May 5 4 Day, 2,000 Mile Radio Promo Tour

(Austin, TX) ~ Kevin Higgins and Barbara Malteze (founders of multi award-winning Dust Devils), returned home to Marble Falls, Texas, earlier this week from a 4-day, 2,000 mile radio promotional tour. The duo embarked on the trip, with intentions of meeting radio industry personnel and soliciting support for their newly-released single, Backroads. The tour took the couple through West Texas, the Panhandle, up through Oklahoma City, along the Red River bordering Texas, and back down into Paris, Texas. 

"With the release of our new cd, Change in the Weather, we are hoping to get our single, Backroads, on the Texas Music Chart, " explains Barbara Malteze. "Kevin (Higgins) and I thought it would be cool and sort of 'old school' to meet people face-to-face, instead of leaving messages via email and on answering machines. We wanted to reach out to radio people and let them know that we are serious about 'doing the work' and making the effort to stand out...no matter what it takes." Kevin Higgins adds with a laugh, "Besides, we needed a reason to hit the Backroads!  We live our lives vicariously thru that particular song! We got out the Rand McNally and went looking for radio towers, all the while dodging those severe storms that caused so much havoc last week. We weren't even sure of the exact route we would take until we checked the weather radar every couple of hours or so. It was getting a little dicey out there for awhile.  We didn't get to stop at some stations because the weather dictated our direction. As a matter of fact, we ran across two stations that were hit by lightning, and sustained major damage."   Malteze promises, "We're continuing on to another region as early as next week. This tour was such a success, we can't wait to go out again."  Higgins recalled, "By the time this trip was over, we visited 12 radio stations, 6 venues, 3 state parks, Stanley Marsh's cadillacs, threw down 2 acoustic performances and rolled into Austin in time to do a set on 6th Street."   Malteze adds, "It's exhausting fun. Kevin and I were running on adrenalin, logging over 500 miles a day, having a great time meeting industry folks who manage to keep the 'spirit of the radio' alive, by discovering new music and helping artists get their music heard. We simply wanted to meet them and say 'thank you'." 

Higgins and Malteze perform all over Texas as a duo, and with their band The Dust Devils. The group received 5 nominations this year at the 2007 Texas Music Awards: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Entertainer of the Year and Live Band of the Year.  Malteze won the 2007 TMA for Female Vocalist of the Year, (for an unprecedented 2nd year in a row). A partial list of upcoming concerts include: The Corpus Christi Bay Jamming Concert Series; Fredericksburg Texas Music Fest with Mickey and the Motorcars; Gillespie Country Fair with The Derailers, The Bigfest 2007 at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos; Firehouse (Houston) with Brandon Rhyder; 5th Annual Coastal Bender (fan appreciation party) in Port Aransas.  

Posted on Saturday, May 5th, 2007 by The Dust Devils