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Hey friends!

 I'm back and I'm much happier than I was in my last dispatch. We've spent the last couple of weekends in North Texas and have had too much fun. Two weekends ago found us once again at Hank's Texas Grill in McKinney. Is it possible to have more fun than we do at Hank's? Due to the snowfall on the Wednesday night before, we had to reschedule our show in Denton on the next day (Thursday), but it provided for an incredible amount of fun when Kevin challenged everybody to snowball fight after the show at Hank's! We seem to like to pick fights - especially with our fans! That Saturday turned into a party too when our close pal and all around nice guy Tom Gillam opened the show with a spirited set at Riley's Tavern in Hunter, just north of New Braunfels. Riley's is a great old bar whose claim to fame is that they applied for and received the first liquor license in Texas after prohibition was repealed. Between Tom joining us onstage and us joining Tom onstage, I think everybody had a great time watching the adventures of Two Tons!

Shredding it to pieces at Hank's.

Last week we played on Monday at Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio and that place just gets better and better. Eric and Jen do such a fine job and the improvements help to continue to make it somewhere artists will want to continue coming back to. Great crowd, great fun!

A week ago on Thursday night we played the Granada Theatre in Dallas opening the show for Kinky Friedman. He's a helluva nice guy and playing the Granada is always something we look forward to doing. The sound, the lights, the stage, the crew, the food, the fans and all the fun that goes along with that gig make it one of our favorite places in Texas to play. Bill Ellison is the house photographer and Does an amazing job of capturing moments in time every time we're there! Check him out online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billellisonphotographer

 Campaigning with my pal Kinky Friedman outside The Granada Theatre in Dallas.

 Of course it wouldn't be a night out with Two Tons if we didn't stay out all night and it couldn't be a Granada Theatre show without a party! We didn't stay out late as much as we did go to bed early after our show with Kinky -- early the next morning that is. After hanging with the opening band at a little Irish pub down the street and finding an afterparty at a fan's home and firing his bow and arrow all night long with only a few hours sleep, we were then off to Ft. Worth to play Lola's Saloon. In a word? Fun! Once again, throwing out a blistering 90 minute set with a room full of great fans who are always so excited we're in town. Thanks to Tim and Amy for their support -- our fans are the BEST! Lola's was a great night and cause for me to replace all the heads on my drumkit. By the end of "Not Fade Away", I had torn my bass drum head completely in half - from East to West all the way across the drum. Crazy! I've never done that before but it just goes to show what an absolute badass I am. (Ha!)

What the?! Is that possible? I play 1/4 notes!

We woke up Saturday and made our way back to Dallas for some replacement drumheads and to meet our close pal Guy Reynolds. Guy is another amazing photographer and all around nice guy who travelled with us 3 or 4 years ago for a weekend to document our lives on the road for an article that ran in the Dallas Morning News. We hit it off well and have stayed in touch ever since. He and his wife and young son hosted us for the afternoon and we had a great time with a homecooked meal, fresh margaritas, and lots o' laughs! At some point during or trip, I misread the directions on my phone and mentioned we needed to take the "Hall/St. Lemmon Ave" exit. As it turns out, it was the "Hall STREET/Lemmon Ave" exit. Nobody in the van seemed to remember there being a "Saint Lemmon", but we decided that "Blind" Saint Lemmon must surely be the patron saint of all blues artists - we were down near the House of Blues anyway. But I digress...

Super cool sign found on a Federal building near Guy's home.

We played to an incredible crowd in Austin at the Broken Spoke last weekend and had a great time. Seems we have our very own bar staff now that appears from time to time and they always keep us well "watered". Thanks to Jay and Joe for all the laughs and all the backdoor "bartending" -- if you know what I mean! Saturday night we made a guerilla appearance at the Cash Bash going on at the Continental Club in Houston and played a couple of tunes in front of an eager crowd and I caught up with some old friends as well that I hadn't seen in close to 15 years. Saturday night also found the "4 Ladies of the Apocalypse" in the crowd, taking in the music and soaking up the vibe in the room. Thanks to John Wynne for having us drop in and crash the Cash Bash!  Then from there we made a bee-line over to the Armadillo Palace and played a marathon 2 1/2 hr set for a raging rodeo crowd. Good Times. We left there around 2:15 and were brought to a complete stop in traffic on the highway at 4:22am. Let me remind you that at 4:22am -- there is NO traffic on IH-10 between San Antonio and Houston! We were stopped there until around 6:40am when we finally drove through what appeared to have been an 18 wheeler that must have driven over the side of the bridge and taken out about 50 yards of guardrail. We're not talking mangled guardrail -- we're talking guardrail completely gone from the bridge on the highway. Bad news on the radio. We see some crazy stuff on our late night drives home from the various parts of this great state we traverse every weekend.

Can you see it? My drumkit used as wallpaper on a fan's phone - how cool is that?

This week will find us once again in North Texas at the Glass Cactus on Thursday with our pals The Derailers, then on Friday we'll make a stop in Bandera at the Longhorn Saloon, and Saturday we'll be burning down the House of Rock in Corpus Christi. Stay tuned to www.twotons.com for all of our upcoming dates and everybody be pulling for us as we head up through the Midwest again at the end of the month for a 10 day road trip. Call your families, call your friends -- Two Tons may be coming to a town near you!

Badass on a big pink bike.

Enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon after
 an all night drive home from Houston...

‘Til next time, be safe out there and we'll talk soon.

- Doddsy

Testing again!

Testing now to see if I can post pics from my phone?

My goofball friends.

Looking more and more like Buddy Holly/Roy Orbison everyday

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Location:Goshen Pass St,San Antonio,United States

Testing?

Trying to see if I can successfully publish a blog from my phone. This will make blogging sooooooo much simpler for me if it can be done in the van on the road!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's been ugly all day...

Hello friends.

We're already into February and I'm only just now sitting down to correspond after another long day. I haven't written since right after Halloween -- and that's too long. I don't have much to say just now because it's so late, but I wanted to post a brief notice to let everyone know that one of our close friends and a longtime supporting fan of our music passed away today. The body of Randy "The Rib King" Goss, (co-owner of The County Line restaurants) was found in his Acura this morning around 11:00 AM, swept off the road near a low-water crossing and submerged in water near Blanco and Specht Rd., and was pulled free at around 3:00 PM.

To those who knew Randy, they also know how supportive he has been of Texas music over the last several years and how hospitable he was to all the acts he booked at The County Line off I-10 near Wurzbach in San Antonio. He always had a big smile on his face and a big heart that always made you feel welcome. I live right behind The County Line and have walked my kids up to the restaurant to see and hear the live music on Wednesday nights since they were tiny tots. I can remember pulling my two youngest up there in their red Radio Flyer wagon when they were barely able to walk while their older siblings rode their bicycles and parked them next to all the motorcycles near the entrance. The Wednesday night County Line Music Series has become a staple for me during the Spring and Summer months and on many nights my family can hear the music from our home - sometimes if only faintly while at the dinner table. Not all the homeowners in my neighborhood appreciate the Wednesday night music, but it means a lot to me that anybody will still book and support live musicians in any capacity. Fortunately for everybody familiar with the series, all the live acts he booked were extremely talented and always made for a great night of fun. My thoughts and prayers are with Randy's family tonight as they mourn the loss of their beloved; to his extended family of employees, co-workers, friends, acqauintances, and patrons of The County Line -- he will be deeply missed by all of us. Thank you for so many great memories, Randy. God bless your soul, may you rest in peace.

- Dodds

Texas Big Beat!

On Sunday, November 1st, I had the opportunity to take part in Houston's "Texas Big Beat!" put on by the Houston's Percussion Center and is an event setup for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it's a charity fundraiser for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation to help keep music programs in schools, and secondly for the Cherish Our Children International organization. To learn about either of these charities, visit them online at: http://www.mhopus.org/ and http://www.cherishourchildren.org/.

"Feeling it" alongside Herman and the rest of the crowd in Houston!

Secondly, the event serves as a gathering of drummers who annually make it their goal to break the Guinness Book world record for the most drummers playing along to the same beat at the same time for a period of 5 minutes. This means that roughly 200 drummers gathered together on that Sunday in a warehouse near the George Bush Intercontinental Airport just north of Houston. I think I may have seen every conceivable type of drumkit ever made! Drummers both young and old, experienced and inexperienced had an incredible afternoon of hanging out, talking, checking out gear, and most of all -- drumming! I was honored to be there representing Ludwig drums alongside Barry "Frosty" Smith, and the 3 featured artists of the afternoon, drumming phenom Rick Latham, groove king Herman Matthews (a Houston native), and Texas's own Chris Layton! (As in Stevie Ray Vaughn?)

Hanging with my new pal Herman Matthews!

What an amazing show of talent these artists displayed and made the afternoon so much fun! I had met Chris on a few occasions before and it was great to finally have some time to talk a little bit away from late nights and bars. Herman Matthews was an absolute gentleman and I look forward to seeing him play again soon. He's currently on tour with Tom Jones and has toured with Stevie Wonder. (Hello? Heeeelloooooo? Stevie Wonder? As in laying down the groove on "Superstition" every night? I love that tune and drive most everybody I know crazy by singing it incessantly!) Here are a few pics taken from the event. Thanks Mike Henry and Donna Fisher of Houston's Percussion Center for their hospitality in making me feel so welcome all afternoon, and to Adolph Baez for the opportunity to represent Ludwig, and to Ludwig drums for their support of my drumming! Be safe out there and we'll talk again soon...

- Doddsy

Falling down on the job...

Notes from the road...

How the time passes so quickly. Every weekend we roll into a town and play a show and every weekend I think to myself "I need to blog about this". Now, a month later, I'm finally sitting down to write down a few of my thoughts. Sheesh...

Rhoades-Bomb is a badass in Dallas at the Granada...

Cactus Music - Thanks to everybody who came out to support us at the music store for our mini-set we performed before heading over to the bar for that night's show. I've been proudly representing on many nights wearing my Cactus Music trucker cap!

Kevin loves you all thiiiiiiiiis much!

Armadillo Palace - What a great bar! Houston is always a fun town to play in and everybody at the Armadillo Palace is always ready to get rowdy! Our old pal Peggy found us again after many months of having not been out to see us. (She claims she thought we had just stopped gigging in the area. Really? How in the world is that possible? Anyhow...) It was great to see you again and hopefully you'll be out again soon to dance again! Reed and Rachel Robinson - Houston is always good for a visit with some of our favorite fans. I drove myself on this trip and Reed and Rqachel were gracious enough to let me stay with them and I wound up with new front tires on my truck by the end of the trip - thanks guys!

Dennis catches the light across a smoke-filled room...

Sam's Burger Joint - Lil' Bit's annual birthday party and pre-Halloween bash is always such a blast to be a part of. Thanks again, Jen, for making us such a big part of your birthday shindig!

¡Odelay vato!

Hank's - The fun we have at Hank's is unmathced! Whether the crowd turnout is big or small, everybody there comes out ready to have a good time. Thanks to everybody who came out this past weekend to make the show so much fun. Again!

Dodds jumping from trains. Late night in Kansas City.

This next week will find us in Austin playing the Broken Spoke and hopefully we'll see lots of old friends out there ready to dance all night long! Have a great week everybody and we'll talk soon!

- Dodds

Celebrity Two Tons!

While on tour through Indiana and Illinois we stumbled upon the subject of celebrity look-alikes. Here's what we came up with. You be the judge...