Moonshine & Ale 2/27/25

Bill Ritter came to visit from Indiana, so he joined us for Live Band Karaoke tonight in New Braunfels. Pancho, Heather and I loved having him perform with us! We had a great night full of singers singing songs like “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Tennessee Whiskey”, “Brown Eyed Girl” and many more. It was a very fun show! 

The Beltonian Theatre 2/22/25

What a fun night! Heather and I played our monthly show in Belton, TX, tonight, and the crowd consisted of about 50% fans and 50% new people. We loved the wide variety of requests from “Let It Go” to “Solsbury Hill” to “True Colors” to “Pretty Fly For A White Guy” and everything in between. Christine came to the show with us and took a bunch of great pictures, too. We really do love our crowds, and we’re always happy to see so many familiar faces as we take the stage. Thank you to everyone who braved to cold and rain to come see our show. 

Moonshine & Ale 2/21/25

New Braunfels was cold tonight. It was in the 30s and lightly rainy, so we were happy to be inside and warm while heating up the crowd with our songs. Country artist Kevin Fowler was in the crowd, and we had several requests for some of his songs, which I performed. It’s always a little weird to cover a song in front of the songwriter, but I enjoyed letting him hear my interpretation of his songs. Heather sounded great on all of the tunes she performed, as we traded off instruments all night. Saturday night, we will be at the Beltonian Theater in Belton, TX. Come on out if you’re in the area! 

Moonshine & Ale 2/20/25

Heather and I usually play at Live Band Karaoke with guitarist Pancho Garza, but he was performing a Paul Simon tribute with some other friends of ours just up the street. We were able to get my nephew Josh Holmes back on guitar tonight. He sounded great! We had a bunch of people get up and sing with us, and quite a few friends and fans showed up. It’s always good to see some our local musicians come in, too. New Braunfels has so much great talent, and I love when we get to just talk to other musicians a bit. Drew Simpson (pictured) is a guitarist, and our other guitarist friends Pancho and Philip were in the crowd, and local country singer Damon Curtis sang with us. It’s nice to be. Part of a community like this. 

Kissing Tree 2/18/25

We performed at Independence Hall at Kissing Tree in San Marcos tonight. It was packed with people ready to sing and dance! There were lots of familiar faces from our previous shows here, and also lots of new people who told us how much they enjoyed our show after we finished. We also were surprised to see a couple of friends in the crowd that we’ve played a couple of events for in the past. Collin and Kelly started coming to my shows many years ago, and it’s always great to see them. Tonight, Kelly brainstormed a bunch of masks for their table to put in front of their faces to surprise us, and it really made us laugh! Our show went great with lots of dancing all evening long. I do love when we get to do shows like these. It’s always a treat! 

Moonshine & Ale 2/15/25

New Braunfels was insane tonight! It was packed when arrived at about 7:45p, and by the time we took the stage at 8:30p, it was standing room only. The sidewalks were full of people walking around and enjoy their night, and we had a ton of requests to get through. I love performing with Heather, and we played lots of tunes we don’t normally see requested, which was fun. Jarrett Wenzel joined us on the drums at 10pm, and kept things right on track for us. Of course, the keytar made a few appearances, and we had a great time right up until 1am. Heather and I will be back at Moonshine & Ale next Thursday for Live Band Karaoke, so come join us! 

Moonshine & Ale 2/14/25

Happy Valentine’s Day! Heather and I put on our date clothes and rocked the house for all the lovers in the crowd. The club in New Braunfels, TX, was packed when we arrived, and we had a crazy assortment of requests right out of the gate, from The Darkness to Grateful Dead to Led Zeppelin to Chappell Roan to Joan Jett and more. I’m thankful Heather and I got to spend another romantic night together in front of 300 people. 

Moonshine & Ale 2/13/25

I’ve got great friends, and I get to play with them regularly. Pancho, Heather and I had so much fun hanging out at Live Band Karaoke in New Braunfels, and we had lots of new people singing with us. We always enjoy playing together, and I’m so glad to call them my friends. Heather and I will be back Friday and Saturday night for piano bar! 

Point West Studio 2/12/25

My second of two days in the studio in Lakeway, TX, with Nathan Hanners was fun. We knocked out two more songs today, and did some overdubs. Phil joined us on pedal steel and sounded great as he blended wonderfully with the B3 parts we put on a song. It’s gonna be a good album. 

Point West Studios 2/11/25

A local Austin blues band had me head up to Lakeway today to lay down some piano with them live in the studio. It was about an 8 hour session, and we got rhythm beds down for 5 tunes, which felt great. Kenny, Micah, and Nathan sounded great. More to follow! 

Old Kress Live 2/8/25

We had a good Saturday night in Corpus Christi. Heather and I played our 9p-midnight show for a bunch of people out having fun downtown. As we finished, DJ Zack took over as we loaded out and drove 3 hours home. We got back to my house where we were greeted by our neighborhood kitty before Heather headed home. She and I had some good conversations about life, art and music, which makes me so happy every time we get a chance to talk and hang out. 

Old Kress Live 2/7/25

We had fun with the crowd in Corpus Christi tonight! Before the show, we spoke with a few fans and some new people who hadn’t seen our show before, and everyone had a good time. Heather and I swapped between piano and drums like we do, and the night went by quickly. We will be back Saturday night to take more requests! 

Moonshine & Ale 2/6/25

When I was a kid, as far back as I can remember, I just wanted to make music for a living. I would never have guessed all the ways my drive has taken me. I’ve learned multiple instruments and thousands of songs. I’ve worked side-by-side with super famous people and total unknowns. I’ve found lifelong friendships in band mates, and passed on knowledge through teaching. It still makes me happy when I get to perform with people like Heather who is a talented piano player, and instead of either one of us playing keys, we make up the rhythm section weekly for Live Band Karaoke along with my buddy Pancho on guitar. Every now and then, we have a fourth player, which means one of us switches to bass, and that’s how we ended up as the rhythm section. Denise joined us on keys, so Heather played bass while I drummed. Adaptability is one of the key reasons why I’ve stayed employed as an independent musician for so long! 

Moonshine & Ale 2/1/25

Our Saturday night show started off with a packed house. It was unusually busy at 8pm before we even took the stage, and we had a bunch of requests waiting for us when we began. Heather and I made each other laugh between piano and drums until 10p when Reese Spano joined us on the drums. It was his first piano bar show, and Heather and I did our best to help him learn the show through the night. I’ve said it before, but I feel so lucky to have such a great partner and friend in Heather! She rocks. 

Moonshine & Ale 1/31/25

We had a fun crowd tonight for our Friday night show in New Braunfels. Everyone was in a good mood, and Heather and I played all their requests. I sometimes wonder how many random photos and videos I’ve been in just from the sheer number of people at our shows each week. It’s an interesting thought!