miranda!

her new record - four the record - drops today.  yayyyyy!  and she was fantastic on the today show this morning....LOVE this girl!

theron's music!

hope everyone is having a good day out there!  i thought i'd shamelessly plug my love's band for a sec because i happen to think he is uber talented.  i might be a tad bit biased, but i'm just so proud of him!  he has been playing for the last eight years and along with playing piano, guitar, and harmonica he is also a tremendous singer/songwriter.  he writes about his own experiences or things and people that have inspired him along the way.
 he has just released his debut album TEXaS FoReVEr and it's now on iTunes!  fun fact: tracks 8 & 11 are about the author of this blog.  if you're in to folk/americana/texas country, you should definitely check him out!

you can also visit his facebook page THERON & THE OLD QUARTERS and become a fan!  i know he would really appreciate it...

thank ya miranda lambert...

i can always count on you to speak straight to my heart.



carrying the weight on the end of a limb
you're just waitin' for somebody to pick you up again
shaded by a tree, can't live up to a rose
all you ever wanted was a sunny place to grow

pretty little thing, sometimes you gotta look up
and let the world see all the beauty that you're made of
cause the way you hang your head, nobody can tell
you're my virginia bluebell
my virginia bluebell

even through the snow, a flower can bloom
you just need a little push, spring is comin' soon
umbrella in the rain, let it roll off of your back
weather what you can, realize what you have

pretty little thing, sometimes you gotta look up
and the let the world see all the beauty that you're made of
cause the way you hang your head, nobody can tell
you're my virginia bluebell
my virginia bluebell

put a little light in the darkest places
put a little smile on the saddest faces

pretty little thing, sometimes you gotta look up
and let the world see all the beauty that you're made of
cause the way you hang your head, nobody can tell
you're my virginia bluebell
my virginia bluebell

booking gigs for august!

so friends, if you've got any connections in the music biz or you know of any cool venues to play in the austin/sa/hill country area...hit me up! we're currently booking shows for theron pfeifer and the cicadas and we can use any leads. looks like shows are possible at quarry hofbrau and beergarden, la hacienda, tavern in the gruene thus far...

will keep you posted on schedules and the CD release...maybe, just maybe, you can even come join us at a show!

*awesome new band alert

this band is out of texas and they're called FROM WHERE THEY RUN. check out their song "sleep when i'm dead." they remind me a little bit of old crow medicine show. fantastic instrumentation, these guys seem really cool! *thank you to blake closner for telling us about them!

yay sunny!

texas chick, sunny sweeney, has a new single on radio and it's A-MAZING! can't stop listenin'...GIVE IT A LISTEN. "FROM A TABLE AWAY."

the best day EVVVVEEEEEER...

literally. yesterday will probably go down in my memory as one of the best of my life. ahhhh it was incredible! probably not everyone's idea of paradise, but if you love music (especially of the texas variety) like i do, then i think you would understand.

first of all, i spent the entire day with the brilliantly talented theron pfeifer who is recording his debut album (and it's gonna blow you away!!!!) theron's recording his album at the legendary cheatham street warehouse in san marcos and he so graciously let me hang out at the studio to give my expert opinion. (haha not needed.) for those of you that don't know, san marcos/new braunfels is really the mecca of the texas music scene and there is a fantastic little community of singer/songwriters there. after we spent allll day in the studio, theron took me over to cheatham where you can get your beer in a mason jar and he introduced me to all of the musicians who call the place home. to my surprise, kent finlay - owner of cheatham/HUGE name in tx music/helped george strait get started/incredible songwriter whose credits include RR's "they call it the hill county" - was in the building and we had the best conversation with him! so there we are, talking to KENT FINLAY about the night that ace in the hole band played their very first show. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

theron and i then met up with chuck & daphney and went to TWO TON TUESDAY at GRUENE HALL. if you've never seen two tons of steel, you MUST! they're this great rockabilly/country/swing band out of SA and they play the BEST dance music. theron and i took a swing dance lesson on monday so we're trying to practice...continual room for improvement of course, but we're havin' a blast!

ahhhhh i LOVE hill country summers, good music, and even better company!!!!!


woodshed studios. such a cool place. it's insane what all goes into recording an album...such an intricate process.


theron's sound engineer, russ, showed us this old beat up thing which he casually threw in, "oh yeah, this was george strait's first tour bus..." as if that were no big deal. these boys don't know about my GS appreciation yet...


living piece of history right there...


pickin'.


the one. the only. CHEATHAM STREET WAREHOUSE.

it feels so good, feelin' good again.

had the time of my life last night...as the lyrics above suggest. seeing a robert earl keen show at floore's country store will just do that to you. he's a legend and every time i see him live i remember why. to me, REK is just the embodiment of texas and he just seems so darn cool. his songwriting is killer and his guitar skills are seriously underrated. plus, the guy plays it off like he's a dumb aggie dropout from college station, but i get the impression that he's actually incredibly intelligent. i MUST talk with him someday.

LIFE IS GOOD. loving this summer already...

confession

i don't know about you, but as a child of the 80's, i absolutely love hair bands...yes, i own the critically acclaimed "monster ballads" collection and i listen to it often. whether it's poison, aerosmith, foreigner, guns 'n roses, white snake, or motley crue...i'm definitely a sucker for some cheesetastic pyrotechnics, overly dramatic lyrics, and sensitive bad boys. come to think of it, sometimes i could fit right into one of these old music videos when my hair gets over-bleached and ratted out and i can't resist wearing leather. yikes, terrible i know!

what can i say...sometimes you just gotta get in your girlfriend's convertible, speed down an empty road, raise your hands in the air, turn up the radio, and let your hair blow in the wind. today is one of those days.

i love love love texas music!

saw a great show tonight, gotta hand it to brandon rhyder...he was truly phenomenal. got to talk to him post-show for awhile and that boy is good as gold! here's how part of the convo went down:

shan: so i gotta tell you, you've got one of my favorite voices in the texas music scene, well, really anywhere. you've got this deep, distinctive, gravelly thing goin' on.
BR: well thank you honey, it's the church of christ!
shan: well then, God bless the church of christ. and i also wanted to tell you that i think you're an incredible songwriter. i think you & wade bowen have some kind of connection to the female psyche...it's like you know exactly what a woman wants to hear! how do you do that?
BR: well i wasn't always this good lookin', had to figure out a way to impress the ladies somehow.
shan: no really, you're really good!

what a sweetheart that man is. such a good family man too. i'm SO impressed...genuinely awesome guy.

hope you enjoy our unfortunate little phone pic:

if you ever want to find me on a wednesday night...

county line is where i shall be. yeah, i'm a regular there, but i'm not ashamed...it's the best!!!! greatest music in texas, most succulent ribs w/ shiner, the PERFECT atmosphere, and san antonio's finest. sometimes i feel as though i would've been lost in this city without finding my place @ CL. i wasn't sure how this summer was going to be without randy goss (owner of CL - randy tragically died a few months back in a flash flood and it was a terrible shock to the san antonio community.) however, things have carried on and each wednesday is a tribute to randy's memory, we sure do miss him though! CHECK OUT THE SCHEDULE and come join me sometime, it'll be worth your trouble...



anyway, last night was a special occasion because cori jo's in town, thus it made it even better than usual! we had a fantastic dinner and then gathered in the backyard for some deryl dodd - or DOUBLE D - as I affectionately call him. this girl walked up and i told her i knew what color her underwear was. she looked at me like a cow lookin' at a new gate and i said, 'they're hot pink and i promise! cause you walked by and they sorta caught my eye IN MY NEW TONY LAMAS!" oh double d, you're a baylor boy, and that explains so much about you...but i do sorta like it when you wear those bandanas! ;)

my acm stream of consciousness writing

in case you didn't know, the academy of country music awards telecast was tonight. in case you didn't know, i'm kindof freakishly into country music.

1. miranda & carrie opening the show was amazing! TWO HOT BLONDES! (carrie baby, thought your dress was a tad bit short, but i do love your rock...blinding!)
2. what is it about blake shelton?
3. thought laura bell bundy was dreadful. dear, perhaps you didn't get the memo that wearing fringe and having plastic chaps on DOES NOT MAKE YOU COUTRY! if this is the future of country radio, then i don't like it at all...
4. reba's hot. looks incredible for her age.
5. aw toby has a sensitive side.
6. zac brown band is so patriotic!
7. oh la la joe nichols.
8. i still think "people are crazy" should win an award. such a well-written country song.
9. lady antebellum is the real deal. they deserve everything they get. and "need you now" is a fantastic song. sometimes i jam out to it when it comes on the radio and it gets recorded on certain people's voicemail. ;) sorry lauren.
10. not a taylor swift hater, but i don't like her live. off pitch.
11. gloriana = see #3. terrible. "wild at heart" is unbearable to listen to in any format.
12. YAY LUKE BRYAN! tell me, do i have to go all the way over to georgia to find a boy like you?
13. joey + rory, so sweet and so authentic. i don't like them white trash hoes either!!!!!!
14. never been a fan of rascal flatts. for obvious reasons.
15. SO PROUD OF MIRANDA!!!!!!! texas girl done good. and so gracious. "house that built me" gets me every single time.
16. jack & dierks & barbie doll...it's a classic in the ingram canon. loved it.
17. carrie, you're a real life barbie doll! the most beautiful woman in country music today and you've got some of the best pipes in the business.
18. love how country people always thank Jesus Christ!
19. brad paisley, you never go out of style.
20. dear matthew mcconaughey...i would like a pair of your boots too. xoxo shan.
21. brooks 'n dunn, you shall live immortally in my heart forever. see you boys on the last rodeo tour!!
22. that reba slideshow of country love stories was just down right inspiring...ahhhh. johnny & june, waylon & jesse, george & norma, alan & denise...
23. I LOVE YOU CARRIE! GOD BLESS COUNTRY MUSIC!


b&d, i'm gonna miss you when you're gone...

kimberly kelly :) great girl, new cd!

local waco girl kimberly kelly has a brand new album out "sweet time dancin'" and it is sure good! you should buy it on itunes! beside the fact that kim is super talented and beautiful, she's EXTREMELY nice too. this girl and i have a lot in common - a mutual love of georges (george strait & george's bar), texas music, and we were both devastated when dierks bentley got hitched. check out the lyrics to this track "ode to dierks" on the new album (my thoughts exactly):

mamma came home, she took my hand
she said, baby girl this might hurt you, but i'll help you understand
the front page news wanted to tell you first
some sweet thing stole him, your old boy dierks

i'd seen him out, doin his thing
and i had no reason to think he was out buyin rings
i thought he was a drifter, with plenty of time to spare
but now i hear that he's exchangin vows and i'm not there

he got married without me, he left our love behind
he didn't wait for an answer for me to say yes or deny
we coulda made magic and i'd have loved him like no other
but now i'm left to watch him love on another

if he asked me how i'm doing, i'd lie and say great
but i'd even picked out dog bowls especially made for jake
free and easy down the road he goes
nothing bout it easy for me, long trip alone

we coulda made magic, the next tim and faith
i knew he needed distance, i sure didn't think...

gettin' married without me, leave our love behind
he didn't wait for an answer for me to say yes or deny
we coulda made magic and i'd have loved him like no other
but now i'm left to watch him love on another

i didn't want to wear white tank tops for the rest of my life anyways!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA BRILLIANT SONG KIMBERLY! :)

is aaron watson a cutie or what?

ryan won an oscar!

i'm SO proud! totally deserved.

here's to the nomads

got myself a threadbare gypsy soul
likes to dance and drink and go wherever the wind blows
got a little threadbare gypsy soul
got a little threadbare gypsy soul

got a little wild streak in my heart
i guess that i have had it since i heard the music start
i got a little wild streak in my heart
got a little threadbare gypsy soul

i like to hear the highway sounds
and i don't think that i'll ever settle down
i can't change and it's a sin
hope st. peter gonna let me in
come on, pete, won't you let me in?

i wear this cowboy hat upon my head
and you can take it off me sometime after i am dead
got a cowboy hat upon my head
got a little threadbare gypsy soul

i wear these crusty shoes down on my feet
i could write a book about the places they have seen
i got these crusty shoes down on my feet
i got a little wild streak in my heart

and i know this crazy livin just ain't right
most of the time i'm smoking, drinking, looking for a fight
but i've been talking to Jesus every day
well i've been talking to Jesus every day

and i got this girl back home i call my wife
if you ever met her i swear she would change your life
she's got a little wild streak in her heart
but she's been sayin hallelujah every day

-pat green, "threadbare gypsy soul"

open mic night

shawn & his mamma rockin' out. A-MAZZZZING. :)

take 1:


take 2:


they tried.

dierks, i felt that fire.

geeze louise, i forgot how much power that dierks bentley has over me. he kind of went by the wayside for me over the last year or so due to that awful video for "sideways," but the man has redeemed himself.

i've seen quite a lot of rodeo shows this year, but he really brought it out...very high energy show last night. i experienced the full emotional spectrum: a) maybe i should be wearing my little white tanks tops a lot more often. b) yep, i've still got a lot of leavin' left to do. c) i keep my friends with me, i stay busy, i don't get much sleep - that's how i'm doing since you did what you done to me. d) forgot how insanely good "come a little closer" sounded...(sigh.) e) close out the show with "folsom prison blues?" genius move..."but that train keeps a rollin', on dowwwwwwn to san antonnnnnne..." AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!


dierks has had many looks over the years, but i think this one is my fav. signature tousled hair (but not shaggy like a mutt), rugged man's man plaid shirt, and a far-away wistful look in his eye. nice. nice. nice.

my friend josh's new video!

here's the new video "she's like texas" by lubbock's own josh abbott band!!!! love this song...truly representative of a good 'ol west texas girl! ;)

when going to a bellamy brothers concert...

a girl must absolutely wear her name on the back of her belt. AWESOME concert.



(sorry about this ridiculous video...it's the only one i could find :/)