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Breaking Free For The Open Highway

Posted by on Fri, December 06, 2013 · Face The Music · 1 Comment

I’ve never been the sort to afford myself any kind of adventure. Sure, I’m a fixture at local concert venues and bars since shows and pub trivia take up a good majority of my free time, but there is a special emphasis on the word “local”. My radius for activities is a rather small one less because of my city is a bustling epicenter of interesting activity and more because I’m pretty much a giant chicken. Simply put, the motto “Better safe than sorry” has summed up a good majority of my life.

The last time I did any sort of traveling for a show was around four years ago. My ex and I hopped into his Blazer and made the trek to Schroeder Hall in Goliad, TX to watch Seth James and Randy Rogers Band in what we promised to be the first of many out of town trips to watch the bands that we loved. Now, one thing that I think I need to properly convey is that when I say “trek to Schroeder Hall”, I mean that Google maps puts the door-to-door time from my house to the parking lot of Schroeder Hall at an hour and 45 minutes. So in actuality, our drive wasn’t a terribly long and trying one.

Schroeder Dance Hall

Since then, I haven’t really been able to make the run for the sake of the show. I spent years waiting tables and working long hours, which never allowed me to make the trips I wanted … Keep Reading

Dropping Christmas

Posted by on Mon, December 02, 2013 · Face The Music · 1 Comment

With the holiday season upon us, we’ve relaunched the Christmas Drop with some Christmas tunes from artists in the Texas/Red Dirt/Americana scene.  Check it out!

http://thedrop.galleywinter.com… Keep Reading

Building Relationships Between Bands & Fans

Posted by on Sat, November 23, 2013 · Face The Music · 19 Comments

Recently, a band that I really enjoy put out a new record. I want to tell you about my experience purchasing the record & discuss the relationship that exists
(or should exist) between fans and artists/bands/labels.

The record I purchased was Quiet Life’s Wild Pack & the label it came from was Mama Bird Recording.

There are links at the bottom of this post that’ll allow you to go find out more about this Portland, Oregon label & their family of bands… but I’m here to talk about the time, care, and personal touch that they put into their products. In this digital age of instant gratification, this is something that fans should truly appreciate and something that other bands & labels should learn from.

Quiet Life, the band

I’ll never be one to discount the advantages of digital music. I’ve put out a few records (the latest was strictly a digital release) and, without outlets such as iTunes, Amazon, etc… my music may have never been heard by many. But I do believe heavily in the value of physical media, especially vinyl records. I’m a fan of tangible creations. There is no substitute, no digital booklet that can replace the feeling of cutting through the shrinkwrap and sliding a fresh vinyl record
(or compact disc) from its sleeve. I truly love it. I always have.

Mama Bird Recording takes that experience one step further. Like I said, I was looking around to read up on Quiet Life’s … Keep Reading

Thanks for the Music 2013

Posted by on Fri, November 22, 2013 · Face The Music · 3 Comments

This year, we continue our November tradition of surveying folks across the Texas/Red Dirt/Americana genres about a musical topic they are thankful for.  This year, we asked folks:  what song, album or artist are you most thankful for this past year?  Not necessarily what their favorite record was, but which one were they most thankful for.  It could be a new record, or maybe an an older project they’re just now discovering (or re-discovering).  As always, the answers are varied, insightful and, yes, ripe with gratitude.  Please leave the artists, songs or albums that resonated with you this past year in the comments section.

Dan Adams, singer/songwriter
“Closed Hand, Full Of Friends” by Foy Vance.  After 10 years in Nashville, I made the decision to move to Austin this year because I wanted to be in the epicenter of the kind of music I love to write and perform.  This is a song about moving to a new place, and being full of hope for the fresh start….leaving behind the negative things, holding onto and taking with you the friendships you made, and starting over with renewed purpose and drive.  I’m thankful for this song because it really resonated with me this year.

Chris Allbright, singer/songwriter
I found a strong appreciation for Jason Boland’s song, “See You When I See You” off of the Dark and Dirty Mile album he released this year. This song hit close to home for me as I downloaded this album two days before … Keep Reading

CMA Twitter Wrap

Posted by on Thu, November 07, 2013 · Face The Music · 1 Comment

As usual, our Twitter feed was on fire during last night’s CMA Awards.  Snarkily observing “country’s biggest night” in a humorous, Texan way.  Here’s 30 of the night’s best tweets from us and others. Enjoy!

… Keep Reading

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