shows
CockStrong in Colorado Springs
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.
Ft. Collins at Hodi’s
Ahh we are back in Ft. Collins. We have had so many good times taking brewery tours, hosting jams, and playing jams. This is our first real showcase type show in Ft. Collins at a great venue Hodi’s Halfnote. Hodi’s is a great place to hang out as far as just having a good vibe but then on top of that there is a great room with a big stage and excellent sound. We played with another band from Colorado called Able Minds. They are a cool mix of electronic and traditional (guitar, drum, etc.) type music. It made for a great night of upbeat danceable music. We had fun catching up with a friend of ours Liza as well. You may remember her as our merchandise representative for our last west coast tour. It was great to catch up and it was just a great night in Ft. Collins. Hooch over and out!
photos from Friday at Stubb’s
What a crazy awesome weekend! Friday night we played a killer set after Rebelution’s sold out show on the Stubb’s outdoor stage. Check out these great photos from Evan Gilmore. We were thrilled to play for our amazing Austin regulars, always dancing full one in the front row, plus we won over a ton of new fans from Rebelution’s show.
photos courtesy of Evan Gilmore
Pagosa Springs
Pagosa Springs is a beautiful town in the mountains of Colorado. Because we have been to Pagosa and played at The Bear Creek Saloon several times I totally feel at home there. It’s pretty awesome in that we really didn’t know anyone in Pagosa Springs before we played a few shows and now we have a solid fans and friends that come out to our shows. There is a stange dynamic in Pagosa because it is a small tourist town. You will have a mix of people that are in town for the hot springs or the rafting as well as native ‘Pagosans’. That being said every time we play the crowd is responsive and just a ton of fun regardless of whether it’s tourists or ‘Pagosans’. This time around we met some new friends through couchsurfing. Our new friend Jarrett and his family welcomed us into their home and we had yet another great couchsurfing experience. We had great food and spent time sharing our stories about traveling and playing music. Really great times in Pagosa Springs. This is yet another one of those places that is very hard to leave… That being said we have to keep moving on to the rest of Colorado! Hooch over and out!
Overcoming with Optimism on the road to Winter Park
The booking game is a crazy world… we finally confirmed the show that was supposed to happen on December 10th exactly ten days before it was to occur. On December 9th, I got a call from the booking agent saying that their email account had gotten hacked and he never confirmed the show, so we were SOL.
Luckily, we have been through this before and applied the Achachay! spirit. Focus on the solution, see the opportunity and make the most of whatever is in front of your face. After a few phone calls, it became apparent that nothing would happen that night. I’d have to wait until the morning.
We woke up at the usual time and I started calling all the bars in Winter Park. At first I got the usual run-around, but when I mentioned “We’re an awesome Austin TX funk rock band that got our show cancelled, do you want us to bring you an awesome show TONIGHT?” or something similar, they get things moving.
The Winter Park Pub came through in the 9th inning and opened their arms… not just a place to play, but a decent last minute guarantee, free food, free drinks. The show ended up being packed and well received. The staff was cool, and we’ll definitely be back! Even though Hooch and I both felt a little sniffly and hoarse, we played a top notch performance and had a great time busting out some covers we haven’t done in a long time. We closed off a three day weekend of 4-hour-a-night performances with gusto and energy.
We’ve been shown time and time again to keep the faith. In spite of whatever circumstances life throws your way, maintain an optimistic outlook while working hard to achieve whatever your objective is. Almost every time we’ve done this, the result is better than what we expected from the original plan. Even if it isn’t better, the experience is beautiful.
To top it off, we all three got to sleep in individual beds at the family place of a buddy I studied in Ghana with. We got to meet some of his family and catch up on six years of traveling, craziness, and life. All in all, a phenomenal day.
Playing in Tulsa
Thanks to our musician buddy Trey, we finally busted into the Tulsa music scene. The cold and rain forced us to play just inside the entrance to the Hunt Club, but with all of Hooch’s Oklahoma connections we were able to bring out some friends and make it a fun night.
We had some time to chill in Tulsa, which (as I expected) is a really cool town. Did you know that since the 50′s, Tulsa has dedicated 1% percent of budgets of its major public works projects to public art to accompany those buildings? Did you know you can mountain bike, and rock climb in Tulsa? That’s exactly what Liza and I did one afternoon, meeting some cool people. I also got to catch up with some people we met in Stillwater on other trips, which was really cool.
Hooch’s buddies Kit and Natalie hosted us and really made us feel like home. We had a lot fun… there’s even a secret video of Ryan and Hooch dancing that will never be made public… oh no, the secret is out!
December in Colorado
A fun little 8 shows in 10 days jaunt to one of our favorite states!
Thursday, December 8th: The Summit in Durango, CO 10P
Friday December 9th: Bear Creek Saloon in Pagosa Springs, CO, 9P
Saturday December 10th: Winter Park Pub in Winter Park, CO 9p
Monday December 12th: Bubble Lounge in Telluride, CO, 9:30 P
Wednesday December 14th: Shug’s at the Shack in Boulder, CO w/ Smack Thompson, 10P
Thursday December 15th: Quixote’s in Denver, CO w/ In Due Time, 9P
Friday December 16th: Alma’s Only Bistro in Alma, CO
Saturday December 17th: Motherloaded in Breckenridge, CO, 10P
Blog catch up: Pagosa Springs
We’re almost done chronicling our last tour… Just about to get into the last week. This is a stream of consciousness post…
On Friday October 14th we woke and drove 7 hours from Denver to Pagosa Springs. We’ve done this drive twice before and its pretty sweet, but this time was more ridiculous since we had already driven 12 hours from Reno to Moab, and eight hours from Moab to Denver the previous two days. Both of those shows were four hour shows too. We’re putting in our 10,000 hours I suppose, although we’ll be better drivers than players at the end of it
The show was fun. The Bear Creek Saloon always has a new crowd of people and we never know what to expect. The funny thing about this time was that we didn’t have a place to stay. Normally, we just drive home to Austin because Pagosa is often our last stop, but this time we were playing Creede the next night, and its only 1.5 hours away.
We only took one break so sourcing a sleeping spot proved fairly troublesome. Luckily Liza saved the day. What would we do without her? She befriended a traveling troupe of friendly dudes traipsing across the US and they offered the floor of their hotel.
The great stories happened at the afterparty, as they are often wont to do.
Ryan and Liza were tired, so they headed back to the hotel. Hooch and I were pumped to check out this crazy after hours secret club run by a peaceful biker gang… that our friend Justine told us about.
The place was really chill. It was kind of what you’d expect: a warehouse with a pool table, music, dancing, and “free” drinks (you are expected to tip). I got invited to play a game of poker, so I got immediately sucked in. It was sweet. I played it really cool and knocked everyone out over the course of the next three hours until I was heads up with the host. At that point it was 6:30 AM so we decided to split the pot and call it a … morning.
Hooch and I managed to find a ride back to the new acquaintances’ hotel. We stumbled around the complex toting a bottle of whiskey, searching for the right room. Upon entering, we were surprised to find that sleeping bodies covered almost every single surface in the room. I managed to curl up in the corner between the wall and the bed, but Hooch would have had to sleep halfway in the bathroom. Pretty funny situation. Last thing I remember before passing out was that he was eating a leftover Subway sandwich, both in the bathroom and in bed since they were one and the same.
Of course it never ends on the road. The party goes on. Our gracious and generous hosts had to check out early the next morning since they were hitting the slopes and moving on, so they awoke us just two hours later. Where was Hooch? We hopped over to the van and found him comfortably clutch the whiskey and a spare pillow to his breast. I suppose the bathroom floor just didn’t do it for him.
Liza and Ryan fared ok, but Hooch and I had stayed up until about 7AM partying. I passed out in the van next to Hooch and we both slept for the next couple hours. I’m not sure what the others did – I think they checked out a hot springs and got some breakfast. I think I ate some oatmeal at a gas station later that day.
Yep. That’s the deal with Pagosa Springs. We’ve never really gotten to enjoy the daytime offerings of the beautiful town. Hooch befriended the friendly biker gang (They are called something ridiculous like the “He-Devils of Grace”) and they offered us a place to stay, so hopefully the next time will be a little more restful. Either way I won’t be surprised if we end
This was not our show at Pagosa Spings, but it captures the essence of the night's energy
up with a good story to tell.
Mango’s in Houston, Sat Sept 19th
Tonight, Saturday November 19th we are back in Houston! We love playing in Houston, with Jordan having attended Rice and Ryan growing up in Houston. Hooch, well he’s just had some ridiculous stories there. We’d love to see you out and we promise to get your booty movin’ on the dance floor! Cover is $7 Lineup: 9:30 “3″ 10:30 Achachay! 11:40 Electric Attitude 12:45 Mosby Thanks for your support! Now let’s get FUNKY!
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Videos from our last Mango’s show, during PRIDE fest (Thanks Hunter!)
Austin Show this Saturday @ Flamingo Cantina, 10P
Guys and gals our show has been OFFICIALLY RESCHEDULED for this Saturday. We play at 9:30 for 45 min at the Flamingo Cantina, so plan on getting downtown and parking early. We love all of our fans and friends and we thank you for your patience as we got this show sorted out! Now let’s GET FUNKY!
After party at our best friend DJ Aaron Steinman’s show at Lanai!
