonian Theatre 6/2/23

Our triumphant return to Belton, TX, was, well, triumphant! We the to the full theater for three hours, playing nothing but requests for our first of three nights of dueling pianos. Everything felt very easy and natural tonight, so some bizarre mashups happened, naturally. Heather threw some “What Does The Fox Say” on top of “Flowers”, and I ended up putting “Strokin’” in “Lose Yourself”. A few standing ovations later, and it was time for us to wrap it up for the night. We loved making some new fans as well as seeing many familiar faces from some recent shows in the area. We look forward to seeing more people tomorrow! 

Moonshine & Ale 6/1/23

Heather and I were joined by Kevin (guitar) tonight in New Braunfels for Live Band Karaoke. It started kinda slow, but within a half-hour of us starting, the club packed out! We had some good singers come up, and we also had several people who had never sang with a band before. Heather and I are heading to Belton, TX, tomorrow for a three-night stint at the Beltonian Theatre!