AJ's Ale House NB 12/27/13

On Wednesday night, I had a bizarre dream where I was running in a canyon, yet one of the canyon walls was made out of cement blocks. I was running as fast as I could, when I noticed two rattlesnakes fighting each other in front of me on the trail. As I tried to stop, my feet went out in front of me from my momentum and I slid straight towards the rattlesnakes. One of them had killed the other, and turned towards me to strike. As it lashed out, I grabbed it behind his head, and not knowing what to do, crushed it against the cement wall. Tonight, I found myself in New Braunfels, Texas using those same ninja-like reflexes to perform songs for the crowd, with Roger Glenn on drums.

AJ's Ale House NB 12/26/13

It was a crazy night in New Braunfels, TX tonight! I had a lively crowd, most of them giving me either huge party songs (Sweet Caroline) or random "B" sides of bands you've never heard of. They all, one by one, assured me that they would know every band's name of the songs I could play, so we ended up having a "name that band contest". I picked super-familiar songs by one-hit-wonders (like "Electric Avenue" and "Our House") and had them tell me the artist before I'd switch songs. I won the contest.

AJ's Ale House NB 12/14/13

Quite possibly one of the best nights I've ever had at AJ's in New Braunfels, Texas happened this evening with Joe Resnick on drums. The bar was packed all night long, the people were into the show all night long, and we received requests all night long! There were company Christmas parties present, lots and lots of birthdays, and people just out to have a great time. Joe, as always, was solid as a rock on the kit. I'm looking forward to performing with him again at AJ's on New Year's Eve!

Peveto Art Gallery 12/13/13

Adrian Lopez and I performed a Friday the 13th show at a cool art gallery in Houston, Texas, for Howl To Go tonight. The show went fine, but I had a very difficult time just trying to arrive at the gallery. A trip from San Marcos, Texas, to Houston usually takes me 2 1/2 hours. Tonight, it took me almost 4 1/2! Luckily, I left plenty of time to deal with Houston rush-hour traffic on a Friday night. I definitely prefer driving in the middle of the night when no one else is on the road!

AJ's Ale House NB 12/12/13

It was a little slow this evening in New Braunfels, Texas. Not many people were out on the street, or really anywhere that I could see. I did have quite a few people who decided to join me at the sing-along piano bar! They stuck with me right up until midnight, and requested tunes right up until the end.

Superfly's 12/12/13

Tonight marked the last show of the year for The Hill Country Gentleman at my favorite record shop in San Marcos, Texas; Superfly's! Jeremiah Sawyer could not join us this evening on bass, so I covered his entire career with my left hand. Clay, Troy, Kevin and I performed for about an hour, and then I had to run off to my next show in New Braunfels. Happy Holidays!

Royal Sonesta Hotel 12/7/13

The private gala event I performed at with Howl To Go in Houston, TX tonight was impressive! The piano portion of the show featured myself, Rachel Pas, and Tommy Richards. Besides the dueling pianos, the event also featured a live painter doing huge paintings on-the-spot, a full dance band with a horn section, a DJ, two trapeze artists and karaoke, not to mention many photo booths and food everywhere. I have no idea how many thousands of people were there, but they filled every inch of the first floor of the grand hotel. This was my first show with Tommy and Rachel, and it was a fun one!

Jack's Roadhouse 12/7/13

Today, I performed a 45 minute set for the good people at Jack's in San Marcos, TX to help with an annual fundraiser they hold to help kids in need called "Cooking For The Kids" for the Greater San Marcos Youth Council. Lots of items to be auctioned off, and a chili cook-off are happening all day today, as well as lots more good music by other area musicians. Go support them!

AJ's Ale House NB 12/6/13

New Braunfels, Texas was packed tonight! Vince played the drums, and I played the piano. We made a couple of birthday boys shake their stuff for the crowd. The crowd enjoyed it. I think everyone had a fun night tonight!

AJ's Ale House NB 12/5/13

Wassail Fest was held in the streets of New Braunfels tonight, while Joe Resnick and I pulled them in for our four hour rocking piano show. All kinds of tunes were requested and played. It was as if a revolving door was on the front of AJ's tonight with the amount of people who would come in, get a beer, request a couple of tunes and then head back out for more wassail. We had a packed house all night!

Triple Crown 12/4/13

The Gents performed tonight in San Marcos, TX, and it felt good to be back on stage with Troy, Jeremiah, Kevin and Clay again. We played about an hour-and-forty-five minute set, which included "Run, Run Rudolph" in the spirit of the holiday season. It was festive, especially since tonight was also the first night of "Sights and Sounds", the multi-day festival San Marcos puts on each year with the park lit up bright! Doesn't have anything to do with our show or the Triple Crown, but it still made a nice glow in the distance.

AJ's Ale House NB 11/27/13

The pre-thanksgiving crowd packed AJ's to the max last night, as Joe Resnick and I entertained them. Lots of people in from out of town dancing inappropriately to various songs they'd requested. Like everyone is saying, Wednesday night is the new Thursday.

AJ's Ale House NB 11/22/13

Last night was packed at AJ's in New Braunfels, TX! Roger Glenn and I performed for three hours to lots and lots of birthdays, and other people just out for some fun. We had huge groups of both nurses and teachers, all requesting tons of songs. It was the first really cold night of winter, with a little rain, so I was nervous no one would leave their house to come party with us. Boy, was I wrong!

AJ's Ale House NB 11/21/13

My day started at 5:30 AM, when I awoke to prepare myself for the drive Porter, Texas, which is north of Houston. I got there, set up, played a full show, tore down, dropped off gear, drove back to San Marcos, sat on my couch for about an hour, and then headed to the piano bar known as AJ's in New Braunfels, Texas to perform a three hour set. Surprisingly, I had lots of energy, and the crowd was very involved this evening. So out of my 18 hour day, five solid hours were spent playing piano, nine hours were spent sitting in the car, and the other four hours were spent setting up & tearing down or mentally preparing for another gig!

Harbor America 11/21/13

Today, I drove to Porter, TX with David Lee Morris to perform a "Howl To Go" show, representing Houston Howl At The Moon. We performed a two-hour set of sing-along classics, plus a couple of quick rounds of name-that-tune as per request by the good folks of Harbor America. They were in good spirits since the Houston Business Journal voted them #2 of best places to work in Houston!

Circuit Of The Americas 11/17/13

Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull car on his big F1 win in Austin, TX today! David Lee Morris and I were there once again performing our dueling pianos show in-between all of the various races and qualifying laps. Our first set was 8am-10am, and our last set was 3pm-5pm, with several shorter sets throughout the day. My favorite moment was when a spirited group of men stormed the stage to dance and sing "500 Miles" with us to entertain the crowd! Fun 3rd of 3 days, and I hope I get to perform again there next year!

Circuit Of The Americas 11/16/13

The second of my three performances at the formula one track in Austin, TX with the great David Lee Morris was a great experience today! The wind never stopped blowing as we performed in-between races, and the temperature hit about 80 (in November)!! We saw some classic race cars as they pulled up and parked next to our performance tent. It was a fun, long show, as we performed throughout the day from 8a-4:30p! See you tomorrow.

AJ's Ale House NB 11/15/13

Apparently, Valentine's Day is everything everyone makes it out to be, because we had a bunch of birthdays in the house tonight! Roger Glenn was on the drums, while I dealt with an endless amount of requests from 9 PM until midnight. The bar stayed full all night long, and everyone left happy! Now, I have to drive home and get some sleep, because I need to be back out at the track to perform tomorrow at 8 AM. Who needs sleep, anyway?

Circuit Of The Americas 11/15/13

David Lee and I performed a few sets of dueling pianos at the world class F1 race in Austin, TX today! It was a beautiful day to be outside performing. We were set up in a tent near the track, and we performed in-between races, so we had a chance to watch the cars while we were on break. Fun day of playing at the track!

Triple Crown 11/14/13

Tonight marked the debut of Ian Lee's new project called Ian Lee and the Open Hearts. He has written a nice group of new songs, and I had the opportunity to play with a nice group of musicians. Eddie Baty, Rachel la Coss, Jessica Allen, Curtis Clogston, Kevin Humphrey and Ian Lee were all on stage with me this evening. Ian's new tunes are very melodic, and I enjoyed performing this evening!