Holy pier show, Batman!

After two months of cancellations due to weather, we made our triumphant return to the Galveston Pleasure Pier this weekend, and we had an interesting special guest.

We almost thought the gig wasn't going to happen, though. We looked at the forecast in the morning, and it showed some slight chances of rain during the day, but a 60% chance smack in the middle of our sets. So, we checked the radar.

The radar showed a big storm system stretching up from the Valley into Central Texas, but the road to Galveston looked clear, and there didn't seem to be anything developing in the Gulf, so we figured we had the all clear. So, we hit the road. And we ran into this more than halfway there:

We started to get a little bit worried, but we pressed on. Sure enough, when we got to Galveston, it was clear skies. This was our view from the stage when we arrived:

Splinters - they suck

It's been a challenging month and a half, which is partly why it's been so long since I've posted. I (Suzy) got a cold in late March that left me with very little voice for our gigs in late March and early April. Around the time I finally got my voice back, Johnny and Joe both got colds. They started feeling improvement, but weren't fully healed when...I got another cold. Seriously.

It's killin' me.

You'd think that would be enough of a challenge, but no, there was more. On Friday night, we were setting up for our monthly gig at Junior's. We perform outside on a wooden deck, and as I was opening one of the guitar cases, I managed to get a splinter - a serious hunk of wood that lodged deep under a fingernail on my left hand (the hand I hold down strings with on the neck of the guitar). Behold the splinter in its unfortunate position under the nail of my middle finger:

Note that the splinter is pushed well below the white part of my nail. So, there was no pulling it out at that point. I had to perform the whole show with this piece of wood lodged under my nail.

Three Questions About...Trees

The second installment of our video series is now live - woohoo! "Three Questions About...Trees" is up on YouTube, but to make it super easy for you to watch it, here it is:

The video series is called "Three Questions About..." and each episode features one member of the band answering three questions on a given subject. We figured if we were going to have all kinds of random conversations in the van as we traveled around Texas, we may as well share some of it with you guys.

So, enjoy! And if you have any subjects you'd like us to tackle, or specific questions you want to ask, let us know. If we use one of your questions or topics, we'll give you credit!

Winter trudges on

It's still winter everywhere. Some people blame this guy:

I think he's too cute to throw any blame at. Besides, he doesn't make the weather - he just reports on it. He calls 'em as he sees 'em. I respect that.

But I'm definitely tired of this whole winter thing, and I'm ready to move on to warmer days. While we've had some indoor gigs this winter, we've still had several outdoor gigs the last few months, and it ain't always easy to keep it hot when you're cold.

I know that folks up north are in a straight-up, never-ending deep freeze, so they probably don't want to hear about the hardship of trying to play guitar with stiff fingers in 40-degree temperatures. But we don't live up north. So...

Okay, so the challenge of playing outside when the weather is extreme is not new information, but we in the band have realized recently that while temperature is a strong factor in your comfort level on an outdoor stage, more than that is wind.

A hot day with a breeze is much more comfortable than a hot day with no air moving (thus, our standard-equipment stage fans). And a cold night with wind is way worse than a cold, still night.

But it's more than just that a hard wind not only makes you feel colder. It blows your set list around, creates noise in your microphone, blows your hair in your mouth and eyes, and it keeps your audience away from you since they're more interested in a sheltered spot than a spot up close or on the dance floor. It's just a general pain in the ass. When you've got low temps but there's no wind, you can bundle up, set a space heater next to you and go about your business.

So, there you have it. Wind makes a cold day more uncomfortable.

Groundbreaking, right? Next time we'll explore the impact of humidity on how hot one feels.

2015 is under way!

Well, here we go, friends! 2015 is officially under way. It was actually officially under way for the band when we played our first Junior's gig on January 2, but I couldn't get my shit together quickly enough to get a blog post written before that gig. So, I'm getting my first post posted before our second gig of the year - at the Pleasure Pier in Galveston this Saturday.

It's still January, though, so it still counts as a new year post.

Oh, I will, Chuck Norris. I will.

January can be a tricky month for us with gigs. So many of our venues are outdoors, and January is not known for its lovely weather. Winter here is generally cold and rainy. But it's Texas, so it can be 70 one day and 40 the next. I'm not joking. Last week we actually had a day in the 70s, and the next day a front came through and dropped the temps into the 40s.

So, when we book gigs in January, we hope for the "unseasonably warm" days OR a back-up space indoors. Junior's has a back-up indoor space, which is where we played earlier this month:

2014 - a beautiful, Strange year

Well, we made it - one more year in the books! 2015 is going to start quickly for us, with a gig on Jan. 2 at Junior's Grill and Icehouse in Round Rock, so it's worth taking a moment to look back at what's been a successful and fun 2014.

This year, we continued our long-running residency at Junior's, but we switched to an all-night format. Instead of an opener followed by The Staylyns for two hours, we now play 7:30-11:30pm every First Friday. And we're pleased to announce that we'll continue this residency in 2015. Woohoo!

We returned to several other stages this year, as well, including the Pleasure Pier in Galveston, the Boardwalk stage in Kemah and Cafe Mueller stage at HEB - all venues that we have gigs for on the books in 2015.

We got to play a few places/events for the first time this year, including the inaugural Viva Terlingua Festival, The Cedar Door, Cherrywood Coffeehouse, Javelina Bar, the Vapers Exhibit, and the inaugural Austin BikeFest.

The Thirsty Goat in Lajitas, Texas

We also had the pleasure of playing several private gigs including a wedding for a couple from South Africa who came to Austin to get married in front of several friends from all over the world, while simulcasting the wedding via Skype to relatives in South America; a Memorial Day party at a ranch in Gatesville; and a birthday party for a woman who survived a near-fatal car accident a year ago and danced at her own party this year.

Snacking during a show (or: "Ruh-roh!")

We played the Galveston Pleasure Pier last night.

Photo courtesy of Brad Ober

We really enjoy playing the pier for many reasons.

It's a great stage. You can't help but feel like a star playing in the shadow of a ferris wheel.

The view is fantastic. From our perch, we get to see dolphins jumping in the water, pelicans flying overhead and the sunset right across from us.

The audience is so diverse. It's really fun to see such a cross-section of people enjoying the games and rides and being with their families, but also digging our music. Last night we had everyone from babies to senior citizens dancing, singing and smiling with us. Some were locals, and some were visitors from all over the world. We even sold a swag pack of merch to a couple from Canada who hung out for two sets and told us about their daughter who plays guitar (go, girl, go!).

But I did have one small challenge in the third set.