BILL BLOG
Monday April 29, 2024
Monday morning and I have a flight to catch here in Houston to get home to Nashville. Keeping an eye on the morning forecast it’s raining, windy and skies are rumbling here. Nothing like what Oklahoma had to deal with yesterday though with the tornadoes that ripped through. So I’m grateful for that, and I’m hoping the weather won’t make for a long day at the airport.
THE WEEKEND
Saturday I was back on a plane again. Southwest direct to Houston to go play at Gulf Coast Days in Kemah, Texas. Only way to fly if you can…direct. And with Nashville expanding its airport…just like the city has expanded more direct flights are being offered. About 2 hours and I was on the ground and that’s when the fun begin.
I rented a car from Budget. Off site of course. Sigh. Just what you want when you’re tired and just want to get to your hotel. So I took the shuttle over and I could not believe the line I saw in front of me.
Everyone was complaining as it took forever it seemed to process one customer. Partly because there was only one clerk, sometimes two AND there was no AC and it was Houston hot almighty. I saw a pair of ladies at the one counter who were STILL trying to resolve some kind of problem when over an hour later I finally got my car. At the end, two or three more agents finally showed up to help and I’m guessing that might have been because so many irate folks were on the phone with Budget giving them you know what. Geez.
Most of us book the best deal we can find online for rental cars. I do. And my theory is that the best deal often means you’ll wait in the longest lines. My lesson from all of that is the next time I fly and have to rent a car, I’m going to ask about their Fast Pass policies.
KEMAH, TEXAS
Things got much better when I got to the room the folks at Gulf Coast Days booked for me at the Courtyard Marriot in Kemah which was located directly across from T-Bone Tom’s which is the venue I played at yesterday with Brent Burns and and the Godfather of Trop Rock Jerry Diaz.
Kemah sits right on beautiful Galveston Bay and the boats in folks front yards reflect that.
And from T-Bone Tom’s you can see and hear the Boardwalk with all the rides.
And the NASA Johnson Space Center is close by as well.
I walked over to T-Bone Tom’s to have dinner and check out the place. Loved it! I’ve found my place for eating now whenever I’m in or near Galveston. Great food. The shrimp is crazy good and the whole place has a cool vibe to it.
So Saturday ended up much better than it started.
SUNDAY
It was show time at Gulf Coast Days here in Texas. It was me, Brent Burns and the Godfather of Trop Rock Jerry Diaz. Jerry was a last second replacement for JD Edge who a loss in the family which we hated hearing.
Jerry Diaz is credited more than anyone or organizing the Parrot Head movement and getting the Trop Rock movement off the ground. So much so that Jerry is featured in the documentary “The Parrot Head Movie”. If you like tropical-beach music or Jimmy Buffett…watch the documentary and see how this genre took off.
Gulf Coast Days this year was named for Brent Burns. They honor a Trop Rock artist every year, this year it was Brent. The three of us played almost 4 hours right off Galveston Bay at T-Bone Tom’s which is a great venue for music and terrific food. We had a great crowd in front of us, many whom I’ve come to know through the years playing at Trop Rock events all across the country.
It was fun getting to know Jerry and it was fun as always sharing the stage with my longtime friend Brent Burns. Thank you Jon Burns (not related to Brent) for inviting me to play at Gulf Coast Days. Can’t wait to be invited again sometime.
THE OAK RIDGE BOYS!
I’ve been waiting to share this. Over the weekend Billy Blue Records released the song “Blue Collar Gospel” featuring my friend Jerry Salley WITH the Oak Ridge Boys. Jerry and I had the pleasure of writing this with our friend Rick Lang, who’s album project this is. And it’s the title track for the album as well. So now I can say officially the Oak Ridge Boys recorded one of my songs. Danged…that’s just really cool if I do say so.
Rick shared the title idea over a year ago which I immediately loved and then invited me and Jerry to write the song with him. Thank you Rick. This album features songs written by Rick Lang by himself or usually co-written with other writers like this song was. A gospel-bluegrass artist sings on each song. A different singer or group on each.
When it got time to record the song I had a conversation with Jerry about who might sing this song. We knew Jerry was going to sing on it but I suggested the Oaks as Jerry knew them and had convinced them to sing on a song for our record label once before. He liked the idea, called the Oaks and they loved the song and said “yes”. Jerry is singing the first couple of verses, the Oak Ridge Boys sings the chorus and then the rest of the song. And they just slayed it.
Joe Bonsall who has been the long time tenor for the group sent a note to my friend Linda Davis telling her how much he loved this recording. And Joe is officially off the road now because of his health. So knowing all of that makes this song even more special to me and everyone involved.
Click the link up above and listen to “Blue Collar Gospel.”
SONG REVIEW
Happy to see this great review of my Pennsylvania friend Troy Engle’s current bluegrass single “Never Too Lost” that we wrote together. As you’ll see in the article, Troy played every instrument on this song and then sang the heck out of it as well. I’m just glad he didn’t write the song all by himself! Congrats Troy.
NEW SHOW DATE
July 6 I’ll be back at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with my friend Steve Dean for their songwriter series that’s held in the beautiful Ford Theater inside the Hall of Fame. It’s a 45 minute show and we’ll do a question and answer session in the middle of our show. These are always very fun, and of course it’s an honor to get to play at the Hall of Fame. Or show starts at noon that day, and it’s free with your museum admission.
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HEALTH NOTES
Fitness experts seem to agree that lifting iron is good for healthy aging.
More than 150 passengers fell sick with norovirus on cruises in April.
Research is suggesting that eating macadamia nuts which are often found in baked goods and other sweet treats are one type of nut that may produce significant drops in bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol levels.
FUNNY
This line from comedian Eddie Izzard who says, “If God had written the Bible, the first line should have been ‘Its round.”
GOOD RESUMES
An online technology article lists 15 hobbies that look good on your resume. Some you would guess like, reading, learning new languages and graphic design skills.
Others were a bit of a surprise like, writing, camping, and playing music. Who knew. If I were looking for a job because of writing and playing music I might be in demand!
TREE HUGGING
Nope. I did not see “tree hugging” as something that looks good on a resume. But if it was a good thing Abubakar Tahiru would be getting a high salary right away. That’s because this 29 year old environmentalist just broke a world record by hugging 1,123 trees in one hour. Uh huh. Hey, some people like yoga, some like golf, others like nothing better than walking up to an unsuspecting Oak and giving it a big ole bear hug.
AMAZON
My wife should put this skill set on her resume. Ordering stuff from Amazon in your sleep. She told me the other night she was ordering stuff and fell asleep. I’m afraid to see what might show up at our door step now. But that’s how good she is at ordering Amazon stuff! Something that looks good on her resume.
TIPPING
How about the Domino’s pizza offer “You Tip, We Tip”. You order a pizza and you tip the delivery guys at least 3 dollars they give you a 3 dollar coupon that’s good for a week allowing you to order another on their online platform.
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
Korean Airline Executive Assaults Pilot After Being Served Nuts Incorrectly. (Who knew there was a CORRECT way to serve nuts?)
TODAY
I’m trying to get home this morning through the rain. Wish me luck.
Have a great Monday.
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