Well I had some incredible shows and times in Texas over the holidays. I played at Schroeder Hall in Goliad, The Courthouse Gallery in Cureo, Fat Alberts in Yoakum, and my old church.. (Which is sort of a given when I am home)
I miss Texas… straight up. miss it
can’t seem to get it out of my head lately. I had such a feeling of warmth and comfort when I was there doing the things I used to do with the family that I love. NO stress.. no worries… The people really cared about my music .. I could tell it touched some folks. I am not sure what all this means.. but I do know that my heart belongs to Texas and prolly always will.
Some Highlights..
NATALIE
My good friend Natalie Haskins flew in to open up on a couple of dates. I think she had a good time. The first night was rough though. I know she had a grand vision of the experience but there were a few loud people in the crowd that killed it for her. I do believe she was a bit under the weather as well. The next night made up for it Tenfold.. It was nice to have her there.
COURTYARD GALLERY
The Court Yard Gallery in Cuero is prolly the most unique and wonderful venue that I have ever played in my life. It is this oooold building in the downtown area of Cuero. You walk through a gallery filled with beautiful art created by a group of Texas artist.. (I was floored by the quality of work) It leads back to the courtyard that is shared by 4 of those old buildings. The walls seem to go up for miles into the Texas sky.. there were lots of plants and old rusted pieces of metal, brick walls etc.. it just has the coolest vibe.. There were chairs set up so you could tell it was a “listening environment”. It turned out to be just that! You could have heard a pin drop. Natalie got that wonderful experience as well. We did a couple of songs together too.. Fortunately I did a live recording of this night. I will be posting it here on the space as soon as I can split it into tracks..
COLORS
Holy SHIT… when I played colors that nigtht something magical happened. It turnes out that every little kid that has heard that song somehow attaches themselves to it.. This was a family environment so lots of kids where in the house.. when I started to play that song they just started singing at the top of their little lungs.. It was really amazing and unexpected. I will have to say that they were not all in key.. ha.. but it had this wonderful sesame street thing happening. I had a hard time keeping it together. I can’t wait to share that recording with all of you.
FIREWORKS..
We were all in a pretty good mood when we left that place.. so of course we stopped at What-a-burger on the way home, and pulled into one of the 5 buy 1 get 12 free fireworks stands on the way home. I was a little buzzed so I was loading up on fireworks… turns out the dude selling them was more buzzed than me. He ended up accidentally selling me like $100 worth of fireworks for $30 bucks.. I just got in the truck and said.. hit it.. ha.. we got home and blew some shit up.. I actually heard Natalie say that.. “lets blow some shit up” this makes me laugh because she never curses.. we had her saying..”fire in the hole” as she lit a bomb off.. ha.. we were all laughing pretty good…. it was an awesome night.
HOG HUNTING
I could tell I was getting sick and I had a day between shows.. so I decided I needed to kill something. I have been telling myself this for years now. I used to be an avid hunter when I grew up there.. I would wonder off into the woods when I was 12 and come back with a 10 point buck from time to time. My dad was always surprised when I did.. I think I am the only one in my family with a nack for hunting.. anyway.. It has been 10 years now and I had not killed anything.. at least nothing the size of a deer etc.. I need to prove to myself that I had not become a puss.. I know when I was in Cali I would think about it when I see a deer.. “could I still shoot one?” sometimes I felt like I couldn’t.. so it was time to find out..
I woke up at 4am the next morning and jumped in with my brother in law. We drove an hour to his deer lease. I was sick as hell by then.. doh.. We got to the spot and walked a ways up the hill, climbed up into a deer stand and waited.. Turns out there were lots and lots of deer out that morning.. trouble is my brother in laws lease is limited to one big buck a season and he was not going to give it to me.. so I was going to drop a hog.. we waited all morning and of course as we were looking as this huge buck I could not shoot.. a pack of 12 hogs ran out.. by the time I got the gun up they were gone.. SHIT.. missed them. This meant that I had to hang out with my brother in law for the rest of the day till evening. and I was sick as all hell.. We ended up going to bay to do some fishing during the day.. I fell asleep on the beach with fishing pole in my hand. Not usually my style.. I am a fishing fool.. long story short…
12 hogs ran out that evening and I took out a 100 pounder from 170 yards.. shot it right in the ear.. and didn’t feel bad at all.. turns out I am still a pretty good shot.. and I am not a wuss about taking game.. we made some killer hog stew that fed 20 people I really missed hunting.
FAT ALBERTS / LOST VOICE
The fat alberts show was really cool. The guy said it was one of the better turnouts his club has ever seen. Thanks go solid gold leslie on that one. My dad put so much work into promotion.. he is really good at it..
I ended up losing my voice half way through the show because I was sick. It has never happend to me before and I hope it never happens again. I was down and out for 4 days after that. Sickest I have been in years..
LITTLE ZACH
My older brother Karl recently had a baby boy named Zach that happens to have a smile on.. ALL the time. The kid melts you. It did my heart good to see the oldest Koenig (Solid Gold Les) and the youngest (Zach) doing their thing. My dad has a way with kids that is hard to explain. I hope every day that I can become half the father that he was to me.. and one day the grandfather that he is to my brother and sisters kids.. felt like I was looking at 2 angels there.. the picture was perfect.
All in all that trip was a success.. My old gibson has never sounded quite as sweet as it did the day I sat on my little brothers back porch playing a bit in the warm Texas breeze.. I had a moment there. I realized that time could stop right then.. and I would content.