It won’t be long now before we’re headed back to Slab City, so it’s high time we post a video from a night at the Range last year. Enjoy this medley of favorites by Chance. Better late than never, eh?
I recommend leaving your expectations in the rig, and being there for the eclectic mix of live music you can catch at the Range on a Saturday night. During the day you can get a few holes in at Gopher Flats and have a good soak in the hot springs or see how the Slab City Library is holding up. See ya there!
PS: If you have any videos from the Range or Slab City, comment with a link!
There will be no Luck for us this year. Luckenbach that is, Texas. But the year is only half over so at the risk of shoulding all over myself, I guess I should clarify.
We didn’t make our annual pilgrimage to Luck earlier this year. We were nearly in Texas when we had to high-tail it back to Humboldt for our friend’s unexpected memorial. Since we missed out on the cold Shiner, good people and great music, I thought I’d reminisce by sharing this playlist of live music videos from past trips.
A stop at Luckenbach General Store is highly recommended for any full-timer who enjoys authentic American singer songwriter music in an authentic Old West bar, or anyone just wants to see what Waylon and Willie were singing about.
Overnight boondocking is available in the field if no big acts are on the bill. Just don’t get stuck. But if you do, grab another Shiner and realize there’s no better place to be stuck. Can you tell I miss Texas? With any luck we’ll get back to Luck by the year’s end when we head back South again for the winter.
With that said, I’m lovin’ our Colorado mountain summer! And while I wouldn’t necessarily call it “luck” we are very fortunate to be here. With the perfect climate, majestic views, fresh mountain air and occasional moose sighting, what more could we ask for? Except for maybe a couple nights at Hondo’s old hangout.
And with that said, what do you feel fortunate for? And where have you seen some of the best Music Americana in your travels? South by Southwest doesn’t count, that’s a given. Our visit to the Floyd Country Store ranks up there for us.
How fitting, that as we left Moab and headed back to our mountain home where we’ll be remaining stationery for the summer, we heard this hilarious parody of the Hank Snow song, I’ve Been Everywhere …
Who woulda thunk the Keymaster of Gozer could create such a funny take on such a classic travel tune, let alone an entire country comedy album. But then again, ever since his Bob McKenzie days I’ve always thought Rick Moranis is one funny guy.
Check out his new Agoraphobic Cowboy album for some fun loving alt country bluegrass with a twist. We especially like I Ain’t goin’ Nowhere because it is full of silly excuses to not enjoy the ramblin’ lifestyle we love so much:
I ain’t goin’ nowhere, man.
I ain’t goin’ nowhere
It’s dangerous out there, man
Might ‘a been a big bomb scare.
Hard to get off of this easy chair.
I ain’t goin’ nowhere
I go
Online, dsl, amazon, buy and sell,
Ebay, layaway, last bid noon today,
Plasma, Judy Judge, broadband, Matt Drudge, J.Crew, B&N, dotcom, CNN
JPEG, e.mail, pop-up she-male
Shower cam, filter spam, slam bam.
I think it’s ma’am
I ain’t goin’ nowhere, man
Never gonna go nowhere
It’s a bungled jungle out there, man
Some kid got mauled by a bear
Surround sound in my own lair
I ain’t goin’ nowhere….
What a thrill to see that Casiokids are Amazon’s “Free Download of the Day.”
Who are Casiokids you ask? Only one of the best bands we saw last year at South By Southwest in Austin! What a thrill to know that we saw this quirky, 80′s-style Norwegian techno group when they were unknowns here in the U.S., playing in a parking lot where they had to throw free beer into the audience to get people to show up.
Ok, gotta admit, the free beer is why we stayed to check ‘em out. But it worked! They left an impression on us, and we’re so glad to see they’re about to make it big here in the states.
Download their free MP3 and you’ll see why we loved them. Buy their vinyl album (or MP3s or CDs). Tell a friend. And remember, we saw them when they were nobody!
People unfamiliar with Slab City are surprised to learn that there’s regular entertainment every weekend.
But on Friday and Saturday nights, you can count on music filling the air when musicians like the family band Drop 7 hit the stage at the Range or the Stage Door.
Sadly, the drummer for Drop 7 and mother of the band, Trish Scott, died suddenly on March 7. She can be seen here in this video we took, just two weeks prior.
Her death came as a terrible shock to all, since she was only 41. When news of her passing spread, our friends Jen and Johnny acted fast and got Slabbers together to successfully raise the money needed for her funeral expenses.
Here’s a video of Trish and Drop 7 during one of their last shows together.
Almost a year to the date we were in Luckenbach last year with Jerry, we returned to boondock in the same field in April. Remembering the fun Jerry had romping in their field and hanging out at the bar was bittersweet, but the kind folks, cold beer and incredible music of Luckenbach helped to soothe our aching hearts just a little.
How comforting it was to see that some things stay the same. Musican/bartender Danny Terry was still there, and Tuesday night, master fiddler and guitar player Levi Darr and friends jammed at the pickin’ circle.
Poor Levi wasn’t so lucky that night. During a break he got served by the local sheriff for something, but without hesitation he returned to the pickin’ circle, looked at the audience with a cute smirk on his face, and lit the place on fire! Nothing like suffering to make creativity blossom.
We had only planned to stay there four nights (despite the latest increase from $10 to $15 a night to camp in their field…ouch!), but Friday night after the big dance, those big Texas skies opened up. By Saturday morning, there were lightning shows, golfball sized hail, and three inches of water on the field surrounding our trailer.
Later that day, I got the truck stuck in wet, soggy mud while leaving to go shopping, and that’s when we realized we weren’t going anywhere for at least another day.
While there are far worse places to be stuck in, we were running out of waste water tank space, and after five days at the bar, the accumulation of smoke in our hair and our increasingly swollen beer bellies was getting old.
Thankfully, on Saturday afternoon, the sun came out and dried the field. On Sunday, Jim was able to carefully navigate the trailer back onto the road.
Another lesson learned in Texas: If the skies open up and you’re parked off pavement, move!
Here’s a five-song playlist of the great bands we saw.
If you’re familiar with Austin’s South by Southwest music festival, you know that it took place in mid March. It’s now mid-April. So as you can see, we’re a little behind in our postings but hey, we’re busy out here on the road.
We were so stoked to finally catch this scene. The whole city comes out for it, and they’re really quite welcoming to the hordes that show up from around the country, clog the streets, and run around showing off their prestigious wristbands to bartenders.
And while you can pay the high ticket price and get into some really incredible shows during the festival, there’s plenty of great bands, free music and free beer (I told you Texans know how to party!) to catch on just about every block. We rode our bikes all around town with Skinny Chef and Flux (thanks you two!), and sampled some great tunes, all for F-R-E-E! Here’s a sampling . . .
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