Streets of Laredo

Whatcha Gonna do When They Come For You

2011-10-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

so everyone always tells me how I have to watch mad men, or pawn stars, or hoarders.
They'll say "Hey dude, you gotta see dog the bounty hunter". or "hey bro, I was watching storage wars yesterday, and they scored a huge treasure chest", or some shit. My response is always the same, "Its reality t.v., who gives a shit?"

Then, A&E did it. They got me. They reached right into my brain and figured out what I wanted to see, and now, I am eating my words. A&E isn't just for chicks anymore i guess, cause they have a new show called Bordertown: Laredo. Its so bad ass. I'm hooked on the adventures by these 8 or so narcotics officers. they are tuff as nails and they are out to get everyone. I'm sure some of it can be hammed up and I don't care. I'ts funny and entertaining, and shocking at the same time. It's great. It gives of the vibe that the origanal "cops" shows used to give.

Roly is my favorite, and I am getting an ortiz t shirt made asap. My Pops was worried that it gives the town a mad image. I beg to differ. I am thankfull that theyre are some individuals who are willing to make a dent and not just let the city burn. I'll tell you something, these guys should make everyone look over their shoulder.

Alright after that shameless plug, I'll get back to the music. They are lovely people at daytrotter have broadcast an old hacienda session. Check it out here. Also, There is a new clip promoting the new Hacienda album recorded in Nashville at Easy Eye Studio. As I get details, I will pass them along on here.

I'm packing all day on my way to L.A. with the Hacienda dudes. If you live somewhere that is not the Pacific Northwest, or the deep south, then we are probably going to be in your neighborhood. Come by and say hi. We will be playing early sets on these shows supporting ity and Colour. Mostly new songs I think. Happy halloween everyone.

It Begins...again

2011-10-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

from frank weysos on Vimeo.

so, as the video will tell you. Welcome back to the streets of Laredo. I've had a good long break and am reporting with all new details of the goings on in this traveller's life. Theres something about vacations that is exhausting. Your supposed to get rest but that never happens. All you do is get out of town, crash on couches, binge on partying and you get home wrecked. Only to have to get back to work hopeing you havn't done too much damage to your self on vacation. Next vacation, I am gonna go to bed...AND STAY THERE!!!
Since I last posted, Hacienda all about finished recording a record...I think, I played in a couple of other bands, moved to Nashville...sort of, toured in a bunch of barns, got new gear, and all just in time to go back out on the road for the next 15 or so months.

So where do I begin? How about I hip everyone to some stuff I've been listening to. Check out Natural Child from Nashville. I absolutley shit you not, when I say, "This band is FUCKING MEGA!" I don't know if I've mentioned them before. they are from Nashville, and remind me of a cross between Keith Richards and the dudes from Workaholics. I'm serious...that is exactly what they sound like.
I caught them a few times over the last couple months and they never dissapoint.

on Vimeo.

Anyway, after some recording sessions in Nashville, Hacienda did a tour for Daytrotter called "The Barnstormer Tour". If you don't know about daytrotter, get hip. they are great. A studio out in Rock Island, Illinois that has been showcasing bands and artists for years. they've big supporters of Hacienda for a long time, so when they asked us to do the tour we said "Hell to tha muthafucking YES!!"
Here are some pics of what that was all about. Just 5 or so bands touring in small farm towns, playing rock n roll in barns. It was brilliant, magnificant, magical. I don't what to tell you, if you were there, it was the shit!!
Made great friends with the other bands on tour. White rabbits, Princeton, and WILDLIFE. They were all great. Heres a clip on the last night that was dedicated to the family farm owner who had recently passed, in Maquoqueta, Iowa.

Against my better judgement, and in need of a shower, a throat losenge, the lyrics to the tune, and some sobriety, we did a dedication tune with the Canadian boys in WILDLIFE and Princeton. thanks to daytrotter and everyone for allowing us to drunkenly stumble and butcher our way through a Niel Young tune.

Hacienda is about to hit the road with City and Colour. A band from Canada that has commanded some pretty big audiences. I'll be reporting from the scene of the crime every night and will post the evidence on here. Until next time... Welcome back to the blog, looking forward to meeting new people and seeing old blog firends along the way.

Good health to us all!!!!

Studio Exclusivo Part 1

2011-08-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

So Hacienda has just finished round one of recording the new record. It was quite the challenge but I'm excited for everyone to hear it. Its rockin, its pop, its country sometimes, its soul sometimes, its Hacienda I guess. I've been in a bunch of studios by now, and let me tell you, "Nothing comes close to this one!" Its the most comfortable and fun studio I've spent time in. Special thanks to Engeineer Collin, and Studio assistant Danny. You dudes were Aces. Dan Auerbach is producing and I can't say enough about the dude. He's on top of his game in every facet.

I know you'll be able to hear it on this record.

We got one more round of recording at the end of the month and look for the record to come out in stores Early 2012. Something will most likely come out before then too. Not sure what exactly.

Check out these photos taken by Alysse Gafkjen. You'll see the proccess. Basically we listen to demos, jam for a bit, track it, and mix it. It ain't brain surgury, although you wouldn't know it by the ulcers it gives me. Heres the process. Step 1- listen to demos. Step 2- Jam. Step 3- overdubs. Step 4- tweak shit. Step 5 listen back and mix. Step 6- Tweak shit again. Step 7 drink bourbon and listen to play back. Simple enough.
Check out these Hacienda Dates coming up.

08/30/11 New Wilmington, PA Chaseland Barn

08/31/11 Akron, OH Conrad Botzum Farmstead Barn
09/01/11 Dexter, MI Lakeview Farms Barn
09/02/11 Monticello, IL Kalyx Center Barn
09/03/11 Maquoketa, IA Codfish Hallow Barn
09/14/11 Dallas, TX Southside Music Hall
09/15/11 Houston, TX House of Blues
11/03/11 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
11/04/11 Pomona, CA The Fox Theater
11/05/11 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
11/08/11 San Diego, CA House of Blues
11/09/11 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
11/11/11 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
11/12/11 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
11/14/11 Lawrence, KS The Granada
11/16/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
11/17/11 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
11/18/11 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theatre
11/19/11 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s
11/21/11 Louisville, KY Headliners
11/23/11 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
11/25/11 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
11/27/11 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
11/30/11 Niagra Falls, NY The Rapids Theatre
12/01/11 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground

12/02/11 Boston, MA House of Blues
12/03/11 Northampton, MA Pearl Street
12/05/11 New Haven, CT Toad’s Place
12/07/11 New York, NY Terminal 5
12/09/11 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
12/10/11 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
12/11/11 Millvale, PA Mr. Smalls Theatre

T for Texas, T for Tennessee

2011-07-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

so finally I am back with some major news to report. I guess I've disappeared for a few months, but in that month, I've written a bunch of tunes, visted just about every relative, seen a bunch of friends, and all but relocated to Nashville, TN. I said "but". I'm still in Texas... for the moment.

Since its been said in articles or whatnot, I figure its safe for me to talk about whats going on with Hacienda. The band is set to record its thrid record. It will be recorded in Nashville, and it begins next week. Dan Auerbach will be wearing the producer's hat once again. Its very exciting to be reuniting again for another record. This time around, I would expect a different sounding record. I would venture to guess it will be a rock 'n roll record. Go figure.

In the last couple of months there have been Hacienda gigs in hotels, solo gigs with my friends CHris and Ken in abandoned wharehouses and bar room floors, and a bunch of demoing. Here are some of the photos. Now its time to get a record done with Hacienda. Next month, I'll be able to talk about a lot more music. This is probably the most excited I've been about music and bands in ages, so I can't wait to share it with everyone.

In the meantime, the songs are written, the demos are done, and its about to get real. For all the gear junkies, I plan on updating as much as I can from the studio next week. Basicall vintage guitars, amps, pedals, and really cool shit. I'll try to keep track of all the gear. Hope everyone's summer has been aces so far.

Enjoy these photos taken by Alysse Gafkjen and John Peets.

cheers,

dante

Alysse in Haciendaland

2011-04-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

So Alysse is a great photographer from Ohio. Thats her on the left with yours truly and El Padrino, Alejandro Escovedo. She totally killed it for Hacienda over the last few months and documented some great events, including sxsw, a stax celebration in Nashville, (thats former Stax president Al Bell on the right there) and a bunch of Hacienda shows. She rules. You gotta check out her page. Also, you can follow her blog. She works with a ton of bands and is a very versatile photographer. Good friend. Give her a shout too. Thanks Alysse.

Check out these Hacienda photos. Special appearance from Patrick Hallahan!!!

April Foolishness

2011-04-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

So I made it home. I'm exhausted, but not because of the 28 gigs in 32 days, not because of the 4-5000 miles of driving, not because of the sleppless nights in lonely hotel rooms. No, probably from laughing my ass off. Touring with the greenhornes is side splitting for me. Craig, and Mark, and Jack, and Patrick, and sound engineer Josh make me laugh harder than almost any other band. I don't know why, the y just do. I guess its mainly dirty jokes and old road stories. After a drunken Brooklyn, New York night, where Jack and Mark and I broke down terminater 2, I knew I had new buds for life. Great band.

This tour had guitar shopping (NY), border crossings (ONT), cajun food (IN), snow (MN), cheese curds (WI), Al Sharpton sitings (D.C.), laundromat motorcycle riding (OH) and a fish omlette and Jerry Lee Lewis (Nashville)

Here are the pictures from my phone to prove it.

thanks to everyone who came out to the the shows. thanks to Amanda and Cheryl for making multiple shows and for the m&m's. Hope to see you all again very soon.

Heres some footage from a Philadelphia dance party. No joke, these kids were dancing the whole show. lots of fun, and a gig at the beachland ballroom.

Hacienda - Live in Philadelphia - 4.7.11 from Jake Krolick on Vimeo.

South By South Best

2011-03-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

I say it every year. "I HATE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST!!!", but I don't know if I even believe myself. There was pretty much a smile on my face the whole week. I'm in a hotel in St. Louis and we met the Greenhornes tonight for a month. BUt first things first.
Me and the dudes played a ridiculous party in Nashville just before sxsw where, get this, we were booker t. and the mg's for the night. Its a wierd story on why this happened, but I'm glad it did.
It was a stax celebration with the Bar Kays. We did a set of mg's classics and rarities. I brought out my trusty esquire, and off we went. It was a treat. It was a thrill to meet Al Bell who ran stax for so long back in the day, and he was so complimentary on our performance. High praise from a man who was on the front lines of that great music.
By the time we got to Austin for sxsw we were riding high. Instead of debuting new matierial we opted for a sponteaneous set of songs from the first two records. Mixed in songs we don't always get to play. Still working on a new record, so the reveal is gonna still be a little slow.
Ran into all of my homies in Austin. Thats the reason sxsw is tollerable. Its so difficult for bands to do, but its like seeing your buddies at camp. Totally worth it. At least this year it was. I"ll say it again though, "I HATE SXSW!" maybe you cant tell.
Here are some pics from Sarah MAspero and Lilly Cazares-Mesquiti. They are my friends. Lilly rules cause she lets me sleep at her house and she makes gourmet breakfast. I"m talking soyrizo, thats right, soy, chorizo, "SOYRIZO!!!"

The pics are of some of my favorite bands, like Generationals, Floating Action and of course footage of a sneak daytripper performance in Austin.

Back to School

2011-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

So you know that feeling when you were a kid around August something. You're getting your hair cut to look fresh. He have a new shirt that looks cool. Maybe you got taller over the summer. Your pumped cause your gonna see your friends again and get back to school. Thats what I'm feeling at this moment.

After 3 months of hiding in Laredo, I get to play live again and in starts with a bang. South by Southwest followed by a month long tour of the states with the Greenhornes. Some bigger announcements coming soon, but what I can tell you is that this coming tour will be very exciting. Some new sounds from Hacienda, the Greenhornes are at the top of they're game, and we might see a musical friend or two on the road along the way.

My favorite part of touring is making friends with audiences and other musicians. I encourage anyone who comes to the next string of shows to say hi. After our set, I'll be somewhere in the middle of the crowd singing all the greenhornes tunes loud as shit. Here are some friends that I know you're already familiar with. Look for a cameo from your boy at 2:57. Blink and you'll miss it.

Here are the dates, lets do this!

Return of the Blog

2011-02-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

So so so so so so sorry I havn't kept this thing up. I'm so glad people enjoy the blog. This has been my first real break in over two years. So I've taken some time to catch up with friends, family, and good food. Hot damn, I needed some down time! Naturally, on this break, I did a bunch of traveling, saw a ton of bands, airports, highways, and slept on a ton of couches. So I got one week of rest at home, in my own bed before I'm back at it.

I just wanted to let everyone know, that theres going to be some big updates coming very soon. Lots of crazy stuff happening down here in Texas, that I'm not allowed to leak. New music for Hacienda, as well as new music from and with friends.

I always dig everyones comments. This site is gonna get renovated with a bunch of new content, and makes its return on Monday March 7, 2011. I'm excited about 2011, and look forward to doing this blog up big. I hope to see everyone on the road somewhere.

I got a bunch of stuff to blog about so stay tuned. Until then this will have to do. hasta la proxima, compadres!

Warm and Fuzzy

2011-01-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

So Hacienda is writing the next record. Almost done. Coming up next will be a record that is sounding bigger and better than ever. I'm exited about it, and thats wierd for me.
Anyway, I've been pumped about music and been using a bunch of fuzz again. Jaime fixed my Texas fuzz and it actually is sounding good. I don't know anything about these fuzzes, other than that it was the first one i ever had. The pedal thats in heavy rotation is that dark peppermint fuzz. I don't really like it live, and it never gets used live, but it sounds great on record. I'm telling you, heavy rotation. Anyway, while we were in L.A. last month, we did a gig at the Troubador. This film maker named Grant James did a bang up job on a live version of Mama's Cookin. Fun show, great tour, this is making go crazy since we dont play until March. Well, back to work. Happy MLK friends.

http://vimeo.com/18886692 from Granted Productions on Vimeo.

New Year / New Gear

2011-01-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

So me and the hacienda dudes are putting together new songs. We've been touring a bunch, so I've been playing the same gear for a long ass time. Now that I'm home I get to play on some stuff that doesnt make it on the road. In the studio down here there is this amp laying around that I was surprised to find out sounds nasty in the best way possible. Its an old Vox Super Berkley. Its wild sounding. Its a solid state amp about 50 watts and gets this broken up treble sound that is very John Fogerty like. I'm lovin it. I've been playing Voxes for a little over a year and they sound awesome. I've been using this heratige handwired ac30 live, and only this Berkley on every demo. I've never used solid state amps before, and I had a bad impression of them. I guess you should'nt knock em until you've actually tried it. Does anyone have any other Vox recomendations.

So I just did a slide part thats in the vein of Robbie Krieger's "Moonlight Drive". Listen to this

Best Moments 2010

2010-12-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

So its been a long, trying, difficult, and somehow glorious year. I am very lucky and fortunate and I have no complaints. A lot has happened and changed for me this year, so I will share the best and forget the worst. Once again in no order

1. A lot of fun this year. The first and best was a week in New York. I blogged about it earlier. A couple shows, I got to hang and play with Patrick Hallahan from the Jacket, and my homie Vishal, and it was on that trip that I regained some lost pride. I was strung out for a while and got to hang with some important friends that made my year. Thanks to all those friends for being there. It means the world for sure.

2. Laredo is on the musical map some how. My bro Fernando wanted to bring bands down there, and he hit me up about sending some friends of mine his way. Wouldnt you know it, its been a shot in the arm for music starved fans in my hometown. I love Laredo, and always will. Its in my bones.Heres a shot from a show for Those Darlins. The best chicks ever. Thats little Jesse on my shoulders, rocking my balls off.

3. My main man Vishal and I went on a trip to the Carribean where we went looking for trouble and found some. I can't say what went on down there, but heres a flip off a rope swing on a boat. Thats about the only thing we did that was legal.

4. Other than that, its all about hang time. All of you should let the people you love know that the best moments of your year are with them. It sounds mushy, but as much traveling as I do, its time with people I care about that matters most. These are my parents and my brother and his wife and kids. No, I am not adopted. Happy new year and I'll see you on the other side of it.

Best Albums of 2010

2010-12-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

So Vladimir commented a few weeks ago about posting some best of stuff for the year. I thought it was a great idea, and here it goes. Specifically, he asked about albums, books and movies. I'll start with records, cause thats what I spend most of my time doing. You know, listening to records.

Every year theres a ton of these lists. I read them and I'm usually bummed about the results. Mainly because they are all too eclectic for me. I play rock n roll, I breathe rock n roll, so what I really like to listen to is.... you guessed it rock n roll. These lists usually have jazz, rap, rock n roll, soundtrack shit, I dont know. I think if one person truly listened and enjoyed every genre, how do they keep their head from exploding when their ipod begins to shuffle. I throw my ipod in an r&b thing, a country thing, or a rockabily thing, and guess what, you put that together and you get rock n roll, easy as pie.

So heres what got me buzzing this year. In no particular order.

Pete Molinari- "Train Bound for Glory"

I've mentioned this guy a bunch here, but he is amazing. His voice is classic and still interesting to listen to. Its got a freshness, that goes beyond being a throwback. Throwbacks are novelty, and Pete is deffinatley the real deal. His voice is soulful without being exaggerated. Its legit, pure and simple. The guitar on this album is excellent. Adam Landry, the producer, kills it all over this record.

Strange Boys - "Be Brave"

These are Austin dudes that are hitting their stride. They got a bunch of attention for their first record, and I might be in the minority, but I think this album is more mature and has better songs. I love the title track as well as "laugh at sex, not her".

Niel Young - "Everybody knows This is Nowhere"

Its a reissue, but its well done. If your getting into Niel Young. "Harvest" is what people will tell you, but I recommend this one. Four words..."Down by the River"

Black Keys-"Brothers"
These guys are massive now, and no one deserves that more than the Black Keys, let me tell you. I'm not sure if this is my favorite album of theirs ever, however, without a doubt, it is the absolute greatest sounding record of theirs. It jumps out of the speakers and never lets you go. The drums and bass sounds will be copied for the next twenty years. The drums at the begining of "Howlin for you", are you kidding me? Its ridiculous how good that sounds. "Tighten up" is a hit because, well, its a great tune. Thats why!

The Greenhornes - "****" I might be biased because this is my favorite band, but tough shit. Its a great record by a great band. "Song 13" is my favorite, and Jack Lawrence sings "Go tell Henry" and its amazing!

Thanks West Coast

2010-12-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

So when its snowing all over the country what do you do. Head west, and stay there if you can. I'll be damned if I didn't have the best tour ever playing with the Hacienda dudes and then standing in the audience every night to watch the Greenhornes. They're beasts and its right up my alley. And now that I just got my copmputer back, I'm gonna keep updating a bunch of stuff coming up. Theres some big news that'll come up in January, but now I'll give you all the news thats fit to print.

Traveling throught the L.A. we passed by Alive Records. They are Hacienda's label, and they're some of the coolest people ever. Started by Patrick Boisell and Suzy Shaw who also run the Bomp catalog, Alive has been one of Hacienda's biggest supporters. Suzy made us some cookies and her and Patrick are always quick with a cool story about Iggy and the stooges or Brian Jonestown Massacre, as well as playig us some new music. Its an experience man. Jack, our tour manager and Zach Ernst from Black Joe Lewis were on the tour with us and perused the isles. Great hang. Got to hang with some Laredo dudes in L.A. as well as my cousin Danny. Wheww! This tour was just getting started.

Stopped in san Francisco and had a shit ton of fun. Before we started touring I was a standard American Asshole and thought things like soccer, smoothies, axe body spray, muffins and San Francisco were lame. WHile I can't vouch for that other stuff yet, I can deffinatley take San Francisco off that list. I friggin love that place. I've been maybe six or seven times and its mega! I try to walk around as much as I can cause its not like other American cities. Took a bunch of photos like this center for the arts that you may recognize from the movie the Rock, where Sean Connery meets his daughter for the first time. Dig that! A foggy golden gate bridge peir where they were shooting a movie with this dude that looked like Terrance Howard, and a ridiculously hot chick. Thats a lot to encounter on your own during a walk around the block. I even ate some fruit called parcinimans. I'm pretty sure thats nowhere near the correct spelling. they're like the indy hipster of the mango family. So all of a sudden I'm drinking coffee and eating plates of food garnished with exotic fruit. What's happening to me! Similar thing happened with me and France last year. Either I'm going soft, or I'm getting cultured. Not sure yet. Lets hope its temporary.

Heres the Greenhornes at KEXP in Seattle and us hanging outside the media club in Vancouver o the last night. Tried to find a pick where Craig looks like he gives a shit. No luck. Craigs the man. Here to hoping he's into selling me that les paul someday.

California Greening

2010-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

So these Greenhornes are blowing my mind every night.

Patrick Keeler is a monster on the drums. Its like seeing one of the greats at the Marquee club in England. The difference is he's not stealin from anyone. He's just an American drummer that was born to kick your ass.

Jack Lawrence is quiet, unassuming, observant, when you least expect it, he funks you up. Tight as shit, and locked in with Kellers's kick. He's why you can't help but slap your lap and grin ear to ear.

Craig Fox is cooler than you are. Thats why he's the singer. He's cooler than me, you and everyone you've ever heard of. His voice is what Jagger was going for.

THey travel with this dude Mark who plays guitar and keys. Great dude witht the best Dwight Yoakam story ever. I'll tell it to you some time.

See the greenhornes as fast as you can. If you don't like it. I'll give you your money back, kick your ass, and then take it back from you. You really should've liked the show. Thats my garuntee.

On the Road Again

2010-11-30T20:47:00.001-08:00

So finally I'm catching up on this site. Its been a busy time of year. Its probably busy for all of you as well. Packed some bags and headed out west with the Hacienda dudes for this tour with the Greenhornes. I mentioned before in a post from Nashville that I love love love the friggin greenhornes. Now that were in the thick of it, I can confirm that they are the most rock n' roll band I know, PERIOD!

Before meeting those dudes, I road in a van for about 12 hours due west. A lot of people don't realize how great a drive it is out west. IN December its probably the only place in the country thats wortha shit to travel to. Great weather and scenery.

SO heres how it goes. If you wanna know what is like to start a tour, here are the steps.

1. First you pack your bags. Its not like going on a holiday. Your are going to live out of this bag for the next month, and you don't have enough space to pack more than one bag. What do you do? ANSWER: You pack about a weeks worth of clothes and on week 4 your gonna smell fierce and people are gonna have to accept it.

HINT: run to Target or walmart and get a bag of clean socks at least once in a tour. New socks are a life changing event, ALWAYS!

2. SO your packed up, now its time to ride. Earplugs are a must. Headphones will save your life. A portable dvd player is my only friend. I've been watching some concert movies and hittin the redbox where we stop.

3. When you get cabin fever, my recommendations are to: SUCK IT UP, this is the life you have chosen. Accept that your ipod is king, accept that truckstops are your refuge, and accept that you are confined to a bench seat in the back of a van.

You know why? Cause when you get to where your going, you get to play the guitar for people that want to listen and thats just about the coolest shit ever.

Finally I arrive at the first stop. Turns out its a hard rock cafe in Phoenix. You know its like chuk e. chesse for adults. Well, fuck it, I'm playing it anyway. Theres always tomorrow, right?

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

So Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I know this is late, but it turns out my computer has taken a turn for the worse and theres no saving it. Its unfortunate, that laptop has been all around the world and its over. Thankfully I was able to back up all my stuff and save some irriplaceable photos and videos from the last few years. My advice to all of you is to get an external harddrive just in case. Allright, enough of the nerdy shit.

I'm not a huge holiday person, but I spent Thanksgiving in my hometown and it got me thinking of things to be thankfule for, so here goes.

1. Thanks to everyone who has participated in this blog, i've enjoyed doing it for sure and plan on continuing.

2. Thanks to the spurs for getting off to a good start for once. Maybe they rest players down the stretch and be healthy for the playoffs for a change.

3. Thanks to the Greenhornes for getting together to tour again. This band is a huge favorite of mine, and I pysched to be on this tour with them.

4. Thankfull, that I'm finally getting my health back. I've been out of sorts for the better part of the year, and hav'nt been the easiest dude to be around.

5. Thanks to friends and family and all that stuff for hanging around with me for yet another year.

Holy shit! This might be the sincerest thing I've ever written.

Viral Blues

2010-11-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

So I wasn't able to post anything these few weeks cause wouldn't you know it, my computer has contracted a bad virus. Without this computer I have realized that I can barely function in life. Its kind of embarassing. All my stuff is on there. Fingers crossed I don't lose any files. So in the meantime if you get weird emails from me selling viagra, or vouching for the son of an African Prime Minister who wants you to hold on to his money for him, or how I can get you discounts on your meds, IT AINT ME! Anyway, enough of the nerdy shit.

I switched to my phone to utilize its resources. No go on that either. So anyway sorry its taken a bit to update.

Since I don't have much to show off, I visited the wonderful world that is Youtube to let you know about an awesome band that opened for Hacienda at the begining of the month. I've talked about them a bunch in interviews and stuff. They are called the Jungle Rockers and they have the worlds best guitarist. I'm a complete guitar junkie and this guy can smoke everyone. Its pretty amazing.

Check out this clip of them here. The sounds at the 1:55 marker are amazing. What am I saying, its all bad ass.

When Hacienda started playing in Austin, we had a gig with the Ugly Beats and these guys. Joe from the Beats told me "You know, you and this guy from jungle rockers are kind of the dudes fighting for guitar spotlight right now in Austin". I thought, cool I'll check it out. Within about thirty seconds, I knew I was outmatched, outclassed, and no where near this guys league. His names Mike Molnar and hes a tele wizard. watch this clip at 1:26.

I moved over to this black les paul months later and when I saw Mike again he said, very cool guitar, just like Mickey Baker. I though "Shit, this is the only guy who caught that. Mickey Baker was the reason I bought it." Everybody thought I wanted to be slash or jimmy page or something. But it was Mickey Baker all along, and Mike caught it. This guys sharp, so do yourself a favor and catch them. Heres a clip of Mickey Baker's guitar sound. The most beautiful sound in the world. The solo is at 1:40 couldnt be better.

I'm too old for this $#%@

2010-11-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

so it pains me to say it, but the time has come to celebrate a retirement. Not for me or any of the musicians I play with but for one of my instruments. The white double bound Fender Telecaster I have is retiring today. Its sad I know, but it just happened. Maybe it'll be a retirement like Detective Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon or like Michael Jordan, and we'll see it triumphantly return. I don't know. Today however the best thing for this guitar to do is retire.

SO I am celebrating the career of the guitar that changed my life. Born in Japan in 2002, I found this guitar through the magic of the internet. I was down to one electric at the time. I had a wine red les paul that I enjoyed but it couldn't play country, and I was on a Buck Owens and Lefty Frizzell kick. I walked into cowtown guitars in Las Vegas, Nevada and traded the paul for the telecaster and a 50's Gibson BR-9 lap steel. When I got home I played nothing but country music for about a year and half. Merle Haggard, Geroge Jones, Porter Wagoner, Dolly, Loretta, and the amazing Conway Twitty of course.

When Hacienda started I only owned this telecaster and a couple of trashed out Kents and Tiescos, so I played many of the first Hacienda gigs with that tele and Jaime had a tele that was there as a back up.

I started buying only telecasters at that point. I have owned about 12 of themand sold about all of em except this one. Still the best sounding most fun tele to play has been this bound white one. The first time I started touring I had this guitar by my side and I slept next to it every night, cause I couldn't afford to have it stolen. After all if I owned it, then I had a job.

I switched to Gibsons in 2009 during that tour with the fast Five scene, still incorporating a tele for Dan Auerbach's tune real desire, but that was about it. Kelley from Those Darlins played this tele for about sixth months and theres no telling what experiences it had on those stages and in that van. Probably fun. I brought out an esquire this year and was playing the bound tele in the second half of this year for the song "Mama's Cookin". But unfortunately, its run is coming to an end. The guitar started seeing some abuse, mostly from me. I have fun onstage, but that person on stage is not me. I have zero control of what that dude does. Well that dude has a lot of fun, but when he gets frustrated on stage, you better watch out. That stage dude decided to go all "Pete Townshend" on that tele, and I had to put it to a stop. Suffering a complete control plate collapse. Then the guitar would recover and see more action. But when I saw the cracks coming from the body, I knew it was time for a break. So I suggested retirement, and we'll see what happens. I'm gonna miss you telecaster. Hopefully we'll find a situation for you post the rock n' roll life.
This is the guitar's final performance at Terminal 5 in New York. It was a glorius send off and it was bashed on that stage for the last time.
Thanks Tele.

love,
dante

Finally Home

2010-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

so when your home, you cant wait to leave town, and when your on the road, you usually cant wait to get home. Not the case when your touring with Grace Potter and her crew. Its like summer camp with these guys. I didn't want to go home at all. They are some of the most positive people I know. This is Benny Yurco, Guitarist extraordinaire. Whenever I would ask him, "hey Benny, How's it going? How you felling today", he would always answer with a big smile on his face and say, "Living the dream, man. We're doing it" Its impossible to be down around these guys.

After New York, we met GP and the Nocturnals in Pontiac Michigan. I preceded to go about five days without sleep. It was great. Grace cooks every night. She made Her psychedelic breakfast for me and Frank, we saw the giants woop the cowboys on Monday night football. And played the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Their drummer Matt Burr is one of the funniest poeple I know. The dude had me in stitches the whole time. All star players and all star people. thanks Grace, Matt, Benny, Scott, Catherine, Josh, Ben, Sam, and Justin.

So here's a super top secret exclusive clip. I'm probably not supposed to leak this, but I don't think that many people read this. Don't tell anyone you saw this hear. Its a clip of Grace Potter at the National Zoo in their animal costumes. check out your boy at 1:22 in this clip.

from frank weysos on Vimeo.

Benny and Scott have some amazing gear. Scott's a total tele wizard and plays great slide on a 70's sg. Benny's got a les paul with PAFs that is out of this world, and his sg custom looks cool as shit. These dudes look hard when they play, its great. This entire band and crew has a bud for life down here in San Antonio, Texas. Believe that.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

So it finally happened. Its about 15 years too late, but I've now outgrown Halloween. I guess I outgrew it a few years ago. I love candy, especially m&ms, but I didn't have the desire to wear a costume this year. I don't know if I'll do it again. Heres a spooky full moon during a Hacienda show. That was about as Halloweenish as I got this year. I'd been Hulk Hogan, the Hamburglar, civil war soldiers in years past. I just didn't have it this year. Just got home after a tremendous run with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. They killed it, by the way. They had great costumes. I just couldnt get psyched for it this year. Maybe if I had kids, I just don't know. only 364 days will tell for sure if I can get back on the Halloween horse. Coming up next, I'll post some stuff from the Nocturnals tour. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Best people we've ever toured with, band and crew.

So I would just like to wish you all a Happy and safe Halloween, and a great Dia de los Muertos to you all as well.

Chicks Man! (Gear Post in Disguise)

2010-10-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

so anyone whose spent about an hour around me knows I'm gonna talk your ear off about nothing and everything at the same time. What can I say, I got the gift of gab. There are two main things that people ask me after a gig. The first is "Dude, what pedals do use?" and the second is, "SO whats the chick situation on the road like?". I'll start with the fist question. When it comes to gear, I'm changing all the time. The guitar player's lament, is that it can always be better. My setup has been pretty similar for the entire year. Thats been rare. When I started playing I bought every pedal and traveled with a 4 foot pedal board that had delays, flangers, tremolos, you name it. I also mainly did a les paul standard. Eventually I got into the tele scene got a smaller amp and turned into a country picker. Now, I dont know what the hell I'm doing. I think I'm just rolling with it. Gone are the superfluous stomp boxes and rack of four teles that make the exact same sound, and in are just a couple of old faithfuls. This big red Gibson 355 is blowing my mind every night and is a joy to play, and the Black Les paul custom just always looks cool. I can really just travel with those two guitars and be happy. I've got about 5 pedals or so, and really the only ones that matter are a reel echo and the gospel bomb by this dude Hudson electronics. Thats the rangemaster clone I was telling y'all about. A couple of fuzzes are mixed in to get really nasty at the end of a set, but I dont use fuzz as much as people think. When I'm asked about the fuzz tone I was getting on stage, I dont have the heart to tell people that my amp is just really really really really loud and I use that treble booster. So there you have it, get a great guitar, play your amp loud, get a treble booster and an echo and thats what I sound like.

And with regards to that second question, I'd like to say "None of your fucking business!" nah, that sounds mean. Look, chicks are great, I love em. But come on, why does anybody care? If you must know, I went on an actual date the other day that was quite lovely. I've never been on an actual date with a chick I met in a town randomly like that. Nice meal, walk in the park, and a hope to see you soon. So there you have it, it aint really like rock of love, and I'm certainly no God damn Bret Michaels. Hope that doesnt let you down anonymous sleazy dude.

These pics are from Sarah Maspero at the Canal Room in NYC. thanks Sarah

My Morning Jacket are Robots!

2010-10-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

So we did a gig with my morning jacket at Terminal 5. What can I say about MMJ that hasn't been said already? Lets see, here goes, "My Morning Jacket are actually Robots!". Alright alright, thats not really true. I just figured nobodys said that already. When we rolled into the venue, the jacket was rehearsing the album "At Dawn". they would play it in its entirety that night. This was my first time seeing the jacket live. It was ridiculously good. My sister in law lost her mind at the show. She looked over at me and said "Im not intoxicated one bit, and I am getting this on a level that no one else is right now". I took her car keys just in case. Jim James' voice has been known to mesmerize audiences. I guess it works. Their guitarist carl has some great gear. He's a total les paul dude.

Then theres Papa Dynamite on the drums. Mister Patrick freakin Hallahan. My favorite drummer, check that, my favorite person ever! Sorry mom, he's that nice. The crew was very positive and we played our set to what seemed like a million people. I guess it was really several thousand, but whats the difference. Thier set killed. Check out this review from Brooklyn Vegan. thanks Jacket dudes.

Dante Takes Manhattan

2010-10-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

so this current tour has been quite the challenge. Believe it or not there is a limit to how much fun you can have. I'm in the back of van somewhere in central Pennsylvania and I'm sick as a dog. Could it be allergies, maybe a cold, you know the weather is turning. My money is on that I have been up for about 8 days laughing my ass off and drinking obscene amounts of everything.

Rolled into New York with the Hacienda dudes at about 2 in the morning on Oct 18th. Frank and I made a b-line for the city and never looked back. As I mentioned before. There was quite the gang from South Texas that made the trip to the big apple. I've done the New York run now about a dozen times, so I thought I'd hand out some pointers on how to do Manhattan correctly (or incorrectly, depending on your threshold for hi jinx).

New Yorkers get a bad rap for being cold. Heres how to warm them up. Dont stay across the bridge in Jersey. The commute will wreck you. We found a friend with a place in the city and that saved the day. First things first, have a mexican girl wearing sunglasses with you at all times, even if your indoors. People are a lot nicer to you if a chick is by your side. Second, never make plans. You'll break em everytime. Cabs take long, the subway has a wait. Your gonna be late, once you've accepted tardiness as a way of life, just pop into a bar and have a beer about it. If you're in a band do not pander to the audience. They dont like you anyway. Most of them are just there to be cool and talk shit to their friends. Saying shit like, "Go Yankees!" never friggin works. Play your tunes, shut the fuck up, and get the fuck out. They'll respect you for it. Last, the city is crawling with girls, so stay away from hookers. There mostly dudes, anyway, and remember, if you brought that mexican girl with you, chicks will dig you more. Other than that, bars close at 4, get a hot dog from Criff Dog's in the village, and when shady characters say "hey man, can I ask you something" at about 4:30am just keep walking. Do central park, but please dont bring a guitar and you'll do fine. It aint exactly how the muppets did it, but it worked for me.

The Hangover

2010-10-21T21:49:00.001-07:00

So I'm in Cleveland right now, and I have the night off. I am so hungover, I can't even enjoy the jersey shore finale. Its a drag. Not hungover from booze, just New York hungover. I love that city, I do, but its exhausting. I had about 12 people from south texas make the trip to New York for the My Morning Jacket/Hacienda show. I am compiling all the details and I am going to explain it all soon. But sleep is a must, cause that city sure doesnt let you. Here's a preview clip.

and in the "out of left field" department, I thought I'd share a family fun fact. I did this interview the other day, and one question that is pretty frequent is: "You are related to the guys in Hacienda, is your whole family musical?" I usually answer no. Yeah, the Hacienda dudes are brothers, and I'm their cousin, but other than that, I thought that was it. Until...

You see, I forgot that on my fathers side (opposite from the Hacienda dudes) there is a celebrity musician. I forgot cause I've only met them once. They live in Mexico City, but my Father's first cousin is a Mexican pop star. This is his band. They've actually sold millions of records, and when I went down there for a wedding, there were some poparazzi style phtographers hanging arund trying to catch this dude. Weird, right. The band is called Onda Vaselina, and the dude is Oscar Schwebel. He's the one in the middle with the goatee, and I think he's married to one of the girls. Not sure though. They are a pop group with guys and girls that sing and dance. These chicks are pretty hot. Its probably similar to mickey mouse club or something. I 'm gonna see if we can arrange some sort of intro. So sorry Oscar, this is my attempt to set that straight. Check out this clip of some song that was huge when I was in high school. So strange!

Keepin it Beard

2010-10-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

so we spent last night in Little Rock, Arkansas. Its very important that I provide this disclaimer - "Not everyone in Little Rock Arkansas is a meth-head". There I said it. Now that being said. The people in rooms 210 and 208 last night were. We happened to be in room 209. On my way to New York with the Hacienda dudes and we stop for the night at whatever anonymous hotel William Shatner and his priceline Big deal buddy have hooked us up with. Shatner, my friend, I love you, but you fucked me last night.

The hotel was connected to a strip club. At first, you think, "thats cool". But at 4:30 in the morning, the bass line to "Pour Some Sugar on Me" tears your soul out. We were greeted at 8 in the morning by our neighboring meth-heads hanging out in the hall blasting the band offspring from a boombox. Abe called the front desk to complain, and damn! You would've thought that we stole their stash. These dudes were tweakin. They began banging on the walls and general intimidation. When they saw a couple of bearded assholes and Frank Weysos (Filmographer) walk out, they began to play it a lot cooler. They just stood at the tailgate of they're pickup waiving a butterfly knife. At this point of the story, I wish I was embellishing, but they actually sat there waiving a friggin BUTTERFLY KNIFE. We jumped in the van and got the shit out of Little Rock.

The beards a tough look. I was gonna shave the other day, but I think it makes anybody look harder than they really are. (Michael Jackson excluded) The beard may have saved our lives. Had we walked out looking looking pretty, we wouldv'e been in some serious trouble. Truth is, I really just wanted to look like Steve Cropper. Heres a clip of Cropper with Booker T and the Mgs that changed my life. Cropper and a rosewood telecaster, "are you kidding". Nobody would mess with that dude. Thats why I got one of those guitars. Sometimes, someone will tell me, "Dude, you kind of look like a young Steve Copper". I play it cool, and say "Wow, really, sure dude". But inside, I was going for it all along.

So were almost in New York. Me and Frank kicked it off classy with a chug, and we'll see you Yankees this week.

Dont do Drugs, kids!

AC HELL Festival

2010-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

So its been one of strangest weekends I've ever had. You see, hacienda had a two week vacation, and I visited ACL Festival. Normally I can still function after a rough weekend. But this one left me bruised and battered. I've been peicing stuff together and here's what I've come up with.

So we played Antone's with Black Joe Lewis in Austin. It was supposed to be an ACL preshow. Kind of odd, seeing as how niether band was actually playing the festival. The show was fun just like any other, except, wouldnt you know Dan Auerbach was in attentance that night. I was righting out the setlist and as he peeked over, I said "And I guess we'll close with Hidden Charms (a song by Link Wray that we always closed the show with on our tour together)." Without skipping a beat Dan replied, "I'm in! What key is it?" So we power throught the set and call Dan up for the last song. I handed him a les paul and cable and plugged into the other channel of my ac30. Dan says on the mike, "I've never shared an amp with another man before". Off we went. Great performance of the tune, and sure enough by the end we had successfully blown this amp up. I dont recommend two loud as shit guitar players sharing an amp. Its dangerous.

Next was the festival, saw SOL faves Those Darlins as well as a ripper Black Keys set. Saw a little bit of Soft Pack. It was hot, it was crowded, and I was tired so, I bounced and crawled into a bar on fourth instead.

Saturday followed my Darlin friends to their show in Laredo where, I hate to say it but everyone over serves alcohol to the bands. The shots dont stop coming to the stage until the music stops. These girls were ripped up. Fun show, but damn if these girls could barely stand by the end of the set.

Anyway, by the end of the weekend I was burned out, I had a couple of close phisical encounters with assholes and was ready to be home. In fact theres one dude that I hope he reads this, cause if I see him again, I promise all of you and him that I will kick his ass. No shit, thats a promise. Not the best weekend, but I plan to make up for it in New York next week.

So to recap.

- The singer of Soft Pack is a good dude. I really like the song Extinction.
- Dan Auerbach and me sharing an amp will destroy it every time.
- If your in a band make sure you have a good meal before you play Laredo. They will try to get you drunk.

So in the best news ever department. Hacienda is going to tour the West coast with The Greenhornes from Cincinnati. I couldnt be more excited about this tour as this is the best friggin band playing right now, period.

Here are the dates

12/5/10 The Casbah – San Diego, CA

12/6/10 The Troubador – Los Angeles, CA

12/8/10 The Independant – San Francisco, CA

12/10/10 Berbati’s Pan – Portland OR

12/11/10 Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA

12/12/10 Media Club – Vancouver, BC

get tickets quick cause they'll sell out.

The "My Blog is your Blog" Contest

2010-09-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

So this blog is about to hit the 6 month period right around the time of Hacienda's show at Stubbs in Austin. When I saw Mishka Wetsell's poster design for the show, I thought it would be great for a contest. I started thinking of how to do a blog contest of some sort and got bored, so I figured out something more interesting. You see, touring is hard work. I know it seems like we're just goofing around, cause we are. But its physically demanding and you miss your friends and the main thing that gets you through the tour is when you see people becoming fans. Its something that never gets old. I was the guy at the show with a sharpie and a camera and bunch of questions. Pete Anderson was my favorite gutar player. Heres me hanging with him at a gig in Austin, where I talked his ear off about telecasters and steve cropper licks. check him out here in this clip where hes shredding for Dwight Yoakam.

Since we've started traveling, people have responded to the bands I've played with, and I have found myself meeting people that wanna talk to me. Its mind blowing! I'm just a dude. So I figured it out. Instead of some contest, I o.k.ed it with the Hacienda dudes and we are going to be giving away signed copies of the new poster to those who have been so supportive along the way.

And the winners are.......

Sarah - from Austin has attended 9 shows that I can remember and she gave me the idea for this blog.

Vicente and Jose - These dudes have a band called Bam Bam and the gigalos in Madison Wisconsin and have been to 4 shows in Madison, Chicago, and Milwaukee, no matter how cold it was outside.

Eric - from Birmingham has been to 3 shows with his wife Stephanie. great to talk gear with.

Sergio and Adrian - from Laredo. play in a band called automatic weekend, and always spread the word and hook us up at home. they even opened for us down in Laredo. It was great!

Will - from San Fransisco. Always represents with his Hacienda gear and is our biggest west coast supporter.

Mirby - Jason is his name, and hes been to a bunch of shows. Hes the worlds biggest Black Keys fan and has Hacienda's back as well. He even shouted out happy birthday at our show in chicago last June. Nice touch.

The Indianapolis crew - This group keeps getting bigger and bigger. These dudes are in a band called back action, and you can see them in Frank Weysos tour video.

Vishal - this one might seem unfair seeing as how this is my best friend. But this dude has been to over 50 shows and he never lets me guest list him. He's also traveled the most miles of any fan. He lives in the valley in south Texas, but has been to shows in Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, and everywhere in Texas. So he's legit. Check him out watching the show from the stage at lollapolooza he's the one with the blue v-neck and bono sunglasses in the begining from side stage.

Mystery Chicago girl - Theres a girl from Venezuela I think. Shes a student in Chicago and has been to multiple shows including an acoustic performance at the old town school of folk music. Shes been very supportive. I can't remeber your name, but if your reading this and you think I'm talking about you contact us and we'll figure it out.

So here are the rules:
If you are any of these people contact us at haciendamusic@gmail.com Put "blog contest" as the subject. Then I will ask you a question that I think only you can answer to authenticate your identity. Once thats figured out, we'll send you your signed poster. Easy as pie. We can only send one poster per winner. i.e. only one poster will go to the indy group and the same for The madison and laredo crew. You guys can put them up in your jam space maybe.

Theres no deadline for this contest. I'll save one until you contact us. I have a feeling you already keep up with us and will find out that you've won.

You see, a true fan isn't someone that wants to get high with you, or buy you booze. Its someone that enjoys the music and the band, period! These people are great examples of those that support music.

thanks for all your help everyone and we'll see you on the road.

Dante and the Hacienda dudes

Home is Where My Beer is

2010-09-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

So to cap off the last tour, Hacienda finished with three shows in Texas. I was tired. Check that, I was on friggin "life support"! I just hadnt been home for six weeks at this point and it was starting to show. My clothes at this point could walk on their own. My guitars were water logged in sweat, and my sanity was questionable at best. So being in Texas was very comforting, but no less chaotic. We ran down to Laredo and were greeted by a rainbow, so I hoped that was a good sign. Played a great joint with Jeff the Brotherhood from Nashville. I like to think I can keep an objective opinion when it comes to shows, and I am in no way embarrassed to say that Jeff the Brotherhood stole the show and smoked that place. Very difficult act to follow. Its straight up riff rock for the entire set and they crushed it. It was a god damn guitar showdown with the brotherhood. Different styles, I guess I'll leave it to everyone else to decide. I love the shit out of that band. they are heavy and really nice. We hit some late night mexican food with the brotherhood and set off to Marfa. Great night, I hope everyone really enjoyed it because I truly enjoy going home. We might have been a little too loud. Check out this clip and you be the judge. I wish we could have played longer but judging by how late the show was and with the time approaching last call we didn't do an encore. I hope no one was terribly disapointed about that. It was late and we made a judgment call there.

After the Marfa gig I mentioned before, we ran home to San Antonio and played the Lone Star Indie Bash at the Brewery. I had no expectations good or bad for this show. I just figured it be another gig. Thankfully, I couldnt have been more wrong. The place was packed and rowdy. Other acts included TExas Tornados and Bob Schnieder, but the best part was all around bad ass, Dale Watson. He's the real deal. Cool as ice and a true original. He plays all the time, so find him and you'll hear what I mean. Seeing Bob Schnieder was cool, because their bass player bought a custom hand-beaded guitar strap from my mom. I couldn't find a picture where her hair wasn't covering the strap, but if I do, I'll update this. You see my mom made guitar straps for me and Dan Auerbach, check out this video and you'll see them both. They always look great in the lights.

Great vibe, great beer, and an all around great time. It also marks the end of that set. Now that we have a few weeks off, we are putting together a new show for the next tour. saying goodbye to a set that we have done for about 140 shows is a good feeling when you feel like you really maximized it. So be prepared for a lot of songs we dont normally play to be mixed in soon.

Thanks to miss maspero for taking these photos in San Antonio and Edgar for the pics from Laredo. And to Jeff the Brotherhood, I look forward to dueling again. Vacation starts............NOW!

Blog in a Coma

2010-09-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

So you know that fortune cookie game "in bed", where you read fortune cookies and at the end you say in bed? I'm thinking that this band should incorporate that somehow. The band I'm talking about of course is Girl in a Coma. They are San Antonio's favorite band. Hacienda did a couple weeks with these girls and I didnt know how we'd fit. Turns out we fit like a brand new pair of socks. As soon as their tour manager Michelle opened her mouth and said the most foul-mouthed uncomfortable thing I'd ever heard (I cant even write it down much less say it) I knew we were in for quite the tour. These girls are all kinds of fun people to hang with. Very different personalites but all very creative. Thier audience didn't seem to quite know what to make of Jaime's new racially insensetive and sexist drum head. We love it though. We ate Jambalaya at Yatz' and did some thrift store shopping in Indianapolis, all night festivities in Iowa for Mexican Independace day, and hopefully made some longtime friends with these girls. Its great to have a new crew to run with at home. Phanie is tough as nails on the drums and Nina's voice is very dynamic. Jen plays bass and sings sweet backup vox. She's also a film maker. She makes movies on the road. I'm not talking tour movies. Actual scripted films that star her band mates. they are are great. I'll try and convince her to share one with me for you guys.Crazy festival in Marfa called El Cosmico with us and Girl in a Coma. A great mix of DIY ultra creative and ultra talented hippie artists in the middle of the west Texas desert. Next year mark your calender and figure out how to get to this boutique festival and camp for the weekend. It will be worth it! Trust me. The West Texas desert is amazing looking. Way better than Nevada, in my opinion. We filmed a video for Dan Auerbach's tune "Heartbroken and Disrepair" out there in Marfa, so it was great to return.

Check out GIAC doing David Bowie's song "When the World Falls Down" from the movie Labrynth.

Nashville Cats: Part 3 (Finale)

2010-09-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

So whadyaknow, it can't all be partying with friends when in Nashville. You may as well get some work done. Lucky for me I've got some great friends who like to work. Seth Kauffman was in town and it was a perfect opportunity to try and play some music. Bryan Cates plays bass in Floating Action with Seth. He also has his own music and is on tour with Band of Horses. You should give it a listen. These guys are kind of the shit! We hung out at Bryan's house. (thanks to Bryan and his roomates Logan and Keegan for letting us make noise.)

Seth has a four track with him at all times I think. We demoed some tunes, ate good food, and now I got some new ideas for the next Hacienda record. Now I just need this current tour to go buy lightning fast.
Seth plays on a bad ass firebird, wears green shoes, and carries a fulltone tape echo on his person. I had my Epiphone Frontier, some motorcycle boots and a bag of peanuts. So that should tell what the music sounds like. Bought his record at Grimey's and you should too.

Floating Action is a band I truly respect and Seth is sort of a genius. Check out these clips.

Shaking Through: Floating Action from Weathervane Music on Vimeo.

What a week in Nashville. thanks to everyone who helped me out there. You all know who you are.

Nashville Cats: Part 2

2010-09-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

So if chicks dig guitar players, then what do guitar players dig? Well I dig chicks who play guitar, go figure. One of my favorite players and all around people is Kelley Darlin and the rest of her band in Those Darlins. they have a new 7" out and new record coming out next year. We're good friends so when in Nashville, you may as well go guitar shopping. Thats exactly what we did. She plays guitar and bass and that band has cool gear. Kelley and Jesse both play Epiphone casinos, but Kelley was looking to mix in something new, so off we went. Believe it or not the guitar center in Nashville isn't terrible. They actually have some cool shit.

We started the test with a Gibson es 339. It was cool. Its a slightly smaller body than a 335 and has a good sound. Plugged into a loud as shit Marshall it was kind of lifeless. If you remember before I told you she was mixing in a telecaster I had, so we tried a semi hollow tele. It was better than the 339 for what she plays, and we thought it might have been the one until, I convinced her to try a les paul. Now I became a Gibson convert in the last 2 years, and the les paul is a very versatile guitar. More versatile than most people might guess.

Well, she picked up a light one, plugged it in, and wouldn't you know, that thing just started to sing in her hands. It was ALIVE! It threw us both for a loop, and with a price tag of about 4 grand, it was going to take some serious rethinking on how to get this guitar in her hands. Go see Those Darlins on the road right now with my favorite band The Strange Boys right now, and keep an eye out for Kelley to mix a Les Paul soon. Fingers crossed.

p.s. Kelley grows Pumpkins, and squash and all kinds of vegetables in her back yard. Its about the coolest thing ever. She made me cookies on a Saturday night and showed me all around town. Thanks Kelley Darlin. Alright now seroiusly, I got to do some work while I'm here in Nashville. Standby........

Nashville Cats: Part 1

2010-09-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

So theres this tune by the Lovin Spoonful called Nashville Cats. Its a fun tune and a favorite of mine. Its about how everyone in Nashville is a bad ass guitar player and its in a country twang style. Very cool, and almost dead on.

Hacienda had one whole week off, and because I have a hard time sleeping in my apt cause its boring, I got on a plane headed to music city U.S.A. I planned a couple of things along the way but really was just winging it. It might've been the most fun trip I've had all year. I'm still piecing together exactly what happened.

Nashville is an interesting place. I've been a bunch of times, but never really settled in there. Theres so much industry that it can have a hint of an L.A. vibe. Trying to figure out whose full of shit can be difficult. Some people that are not full of shit are the dudes in the Greenhornes (nice segue huh!). The Greenhornes are from Cincinnati and are amazing musicians with great soul and vibe. You have to experience them live. Unfortunately they haven't been playing much since jack white recruited members of that band for his various projects, dead weather, racuntours etc... so imagine the excitement around the band now that they are back together playing shows.

The show was ridiculously sold out at the basement, a tiny club in east Nashville. Thankfully my friend Kelley new the doorman and got us in. Their gear is great, their songs, are great, people dance, what more could you ask for. Check out my favorite song called "End of the Night". Go see this band and dance your friggin balls off, everyone!

Guitarist Carl Broemel, of My Morning Jacket, opened the show and played a great set of mellow atmospheric music that was very cool. When in Nashville go to the basement underneath Grimey's record shop and see a show. Its a great hang.

We got pretty bombed and figured how to get home. Day one in Nashville and it already exceeded my expectations, now it was time to get some work done...

The South Will Rise

2010-09-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

So sorry I havnt updated this, but Im in Nashville on a work/vacation. Its been great. I'll tell you all about it. But first things first. I'm happy to report that Jose Canseco went deep in his second at bat as well. Dudes on fire down there. Finished up our run with the Black Joe Lewis and Honeybear dudes. It was a great tour and those dudes are great. Very enjoyable. We hit up Charleston on the hottest night of the year and drank Omegang Abbey. Its a beer from upstate new york but I only get to drink it at the Pourhouse in Charletson, SC. Go figure.

If you live in Birmingham, visit the Bottletree because it is a great place for bands to play, and every band appreciates the staff at the Bottletree. Thanks to everyone who came out. We wrapped up with a show in Austin at Mohawk's Red River on the Rocks. It was great to be in Austin, and lucky for us we'll be in Austin 2 more times before the end of the year. It really is a great place to be.

YouTube Tuesday

2010-08-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

So its a Tuesday afternoon in Charleston, SC and the road is slow. New York was the best its ever been. So we're all riding on a high note at this point. Thanks to the Bowery people for covering the show and taking photos. Some guy in Hoboken, NJ said we were too loud and called us assholes for destroying his ears. I thought that was awesome! The other couple hundred people that were there wanted us to play longer, so suck my balls anonymous dude.

If you look closely at the picture on the left, the dude in the center behind us just got tazed. No segue for that. I just had to put this in.

We're in the the thick of the tour and are headed south. Here's another one of Frank Weysos' clips. It features all the extra- ciricular stuff on tour. Once again this is a blog exclusive until this new hacienda site comes out.

Here some DVD style commentary for the clip above.
---At the beginning both Abe and Jaime are not wearing shirts, then later they are.
---There are no drugs of any kind in the cookies that we are eating (sorry)
---Unfortunatley frank managed to catch the band looking particularly greasy, as we wer'ent able to shower for that 3 day run do to time constraints.

So this is a strange story. Laredo is a wierd town. Its kind of like the Twighlight Zone. For some reason, things happen here that dont happen any where else. I dont get it. We were somewhere in the midwest and I got a text message about 8 in the morning which may as well be the middle of the night for our band. It read simply, "Dude, Laredo Morning Times headline Laredo Juiced for Canseco". I tried to go back to sleep but how could I. You mean original bash brother, Jose Canseco, the man who single handedly blew the whistle on steroids and the game I loved has signed a contract with the Laredo Broncos.

My first thought was, "I gotta see this". My second thought was, "Who the shit are the Laredo Broncos". Turns out they are an independent minor league team that signed the infamous Canseco as a player/coach.

This guy is actually playing at the same field (West Martin Field)that I played at in High school. I used to ball, and I was pretty good. This newspaper photo does not prove that. I will have you know that this photo of a botched double play was a bad throw from the shortstop. I swear it. The paper didnt cover the game where I went deep, or when I pitched the game of my life in our first district playoff game as seniors, because one of our stud pitchers failed all his classes. No they covered this game where we got crushed by Holy Cross. BULLSHIT!

Anyway. I was excited to find this clip of Jose in his first at bat on that same field. Its AMAZAZING!!! Can you beleive it. As the coach, he puts himself in to pinch hit and goes deep in his first at bat. I'm thinking biopic starring Jon Cena.

Booze and Pickles

2010-08-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

So me and the Hacienda dudes are on the run for another couple weeks or so then we get a break for about a week. We are once again hoofing it with BJL and the Honeybears. Everything seemed normal until the van pulled into Louisville. Thats when things get a little hazy for me. You see not only do they have the best bourbon in the world in Kentucky. They like to drink it. A lot of it. Not by the glass, but by the barrel. We played at Zanzibar a cool joint with a low stage and a loud ass P.A. Holy shit was it hot. After storming through our set, I run to the back patio to put on a dry shirt, and I have about 4 Bourbons waiting for me. What was I to do. After all I'm in Kentucky, it was Monday, and I like bourbon. Well, as I am writing this, its Thursday, I dont remember the last few days, and I could use a glass of water.

Going over some photos and video in my phone, I was reminded of a new shot. I'm sure its not new to all you raging boozers, but new to me. It was called a a pickle back. Its essentially a shot of vodka, and a shot of pickle juice to chase it. Sounds horrifying but surprisingly it was not that bad. Unless the booze that night killed my tastebuds or my ability to gag.

Thanks to the Hallahan Family for feeding us. We actually ate smoked pork butts. Its about the softest meat you can eat. AMAZINGLY GOOD! Traveled through the Midwest. Toledo, Ohio was kind of strange. Louisville rocked my balls off, and New York is up next. We'll see how the yankees get down by comparison.

Super top secret clip here. Below. This is some footage shot in June/July by Frank Weysos on the last tour. Its going to be on a new Hacienda website, but I am leaking it here for the 10 people that read this. Thanks dudes, and enjoy.

Untitled from frank leal on Vimeo.

We're all Fans, aren't we?

2010-08-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

So if your a huge Black Keys Fan, then there is a great site to spend some free time on. Its called the Black Keys Fan Lounge. Its a forum with a bunch of characters on it. Cool Hang, and cool people. Its run by this dude, Bruce, who Invited me to tell a couple of Keys stories. So check this one out. As fan sites go, this one is top notch. Visit the forum and prepare to learn all kinds of Keys secrets.

Also, thanks to Sarah for the photo at the top of this site.

Nerd Update

2010-08-04T18:28:00.001-07:00

So for all the gear nerds. Here's an update. I was gonna keep it a secret but I've been playing this guitar for about 70 hours straight. I'm tired but I can't put this gutiar down. Especially since I am running it througha new pedal.

I picked up this Gibson es 355. I used to have one just like this. It was a 1973 and it was what I used to record the second Hacienda record. I was short on dough, and to be honest the guitar sucked live. So I sold it. It was wired stereo so it was a chore to cable it up for one amp and still use both pickups. It bothered the shit out of me so much that I sold it first chance I got.

What did you know, but I got seller's remorse. I thought about getting another one all the time. It was taking over my life. I even lost one on ebay that went for about 4 grand. Ouch!! When I found this one I had to have it. Its actually availible to play mono and stereo. Its awesome, and it sounds great. I'm still gonna be using the black Les paul, but this one's gonna see some playing time, fo sho!

I've been running it through a new pedal I recieved from a nice guy out of England. He runs a effects company called Hudson Electronics. I put in an order for a "Gospel Bomb". Its a treble booster based on a vintage rangemaster. I wasnt familiar with any of this stuff, so I figured it would be worth a shot. I was happy with the analogman fuzzes and was looking at replacing the ibanez tube screamer. This pedal might replace several pedals I have. Its a great sound. It actually sounds like my amp is rattling. Its awesome. Its not a fuzz, or an overdrive, and somehow, its better. Fuzzes can be extreme, and overdrives can sound a little fake sounding. This thing sounds like my amp is cranked to perfection. The only problem is, I want to leave it on all the time.

Check these pedals out. There are a couple of U.S. dealers, but I think they are still new.

Summertime Blues

2010-08-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

So I've been on vacation. That sounds kind of dumb, considering I don't really do anything anyway. I feel dumb even typing that. I've had the chance to hit South Padre, which is in surprisingly good shape, and I've been visiting friends listening to new music. Went tubing on the river. A must in Texas. Got a new phone so hopefully I'll have some better video clips, and I got a new guitar thats coming out on the road next week. I wont say what it is, but I'll give you a hint. I said I would get one of these again soon. Finally got a hair cut. Your welcome mom. Been watching Louis CK's new show on FX called "Louie" and its amazingly funny.

One of my new musical discoveries is this girl Courtney Jaye. She is a pop singer who had a couple of radio hits. Most of it is not my musical taste however I stumbled onto a cd while cleaning out my suitcase. When we were playing with Floating Action at the Earl in Atlanta, She joined Seth and the band for a tune called "Sunlight". Seth gave me her record and I forgot all about it. He produced her last record in the Seth Kauffman style and it sounds very cool. I was driving in the valley listening to the new BRMC record and heard a voice in the background. I looked up the notes and it said Courtney Jaye sang on it. I raced to find that cd and put it on and I'm glad I did. The style of this record is very interesting.

Everything Seth does is cool, and this record is no exception. Heres a video for a tune. The record is called "The Exotic Sounds of Courtney Jaye" Listen to a tune on her myspace called "Maru Maru". Its great.

Went to see the Doctor. Why do they give you paper gowns at the Dr.'s office? Its humiliating. I think you can tell exactly how I feel by this picture my bro took. I've been given the clean bill of health to get on the road and thats what I intend to do. Check out these dates and say hey if you get the chance.

Upcoming HACIENDA dates:

Thu 08/12/10 Forth Worth, TX 8.0 Restaurant & Bar

Fri 08/13/10 Denton, TX Boiler Room

Sun 08/15/10 Columbia, MO Blue Note w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Mon 08/16/10 Louisville, KY Zanzabar w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Tue 08/17/10 Toledo, OH Frankie's w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Thu 08/19/10 Pittsburgh, PA Rex Theater w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Fri 08/20/10 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's w/ Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Sat 08/21/10 New York, NY Mercury Lounge

Tue 08/24/10 Charleston, SC Pourhouse w/ Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Wed 08/25/10 Birmingham, AL Bottletree w/ Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Thu 08/26/10 Hattiesburg, MS, Thirsty Hippo w/Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Fri 08/27/10 New Orleans, LA, One Eyed Jacks

Sat 08/28/10 Austin, TX, Red River on the Rocks @ Mohawk

Tue 09/07/10 Louisville, KY, Skull Alley w/ Girl in a Coma

Wed 09/08/10 Columbus, OH, Rumba Café w/ Girl in a Coma

Thu 09/09/10 Detroit, MI, Magic Stick w/ Girl in a Coma

Fri 09/10/10 Lansing, MI, The Loft at Harem Urban Lounge w/ Girl in a Coma

Sat 09/11/10 Indianapolis, IN, Radio Radio w/ Girl in a Coma

Sun 09/12/10 Chicago, IL, Beat Kitchen w/ Girl in a Coma

Mon 09/13/10 Madison, WI, High Noon w/ Girl in a Coma

Tues 09/14/10 Minneapolis, MN, Triple Rock w/ Girl in a Coma

Wed 09/15/10 Fargo, ND, The Aquarium w/ Girl in a Coma

Thu 09/16/10 Cedar Falls, IA, University of Northern Iowa w/ Girl in a Coma

Fri 09/17/10 Lawrence, KS, The Bottleneck

Thu 09/23/10 Laredo, TX Old No. 22 w/ Jeff the Brotherhood

Fri 09/24/10 Marfa, TX, El Cosmico Gathering

Sat 09/25/10 San Antonio, TX, Lone Star Beer Bash at the Brewery

Tues 10/19/10 New York, NY, Terminal 5 w/ My Morning Jacket

Keep San Antonio Lame

2010-07-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

So I'm from Laredo, my parents are from Laredo, my grandparents are from Mexico, Elian Gonzalez is from Cuba, but Hacienda is from San Antonio and always will be. I love Austin, I love south Texas, I love America. But, no doubt about it, Hacienda is from San Antonio.

A lot of bands will move to Austin and change their facebook status. I dont get it. We cut our teeth in Austin but that didnt change the fact that the band was created in San Antonio. Bands changing zip codes shouldnt matter. A band is only born once, and where there born is on their musical birth certificate. Remember that. Its not about where you live but where your from. All that being said, unless supermodel, Marissa Miller, starts returning my calls, I aint moving to hollywood or anything.

In Austin, they have a popular endearing campaign with the slogan of Keep Austin Weird. Its easy to get behind. Austin is weird, but thats what makes it never boring. Its a great place to live. Laredo is violent, unfortunatley and thats what people like to talk about. I only hope that I'll live to see peace south of Texas. Someone in San Antonio started a campaign to Keep San Antonio Lame. I know it was in an attemp to own what people were saying about the city, but you know what? It works.

Hacienda played a not so secret free show at The Limelight in San Antonio. People in San Antonio don't complain about why its lame. If I want something weird, I'll head North to Austin. If I want something fancy, I'll take a trip to New York or something. And if I want a safe, fun, cheap, friendly place to live, where the food tastes like it was made by God, then I'll stay in San Antonio.

We hadn't been able to play in our backyard for over a year because of scheduling bullshit, but this show was great. A treat for us. Its was great! There was line outside. The stage was dressed with colorful props and the guitar was loud as all hell. The audience was dancing and there was even a free lone star or two. Gone were the notions of, "Austin's where you gotta go for a show", or "Where do all the cool people hang?" Fuck all that! If San Antonio is lame, and these pictures can show how lame of a time we had then please "KEEP SAN ANTONIO LAME!"

Thanks to the Hawks for playing with us, and thanks to Sarah Maspero for taking these photos. Best time ever dudes.

Trade Deadline

2010-07-27T19:50:00.001-07:00

So I grew up in the 80's and I have been a giant major league baseball fan up until the end of the 2007 season. I actually fell out of favor with the league in 2005 but was awaiting retirement for one of my favorite players to leave the game for good. Steriods, spoiled athletes, corprate greed, rotten ownership and management, ridicolous prices for games and concessions...I'm losing you, better get back on topic here. O.K., what I was getting at was, when I was a fan I thoroughly enjoyed the trade deadline. July 31st, every year, teams in the hunt would trade for players that were essentially all stars on teams in last place.

If you read the hoarders post from last time, then you will remember that I am not into collecting guitars. I'm into playing them, and only playing the ones that matter. So I'm noticing some guitars sitting on the bench too long, and I do need a proper back up, so I'm doing just that.

TRADE UPDATE: A couple of telecasters are up for grabs as well as a les paul with 3 humbuckers that is too much for me to handle. I'm also gonna get a small amp to add to the mix, in case some clubs complain about my volume.

To all who read this and play. Dont let guitars die in the closet or under the bed in a case. Play a few that really matter and trade what your not using for something you will. That loyal guitar, you know, your old buddy will thank you for it.

On that note, just as a point of reference:

Best mlb trade ever - Aging middle releiver Larry Anderson from Houston to Boston in exchange for top prospect Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell happpens to be my favorite player of all time and the reason I always wanted a beard.

Best guitar trade ever - rare cherry red 60's fender 1000 pedal steel that I suck at playing - That black Gibson les paul that I play every friggin day.

I really do suck at playing pedal steel. As far as I'm concerned you have to be a god damn witch to play that thing.

The Cure for Boredom

2010-07-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

So Im super friggin bored these days, cause there aint a whole bunch of work right now. In fact the doctor says I'm supposed to take a break. I'm using this break to clean up my place and I'm supposed to trade a couple of guitars, we'll see how that goes. A couple of super-top-secret-side projects in the works. Nothing serious, just for fun. I'll give you a hint, pedal steel guitar. I'm not saying anything else.

So in this downtime what can I possibly do to occupy my time. Read a book, learn a new language, get a head start on christmas shopping, work on my truck, dust under the television set? No of course not. I have become addicted to this show called "The Closer". Its on TNT and its about a lady cop from Atlanta who moves to L.A. and interrogates people. I'm not sure what caught my attention, but on the last run I bought all five seasons on dvd and just saw the season premiere on Monday. Its more or less taken over my life. I have an addictive personality so this happens to me all the time. I dont know why it happens, it just does. Something similar happened about 10 years ago with a little program on NBC called "Wings". Ever heard of it? I know that Kyra Sedgwick is like 40 something but man, I think shes super hot. 40 year olds are hot now. It happened!

Hacienda is doing a super fun free show at limelight in San Antonio on Wednesday July 21st. If your in the area, we'll make it worth your while. Thats a guarantee. After party at my apt. I'm gonna try and convince the dudes to play some stripped down tunes at a cook out before doors in the afternoon. Its a long shot.
Anyway, there are a bunch of dates for Hacienda coming up. There will be some new dates announced. I'm probably not supposed to announce this, but once again, I am super friggin bored so here goes. We'll be joining our good friend Patrick Hallahan opening for his band My Morning Jacket in New York October 19th. Hopefully we can convince him to do some double drums on our set, or at the very least some percussion nick nacks that Patrick and Jaime get all jazzed about. You heard it hear first. Dont tell anyone yet, or else I get in trouble.

Official announcementnt and tour dates coming in the next week or so. As well as a new song recorded in Detroit July 3rd, with some tour footage to follow, perhaps? I think so. I'm usually last in line to find out these things.

Cheap guitars are expensive

2010-07-09T15:04:00.001-07:00

So when I first started playing guitar, I had a cheap yamaha acoustic that my parents bought me. I still have it it. It sits in what used to be my room, in my parents house in laredo. Its missing a tuning peg, so in order to tune it I have to use needle nose pliers. The point is, when you are learning to play, it doesnt really matter. If you want to be good, dont quit and you'll get there. I didnt even ask for a guitar. My parents just thought I could use a hobby. thank god they did. I guess this will have to be my fathers day/ mothers day post.

Anyway, I was working at the mall as a kid and I saved up forever to buy my first electric. I wanted to be a real guitar player, so I did the research and decided, if I spent a ton of money on a real nice guitar, then I wouldnt quit, because I spent so much dough on it. I got a Gibson sg for about $1200 bucks. I got it solely based on this picture. I think the black one is amazing looking. Mine was just o.k. I was still dogshit, but I was locked in to getting better.

Once I started doing this seriously, I tried every guitar, fenders, epis, ricks, gibsons, tiescos, a kent, even some no name stuff. Something I learned from Dan Auerbach was that guitars are about as good as you make em. You see that sg I had was good, but I sucked. I also had a les paul that I got for about 1500 bones and it sucked. You really need to work with a guitar to make it great. If it doesnt conform to what you want to do, then get rid of it, your just wasting your time.

Dan likes "cheap" guitars. You know, Harmonys, Kays, and Supros. Of course the vintage market has gotten a hold of these and now they fetch huge prices. Dan was ahead of the curve on these and has a bunch of old harmonys, that along with Dan Johnson, his guitar tech are making great pro instruments. Try and find an old body, get someone who knows what they're doing and you to will have your own one of a kind gem. This is Dan's supro and an Ibanez lawsuit.

I'm lazy so I buy stuff and if it doesnt work for me I sell it. All this being said, Some guitars that are stupid expensive, and worth every penny. I'm way into this 64 black trini lopez. I'm looking for one if anyone knows where to find one.

If you buy an expensive guitar, you must play this shit out of it. If your afraid of scratches then your not really a player. I got to use this 64 epi casino. they sell for about Elevendy billion dollars and sound awesome. We borrowed one for recording, so I ended up buying a 68 casino later that year.

Good luck finding your own signature axe.

p.s. if you are at t in the park or the oxygen festival, you will see dan Johnson playing bass for the Black Keys. Knock em dead D.J.!

Black Joe Lewis almost killed me!

2010-07-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

So alright, alright, maybe he didn't almost kill me, but it was on this tour that I nearly died. It wasnt from serious injury, disease, or an accident. No! It was the food I've been eating for 3 weeks.

You see on the road, it seems nearly impossible to eat right. I'm trying, and if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. I refuse to do any of the artery clogging trinity that is McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King. Instead, I have only been eating chick-fil-a and chipotle for a month. Its not exactly healthy, but I figured it to be the easiest alternative. Wouldn't you know, the day I get home, I get some real sleep for the first time. The next day I hit the grocery store and make a legit meal, and sure enough my insides are ripped to shreds. It seems that your body gets trained to eat shit for so long, that it reacts negativly to things like broccoli, celery, carrots, lean meats , and fancy cheeses. I'm working on a recovery program that consists of soups and salads. The situation is critical. I will keep you updated.

On a side note, if your ever in Indiana, you might want to expirience the KFC buffet. Thats right KFC has a muthafuckin buffet! The only thing that can quench the thirst that come from the KFC buffet is the KFC megajug. Its about 80 ounces of the soda of your choosing. Its about the size of a mop bucket and has a friggin handle. Abe and video director frank Weysos could not resist and expirienced it in all its glory. They're still sluggish. I was at the chick-fil-a accross the street, I swear!

So back to the tour. Black Joe Lewis is from Austin and so are his honeybears. We've known these guys for a couple of years, and they are a great group of people. They like to have fun on and off stage and thats important for me. The horn section is shit hot, and I think Hacienda is gonna have to steal them at some point. they were really amazing. Their guitarist Zach Ernst is a music junkie who is always giving me great records. He knows guitarists, and is a great dude to talk shop with. He only uses the tiniest amps, a fender pro junior, and an eastwood
airline stratone copy. great sound. I feel a little guilty sometimes cause my stage volume is loud as shit, and they keep theirs pretty even. Great dudes, great tour.

I had a birthday on this one, and normally that doesnt matter, but it was on my birthday that I found out A. we have a twitter page, and B. someone reads it. As we walked onstage in Chicago, someone shouted happy birthday before the first tune. I was speechless. I thought"How do they know?" "Is my dad in the audience?" rene informed me he tweeted it. I thought that was a nice gesture, and thanks for the birthday wishes.

I dont have a ton of pics from this tour, but Frank Weysos is putting together tour footage from Indianapolis, Chicago, and Columbus. I'll post it hear when its all wrapped up.

Grace Potter, Blues and Lasers, and Catherine of course!

2010-06-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

SO its been a while since the last post, but its been busy as all hell, not too mention just as hot, as Hacienda rolls throughout the east coast and mid west with new best buds Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. We just finished up a run with the heroes of Burlington Vermont, and it was one of the most fun tours ever. Lots of booze, lots of poeple, lots of miles, and best of all lots of rock n' roll. these guys are amazingly nice, and treated us as if we were in their band.

Grace has an amazing voice, a tight band, and a pro crew that keep it all together. All right, all the ass kissing aside, the tour was fun as shit! The Nocturnals are huge into whiffle ball, and we found many whiffle ball diamonds along the way. Matt Burr, drummer, has a perfect swing and a closet full of leather vests. Benny Yurco is a clutch lefty bat ala Tony Gwynn, and Scott, also on guitar, throws nothing but strikes, all making for a solid game.

This tour featured alot of speeding on the highway as hacienda was constanly late. Sorry about that. If you dig poptastic tunes by a pro band, then you'll dig Grace Potter. The band is awesome. Catherine, the bass player was a cardinal with Ryan adams and plays bass for Levon Helm. She's a total sweetheart. Grace had a birthday in Cleveland so we decorated her bus with Ben the tour manager, and the afterparties were solid all the way through. Cant stop talking about how much fun this was.

so here are some grainy videos

So this first video is a beer run at beachland ballroom in Cleveland as we cecorate Grace's bus for her birthday.

This next one is the big reveal, sorry its too dark.

So here is the pre show warm up, singing some tunes with Benny and Scott.

Ben Erickson is a bad ass tour manager and very enthusiastic. You'll see what I mean.

Heres us in Memphis for the encore with the Nocturnals

Minglewood hall in Memphis has the best wiffle ball field

New York Spoils

2010-06-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

So Hacienda is back on the road. Show 1 was in New York city. I've been going there for years playing music, and I used to hate it. the smell of garbage, the crowds, the lines, the honking of horns, and overall apathy of the people who roam the streets.

All that being said something is changing. The last 3 trips to the city are changing my mind. I'm running into friends, and its always a different experience. You see all the clubs around the country are pretty similar, and then you get to the city and its a complete wild card. I dont know if I could live there ever. I'd run out of dough in about an hour, but I'm gonna be there every chance I get and get into as much trouble as I can.

Got to hang with Peter from Alberta and Geoff Auerbach, who is just about the funniest dude I know. As well as Robert and Lily from Laredo. I'm always in a good mood when the LRD shows up to a show. Great hang!

Oh yeah. Geoff decided to start a conversation with the phrase "Have you guys ever seen that Puff Daddy show Making the band?" Of course nobody new what he was talking about, but apparently this is P. Diddy's favorite cheescake.

Heartless Bastards / Amy Cook

2010-05-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

So Hacienda just got back from a run with Ohio natives, Heartless Bastards. The tour was great. Mainly west coast gigs, as well as some new territory for the band. Shows in Montana, Idaho, and New Mexico were all firsts for Hacienda.

If you've never seen Heartless before, you definitely should. Erika's voice is one of a kind and the band is shit-hot-tight. Jesse Ebaugh plays bass and pedal steal for the band, and guested on our set also. He played pedal steel on Apples, Hound Dog, and Baby Dont Go. The dude can do anything. No joke!

Amy Cook is from San Jose, and now lives in Austin. She was on the bill as well and killed it every night. Very good band. Her guitar player Jake Owen is a bad ass, who plays a 68' Gibson es 335 and a James Trussart les paul for slide. Its a crazy sound. He's a gear head and has everything. Cool dude. Heres Amy singing "Baby Don't Go".

I had a bunch of shit going on during this tour, so I didn't take any pictures but here are some from other people. Thanks people. On a side note, if your ever in Santa Barbara, CA. GO eat at La Super Rica, no matter how long the line is, its worth it!
Special thanks to Mishka on this one. Mishka, I'm sure you don't read this but thanks anyway. She was working for Heartless and bailed us out a couple times. Shes on the back row here next to Jaime and Mark. For Mishka, Hacienda did a version of "Dont Do It". We've never done that before. I dont imagine we'll do it again, but it was fun.

Gonna hit the beach this week. Gonna see MacGruber, and I'm working on a new guitar. Happy Memorial Day to everyone. GO AMERICA!

Younger Days

2010-05-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

So Hacienda has done a couple of music videos. Videos are usually kind of strange. Especially if your in them. I'd prefer to not be in them, but whatever. Frank Weysos is a director from San Antonio, who I met through the Dr. Dog dudes. He had done some work for the Park the Van Label, and everyone would say, "Your from San Antonio, do you know Frank?" Well, now I do. Frank and his entire team are some of the most creative people I've met. They're all involved in film, music, photagraphy, production, you name it.

Anyway, these dudes did the new Hacienda video for the song "Younger Days". They did an amazing Job. Special thanks to Frank, Chuck, Darren, Cosmo, Eric, and especially Tristan. Tristan is the boy in the video who absolutely killed it. Eric shot these photos. The dude is a pro.

No one in the band had any idea what the video was about. It was a great to see an amazing set. they must have spent weeks and weeks on it. Its also, the only house in San Antonio witha real basement. It was hot, but totally worth it. If we do another one of these, I only hope they go as well. Great job dudes.

Rene is using an old Greco Bass. I would think its maybe an early 70's. Abe has that Farfisa and I'm using that same black Les Paul.

Pachanga!

2010-05-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

SO hacienda played the 3rd annual Pachanga festival. I didn't know much about this festival. We've had offers to do Latin events in the past, and I have sometimes hesitated. This one seemed different. There was a different vibe on this one. A lot of different sounding artists and completely different genres. I dug it.

You see, the people in this band are Mexican-American, or Hispanic, or whatever you want to call it, who cares. However, that doesn't matter to us at all. We play rock n' roll music, period! If you want to pay us for being "Latin", thats cool. I mean hey, "I'll take your money".

Saw Brownout, who are a great band. Very Meters-like. I dig that. Adrian is the man, and a bunch of those dudes are from Laredo. these guys back up Prince on tour. I went to High school with these dudes. When I heard that I just thought "Are you kidding me?". Saw Girl in Coma, and David Garza. Amplified Heat were awesome! Great festival, not too big. Big festivals kind of suck. You cant see shit, and sound is usually very questionable. Cheers to the boutique festivals all around the world for being more fun. Beer was also reasonably priced, for a festival. Lets see how long that lasts. These photos are from Richard Gonzalez.

Oh yeah, I got an Analogman dark Peppermint Fuzz. I'm gonna try and find a sound clip for it. Its a great fuzz pedal. I think I might dig it more that the sunface. Its got more treble than the sunface. This analogman cant miss right now. Hopefully his pedals dont start going for 500 bucks, cause I'm digging em.

Hoarders/The New Vegas Sensation

2010-05-23T16:54:00.000-07:00

So theres that show on TV, hoarders. I haven't seen it, but a ton of people feel compelled to tell me about. Frankly, its sounds friggin boring. But, since I am supposed to blog about gear, at least every now and again, it did get me thinking. I have an ongoing struggle with gear. You see, I want everything just like everybody else, but I also feel stupid if I own too many guitars, pedals, amps etc...

I'm a big fan of guitarists, and I have many heroes in the guitar world, and its extra special when a player has a unique instrument that stays with them forever. Players like Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, and Tom Petty are all hoarders. No allegiance to a special guitar that gives them their own unique sound, look, and feel. You always see them with something new, and if your a fan, it kind of sucks. Niel Young, Buck Owens and even John Lennon had guitars that never left their hands, and if you ever saw them you got to see that prized instrument. Even contemporary guys are doing this. I've been following Dr. Dog since 2006 and Toby's Jazz bass always makes the show. I look forward to seeing that bass as much as any member of the band. Thats rare. I understand that a player needs some tools, but I am making a vow to not own too much stuff. I'm keeping it to under 10. A couple of guitars at home and a couple of main guitars on the road. Its already beginning. I've been playing this black Les Paul live for a year or so, and its gonna stay that way. Lets see how long that lasts. Besides, I'm better off spending money on clothes, anyway. Chicks dig that sort of stuff.

side note, Just got back from Vegas and beer pong is taking off out there. No shit, beer pong is being played up and down the strip. Me and some friends were crushing opponents all day in exchange for paying the beer tab at Planet Hollywood casino, only to find ourselves too bombed to play in the nightly tournament. Those waitresses should've told us theres a tournament a night. There was even a decent cash prize. We would've dominated. Tough shit, I guess. Maybe next time.

How many songs you got?

2010-05-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

So if you write songs, that doesn't make you a songwriter. Thats the truth. If you microwave a hotpocket, does that make you a chef? See what I'm saying. I've never written songs, I've only written tunes. This tunes about this, and this tunes about that.

After touring with Alejandro Escovedo I'm finding out about writing songs. Let me try and explain this. Lets see, Frankie Valli singing "To good to be True" is a great tune. The Band doing "King Harvest (has surely come)" is a great song. One is about the sounds and a basic tune, the other is a story and a performance.

Watching Alejandro dig into a seemingly never ending catalog of songs was impressive. I got to thinking, "How do I write songs?" "What does that even mean?" Alejandro is gonna be 60 soon, and he's done a lot of living. Each song is about real things, real people, real places. they can be anyone to you and me, but they are someone real to him. So, I think I'm cracking it. A good musician can write some good tunes, but you got to really live life to write real songs. thats the new goal. Real songs, mixed in with good tunes.

And meanwhile, all I've been doing is writing tunes about girls. Go figure. I'm working on on some songs here in Laredo all week. Looking for something to write about.

I'll leave this post with a video from a daytrotter session Hacienda did on that tour with Alejandro. Its a tune called "Here Today", that has seen many incarnations. Hacienda will release this tune this summer. Until then check out an acoustic rendition with Jaime on the cardboard box.

And a clip of the studio version being cut, using a 1972 cherry red Gibson Es 355. I loved that guitar and recorded a lot of the Big Red album with it. It sucks live though. I pretty much hated it live. Too fragile. I beat up guitars and I that one would get out of tune the way I play. Great sound. Joe Bonnamassa of all people bought that guitar from me. I'm having second thoughts about having gotten rid of it, actually, as I am writing this post, I think I need to get a big red Gibson again. Maybe for the next tour.

How to Bench your Band

2010-05-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

So when your touring, there is an insane amount of downtime. Sound check can last forever. Clubs sometimes aren't prepared, and generally if your the band, your not needed til its time to plug in and play. I completely respect all the people who work hard to set up the show. All that being said, you got to find ways to occupy your time.

One such way is to work out. If your in a band, you've got no time to hit the gym, so make the gym come to you. On a long slow day in Paris of all places, I raised the question, "Can I bench press my band?"

take 1

so there was a flaw. you must support your back with some sort of padding. We used a cymbal bag

take 2

alright a new flaw. use a guitar case, place your band member on it and have your spotters balance it. Now you can really max out some weight.

take 3

last but not least. NEVER GIVE UP!

take 4

SXSW mixed reviews

2010-05-18T15:39:00.001-07:00

So the idea of all my favorite bands in one town near my home for a week seems like a home run, right? If anything I score sxsw as a solid double. A home run is a sure thing, and the only sure thing about sxsw is that I am gonna be pissed off that I am missing some great shows. You get to see shit you wouldn't normally see, correct. But, no band can be comfortable in that environment. the makeshift venues, shitty PA's, overcrowding, and annoying redbull, sony, rockstar energy drink, playstation adverts are fucking stupid. It used to be about breaking bands or announcing events, now its about gatorade, and itunes, and american apparel. Every band has to be there otherwise people think somthings wrong. There will be no changes made over the next few years. It will get bigger, and bigger and bigger, until it becomes completely irrelevant.

Alright thats my rant for the day. I did see some great artists that I now need to see again at real venues to get the experience.

Pete Molinari - If the Everly brothers grew up on London, they would be Pete Molinari. His voice is amazing and he writes great songs. This is my first time seeing him with a band, and it added alot of dimension. Really dig this guy. thats his guitar player Adam Landry. He's a producer in Nashville and guitar junkie. We talked Les Pauls for about an hour.

The Strange Boys are a great band, and we've been playing bills with those guys for several years. I think there primed to do some special stuff this year. they already have actually. this is the first time I've seen the new lineup. I really liked Matt Hammer, the original drummer. The new lineup is great though.
The Carrots, I caught at a house party, that was the best show of the week. No adverts, no bullshit. Just a band playing good tunes. New lineup for them as well. New guitar player who played a bad ass James trussart Tele. thats the thing about austin guitar players. there all good. Its sucks, cause if you get fired the guy that takes your place is probably bad ass.

I caught those darlins again. And Hacienda played a festival in some park off of downtown. Of course we blew out the PA and it was a disaster. The stage hands said we were too loud. No such thing. I play rock n roll, and I PLAY IT LOUD AS SHIT! if you want it quiet go to a jazz club and get a glass of wine. And while your at it pick up Sex and the city on dvd, your probably into that sort of thing.

Them Thar There Those Darlins

2010-05-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

So Hacienda was lucking enough to fill in some time playing some shows with Those Darlins. They're from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They are a fun band. One of my favorites from the last year. We played together for a week, but I've been running into these guys for a year. Not sure how to descibe them. Its Johnny Cash, its Loretta Lynn, its the Ramones, its Roger Miller, its the Shangri-las. Shit, what am I saying, its THOSE DARLINS! Anyway, I'm sure they'll be huge. We met them on the Canadian border, and powered through the tour. Afterall, we'd been on the road at this point for about 5 weeks, so Hacienda was getting burned out a bit.

Something really cool about this run, was that I had a special reunion. I was reunited with the Fender Telecaster. You see I exclusively played Teles for years. In fact, I didn't feel like a pro guitar player until I learned how to play a telecaster. I put down the tele and started playing Gibsons live when I began playing with Dan Auerbach. His sound is big and ballsy, so the tele was at times too thin.

Kelley from Those Darlins and I have been friends for some time, and she was looking for a telecaster to add to the mix. I had a couple lying around and lent her one. It was a white Japanese 62 style tele. In fact its the first telecaster I ever owned. Its the main guitar on the first Hacienda record. I tried a bunch of vintage guitars, but that one ended up on all the tracks. Sometimes its about what your playing more than what your playing on thats important. Its a rare one, in that it is double bound. There are almost no double bound white teles anywhere. In facts I've only seen one other that had creme binding. Most are black.

Watching Kelley play that guitar got me jealous, and sure enough I've been mixing in fenders again on tour. I just took out a blonde esquire on the current tour with Heartless Bastards.

GenerActionals

2010-05-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

So the tour continues with 2 new bands. Generationals from New Orleans and Floating Action from Asheville. Frank, a buddy of mine, hipped me to these dudes last September and i really dug "when they fight they fight". A few months later I'm checking them out and I realize their new drummer is a great friend of mine. Tess Brunet. I had no idea she was playing with them. I met Tess a few years back when I played a gig before one of her bands, Deadboy and the Elephantmen. She is one of the nicest poeple I know. So I was very excited to be playing with Generationals.

Floating Action I had seen a couple of times. Seth KAuffman is a great songwriter. It wasn't until this tour that I actually got to dive into the tunes live. Thank God I did, because his music is freakin amazing. He uses a digital tampura, which makes sitar sounds throughout the set. I need to steal that trick.

Gear wise, I started using an analogman sunface. Dan Auerbach uses these, and I was impressed that it was fuzzed out without a bunch of compression. I had been using a willis texas fuzz forever, but it was too thin. the sunface nkt275 is very bassy. Perfect for a band with only one guitar player in it.

This tour also saw us part ways with our tour manager Andy Fiegel. He had some other commitments and his last show was in Philly. He's a bad ass TM and a good cook to boot. Its a pretty important combination in a roommate on tour.

New year, new tour

2010-05-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

So to start the year, I was lucky enough to tour with some great bands. Alberta Cross is one of those bands. Their record, "Broken Side of Time" is their latest, and the guys in the band couldn't be more fun to hang with. Traveled with these dudes for about a month, and managed to find some trouble in some towns, and stay out of trouble in a few. It was a great tour. Check them out when they are in your town. This is going to be a giant band very soon. Highlights from the tour included sold out shows at the Bowery in New York and Schuba's in Chicago. Its nice to tour with a band that like to have fun away from the stage as well.

The only drag was getting caught in 3 blizzards. Bands shouldn't tour Jan/Feb if they can help it. It sucks. Shows are always in jeopardy of being canceled. At least getting stuck in Philly, I got some great food. This is the clams casino at Pizza Italia just over the bridge into New Jersey.

I did also play on a new Vox ac30 for the first time ever. I had always played fender amps previous. I was using a 66 blackface tremolux forever, but I was blowing out every room we played. SOmething had to be done, so vox it is. I'm digging it. I also took out a 57 Les Paul with the 3 humbuckers. Its an amazing sounding guitar, and heavy as balls. I'm undecided on whether or not its my sound. I'm a p90 freak at the moment. My main guitar is the 54 style.
Overall, though its was a great tour, best of luck to the Alberta dudes!

The Title

2010-05-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm titling this blog "The Streets of Laredo". Not only is it my hometown and one of my favorite places to be. Its a great song. The version I'm all about is the Buck Owens version from the "Live at Carnegie Hall" album. On that version Doyle Holly sings the lead in the deepest, coolest voice I've ever heard. Buck is from Texas, and he's a hero of mine. His museam at The Cyrstal Palace in Bakersfield has amazing pictues are artifacts. Its five bucks to get in, and its worth it! If you're a nerd for anything Buck like me.

Anyway, Laredo can be a strange place, for sure, but I love that town. Hacienda got to play there in December, and the show was awesome! Laredo always surprises me, and its a big part of my personality. I can't say enough how proud I am to be from there.

Someone sent this video link to me from a show I played with Dan Auerbach. Thats what its like when you're from the LRD.

First post. Now what?

2010-05-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

So this is the first time I've ever done a blog. I'm way into it. I know a few people who have these, and there usually entertaining. I'm a musician and I have the good fortune of getting to travel and meet a bunch of people. I figure this is a good way to update my friends. I'm not that into the facebook thing. I'm gonna try and keep it musically related as much as possible. Maybe I can provide some insight on some of the artists I've met along the way as well as some of the instruments I've had the privilege to play. The road has a lot of down time, so lets see how this goes.