JUNE 2006

Sorry to be so late getting this Diary out, between playing music and managing Petes its been hectic.

Just want everyone to know we are still alive and well and livin in the USA.....lol. To update this thing Ill have to go all the way back to FEB 1, so I will give you the readers digest version.

Feb 3-4 we played Petes and had a great time

Feb 10-11 and 17-18 we played Smileys and had a blast

Feb 25 we played a wedding reception for Jennifer Tipton and her new husband and we did have a great time, they held it at the Charleston Elks and everything was beautiful, the food was great and they let us take home the surplus beer.....lol, ahhh the perks of being a picker.....lol.

MARCH 3-4,17-18, we played Smileys, we always have a blast at Smileys, we have made some great new friends there and we always get to see our old Longhorn friends when they stop by.

March 10-11,24-25, we played Petes, now when we play Petes its kinda like being at the old longhorn because Petes and Smileys are kinda like our base of operations, Smileys being our Charleston base and Petes being our Sutton base.

March 19th we helped Steve, Robert, Hook, Mo and the gang with a benefit at the Pourhouse, now this was truly a blast because there were a lot of bands and good food and music and it was for a good cause.

March 31- April 1 we had off.

April 7-8,21-22 We were at Smileys. Great time.

April 14-15 we were at Petes also great time

April 20, I sat in for Robert at the Salty Dog with the Pourhouse crew, that was very cool, I myself like sitting in with other bands where all I have to do is play. Its a refreshing change, plus it gave me the opportunity to book us there (more on that later)

April 28-29 we were back in Greensburg PA at the 4 points Sheraton, we love the people there, all the bartenders, waitresses and fans, but theyve cut it back to just the weekend and it isnt financially feasible to play there anymore, so I wont make any promises that we will be back, its nothing personal towards our friends up there. We will miss them.

MAY 5-6 off again, which is sometimes nice, but I miss the people the music and the commaraderie of the band.

MAY 12-13, 26-27, Smileys : ) always a great time

MAY 19-20 Petes, always like going home, oh wait that is going home.....lol

JUNE 2-3 we played at the Salty Dog, we had a blast getting to see Doris, Robert, Larry and all our friends that came out, they have a nice place there and I wouldnt mind playing there again, good food too, it use to be the Pizza Warehouse back in the day, its beside the Capital Flea Market and we just ahd a great time.

JUNE 9-10, we were back at Smileys, Robert Shafer came out and sat in with us, had a great time, he wasnt going to play but I shamed him into it by telling him his Godson (Gary Joe) had never played with Uncle Robert before.......I know I can be such a .........wonderful person.....lol, anyway we had a blast and we got to see brother Ernie Dunlap, we think the world of Ernie and cant wait till he gets better so he can come out and Jam with us, because he is by far the greatest Sax and Flute player I have ever known, and his lovely wife Corba is an awesome talent, those are 2 people I really think the world of.

Well believe it or not that catches us up, I know there werent many details but, I cant remember stuff like I used to, Im gonna HAVE to get back to the monthly thing so I can remember all the details...........lol.

Well till next time ya'll keep checking our Dates page and hope to see ya soon,

Take care
BB

FEB 1, 2006

Happy New Years, I thought I better add a Diary entry since I haven't made one since last year.....lol.

Hope all the Mixers are doing good, hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, I know I did with the exception of getting my erectOR set (did I get it right John?), we had a great Christmas and even had a visit from Bubba Clause. I hope everyone is having a happy New Year. Would first off like to say, we are very sorry our Uno's gig came to an end, our contract with them was through the first of the year. We appreciate the fine folks at Uno's for having us and especially Steve Neu. Steve called and thanked us for a wonderful job and said he would be back in touch with us once they get everything turned around, they have to regroup because Jack Whittaker bought out Uno's, I know Jack will do a good job running things, because no matter what most people think of him he is one helluva business man (he had 17 million before he hit the lottery), anyway it sure was a blast and hopefully around spring we can be back at Uno's.

Since the last posting we played Smileys Nov 25-26 and Dec.2-3 and 23-24, so far this year we have played there Jan 13-14, 27-28 and have become a semi-houseband, so check our schedule because we are there just about every other weekend in 2006. We also want to tell everyone that Feb 10-11, Smileys will be having their big Valentines day dance (actually Saturday night) we will be there and if I am not mistaken, you get dinner for 2, Dance with Southern Mix, a room, and breakfast for 2, all for $99.00, I could be wrong but you can call and check with Smileys the phone # is 304-766-6231, ask for LaRue or Cheryl and tell them you saw it here on the Diary (you wont get an added discount but the Mix would sure appreciate it.....lol). Speaking of Cheryl and LaRue, these are two of the nicest people we have worked for, they have really taken care of us and treated us like family, and it makes you feel good when you overhear LaRue say things like "these boys are gonna put us back on the map" we appreciate things like that, and they thank us after every gig, which means a lot to us because we have played for some real winners over the years, don't get me wrong we have played for some really great people over the years also, then you have the other ones, .....lol. Anyway back to the Diary.........

We played The Four Points Sheraton in Greensburg, PA. Dec 6-10 and Jan17-21, we always have a great time up there, really good people that we count as good friends. The Prospect Lounge (in the Sheraton) I hear is going to scale down to weekends only, so I don't know if we will be there again or not, but I sure hope so, because we really enjoy it up there.

Dec 16-17 we had a rare weekend off and it was good to have a breather. I helped out at Petes bartending, and it was a good weekend. Speaking of Petes, we played the weekend of New Years eve, we had a great time, Pawpaw was a little worried because advanced ticket sales were slow but I told him it would be okay and boy was it, the place was jammed wall to wall with people, it was a killer night and we only had to ask one table to leave and they left peaceably, so it was a total success. Next year we are gonna break tradition and we will be at Smileys on New Years so ya'll make your reservations ahead of time because I figure they will be doing the Dinner, Dance, Party Favors, Snacks, Room and Breakfast deal, and I figure it will be standing room only like at Petes.

Well that about wraps it up, John, Bub, Gary and I would like to thank everyone for their support last year and cant wait to see ya'll this year, so make sure and check our schedule and see when you can make it out to see the Mix. Until next time

Take care,
BB

November 19

Hi all, back again with the latest news and updates from "the Mix", we are working to get Pay Pal on our website so you can order our merchandise with a credit or debit card, also we are working on getting new T-shirts with the website logo on them, Jamie did a helluva job on the logo and we think it deserves to be on T-shirts and hats, and hopefully soon, bumper stickers, can coolies and koozies, keychains, etc.

We'd like to Thank all the fine folks who voted Southern Mix, West Virginias #1 Country Band in Graffiti for 2005.

We'd like to apologize to our South Carolina Friends and Fans, we talked to our booking agent the other day and it will probably be a while before we are back in the Florence area, because of the price increase on gas and expenses, the last time we were there (Spirits Lounge, Sept 19-24) I talked to the owner, Mr. Patel, about the chances of either getting a raise (we haven't had one in 5 years ) or booking us down there 2 weeks at a time so it would defray the traveling expenses, well he didn't go for either one, so we decided that we wont be able to make the trip unless we can find another venue in the area, and I hate that because I know the people would like to have us for 2 weeks at a time, they have told us all too often, the part that hurts the most is that we love the people down there, Gene Ray, Phoebe, Jean Marie, Cecil, Cindy,Andrea. Jim and Anne, Mary and John, Mika, Vern and the whole gang, we have a lot of good people that come out to hear us down there and I hate to disappoint them, hopefully, I can talk to Gene Ray and between him and our booking agents (SRO Productions) we can find somewhere else to play.

We have a lot of cool stuff about to happen and I cant wait, everything is tightening up, Bub's hand is getting better and soon we will be able to catch up on the new material and requests we have had. ( I hate to jinx us, seems like every time I say something like that, someone either gets hurt or quits, cross your fingers.........lol)

Now on to where we have played in the past month and what's been going on.

Oct. 7-8, we played at Pete's Place in Sutton, we always have a blast at Pete's with all our buddies and regulars, and Pawpaw can sure cut a rug when he gets up to sing, everyone loves Pawpaw, and our singing Bartender Karen, they like to hear her yodel, we had a good crowd and a great time.

Oct. 11, we played the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce shindig at the Civic Center, it was good to get to play for some of the businesses in our hometown. We had a killer turnout and we got to meet (R) Rep. Shelly Moore Capito and Gov. Joe Manchin, the Gov seems like a super cool guy, but for some reason he turned down our invitation to sing.......lol. We'd like to Thank Carol Cummings and all of her staff for having us again this year, hope to do it again next year.

Oct. 13, marked the beginning of Southern Mix unplugged playing at Uno's Corridor G every Thursday that we are in town, we have been building up killer crowds and we have a blast with David Saul and all his car auction buddies.

Oct. 14-15, we played Smiley's in St. Albans, WV, we just love Cheryl and LaRue to pieces and all the staff are super great people, like I've said before, it sure is good to see some of the folks from the old Longhorn days.

Oct. 18-22, we played the 4 points Sheraton Resort in Greensburg,PA, and we always have fun with our people up there, and on Saturday night we had 3 encores ( the first time it has happened as I was told by the bartenders).

Oct. 28-29, we finally were back at Tri-State Gaming and Racing (the dogtrack ), Sam Myers always takes good care of us and always does a bang up job on our sound, you go Sam.

Nov. 4-5 we were at Pete's Place, our singing bartender Karen, is leaving today for California, so this was the last time she got to sing with us, Im gonna miss my bartending partner, Karen is good people, we wish her the best of luck in anything and everything she does. I would like to personally thank Mo Truman and Paul Dolan for sitting in for me, Mo filled in for me Saturday night at Pete's and Thursday night at Uno's and Paul sat in for me Fri-Sat night (11-12) at Smiley's. I would also like to Thank John, Bub and Gary for holding down the fort while I was gone, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity, Pawpaw took Linda (his woman), Jane,Sam and I on a cruise to the Caribbean, we hooked up with our good dear friends Tony Romeo and Barb (his woman), Tony's son Dean and Barbs daughter Trish at Tony's house in Titusville, Fla., Tony and Barb were the best Hosts a fellow could ask for, they took us in and treated us like family (I reckon because we are like family.......lol) for a couple of days and then on Monday we all drove down to catch the Royal Caribbean's "Enchantment of the Sea" (sounds like a tuna fish......lol) in Ft. Lauderdale. We had a blast we were supposed to go to the Keys, Cozumel, Cancun and Belize, but because of Hurricane Wilma, we only got to go to the Keys and Belize, we still had a blast, it was beautiful, 95 degree weather, blue water, just awesome and that ship is an awesome ship with a great crew, the entertainment on the ship wasn't bad at all, and I heard this Trio that I fell in love with from Bulgaria called the Evergreen Trio, (not to be confused with the Evergreen Trio of "Lift up your Voice" fame), they were awesome, there was a Vegas Magician, a Vegas Juggler/comedian duo and the big production shows were Broadway worthy. The food was wonderful (gained 10 lbs.), our bar tab was outrageous (bunch of lushes.......lol), I found myself really liking the Rum drinks of the Caribbean. Anyway, we had a blast, and before we came home we went to the Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral, one word..............AWESOME. Then we came back home to the Arctic.....brrr.....lol and it was business as usual.

Nov. 18-19 we are at Smiley's this weekend, last night was a good night, we had fun as did everyone else and after we were finished I made it back to Pete's in time to tell Karen bye, they had a going away party for her, (she was trashed.........lol) anyway, made sure she got home okay, (just hope she don't oversleep and forget her flight........lol). Anyway, we are at Smiley's this weekend and the next 2 weekends then we are up in Greensburg,PA for week, don't forget to come see us at Uno's on Thursday nights 8-11.

Until next time
take care
BB

October 4

As you all may be able to tell, our website has been transformed, I think it looks awesome. As I have stated in the Guest Book, we now have Jamie Saunders from Montani Media doing our web work and doing a super great job, keep up the good work Jamie. Jamie is a keyboard player from Charleston, WV who is attending college in Myrtle Beach (how rough is that, I feel soooo sorry for him.....lol), we are glad to welcome Jamie to the Southern Mix Family, and look forward to many years together.

Well since the last Diary entry we have played UNO's corridor G on Aug 12-13, we had a super great time, we also are back there doing a Thursday night acoustic gig, so come on out and see us every Thursday we are in town at Uno's

The 19-20 of Aug we played Pete's and as always had a great time with Pawpaw and the whole Hee Haw gang, then we played UNO's Teays Valley the following weekend (Aug 26-27) not very many people but we had a blast, it seems like Corridor G has a better turnout than does Teays, but they are working on it.

Sept. 2-3 we played Smileys in St. Albans, if Petes is our home then Smileys is kinda like our home away from home, I think we are gonna be in there a lot, so keep checking our Dates page.

Sept. 17, we had a blast we played this annual cookout called Pigstock out in the boonies of Braxton county, when I say boonies, I mean boonies, we not only had to cross creeks to get there, we had to actually travel about 100 yards up a creek (very interesting). We still had a ball, we got to pick with Steve Mullens, Ray Barr and the guys from Hogans Goat; Sugar Ray Edens (our first drummer), Julio, Ray Gunnoe, David Harrison and Dale Rollins, we had a literal blast, and hope to make it a yearly event for the Mix.

Sept. 19-24 We played Spirits and had a great time as usual, I got to play 3 days of golf, 1 day with my old buddy Gene Ray and 2 by myself, but I still had a blast, also Tammy and Bruce stopped by on their way to Florida on our last Saturday night, they had fun and couldn't believe how different we are away from home (I personally don't know what they are talking about......lol) Jamie came over from Myrtle and shot some video for pictures and video for our website, so far it looks great, so keep in touch on the website for more pictures and video.

Sept. 30-Oct. 1 we played at Smileys again and booked ourselves in there for Oct. 14-15, Nov. 11-12, 18-19, 25-26, Dec. 2-3 and 23-24, and LaRue told me the other night that after the first of the year they would like us to become a semi-house band which is fine by me. We really enjoy picking there because Cheryl and LaRue are good people as is everyone who works there, plus we get to see a lot of the old Longhorn gang, so of course we are gonna have fun.

Sept. 5 we played the annual Marmet Labor Day gig and had fun this year (as we do every year), we would like to Thank Jill and Tim for setting this gig up every year, we appreciate them and everything they do.

Well that about catches us up, this coming weekend we are gonna be at Petes in Sutton again and are looking forward to it as always.

Well, I'm gonna sign off for now and do so by telling everyone how much we appreciate you coming to see and hear us, until next time, take care

BB

August 8, 2005

Hi All,
I'm sorry it has taken so long to get this caught back up, I said we'd never let it go this long again, but we have been really busy, so Ill try to at least update the Diary every two months if not every month.

To get caught up we'll have to go all the way back to Jan. 25, so Ill give you a Readers Digest version of what's been going on.

Since the last posting we have played Smiley's a lot more, they have booked us through the year and then some, we really like Cheryl and all the help at Smiley's, they take good care of us and treat us good, plus we get to see all the folks who used to come see us at the Longhorn.

We try to play Pete's in Sutton at least once a month and we are gonna be there for New Years of this year, plus I've been helping Pawpaw by bartending again (probably why I haven't had time to keep the Diary up).

We play the Tractor Bar in Mt. Nebo about every 6-8 weeks, our ol' buddy Steve is still giving her hell ( "you go Steve", he's a drunkard and a rogue......lol)

We have played the Wilderness Plantation twice and were supposed to be booked in there through the year, but we had a little disagreement or misunderstanding, whatever, and we are not going back, and I really hate that, because we have been wanting to play there a long time and the people up there seem to like our show, we had a blast the two times we did play there, there are just some folk that want to change the rules once you've started the game.

In June we had the opportunity to open up for Josh Turner, Tracy Lawrence, Darryl Worley and Jo Dee Messina and then the following week we opened for Billy Dean, we would like to thank all the Mix fans for coming out and supporting us on these outdoor gigs, we did have a lot of fun, plus we got to pick with one of the best Steel Players around (course I'm prejudiced because he's my brother......lol) Hook Moore, we appreciate Hook coming and helping us out at such short notice. That is why Hook and Robert's picture and Bio are still on this web site because they still are and will always be Southern Mix.

Id also like to mention that some of our boys who are Southern Mix some who you might call associate Southern Mix, have a Jam Session going every Sunday starting at 8:00 pm at The Pour House in North Charleston, our ol bartending buddy from the Fifth Quarter, (Jenay and her mom Jeannie) have done a great job with the place, the pickers or the Pour House Crew as they call them are John Thornton-Bass Guitar, Robert Shafer-Lead Guitar, Hook Moore-Steel Guitar, Moe Truman-Rhythm Guitar, Steve Mullens-Fiddle, Bub Byrne-Drums and either Stevie Fitzgerald or Paul Dolan- Sound. Pawpaw, Gary and I made it down one Sunday and they have a real cool Jam going on, anyone who gets the chance ( if you like good music) come on down.

We played for our ol buddy Jeanette in Elkview in April and will be back there July 22-23, we had a blast last time and probably will again in July.

We did a 2 week gig at the Four Points Sheraton in Greensburg, PA, we sure do like the people up there, they enjoy us almost as much as we enjoy them.

We made it back to UNO's on corridor G (finally) in May and are supposed to be back there Aug 12-13 and at the UNO's in Teays Valley Aug 26-27. It sure was good to see David and Diane Saul again, you don't realize how much you miss people till you don't see them for a while.

Anyway that about catches us up, I want to say in closing that we have Hats and T-shirts we will be adding to the Mix Store, plus now that we have us a good drummer (one we know wont quit or get fired) pretty soon hopefully we will be ready to record, I hate to say that and jinx us but its been a long time coming and I hope we can pull it off soon, Gary's doing a great job, John and I cant say enough about him, he has come a long way in 6 months (you go boy, you sure make your Daddy proud).

One more bit of bad news, Mikey has quit the band as of Aug 1, we appreciate everything Mike has done for us in the past 3 years and he will be missed, he is one very talented man and I for one am glad I got to know him, he became like a brother and will remain so. We wish Mikey the best in anything he does.

One bit of good news, when we found out Mikey was leaving, John and I got together and decided there was only one person we knew who could replace him, we just didn't know if he could do it because he was in a band, well, we asked him and he decided he was gonna do it and be in it for the long haul, he told us that John and I had been together over 18 years and he wanted to be a part of the band the next 18, so John, Gary and I would like to announce, beginning August 15, Bub Byrne (pronounce Burn) will be our new Guitar Player/Vocalist, we have been practicing the past couple of weeks and are excited in the possibilities the band will now have, we hope everyone will bear with us while we re-group and re-tool the band and our songlist, it will take a little time till we are back at 100%, but with Bub's capabilities it shouldn't take long.

Another bit of good news, we have a new webmaster and we hope this will be a long term relationship, we would like to welcome our old friend Jamie Saunders on board, Jamie has been a long time friend of the Mix and besides being one helluva keyboard player and vocalist, he is also a computer genius, so I cant wait for the changes and improvements he will make to the web site, Jamie is now living in Myrtle Beach, SC and we cant wait till we get back to Florence, (might even talk him into bringing his keys up and sitting in with the band) anyway when we get the web site caught up I would like to add Jamie's Bio to our bio page because I feel he is now a part of the Mix organization.

Well until the next posting, please sign the guestbook and keep in touch with us, we appreciate our friends (I don't like the word FAN, its so generic and impersonal), ya'll take care and support live music.

BB

July 16, 2005

Hi All,
I'm sorry it has taken so long to get this caught back up, I said we'd never let it go this long again, but we have been really busy, so Ill try to at least update the Diary every two months if not every month.

To get caught up we'll have to go all the way back to Jan. 25, so Ill give you a Readers Digest version of what's been going on.

Since the last posting we have played Smiley's a lot more, they have booked us through the year and then some, we really like Cheryl and all the help at Smiley's, they take good care of us and treat us good, plus we get to see all the folks who used to come see us at the Longhorn.

We try to play Pete's in Sutton at least once a month and we are gonna be there for New Years of this year, plus I've been helping Pawpaw by bartending again (probably why I haven't had time to keep the Diary up).

We play the Tractor Bar in Mt. Nebo about every 6-8 months, our ol buddy Steve is still giving her hell ( "you go Steve", he's a drunkard and a rogue......lol)

We have played the Wilderness Plantation twice and were supposed to be booked in there through the year, but we had a little disagreement or misunderstanding, whatever, and we are not going back, and I really hate that, because we have been wanting to play there a long time and the people up there seem to like our show, we had a blast the two times we did play there, there are just some folk that want to change the rules once you've started the game.

This past month we had the opportunity to open up for Josh Turner, Tracy Lawrence, Darryl Worley and Jo Dee Messina and then the following week we opened for Billy Dean, we would like to thank all the Mix fans for coming out and supporting us on these outdoor gigs, we did ave a lot of fun, plus we got to pick with one of the best Steel Players around (course I'm prejudiced because he's my brother......lol) Hook Moore, we appreciate Hook coming and helping us out at such short notice. That is why Hook and Robert's picture and Bio are still on this web site because they still are and will always be Southern Mix.

Id also like to mention that some of our boys who are Southern Mix some who you might call associate Southern Mix, have a Jam Session going every Sunday starting at 8:00 pm at The Pour House in North Charleston, our ol bartending buddy from the Fifth Quarter, (Jenay and her mom Jeannie) have done a great job with the place, the pickers or the Pour House Crew as they call them are John Thornton-Bass Guitar, Robert Shafer-Lead Guitar, Hook Moore-Steel Guitar, Moe Truman-Rhythm Guitar, Steve Mullens-Fiddle, Bub Byrn-Drums and either Stevie Fitzgerald or Paul Dolan- Sound. Pawpaw, Gary and I made it down one Sunday and they have a real cool Jam going on, anyone who gets the chance ( if you like good music) come on down.

We played for our ol buddy Jeanette in Elkview in April and will be back there July 22-23, we had a blast last time and probably will again in July.

We did a 2 week gig at the Four Points Sheraton in Greensburg, PA, we sure do like the people up there, they enjoy us almost as much as we enjoy them.

We made it back to UNO's on corridor G (finally) in May and are supposed to be back there Aug 12-13 and at the UNO's in Teays Valley Aug 26-27. It sure was good to see David and Diane Saul again, you don't realize how much you miss people till you don't see them for a while.

Anyway that about catches us up, I want to say in closing that we have Hats and T-shirts ordered, (although I have no clue when they will be ready) plus now that we have us a good drummer (one we know wont quit or get fired) pretty soon hopefully we will be ready to record, I hate to say that and jinx us but its been a long time coming and I hope we can pull it off soon, Gary's doing a great job, John, Mikey and I cant say enough about him, he as come a long way in 6 months (you go boy, you sure make your Daddy proud), anyway till next year I mean month (hopefully), ya'll take care and support live music.

BB

January 25, 2005

Hi all,

First off I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Since we are so far behind again (thanks to me and my great computer and our web server), I won't be going all the way back to August 18, I'll just give a Readers Digest version. Since I was on here last we have played Florence three times. The last time we played was during Race Week at Darlington, which was cool. We took Gary with us and he did a great job. We had killer crowds. We always have a good time in Florence, the people who work at Spirits and our following down there are great people; it's kinda like visiting relatives. It's really cool. They watch out for us, and we have made some really dear friends in SC.

We have played Tri-State Racing and Greyhound Park twice and Sam and the gang always make sure we are treated right. We think the world of Sam, he always makes us sound good. I hate to hear that they are cutting down on bands next year and are probably only gonna use a band once a month if even that, so hopefully we will get some of the gigs.

We have played the Four Points Sheraton in Greensburg, PA once. We are sure gonna miss our good friend and boss Michele Schmucker. Matter of fact, she died the day before we played there in January. She was real good people, and I don't throw that compliment around easily. We are gonna miss her dearly, I only hope her understudy Lisa took over for her, because we sure like Lisa, and she deserves the promotion (just wish it were under different circumstances). (P.S.: Lisa did take over and is doing a great job). We like the employees and our following in Greensburg also. They are like the fine folks in Florence (with a little Northern attitude...lol).We have played Arizona Pete's in Greensboro, NC twice since the last posting. We like the people there but the crowd is so large its hard to get to know anyone, except for the help and Mike (booking agent/D.J.), Mike (sound man/drummer), Sue (light technician/singer/keyboard player) and Paul (the owner), but we have a blast. It's like every night you are putting on three mini- concerts (high energy very draining, but in a good way). This last time will probably be the last time for a while until we get the drummer situation figured out.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that New Years at Pete's was Roger's last gig with us. Everything with Roger is cool, he is a damn fine drummer and a super nice guy (much less being PB...pretty boy...lol). The problem is Roger has a day job and it's awful hard to ask him to devote all his vacation time and family time to the Mix and also take away from his real job, because he makes good daytime money. We are gonna try Gary Joe out and see where it goes from there. We (the Mix) have all the faith in the world in him and he has Roger's blessing so that's cool. I'd like to say it has been a pleasure for John, Mike and Me to get the chance to pick with Roger, if he ever needs a recommendation he will have it from us.

We've played Morgan's (located in the Beckley Quality Inn) once a month since the last posting, we always have a blast there, and Pawpaw goes with us and we have a blast with him and Linda. We look forward to playing there February 1st, and hopefully at that time we will be able to set our bookings up for next year.

In the last Diary entry I told you about my other Mother starting a bar in Kanawha City called Gone Country. We got to play there once, they did a really nice job with the place, but I regret to have to say that they closed down. I hate it for Roni, because I know how much she wanted it to work, just couldn't get a lot of people out, and that's a shame and it is going on around here a lot for some reason (like tougher DUI laws and ignorant no-smoking ordinances popping up around WV. Can you imagine going to a bar and not being able to smoke if you are a smoker, what's next are these small town hick Health Departments gonna say next that there will be no drinking allowed in bars, I know when I quit smoking last year, that other people smoking didn't bother me that much plus I also know these clubs are our bread and butter and I wouldn't rant and get nasty about these stupid local Health Departments but when someone does something to take the food out my kids mouth, it kinda hits me wrong, I can understand banning smoking in public places where people have to go like restaurants, etc., but to not even give business owners the right to set up an individual smoking area closed off to the non-smokers with a separate ventilation system, is fascist and autocratic but not communistic like some have suggested, because even communists have rights).

Anyway, we hate to see it close so soon, I wish the laws around here were like they are down south, but when you live in a poverty state, where the politicians seem to be out for themselves and not the people you'll have that I reckon. People around here are afraid to go out (when they can afford it). Seems like they would ease up on hounding these bars, I have no qualms with tougher DUI laws, but, they ought to enforce them when they pull someone over for weaving, speeding or some good reason and not stake out these bars and then follow someone when they leave and pull them over for some BS reason like (supposedly) left of center, failing to stop at stop signs, etc. I have some friends who don't drink but love to go out and three times they have been pulled over for "some reason" kinda coincidental huh, I have all the respect in the world for law enforcement at all levels when they do real police work and don't pull this Mikey Mouse stuff, (I hope no one with a badge reads this or I might be next...lol).

Well enough ranting about what is wrong with our state. We have played the Tractor Bar twice since August, we love Steve to death and we like Winter time because it's too cold for him to be on his boat and we know he'll be there hollerin "MOTOWN FOREVER" and "YAHHH"....lol. We will be back at the Tractor Bar February 11-12. And last but not least we come to Pete's, we have played there a lot. Thank you Pawpaw for saving our butts when we had another gig fall out or cancel. Pawpaw would say "Don't thank me, thank God I had a place for you to play" ...lol. Anyway we played Pete's New Year's Eve and Night and had a blast, Pawpaw had food and fun for everyone, it was a huge success. The first week of January, we played Spirits Lounge in Florence, SC and had a blast with all our buddies, the second week of January we were back in Pennsylvania. It was also a great time. Gary went on both gigs with us and did a real fine job. I think he is gonna work out just fine, like I said before, Granddad would be proud. Well I'm gonna wrap things up and get this to D so she can get it posted (hopefully) the last posting in September got lost in the e-mail somehow either on my part (P.O.S. computer), E-mail snafu or something, so until next time ya'll take care and remember, please support live music.

BB

August 18, 2004

Hi all. First and foremost I would like to apologize for my actions on this website when I let my personal views become detrimental to "The Mix" as a whole. Sometimes I get all keyed up about situations and the people who cause these situations, and when I get mad, I don't give myself time to cool off before I speak my mind (and bring myself to their level), and for that I am sorry. I will in the future try not to stoop to the stupidity level of other people (at least not here). Now, on to the more important things. We have us one heckuva new drummer and a pretty good plan B also.

We would like to welcome Roger Knight from the "Faded Glory" Band, "Matilda Briggs" and "Zen". We met Roger after playing a couple of gigs with The Faded Glory Band. His wife Amy read our Diary and Guestbook and told him we needed a drummer, and he got in touch with us, and we said "yes please"...lol. We had no idea Roger wanted the gig but are sure glad Amy came to the site and we got hooked up. Roger is a super nice guy and a really (I mean REALLY) solid drummer (even though he's modest and questions his own ability sometimes). When you hear him you will know what I'm talking about. Once we knew he wanted the gig, there was no question we knew he could do it because we had heard him before.

Roger has a day job and won't be able to go to all the gigs we have (some during the week) and when he can't make it we will be taking my oldest son Gary Joe with us. He went to Greensburg, PA with us the first part of the week and did a great job, so we know we have a good solid back-up when Roger can't make it. Finally we will be able to get some things accomplished like NEW songs, CD, etc,

Anyway I would like to personally thank the drummers who helped us out until we could find a full-time replacement, so, John Jacobs (Liz Nichols Band), Jon Hall, Chris Garnes, thank you so very much--you will never know how much we appreciate you helping us out. If I forgot anyone I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. Also, to the drummers who offered to help out, we appreciate it. So since I posted last we played Beckley Quality Inn (Morgan's Lounge). Pawpaw and Linda went with us and we had a great time. We love JJ and the girls, oh and the DJ, Krispy Kreme (man they have some funny names sometimes don't they....lol).

Anyway after that we went to the Tractor Bar and once again Steve was on the river (Tennessee that is), but we love him anyway, we still had a great time, we sure do miss Kendra though (more on that later). July 23 and 24 we played the Dog Track in Cross Lanes, we love playing there because they take such good care of us. We would like to thank them for having us and would like to thank Sam Myers for everything from sound and lights to catering for us. July 30 and 31 we played Smiley's and had a really good time with Cheryl and the gang (it's a shame we aren't in there till Nov 5-6, we love getting to see all our old Longhorn buddies).

Also we would like to note that this was Roger's first gig and he did great. On the 31st we also did the Davis Family reunion and had a great time. The weather held out and we were glad everything came off without a hitch because they were some of the nicest people.

Aug 1--I think somewhere, either here or in the Guestbook, I mentioned our buddy Kendra, who used to bartend for Pawpaw at Pete's and then went to work for Steve Brown at the Tractor Bar--anyway, she was coming home from work at the Tractor Bar and got into a very bad wreck. It didn't look good for her, but after being thrown I don't know how many feet out of the truck and into the woods, she crawled out to Rt. 19 with both legs shattered and I don't know what all other breaks, bruises and lacerations. Anyway, trust me when I say she was in BAD shape, she still has a lot of rehabilitation yet to go.

Well anyway on Sunday August 1st there was a benefit for her at the Tractor Bar. Pawpaw, Jane and I went over to lend our support, and we had a blast, bless her heart Kendra was there in a wheelchair (Ponch in tow...lol) and she was beautiful. There was all kind of music, food, and an auction and a great turnout--the place was full. I'm not sure how much they raised but Matt Walker and County Line did a fine job hosting the event.

As for Steve Brown and myself, we went on a scooter ride...lol, we had fun, especially Steve pulling up to these bikers on big Harleys asking them if we missed the Poker Run...anyway we had a blast.

August 6-7 was Braxton County Fair week and we played at Pete's with Pawpaw and the gang. We had a blast because Friday night a couple of the guys out of Neal McCoy's band came out and jammed with us. Neal got into town a day early (they played the fair Saturday night) and we had a blast. Them boys sure know how to party, and great pickers and singers too, and just all around great people because Saturday night they left passes at the gate for Pawpaw and the band and anyone else who could make it but we had to play soooooo, anyway, Pawpaw, Linda, Jane and our good friend Tammy Boggs ended up going. Jane said that Neal put on one helluva concert, I'm just sorry we didn't get to go.

August 3-8 we played the Four Points Sheraton in Greensburg, PA and since Roger had to work Tuesday-Friday, my oldest boy Gary Joe played Tuesday-Thursday night. We sure appreciate you son, you did one helluva job. I know I got all choked up because I was so proud and I know Granddad was looking down with a big smile on his face too saying "that's my boys". I can't wait till the day Sam is ready to go Jam with ol' dad. Anyway Gary did a fine job and now we aren't so afraid to have him as a backup when Roger can't make it. Roger did a great job too, we sprang a lot of un-practiced tunes on them boys and they both did great (even though both of them will try and tell you different). I also hope Gary wont be afraid to go with us next time, even after we almost took out an old lady in the Wal-Mart parking lot (imagine that, Billy at Wal-Mart). One of these days we'll get us a good vehicle that we won't have to worry about breaking down or the accelerator pedal getting stuck on...lol...kinda.

Also some of my cousins came from Ohio to visit (since I missed our family reunion) so I would like to thank Susan and Whatshisname (just kidding Steve), Karen, Pam, Jackie and Rick for coming to see us, we get to see Steve and Susan because they come hear us every little whipstitch or so, but the rest of them I haven't seen in like forever, so we had a blast. We will be back in Greensburg Sept 14-19, and once again Gary will be with us the first part of the week until Roger can make it up on Friday.

Well some new news to some, my second mother, Roni, has opened a new place in Kanawha City called Gone Country, and we can't wait to play there. Our first gig there is Sept 24-25, but we ask everyone who gets the chance to go out and support the place, because with Roni involved it has to be a first class place. You know some people are blessed with one mother, I have been blessed with 2, (love them both dearly).

Next week we will be at the dog track in Cross Lanes, WV. We are gonna miss brother Sam Myers (vacation) but we have faith that Eric Ford will do a great job (Sam wouldn't have left him in charge if he didn't think he could do it). Anyway, then we are at Morgan's in Beckley the 24th, Tractor Bar 27-28 and then we head to Florence, SC for a week, so y'all take care till next time and don't forget to check our dates page, it is current, so you will know where we are playing.

Thanks
BB

July 1, 2004

Well, I have been having problems with my computer so I am running a little behind on the Diary again, but here goes. Since the last posting, we played Pete's for Pawpaw on May 14-15. We started looking for a drummer to replace Travis, and I'm here to tell you it seems like there are no drummers out there who want to commit to a full time gig. Seems like everyone has a day job or teaches school so they can only play on weekends or until August.

Anyway, we've tried a couple of new drummers, but so far we haven't found anyone whose style matches ours. Anyway, we had a killer weekend. We got to see the homefolks we haven't seen for a while.

On the 21st and 22nd we played the Dog Track in Cross Lanes and John Jacobs from the Liz Nichols band bailed us out. I'd just like to go on record as saying a big thanks to John J, and also say that not all drummers are idiots, John is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and he is also a good player.

The following weekend we had off, so we got to check out a few more drummers before we had to do a week in Greensburg PA (June 1-6). We got this young kid named Chris Garnes to go to PA with us. The people up there loved him, but he is a little green and needs some work, but he has potential and he helped us through the Greensburg gig. He's a super great kid.

We also used Chris when we did the 12-hour Relay for Life for the Cancer Association at Holly Gray Park in Sutton. Despite the rain and ugly weather it was a pretty good turnout. The only negative I have is that there were other bands who got up and played on our equipment that we had no prior knowledge about, but it is usually cool, pickers usually have respect for other pickers gear. The first band got up and were great; the second band that got up was good too, but their drummer had no respect for our gear.

First off he changed everything on Chris' drums and while he was moving stuff around (and I mean he moved everything) he nicked my guitar (I didn't find out till after they got done or I would've said something). Anyway, some people don't have to move everything around, they are talented enough to make do with what is available. Sometimes I love this Diary so I can express my feelings about stuff like this.

We'd also like to say our buddy Larry Jones and Robert from "Be a Star Karaoke" did a great job filling in where we didn't play. I don't usually like the karaoke thing but I do consider Larry a good friend so I'll overlook it occasionally. Anyway the following week, we tried out another drummer, Jon Hall, also a super nice guy. We used him in Beckley and also at Smiley's. He is an excellent drummer and a great guy, but our styles didn't mesh, so we kinda came to a mutual agreement which is cool because all the drummers we try out we tell them its not only a tryout for them but a tryout for us to see if they like us and can get along, etc., so it's an open-ended thing that can go either way. We try to be fair about stuff like this. So now we had to get ready to go to Arizona Pete's in Greensboro, NC and Spirits in Florence, SC for 10 straight days on the road, so we got Chris to go with us. To be honest he is a soft drummer and at Arizona Pete's, it is like a concert every night so light playing doesn't get it, but I think we have found a solution: if the boy gets him a DM-5 or something that is triggered he'll be all right, and once we get the numbers together, like I said before he is a little green and we will have to work hard with him, but at least he is a good kid who is easy to get along with. (He also has a computer he takes on the road with him, that's why I am able to write this entry.)

Anyway we are having a blast in Florence, with Jean Marie (Beannie), Chandra (Chan) and Phoebe (Phobie), Rhonda and Cecil and all the waitresses, they always take care of us and work their butts off. Also we got to see our buddy Gene Ray. He is one of my unsung heroes, he is one helluvan entertainer and is a legend around these parts. I love Gene Ray and his whole family, they are just real good people. Oh and while I'm on here I ought to thank Andrea and Cindy for buying all three styles of our T-shirts over the years and wearing them when they get the chance.......lol ( I figured they would like a mention in our Diary......lol)

Anyway I'm gonna get off of here and get my shower and get ready to go pick. We will be at Pete's next week when we get back so ya'll make sure and check our schedule and come see us when you get the chance.

Until next month. Take care
BB

May 14, 2004

Well a lot has happened since our last posting, but at least we are still posting every month (or so). Anyway, we are in the process of finding a new drummer. We are having tryouts even as I write. Tonight we will be trying out a new guy named Darrin Edwards---we will be playing Pete's so it won't be as high-profile a gig to try to break out with.

Anyway I can't say if he'll work out or if we will work out for him. We are doing these tryouts as a kinda see if we like them/they like us type of deal, I know for a fact before we hire someone full-time we are gonna find someone dedicated who can do the job and can stay out of town when we need to. We would like to wish Travis the best at whatever he does, I think he is gonna pick with Stormcrow (who I have never heard but I have heard some good things about them and do know Rob and his wife are really good people) so I hope everything goes cool with that. Now on to what's been happening.

We played UNO's for the last time on our calendar (unless they get back in touch with us) the 9th and 10th of April. We had a blast as usual with Dave and Diane and the gang, and Big Rick brought the crew from hell with him ...lol, and he made one waiters night by giving him a killer tip after he had been stiffed by some people. Hey that's how Rick is, he and Kim are really good people and good friends as are Dave and Diane. We love playing UNO's and I hope they can get their schedule figured out to where we can play for them again before the year is out.

The 16th and 17th we played Smiley's in Jefferson/South Charleston/St.Albans/whatever. Anyway we had a good time and we got to finally see Painter and Dunlap again, it was good seeing them and are glad they got to come out, we had a good time but I heard they weren't doing any more bands and that is too bad because they had a cool thing going on, but we wish them the best in whatever they try to do because they seem like good people. 23-24 Tractor Bar time, yeeeee--haaawwwww, we always enjoy the Tractor Bar with Steve Brown. He is a hoot and another super nice human being. You couldn't ask for a nicer guy or better friend (you can pay me later Steve...lol).

Anyway I have to talk nice about the old rogue because he does get on here occasionally and read this...lol. Anyway we had a blast and Donna made it home safe Friday night...lol. Saturday night was a real good night a good turnout and we had a blast with Roger and Sue. It's always good seeing them (another super good set of people). The 29th we headed to North Carolina to play Arizona Pete's. This is getting to be another one of our favorite gigs, we like Mike and Mike and all the bar gang, I'm terrible with names I know a few of the bartenders names but I don't want to leave anyone out. I know they take real good care of us, and Mike Laughlin does a helluva job running sound.

We appreciate Mike Bowers booking us there and Paul is one cool club owner, we like him a lot, really good people, of course this is a good time to say that as many assholes there are out there in the world Southern Mix has been blessed to be able to meet and play for some of the greatest people, and we appreciate each and every one of you. Anyway, when we left Greensboro we headed to Florence, SC, a real nice drive, nice and relaxing. It was good to see our Carolina crew, although we didn't get to see everybody. Some couldn't make it out this time due to circumstances, but that's cool, we understand. We wish Nancy a speedy recovery and hope she gets to feeling better. There was a little inner turmoil down there but we took care of it and everything isn't exactly fine but it will be. We would like to mention that our bartenders and waitresses in Florence always take good care of us and we appreciate it.

When we got home on May 2nd we started getting ready for our Beckley gig on Tuesday night. I think everything went real good. We borrowed John Jacobs from the Liz Nichols band and he did a bang up job (pun intended). John did a great job (too bad he has a day job and a music gig). Anyway, we had fun and Pawpaw got to go let his hair down a little and please the crowd with his singing and carrying on (seems like everyone loves Pawpaw) and so we get back to this weekend we are playing Pete's and next week we will be having tryouts for drummers and gearing up for the Dog track with Sam and the Gang, so if y'all get the chance come on out, we'd love to see ya.

Till next time take care
BB

April 5, 2004

Hi again to all, am still trying to keep caught up, a lot of cool things are happening for us. First off I want to say thanks to all the fine folks who came out and supported us at UNO's, Teays Valley on Wednesday nights. We had a blast, but they are rotating us every quarter with Marshall Pickens. I have never heard this band but I wish them the best and hopefully if we don't have something else going on by then, we will be back for the third quarter (July-August). Anyway, we (Travis) are working on the live CD which is sounding great. We should have it ready for market soon and we are also working on Hats and T-shirts so we will have all kinds of cool stuff available. Travis is also working on getting us some MP3s for the website from all the recording he is doing and he is also working on getting every song on our song list recorded live so if someone wants to put together their own Southern Mix CD they can order any 10 songs they want on it, but we'll talk about that later. Now on to what we did since last talking to you.

March 12-13 we played the Tractor Bar and would like to say I have never seen Steve Brown look better (actually he scares me when he dresses up like he has been, I like him better in the coveralls). Anyway our buddy Kendra is doing great over there and we wish her the best of luck. Also we'd like to thank Kendra, Lisa, Steve and Joyce and all the gang for taking such good care of us, and all of our Tractor buddies who came to see us. On the 18th-20th we played Arizona Pete's in Greensboro, NC and we had a little bit of a scare. We called to tell the sound man (our buddy Mike Laughlin) what time we were gonna be pulling in and he told me that they were gonna have another band in on Friday night. Well I thought that meant we didn't have to play but he informed me we would be opening for the Kentucky Headhunters, which was really cool. We got to add another name to our resume and we got to pick and party with some killer musicians and just plain good people. They hired Travis as a part-time roadie so I stayed with Trav and partied with the guys, we went on the bus and had a blast. These guys put on one helluva show, and when we told them we were from WV, they wanted to know if we knew Michael Lipton and Robert Shafer, welllll, there went a long conversation and Greg Martin wanted to get in touch with Robert so we made sure they got each other's e-mail. Anyway, we had a blast that whole weekend. The place was packed (as usual) and the people were great.

The 23rd we played Morgan's in Beckley. It's been awhile since we have been there. They changed from the Holiday Inn to Quality Inn. Anyway, we had a blast seeing all our Beckley gang and Kendra came down to see us, thanks again Kendra.

The 26th and 27th we had off, so I bartended at Pete's and got to finally hear Southern Drive, ended up I knew all the guys Larry Helmick, Newt Harrison, John Brooks and Dale Rollins. These guys have a good band and if you get the chance you ought to go hear them, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

April 2-3 we played Pete's and had a blast. Pawpaw had his aneurism operated on last week and he was already out singin' with the band and dancin' (a little). Anyway we are happy his surgery went well and it looks like he is going to be fine (you just can't keep the ol' boy down for long). He had his surgery last Monday and was out by Tuesday evening, not bad for an 81 year old...lol. Anyway we had a blast at Pete's, as usual, and this coming week (April 9) we will be on WCHS 580AM Radio from 3:40pm-4:00pm doing an interview and playing a couple of tunes (unplugged). Then we will be playing UNO's Corridor G that evening and also Saturday the 10th, so make sure and try to come out and see us. Our Dates page should be pretty well caught up so everyone can keep up with us.

Well, Little League baseball is gearing up again and I am umpiring again this year so hopefully we can keep our practice time going, until next time y'all take care and we hope to see you soon.

Take care
BB

March 12, 2004

Well, believe it or not, I am adding another Diary entry and it hasn't been 6 months...lol. I am gonna try and keep this thing updated monthly (or so). One of the first orders of business is Travis wanted me to add to the diary and I agreed because we (musicians) all know how it is to be without transportation and someplace to live, well we (and especially Travis) would like to say a big Thank You to Rob and Pam Lovejoy from the band Stormcrow for helping Travis by letting him crib out at their place a while till he could find a place and we "The Mix" would like to thank them for letting us use their 8 track recorder so we can get back to work on our "Live" album. These are great people (most pickers are). Rob is the brother of one of our buddies (Kathy Parsley) from the ol' Longhorn days. Once more thanks y'all, we appreciate the help. Now on to our past month.

February 6-7 we played the Uno's on Corridor G. We had a blast with David and Diane Saul, also Big Rick (Lipscomb) and his lovely wife Kim were out with some of their family and friends. We like seeing old friends, it brings back memories of the old days, and we like seeing new friends because one day this will be the old days...lol.

The next weekend (Feb. 13-14) we played Uno's at Teays Valley and also had a blast. We like the Uno's gang, servers, bartenders and managers. Not only do they have killer food but also very friendly service, our hats off to UNO's. February 20-21 we played the Tri-State Racing and Gaming Park (the place is really going to the dogs...couldn't resist at least one Gary Boggs pun). We always have a good time there with Sam and Melissa and all the gang. They treat us very good, and Sam does everything in his power to make us sound good and to make sure things run smoothly out front and backstage. Once again Thanks Sam (at least I didn't say play it again Sam...lol). Anyway enough of the corny sh sh show of Jokes.

February 23rd through the 28th we were back in Florence, SC. Finally, we got to see all of our people and catch up on what's going on since last year (or 3 months anyway...or was it 4?). Everyone is doing good and the renovations they have done to the front of the place with the new Quizno's and Chicken Kitchen is cool. I didn't get a chance to try Quizno's but I tried the Chicken Kitchen twice, excellent food and large portions. While we were there we thought we were gonna get caught in the snow storm that was about to hit, but luckily it missed us. On the way home we saw (actually John saw, the rest of us were asleep) cars all over the median and side of the road that had been wrecked, so many that they hadn't had time to tow them yet, so we got real lucky missing that.

Also Mikey quit smoking on the way home (actually his last cigarette was Saturday night 28th, at midnight) so a BIG congrats to Mikey for quitting them nasty things (now Travro will have someone to room with, and smoker John and smoker Billy can room together until they quit)...lol

March 5-6 we played Pete's. Pawpaw has new hats and T-shirts so if you get a chance get one, they are really cool. We would like to give a big shout and thanks to our bartenders Jason, Vicki, Jane and Olivia for taking care of us (well one bartender takes care of me better than the others...nothing like that, I'm talking about Jane...his wife...lol) anyway we had a blast and everyone commented about the new songs we did. They also talked about it down in Florence, so practice is definitely paying off.

Our SMU (Southern Mix Unplugged) on Wednesday night at the Teays Valley Uno's seems to be picking up a little, and everyone who comes out comments on how they can't believe how few people are there, because they love it, so hopefully the word will spread. Last week we had a church group of about 50-75 people (that was interesting) but they enjoyed themselves and told us so, we appreciate that. We hope to be able to build them a good crowd there if they will advertise a little better out front, seems like everyone who comes in finds out we are out back on the patio by accident when they go to the restroom...lol. (Hey, we'll take 'em anyway we can get 'em...lol)

Anyway, as usual we are having a blast, we have a good full year already, with just a few weekends open, so we are tickled. We'd like to send condolences out to a few of our buddies, Roy "royboy" Tingler lost his Dad last week to cancer and Tim Sergent lost his Dad Sunday to Altzheimers. We are very sorry to hear about their losses, we think the world of both of these guys and know what it's like to lose a parent.

Well this weekend we are at the Tractor Bar with Steve and the Gang and can't wait to see how our buddy Kendra is doing on her new job there. She used to work at Pete's, but the commute was just too much for her, so she put in her application at the Tractor Bar and got the job (she might have had a little help from her friends, we love you Kendra and we will see you this weekend) anyway, if y'all get the chance come on out to Uno's Teays Valley on Wednesday nights and party undressed, I mean unplugged with SMU.

Ya'll take care
BB

February 6, 2004

Once again I must apologize for getting so far behind on this website and Diary. Please don't blame our webmistress (still sounds kinky....lol) it is not her fault [Note from Webmistress: Aw, go ahead. He sent me this on the 6th and I'm posting it on the 18th, for Pete's sake].

First off, the goofy people we had hosting our site screwed us back in September and wouldn't let us update our website, then when we (I say we but I mean Denise) finally were able to wrestle our website back away from these wonderful people like (December) my computer locked up on me so we couldn't keep in touch to keep it up to date (I finally got it fixed). We talked on the phone, but it's awful hard to get things done that way. So one of my New Year's Resolutions is to get off my a$$ and start getting things done and quit procrastinating (so I'll start tomorrow.....lol).

Another thing I would like to address is...everyone wants to know when we will have a CD. We have answered with the same ol' tired excuse: "We are working on it"---well let me explain. Other bands are able to do so much more because they have what we like to call "day jobs" so they can take a lot of their weekend earnings and put toward promo material, and bands like us who do this full time have to struggle to find a way to get these things done. Some find financial backers (which is a lot easier said than done), and some do the best they can (that would be us). That's why we are still working on a live project---well actually Travis is working on it now, we have the material but someone stole our CD recorder so it is very hard to get the project mixed down and sounding good enough to put out for our fans. I would like to eventually (when we get it ready) have a product of live songs that everyone requests the most, and do what not very many other people do, put out a CD with about 20 songs on it so you feel like you are getting your money's worth. We also have to get off our butts and write some new material because we have a friend of ours with a studio who said he would record us for free, all we would have to do is buy the CDs (can't beat that) so now the ball is in our court. Now that we have that out of the way...

Since I talked to you last we have been very busy. We have more bookings now that we ever had this early in the year. We won't be some places as much because other people got there first to book us. I tried to tell all our regular gig owners or booking agents that we don't have many dates open, but you know how that goes (I'm not the only person who procrastinates...lol). Anyway since the last posting I will give you a Reader's Digest version of what we have been up to.

Since Sept 19th '03 we have played Spirits in Florence, SC twice and we can't wait to go back. We would also like to send our condolences to 2 of our peoples' family and friends in Florence, this past year we lost Dancin' Dan and his longtime buddy (girlfriend) Gayron. They will both be sadly missed. We have helped Pawpaw out a lot and vice-versa at Pete's in Sutton, and he is kicking butt and taking names. His new business venture is doing great (and I think he has some of the competition worried) but that just goes to show you if you are nice to the people and give them what they want and treat them with the respect they deserve, it'll pay off. I know on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Super Bowl Sunday he had free meals for anyone, customer or not free of charge (and we are talking BIG great meals), and he does stuff like that all the time. Pawpaw is the mack Daddy in our opinion. Keep up the good work Pawpaw.

We have also started playing a new place in Greensboro, NC called Arizona Pete's, super nice place and super nice people, we are the only band to have been back in there 3 times as of yet, so that is really cool. The last time we played there, January 22-24, the PBR (Pro Bull Riders Association) was in town and the place was ignorant with people. Man, it was like playing the Regatta or something. They had a night sponsored by Jack Daniels and a night sponsored by Bud Light, plus some of the Pro Bullriders showed up, Although I didn't personally see them because the crowd was so large. It took a whole 30-minute break just to get to the bar and get a Coke and get back onstage (I'm glad I had my own in the van) but it was a blast nevertheless. It's great to have that many people appreciate what you do. We are back in there 7 more times this year. We've also been playing the Dog Track in Cross Lanes a lot (Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming, to be exact). We are in there a couple more times. I hope they set some more up because this is another place I'm afraid we won't be able to get dates for because we are booking up fast. I would like to say a BIG thank you to Sam Myers and the whole staff at Tri-State, they have provided us with food and sound and courtesy, and Sam is doing a great job running sound. We also have been playing UNO's a lot, not only on Corridor G but also the Teays Valley store. Michael, John and I are doing an unplugged gig on Wednesday nights at the Teays location if anyone gets the chance to come out and support us, we would sure appreciate it, and to the ones who already have we do appreciate it very much. This is another place that books by quarter year and I'm afraid we aren't going to be there as much as we would like.

We've booked up for the rest of the year at one of our favorite stomping grounds, the Tractor Bar in Mt. Nebo. We are there 6 more times this year. We appreciate Steve, Joyce and CC and the gang for having us and taking good care of us. We also have our Morgan's gigs in Beckley on Tuesday nights starting back up in March. We will be there almost one Tuesday of every month through the end of the year. We have the Fireplace 2 or 3 more times, which is a cool new Country bar in Princeton, WV, with great people and great atmosphere. It's good to be back in the Princeton area. Also in April we have a gig at Smiley's/Days Inn in St. Albans, so hopefully that will turn out cool and we will get more bookings on that. We also have the 4 Points Sheraton in Greensburg, PA in June. That's a nice gig. Wish we were there more but they have such a large rotation of good bands. Anyway we will keep the Dates page updated so everyone can find out where we will be and will be able to come see us, and if anyone sees Paul (Hagar) or Regina (Jackson) tell them we have our Dates page fixed so now they don't have to be strangers...lol. [Note from Webmistress, part II: Oops, sorry.] Well so far this month we have (besides our Wednesday night UNO's Unplugged gig in Teays Valley) We have UNO's Corridor G, this weekend, UNO's (Teays Valley) next weekend, Tri-State Greyhound park the 20th and 21st and Florence the 23rd-28th, then March will kick off at Pete's the 5th and 6th with Pawpaw and all the homeys...lol, until next month y'all take care and I WILL be monitoring the Guest Book if anyone has any questions.

Take Care
BB

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