By Bryan on 6/23/2009 6:44 PM

Karl has been very busy so I thought I'd give a semi-brief show report on Harbor Blast. Gadzooks... was it HOT and HUMID that day.  OK, now that the obvious is out of the way...

Pony Keg Social opened with a great selection of songs.   Like CWC, they also have a drummer that can sing!  I really enjoyed hearing their music and they were a flexible and professional band to work with, as it can be tricky doing sound checks with two bands and moving equipment around and all that sort of thing.

We had a wonderful time at the harbor, and the crowd was amazing.  They were all really into the music that night, in spite of the weather (and the bugs, who really seemed ... Read More »

By Karl on 3/31/2009 8:31 AM

I had my doubts.  Could a little place that serves as a steak house by day turn into a hard rockin club by night?

I especially had my doubts earlier in the day when I found out just how many other bands were playing that night within a short drive of our show.  Bands that typically draw some of the same people we do.

I'd only been to Roxc's one other time last summer when The Fifth played there.  The "stage" setup was a little awkward then, on a diagonal between a small side bar and the kitchen entrance.  It made for a tight squeeze for the wait staff to reach people.  The waitress behind the side bar had to navigate around band equipment with drinks...not good.  At least one pitcher was spilled on the monitors.  And the crowd was kind of light as they'd never had rock bands there before.

So you can see why I had my doubts.

When we arrived at 6:30 to ... Read More »

By Karl on 1/19/2009 11:58 PM

What is not to like about Emporia?  They've got everything:  Wal-Mart, Cracker Barrel, ABC Store, Fairfield Inn.  But most importantly, they have Destry.

We started our little caravan out from Crystal's Palace by loading up the trailer and our vehicles with all our shi---stuff at about 1pm.  And after a quick language lesson for transplanted Yankees (note: "A case of the ass" does not mean you have intestinal problems) we hit the road and promptly lost each other on 95.  Walkie talkies next time.  Check.

Before we knew it, we were pulling into the Empty Arms hotel and sushi bar where we were greeted by John who had scouted it out ahead of time for us.  It was there, while filling up a tire on the trailer, that we learned John is "so bad".

What do you do in Emporia when you have a couple of hours to kill before load in and sound check?  Well, I'd lost ... Read More »

By Karl on 11/8/2008 9:52 AM

First thing of note:  Wild Willies has one of the most strange and wonderful crowds yet!

Great venue!  Nice stage, well laid out bar and restaurant.  Actually the place is enormous.  It was a pleasure playing there.  But the people?  Wow.  I have never seen more imaginative or energetic use of our dance pole by either women OR MEN!  By the end of the night we were picking up dollar bills like they were confetti, as they lay discarded across the stage front.

I KNOW people had fun because they not only said as much, but they proved it to us.  By the time the third set rolled around, the crowd participation became surreal.  In a good way.  You guys rock!

A lot of behind the scenes "drama" for the band had us a little hesitant at first.  A last minute family medical situation, and band members being asked to ... Read More »

By Karl on 9/22/2008 10:30 PM

Well, we must have done something right in the last two shows, because word is getting out about CWC.  I am humbled.  I do not think of myself as "BAD-ASS", but when Bubba Farmer keeps saying "you guys are BAD-ASS!", you start to wonder if that might be true?  Nah.  We put on a good show, no doubt, and we have FUN doing it.  

That's the cool thing about being in Crystal's Wild Child.  We all get along, we have fun playing music, and there's no egos at all.  Like I know for a fact there's far better guitarists out there than me.  Take Evan, for instance.  Please. :)  Evan out-played even himself on Saturday night.  His Satch tribute song even gave me the chills, and I've heard it before.  When you have chicks AND GUYS screaming during your solos, you must be one BAD-ASS guitar player.  Evan is the icing on the CWC cake.  I hope t ... Read More »

By Karl on 8/18/2008 1:25 PM

I tell you, I just had more fun than a man should be allowed.  But that's what I do whenever I play out.

Left home at around 1PM and stopped off at Sheetz near John's house to stock up on cheap gas, Gatorade and cheese pretzel Combos.  Picked up John at 2:30 and drove off to the gig, only to discover that we had to turn around and get the vocal book. 

Did you know that the name of the road is Puddledock and not Puddleduck?  Well, I didn't.  Learn something new everyday.  And between laughing about Cork Soakers and Colonel Angus, we completely missed the turn onto Fine Street.  Somehow, we still made it to the boat harbor at 3:30 like we were supposed to.

Jay, Evan, Bryan and Mike were already there setting up, followed closely by Chris.  The weather looked perfect too.& ... Read More »