A whole year later

Yeah, so I know it’s been a really long time since I posted a blog entry, but there hasn’t been a whole lot of free or down time for me or the band in quite a while, and when I have been in the mood to write, something always forces its way back up the priority ladder. But I’m forcing myself to rest because I’m fighting off a little bit of a cold and we have a show tomorrow night that we can’t afford to miss…as they say, the show MUST go on. So right now I’ve got the time whether I like it or not. :)

I’ve been thinking a lot about how much things have changed for me and for the band in the technical year that it’s been in business. I didn’t come from an impoverished life, but I’ve had to work hard for every single thing within it. I’ve done the same things that I know most everyone has had to do in their lives at some point or another to get ahead, and (like many) a lot of time to let slip the things that I wanted to do, in favor of what had to be done.

There’ve been many times in my life that a musical career was within reach, but eluded me either through my own doing or the financial inability to really dig in deep and make it a reality. I’ve cooked for a living, drove forklifts, worked for logistical companies, was a buyer/planner and I even worked for Dell in the division that handled the big battery recall that happened a few years ago. With the exception of cooking full time (which I still love to do) and the job at Dell (which helped pay for the current album), I don’t know if I would’ve considered myself the model employee, but I was still a damn hard worker. But throughout all of the jobs that I’ve had, my mind always wandered and daydreamed about the possibility of being a full time musician. And now that I’m actually doing it, and the gears are turning, it honestly still doesn’t seem quite real.

When you’re used to a certain way of doing things for so long, and it’s been dramatically changed, it takes a while to get used to it, a la ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. And after so many years and so many people telling me more times that I can count that it couldn’t be done, now that I’m actually doing it, it’s still taking a while to really sink in. I still can’t help but wondering sometimes, though, how I was able to get so lucky to do this in the first place. But then I remember the times where I really felt like this was what I was put on Earth to do. As cliché as it sounds, it has been one of the biggest things that has kept me going, even when times are their hardest.

Though there have been many times where being a full time musician is extremely difficult, I still wouldn’t trade it all in to going back to sitting behind a desk for 8-16 hours a day, sometimes more. This is also the only job I’ve had where I’ve worked this hard for as well, because it means so much more to live the dream, but it’s also my business at a time where life and business is hard right now.

Wall Street just finished up its worst week ever, a major political event is about to determine who will get us out of it soon, and I’ve been trying to keep from getting sick so I can make sure my band and I have enough money to get through next week by playing tomorrow night in Gun Barrel City.

Will all of these problems exist in a year from now? Some will, some won’t – who knows? I do know this however…after a year, I still get those moments (more often than not) where I’m behind the mic, singing a phrase and watching the crowd dancing in front of me, and in the back of my mind I’ll be thinking to myself “I can’t believe I get to do this for a living.”

If it were all to end tomorrow, I’ll at least know that I finally got this one right.

Updates and thoughts

Wow - suddenly I just felt like putting out a blog tonight, and I didn't realize until just logging in how long ago it was since I was able to write anything here. It's hard to remember all of the specific details of what happened in the last few months, but seemingly everything is going pretty well, overall.

There's a very nice conversion van outside the house right now that we just brought out for the first time last weekend, and we love it. It's very comfortable, has a TV/DVD player in it with surround sound, and the back seat folds down automatically into a couch/bed. It's kinda funny, because I bought it less than an hour before we were due to hit the road in it this past Friday. It's got a 350 in it too, which very capably handled the towing job for our new trailer, which we also love. When we got it at the first part of last month, we were very excited but a little puzzled on how we were going to fill it. With all of the equipment we had, it only filled it up half way. Needless to say, a month or so later it filled up fast with plenty of gear.

Fast forward a few months and about 40 shows later, things are still going strong, and I'm meeting with radio promoter Ed Spacek tomorrow to begin that part of the process. I'm very excited to see what direction that will take things, because every day there's something new that I get to learn about something I've been wanting to do since I got my first guitar. There is a whole lot of hard work keeping a band going, and perpetuating its success, but I've had a lot of times lately where I've been singing in front of the microphone and playing, and I'll catch a thought in the back of my mind saying to myself "I can't believe I'm actually getting to do this." It's fun when that kind of electricity goes through your body on stage during a performance, and the feeling never gets old.

It just reminded me of the very first time I took a stage in front of a live band at a dancehall in Pflugerville called The Lumberyard (which is now a gentlemen's club, natch.) I was competing in a talent competition where the band had a set list to choose from, and you picked the songs you were going to do. I won the first round of the competition that night, and won a second time to get to the finals, and didn't end up being the overall winner, but I've never forgotten the feeling of watching people dance around in front of me and hearing the cheers and applause of the audience of my family, friends and strangers.

That almost always makes the shows so fun for me nowadays, too, because I draw so much of my stage energy from the crowd. And, now that we're starting to gain some credibility, success and people are driving 50 miles away just to come see us, it's a great accomplishment. If it all ended tomorrow, I wouldn't have one complaint in the world, because I'd be able to say for the rest of my life that I did something that was truly meaningful to me. Sure, there are drawbacks, hard times, and stressful moments that can really challenge your resolve sometimes, but there are plenty of them in any career and at many various points for everyone.

One of my favorite ladies and my first vocal coach, Marci Lynne, told me a long time ago that we'll all go through the same things in our life whether we know it or not - they just happen at different times. That also reminds me of something Hank Williams said too, is that there isn't an original song idea out there anywhere, period (or something to that effect.) But I figure if I can do my best every time I get up in front of that microphone to convey what I've written into something that's meaningful for someone else in some form or another, then I've done my job, and I can sleep at night knowing that.

Speaking of which, it's about that time - I think I hear a little thunder, and it'll be nice to go to sleep with that tonight. :)

Hope to see you at a show sometime - here's what's coming up:

Friday, May 9th
Shakespeare's Pub
10:00 PM

Saturday, May 10th
Billy's Icehouse
9:30 PM

Monday, May 12th
KASE 101 Golf Tournament
12:00 Noon

Wednesday, May 14th
County Line Music Series opening for Gary P. Nunn
7:00 PM

The end of a very long but fun week

Man...
When it gets hard to know even where to begin a blog about how much we did last week, you know it was a long one. We were able to pack 7 different shows into 4 days, so I'll just run them down one by one briefly.

Show #1: 6:30 am, Wednesday February 6th - Live on Fox 7's "Good Day Austin"
I call this one at 6:30 am, because that's when we have to be there by. It started very early, but went off very well. John and I were there with our good friend Carl Miner back in August, so he and I had an idea of what to expect. This was the first time we had the full band there, and it was really great considering how early in the morning it is (for musicians anyway) to do that show. Joe Bickett always does a great job at making this early morning performance so easy when we're in the studio, and I was a little more comfortable this time around being in front of the live TV cameras. It's pretty much the equivalent of being on stage in front of a live audience, only - well, not. :)

Show #2: 9:30 am, Weds. Feb 6th - Webcast taping at Fox
Since we didn't have to be back at the studio until 9:30, the guys and I decided to go over to Katz's for breakfast - a favorite hangout for us when we finish playing 6th street. This was probably the hardest show during the week for me because I didn't have an audience to play to, and the cameras were rolling, recording our every move, word, and note for 60 minutes. The energy I get from the crowd at our shows was obviously absent, so I just keyed in to the fact that they were there, in a sense, so I didn't lose my timing. But it was a good performance, and it was off to get ready for the next one.

Show #3: 7:00 pm, Weds. Feb 6th - Cindy's Gone Hog Wild
We always have fun at Cindy's, but our fans didn't show up until later on in the evening, and we ended up having another good one there. This is our first residency gig, and the folks at Cindy's are always happy when we're there. Our good friend Lynn brought her friends out, and it made the evening that much more entertaining, and we're always thankful for Lynn. She compares the quality of our shows to 'watching her children grow up.' :) The night would've been complete had I been able to get home at a decent hour, especially after such a long day, but Bill decided to complicate things and leave his keys in the gear van, already speeding its way back to north Austin, so I had to drive him back to Dripping Springs - oh well.. it wouldn't happen again, would it? Surely not...

Show #4: 8:00 pm, Thurs. Feb 7th - The Pickled Pelican in Rockport
These shows are becoming somewhat regular for us, and we're really happy when we're able to get down there. We didn't get to leave Austin until mid-afternoon, so we didn't get there until about 40 minutes until showtime. But, everyone at the Pelican, (especially our friend Meg) really loves it when we're down there, and it started getting interesting as the night wore on. We were getting many, many shots bought for us - so many that we had to cut ourselves off just so we could finish the show! :) Our pal Terry Evans was also there, and even let us stay at his place in Key Allegro, so we didn't have to worry about the hotel expense. The ocean is so peaceful, and even though we didn't get a chance to see much of it in the dark, waking up in front of it is nothing less than cool.

Show #5: 7:30 pm, Fri. Feb. 8th - Austin Music Foundation show at Hill's Cafe
This show was the whole reason we went to Fox, and also were honored with 1 of only 3 webcast airings for "Love Austin Music" month. Once again, we were running late enough to get back in town, so Bill and I elected to head straight to Hill's once we hit town and relax for a bit before the show. Thankfully, the weather worked out so beautifully that we were able to play outside under the oaks. Also, while we were loading in and setting up the webcast was airing online, so we all watched while we worked.
The crowd was really great, as well as the attendance, which included our new friend Joe Bickett, (who gave us a great introduction - thanks again, Joe!), Suzanne Quinn from the AMF, and friend and fellow musician, Eric Leikam. The boys and I always enjoy playing at Hill's, and we were glad to see so many people and familiar faces in the audience that night, who were just as happy as we were for the weather to stay nice.
Now, here's the funny part. Remember when I mentioned Bill's leaving his keys in his stick bag Wednesday night? Well, he did it again, and only now, this time my car was brought up by Bill's wife, and we couldn't use the van. So, I had to take Bill, Traci, his drums, my gear and all but 2 monitors for our system out to Oak Hill in my little SUV. Thankfully, Bill is a master at packing the gear, but I felt at any moment on the way there that the vehicle would explode spontaneously at any moment. Bill's lap (among other things, if you get my drift) was probably the biggest casualty of the journey due to Traci's having to shift during the 20 minute trip, but something tells me he's not going to be making that mistake again anytime soon. :)

Show #6: 10:00am, Sat. Feb. 9th - Tarrytown Farmer's Market
At last, I was finally able to sleep in my own comfortable bed the night before this show, and was thankful to do so. But, 8:30 came around much too early Saturday morning, and we had another great show at the lovely Tarrytown Farmer's Market. I was also very happy to see my very good friend Angela stop by and bring her parents over who were in town visiting from Missouri. It was another great show, despite the fact that we were all pretty beat up by Saturday morning, and poor Carl kept having problems with his car. It was even more noticable when we were breaking down and loading out after this show, and no one really said a word. :)

Show #7: 9:00 pm, Sat. Feb. 9th - Giddy Up's
So here we are, finally at the last consecutive show on the 4 day run. There was already a very cool crowd waiting for us to set up, many of whom saw us on Fox 7, and were anxious for us to get started, among them, Ronnie Huckaby, piano player extraordinare for George Strait , and one of JC's friends. The crowd was very responsive, even though I had my moments of pause due to the lengthy hours we'd put in that week. But thanks to my boys and a couple of Red Bulls, we were able to make it through and even had another friend of JC's, David Baxter, sit in on a song with us. Don't be surprised if you see him around at another show soon - he's a great guitar player, and has Carl's approval and blessing to stop by often!

Well, that's it for now, my friends. Things are definitely picking up, and even though this entry was a little longer than I expected, it was quite necessary, and there are, of course, more details that would be too boring (or legal) to put in. :) But thanks to a great bunch of guys who I'm lucky enough to share the stage with, the hard parts of stage and road life really aren't that hard, when you really enjoy what you do, and who you do it with. I'm thankful for both.

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

Back from the coast

Ok, so I've been trying to catch up from being gone for the last week or so, so forgive me for not being able to post anything since last Monday. I had planned on being able to blog a little bit during our downtime while playing several shows out on the coast last weekend in the Rockport area, but I had a hell of a time trying to get through on any wireless network. I don't have an external card, so I was very thankful to have my blackberry to check email when I needed to, otherwise I would've gone crazy. :) It's amazing how dependent we can become on technology, and I'm definitely much happier now that I have high speed access again.

So, the 5 day trip was a great success, and as it turns out, very productive for all of us. We played all weekend long at 3 different places, and all of them just LOVED us! On Thursday night over at the Paradise Key, they treated us to a very nice (and very expensive) dinner, as a way of saying thanks. If you haven't been to the coast in a while, the seafood is much better than we get up here in Austin, and it tastes so much better when you're not the one paying for it. :)

The show at The Pickled Pelican went over very well, too. It seems that they are pretty starved for good country music down there, because we made a whole LOT of new friends and fans (Reba, Diane, Stephanie, and John to name a few) while we were there. The guys and I were able to put together a bunch of new songs in the afternoon before the show, so we used all of them during the set, and they all went over great. I even pulled the crowd into a sing-along during "Fishin' in the Dark" and "Mamas Don't Let your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys".

I must admit, though, I did have a personal first that night. By the time the show was over, it was around 1am, and I didn't realize how much I'm used to the non-smoking thing in Austin, which (since I don't smoke) is hard to deal with outside of it. I went outside to catch some fresh air before starting to break down the gear and head back to Padre Island where we were staying, which was about an hour away. I came back inside and a very cute but very obviously wasted young girl and I struck up a conversation.

She was informed by some other women that night that she had to talk to me before we left. It was obvious she was looking for some company that night after the show, but I've never been one to take advantage of that situation, personally, so I tried to be cordial and get back to breaking down the gear and get out of there. She was determined, though, and refused to give up, and asked me for my phone number. I've already been getting late night calls from enthusiastic fans lately, and wasn't about to invite another one, so I told her that my phone was cut off because I haven't paid my bill yet (which isn't too far from the truth.) She accepted this and walked away again, only to return one more time instructing me to give her 'any number', and didn't even care if I made it up. I finally relented, but still wasn't going to give her my number so I went to talk to John and Carl, my guitar players, and have them help me with one. I started writing 512, and then magically (and almost seemingly by themselves) 459-2222 followed (Mr. Gattis, to the unaware.) I suspect that this probably won't be the last time that this kind of thing happens, but it will likely be the last time I blog about it. The phrase "what happens on the road, stays on the road" needs to be preserved, and I for one will be sure to do my part as best as I can. :)

Anyway, the rest of the weekend went pretty much about the same. We had another great show at Joker's, and even had some "Repeat Offenders" as the boys and I call them, from the night before. (Repeat Offenders being fans who we see at more than one show.) We also ran into Charlie Robison Saturday night too, which was a nice surprise, but it turns out that Charlie spends a lot of time down in Rockport.

That's all for now though. I've still got a lot of catching up to do, and the boys and I are playing out at Cindy's Gone Hog Wild tonight from 7-10pm. Why don't you guys come on out and have some fun with us? It'll be a great show, and we could use some fan support to show Cindy what kind of trouble we can get into. There's plenty of other shows on the calendar, too, but if you come out and mention this blog, I'll buy you a drink. :)

I've also been asked to expand on some of the other things I mentioned in my first blog entry, but not to worry - I'll get better at this, and work on adding more frequently.

Inaugural entry

I've been known to ramble quite a bit. Most of it tends to be in front of the microphone when I'm trying to fill the time by talking to the crowd between songs, or just general bantering, so I should be pretty good at blogging. I also have several other examples I try to pay attention to, (Janice Williams' and Duggan Flanakin's) are two great ones.) for guidance.

I hear it's a really great way to promote and publicize your inner most thoughts to perfect strangers, but, again, I'm so much better at it when I'm in front of an audience or trying to write a song. I really get on an adrenaline high when I'm really connecting with my crowd. And, most of the time if you've spoken to me, it's almost as if it's two different people. Case in point, the CD release party on November 28th at Hill's Cafe. Now THAT was an amazing night. I could blog the hell out of every last memory I have in amazing detail from that night because it was an incredibly validating experience.

This album was something that my friend and producer Stephen Doster and I had been working on since April of 2006. It came together in such a way that, if I never made another album, I could die a happy man. The names on there are people whom I've looked up to for so long, that to have them on my first 'official' album is already a career-high. I can blog about the studio sessions another time, but for now this is a rewind to the CD release party. I was very glad to see so many people there, but even more so when I saw some of the more recognizable faces, which belonged to many of my good friends. I also realize how busy many of them are, so to take time to come out and support me for the CD release was humbling.

My band is great - they all knew how important this show was, so we all had our 'A' game that night. Especially since we all knew that Dale Watson, who appeared on the album singing with me on the song of his that I covered, "Hair of The Dog". Dale's being there was a great "feather in the cap" for the night, and was certainly the highlight of the evening when he got up on stage with us to sing "Hair". He's been very kind to me this year, but again, that's another time. Others in attendance to help me celebrate were Janice Williams, Greg Roberts, Cash Edwards, along with my good friends Angela-Marie Lampton , Lucas Cook, Bill Rice, Cheri Fox, John Scott from KVET, John Michael Whitby (who is probably getting ready for his show right now with King George at the Erwin Center Thursday, and also appeared on the album), along with David Sanger and Elizabeth McQueen from Asleep at The Wheel, who lent their talents as well. Even more importantly though, my parents made it out to the show, and they love coming to my shows when they can, but it's hard for them to get out late sometimes after dark.

The whole night was magical, and to top it off, my last great memory was getting a standing ovation from the very large crowd, most of whom stayed for the whole show. That show has, since, been very hard to top but we've come pretty close a few times, and they're only getting better. Sure hope to see you out at one of the several we have coming up...

I have to run for now, though.. We're headed down play a bunch of shows in Rockport this week, and I need to finish up some laundry. :) I'm also enjoying a well-deserved LSU team beat up on Ohio State!

One last thing - please be patient with me as I learn how to become a better blogger. I'm a narrative writer by trade, and a musician, which almost always means a very short attention span... Hell, it took me almost 2 hours just to write this entry! Should get interesting...