The boys in the band

I've been getting a lot of requests from people to explain the band name at shows, and I promised many of them I'd post it in a blog, so now (while my allergies are kicking my ass) I've got time. But first, a long overdue nod to the guys who I'm lucky enough to share the stage with.
We haven't been playing together for very long, (way less than a year) but it's a great experience to play with such talented guys. It's also rare to find 4 (let alone 1) different guys who share the same love of country music as I do, and also are focused in the same direction.

John Kuhns (rhythm guitar/harmony vocals) and I have been playing together the longest, and he's been primarily a rock guy, and this is his first country band. (You should see the pictures of him with long hair...scary.) He's got a great voice, and we always have fun on stage together horsing around during songs.

Carl Bounds (lead guitar) came on board late last year, and is one of the nicest, and most humble guys in the world. He's been playing for the better part of his life, and is the only lead player I know who doesn't mind being in the background. He's also got some great stories about opening up for Waylon Jennings back in the day. He and his band even opened up for Waylon when the song "Bob Wills is Still The King" was recorded.

J.C. George (bass) has been with us the shortest amount of time, but is a hell of a great player, and knows almost as many country songs as I do. :) And during our Rockport trip, we both realized just how cool it is to be able to play in a genre with so much history.

Last but not least, Bill Swearingen (drums) came on board right before Carl did, and his first audition was a live gig that we needed a fill-in for in Johnson City. He's played with Pauline Reese, Jason Marbach and a few others, and (like most drummers I know) he's the crazier one in the band...even more so than me!

So, anyway, we had been going back and forth as to what to name the band. George has his 'Ace in the Hole' band, Bob Wills had his legendary 'Texas Playboys', and even Tim McGraw's band is 'The Dancehall Doctors'. Finally we gave up because we couldn't come up with anything, and eventually decided to abandon the 'band naming' for a while. We had our New Year's Eve show out at Kim's Moonriver in Spicewood to get ready for, and more important things to focus on. Earlier in that week, John sent out a MySpace bulletin advertising the show (as a joke) as Brent Allen and the Super Ultra Mega Band. He'd used this once before in a band he had when he was younger, except it was the 'super ultra mega dudes', or somthing to that effect, but he didn't think it would get any attention.

Well, as I was surfing around that week, I noticed that our friend Janice Williams posted that name on her site advertising the show at Moonriver, and we all got a big laugh out of the fact that she picked up on it. Again, we were still thinking it wouldn't stick until something that happened as I was packing up my truck to head out to the show. I was listening to Eric Raines go over all the music that would be playing around the area, and I almost died lauging when he mentioned us, and referred to it as 'Brent Allen and his Super Ultra Mega Band'. We all had a great time and a lot of fun since then trying to work it subtly into a running joke, and even an easy to remember acronym (The SUM-B's). Who knows if it'll stand the test of time, but it sure is fun right now being able to do this full time.

Come out and see what you've been missing soon. We've got plenty of shows to choose from, and stay tuned for some upcoming news about the boys and me possibly making a trip out to France this summer! In the meantime, here's what's coming up:

1/25 - ABIA: John and Brent acoustic (day)
1/25 - Kim's Moonriver (spicewood)
1/26 - Shakespeare's Pub (6th Street)
2/01 - Shakespeare's Pub
2/06 - Fox 7's 'Good Day Austin' (day)
2/06 - Cindy's Gone Hog Wild
2/07 - The Pickled Pelican (Rockport)
2/08 - Hill's Cafe
2/09 - Tarrytown Farmer's Market (day)
2/09 - Giddy Ups