LIVE MUSIC - Music of New Braunfels: winners

Showing posts with label winners. Show all posts

Joel Schoepf pulls the Trigger

Photo credit: Mike Fackler

When we go see some of our favorite bands play live shows, we don't always think about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. Joel Schoepf is one of these highly talented folks that has seen many miles on the road and is VERY skilled at making sure all the T's and I's are taken care of. Joel spent a few years out with Cross Canadian Ragweed then Cody Canada and The Departed, plus he has worked with Jack Ingram, Roger Creager, Dickson Productions and is currently full time production manager at John T. Floore's Country Store.

This photograph was taken by Mike Fackler, who is production manager at ACL Live and a stage manager for Willie Nelson & Family. Mike is the stage manager for the main stage at Willie's 4th of July picnic. The photo shows Joel tuning up Willie Nelson's beloved Martin N-20 "Trigger" before Willie joined Neil Young plus Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real on stage at Whitewater Amphitheater on Tuesday, April 26th! Soak in the greatness of this photo, and think about how few people have likely been allowed to come within 5 feet of this legendary guitar!

Kent Finlay memory from Texas Music TV

Texas Music TV posted this on November 25, 2014 and a response Kent Finlay posted afterward is included below!

Shiner Beer Artist of the Day - Kent Finlay

Kent Finlay opened the doors of Cheatham Street Warehouse in June of 1974 as a music hall, to develop, perpetuate and promote Texas music in its most natural state - the honky-tonk. During the last three decades, Kent has earned quite a track record for developing new writers and artists, and we are proud of the wealth of talent that has walked through the door and up onto the stage of this rustic old building. Those were the days -- "Ladies Free" and nickle beer. George Strait and Ace in the Hole Band played their first 50 or 60 gigs on this very stage. "Little" Charlie Sexton and his younger brother, Will opened every Tuesday night for a very young Stevie Vaughan - even before he started billing his name with the "Ray". In the middle... Lucky Cheatham Street veterans remember lots of Texas summer nights - filled with magic and music - Jerry Jeff Walker and Willie Nelson, Flaco Jiménez and Marcia Ball, Doug Sahm and Augie Meyer, Gatemouth Brown and Eric Johnson... the list goes on forever. We're proud to consider Alvin Crow and Joe Bob's Bar and Grill, Omar and the Howlers and Asleep at the Wheel, B. W. Stevenson, Lou Ann Barton and Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver and The Skunks, and the Killer Bees and Greezy Wheels all a part of the Cheatham Street Family. Kent continues to develop, promote and publish promising new writers and musical talents. He takes pride in opening the doors to give talent like Adam Carroll, Randy Rogers Band, Shelley King and a host of other new artists a place to grow and be nurtured before appreciative audiences. All the while, Kent carefully maintains the intimate setting that keeps veteran road warriors like Rusty Wier and Ray Wylie Hubbard, Monte Montgomery and Ray Benson’s Asleep At The Wheel coming back for more... and the list goes on and on and on.

From Kent Finlay

That beautiful building with all the soul and the great sound now belongs to THE CHEATHAM STREET MUSIC FOUNDATION 501(3)(c) -- and it is the primary job of the "foundation" is to carry on the music tradition into forever. In addition to developing bands, musicians and songwriters, we are archiving music and collection music items of interest. If you should have old photos or posters stuck somewhere in a drawer, we would appreciate it greatly if you would send them to us so that they can last forever. And of course, we always need money as we continue to refurbish the "Warehouse." If you should be willing to help out from time to time with a tax-free donation, you can send it to: The CHEATHAM STREET MUSIC FOUNDATION 501(3)(c) -- Attn: Sage Allen -- 119 CHEATHAM STREET -- SAN MARCOS, TX -- 78666 -- (All donations greatly appreciated. We are currently trying to raise enough money for a much needed new roof.)

And since some of you have been remembering some of those great JOE ELY shows from the past, I must say that JOE ELY will be back on December 12 for another incredible concert! You probably might want to get your tickets in advance. www.cheathamstreet.com

Here's the original post on Facebook...

Shiner Beer Artist of the Day - Kent FinlayKent Finlay opened the doors of Cheatham Street Warehouse in June of 1974...
Posted by Texas Music TV on Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Chris Stapleton: Photos and Video From River Road Ice House

So on the heels of Chris Stapleton winning THREE CMA Awards last night, I give you these submitted photos from the October 24, 2015 show at River Road Ice House! Jason Eady and Adam Hood's Southern Brothers tour opened the show.

To recap!
Chris Stapleton wins CMA New Artist of the Year!
Chris Stapleton wins CMA Album of the Year!
Chris Stapleton wins CMA Male Vocalist of the Year!
Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake Perform Together at CMA Awards!

Here's Chris Stapleton and Jason Eady doing Whiskey and You together!

Jason Eady and Chris Stapleton killing it!!
Posted by Rodney Williams on Sunday, October 25, 2015

And now the photos:

THANKS RICK!!

Chris Stapleton wins CMA Male Vocalist of the Year

10/24: Chris Stapleton performs at River Road Ice House with Jason Eady and Adam Hood
11/3: Chris Stapleton wins THREE CMA Awards!

Chris Stapleton not only won CMA New Artist of the Year and CMA Album of the Year, now you can add CMA Male Vocalist of the Year to the list!

CONGRATULATIONS! Chris Stapleton was by far the most talented person at the CMA Awards tonight, and he got the recognition to prove it! Country music might just survive mainstream after all!

VIDEO: Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake perform together at #CMAAwards

Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake Perform at CMAs

Chris Stapleton won the following CMA Awards tonight!

• CMA New Artist of the Year
• CMA Album of the Year
• CMA Male Vocalist of the Year

He also performed his song Tennessee Whiskey with Justin Timberlake, then they performed Timberlake's song Drink You Away!

Chris Stapleton wins CMA Album of the Year

"This is unbelieveable, I don't know what to think." -Chris Stapleton

What a night for GOOD music! I don't normally get into mainstream country music awards, but they are starting to take notice of legitimate artists like Chris Stapleton, and that is GREAT news! Earlier this evening Chris won CMA New Artist of the Year and now CMA Album of the Year for his May 3, 2015 release Traveller!

CONGRATS!!!

UPDATE: Chris Stapleton wins CMA Male Vocalist of the Year!
VIDEO: Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake perform together at #CMAAwards

Chris Stapleton wins CMA New Artist of the Year

Chris Stapleton just played a show at River Road Ice House with Adam Hood and Jason Eady back on October 24th, and tonight he won CMA New Artist of the Year!! People here are already asking when he'll be back in town, and of course some of them are asking if they'll bring Justin Timberlake with him. Come by yourself, or bring a friend, just please come back and see us soon!

UPDATE: Chris Stapleton wins CMA Male Vocalist of the Year!
UPDATE: Chris Stapleton wins CMA Album of the Year!
VIDEO: Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake perform together at #CMAAwards

Walt Wilkins' guitar is finally home

Photo: Austin PD

In short, Walt Wilkins owned a really cool, custom Gibson Americana that was given to him in 2006. The guitar was stolen in 2009, then 5 and a half years later it made it back to Walt's very grateful hands. Walt was gracious enough to answer a few questions about the guitar and its journey.

Me:	What's the story on this guitar, and how did it end up in your hands?
Walt:	It is a Gibson Americana model, which never went into full production by Gibson. Gibson made 3 of them for a benefit in conjunction with the public radio station in Marfa, TX. Willie played one at the show; there's pictures of him with one of the guitars. Its cool. The other guitar was given to Dan Rather, I don't know why. I do know that one of my life-long friends found a way to contact Mr. Rather with a request to buy his for me after mine was stolen. His email in response was brief & definitive; not interested. The band began calling the guitar 'Merica, because during a soundcheck somewhere I hit a big G chord through the house PA & my amp, and it sounded huge. I told the drummer Ray Rodriguez "that's a big AMerican G chord, man." He started calling the guitar 'Merica. It was that goofy & simple.
note: The guitar was made from wood from an old Army Base in Marfa where Willie performed to raise money for the station (from Gibson.com)
Me:	Tell me about when the guitar was taken.
Walt:	The guitar was taken from just outside the stage door at The Saxon Pub on Dec 23, 2009. I left it alone for just a few minutes, which was usually OK during load-out, except this time.
Me:	Were there any leads or major developments in the search for the guitar during those 5 plus years?
Walt:	When it was stolen, I searched through dumpsters for hours around south Austin. Then I went home and made a basic appeal on Facebook. I went to bed around 5, got up at 7 and was shocked at the response of fans & friends throughout Texas. There were immediately lots of folks checking pawn shop, like me, and websites where someone might try to sell it. But nothing ever came up. Then I didn't think about it too much, even though folks would ask me about it all over the place, even in the The Netherlands, where we tour once a year.
Me:	Where did you get the beautifully painted Gibson Americana you regularly play?
Walt:	Dallas Wayne, the great songwriter-singer & XM Radio host called to tell me that he had bought a guitar like mine because he liked mine, and he would sell his to me. I bought it; and a year or so later had it painted by Dan Taylor, one of my favorite artists. I love that guitar too.
Me:	How was this guitar finally tracked down after all these years?
Walt:	This last Friday afternoon, I received an email from an acquaintance that had seen the guitar on Craig's list right then. He recognized the guitar. I contacted a friend of mine in Dallas, a law enforcement official, who contacted a friend in Austin PD who immediately contacted the seller, undercover, as a prospective buyer. At the same time, a Sgt of Austin PD saw the Craig's List ad & contacted the seller himself. A friend of mine called the seller independently Saturday morning & told me his voice mail was full, so the guitar was getting a lot of action quickly. The seller was out of town until Monday, when the APD Metro TAC team met with the seller, told him it was stolen & recovered it. They called me Monday night, and I went to get it yesterday morning, and enjoyed the visit with the guys who brought it back. Great guys.
Me:	What kind of shape is the guitar in?
Walt:	It's in perfect shape; in fact it looks like it was never taken out of the case.

Photo: Mike Galloway

Side note: In January 2013 when Music of New Braunfels was just a few months in the making, Walt agreed to play at our innagural Blowin' Off Steamboat Music Festival. Here's some video! Walt is at 12:56, but the whole video is good!

links:
Willie Nelson plays benefit in Marfa
WaltWilkins.com
My review of "Wildcatpie & The Great Walapateya"

Also featured on Galleywinter!

Kent Finlay: "The Songwriter"

Thanks Charlie Stout for posting this! Here's some epic poetry from an epic Texas songwriter. (I'll stop saying "epic" now)...

We miss you Kent, I'm sorry I never took the time to come meet you in person...

Rest in Peace Kent Finlay!

Recent story about Kent:
Kent Finlay: The Man, The Music and The Van

Kent Finlay: The Man, The Music and The Van

Photo by Jamie Maldonado, San Marcos Mercury

(note: Kent Finlay passed away early on the morning of Monday, March 2, 2015, nobody did more for songwriters or talented, up and coming local bands than Kent over the last 40 years, and he will be deeply missed)

On Monday, February 9, 2015, I stepped inside Cheatham Street Warehouse for the first time in over 4 years to see my friend Dennis Jay play an acoustic set at Cheatham Street owner Kent Finlay's annual 29th birthday. One note about the night, Kent was not on hand because of ongoing medical issues related to a long battle with cancer, but he was watching a video feed. The place hadn't changed much, from what I hear it never really has. I truly love Cheatham Street, Kent Finlay and everything that this place stands for, but sadly I don't have a ton of free time to venture over to San Marcos to catch shows, visit Kent's Wednesday songwriter circle or watch Dustin Welch work with veterans on Monday evenings teaching them to play guitar and write songs, or any of the other incredibly cool things they have going on over there. It's sad but true, when I have the time to catch a live show, I typically stay in New Braunfels since we have so many choices within our city limits on any day of the week or weekend. Cheatham Street Warehouse has one thing however, that New Braunfels does not, it has Kent Finlay. Kent has been supporting and helping songwriters of all skill levels at his warehouse on the tracks since 1974. There were times when Kent wasn't around because of other responsibilities including his own band "High Cotton Express", but for the largest part of the last 40 years Kent Finlay has been nurturing young talent and helping launch careers.

One of the earliest and possibly most impressive careers that started at Cheatham Street, was when a young George Strait auditioned to fill an open lead singer position in a band called "Stoney Ridge" that was playing weekly at Cheatham Street back in 1975. Needless to say he got the job, and they debuted as "Ace In The Hole Band" on October 13, 1975 where they continued to play regular Wednesday nights at Cheatham Street Warehouse for nearly two years until the crowds that came to see them would no longer fit in the building. In 1977 Kent and George loaded up in the yellow Dodge van pictured above (click photo to see more) and headed to Nashville to record a demo, and the rest they say is history.

Other notable artists that cut (or sharpened) their teeth at Cheatham Street Warehouse with guidance from Kent Finlay include Stevie Ray Vaughan, James McMurtry, Hal Ketchum, Al Barlow, Will Sexton, Charlie Sexton, Justin Trevino, John Arthur Martinez, Todd Snider, Terri Hendrix, Randy Rogers and many, many more!

I am linking to some sites below. One is a Q&A with Kent around the time of his birthday in 2013 by Brad Rollins of the San Marcos Mercury; it's a GREAT resource for lots of trivia about the history of the songwriting in the Texas Hill Country which of course has spread like wildfire into New Braunfels and left behind a wonderful community that embraces live music and supports and nurtures a growing songwriter population, and it hasn't stopped growing. The other is the "history" page on Cheatham Street Warehouse's website. They both have lots of great history on Kent, Cheatham Street and many of the careers he launched.

I leave you with this... Support live music, support the songwriters and go see them and quietly listen to them play their songs. You never know who might be the next Dean Dillon or even the next George Strait.

links:
- Q&A: Kent Finlay on the birth of San Marcos Music by Brad Rollins, San Marcos Mercury.
- Cheatham Street Warehouse: History
- "Kent Finlay, Dreamer" - autobiography by Jenni Finlay & Brian T. Atkinson
- A little about Kent's medical struggles, which are still ongoing to this day
- Photos of the yellow Dodge van

picker-uppers of the van photos:
- CMT.com
- TheBOOT.com
- CountryMusicNation.com
- Houston Chronicle (chron.com)

#PRAYFORKENT

Helping a Hero

photo credit: K Jessie Slaten (KGNB)

from KGNB.am 9/12/2014

(New Braunfels, TX) -- On September 11th, 2001, 8th-grader Justin Lane decided to join the army. And join he did. Unfortunately, Justin lost his best friend, and both of his legs in Afghanistan. Yesterday morning, hundreds turned out to attend a Welcome Home Ceremony for (retired) Specialist JP Lane. Not because Lane was returning home, but because the organization Helping a Hero chose Lane to be the recipient of a new home in Rebecca Creek Ranch, built to his needs and requests. Helping a Hero officials say they have helped more than 100 wounded warriors in 22 states with homes adapted to their special needs. On Thursday, George P. Bush and singer Lee Greenwood were among the dignitaries on hand to present Lane with the keys to his new country home. Mike and Roxann Cotugno of MJ Construction Services built and designed the 2,600-square foot home where Lane will continue to recover, as he pursues a music career.

More information and event audio at KGNB.am

links:
JP's YouTube channel
JP's Twitter
JP's Website

Ray Wylie Hubbard - "The Messenger" (via KUTX)

So this whole filling Facebook up with music thing has been nice. The ice bucket challenge was fun and for a good cause, but music will always trump charity in my book. One post has jumped out above all to me. Mutha Hubbard (Ray Wylie's wife) posted this when she was given the letter "H". It's pure Wylie magic.

Thanks KUTX for capturing this magic moment!

PRAY FOR ALLAN GOODMAN!

note: Allan Goodman passed away early in the morning on May 21, 2014, more information can be found at this page. Below however is EVERY video I took that Allan is in. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

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Allan Goodman was diagnosed with cancer back in the summer of 2012. He has fought a good fight and he is at the apex of that fight AS WE SPEAK... Allan and Ashley could use your prayers RIGHT NOW. Here are some videos of Allan I took over the past couple of years...

#prayforAGoodMan
February 28, 2014 at Tavern in the Gruene with Tony Taylor and Stan Little:

July 28, 2013 at River Road Ice House with Adam Hood for Galleywinter's Greenfest:

February 17, 2013 at Billy's Ice with Dead Rock Stars at "Retro Prom":

November 13, 2012 at Tavern in the Gruene with The Blooms:

September 9, 2012 at Billy's Ice, Psycopathy Red Respawns Benefit:

August 7, 2012 at Tavern in the Gruene with The Blooms:

May 20, 2012 at Gruene Hall with Adam Hood AND The Blooms for KNBT's 16th Annual Americana Music Jam:

March 16, 2012 at Tavern in the Gruene performing "So Far Away" during happy hour:

Jeff Strahan - Amen To The Blues - Live at the Bugle Boy

I LOVE this Jeff Strahan video from May 2013 in LaGrange, TX. I sure wish there was a video feed from the jam going on up in heaven right now, I'd love to see Jeff playin' with Muddy Waters and Freddy King right about now! Rest in Peace Jeff, wish I knew you better!

Dave Fenley on America's Got Talent

It makes me so incredibly proud of Dave to hear these mainstream judges fawn all over him. Dave has talent, and they can see it and I'm so glad they passed him through to the next level with such rave reviews! Watch Dave, he started in Texas and he's moving beyond!

links:
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