Back to the Blogger!!

It's been far too long since I've taken the time to sit down and blog about anything and I've decided it's finally time to get back in the swing of things. Writing these first few blogs before we transferred over to the old website blog were a source of great joy and entertainment for me and I'm looking forward to getting back in the proverbial saddle and doing the thing I love most about my job...writing. I'll be doing the blogging here and linking up to our brand-spankin' new website over at http://www.thedamnquailsband.com.  That's the only official website of the Damn Quails and contains CORRECT information regarding our touring schedule, upcoming events, new pictures, videos, etc. Please visit the site, bookmark it, and delete the link to the old website as it's no longer under our control.  The reason?  Read on....

I know a lot of you have questions about just what the hell has been going on with us over the past few months regarding the unavoidable (and pain in the ass) business side part of our little traveling band and I sincerely wish I could answer all of those questions with brutal and indignant honesty.  Alas, now is still not the time for me to do so, but as soon as I am able to discuss the whole thing, I'll write a blog long enough to rival a good Stephen King short story and everything will be fully explained.  For now, all I can say is that we are still working through some business and management issues, but we're definitely still a band and still dedicated to rocking the ever-loving shit out of your town, home theater system, and car stereo.  Wacky Mac is still one of our closest confidants and we love him more than ever no matter what you might have heard through this devil's grapevine we're all caught up in.  Most importantly, thank you from the bottom of all of our tiny Quail hearts for sticking with us and for understanding (or at least accepting) the vagueness and overall lack of information regarding our current situation.  Thanks, thanks, a billion times thanks.  On to lighter news...

Those of you that have been kind enough to come out to a Damn Quails show over the past few months have already gotten a sneak peak at some of the material we're going to be recording for our eagerly anticipated second record.  Gabriel has been playing "Tightrope Walker", "Give it Some Time", and "Streets of LA" nearly every set, and I've recently been bringing out  "Las Vegas March" and a super new song that I've yet to officially give a name to.  In my slightly off-kilter little songwriting universe, I generally don't give titles to songs until they've been tracked out, slapped on the ass, and sent kicking and screaming into the world, so forgive me if you're the kind of person that absolutely must have a name for something...I'm an odd duck...er...quail.

Speaking of ducks, our resident multi-instrument playing genius Mr. Jon Knudson has a new pet that some of you have already had the pleasure of meeting.  His name is Jeff Duckley and he is most definitely a duckling that's traveling with us in a cardboard box or sometimes upon the shoulder of his equally mischievous owner.  You can keep up with our exploits through his tiny little ducky eyes at facebook.com/quacknicholson or follow him @jeffduckley on twitter.  Jeff is going to be having a few little contests here and there that the band will be taking part in, so make sure you follow him up and keep and eye out for those.

Another spiffy new feature we have in the works is our upcoming foray into the new and exciting world of podcasting.  I've been obsessively going through Matt Pryor's various podcasts in which he interviews fellow singer/songwriters from his particular genre and shoots the breeze about songwriting, touring, and fan funding records.  Matt was the lead singer of The Get Up Kids, one of my absolute favorite bands growing up, and he has a very unique perspective on the world and plight of the touring musician.  We in the Texas/Oklahoma scene have our own set of unwritten rules and social mores and it's really interesting to see the similarities and differences between our genres. On a similar note, check out http://www.downwrite.com/.  These guys have taken songwriting to an intensely personal level by featuring a rotating cast of writers and giving fans the ability to request a song written specifically about whatever they want, pay a fee, and whichever DownWrite artist they want will write that fan his or her own song.  Imagine being able to drop $100 or $200 (depending on how polished of a recording you prefer) and have me or Gabriel write a song about your significant other or your life-long crush or your first car. Essentially, you feed info, pictures, or stories to your favorite DownWrite artist and they write and record a song just for you and email you a copy in a matter of weeks.  They're doing really great things so please take a sec and visit their respective sites and take a gander at what's going on outside of our little niche in the universe.  But I digress...

I'm doing some research and getting pumped up about recording the very first and very official Damn Quails Podcast!  That's right folks and folkettes.  In the next month and change, I'm going to be recording an official TDQ podcast once every few weeks that you'll be able to subscribe to and listen to at your own convenience.  I'll be talking with the members of the covey you know as well as a special guest or two from time to time as well.  The official TDQ Podcast will essentially exist to keep everyone updated on shows, give us a chance to talk about our personal lives a bit, and let you in on  general band-related stuff straight from the bird's mouth.  We're all pumped about getting it going and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we're going to enjoy recording it.  In addition to the Official TDQ Podcast, we're also working on a separate (but infinitely more hilarious) podcast featuring everyone's favorite drunken harmonica maestro, Biggie.  I'll be doing the moderating as Biggie answers YOUR questions about life, love, harmonicas, battle tactics, music, French cooking and cuisine, rugby, video games, and most anything else you want to ask of the man himself.  It's going to be like an Anne Landers type column, only with more alcohol and cursing.  Prepare yourselves for "Get Your Shit Right with Biggie".  We've already set up an email address, so email any and all of your questions for Biggie to getyourshitright@gmail.com.  You can also tweet your questions to @thedamnquails #getyourshitright or just post 'em up to facebook.com/thedamnquails and I'll make sure he gets them.

Thanks for sticking with this fairly long blog post.  I hope you cats that followed the blog over the past few years will pick it back up again and share it with your friends and fellow fans.  Before I sign off, I want to thank everyone that's lent us any level of support during the past few years, from the supportive social network messages to the phone calls and handshakes and general having of our backs.  We honestly would not have made it through without the support of you fans that are really putting food on our plates and paying our rent and bills by coming out to shows, buying merch, and having a good time with us.  Our fans are the best fans on the planet and you all deserve a billion high fives for being so incredible. If you guys and gals keep sending us the love and making it out to gigs, we'll continue to make music that we believe in and rock the fuck out for you every chance we get.

Until next time....

--Bryon White/The Damn Quails