THE TIM AND BOB SHOW: Blog

Back when I was in grade school, no matter how busy I was, no matter how many activities I had, I always seemed to have lots of time to just sit around and wonder how long it REALLY was until September. Well, for the Hymel half of The Tim and Bob Show, it’s still kind of that way. While the Feinstein half balances full-time jobs with membership in THREE bands and seemingly manage to keep up with everything else, the oldest member of the group seems to let things slip through his fingers until they are late. And, since that guy [me!] is responsible for the blog … it’s catch-up time! Enough woolgathering; on to The Tim and Bob Show Blog for:

June – The band had only two gigs in June – on successive Saturdays.

On the 5th, we made our very first appearance as performers at the San Antonio Zoo. We were helping a wonderful group named Vitas thank the volunteers who had contributed to their foundation. They basically took over the zoo after hours and, in addition to the entertainment to be had at San Antonio’s wonderful facility, they were going to get some musical diversion from The Tim and Bob Show. We were ensconced in an underground grotto facing the underwater portion of the hippopotamus enclosure. People came in and out throughout the gig and very few people were with us for more than two songs, but it was a fun night for us. Candyce and Tim were most responsible for hiring us, and for that we thank them – and for the wonderful food as well. We’d also like to thank Nancy from the Zoo who helped us with the logistics. Tim and Bob Nationals Mara and Casey came along to help out with setting up and merchandise display and sales. But our most special thanks go out to the hippos. Throughout our gig, the pair turned their backs on us while they cuddled closely and floated serenely. One of them, however, was a little too inspired by our rendition of “Hotel California” and delivered himself of a seemingly never-ending supply of … uh … waste. Everybody is a critic.

On the 12th, we returned to the Olmos Bharmacy. This historic drugstore turned restaurant and bar is fast becoming one of our most favorite venues ever. We sound great in there with a minimum of amplification. This means plenty of four-parters and a reduced equipment load. We also draw a lot of friends there, so we have plenty of smiling faces to play to. This time we also found a most enthusiastic – and insistent – new fan. One of our nation’s federal appeals court judges likes to hang out at The Bharmacy, and he really liked our music. He liked it so much that he insisted on an encore, and then another, and then another. By the time we left, we’d played an hour longer than expected. We were exhausted – me especially so since I’d used up a lot of energy earlier in the day watching the USA-England World Cup match – but it had been a memorable night. There were a ton of Tim and Bob Nationals on hand, including members of The Lavens, as well as the wonderful Elf Louise, and our long-lost friend Lee. Hillary and Brian, and Bethany and Matt were there as were several others, but by the time we had packed up and headed out to the car, all that was left was The Judge and his friends. What a night.

Earlier I mentioned Steve and Kathy’s “other bands.” Attention needs to be paid to those two ensembles as Mary Lou and I are huge fans.

Fein Tuned is a duo that consists of Steve and Kathy. It’s been going for a few months now, and is perfect for those locations where space is a concern. Those of you who enjoy the “Steve and Kathy” portion of a Tim and Bob Show gig, should really check these guys out. Check out their website, or become a fan on facebook.

The Merrie Court Singers have been around for more than a quarter-century, and Kathy and Steve have been with them for most of that time. They specialize in Renaissance and Medieval music and their wonderful voices and their love of harmonies is a great contribution to each performance. The group consists of 6-8 singers who perform a cappella and in appropriate costume. They have TWO repertoires, one suitable for the Christmas holidays, while the other features songs with secular themes both joyful and naughty. Check them out here, or become a fan on facebook.

Well, July will be history before you know it, so I’d better finish the blog for June and get it to Steve for uploading. In the meantime, check out the “next gigs” feature of our main website, enjoy our photographs, and yield to temptation when you look at some of our merchandise.

I’ve not exactly been verbose in The Tim and Bob Show blog department in 2010. As a matter of fact, I went from reporting after every gig for the last few years to reporting after every month, and then I wrote only one blog entry after the end of January. Things have been relatively slow for us, and that’s a fact. Last year we played 65 gigs, and 2010 doesn’t look like it’s going to come anywhere near that mark – but that doesn’t mean that things aren’t still exciting for the band. For example, consider the fact that two of our greatest weekends ever occurred in May.

We opened the month with Woofstock 2010. We had been planning for this event for a long time. Everyone was involved in promoting it and, for a change, I was the member that turned out to be the busiest. Since I was selected to represent the band on the board of Pet Pals of Texas, the success of Woofstock had become my biggest focus. This all-day music event was held at John T. Floore Country Store in Helotes, one of the iconic music venues in the state, immortalized by Willie Nelson – who performed there many, many times over the years. As the native Texan in the band, playing at Floore’s was a very exciting prospect for me. Pet Pals scheduled eight musical acts to perform. In addition to The Tim and Bob Show, Floore’s indoor stage featured The Vinyl 45s, Clayton Gardner, and Los Dos Estebans Con Queso. The outdoor stage hosted The SA Blue Cats, The Lavens, The Do Gooders Band, and the irrepressible force of nature known as Sara Hickman.

Alternating between the two stages allowed us to provide NINE HOURS of continuous music. Mary Lou and I were there when the doors opened, and we helped the Pet Pals crew set up and get organized. I did a couple of interviews for local media, and made sure the various acts found their stages. Steve and Kathy represented the band in the church choir in the morning, but showed up in time to watch a few acts prior to our performance at 6 o’clock. All of us had an opportunity to enjoy Floore’s great food, but I stayed away from the beer until our gig was finished. Although all four of us were wiped out at the end of our set, we found ourselves shouting and waving arms and cheering Sara Hickman’s “star set.” What a great writer/guitarist/singer she is, and what a charming, witty, and warm person she is to meet. The state government did well when they named her Texas State Musician for 2010.

By the end of the evening, we were comforted by the fact that Vicki and the Pet Pals folks were happy, the folks who bought tickets were happy, and Floore’s staff and management were happy. A special thanks goes out to all the volunteers who made this happen – with a shout out for the young people from San Antonio’s Hard Rock Café. They showed a limitless capacity for hard work and good humor.

It’s hard to top an event like Woofstock 2010, but the weekend of May 22-23 will be equally memorable for the band. It all started last August, while The Tim and Bob Show were performing our Artist-in-Residence duties at the Southwest Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute in Oklahoma, Steve and Kathy became reacquainted with Lee and Joan Stringer, former members of the San Antonio church, who had moved to Huntsville, TX about five years ago. The Stringers found a small UU fellowship there, but it wasn’t long before they began to dream of worshipping in a new church that they and their friends could build and then enjoy. By August, 2009, they had only four walls, a roof, and a dirt floor. We told them that when they were ready, we’d be glad to come to Huntsville for a fundraiser and to attend services in their new church building. After several attempts to coordinate everyone’s calendars, a three-hour concert was scheduled for Saturday, May 22. The only people in Huntsville who had ever heard us were the Stringers, so my biggest concern was that we might get a Peggy Lee Reaction from the Huntsville audience – “Is That All There Is?”

As it turned out, we didn’t slip into town unknown. The Huntsville Item and The Houstonian [Sam Houston State's school paper] featured two full stories about us and the impending concert, and there was a third entry in their “Best Bet” entertainment column. The photograph that we suggested Lee and Joan use was featured in both articles. If we were surprised by this when we arrived at the Stringers, we were to be stunned by the enthusiasm of the audience at the event, not to mention the warmth of the welcome we received from the church community. Our concert consisted of 42 songs, and each of them was followed by prolonged applause. They sang along, tapped their feet, reacted with joy to the “fun stuff,” reacted thoughtfully to the quieter stuff, and hugged us all when we finished.

Once the music stopped, I was to discover that two of the attendees were Huntsville’s mayor and first lady. Other folks came from as far away as 40 miles, and – best of all – many were non-church members who might have found a new place to worship. By the time we got back to the Stringers and helped them dispose of some wine and snacks, we were all ready for a good night’s sleep. Four hours in a rental van followed by a three-hour concert will do that to you.

Prior to coming down, we had talked to Huntsville’s minister and volunteered our help for his Sunday service. We sent him our list of songs, included the words to our original titles, and told him that we often perform for Sunday services at San Antonio’s First UU Church. We expected to be asked to sing three songs and perhaps play some soft music during moments of reflection. As it turned out, The Tim and Bob Show pretty much WERE the service. By the time the chalice was extinguished and the floor was being cleared for the pot-luck lunch, we had performed another 11 songs.

Once again we were thrilled with the open friendliness and acceptance of the congregation. I know there must be some grouchy, rude people in Huntsville, but we didn’t meet anyone like that the entire weekend. By the time we left the newly minted Thoreau Woods UU Church, we not only had made several new friends, we’d all found our “church away from home.” On the four-plus hour drive back to San Antonio, we kept recalling great moments from the weekend’s performances. It really is good to be in a rock ‘n roll band.

Well, it’s been a while since this blog has been active, but spring is strongly with us here in South Texas, and with the renewal of our wildflowers [thanks, Lady Bird!] comes the rebirth of The Tim and Bob Show blog. Since we left you in late January, we have become accustomed to what seems to be our 2010 routine. The band basically lives in two iterations now – the rocking, four-part, full band augmented by percussion, bass, and smoking electric guitar, and the basic Don and Steve acoustic sets. Each has its merits, and Steve and I have been enjoying this monthly trip back to our roots, but there’s nothing like the fun we have when all four of us are working together.

The full band has played together only three times since our last blog entry at the end of January. A private gig in Austin was followed by our first regular monthly gig of the year at Beto’s Comida Latina. And this past Saturday we traveled 85 minutes into the Texas Hill Country to perform at Becker Vineyards in Stonewall. We’ve played there several times before, and always enjoy the reaction we get when our sounds mix with their wine. Since this Saturday featured the best weekend weather of the calendar year, we were hoping for a big crowd. We weren’t disappointed.

One feature of regional vineyards is that they are often the first choice of pre-wedding bridal celebrations. This was certainly the case on the day. Relatively early on in the set, we caught the ear of a group of about 12 ladies who were on Becker’s porch chattering, drinking, and singing along. They were among the most noticeable contributors to my favorite moment of the day. Steve and Kathy were singing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to the accompaniment of at least 30 folks singing along. The song ended in applause and cheers so strong and enthusiastic that Kathy was momentarily shaken by its strength. As Kathy and Steve went into their next duo, I wandered over to the bridal party and thanked them for their attention. They asked if we sang “Sweet Caroline” since it was the favorite song of the bride-to-be and I said that we did and that I’d be happy to have the band play it for them.

We were about 16 bars into the song, when an even larger bridal party showed up and “intercepted” the song. This group wasn’t interested in sitting down, though, and they hooted, hollered and danced about a foot from me and not much farther from the rest of the band for a good half hour. Now the porch at Becker’s Vineyards has a metal overhang, and the noise these celebrants made echoed so strongly that the band could hardly hear ourselves for several songs. Each bridal party seemed to be competing with the other to see who could drink the most wine and have the most fun. Well, since we only had a sip of wine ourselves, they won that contest, but at the end I think we enjoyed playing just as much as they enjoyed listening.

Now I'm not going to mention all the Tim and Bob Nationals who showed up, but it was good to see Hillary and Bethany and their friend Kirsten, along with Loyce, Linda, Vicki, and Summer. Debbie showed up to the venue where we first met, and Bob was there along with Tim and Cindy. Okay, I guess I AM going to mention all those names. We also made some new friends, most notable of whom were a couple who bought our CD to take home with them to Alaska. The Tim and Bob Show Meets the Last Frontier!

We were exhausted at the end of this two-hour set with no break, but as we were breaking down, I noticed that Steve had sat down with some Becker customers, unpacked his Taylor and had begun to sing. Kathy told me that there was a couple who said they had come all the way from Houston to Stonewall just to hear us and had missed the gig. So after Steve finished his song, I joined him for two others. And even this brief “unplugged” mini-set got us some warm applause.

At this point, with the gig firmly summed-up, I’d be ready to put this blog entry to bed, but there were a couple of post scripts to the weekend that bear talking about.

We had planned for the four of us to stop in Boerne on the way back from the gig and check out Mi Casa Tamales. Kathy hadn’t been able to contact their manager about securing any gigs for us. Unfortunately, ONE MEMBER of the band declared himself too tired to even consider stopping for dinner and a margarita and then going home to unload the gear. Okay, I confess; the tired old man was me. Steve and Kathy did have the energy to go, however, and in the process were able to secure us yet another outdoor full-strength gig for this coming Friday. Good work, partners!

Finally, Sunday evening, we met at Ken’s studio to hear the final recording of the three tracks we laid down a while back. These songs were designed to augment those available for our demo CD. Since the original songs we cut for this purpose featured only Steve and me, we didn’t have anything to show prospective clients what the whole band sounds like, and what variety we can provide. So, we listened to – and helped Ken polish up – our renditions of “Monday, Monday,” “Afternoon Delight,” and “Heartache Tonight.” They should also be available on our web site.

I think that qualifies as a notable weekend. I promise not to wait so long between blog entries, if you promise to enjoy this glorious spring, support live music, and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!.

Because we work so little -- by comparison -- in December, January, and February, I've decided to do one blog entry for the entire month of January 2010. But I'm going to cheat just a little bit.

There are several reasons why The Tim and Bob Show haven't done a New Years Eve gig. For one thing, we like to stay indoors and leave the highways to the drunks. For another, some of us find it hard to stay awake after 10 at night, never mind upright and coherent. Finally, nobody ever offered us one until this New Years Eve just past -- and since it was Vicki and Mara who offered us the gig, it was kind of hard to say no. It was a private party and we're not going into a lot of names, but we all had a good time, and had repaired back to Steve and Kathy's in plenty of time to bring the new year in with wine, snacks, and Singin' in the Rain.

The next morning we were off to perform at Patty Lou's restaurant for the fourth consecutive New Years Day brunch. It had been a good luck charm for us the last three years, and we were hoping for more. There was a change this year, as Patty has moved her wonderful restaurant to the historic Olmos Pharmacy [renamed "Bharmacy" since they offer adult beverages]. So we set up at Patty Lou's at the Bharmacy, and the joint was jumping. There were surprisingly few glitches from the evening before, and we even discovered that in coping with the interesting acoustics at the venue, we could enhance our sound. We decided to use only our monitors for amplification, and they worked very well. In addition to making quite a few new friends in Patty's new neighborhood, we were happy to see Tim and Bob Nationals Mary, Marcie, John, Sandy, Milton [and his mom], Rodney, Chris, Elizabeth, Emma, Florence, Chris, Lindsay, George, Alice, Mara, Linda, Vicki, John, Rich, and Steven O. Good music, good food, good company. Good karma? We hope so.

Our next performance was a full two weeks later. Once again it was the slimmed-down Tim and Bob Show that played Orderup at the Colonnade. They prefer fewer voices there, so Steve and I worked alone. It was fun, though, although we missed Mary Lou and Kathy tremendously. We debuted a couple of songs -- America's "Sister Golden Hair" and The Beatles "The Word." We also played a lot of our originals on the night. Tim and Bob Nationals Ellen, Meara, Lawrence, Margaret, Karen, Crystal, Casey, Jason, Meghan, Paul, Melissa, Phoenix, and Fiona showed up and brightened our night.

With Steve and Kathy busy with Fein Tuned and Kathy involved in her stage production, the band briefly reunited at First UU Church on January 24, and performed as part of their Sunday service. We opened proceedings with "Let's Work Together" -- the first time most of the church had seen Kathy play bass -- and finished the day with "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da" to a standing, clapping, swaying congregation. In between we performed our a cappella rendition of Johnny Mercer's classic "Dream." It was good to sing together and to do so before so many of our friends.

We finished up the month with an impromptu "house concert" for a friend of ours who is recovering from surgery. After a delicious dinner prepared by Tim and Bob National and all-around-good-gal Stanna, we played a 75 minute set filled with four-parters for several of our friends. The person we "aimed it at" enjoyed it immensely, and so did we. There's nothing like the four-part sound of The Tim and Bob Show if I do say so myself.

January was a long month, and we didn't get an opportunity to work together as a full band nearly often enough to please me. Our "outdoor season" begins in early March when we return to Beto's, and we'll have our usual contingent of gigs at venues who enjoy our full sound. Until then, watch for Steve and me at Orderup, and check out this website [link] to find out when Steve and Kathy are performing as Fein Tuned. And, if you stand on your tip-toes you'll see that February [or as we like to call it in South Texas -- Springtime] is almost here.

This is NOT to be confused with a family history that's included in a Christmas Card, because it's not -- REALLY.

2009 was another successful year for The Tim and Bob Show. It featured some hails and some farewells, some memorable venues, some awards, much recognition, and even a Guinness World Record.

1. 2009, THE NUMBERS
The Tim and Bob Show played 64 gigs during the year -- 55 of which were paid. The was the 4th consecutive year we topped our previous year. We also performed at 24 different venues, six more than in 2008.

2. 2009, FIRSTS AND LASTS
We played at three South Texas music venues for the first time: Mi Casa Tamales, Ciao2, and Sam's Burger Joint. We also bid farewell to the venue where we played our first ever gig: Fralo's Art of Pizza. Our "World Tour of South Texas" expanded out of state for the first time when we traveled to Western Hills Guest Ranch, in Ft. Gibson, OK. We got a thrill out of playing at two nationally famous San Antonio hostelries -- the St. Anthony and the Menger -- for the first [and hopefully not the last] time. On the same day we played at The Menger, we performed at what may be the final Houston Street Fair, a sad occurrence for San Antonio's foremost free music event.

3. 2009, THE HIGHLIGHTS
For the third year in a row, we started the year at Patty Lou's Restaurant the afternoon of January 1. This good luck talisman would continue to pay dividends for us throughout the year. Later that month, we played at an open house for OASIS @ Warm Springs Hospital. We were treated wonderfully and had a great reception from the attendees.

In February, we created a special Valentine's Day program of music and poetry as a benefit for First UU Church of San Antonio. The money we raised that evening helped to make the church more mobility friendly.

In March, we did a gig at Freidrich Wilderness Park to salute the volunteers there that do so much to introduce Texas children [and their parents] to the diversity and beauty of Texas nature.

June saw us back at First UU Church for a benefit concert to support Pet Pals of Texas, our favorite charity. It was a wonderful night for us, raising money for the group and getting a chance to play good, raucous music for our loyal church fans. We never get tired of Pet Pals, nor their leader [and one of our biggest fans], Vicki.

July 4 provided our most challenging performance yet. Working at HEB Central Market is usually fun and easy: it's indoors, it's early in the evening, it's perfect. On Independence Day, however, they wanted us to play in their parking lot for four hours -- IN THE AFTERNOON. Mary Lou couldn't make it since she was recovering from surgery, but the three of us pushed on through four solid hours of triple-digit temperatures standing on asphalt, thanks in part to Rodney and his family who brought popsicles to keep us refreshed.

In August, we were off to Oklahoma to take up our position as 2009 Artist in Residence at SWUUSI -- The Southwest UU Summer Institute. This week-long event featured two full concerts, one special concert for children, and Steve and I conducting a workshop on songwriting. It was exhausting but tremendous fun. Later that month, we joined about 1800 other guitar pickers to support Voices of a Grateful Nation, an organization that uses music to help rehabilitate soldiers injured in battle. We took our guitars and arrayed ourselves in a ditch at legendary Luckenbach, Texas to play and sing and -- while we were there -- to establish a Guinness World Record for the number of pickers playing one song. As Casey Stengel used to say, "You can look it up." Well, as soon as the book is published, that is.

September found us performing three gigs in less than 24 hours. We began at Orderup's Stone Ridge location on Friday, the 25th, continued with a lunchtime gig at the St. Anthony Hotel, and then -- a few hours later, performing at the Houston Street Fair. We must be insane to do this!

As was the case in 2008, October was our busiest time, with NINE performances during the month, two of them fundraisers. In addition to our usual load of restaurant gigs, we played a National Night Out gig for the Adams Hill Neighborhood Association, a convention gig at the Menger Hotel, and did fundraisers in support of the Texas Music Coalition and the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. We also made our radio debut on KSYM in support of the Texas Music Coalition fundraiser. We ended the month by dedicating our 30th and 31st gigs to our friends at Pet Pals of Texas, selling their merchandise, giving them proceeds from the sale of our stuff, as well as splitting our tips with them.

November and December were most notable for the marriage of Steve and Kathy's daughter Bethany, as well as a chance for our partners to perform with the Merrie Court Singers. November's main highlight would have to be the announcement of the Rammy Awards. We repeated as San Antonio's Best Cover Band, and our CD Take It Outside was selected Album of the Year. Once again, we're grateful to our fans and all the readers of The San Antonio Current for the awards.

The end of the year also featured something that is common in television, but perhaps not so much in music. The Tim and Bob Show has a spin-off group. Very early in the new year, Steve and Kathy will be performing around San Antonio as a two-person band called Fein Tuned. Don't worry, y'all; the band isn't breaking up. It's just that our partners aren't kept busy enough by their daytime careers and the two musical outfits they already grace with their presence. Mary Lou and I look forward to watching them perform

As for the Tim and Bob Show? Well, we're starting the year at Patty Lou's, and we already have restaurant and winery gigs booked through July, so Tim and Bob Nation will have plenty of opportunities to slake their thirst for good music.

Happy New Year from Kathy, Steve, Mary Lou, and Don

The Tim and Bob Show's one busy weekend in November was the 20th and 21st of the month, where we welcomed in the Christmas season and bid a brief adieu to outdoor performing.

We began at our traditional "Third Friday" gig at Orderup at the Colonnade. In the past, this venue has seemed almost like Party Central for us, and Friday was "one of those nights." There were Tim and Bob Nationals new and old on display, and we were almost embarrassed by our riches. Matt, Debbie, and the ever-charming Seth were there, as were Casey and Pam. A huge crowd featuring Kathie, Marguerite, and Peter were there. Dylan was also in attendance with a friend. With them were Christina, Ryan, & Aaron, and Rob & Kimberly. It was also a distinct pleasure to see Paul and his daughter Fiona [Bug]. Fiona overcame her innate shyness to perform on percussion with the band and to pronounce her belief that "Steve is cute."

This performance was notable for a couple of reasons. We resuscitated our Christmas repertoire just in time for Friday, and Kathy's rendition of "Santa Baby" and Mary Lou's take on "The Man With the Bag," were big hits, as was the girls' work on jingle bells for "Jingle Bell Rock." We also saluted the 100th anniversary of Johnny Mercer's birth by performing our a'capella version of "Dream." Casey said that even the servers stopped talking while we sang this beautiful song. Finally, at the explicit request of Seth -- who wanted to hear something with kazoos -- we did "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da." It was a great night, and we thank everyone for coming out.

On Saturday, we motored our way up IH10 to Boerne to perform for the second time at Mi Casa Tamales. Once again we enjoyed the ambience of this location -- we love playing under the sheltering oaks -- and the incredible food. I hear that the margaritas are "cherce," but as long as they have Shiner Bock on draft, I may never find this out for certain. As was the case in October, the chill air and the full college football slate kept attendance down, but we do appreciate having Hillary & Brian, Larry, Jean, and Jason & Megan, who joined us for the first time. We had plenty more music in us when the customers started to drift away, but we're looking forward to getting back there in the Spring. Good food and great people deserve good music -- and we got plenty of that.

That's it for us for November. We'll see you for a somewhat abbreviated December schedule. Until then, check out our website for our "End of Year Sale" bargains, and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!.

It's fitting to begin a blog with a line from "September Song," since September weather in post parts of the United States is just about what we experience here in South Texas in mid-November. And so it was that on Friday, November 13, we played our last Beto's Comida Latina gig of the year -- outdoors ... on their patio ... and [for the first set and a half] in tee-shirts!

We had a good-sized crowd in attendance for our regular "second Friday" performance, and it was filled with friends old and new. Veteran Tim and Bob Nationals Bethany, Matt, Hillary, Brian, Dick, Dave, Martha, and Marcie were there, and we made several new converts. Marcie's new/old friend Sandy was pleased to hear us. Hillary's co-workers Rene, Willy, and Diana attended. Josie and Amelia [and their parents] loved our music and requested "Sweet Caroline" and even Dan and Tara [from Phoenix] stopped by to fortify themselves with Mexican food and beer prior to their participation in San Antonio's Rock 'n Roll Marathon the next day. I guess this is why Beto's keeps asking us back. We bring in the business for them.

How was the music? It was sensational, and thank you for asking. We debuted the Hollies classic, "He Ain't Heavy; He's My Brother" which features Steve on lead vocals and Kathy on bass. Steve got a chance to tear off a bunch of searing guitar solos, and we got all sorts of compliments over our rendition of "Mustang Sally."

Before we knew it, we were breaking down our equipment. Beto's doesn't have music on the patio In December, January, or February, but we're pretty sure we'll be back in the Spring. We hope to see you when we get there.

Things have been really crazy for Steve and Kathy recently. Now we're not talking actually insane [although there are times ...], we're talking about frantic, frenetic, exhausting times. All of that has been coming on top of all of life's usual craziness: jobs, unexpected remodeling, the aches and pains of ... uh ... the decade they share, and the "robust economy" we're all navigating. And, all of that is on top of all the busy-ness associated with The Tim and Bob Show -- the gigs, the fundraising for our favorite causes, the accumulation of new repertoire, the strange family they're partnered with in that particular enterprise. It's enough to drive a normal couple LEGITIMATELY insane. Well, there's two things to be thankful for: (1) They AREN'T a normal couple, and (2) The crazy times are gradually returning to a more manageable level of insanity.

For the last several months, a central part of Steve and Kathy's life has been getting ready for the marriage of their daughter Bethany and her guy, Matt. Now, Mary Lou and I don't have children, but for some reason, both Bethany and her twin sister Hillary love us and we love them right back. We'd do anything for these beautiful, willful, talented, compassionate, passionate young women. And so it was that the first week of November would culminate in the wedding of Bethany and Matt. And that wedding would help restore a bit of normality to Steve and Kathy's every day life. That's assuming that being in a rock 'n roll band can be described as "normal."

Weddings mean family gatherings, and this was going to be the case for this wedding. Kathy's parents -- Irv and Muriel -- flew in from Florida to attend. Steve's parents -- Herb and Bertha -- arrived from New Jersey. We know them all, and enjoy their company. It was especially nice to see Herb and Bertha, because it meant that "Bert" was healthy enough to fly. And so, we gathered at Steve and Kathy's house on Thursday afternoon for an impromptu "house concert." Irv and Muriel had heard us play before -- Muriel on multiple occasions -- but Steve's parents had only heard our recorded voices. Almost all of the equipment was being stored at our house for the duration of the wedding week, but there was enough for everyone to hear Kathy's new bass chops, Steve's new guitar, and some solid four-part harmony. Everyone enjoyed it, and that included Mary Lou and myself. As it turns out, when you love people, not only do you love their children, you also wind up loving their parents.

More family was on the way, of course, in the form of Steve's sister Faye , her husband Arnold and daughter Ilana, Steve's brother Jeff, Jeff's wife Monica and daughter Madeline and son Robbie. They missed the concert, but they were there for the main event.

And what a main event it was. My father always told me that there was no woman so beautiful as a bride on her wedding day, and -- face it -- Bethany had a HUGE head start. Mary Lou got to the church around 4:30, which was a good thing since she had custody of the wedding dress. I arrived about a half-hour before the ceremony was to begin. The womenfolk were all hidden away, of course, so I had a chance to talk to Matt and his dad, Steve, as well as long-time Tim and Bob National Marcelo who was in the wedding party. Everyone looked great, especially OUR Steve, who was wearing a tux for only the second time since I met him. There was a bit of nervousness around, so I decided to walk into the sanctuary to get a seat. Bethany's choice of music consisted of about six songs, two of which were Tim and Bob Show songs. I couldn't have been prouder.

Finally, it was time for the wedding. The grandparents and parents entered, followed by the bridal party. Bethany's twin Hillary was beaming as she strolled down. Finally, Bethany entered on the arm of her father. It was an amazing moment for everyone, and I was overcome with emotion seeing my partner so incredibly happy. Reverend Bret took over then and vows were exchanged and readings were made. At one point in his discussion of Bethany and Matt's voyage to the alter, Bret referred to Matt as Bethany's "go to girl." The male attendants were, somehow, able to keep things together. And then, suddenly, we were introduced to Matt and Bethany as husband and wife.

Mary Lou and I led Muriel and Irv down to Southtown for the reception at the Blue Star Art Gallery. We chatted with dozens of people, and exchanged stories. We did a lot of hugging there, especially with Steve, Kathy, and Hillary. Long before the party began to get rowdy, I exercised my "old age option" and Mary Lou and I drove home. It was a memorable night.

October is so chock full of performances, that we're not going to report on each gig individually. Rather, I'm going to put them in several small groups throughout the month. And here is the last of them:

Back in September, The Tim and Bob Show dedicated an entire weekend to fundraising for Pet Pals of Texas. We designated a Friday night and a Saturday night to promote this wonderful organization. We planned to give half our tips to Pet Pals as well as a cut from any CDs or tote bags we sold at the gigs. Well, as it turned out, the only largesse that weekend was provided from above. We had been suffering a prolonged drought, and only around 9 inches of rain had fallen in the first 8 months of the year. It was looking like stage three water restrictions were inevitable. In the six weeks beginning just before our Pet Pals weekend, however, almost SEVENTEEN inches of rain fell. Everyone was happy about that, of course, except for The Tim and Bob Show and Pet Pals, since both our planned gigs were outdoors. Further frustrating us was that the "designated Saturday" on that weekend was to be our debut at Mi Casa Tamales in Boerne.

Well, we were able to re-schedule Mi Casa and, as luck would have it, it was again going to be the second gig in a weekend. Presto: Pet Pals Weekend Redux! Would the weather have an impact? Yes it would. Something even rarer than rain visited South Texas for what was also Halloween weekend -- AUTUMN. Yes, highs in the mid-70s, lows in the mid-40s, crisp cool breezes, and lovely blue skies. The Great San Antonio Thirst had been slaked, now it was time for some rock n' roll!

One concern, however, was whether Pet Pals of Texas's president -- and Tim and Bob's biggest fan -- Vicki would be able to join us. She did make it out with Linda for a few minutes after we had set up on Friday, but she was seriously under the weather, and missed both performances. Kelly and her family represented the organization and gave us some Pet Pals tee-shirts to sell and some brochures to distribute before they left.

Our Friday gig was at Orderup's Colonnade location -- a long-time favorite of ours. We had a nice turnout of veteran Tim and Bob Nationals -- Casey, Karen, and Matt -- and initiated two more members into the cult ... er ... club: Karen and Mary. Mary had performed with Mary Lou and Kathy on stage, but this was the first time she'd seen us perform. There were also a lot of folks new to our music, and they were as generous as our friends. It was a good night and we got good responses from everyone.

On Saturday, we were able to make our delayed debut at Mi Casa Tamales. Sandy called us and asked us to start a little early, as she was unsure of how cool it would be out in their patio later in the evening. And so we started at 6:30 instead of 7:00. In addition to competing with trick or treaters for attention, we also had to fight the allure of University of Texas football, Oklahoma football, PLUS Notre Dame in the Alamodome -- all while we were playing. For good measure, the San Antonio Spurs were also on television. Despite this, and despite the slightly chilly evening, the crowd size surprised and pleased the folks there. Tim and Bob Nationals Martha, Dave, Casey [AGAIN!], Mara, Hillary, Brian, Jeanna, Sarah, Sheri, and Roy showed up just to hear us, and to support Pet Pals. They were very generous with their applause and their contributions. The hits of the evening were Kathy's bass playing, Steve's scorchers on the Beck, ML's wailing, and the final 2009 performances of "Monster Mash."

We were very pleased at our debut, as was Sandy. We're coming back in November, and we hope to feature there for a long time.The food is wonderful and, so I'm told, the Margaritas are fantastic. I wouldn't know. Since they have Shiner Bock on draft, I'm unlikely to give anything else a try for a while.

After the gig was over, Steve and Kathy followed us home so that we could stow all the band equipment at our house. They have family coming in for their daughter Bethany's wedding on the 7th, and they needed to clear the space. As long as they were over anyhow, we broke out some wine and snacks and sat around our dinette for a good hour or so chatting and laughing about the band and our adventures. What with work and theater and wedding and the odd illness, we'd gotten out of the habit of ending our gigs this way, and it was nice to do it again.

As for Pet Pals, well we'll be doing more fundraising for them in the future. That's a certainty. It's a worthy organization and we all love Vicki as much as she loves us. As of this writing, I'm not sure what the total income for them will be, but it was increased on Sunday morning when Tim and Bob National Larry, who was unable to attend either gig, gave me a contribution at church. Good times.

October is so chock full of performances, that we're not going to report on each gig individually. Rather, I'm going to put them in several small groups throughout the month.

The second half of our October marathon featured us playing in new locations three times in a row. October 16 was a very rare Friday afternoon gig. Steve and Kathy's friend [and Tim and Bob National] Joe helped us land this one. The band was happy to donate our time and talent to help support The Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer "Drive for the Cure" fundraiser at the Quarry Golf Course club house. We set up outside on their party patio with the course behind us. We were there to entertain those individuals and groups who contributed to a check for over $40,000 that the event raised. Since it was the most beautiful day of the year thus far [except for a somewhat strong breeze], we had a great time. This gig is also noteworthy because we finally got fed up with the "adventures" that our mix of Fender and Mackie monitors provide to us. As soon as this gig was over, Steve went out and bought us some new JBL monitors. We've donated the two Fenders to Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering here in town to help then with their brand new music program. The Tim and Bob Show is always happy to support arts education in the schools.

On Thursday, October 22, the band met at KSYM radio on the San Antonio College campus. With the Texas Music Coalition's (TMC) annual fundraiser approaching, The Tim and Bob Show were going to help TMC's publicity guru, Carol Sowa, publicize the event. We were going to appear on Jim Beal's Third Coast Radio program, be interviewed, and maybe sing a couple of songs, while Carol talked about the event. We were asked because we were -- at the time -- Texas Music Coalition's reigning Artist of the Year. Jim's a friend of the band and, when wearing his hat as music editor for the San Antonio Express-News has given us several mentions and a couple of features. One of those gave us one or our favorite nicknames: "San Antonio's Peter, Paul, and Mary -- AND Mary." We sang four songs and talked about the band and about Texas Music Coalition. We emphasized the benefits of the organization for networking. When we put together our CD -- Take It Outside -- the recording, mastering, pressing, design, and promotion were all handled by TMC members and organizations. We had a great time and, as we left, promised Carol that we'd see her on Saturday.

Saturday, October 24 was the Texas Music Coalition annual fundraiser at Sam's Burger Joint. This is one of SA's legendary music venues, and we were looking forward to playing there and showing off our rocky side. We were one of six musical acts appearing, and we had the double duty of crowning the next TMC "Artist of the Year." Mary Lou and I got there very early to help Carol and Patrice set up the decorations, the silent auction space, and the door prize list. Tim and Bob Nationals Steven O., Betsy, Rod, Larry, and Scott and new friends Christina and her husband, were there to listen to us. We took the stage around 8 for a 10-song set, and really let it all hang out. Steven O and Larry had only heard us at our more subdued locations and were surprised [pleasantly, we hope] at our more raucous songs. I know all four of us enjoyed it. As the set came to an end, we chose Mary Lou to present the award for 2009 TMC Artist of the Year to The Lavens. We love this family group and could not be happier to help recognize them. It was a very close ballot this year, with Katherine Dawn and Laura Marie just getting "pipped at the post." TMC presented them with awards recognizing their making the runoff.

So, three more gigs are history,and the band continues to keep on chooglin'. Next up is our "Pet Pals Weekend," and we can't wait. Keep your eyes peeled for announcements. Oh, and stop over to the main part of our website and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

October is so chock full of performances, that we're not going to report on each gig individually. Rather, I'm going to put them in several small groups throughout the month..

The Tim and Bob Show's mind-numbingly busy October continued with two more gigs the weekend of October 9 and 10. On Friday, the band -- minus Kathy who was rehearsing for a theater production and had to miss the gig -- returned to Beto's Comida Latina. We've been kind of snake-bit there recently, with scheduling confusion and weather keeping us away recently. It almost looked like weather would intrude again, as we had a huge downpour beginning late Thursday night and persisting most of Friday morning. Luckily, for us and for Beto's, the skies stopped weeping in time for our performance. But, it was CHILLY. Beto's is one of our "tee-shirt gigs," a venue where we purposely dress down -- wearing jeans and one of our Tim and Bob Show tee-shirts. We were wearing them on Friday as well, but all of us had an additional article of clothing on top of it. Usually at our outdoor gigs, Steve and I are constantly retuning due to the heat and humidity, but on Friday as the temperatures and humidity dropped, we had to retune even more often. Finally, perhaps in shock of being outside in weather under 90 degrees, my B-string committed suicide just before the end of the last set!

Our new friend Oscar [who joined Tim and Bob Nation late last month] showed up along with his wife Ann. They live nearby and hope to make all our Beto's gigs. They really enjoyed the music. We also met some new friends Wendy, Jim and Nadine, Dino, Shannon and kids, and Ellie and Conner who had a great time and stayed with us through the end. Steve's new guitar got a good workout, and my favorite portion of the night was when he played "Blackbird." I never thought the song could sound so good on an electric guitar, but Steve's new JR Beck has a variety of "voices," and all of them are pleasing to our ears.

On Saturday, the 10th, the full band reunited to play our first ever gig at San Antonio's historic Menger Hotel. The Texas Jewelers Association was having their annual bash there, and we were asked back by their event coordinator -- and our good friend -- Joe. Although we've gotten a ton of rain in the last few weeks, this event didn't suffer the fate it did last year, when it was cancelled because of Hurricane Ike. We set up in a ballroom complex to provide some music for people while they were eating and drinking and perusing the beautiful merchandise available. With Kathy back we concentrated on our strong-suit -- four-part harmonies. By the end of the evening we had attracted a relatively small, but very enthusiastic and generous, crowd. We got a lot of encouraging comments, and exchanged some friendly banter with the group.

One of the jewelers, also named Steve, turned out to be quite a musician himself. Although we had already packed away our guitars, both Steve and I pulled out our axes to do a little unscheduled jamming. It was a fun end to a fun night.

Well, that's four gigs down, and only five more to go before November rolls around. We're ready. How about you?

October is so chock full of performances, that we're not going to report on each gig individually. Rather, I'm going to put them in several small groups throughout the month..

October began with a significant amount of rainfall, so it was good fortune that our very first gig this month was indoors. On Saturday the 3rd, we played our regular "first Saturday" gig at HEB Central Market's Cafe. We like this gig for a lot of reasons:

1. It is indoors and climate controlled
2. It has no mobility access problems
3. We can be heard by people who are shopping nearby, and many of those stop by to listen.
4. It ends with plenty of Saturday night still to come.
5. It's NOT on a Friday.

Number 5 is most important recently, since enthusiastic Tim and Bob Nationals Louie & Kathie have been having Friday evening conflicts that keep them from dropping in on us. We love it when we can play for them, since they enjoy our music so much, and they always bring lots of friends. As happened the last time we played at Central Market Cafe, their friend Sandra [who is now, of course, OUR friend] showed up for the very first song of the evening. By the time the gig was over, there was a huge table full of Louie's family and friends who all gathered to help him celebrate his birthday. We did our Beatles birthday song for him, and each of us stopped by to shake his hand and congratulate him. What a wonderful family!

Other Tim and Bob Nationals were there, including Linda, Vicki, Mara, and Steven O. We also made new friends in __________, and we had a great time playing for everyone who showed up.* We're not sure when we're playing there next since we're all going to be pretty busy the first Saturday in November, but we'll be sure to let you know when that will be.

On October 6, The Tim and Bob Show played our first ever Tuesday night gig in San Antonio's Adams Hill neighborhood. We set up and played in front of Adams Hill Elementary School in support of the National Night Out program. Now some readers may be confused at this point since most of the nation observes this event in August, but trust me, you DON'T want to sponsor an outdoor bash in early August down this way. Our LOWS were in the mid 80s a couple of months ago. We were invited to the event by Shirley, the VP of the Adams Hill Homeowners Association, who had seen us play many months ago at Oasis. We were enthusiastically greeted by Billie and Ken [who had also heard us play our "unplugged" concert for our recently departed friend, Bruce], who volunteered their services for the event. The main organizer of the was Johanna, who was dressed in prison stripes and was wearing a sheriff's badge!

There were lots of people from the neighboring community there, along with some representatives of San Antonio's fire and police departments. We were also visited by Elmo -- who, surprisingly, is close to 6 feet tall. We played for about an hour to very good response and a lot of positive feedback from the organizers. We hope to be asked back.

Well, with two gigs coming up in a couple of days, part two of October blogs will be coming before you know it. Enjoy what you're reading? Stop by our guestbook and tell us what you think!

What are we, nuts? What are we, in our twenties? The answer to at least one of those questions is a resounding NO, but The Tim and Bob Show marked the end of September by playing three gigs -- between 7 p.m. on Friday and 2:45 on Saturday afternoon.

We began the weekend with an indoor gig at Orderup's Stone Ridge location. This was the third time we played there, and we had a good night. Tim and Bob National Rod showed up, and we made new friends in Debbie, Karen, Athena, and Oscar. The crowd was friendly and attentive, and we all had fun. We were also glad that the gig finished at 9, since we had a busy Saturday looming.

When we last played at Becker Winery, we made contact with Deb, who is part of Asia in the Curriculum [AIC], an organization that is dedicated to teaching students more about the world's largest continent. Deb said that her organization might like to hear us play. We made contact with HER contact, Franke, and set up a short set during AIC's reception, beginning at noon on Saturday. The venue was San Antonio's legendary St. Anthony Hotel, and we were all excited to have a chance to play there. All the staff and management were friendly and very helpful in getting us parked, set up, and broken down, and the AIC participants were enthusiastic about our music. We took advantage of the room dynamics to build a set heavy on acoustic-guitar sounds, and MOST heavy on four-part harmonies. At the end of the gig, we had to rush off, but not before several members of AIC thanked us, as did Deb and Franke. What a great bunch of people!

Speaking of rushing off ... four block away from the St. Anthony was our venue location for the [unfortunately] LAST Houston Street Fair. This very popular convergence of commercial and artistic San Antonio in a public downtown celebration has lost its funding. While there was brave talk on the day of bringing the event back with commercial -- rather than civic -- sponsorship, the HSF is now a very fond memory. We were pleased to be able to play, but sad that future events have been canceled.

We took the opportunity of the outdoor venue to debut Steve's new electric guitar. Steve is really very happy with this instrument, and so are we all. Just as we went "mellow" at AIC, we went "rocky" at Houston Street. Kathy got a good workout on her bass, and Steve got off several scorching solos. Many of our Facebook friends showed up in the heat and sunshine to listen and show their appreciation. Swelling the crowd of celebrants were Tim and Bob Nationals Casey, Mara, Susan, Linda, Vicki, Elizabeth, and Bubba. Although there were a series of glitches throughout the short performance, it was good to have the whole band working together and rocking an appreciative crowd.

And in between Saturday gigs and after the last one came cardio! Since the venues were only blocks apart, and since the wonderful folks at the St. Anthony were so kind as to let us park and stow some gear for free, we trekked on foot to and from the Houston Street Stage with each of us carrying several objects and with Steve pushing our cart. The trip back was made easier with Casey's assistance. It was getting close to 3:30 when we pulled out of St. Anthony's parking area and drove to our homes. Mary Lou and I were exhausted and moved as little as possible for the rest of the day. We heard later that Steve and Kathy were equally wiped out and took afternoon naps. It was a lot of work, but even more fun.

This very busy last September weekend leads to an October which features the band performing no fewer than NINE times. Where will we play? You'll just have to wait for our email gig alerts, or check out our "upcoming gigs" on our main website. And while you're on our website, go to the guestbook and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!.

Our regular "third Friday" gig at Orderup @ The Colonnade turned into family night on September 18. Mary Lou's mother, Eileen, is visiting from California, so Eileen's brother Pat and spouse Ginny drove down from Rockwall, TX to visit. Pat and Ginny's daughter Elaine lives very close to Orderup and came to the gig along with HER daughter Danielle. The family commandeered a long table and made themselves at home, enjoying the great food and good music. Pat, Ginny, and Eileen are long-time Tim and Bob-ites [although from a distance], but the rest of the crew definitely fits into the "new friends" category.

Not to be outdone, Steve and Kathy's family also was there in force. Tim and Bob Nationals Bethany, Matt, and Hillary were there, along with Hillary's new boyfriend Brian. The girls were pleased to listen to the band play "their songs:" "Brown-eyed Girl" for Hilly, and "Pretty Woman" for Beth.

While it may have seemed like it, the place wasn't filled only with relatives. It was, however, pretty much chock full of Tim and Bob Nationals. Peggy, Pam, and Karen were there, happily sitting with Larry and enjoying themselves. Legendary Fulham FC supporter Matt was there and brought along his sister Debbie, and her son Seth. The music was good, but it was Seth who stole the show, simulating guitar playing, doing some sort of three-year-old's version of Pilates on Orderup's furniture, and flirting shamelessly with Hillary and Bethany -- well, what red-blooded young man wouldn't.

There were only a couple of somber moments in the midst of the evenings festivities, as the group recognized the passing this week of Mary Travers. As a group that depends on the pleasant blending of voices, we have a lot of affection and respect for the work of Peter, Paul, and Mary, so we dedicated our versions of "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" and "Puff, the Magic Dragon," to the memory of her life and her body of work.

Finally, yet another party-atmosphere evening at Orderup was over, and we packed up and drove home.

Where will we be next? Click here to see the locations of our "upcoming gigs".
Doing a little early Christmas shopping? Click here to purchase our CD, "Take It Outside".
Dying to tell us how much you love us? Click here to leave the band a message.

Yesterday, at Ft. Sam Houston [San Antonio, TX], there was a full military funeral service for Bruce H. Limpus. All four of us were there, because Bruce touched each of us over the course of his life. Bruce had one career in the USAF, followed by another as a high-school English teacher in San Antonio’s poorest school district. During all this time, Bruce was also an artist – a painter, sculptor, poet, playwright, director, actor.

In his life, Bruce inspired hundreds of young artists, writers, actors, and directors. He also influenced the lives of literally thousands of young students, many of whom left San Antonio’s Edgewood and Memorial High Schools to go on to an Ivy League education. As for the four of us, well … .

Steve and Kathy’s daughters both are involved in careers in the arts, and Bruce found the time to nurture their ambitions and talents. Kathy, Mary Lou, and I had the great honor of performing in his “murder mystery/comedies” in roles written specifically for us. The fact that Mary Lou sings in a band is directly down to Bruce, who cast her in several singing roles in his British-style holiday pantomimes.

As for me, Bruce was my very first stage director [in 1967] and directed me in my last role nearly 40 years later. Almost as soon as we met, Bruce and his wife Sheila began to teach me about art, music, theater, philosophy, and psychology. In the span of a 42-year close friendship, Bruce and Sheila stood up for me at both my weddings, welcomed Mary Lou into their family, and spent hours with us going to theater, having dinners, and talking, talking, talking. Some time in 1976, Bruce handed me a piece of paper with 23 words written on it. I took those words and, with Steve’s help, finished a song that is on our CD and is very popular at our gigs.

Bruce and Sheila used to love to come to our performances and, when his health began to fail him, welcomed us into his home for an “unplugged” concert. He loved us all and we loved him right back.

While most of the service consisted of an impressive display by a USAF ceremonial team – complete with a rifle salute and taps – the culmination of the service was Kathy singing to Steve’s accompaniment. The family requested this of Kathy, one of Bruce’s most favorite chanteuses and dancing girls, and she was happy to comply. Bruce’s favorite film was Casablanca, so Kathy sang a very touching rendition of “As Time Goes By,” to Steve’s guitar.

And that was that, after 81 years on this earth, Bruce was gone. It’s a terribly trite cliché, but in this case, there’s no denying that he lives on in the hearts and souls of all of us in the band, and many, many others. Good-bye, our friend.

The last full weekend in August proved to be an adventure for The Tim and Bob Show.

On Friday night, we experienced a rarity: our patio gig at Beto's Comida Latina had ... wait for it ... a rain delay. Yep, smack in the middle of the hottest summer on record, and approaching serious drought conditions, our gig on Friday was held up by a good 35 minutes due to rain. Once we started, we had a good evening. All the people who fled the patio during the shower returned to listen to us, and we put in as many four-parters as we possibly could. We had a chance to reacquaint ourselves with Tim and Bob Nationals Colleen and Steve, and we were entertained by some VERY attentive children, most memorably five-year-old Sophia, and her four-year-old friend Sophia. When we asked the "elder" Sophia what sort of music she liked, she stunned us all by saying, "Well, I really like James Taylor!"

The rain kept away for the rest of the night, and we celebrated our somewhat-delayed but very enjoyable return to Beto's by gathering at Steve and Kathy's house for wine, prosciutto, salami, crackers, and some more hits off "the never-ending block of Jarlsberg cheese." We couldn't stay out too late, though, since we had an early afternoon gig near Fredericksburg the very next day.

We met Saturday morning a little before 11:15 underneath IH10 to caravan up to Becker Winery, in Stonewall, near Fredericksburg. This was to be our fourth gig there, and we were looking forward to playing our first "grape stomp." Several Tim and Bob Nationals had promised to make the trip up, so we were looking forward to greeting friends old and new. We set up at the edge of Becker's spacious porch, and began to play at 2, under friendly Texas skies giving no hint whatsoever of rain. Since it was a two-hour gig, we decided NOT to take a break. Being outdoors, we had plenty of room to feature both Steve's Epiphone electric guitar and Kathy's Fender bass. Kathy is getting quite adept on it, and looked cool in her hat and sunglasses. Steve is increasing her repertoire, and we're all getting a lot of enjoyment over how much more full our sound is when she plays.

We met a lot of new friends ... Richard, Ellen, Valerie, Debra, and Kelly, but we rally hit the mother lode with Tim and Bob Nationals who made the trek up just to hear us -- oh, and to drink some fine Becker wine also, of course. Sheri and Roy were there, along with Hillary, Don and Dave, Rolf and Horst, Vicki and Linda, Ruth, and Wild Woman Patrice. The highlights for us were performing "Heartache Tonight" while Vicki did wheelies in the grass, and Patrice and two unknown young ladies who shook their groove thangs to "Mustang Sally." It was a wonderful gig, and tremendous fun for us. Thanks again to Nichole at Becker for making all the arrangements.

On the way home, we decided to stop and have dinner at Mi Casa Tamale, a soon-to-be venue for the band to play. Mary Lou and Kathy were in dire need of a Margarita under the oaks after all that work, and we all needed some of their great food. The band playing on Saturday were The SA Blue Cats, and are fellow-members of The Texas Music Coalition. We encourage all Tim and Bobbers to check these guys out soon. And we also encourage all members of Tim and Bob Nation to keep reading our emails so as not to miss our debut there in September.

In the meantime, check out our website for photographs, upcoming gigs, product purchases and maybe even go to our guest book and TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

On Sunday, August 23, The Tim and Bob Show joined 1855 of our closest friends standing in a ditch in the middle of the make-believe town of Luckenbach, Texas. Why were we there? Well, there were two basic reasons. The first was to take part in a fundraiser in support of Voices of a Grateful Nation, a group associated with The Welcome Home Project. The second was to take part in breaking a world’s record for the greatest number of guitar pickers ever playing the same song together.

Sunday morning broke clear, blue, and hot. We knew that 104 degree temperatures were forecast for the day, so we set off together with grapes, cherries, Diet Dr. Pepper, and plenty of water. We had already played that weekend, but there was no way we could resist this opportunity to contribute. We’ve done several fundraisers for several worthy causes in the four years the band has been together, but nothing on the scale of this. As we were to learn, the guitar-picking and The Welcome Home Project were a more natural match than one might have expected. The project is very concerned with the plight of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans whose wounds include severe head trauma. One of the treatments most successful in repairing the brain’s control over physical activity has proven to be music. Specifically, many soldiers have enhanced their therapy once they were taught to play guitar.

And so, there we were, on the top of a hill overlooking the ditch. We got there pretty early in the day, and located a spot set aside for members of The Texas Music Coalition. Since we’re their current Artist of the Year, it seemed the natural place for us to set up our chairs and wait for the event to begin. Of course, being in the middle of all those guitars makes it difficult to just sit there, so it didn’t take long for Steve and me to get into a couple of jam sessions.

Soon, “the professionals” in residence mounted the stage on the other side of the ditch from us, and began to entertain. About 15 minutes later than advertised, those of us with the white, numbered tee-shirts on were invited to take our guitars and find someplace to stand in the official area. Counting would soon begin. Naturally, there were delays. But these delays allowed for more jam sessions. During one of them, we heard someone say, “What a great way to spend my 40th birthday!” Steve and I looked at Mary Lou and Kathy, and a split second later, we launched into The Beatles’ “Birthday.”

The delay, we learned, was to ensure that everyone who was arriving would have a chance to get in place and be counted. While we waited, we played several songs, including “London Homesick Blues,” and “El Rancho Grande.” Finally, the final count was given – 1,859 guitarists were about to let ‘er rip. This was a full 56 more pickers than the total attracted by the German group that set the previous record. While they played “Smoke on the Water” for 10+ minutes, we had something entirely different planned.

It had been decided that the group would play TWO songs of 5 minutes duration each. Since we were where we were, the first song we played was “Let’s Go to Luckenbach, Texas.” And, since we were where we were, the second song was “This Land is Your Land.” When we finished the last notes, we lifted our guitars into the air and hollered as loud as we could. The effect was amazing.

As more jam sessions broke out, the four of us decided that we had been baking our brains long enough. We packed up and drove away from dusty, remote, ecstatic Luckenbach with a memory it will be exceedingly difficult to erase from any of our minds.

If you’d like to see some photographs and videos of our adventures, go to The Tim and Bob Show’s Facebook page. If you’d like more information about Voices and The Welcome Home Project click here -- oh, and there’s an “official video” on that site also.

On Friday, August 21, The Tim and Bob Show made our way to Orderup at The Colonnade. As usual, we helped create a party atmosphere, and the band enjoyed themselves immensely. Judging by the response of Orderup's patrons [and staff], we weren't the only ones.
 
Tim and Bob Nationals Casey and Karen [more about her in a bit] were there, along with Jim and Pacita. The latter two had heard us play at Beto's and decided to come to Orderup after reading one of our gig alerts. We also made new friends in Amy and Caroline.
 
With Mary Lou back in full voice and all of us itching to be able to perform at our usual volume, we featured a lot of our trademark four-part harmony melodies. Once again, I think we impressed a lot of people with Steve's arrangement of "Hotel California." But the highlight of the night was our performance of the Tim and Bob original "It Ends; It Begins." Our friend Karen didn't just come out to listen as it turned out. No, she brought her flute with her and, to the delight of everyone -- especially the four of us -- she duplicated her amazing solo that is a feature of our CD. As the applause died down, Steve thanked her referring to her as "our fifth Beatle," and I said, only slightly joking, "You complete us."
 
It was a great moment on a great night, and we're on the verge of being spoiled by the sheer number of great moments and great nights we've had over the last four years. An even more amazing experience was just around the corner, but that's for the next installment of this blog.

On Friday, August 14, the band traveled to Stone Ridge for our second gig at Orderup's newest location. We spent a lot of time during our very quick setup chatting with Janine, who manages this location. She was very busy in her office when we played their before, but on Friday she spent plenty of time making us feel welcome and wanted. Her friendliness and concern over the comfort of anyone who comes through her doors is typical of everyone that we've met that's associated with this small San Antonio chain. What a wonderful bunch of people to work with.
 
Steve had an idea for how to set up our speaker so as to maximize our vocal and instrumental quality and minimize our volume. Stone Ridge's design creates some challenges for any group that's amplified, even one that only uses electronics for balance and not volume, like us. We had some trouble last time out with our sound bouncing off the ceiling and walls and reverberating behind their counter, but this time there seemed to be no trouble at all.
 
A good night got considerably better when one of the band's favorite families arrived -- en masse! <u>Anna</u>, who has worked with Kathy, Mary Lou and I in local theater, was home from California to visit her family, and she brought most of them with her. In addition to sisters Julia and Christina, Anna's mom Alice was also there. Making the crowd even bigger was Julia's friend Paige. Alice's husband Mike wasn't able to make it, since he was on rotation in Afghanistan, but everyone who was there seemed to be enjoying themselves.
 
But this group wasn't the only representative of Tim and Bob Nation. Nationals Jeanna & Sara and Steve & Jackie were also there, and we were able to meet two new enthusiastic friends, Colleen and Steve, who we hope to see again in the near future.
 
Before we knew it, our two hours were up, and it was time to pack up and go. Once we had loaded everything in our cars, Mary Lou and I shared some of Orderup's magnificent cinnamon ice cream on the drive home. Good friends, good food, good music, and ice cream for dessert. You just can't beat being in a rock 'n roll band.
 
Where will we be next? Check out our upcoming gigs page on our website.

And while your on our website, check out our photographs, leave us a comment on our guestbook and -- if the spirit moves you -- order a copy of our CD!

See you soon, San Antonio!

On Thursday, we left the resort after breakfast and drove the van into Tulsa. We enjoyed ourselves touring the downtown area and looking at the deco buildings and following Tulsa’s downtown guided walk. After a great lunch at a downtown diner. We then spent most of the afternoon touring the Gilcrease Museum – a must see for those who enjoy Native American artifacts and history, as well as paintings of events and people important to the history of Oklahoma and the American West. The traveling exhibition documented the first diplomatic  contact between the British government and the Cherokee Indians – then still residing in Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia. Since much of the activity centered around  Williamsburg, VA and London, two areas Mary Lou and I have lived near, we found it especially interesting. Kathy was so taken by the collection of artifacts on the lower level, she brought the rest of us down there to share the trove with us. It was an impressive collection, impressively stored.

Once we had returned to Rainbow Hills, we began preparations for the Thursday night gig. While we were setting up, four members of the Hogwarts group greeted us VERY enthusiastically. It appeared that all of Kathy’s hard work had paid off. Several of the group had, indeed, become Tim and Bob fans. I asked them if any of them had made the Monday concert, and one 12 or 13-year old girl responded, “I was about to come in, but then I saw my grandparents dancing, and I turned around and left.” They weren’t going to leave on this night, however, as they quickly made “seats reserved” signs for themselves, and then spent the hour or so before we performed making suggestions on how we could better promote ourselves and sell more CDs.

As expected, there were not quite as many folks on the Thursday concert. Since this one wasn’t being filmed, however, more of the house lights were up and we could see how much they were enjoying themselves. The evening had two highlights. The first one came when I told the audience about an earlier concert where we had several people “snake dancing” to “Locomotion” – which was the song we were about to perform. The audience took that as a challenge and at least 30 of them joined up in a multi-generational conga line that lasted the entire song. The only drawback to this is that since all four of us were playing, none of us could take a picture of it!

The second highlight occurred, believe it or not, right after I broke a string on my guitar. As Mary Lou and I left the stage to replace the string, Steve broke into “Rocky Raccoon” and Kathy grabbed her bass and started playing along. I was a little stunned to discover later that she didn’t have the tabs for this song with her, and played it all from memory. Kathy definitely deserved the cool bass-player hat that Steve bought for her to perform in. As was true with Monday’s effort, we scheduled as many four-parters, bass-playing songs, and Epiphone songs as we could. Everyone who was there approved.

We ended the concert amid cheers and handshakes and “thank you’s.” We exhorted everyone to come over and buy a CD and a “Take It Outside” bag. And many of them did. All four of us were invited to a party in one of the larger cabins, but Mary Lou and I were wiped out by the time we finished breaking down, and left Steve and Kathy on their own. I don’t know how much they enjoyed the party, but Kathy’s toes were painted a bright color and Steve had a tattoo! Relax, folks, it was a temporary one.

Once Friday morning came around, we were ready to leave for home. We attended the lakeside farewell service, loaded up the van with luggage, musical gear, snacks … and Hillary who would be traveling with us. It was around 9 on Friday evening when we got to Steve and Kathy’s house, and past 10 by the time Mary Lou and I got home.

It had been a remarkable week. The band functioned very professionally while working and had plenty of fun during whatever down time was available to us. Everyone in attendance seemed to approve of what we were doing, and it was certainly nice being able to meet and talk to the folks we had entertained earlier in the week. I don’t know if there’s any group of people anywhere so dedicated to enjoying themselves and sharing the joy with others than are UUs. They were great to us. We hope we did them some good.

Now that we’re back home, we’re maintaining contact with a lot of the folks that we met up there – primarily through Facebook. We’ve heard some nice things from them, and we’ve received a lot of photographs of our concerts. The moment we heard we had been selected for this position, we were excited and sure that we’d have fun. As it turned out, we weren’t wrong. To slightly paraphrase the Hoyt Axton song recorded so many years ago by Three Dog Night, “We’ve never been to heaven, but we’ve been to Oklahoma.”