Our Bobstar is one of the judges!
Go for IT!!
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Congrats to Carlos Santana!
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Three reasons for posting this newsletter from Stevie from the Waybacks
1. He always has something amusing to say about life on the road
2. If you enjoy folk but havent checked Waybacks out - there's tour dates listed.
And-
3. There's some Bobby/SF show info in there.
Ready?
....... Here goes..
Waybacks in NY, MA, NH, VT & OR
Howdy, Backaroos -
Thanks so much for all of the lovely year-end greetings that so many you folks sent our way last month ... both the boldly old-fashioned and the modernly euphemistic. Much appreciado from all of us here at Waybacks World Headquarters, where we are still basking in the afterglow of the Chrismakwanzukkah season, musing about what the devil "nog" might be, fighting over the new Xbox 360 controllers, trying to pinpoint just exactly what it was that was so disturbing about the spokesmodel in the ubiquitous Overstock.Com TV commercials and toasting a hearty farewell to 2005.
It was a remarkable year, all right. We played 143 shows in forty-odd states. We jammed with our musical heroes. We toured with upwards of a dozen fabulous guest fiddlers. We got rental car upgrades. As the young people say, "we lived large."
And we proved over and over in 2005 that living large doesn't have to mean spending big bucks. Some might call it cockeyed optimism to refer to whatever one-star accommodations we'd secured for any given night as "The Spa," but believe us, after you experience several Unintentional Full Body Exfoliations from over-starched bath towels at discount motels, the rose-colored glasses go on and they stay on. That's not Motel 6. That's THE SPA.
(For those of you new to the Waybacks newsletter, this next section is the part where we frequently grouse just a bit about road food. True to form here, the Food Grousing Bit customarily follows the Obligatory Motel Grumble.)
Along those lines, we spent quite a lot of time in chain restaurants, and with five touring seasons under our belts - literally - we're getting to be quite the discerning connoisseurs. For example, we are no longer fooled by waiters who try to convince us that the disturbingly ... er ... topographical nature of the laminated menus they've just handed us is the result of marketing genius at corporate headquarters and not of hygienic neglect here at the restaurant. Scratch-N-Sniff menus? Riiiiight. Just get me a wet rag, Gomer.
On the bright side, there's Cracker Barrel. Ah ... Cracker Barrel! The chain touring bands swear by ... CRACKER BARREL!! Definitely a cut above. The calories-by-fat quotient is probably no lower here than at any of the other squat-and-gobble restaurants we frequent, but like most Americans, we are pretty sure that cholesterol that's attractively lit and is described with folksily apostrophized terms like "fixin's" is somehow not as bad for us as lardburgers wolfed under fluorescent tubes in breakfast-any-time joints. Well, after five years of fairly steady CB patronage we finally earned enough punches in our frequent-buyer card to select a bonus premium from the Cracker Barrel gift shop. We figured there must be a good reason that the most popular prize among devotees like us was Grandma's Old-Time Defibrillator, so we decided to snag one, too. You can't be too prepared out there on the Interstate, you know.
2005 was also the year we discovered The Old Mill Tasty Shop in Wichita, KS, which is possibly the best diner anywhere, ever. We were pleased to find that Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, OR still features an eclair filled with Pepto-Bismol. Best of all, folks ... Fresca is back. The culinary year was not a total loss, by any means.
(Well, the newsletter has rambled on for several paragraphs now, and it's at this point that we usually realize it would be prudent to suggest, at least, that it might actually end at some point. Folks who have been on our mailing list for a while know that once The Shameless Name-Dropping begins, we're past the hard part and coasting toward the finish line.)
Our new CD is almost here. It really is. It's called From The Pasture To The Future, It was produced by the legendary Lloyd Maines, and Darol Anger, Gabe Witcher, Mark Rubin and Evan Price all made guest appearances. August company, indeed! FTPTTF will hit the streets on April 25, just in time for a couple of shows we'll be playing with Bob Weir, of Grateful Dead and RatDog renown. The rumors are true! On the 26th we'll gig together in San Francisco at The Great American Music Hall, and on Friday night the 28th we'll play a Weirbacks show on The Watson Stage at Merlefest. Keep an eye on the ol' homepage for further details.
Here's another rumor we'd like to confirm: for all you left-leanin', tree-sittin', tofu-munchin', Prius-buyin', Jack Abramoff-suspectin' National Public Radio listeners, yes, that was our own James Nash's "Gulshion Island" you heard us play as a musical interlude between stories on NPR's All Things Considered program on December 19. The Wabes go national. Excellent.
We have a new full-fledged Wayback to introduce to you. His name is Warren Hood and he hails from Austin, TX. He comes to us with a pedigree ... his daddy was Champ Hood of Uncle Walt's Band, which for many years was a fixture on the Texas music scene. At 23, Warren's a seasoned musician himself. He plays fiddle and mandolin, he sings real good, he writes tunes and songs and he's a great hang. We are pleased as punch to have secured his services. Welcome aboard, Warren.
Here's the gigs:
Wed, Feb 1, 9:30pm
CUTTING ROOM
NYC, NY
Chris Noth (Law & Order, Sex and the City) has his own club. The Waybacks follow Joan Rivers. Yes, that Joan Rivers
Thu, Feb 2
NARROWS CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Fall River, MA
Fri, Feb 3
ROSENDALE CAFE
Rosendale, NY
Sat, Feb 4, 8:30pm
HUNTINGTON FOLK SOCIETY
Centerport, NY
The venue is the Congregational Church of Centerport. This concert begins at 8:30 pm and will be preceded at 7:30 pm with a one-hour "Open Mike"
Sun, Feb 5, 4:00pm
LINDA NORRIS AUDITORIUM
Albany, NY
Please note that the start time has been changed from 7:00 to accommodate the G.D. Super Bowl.
Tue, Feb 7
HIGHER GROUND SHOWCASE LOUNGE
Burlington, VT
Wed, Feb 8, 7:00pm
WOLFEBORO FOLK
Wolfeboro, NH
At The Wolfeboro Inn, 90 North Main Street
Fri, Feb 24
DOMINO ROOM
Bend, OR
Sat, Feb 25
WOW HALL
Eugene, OR
Sun, Feb 26
ALADDIN THEATRE
Portland, OR
The Wabes share the evening with The Mammals
Thanks for a great 2005, Backaroos. Come lay ears on us this year, too. New personnel. New CD. New live material. And after autographing some four-year-old band photos that a fan brought to a show, and realizing we are wearing the same doggone shirts as in the photo, maybe even some new wardrobe. No promises.
See you all down the road.
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