The show this time around was at Fly me to the Moon. Originally we had a show scheduled at the Bubble Lounge, but between December and February (we had just played the Bubble in December) something changed and the venue shut down (apparently without warning the staff or patrons). BUT luckily for us, the booker and our friend Roxy, didn’t make us cancel the show and worked out a deal with Fly Me to the Moon so that we could still play in town.

The first time we ever played in Telluride it was at FMTTM in March of 2010 and it was cool/funny to see our tags in the green room from back then. Our show went well, but we had to compete with a few other shows that night and the weird situation explained earlier causing the venue change.

Telluride is still one of my favorite places to go and to play, so I am looking forward to coming back. Hopefully next time it will be smoother!

Click on the “Share” button on the above player and tell your friends on Facebook, Twitter, email, and more. A simple post on your Facebook wall helps us immensely. If you like what you hear, please pass it on!

The long awaited bonus track “Forgot About Achachay!” is also now available. Click on this link, click “Free Download” and enter your email address to get the free download link. You can listen to it below (and also share):

Download the digital booklet by “control clicking” (PC users right click) this link and selecting “Download Linked File.” Below you’ll see the artwork, prepared by Jordan and featuring photos from a variety of local Austin photographers.

Now please click on “Share” on the Soundcloud Music player and spread the good cheer! We can’t do it without you.

Achachay! is staying quite busy this South by Southwest. Keep in touch, and forgive us if times change at the last minute! See you out there.

Us and the famous Slopper!

After a few days of R&R spent in Colorado Springs, we headed south to Pueblo. Pueblo is a cool, little town that is famous for a food  dish called the Slopper. A slopper, for all you N00bs, is 2 hamburgers (meat (cheese if you like it) and buns) smothered in green chili sauce and topped with fries. For those of you not familiar with the Souther CO and New Mexico ‘green chili’, this is more of a sauce than a soup and is quite tasty. Sloppers can have as many as 6 hamburger patties and can also have red chili (beans/meat typical chili) on them as well. Our new couchsurfing friend Jenny took us to the Coors Bar, known for the best sloppers in town, and we were not disappointed. I should also mention one  can order a slopper “Christmas style” which is a combo of red and green chili on top (yum!). I think, personally, I need to create a sort of Texas-slopper. Maybe chopped beef or brisket sandwiches, covered in red chili (with more tasty TX BBQ meat), and then with some bacon (because bacon is FUCKING AWESOME) and yeah, I guess, if you want, you can add cheese (I’d be down for queso!).

Anyways, enough food talk (can you tell what my favorite part of Pueblo was?), our concert was also fun. Wednesday nights aren’t typically the best, but this show wasn’t bad at all. we played a place called the Downtown Bar, and we had a good crowd including our Couchsurfer and her friends, some friends from CO Springs that came down, and other locals. We went over well and had a great night which ended with a late night trip to Denny’s, the second in three days (no joke).

Friends and fans with our new T-shirts on!

I’m stoked to come back to Pueblo and play again for our new friends!

BLATTTTTTTT!!!!!!

Hooch drank the "CockStrong" Drink, and then we got three for the road. Gotta stay up for those long drives

Sunday night we played in Colorado Springs. We haven’t been there in about two years so it was almost like our first show. The venue is a cool place called the Zodiac bar that features music, comedy, and even burlesque shows. Although it began as a sparsely attended and mellow affair, by the final few songs we had a rowdy crowd up in front dancing and singing.

Highlight: There is an energy drink manufactured in Colorado Springs called Cock Strong. Yep, it is also supposed to be a male enhancement thing. Pretty hilarious. We had a lot of fun making up taglines. It’s almost as good as “That’s what she said.” For example, when we were talking about pancakes at the end of the night, our Denny’s server said, “The cooks always make the pancakes different sizes. They’re supposed to be six inches, but everyone’s six inches is different.” CockStrong: Everyone’s Six Inches is Different.

Other random thoughts: Presidents’ Day
Why do we celebrate the presidents? Is it for their leadership? The things they’ve accomplished? What about the congress and the voters and the cabinet and judges and supreme court? What about Democracy? I guess that’s what Independence Day celebrates. I don’t know it just seems like a strange thing to celebrate. There are so many good things to celebrate in life, most of them small and everyday. I celebrate the smell of good coffee (I’m in a coffee shop right now), bright sun on a snowy day, waking up late, waking up early, the brilliance of technology, the soreness of muscles after a hard run or a tough climb. I celebrate deep conversations, catching up with old friends, making new friends, discovering something new about yourself or someone you love. These things don’t need holidays, of course. Maybe the presidents need a holiday… do you think the president rests on Presidents’ Day? I hope so.

You might think, “What does this have to do with Achachay!?” This thinking and discussion is one of the things our band is about. Plus, it’s part of the luxury of the road. Traveling the way we do, constantly interacting with new people, new geographies, and new situations, you get the opportunity to reflect on yourself and the world around you in a way that isn’t always available in a more stable setting. You’re shoved into new perspectives. It’s our job as a band to share these experiences with the you. It’s our job to offer you the same insights we receive from these perspectives when you join us in song and dance.

Another reason I love Ska: the awesome branding!

After our very fun night in Grand Junction, we headed to Durango to play the Ska Brewery. If you haven’t heard of the Ska Brewery, it is an awesome micro-brewery that’s been open almost 20 years and produces a variety of awesome beers. Check them out at www.skabrewing.com.

So the show was an early 5 pm show and we played for a few hours. It was fun, and between our new CouchSurfing friend Mark and the other patrons at the brewery, we got down! Not to mention we also got free, delicious beer!

We ended the night hanging out with Mark and getting the van stuck in the snow outside his house. It made for a pretty hilarious/arduous process the next morning that entailed pushing the van, putting chains on the back tires and praying for traction. I always enjoy Durango, and this time was no exception!

We played a great two set show with lots of jamming and improv. Something about the space made us feel more open and we did some of our classics like “Tour Song” in entirely new styles. A decent crowd came out, partly due to our on air performance either that day on KAFM.

The station is really cool – community / volunteer run and totally solar powered. The DJs are always nice and everyone there liked our music. They all seemed very supportive of independent music in general.

It’s funny how people like to project whatever they like onto us. As soon as we got in the KAFM building, one of the guys started bashing Republicans and Conservatives, assuming we agreed with him- I guess because we’re from Austin and are in a band.

Yet a couple days later, another guy made a few incredibly racist comments as jokes, assuming we’d laugh. I guess he thought, “They’re from Texas, they must be racist too.”

Well, they were all wrong. I don’t think of us identify as Republican or Democrat, and we certainly don’t judge people’s character based on physical characteristics they are born with.

Anyway, we also had a really great couchsurfing host Jodie. All in all it was one of our most fun trips to the crazy city of Grand Junction.