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03/03/2008: -Doug 01/15/2008: the Feb issue of Paste Magazine, hitting mailboxes and newstands today, features "Thing About Trouble" as Track Four of the Paste Sampler cd, and has selected us to be one of their "Four to Watch" bands, where they select four bands each issue for a half-page write-up. What an honor - I'm ecstatic about that. To see the most thorough review of the press we've been getting, Link to the myspace page. Also below are a few links to some of the original content available online: 10/10/2007: Also, for those of you in the Dallas area, the record is available at Good Records. More to come... 09/27/2007: I went 0 and 4 at the Dallas Music Awards a couple months ago, but that's okay. I was very proud of many friends who took home awards, and it was fun to be a part of it all, and an honor to be thought of by the Dallas music community for multiple awards.
07/19/2007: Also, Eric Neal, my guitar player (as well as guitar player for Salim Nourallah, The Slack, and others) is up for Best Instrumentalist. Please consider a vote for him....
Click here to vote:
2007 Dallas Music Awards Ballot.
07/18/2007: 07/16/2007: 07/02/2007: 05/30/2007: 05/12/2007: 04/11/2007: The results are in (from the songwriting competition) - "Come to My Senses" received an Honorable Mention in the Americana category for the International Songwriting Competition 2006. I think there were about sixteen thousand entries in the whole competition, so to even make it to the Finals round is a big compliment. But I guess I'll have to settle for having won first place in this competition once in 2003. Such competitions are often good exposure, and you have to take those self-promotion opportunities when you can get 'em, but too much of this kind of thing can also be unhealthy. 02/04/2007:
01/12/2007:
Oh, and one little qualification regarding that interview, when the article starts out, it quotes me as saying a record label had turned my record away for being "Christian"...that was actually regarding my first CD, The Sickle & the Sheaves, which was intended to be a gospel concept project. It was never intended to be taken as "Christian music", which is a misnomer and one that has become its own genre. So for the record, that episode is not to be confused with my upcoming record. But don't get me wrong - I love the folks at Scissor Socket Shocker. And more recently, here's a link to a teaser for, and the mp3 file of a live radio broadcast featuring a spot with me on KTCU 88.7FM, out of Ft Worth, TX on 12/10/2006. Check it out at The Good Show archives. 10/25/2006:
Also in the news is the fact that I think I now qualify as a real rock star due to meeting the two following criteria: I have "no-showed" for one of my shows, and I have a music video. Let's address the first item first. My no-show. Well, I actually feel very badly that this happened, and was plenty more bummed about it than any would-be fans that night, believe me. I had been looking forward to this hometown bill at Hailey's with a bunch of other top-notch bands that was to go down on Sept 30th. But I got laryngitis the day before the show, and I couldn't speak, much less sing on the night of the show. But nevertheless, I held out hope, and eventually had to throw in the towel during the afternoon. I've played shows with 102 degree fever before, and have never missed a show due to being sick. But due to my overly-optimistic attempt to pull through, I wound up without any time to warn fans that I wouldn't be there. I felt this to be the lesser of two evils. But I continue to extend an apology to any and all who came out that night expecting to hear my set. Okay, now for the second item - a music video. Uh, I'm actually still waiting on a mix of that as well - works the same as recording a record. You shoot the footage, and then wait. On Sept 18th, using Hailey's for our location, and shooting as if I was playing a live show, using real fans (yes, there actually are a few) as the "crowd" (which admittedly was a stretch, but through the magic of film and technology, we made due), we shot a bunch of footage, all tight camera angles of me and the band playing along - lip syncing if you will - with the recorded version of the song "Slow Southern Home". Then the producer(s)/engineers will basically pull all the best sequences together, and voila! Only that sounds much easier than it is - Many a tedious hour has been spent fine-tuning this, and it ain't done yet. I should have a final mix sometime in November, and I will duly post it on my Myspace site, and hit up the email list as soon as it is posted. Moving on to the current month of October: I've been the October Artist in Residence at Club Dada. This is a wonderful opportunity, booked and promoted by the lovely Amanda Newman from Finelinelive.com, which affords artists an extra amount of liberty in their performances. The Artist in Residence performs weekly, every Thursday, during the month. The repetetive nature of this gig encourages trying new things out on your audience. So it's a win-win, you might say. For me, I was able to try out some brand spanking tunes, challenging myself with filling an entire hour set with new material. Moreover, about half of that set consisted of some new material with a strange twist. I'd worked up some arrangements of the Psalms a little over a year ago, and made last Wednesday at Dada it's public debut.
It's clear to me that these have a power, and they'll have to find their place in the mixed bag of my repertoire. And while I have had plans to make a full-length record of these, this has also served as a sort of catalyst to fuel that endeavor along. So Thanks to Dada's Artist in Residence program. Tomorrow's my last night. Check it out though sometime when you have a chance -
they select a new artist each month.
06/05/2006:
Meanwhile, to update and amend previous postings regarding the recording of the upcoming full-length record...Originally, I thought we'd be finished with a second weekend in May, but we weren't able to return to Austin so quickly, and that put us outside of the time window to wrap before Ramble Creek's impending relocation. Since that time, Ramble Creek has relocated as well as birthed a baby boy - well actually it's owners, the Beisenherz's, birthed the baby. So congratulations to them on the baby and the new & improved Ramble Creek Studio. We're scheduled to return at the beginning of July, and have also decided that a third weekend will be necessary, which should take place in August. I know this recording has really gotten dragged out, but you see, there's really no rush. And it's actually a healthy thing - allowing me to do the record I want to do, and not some abbreviated, quick-and-dirty version. You see, this may come as a shock to you, but I'm not made of money, and it takes time to play enough gigs to save up the money necessary to pay for the recording time. Plus, to release a record in the Summertime is a waste as the music industry (radio, review publications, etc), local and national, grinds to a near-hault, and has low tolerance for any new upstart artists forcing new material on their overloaded and checked-out-for-vacation cd players. And then there's still the problem of having to shop for an interested record label to help release and promote this record once it's finished. So I can't even predict an official release date as of yet. However, I do plan on making some cdr copies available at live shows (at the very least) so folks can take this new material home with them in the meantime, if necessary. And finally, is there a way you can help speed this process up? Certainly. By coming to the summer shows booked, and supporting me at these live venues. Case in point, the upcoming Canton show at the The Mad Goat on June 17th, and the show at Bend Studio on July 21st in Dallas. Both of these venues are superb venues, known for their intimate and quiet atmospheres, and offer a sort of retreat from the
typical louder Dallas live venues. The more folks that come out (and pay cover, tip, or buy cds), the sooner I can finish recording. The sooner I finish recording, the sooner I can start shopping labels, and so on until eventually, the sooner the record "drops", "hits the streets", or whatever other silly "music biz" phrase you want to insert
for putting out a record that's supposed to make it sound hip, sexy, and exciting for the kids.
04/20/2006:
03/13/2006:
P.S. Jason Upshaw also documented this recording session on film for us, and you can see those shots on by clicking on the photo link (the arrow) at the top of the page. 02/06/2006:
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