Jan 31 Kevin's 2007 "Year in Review" Blog
Well, here it is already 2008. All in all, it was a pretty good year (as far as “odd numbered” years go. This year I intend to get “even”.) Hope y'all got through it without much of a struggle and that the days ahead will indeed be kind to one and all. Barbara thought it might be nice if I sat down and attempted to encapsulate 2007 with some sort of “Year in Review” piece. Considering my obvious propensity for verbosity, (and three-syllable words), you might want to make yourself a snack or run up to the Quik Pack for a sixer. This could take a while.
The year 2007 started off with a resounding bang in Fredericksburg, Texas as we officially released “Change in the Weather” at Hondo's on New Year's Eve. Naturally, the partying went late into the next day (with a quick nap just around sun-up). Thankfully, this new CD would be well- received by y'all and it kept us working steady, (and staying out late), throughout the year. The Dust Devils received five 2007 Texas Music Award nominations, “Album of the Year”, “Song of the Year” (Amazing Sense of Calm), “Live Band of the Year”, with Barbara being nominated for both the coveted “Entertainer of the Year” and “Female Vocalist of the Year.” I guess what I remember most about last January was that big Ice Storm that hit just on the last day of KFAN's “Windows on Texas” Music Festival. Geez, was it ever c-c-c-old.
Like previous years, 2007 started off kind of slow. It wasn't until March things really started picking up, with SXSW and the usual St. Paddy's Day shenanigan's leading up to the 2007 Texas Music Awards in Linden, (that's up there in the northwest corner of Texas in Don Henley's neck of the woods). Once again, Lucky and Jinelle Boyd put on a spectacular show, complete with red carpet pageantry and a whirlwind of high-caliber musical performances. Of all our nominations, I was hoping B would win something. That would be enough for me, because, for my money, she is the best damn female vocalist in the entire State of Texas. So, sure enough, Barbara was honored with 2007 “Female Vocalist of the Year” for an unprecedented 2nd year in a row...and it was time to celebrate! We were off to the afterparty, where all 5 bands nominated for “Live Band of the Year” would take turns tearing it up at Auntie Skinners in nearby Jefferson, Texas. Jefferson, (aside form being the most haunted town in Texas), is situated in neighboring Marion County, which is a “wet” county and conducive for promoting the type of behavior one aspires to achieve at something as exhilarating as an “after-party.” Highlights range from legendary pedal steel player Al Perkins throwing down, (using my Bassman amplifier, no less), to our George Q. just absolutely tearing the roof off of that place. Hands down, the single most unforgettable performance at the club that night was “Entertainer of the Year” recipient Doug Moreland taking a running start and sliding face-first down the length of the bar, (beer mugs and all). The party then moved over to the Jefferson Inn, (where all the nominees were staying). It was like spring break, all the doors to all the rooms thrown wide open, musicians spilling out into the parking lot, beer cans and cigarette butts from one end of the place to the other. There were signal flares going off and a golf cart, (driven by no other than Moreland himself), squealing around the corner on two wheels. I guess it was after 3 AM when the Jefferson police first showed up and admonished us for our reckless behavior. The crowd slowly dispersed and thankfully, no one got arrested. But, after about twenty minutes, heads started poppin' out from behind closed doors and a bunch of the die-hards started congregating outside again. When the cops would pull through the parking lot again, everyone would high-tail it back into their rooms. This scenario would repeat itself several times before it was either, (A) a lack of drunken ambition or, (B) the thought of getting blasted by the dreaded East Texas sun that would eventually close the book on this epic adventure.
We enjoyed a magnificent spring last year here in Texas. The wild flowers were astonishing in their shear numbers and variety of brilliant colors. And then, of course, there was the rain. Lots of it. Our little town of Marble Falls took a direct hit when 18 inches of rain fell overnight and a wall of water ripped through town. The force of nature that created such havoc was mind-boggling. Many of our neighbors and friends suffered significant property damage, but fortunately, no one close to us was injured.
In early May, (after an epic gig where our biggest fan Moe tipped us over $1,000), Barbara and I set out on a series of radio junkets with the intention of promoting “Back Roads” as our new single. The first leg took us to stations in Abilene, Sweetwater, Big Spring, Midland and Lubbock, (followed by a spiritual detour through Palo Duro Canyon). Then, it was up to visit a couple of stations in Amarillo, and a quick run out to Stanley Marsh's Cadillac Ranch before heading back south on HWY 207. This rolling stretch of blacktop from Claude to Silverton is called the Hamblin Highway. If you're ever up in these parts, you owe it to yourself to make the drive, (it offers a great glimpse of Texas history as well). Once we got to Silverton, we took a short jog east and stopped by Caprock Canyon to take in the scenery, then off to Turkey, Texas to pay homage to Bob Wills before making a beeline over to Wichita Falls. After making a night of it with some of WF's entertainment icons, we headed up north into Oklahoma with stops in Weatherford, OK City and Ada, before finally bedding down in the budding metropolis of Hugo, OK. Day three found us headed over to Idabel, OK before crossing back over the Red River bound for Paris, Sulphur Springs, Athens, Malakoff, Fairfield, and Bryan/College Station. From there, we made the final turn west for “home sweet home.” The next week, we headed out again...hitting Huntsville, Livingston, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Longview, Shreveport, and Rustin, LA, (all in one day), then started out for Beaumont the following morning. With a merciless rain following us through central Louisiana into Texas, we cashed it in, hit a few produce stands and made the big push for home. Now, as if we hadn't endured enough punishment, (which I will explain in just a minute), the following week we took a little day trip up to Burnet, Lampasas, Comanche and Brownwood, before heading for San Saba and then home. You might be asking yourself, “what did y'all hope to gain from all this running around?” Well, the idea was to get in some “face time” with some of the radio people who report to the Texas Music Chart. You see, these days in order to get a radio station to play your music, your best bet is to hire on a radio promoter at $3000-$5000 a song. Barbara and I figured we could save some money and take the “old school” approach, (you know, like Loretta and Doolittle Lynn in that movie “Coal Miner's Daughter”), drive around and just do it ourselves. Sad thing of it is, while every single small, privately owned station was kind enough to at least take a few minutes to talk with us and even consider playing our music, them big radio conglomerates wouldn't even give us the time of day. Come to find out, there is more money changing hands to get regular airplay than we had initially suspected. So, what we didn't invest in actual dollars we invested in miles, just taking the Back Roads...feeling so free. Regardless, we got to see a lot of beautiful country side and meet some genuinely good people, and that's really what it's all about.
Summer came and went without much of a fuss. The lake stayed full, (as it is to this day), and temperatures were mild for the most part as we kept making the rounds at all our regular haunts...The Iguana, Hondo's, The Silver K and the Back Porch. Then, there were the shows we did with Brandon Rhyder, Mickey and the Motorcars, The Derailers, South Austin Jug Band, Sonny Burgess, Johnny Cooper, Nitzinger, Daryl Dodd and Max Stalling. We made an appearance at the Hole in the Wall in Austin, (since so many of our fans are always asking “when are you ever gonna play in Austin?”), and were invited to kick-off the Bay Jammin' Summer Concert Series in Eddie's hometown of Corpus Christi. All in all, it was a pretty good summer.
September found us zigzagging our way across the state from Fredericksburg to Austin, east to Houston, back to Fredericksburg, up north to Vernon (on the Oklahoma border), back out to Luckenbach, west to Lubbock, down south to Port Aransas, then up to Bryan/College Station.
Barbara and I were soon to find that traveling in close confines with Eddie, George, and Chris is definitely a study in goofy human behavior. Not saying that I'm in my right mind, by any means. But you pack us all in tight for 6-7 hours straight and it becomes the “Theater of the Absurd.” George alone is a piece of work, but you get him and Eddie goin' and it's hard to keep it between the lines we get to laughing so hard. Good times. And fortunately we all appreciate a wide variety of music, so, when we run out of funny shit to say, we crank up the music and rock out like Wayne and Garth. The trip to Farm Fest in Vernon was classic, with the resurrection of Barbara following the announcement that the Dust Devils had a “Piper down!” Then, there was the infamous “Twinkie incident” later followed by the birth of “Baby Chuey.” Don't ask. I know this makes absolutely no sense to y'all, but it's got me laughing just thinking about it. It is the stuff of great, adolescent cinema. (It's what keeps us young.)
B and I finished up September at KEOS Radio's “Volunteer Jam” in College Station. We did an acoustic show to benefit the co-op station at the request of our good buddy and radio personality Jimmy Roberts. On the bill that night were three songwriters who I have admired over the years: Mark Jungers, Adam Carroll and Susan Gibson. After the show, we all went back to the hotel, picked guitars and aired our fascinations and frustrations with our craft. I seem to recall us doing some drinking as well. It was indeed an honor for me to be in such good company. Thanks for that.
October means pretty much one thing, and that is “THE COASTAL BENDER.” We'd like to personally thank all the sponsors who came on board to make this the years event an enormous success. It's all pretty much a blur now...but we are so grateful to everyone who set aside the time and resources to come down to the coast with us. We are truly blessed to have such an ever-growing circle of really good souls who know how to have a great time. If you've got personal accounts you'd like to share with us, please post them at www.myspace.com/coastalbender And, if you liked this year's T-shirts and you need some similar work done, please see Dennis at Discount T-Shirts in Marble Falls and tell him you “Caught the Big One.” We came back from the Bender, did a show at The White Elephant in Fort Worth, (complete with simulated fornication on the dance floor for the greater part of the night), before Barbara and I made an impromptu decision to head out to west for a little “down time” in what we would later call the “Big Bender.” It was our first camping trip down on the Bend and would become the source of inspiration for a whole slew of new songs over the coming months.
As the year drew to a close, there would be a lot of writing going on here in our humble trailer. At Barbara's urging, (and probably due in large part to her keen perception of my fragile mental state), I have begun exploring my writing from a variety of different perspectives, no longer allowing radio friendliness or some bought-and-paid for Music Chart to enter into my creative process. What has evolved is very personal. So much, in fact, that we have decided to pursue making this collection of songs a new record as a solo release. I have recently begun playing some of this material in public and I thank all of you with whom I have shared these ideas for your kind words of encouragement. The last thing I would ever want to do is abandon those who have helped to establish a firm foothold in this field. However, in order to do the music justice, it must be a slight departure from the direction the Dust Devils have been on. This, however, does not in any way mean the Dust Devils are to become secondary. Not a chance. Actually, it reaffirms my conviction on how I would like to see us grow and prosper this year.
So, there you have it. As 2007 slips away and those passing days become a blend of laughter and song, it seems best to simply hold on to the good days and let the troubled times fade away.
We are grateful for the gift that brings us together and the bonds we create by opening our hearts and minds to the idea that goodness prevails. Thank you for making this life so special. Here's wishing you and yours peace, health and prosperity in the coming year.
Posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 by The Dust Devils
