July 12th,Okie Noddling Festival, Paul's Valley, OK:

 

Another exciting weekend. This time, just down the road to the Noddlin' fest. This is just about as 'Oklahoma' as it gets. If you've never been, shame on you. It truly is something to behold. I'm sure anyone reading this probably already knows what 'Noodlin' is, but for those of you that don't, check it out: you walk along the bank of a river, lake, or stream and run your hands under the rocks until you feel a big fat catfish. Then, you catch it with your bare hands. Sound crazy? It is. They've been doing it for centuries and it is still practiced in a few states, but I don't think anywhere will you find more die hards than in the state of Oklahoma. I remember learning to water ski as a little kid and watching those guys, usually in cut-off jeans and tennis shoes, wading along the shores of Elm Point, trying to pull those fish out of the water. So, when we were asked to play the festival this year, we were honored. As a born and raised Oklahoman, it's another amazing "feather in my cap." The other one was playing The Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, but I think we've already covered that one.  Another great thing about this time around was that Bradley Beasley, the documentary film maker that created the first Okie Noodling movie, and pretty much put this party(which is now drawing about 3,000 visitors) on the map was debuting Okie Noodling part 2. I met Bradley down in Austin shootin pool with my friend Micah. So we're cool like that. Anyhoo, they were gonna show the movie at sunset and then the Sweet would go on. But there was some weather rolling in, so they changed it up. Mama Sweet would play for and hour, then they'd show the movie, and if there wasn't any rain, then we'd go on again. Holy shit it was hot. The sweat was pouring off my hands like a faucet running. It was something to see. They had just announced the winners and paraded those monsters up to the front of the stage when we started. Sumbitches were huge. The winning catfish was 70+ pounds. I'll try to get a picture up so you can get an idea. We gave 'em all we had, and finally it was time for the film. It was even better than the first.  You really should check it out: http://www.okienoodling.com/okienoodling2/index.html Well, the weather held off and we got to play for about 45 more minutes after the film. The crowd was really into it this time around. Of course, most of them had been drinking beer for about 14 hours, but whatev. Lot's of dancing and singing along. What a great time. You really should make a point to be a part of it next year. BYO-jeanshorts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 4th, Woody's, Ft. Worth, TX:

 

Well, this was the first of a series of great week-ends for the month of July. Seems like we're always heading off somewhere awesome for the next several weeks. So for Independence Day, we made the quick jump down to Ft. Worth and Woody's Tavern. It was pretty good timing also, due to the fact that the guys from No Justice were around the corner at The Horseman Club playing with Johnny Cooper. Needless to say, we didn't necessarily have a line BUT there were still plenty of great folks who know and love The Sweet that made the trip to Bryant Irving Rd. I always enjoy Woody's, Tom the sound guy, does an amazing job. It's a real big sound in that joint. The pool tables in this place are kick ass. I blew plenty of money, but Boyd must be taught a lesson. They got a shot there called a 'Key West Root Beer' that is badass. I sure the bartenders think we're a bunch of light weights, but I can't get enough of those shots. To be fair, I am kinda in a 'root beer' phase right now. So, we had a bunch of those. I would also recommend the 'Three legged Monkey.' Back to the show, we played a 90 to about half a room full of Mama Sweet fans. I was very pleased. It's always interesting to meet people for the first time at a show knowing that they found out about you on the internet or just word of mouth. The Sweet word is spreading, but we need your help to keep it going. After the show, we headed around the corner to catch the end of the No Justice set. Kickass, as always. Afterwards we had some drinks in an RV out in the parking lot. I'm pretty sure someone puked on Johnny Cooper's shoes. Happy B-day America!!! 

 

momo's (June 27)

hello fateful. time to tell you what happened.  I was just telling Alan the other day how we could do more as a band. you know, work harder, get the name out there and really put some effort into it. He then reminded me about the Momo's show in Austin. We got on the road at like, 10:30 am, which has to be some sort of record/act of God. But the Sweet would not be late for an Austin show. The drive was a cake walk. When we go to DFW we normally stop at Rumpy's in Gainsville, but on the 6 hour job, we don't stop until Waco. I like the drive; cruise on 80, two packs of cigs apiece. Got to Austin, bought some strings. Momo's has several bands per night, and this time we were the second. Well, that's counting the Happy Hour act ( which was very good by the way). So the Sweet was slated to start at 7:00pm. Hey, the sun's still up at seven. Speaking of sun, it was F-in' hot in Austin. I'm glad they have a back line or I would've died carrying Nooch's shit up the stairs. Anyhoo, changed the strings and got ready to go. By the time we went on, the was no one there. Not "Hey, man, there's nobody here," I'm talkin' bartender and doorman present. We thought we had a 60 min. set, but it turn out they only wanted 45min of the Sweet. Awesome. 6 hours, both ways, for five songs. No prob. That's what we do. As we started the show, people began to wander in. One after another, familiar faces walked through the door. Not all familiar, but they came to see us, so we played what they wanted to hear (check youtube). By the time we needed to wrap it up, I'm was just getting warm. I squeezed one more song in; 7 and a half minutes over, sorry. All and all, and getting back to my point, it was a great time. And according to Orebaugh, any band that drives 12 hours for 45 minutes of performance, is working hard. I love my life. . . .

 

May 31, 2008. 

Tonight we played the Cowboy Luau in Yukon, OK.  The Cowboy Luau is a free outdoor concert put on by music lovers.  We played at 9m, which meant the sun was going down and things were much cooler.  Some fans from Norman came out and we were joined by the entire Carnuccio clan.  We were followed by Brian and Sally from LA.  They were awesome!  There was an amazing lightening show going on and we wondered if rain would keep us from seeing our friends, Macon Greyson, perform.  But, the rain held out and the boys from Macon Greyson put on a hell of a show.  This was a fun little show and we hope to be part of an even bigger Luau next year.  Happy Birthday Stephanie Davis!

May 30, 2008. 

 

The Deli.  We were back at home and unlike our normal shows there, the crowd started out small.  As the night went on, they were lined up to see us play.  There were a lot of new faces in the crowd, but those faces were singing along to the songs.  So, I guess we must be doing something right.

May 24, 2008. 

Tonight, we were in Denison, TX to play T-Bones.  This was our first trip to T-Bones, so we were a little nervous.  Tim, the owner, and Temple, the bartender, however, took great care of us.  We had a small crowd (everyone was at the lake for Memorial Day Weekend) but the danced and cheered and by the end of the night, they were all wearing the Mama Sweet shirts they had bought.  We will definitely be going back to T-bones.

May 23, 2008. 

Tonight, we were in Tulsa to play Cain’s.  We arrived on time, always a feat for us, and sound check was as smooth as can be.  Afterwards, we walked down to the local Mexican restaurant, which was a bad decision.  I won’t go into the details, but we were worried we would have to leave the stage to run for the bathroom.  A great opener bought us a little time, so we it was our turn to play, we were good to go.  Dan Walker joined us, which is always a treat.  We had new fans in the audience and old ones we hadn’t see in forever.  Memorial Day kept us from an awesome turnout, but all in all, it was a really good show.

May 17, 2008. 

Our first trip to Austin!!!  We were scheduled to play at midnight and were the last band.  Apparently, the headliners in Austin play second to last.  Weird.  We didn’t care; we had a ton of old friends in the crowd.  We were also joined by the Hadlocks and some soon to be new fans too.  The response was amazing.  We simply couldn’t have asked for better.  I can’t wait to play Austin again.

May 13, 2008. 

Tonight, we gathered at Mr. Bill’s Bar in Norman for a benefit concert.  We have a friend that we fondly call Doc.  Doc has been suffering from a rare form of cancer for awhile, but the Mayo clinic has finally offered him some hope.  In exchange for what they have given him, he decided to give back by holding a benefit for Lance Armstrong’s Live Strong Charity.  Camille, Resident Funk, Eclectic Groove, and Mama Sweet all belted out tunes for the cause.  It was a great gathering of friends and something good came out of it.  What better way to spend a Tuesday night.

April 26, 2008. 

What a day!  We played the Dreamer Concept’s stage at the Norman Music Festival in the afternoon.  It was originally just supposed to be Alan and me, but Nooch, like always really wanted to play.  Alan agreed but only if he used wire brushes.  Well, the Boyd wanted to play too.  So, he decided to play an upright bass.  It was completely different from what we normally do, but it actually ended up being fun.  There were even people climbing on the roofs of buildings to get pictures.   We caught a few acts, including the Kittens (Trent Bell co-produced our album) and as the festival wrapped up, we headed over to the Opolis to play the Blue Fish After-Party.  If you know Norman, you know that the Opolis is not really our scene.  But, Quinton, who runs the Blue Fish Parties, is notorious for putting on awesome shows with great music, so we couldn’t pass this opportunity up.  I’m so glad we didn’t.  I’m glad we can say we played the Opolis, we held our own, and we made some new fans.  Nevertheless, I’m exhausted.  Happy Birthday Quinton!

April 19, 2008. 

Happy Tyler Day!  Springfield is to moonshine as Okarche is to Boone’s Farm.  It may not sound comparable, but mix that will 2 bottles of Jaeger, lots of beer, and the best chicken in the world and before you know it your head is spinning.  We hung out with Heath and Keith and the Brandon Clark Band.  We shot the shit, shared stories, smoked cigarettes, and drank.  It was a lot of fun.  I got my protégé, Wyatt, on stage.  Wyatt strummed my guitar and had the best night of his life.  I hope that his family will get him a guitar soon, so that next year, he can really play with us.   The people of Okarche are some of the best that you will ever find and this cause (a scholarship in memory of their friend and family member) makes every trip to Okarche amazing.

Monday, 4-14

Camille invited me to play with them (Engelman) at the Deli's Monday. I really like singing with her. I'm not real talkative right now, sorry.

Sunday, 4-13

Benefit for the American Heart Association at the Smokey...er...Wormy Dog. Oh the irony. We got there just in time. Fun lil song swap. Camille was there drinking beers. I think we continued our Sat that fair afternoon. Afterwards we went down to Tarahumara's for Alan's B-day feast. Yum. You get a new chin every time you eat there.

March 17, 2008

O'Connell's on St. Pat's. Done. That's home turf, baby. We played that party a few years ago. Our slot was at noon. This time we were second to last. Comin' up, bitches! This year it didn't rain. Although it acted like it was going to all day. Loaded in and got our heads straight, waited around in the back. There were so many people there I didn't really wanna wade threw them. Crowds sometimes make me nervous. Especially a crowd of green beer swilling maniacs. We got the best slot, dusk. When the stage lights come on, it just seems like a different party. We opened up with 'Like the Sun,' which is a new song we don't normally do. It was, like I said, our home crowd and they were wicked. Loud shit. It's really starting to get badass when everybody sings along to "Best of the Situation," so keep it up! We played our 70 mins and then got off. Wade Bowen was up next. We've done support for those guys three times in four months. I think they think I'm stalking. They were cool, as always, and the Norman crowd really warmed up to them. As well they should, It's a great show. Whoa nelly, had some whiskey. Canadian, not Irish, though. Sorry dude. Thanks for readin' and come say 'hi'.

March 15, 2008

Well, we got to head down to Bill and Mary's on Saturday. Wallstreet is almost always a blast. It's interesting because the fine folks don't always know what to think of us at first. Boyd's basslines aren't always traditional, but we seem to get the point across. Scott Sears was not there for the first time, ever. He did call, however, to tell me that if he knew we were gonna be there he would've quit his job. Awesome. Grady brought his crew. They showed the people of duncan that it is possible to approach the stage at a Sweet show and not lose an eye. Mean Machine also got some great shots of us and put some vids up on youtube. Head over there and search for new Mama Sweet vids. Most of the time the camera was on Alan's fingers during solos. Just in case someone out there wants to learn how to play our songs. I would consider it an "advanced" lesson. There were no scuffles in the pool room. And we managed to turn some people on who had no idea who we were. Good times.

March 7, 2008

When we played the White Elephant, Jill, the owner of the Longhorn Saloon came down to see what we had to offer.  She was really impressed and asked if we might be interested in filling a slot that had been vacated by a last minute cancellation.  Because we had reserved the weekend for shows in Austin (that were moved to April), we free and agreed.  The Longhorn Saloon has been around since 1919 in one form or another, but it has one of the best sound systems we have ever played on.  The Longhorn just reopened with Jill as the new owner so the crowd wasn't huge, but they were definitely receptive to what we had to offer.  We got to do a really diverse set and had a lot of fun.  The staff was awesome and all bought t-shirts.  The Longhorn Saloon is a place we definitely want to return to. I just hope that we will be able to bring more of our fans next time.

March 1, 2008

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