The Office: season 2, episode 3

There’s no doubt that being in a band is a lot of fun.  However, being on stage and actually performing our music is not even the half of it.  In fact, I would say playing music equates to about 5% of our time and efforts, with the other 95% going toward other aspects of the business.

This may come as a surprise to a few of you, but just take wineries or breweries for example.  Sure, you get to show up to a tasting room and try their delicious concoctions right as you enter the building.  However, before they pour their craft into your tasting mug, the master brewer had spent countless hours, weeks, months, and in some cases, years to reach the end product.  A band is really no different.

Being a seven-piece band, we have the advantage of accomplishing a lot together.  So far, we have been lucky enough in putting our efforts together; with a few of us shining in certain departments.  One key aspect of being a good leader is job delegations.  That doesn’t just mean assigning jobs to whoever.  It means seeking out specific talents within the members of the business and allowing them to shine.  Cody, and the rest of us, have done a great job coming into our own organically.  As a collective, we have a strong marketing, business, accounting, broadcasting/recording, and music theory background; all of which happen to be key elements in the working engine of a small up and coming band.  Go Crooks!

Any member disputes?  It’s simply solved the old fashioned way!  Arm wrestling.

We are stoked to see some of our family and friends at The Brick Saloon this Friday, April 15th!  Show starts at 9pm!

-Ty

Back Home…

As I sit here typing this I am back in a familiar place; our home in Seattle.  The band officially finished the Southwest Tour on Monday, April 4th with our last gig being at Central Washington University.  CWU is a familiar place for us to play and we are always warmly welcomed by the students and staff alike!  A special thanks to our friend Amber Linn and her family for treating The Crooks to lunch after the show.  What a great final finish to a wonderful tour!

Our last few dates were jam packed and we were hustling all around Washington and some of Oregon to finally make a valiant finish!  On Friday, April 1st we played up on Chinook Pass for a private mountain party.  And what a party it was!  Not only were we celebrating a few local birthdays, but it also just happened to be our own Aaron Myers’ b-day as well!  Wow!  Well, at least we survived to tell about it!

Our next stop was up at Mount Hood Meadows!  We played up at the main ski lodge for both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  Not only did the staff go out of their way to make our stay comfortable, but they also provided us with daily meals, lodging, and free lift tickets!  Holy jeeze…I can’t wait to play at “The Hood” again!  Needless to say, I took them up on the free lift tickets and spent my Sunday morning on the hill.

On Sunday morning around 7:30 am, Eric was nice enough to give me a lift down to highway 35 where I proceeded to stick my thumb out and further myself up the mountain.  After about 5 minutes a friendly guy named Chris pulled over and gave me a lift to the nearest parking lot and I was on my way to a great day on the slopes.  All I can say is, “powder, powder, powder!”  Woo!  It was great.  

In other news, Chris is finally home to his “Babbas!” and Mr. Cody Beebe has a new piercing!  What did he get pierced you ask?  Well, you’ll just have to come to our next show and see for yourself!.

Cody Beebe & The Crooks will be performing at The Brick Saloon in Roslyn, WA this Friday, April 15th!  Show starts at 9pm!

-Ty

Oh, Washington!

So, after much deliberation and careful, emotional talks among the band members, we have decided to go our separate ways.  The band is officially breaking up.

 

APRIL FOOLS!  Just yankin ya!  We’re doing awesome.  Surprisingly, after two months on the road everyone is still alive and well!Hey folks!  …Oh and Happy Birthday to Aaron!!!!

I’m really sorry I have been so dang illusive recently with the blog posts.  A personal family emergency coupled with lots of driving in the van and many shows during the tail-end of this tour, has seemed to resulted in a blog posting vacation.  

The band has been warmly greeted once again by our fans and friends in the greater Pullman/Moscow area!  Our show at the Coug went flawlessly and seemed to be more of a big Pullman party!  John’s Alley was the shiz and fans packed the place for a Thursday night.  We were scheduled to open for Elephant Revival but when we arrived the show got switched on us.  So, after last minute facebook posting and calls to friends to let them know that we are going on late, the show went on and it was a success!

Stayed tuned for our next blog…Cody will be posting about our adventures and probably will disclose some inside information about some nasty tour secrets!  Ooohhh!

Cody Beebe & The Crooks will be performing up at Chinook Pass for a private mountain party tonight (4/1/11)

SXSW part I

Wow!  What a trip!  SXSW is truly a music lovers paradise.  Well, Austin alone is a music lovers paradise, but inject the city with thousands of bands, even more fans, and as much free Monster energy drinks a boy can handle and BAM!  You’ve got it made!

The day we drove into Austin and parked the van to check out the city for the first time as a band, was like falling in love with a first crush.  With the 85 degree weather, the sweet smell of blooming Russian Olive trees, and the faint sound of live music in the distance, we were hooked.  Austin happens to be the birthplace of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Willie Nelson, and many others so you know there is harnessed musical energy flowing about the city.

We had the pleasure of meeting so many great people and making lasting connections.  The band played at Treasure Island on Wednesday night and had a great response!  The place was packed and the people were grooving to our sound.  We had Thursday off to walk around and hang out with other Seattle musicians including Lotus Crush and Eclectic Approach.

Not only is Austin home to great music, but it also hosts the largest migrational urban bat colony in North America.  During the spring and summer months, you can catch the fuzzy winged creatures flowing out from under the Congress Avenue Bridge.  The bridge was constructed in 1980 and, unknowingly, became the home of 1.5 million bats for a few months out of the year.  This is truly a natural spectacle to see if you ever are lucky enough to travel to Austin.

-Ty

TexaSuprised!

Well, first off I’d like to apologize for not being very punctual on my blog updates.  Secondly, if you’re going to play live at a coffee shop in Dallas, do it at Opening Bell!

As we drove from Lubbock to Dallas we all didn’t quite know what to expect; considering this was going to be our first gig at a cafe’-type setting.  Not only that, but it was also going to be our first ‘all ages’ show.  No alcohol or screaming party animals at this gig.  Not that that’s the only reason people scream and cheer…I hope it’s because of the music we make.   Regardless, it was going to be a different set up.

As we were pulling our gear from the trailer I noticed more and more people filling the seats at Opening Bell.  ”Wow!” I thought, “this coffee house gig might just prove worthy.”  It did.  As we took the stage we were greeted with cheers from about 75 people; and in a small coffee shop, that can seem like a packed stadium with thousands of screaming fans!  At least that’s what I like to think of it as…or hope that it will be so in our future.  We made several new friends and sold about 20 CD’s.  What a great gig.  Thanks Opening Bell!

As I a sit here typing this I am in a nice hotel room and I just finished a room serviced breakfast in bed.  Why am I not in the KOA campground with the rest of the boys you ask?  Well, I was as surprised as you all when I opened my tent on Friday afternoon.  Cody and the boys had told me they had seen a lizard inside through one of the screen windows.  ”In my tent,” I excitingly announced, “Awesome, I love lizards!”  I ran out of the KOA club house where we had set up our office for the day with the boys swift behind me; awaiting the surprised look on my face.  As the opening of my tent was drawn back, a head popped out at me.  Dad?  What the F@#$!

In case a few of y’all (my time in Texas is becoming apparent) didn’t know, it’s my birthday today. I am 25.  I guess my dad had been planning a surprise visit for a few weeks now and the boys were in on it.  So we spent the night around a BBQ pit laughing over a few beers.  Today we have plans of hitting the local Six Flags here in Dallas.  Wow!

Cody Beebe & The Crooks will be performing at The Moon Bar in Fort Worth, TX on Sunday, March 13th.

-Ty

Everything is Bigger in…

Cody was the first to see him sitting across the parking lot in his white truck with an official emblem on the side.  I was slightly nervous, fearing we might be about to get a big fat Texas-sized citation; considering one of the tents was still set up.  Cody whistled to the boys around the fire as I walked over to the tent to warn Joe, Greg, and Chris.  “You boys might want to think about getting up,” I said, “There’s a Texas Ranger …or some official truck coming into the park slowly and he’s headed our direction.”  Sporting confused mugs and boxer shorts, the boys shot up and started getting dressed.  Cody and I stood side-by-side, looking like soldiers on the front line anxiously awaiting the enemy’s gain; and fearing the worst.  As the truck pulled up next to our van we could see a shield on the side with the words, Lake Patrol. “You boys can’t camp hur,” the officer said in a stern southern accent.  Slightly set aback and confused as to what to say, Cody stepped up and simply told the guy the truth…

We left Lubbock yesterday with no particular destination in mind, just a map, eight weary travelers, a loaded down trailer, and a desire to see the Texas countryside.  Being a bunch of country boys, we made sure to include our camping gear and planned on sleeping beneath the Texas stars somewhere along our journey.  We need to get to Galveston by Saturday, so I found a town in the general direction and set a new destination on the Garmin.

We reached Abilene in about 3 hours and asked a grocery store clerk her advice on camping locations in the area.  She suggested Fort Phantom Lake.  So, we drove another 7 miles north to our destination.  After driving in past the NO CAMPING! sign, pitching tents, and making plain ham sandwiches on bread we were settled in for the night.

Before too long we heard some commotion.  It turned out to be two local Texas boys trapping bait for their bass fishing trip the next day.  They had large nets that they were tossing out and bringing in ghost minnows.  They couldn’t have been nicer to us and they even allowed us to try a few tosses ourselves.  We didn’t bring anything in.  I think we might need some more practice tossin minnow nets.

…”To be honest sir, we’re a traveling band on a tight budget and we figured it would be best for us to pull off and sleep rather than continue driving tired,” Cody said.  “We have to get to Galveston by Saturday, and this looked like a nice place to stop.”  “Well, if you drive past sayn that’s tellin ya not to do somethin… you can’t do what it’s tellin ya not to do,” Officer Burdett explained.  “Well, you boys got any warrants?”  “Well, actually that’s why we’ve left Washington,” Cody said jokingly.  After making our new friend laugh and giving him an album, we were off Scott Free!  Before he drove away he looked at the name of our band and said, “I knew ya’ll’s were a bunch of Crooks!”

-Ty

 

Sin City…

Well, we’ve made it to Las Vegas by golly!  It has been quite the trip so far and it’s not even half over.  The Crooks have made it through our California dates and are pushing East through Nevada, Arizona, and eventually Texas by next week.  One advantage of being a seven-piece band is the reach we have through our family members across the Nation.  We definitely could not be doing what we do without the support of our beloved family members.

The Crooks owe a massive thank you to Chris’ Uncle Lincoln for opening his beautiful Inglewood apartment to us.  Screw Geico, we just saved hundreds of dollars on our band account by switching to Uncle Lincoln’s apartment!  We also cannot forget the hospitality and love from Aunt Donna!  She provided the band with full bellies throughout the duration of our stay in L.A.

Crooked Quote: “Well, when we first got to L.A. we had dinner in Compton.  Since then, we’ve pretty much just been hangin’ out in Inglewood.” –Aaron Myers

Last night, we played in Las Vegas at The Freakin’ Frog.  The show went great and we made some new friends.  Included in the audience was our long time friend and fellow musician, Josh Stuart.  And of course we can’t forget about Chris’ parents, Wally and Carol who were cheering us on all night.  They also treated us to an incredible buffet/champagne brunch this morning.  We love you both!

Cody Beebe & The Crooks performed at The Rogue Bar in Scottsdale, AZ last night.  Thank you to all who came out!  The Crooks are in Lubbock, TX tonight playing at The Lone Star O’ Bar!

-Ty

Venice Beach, Granny’s House, and Forgotten Gear…

As I sit here typing this, the sound of the opening band is echoing throughout Moe’s Alley.  Tonight we are playing in Santa Cruz.  We are excited to meet a few new friends and are itching to get on stage.

It’s 8:30, we go on in two hours, and still no sign of Greg and Rich!  Last week we played in San Francisco and, in our frenzy of a departure, Greg left behind his pedal board.  This is a bummer because San Fran is about 7 hours of a drive north of where we’re staying near L.A.  Fortunately for Greg, our gig tonight is about 90 miles south of the Bay Area.  So, as we pulled up to the venue earlier this evening, we unhitched the trailer and Greg and Rich high-tailed it up the 101 to recover the expensive piece of gear.  Hurry up, boys!

We arrived into the greater L.A. area two days ago with a VERY warm greeting from Chris’ grandparents.  We pulled the van and trailer up to a quiet neighborhood (if you can believe that exists in L.A. County) and before we could step out of the van Grandpa Wallace was there with a big hug and smiling from ear to ear.  We didn’t have two feet in the door and Grandma Adrielle was there with hugs to go all around.  The kitchen counter was stocked full of chicken wings, pot stickers, mixed nuts, chips and dip!  And I can’t forget about the stocked ice chest out back.  WOW!  We all felt like little kids again getting spoiled by our grandma and grandpa.  Thanks for the good food and even better company G&G!

Yesterday we spent the day at the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach.  We had a meeting scheduled with a friend of Deborah’s who works at Universal Records.  Nothing to be alarmed at, Cody, Chris, and Joe just had a meet and greet as well as a small tour of the building.  And as for the Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach, I can’t really begin to describe the characters jostling up and down the boardwalk.  From the hippy playing an electric guitar on roller blades trying to sell us CD’s to the nearly-naked, very sculpted, very oiled-up man dancing on the beach in front of us!  WOW!..and it’s only been a week and a half!  Next stop L.A. for two days then off to Vegas.

Cody Beebe & The Crooks are performing tonight at Moe’s Alley in Santa Cruz, tomorrow at El Cid in L.A., and Friday at Room 5 in L.A.

-Ty

Sunset Sessions…

Today is the day we showcase in front of a few hundred AAA-Radio professionals, label representatives, and other professional musicians.  So, you know…there’s no pressure.

The band has spent the past two days bumping shoulders with such musical greats as: K.D. Lang, Iron & Wine, Sia, and many other monumental musicians.  Not to mention all of the industry professionals who are also attending to watch the music and network with each other.  Imagine seven small goldfish in a tank of barracudas and sharks.  This image is somewhat analogous to how The Crooks have been feeling these past few days.  At the same time, we are all prepared and confident to deliver our craft and have been making great connections!

Last night we had the opportunity to meet K.D. Lang as well as Sam Beam of Iron & Wine backstage in the musician’s green room.  It is such an honor to be in the presence of musicians who have been in the game for so long and who are able to claim such a reputable past; little known have the opportunity to play on the same stage!

I don’t know what else to tell you all.  I suppose I am beginning the mental preparation process for tonight and that is all I can think about.  So, root us on!  Thank you all for your thoughts and support.

Cody Beebe & The Crooks hit the stage of Michele Clark’s Sunset Sessions tonight around 11pm.

-Ty

T-Bones, Rybeye, and The Tenderloin District

Our show in Fresno, CA was a success!  Not only were able to meet a few new friends, including Lance Canales and his band The Flood, but we also gained a few new fans in the area.  After getting in to Yuki’s house in Hanford, just south of Fresno, at 5am, we took to slumber for about 4 hours.  Then, it was back to Fresno for a radio interview and a quick exploration of the city.  After a plain turkey sandwich dinner in a park, we were bound for Audie’s Olympic Club to play the show.

The band truly can’t thank those who help us along the way enough!  We really appreciate our dear friend Yuki for allowing us to crash all over her floor in her cozy Hanford apartment.  With Deborah by her side, She even prepared an egg burrito breakfast with fresh fruit smoothies for us all just before our departure to San Fran!  Thank you, thank you, thank you…..KEE!  Hooray for Yuki!

I have always envisioned San Francisco as a magical hippy land where the beer flows like wine and the hippy women flock like the salmon of Capistrano!  So, needless to say the expectations within the van were high as we crossed the Bay Bridge into the city.  Our newfound friend Janie Hendrix invited the band to take a sneak peak at the mixing and mastering of a new live album of Jimi himself.  We were able to meet a few people that worked on the Hendrix albums and hear their stories.  As we exited the van into the studio we immediately realized we were in a “sketchy” part of town; better known as the Tenderloin District.  I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that within the hour of parked on Hyde Street our van was pissed on (more than once), Joe, Rich, and I almost fell victim to projectile vomit from a woman on the sidewalk, we witnessed an arrest, saw a gentleman walking his two dogs and allowed them to drop bombs all over the sidewalk, and were offered any type of drug we wanted…by several individuals.  Schweew!…and survived to tell about it.

After playing at The Utah downtown San Francisco and enjoying the company of a few good friends and loved ones(Carol, Nadine, Shawn and his friends) Rich drove us south until about 6am when it was time to pull over and rest.

The Crooks are currently residing with Chris’ Aunt and Uncle in the Carlsbad area and are attending the AAA-radio showcase The Sunset Sessions.  Tonight we get to bump shoulders with Iron and Wine, K.D. Lang, and Sia.

-Ty