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After a damn fun night performing at 1810 Ojeman in Houston and a half-assed night of shuteye at the famed Sleep Inn, the Rodeo Mouth boys stumbled into the Econoline and headed west. |
It was a less than three hour drive over to San Antonio, where we were set to perform at The Lonesome Rose that night at 10 PM. And with ample time on our hands, we decided it best to scope out some Texas BBQ for lunch along the way. |
With a lunch line out the door and closing in an hour, we positioned ourselves and waited our turn. Once inside, we could see the chalk menu on the brick wall with multiple delights already crossed off with blue tape. Still plenty of options, still plenty of options… |
| The Burnt Bean // Seguin, Texas |
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Mere moments before ordering, the ribs(!) got 86ed and heartache ensued. But alas, the smoked cheddar jalapéno sausage, brisket sandwich, dill pickle pasta salad, and queso mac n’ cheese absolutely rocked my world. The award-winning establishment did not disappoint, and for the cherry on top, even had an ice chest of free Yuengling (two person limit). To top it all off with more tumbling cherries, we happened to meet the owner — Ernest — who was so stoked on us being in a traveling band, he gave us all free shirts and stickers. We returned the favor with an offering of our Rodeo Mouth shirt, and our signature homemade hot sauce, Fanny’s Red Ass. |
These are the beautiful things that can happen on tour. Moments in life that otherwise would never have happened had music and a love of adventure not brought us lads together. I’ll keep the philosophical existential shit to a minimum here. Also realizing this isn’t a food blog. |
| Bassist Anthony Fili approves |
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On bellies full of Burnt Bean, we trucked on over to our palace of luxury, also known as the Days Inn. It was a five minute walk to The Alamo and The River Walk, so needless to say the boys had their day planned out. |
ZZ Top happened to be in town playing at The Majestic Theatre, and the bar across the street that we wandered into had a ZZ themed menu, with drinks like “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs” “Tube Snake Boogie,” and so on. Hell yeah. |
After a walk to Pinkerton’s to try to score some beef rib, deja vu hit, as there was yet another line, this time three times longer. There would be no time. Instead, we walked the river and grabbed some Mai Tais at Hugman’s Tiki joint. |
| The Bunker Mixology // San Antonio, Texas |
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With temptations to keep drinking tequila along the river, we decided it best to trek back and get ready for showtime. |
Parking curbside next to the neighborhood venue, you could tell by the neon glow of The Lonesome Rose sign that this place ruled. The honky tonk dive bar vibes were strong, with a wall of framed portraits of country stars of yore, a pinball machine, ample neon beer signs, dim red light, and the like. A giant paper mache head of Garrett T. Capps hung in the corner by the back end green room door, watching over the establishment and ensuring order. |
| Big Head // The Lonesome Rose |
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After some Lone Stars in said green room while we waited for Brandt the sound guy to arrive, we got our shit set and it was time to rip for our new San Antone friends. |
It was billed as a two hour set, which we initially decided to throw in a handful of acoustic songs to give the rhythm section a break, but with the go-ahead for a brief set break and some Townes Van Zandt joke telling, the acoustic portion never came to pass, and probably for the best. The crowd was digging the full band. |
We saved a chunk of covers towards the end, including three Ween tunes we knew at least one person would greatly appreciate — and boy did they. A man in an orange shirt approached during our rendition of “Booze Me Up and Get Me High,” and after seeing the joy it brought to him, we dialed up “Buenos Tardes Amigo.” He couldn’t get enough, so we decided to drop the hammer with “Stroker Ace” to really blow the lid off the joint. |
| Lead guitarist Emmett Rozelle approves |
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Then to wrap it up, we cranked into our 2024 single, “Cowboy Cannibal,” to keep the rabid energy rolling to a close — or so we thought. |
A gentleman by the name of Austin strolled up to us after, looking like he had just got off the golf course, and asked if we knew the Kenny Wayne Shepard song, “Blue on Black.” I did not, but luckily as seasoned Nashville musicians, our lead guitarist Emmett knew the song and could figure it out on the fly, as could our drummer Dany, and our fifth mate and bass maestro Petey stepped in for Anthony, as he could do it in his sleep. |
Austin demanded I sing with him to help ease the pressure, so I pulled up the lyrics and hopped in, singing a song I’d never heard. He was so stoked on this that he paid us $200, this after saying he’d give us $100. What a guy. |
| The Lonesome Rose // San Antonio, Texas |
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I know this kind of thing happens on Broadway in Nashville *all the time* and surely plenty of other places, but this was a real treat for us, and much needed for our traveling asses. |
The Lonesome Rose and Rodeo Mouth fit together like a (you guessed it) glove, and it would turn out to be the best show on tour. After some sweaty post-show chit chat with folks who dug the vibe, we collected our pay and hit the nearest food trucks. |
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