Hello friends, fans and groupies of the Dave & Peggy Traveling Good Time Show. We are off to a good start this new year and we hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and are enjoying the new year.  

     We started the new year with a three day trip to Oklahoma, starting with a stay in Newcastle and some hot slots at the casino there. The next day we did a lot of sight-seeing in Oklahoma City, then headed west to El Reno, Clinton, and south to Cordell, Hobart, and Altus before going back into Texas at Vernon and spending the night at Wichita Falls, where we hit the slots at Kiowa Casino. The next day we came on home after 1147 mles. It was a nice way to start our travels and we had a lot of fun and ate some great food along the way.

     One of our music stops this month was at the Jailhouse, where the jam was hosted by the Charlie Parker Band with Charlie on guitar/vocals, Quanah Easley on bass and Terry Hammer on drums (filling in for Scooter Green while he recuperates from foot surgery).  Regular players include ‘Lectric Ed on guitar/vocals, Chris “Fireman” Boudin on drums,  Jim Oehl on guitar/vocals, M.T.House on harp, Ron Wiggins of Blue Flash on bass, brothers Larry and Steve Gamez on guitar/vocals, Jim Roosa on guitar/vocals and Bill Flanagan on guitar/vocals. It was good seeing all our friends and hearing so much good music.

     We attended the monthly Pro Jam at Kruzzer’s Roadhouse in December and January, and got a warm welcome from owners Vince and Dorothy. Heated Frenzy opened the shows with Mark Thompson on guitar/vocals, Steve Thompson on bass and Patrick Courtney on drums, with the Jared Zolli Band. It’s always a great way to spend an afternoon, listening to some of the best music around. Some of the songs Heated Frenzy cranked out this month, with Edison Freeman on keyboards/vocals, included SRV’s “Couldn’t Stand The Weather”, ZZ Top’s “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers”, Point Blank’s “Nicole”, Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right”, Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House”, Grand Funk’s “We’re An American Band” and SRV’s “Willie The Wimp”. A great show and always a lot of fun.

     One new stop on our Sunday afternoon circuit is Darwin’s in Tomball, where Tin Cadillac is now hosting a jam. Our first stop in December was a short one, since I was having a real problem with gout in my foot and didn’t feel much like partying. We did catch a set by Tin Cadillac, with Benny Stephens on guitar/vocals, Mike Karm on guitar/vocals, Ray Sauter on bass and Vinny DeLillo on drums. They play a great mix of Southern rock and blues, and had the place rocking.

     A second stop at Darwin’s in January, when I was feeling better, resulted in us seeing four bands play. The first player was a guy named Trey who did some long songs showing off his guitar-playing. Up next was Chuck Collins playing a medley of classic rock and blues including Jimmy Reed’s “Big Boss Man”, Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” and Dion’s “Ruby Baby”. Tin Cadillac did a set that included their original “Big Ass Fan” and several ZZ Top songs. Our good frinds J.B. Bullion and Eddie Garcia from the JBB Band dropped by with Lance Gremillion and did a set of blues and originals too. A nice surprise was when Leonard “Lowdown” Brown dropped in and did a set with Ann “Crawfish” Brown, Leonard cranking out SRV’s “The Sky Is Crying” and Ann did a cool Zydeco tune called “I’m Gonna Zydeco My Way”. By then we had to head home, but it was a great afternoon of music,

     We dropped by Darwin’s after the Kruzzer’s Pro Jam last week and caught Blue Sky with Jim Roosa on guitar/vocals, Mike Grove on drums and John  “Jmac” McPhail on bass. They did covers of Hall & Oates “Sarah Smile” and a killer cover of Storyville’s “Good Day For The Blues”. These guys really kick ass and are the band to watch around here. Tin Cadillac was up next and Stevie MuRee of the Beryl Grady Band joined them on flute for a killer cover of the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” and original “Hot Rod Heart”. Leonard “Lowdown” Brown was back with Ann “Crawfish” Brown and they did a set that included B. B. King’s “Rock Me Baby”, Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally” and Ann did “Zydeco Nights”. Another great day of music and a very enthusiastic crowd, including our old friend B. J. Voivedich, former owner of BJ’s in Pinehurst.

     That’s about it for this time. Stay safe and keep listening!

BLAST FROM THE PAST: 

     As you know, I’ve been trying to compile a list and other information on Houston clubs over the years. Thanks to Charlie Knight, bass player with Jimmy Joe Long & the Little York Road Blues Band, I’ve got a good start, as he sent me a list of over 50 clubs to start with. I am adding to that list as I go back through my journals dating from the 1970’s to present. Anything before that I’m just trusting my memory and things I pick up from friends and people I meet that were around in those days. So I’ll start with a few clubs we both either played at or went dancing at.

     Billy Blues on Richmond, just west of Loop 610, was popular in the 1990’s as the largest blues venue in town. They brought in a lot of touring national headline acts while still providing a venue for locals to showcase their talent. They were always quick to host benefits and Houston Blues Society functions where you could catch a number of acts at one time while helping support a good cause.

     Pat & Pete’s Bon Ton Room (Pat and Pete Selin) at 4216 Washington across from Rockefellers was only one of a group of clubs owned and managed by these two music lovers. Chelsea’s 804 (actually at 804 Chelsea Street, just east of Montrose, a block south of the Southwest Freeway) was the first, in a cool old house with not much room, but plenty of good music. They later opened Club Hey Hey on Washington closer to downtown and across the street from Mickey’s Mardi Gras (1991-1993) before opening Bon Ton. Eventually, developers bought all of the cool buildings on the south side of Washington, demolished everything and built new apartments. That’s what they call “progress” in Houston.

     Well, folks, that’s about it for this month. If any of you need to get in touch with me, you can call me at 936-756-9699 or e-mail me at my email address of miller22@consolidated.net or mail me CD’s to review at P.O. Box 2393, Conroe, TX 77305. See you next month!