I'm on the road again

[tooncat]

Well, I've joined up with a road dog. Chas Collins brought me on for his next tour. Dates are on his myspace page

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...a-9d7d161c7eb4

He's a young guy out of New Orleans with a ton of talent and a big country voice. It looks like most of the upcoming dates are in the mid-north part of the country. I'm debating on taking my 50th Anniversary strat. The ones going for sure are my PRS singlecut and my G&L ACSH.

I hope some of you guys stop by if you have a chance.

[Toneseeker]

Hey Tooncat,

Congratulations on that and the best of luck. I'm a country singer/guitarist myself and a huge fan of country music in general. It's not so popular over here so I have to rely on other music to bring in the bucks. Wish I lived in your neck of the woods so I could just play country all the time.

Best wishes

Pete

[Kap'n]

Congrats. Nothing near here, though.

Man that page is hard to read.

[Stonefreefuzz1]

Congrats Tooncat! Saddle up and have some fun!

[tooncat]

Hey Tooncat,

Congratulations on that and the best of luck. I'm a country singer/guitarist myself and a huge fan of country music in general. It's not so popular over here so I have to rely on other music to bring in the bucks. Wish I lived in your neck of the woods so I could just play country all the time.

Best wishes

Pete

Thanks guys. I do consider it a privilege to be able to make a decent living doing this. Not a great living yet, but thank goodness the wifey is a registered nurse (don't tell her I said that). Anyway, being on the road playing music is pretty cool as long as your bandmates are cool and there isn't much pressure.

Kap'n, I'm pretty new to this board, but the nothing here comment has me wondering. I'm seeing that during recessions and down times, live music (not DJ's) makes a modest comback in the clubs throughout the country. I think people just need to be able to get out and get entertained and have fun as long as they don't have to spend too much money. I saw it in the late 80s when I was getting out of school too. Chas had over 200 dates this year and has more than that booked already in 2009. Medium size venues mostly.

[Kap'n]

Kap'n, I'm pretty new to this board, but the nothing here comment has me wondering.

No, I'm just saying you ain't comin' 'round here. I didn't see anything closer than Wisconsin.

[tooncat]

No, I'm just saying you ain't comin' 'round here. I didn't see anything closer than Wisconsin.

ahhhh! Gotcha. Where are you located? Any clubs that way that have contemporary country/southern rock?

[Kap'n]

CT. Not a lot of clubs close to me, other than the casinos.

[refin]

Congrats,tooncat.............good luck!

[gooman]

Have fun and be careful..................

[Spudman]

Cool. I hope it turns out great. I went to his web site and was surprised to see several of the clubs I used to play. Memories, wow.

Do you have tour dates yet?

[TommyJ]

Hey tooncat I live in clarksville tn any gigs near hear?
and good luck..

[tooncat]

Cool. I hope it turns out great. I went to his web site and was surprised to see several of the clubs I used to play. Memories, wow.

Do you have tour dates yet?

Spudman;

I'd like to hear about those clubs if you wouldn't mind... The tour dates should be posted on his website now, or his myspace page. It may be under winter 2008. The first one is in Nebraska. NYE. Then to Wyoming. We hit the road next sunday. Funniest thing is that I can't find a fuckin parka to buy in this town. I know I'm going to need one too...

Tommy J. The nearest to TN is going to be in Georgia in Atlanta after we get back from Minnesota in March. We may be playing the Wildhorse in Nashville also, but no confirmation on that yet. I've played a lot of places up there btw... Buddy's, Shooters, and a couple others. I played a lot around with Joe Savage. Heard of him?

[TommyJ]

I've heard of him,didnt he own a tiger or exotic animals?

[tooncat]

I've heard of him,didnt he own a tiger or exotic animals?

Yep that's him. He had an incident with a leopard a few years ago that made headlines. He used to have a farm towards Clarksville.

[Gtrplyr]

It's nice that the schedule allows you to be at a club for several nights in a row! Hope all goes smoothly and that its an enjoyable tour!

[tooncat]

thought I'd update you guys on how it's going...

We left Nashville on tuesday a.m. Transport is in a new 15 passenger van towing a packed-to-the gills heavy duty trailer. 21 hours later (straight) and two shifts behind the wheel we arrived in Alliance, Nebraska. Chas (Collins) said that was the toughest run on the tour, so that is a good thing. The weather so far has been very cooperative. Yesterday was pretty close to 60 degrees and sunny here.

The NYE show was a 3 set deal. We played at the new museum in Alliance. The stage and venue were great and geez those huskers like to party. I learned that my front man is quite talented and a social magnet. Very good traits in a front man. Our drummer pretty much blew me away last night. His nickname is "animal". There's nothing better than having a great drummer behind a band.

I'm playing my G&L ACSH through my 72 deluxe reverb for now. Once I get a feel for how the shows are going to flow I'll start bringing my 74 LP gold top in to the mix, as well as my 50th anniversary strat. Those are the only guitars I brough on this tour. I'm also going to start running my Mesa Boogie Mk I RI in parallel with the DR. It will add more of a marshally tone to my sound.

We had back to the museum in an hour or so to pack the trailer. Then it's on to Rawlins, Wyoming at Mikes Big City. That will be a 2 day gig stop on the way to the Beacon Club in Casper. We spend 2 weeks at the Beacon. I'm looking forward to settling in to one place for a little while.
Happy new year to everyone.
See you'all.

[Gtrplyr]

Curious as to what volume your able to run your Deluxe at and if you're putting the amp through a monitor mix.

Nice to hear its going smoothly and the toughest haul is behind you!

[tooncat]

Curious as to what volume your able to run your Deluxe at and if you're putting the amp through a monitor mix.

Nice to hear its going smoothly and the toughest haul is behind you!

Gtrplyr;

Ran parallel last night. Medium size room at about 200 people. At the beginning of the night the boogie was on 1.5 master and about 5 in channel 1 (first pre-amp channel). The DR was on 3 at the start and as the stage volume came up I bumped it up to 4 and the boogie to 2.5. I'm running a seinnhauser wireless and the sound out front was great. No guitar in the monitor on my side of the stage. The keys and drummer get some guitar.

One more night here at Mikes and then on to the Beacon Club in Casper, Wy for a 2-week stay.

[tooncat]

1/9/2009:

All right for the guys that wonder what life on the road is like....

We're in Casper WY playing at the Beacon for the next 2 weeks. It is a big club; occupancy probably better than 800. Our sets are from 9-2. Five 45 minute sets. It's grueling to say the least. I've switched to mainly playing my 10 lb les paul just because it gives the tone that Chas is looking for. The bridge pickup is like a tele on steroids. But my G&L is 6 lbs....I'll sneak that back into the show for sure. The Beacon owner had us play an extra 15 minutes to bassically no-one the other night (just for spite probably.) We are limited to 95 decibles which is pretty tough to maintain. My amps are facing the back wall of the stage. We have had both asshole bar owners and good so far on this trip. I haven't decided about the Beacon owner yet.

We're staying in band quarters in the back of the club. They are comfortable but 5 guys are sharing 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Why is it that musicians snore so badly? We alternate from cooking our own food on a hot plate to dining out. The budget limits the dining out part, but it doesn't really matter. Chas is a chef-in-training, and is keeping us well fed. I should throw in for anyone going through Rawlins that the cook at Mikes Big City bar is amazing. Tex mex food at its very best. I put on 5 lbs in two days.

Well, another week at the Beacon...

[Gtrplyr]

Dang, where can I sign up?

So no, wild parties, trashing hotel rooms, throwing TV sets from the windows, orgies and Lear jets huh?

And what the heck is with the decibel enforcement these days? Doesn't seem like there's much of a chance to be cranking a couple of Marshall stacks anymore either

[tooncat]

Dang, where can I sign up?

So no, wild parties, trashing hotel rooms, throwing TV sets from the windows, orgies and Lear jets huh?

And what the heck is with the decibel enforcement these days? Doesn't seem like there's much of a chance to be cranking a couple of Marshall stacks anymore either

hahahaha!

That decible meter reader was manufactured by mothers against rocknroll. They've got it down to 95 db and are pushing for 85!

Funny about how loud a band can play...I think related to popularity. If a band can guarantee $$$$ to the bar owner, they can probably play as loud as they want; except at the Beacon of course. I saw Driving and Crying in a small bar in S.Carolina about 6 months ago. They had two marshall stacks in the backline. They were ear-bleed loud the whole night.

[thegeezer]

You are using your gift and that is always good.
Jerry

[tooncat]

Well we're at the Million Dollar Cowboy bar in Jackson Hole, WY for the next 2 weeks. I posted a couple of pics of the view out the back of my hotel room window on my myspace page... I'm looking right at the Snow King ski resort lifts.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...mageID=8495646

I like this place a lot. There's a very good vibe in the bar. Jackson Hole is a ski resort in the Teton mountains. People coming to the bar are there to have a good time. We've met people from Cleveland, NYC, Dallas, and many States; and have met a bunch of europeans that have come over here for the skiing.

The band is getting very tight now and it is showing. We are keeping the crowds pretty much all night. And we're starting to know what each other is going to do before we do it on stage. I've come full circle and am now playing my gold top 74 les paul all night...there is a video of the guitar in action on youtube here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew_GpZCD0w4

The bridge pup is like a tele on steroids. It seems to work well with this band.

Well, thanks for indulging me....

[Frat Rettle]

Thanks for the update Tooncat.
Stay well....take care.