Deep in the Heart of Ruby..!

Oh man oh man! Jorge and I- that is, the Snakehandlers- LOVE Texas!!! From our first downbeat at the Granada in Dallas earlier this past week to being surrounded by some of the classiest autos and good down-home folks in Helotes this afternoon at Floore’s, we just can’t get enough of good Texas music-lovin’.

Seriously. I know we already wrote about how great the Granada was (there’s new youtube video up from that night), and of course, we played our favorite venue in Austin, the Continental, on Friday night, and that’s sorta like a home away from home for us (though not for long…! The ‘home away from home’ bit that is). And we just love getting to while away our afternoons with friends in Austin, playing Wii golf and bowling with Jack, and catching up with Lorrie and new friends too. And then there’s the sweetly short drive out to Hunter to play at Riley’s for their incredible 75th anniversary with our friends Lil Bit and the Customatics. There, we saw good friends Chris, DJ Heelgrinder, Deb from the Oaks, Sean and his lovely gal, and more… truly, there’s nothing like coming through a town you don’t live in to play and having more folks come out that you know and just love to see… that’s just about my favorite part about touring! Seeing familiar old faces and getting to share our mutual love of music and having a good life wherever we are… well, that, and actually PLAYING for folks too!!

So we played at Riley’s, which is always a great time, and after enjoying owner Joel’s playing a tune or two, had to leave close to the end of Lil Bit’s set so we could drive over to San Antonio and get to bed before our 8:30am alarm in order to somehow get ourselves over to Floore’s Country Store in Helotes for a 10am load in! Something is definitely wrong with that timetable, let me say… No-one’s fault but our own, though. We poured coffee down our throats, stumbled through sound check- Lord, my legs wouldn’t act the way I wanted ‘em to! And then played to a really wonderful room of local car club folks who were there showing some truly beautiful classic cars! Folks came and went, enjoying the autos, sun, great food, live music, and incredibly cute staff! And you know, we had the chance to hang out and chat up a number of really nice folks, talking about Texas, music, and this that and the other. That’s what makes this area so great- that a show around these parts isn’t just about performing and then yer outta there. It’s all about connecting up with folks, talking, sharing stories, and sharing our great love of live music in all its’ forms.

We’re resting up now, then over to Sam’s tomorrow night to play their swing night (every Monday), and over to El Paso and points west from there after that.

We hope to see you down the road somewhere soon. And don’t mind the lippy little front gal on the microphone- if she insults something you find precious, she doesn’t mean to! It’s all about winning friends everywhere we go…

Take care friends,
Ruby Dee