Update: America’s Got TalentThis is a quick update for those interested parties. We did not make it to the next round of Auditions. But that is okay. We are America and we have talent. We don’t need a television show to tell us that. Thank you for your support!        
F**k You, I’m FolkSome of our long time New Orleans fans might remember back more than a few years ago to a Gal Holiday show at d.b.a. when yours truly had a Jameson fueled microphone moment in which I tried to explain why we’re not a country band. As everyone now knows, the “establishment” has ceased categorizing bands like ours as Country and started using the broadly generic term Americana. While there are many groups, like online magazine Turnstyled, Junkpiled who continue to campaign for the return to proper classification in the genre, I fear that we will be lumped in with Folk music for many years to come. Two events transpired which added to the steaming brew in my brain which so erupted as previously mentioned. The first of which was a phone conversation with one highly respected female manager, “Jane” who is the driving force behind her well known Louisiana musician husband. Jane mentioned that if we ever decided to submit our work to the Grammys, we would NOT fall under the Country category but rather submit as Americana/Folk. This was my first concrete assertion of something I had been suspect of for a while. The second event that set the wheels of our new movement in motion was something funny that happened to Domenic, a fellow musician who at the time was our roommate when Dave B. had his recording studio in the French Quarter. Dom was looking for a dobro guitar in a catalog and having difficulty finding one. Maybe it’s listed in guitars? No. They’ve GOT to have one somewhere in here! Hmmmm. He flipped the pages and there it was, nestled amongst the mandolins and banjos under FOLK instruments. WELL. *On a side note, I can certainly understand the dobro being classified as a folk instrument. Without going into a deep discussion of what Folk music specifically IS as well as its history, suffice it to say that I guess ALL instruments of the stringed variety are “folk” instruments. And all that said, Domenic’s music would most likely be considered “Folk Rock” or as he says, “Cosmic Rock’n'Roll for the Soul.” So why talk about this now, years later? I’ll tell you why gentle reader. Because recently, another incident came up that made me think about what the differences actually are. But first a little back story… On our last trip to New Orleans this past fall, we introduced our new sound which we are calling, The Recessionaires featuring Dave B. driving the rhythm section with his slaps and popping of strings. Born out of necessity on the road during these tough economic times, we’ve stripped the band of drums for our smaller shows, a la Wayne Hancock who totally rocks this style. Our intention was not to change the sound of the band so drastically that our status as a “dance band” would be affected and so far we’ve gotten a positive response. In a look to the future with a simultaneous nod to the past, we’re taking things back to the real roots of the style with great songs and solid playing. It has been a highly rewarding decision all around in choosing to experiment with this new “drummed down” sound. Here’s a video of us debuting this sound at Mimi’s in the Marigny in New Orleans, taken by Andrew Evans, Nat Geo’s roving blogger. 
A couple of weeks ago we showed up to a gig in California without drums and a comment was later made that we had scared the promoter half to death. He’d heard the band before WITH drums and thought we were going to “Folk Out” on his dance night. I wish I’d had Domenic’s t-shirt on that night! After hearing a few songs he quickly felt relief and mentioned that he didn’t even miss the drums. Which is a comment we’ve been getting a lot. Nothing against you drummers out there, but y’all are LOUD. Which is why we’ll reserve our use of drums for festivals and larger rooms and stages like Rock ‘n’ Bowl and Tipitina’s in New Orleans. And because I truly do believe that we’re stuck being categorized where we are for quite some time, I will embrace it and proudly announce to world…F**k You, I’m Folk.        
Gal Holiday listed as Top 11 Best New Orleans music of 2011!He Said/She Said NOLA said so. He and She Said: The only thing better than the food in New Orleans is the music. If you’ve travelled a bit you know that the list of cities where you can drop in on incredible musicians on a random Monday or Tuesday is a pretty short one (NYC, L.A., Austin…are we missing any?) Given that, we’re sure we could produce a list of the great sets we didn’t see a mile long. But, in no particular order, here’s a list of what we did see that rocked our world. With apologies to Spinal Tap, here are the eleven most memorable sets in a year filled, as always, with great sounds. Consider checking some of these musicians out in 2012: Gal Holiday at Balcony Music Club: BMC at the corner of Decatur and Esplanade is one of our favorites. Live music every night of the week with no cover. Before she relocated to L.A. to chase bigger things, Vanessa Niemann and her band held down a Sunday night set here which became one of our favorite ways to wind down the weekend. Three guitars, including pedal-steel, Vanessa’s terrific vocals, and arrangements of very old-school country unlike what anyone else in town is doing.        
New review for “Set Two” by Turnstyled, Junkpiled!We got a cool new review for “Set Two” by the online L.A. Americana music magazine, Turnstyled, Junkpiled. Here’s the content but please visit their website, too. Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue’s latest album, Set Two, welcomes the listener with a beautiful grinning picture of Vannesa Niemann (aka Gal Holiday) on the cover. That radiance continues on the inside on the package, as Niemann sings and is accompanied by fiancee Dave Brouillette on bass, with other players thrown in the mix, performing their way through rousing interpretations of “classic country” tunes and one really spirited version of “Plastic Jesus” – a comedic song about dashboard Jesus’ written by Ed Rush and George Cromarty in 1957. They do it with complete sincerity and give it great new life. There are also a few originals that sit perfectly next to the classics. Niemann and Brouillette are originally from Louisiana, but have relocated themselves to Los Angeles, in hopes of seeing what fortunes may await them in Sin City. That’s good news for local lovers of classic country music: it is Gal Holiday’s credo to play only the real deal. Set Two shines with staples from the hard working groups live set, such as, “Yes, Ma’am” “Jones on the Jukebox” and even a honky tonk version of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice.” The original “Louisiana Waltz” is a tale that hearkens back to bygone days and departed loves still swaying together, that is reminiscent of the Brian Wilson’s female led pet-project, American Spring’s “Tennessee Waltz” not only in terms of tempo, but also the wonderful sultry sweet female vocals that drive this song. Leading into the other original, “I’m Coming Home” which will get porch swing in motion faster than a V8 on an open stretch of highway. Vanessa’s personality really livens up these old feeling tunes and with Brouillette’s solid bass crossed with overall strong production, the songs leap through the speakers and get the toes tapping. Great music to put anyone in a good mood, done with class and very welcoming, sexy vocals. Gal Holiday’s star has been rising since coming to La La Land. They’re playing all over town with some anticipated shows coming up most notably, TurnstyledJunkpiled.com’s own sponsored Harvelle’s Holiday Hullabaloo (Friday at 9pm). Catch them and you’ll be two-stepping the night away. Tickets can be purchased here: http://longbeach.harvelles.com/show.cfm?id=70791&cart        
Harvelle’s Holiday Hullabaloo!While I don’t usually use my blog for gig advertisement, I’m making an exception for our show this Friday, December 23 at the new Harvelle’s location in Long Beach with JD Crawford and The Western Continentals. We’re hoping to pack the house in support of Veterans Affairs in Long Beach and we need your help! Please spread the word by sharing the poster in your blog, on your website or sharing the Facebook event. You scratch our back and we’ll scratch yours! Advance tickets: Purchase Here Merry Musical Christmas!
       
The Long Road WestSO. We made it back to Los Angeles after our two months all the way to Ft. Lauderdale and back saga of a trip! While most of our time was spent back in New Orleans with friends, fans and family (read prior blogs for more deets) we’ll pick up The Adventures of Gal Holiday the day after our outstanding farewell show at Old Point Bar in Algier’s Point, New Orleans. We actually had one more show to do which was a party for a super cool couple, recently married at a lovely Lower Garden District locale on the rainy Saturday night after Thanksgiving. Though the unpredictable New Orleans’ weather moved us indoors to a considerably smaller space, the company was cool, staff included. Great photos, too…
After packing up and hitting the bottle with the catering staff in the alley behind the venue, Dave and I ventured uptown to visit with a friend before taking off on Monday, two days later. It was then that our van had ANOTHER crucial meltdown. For those of you not following us on Facebook or Twitter you are unaware that we had some electrical problems “fixed” before we went to Florida the week before Turkey Day. Long story short, $450 wasted and still major issues. And now again with the issues and three days before we had to be in Austin for a show. SO. Major decisions were made and our old clunker of a diesel van was laid to rest. Bye bye, Ol’ Bessie, Hello as yet un-Christened Honda Odyssey minivan. We’ve heard all the jokes by now, about how you’re supposed to have kids and THEN get a minivan, but wait…we DO have kids. They’re called band members. And all jokes aside, the gas mileage is great, the ride is a thousand times more comfortable and we’ll get to where we’re going with more confidence that we’ll actually arrive on time. Many thanks to the fine folks at Superior Honda on the Westbank of New Orleans for their expediency and swell treatment. Turns out, we even played for the wedding reception of the manager’s daughter! (If anyone feels especially generous this Holiday Season, we have a little PayPal donation button on our website to help with car payments. And we love you!) SO. We finally left for Austin on Monday night after organizing and downsizing, taking with us only the essentials…PA, instruments, amps, clothing and a few other things. All the rest of the crap we brought with us to NOLA stayed in the guest bedroom of Dave’s mom. Thanks Gods for moms! We stopped at ATX to pick up Joe, our L.A. guitar player who had flown home for the holiday after being with us for the duration of the trip. It was great to be back in Austin, see some friends who we’d been out of touch with for a while and make some new acquaintances, too! In particular check out Teri Joyce, a super songwriter who might be in our song lineup coming soon. Love her! We made the long trek from Austin to Santa Fe in one day, hoping to head off some incoming weather which never arrived. Thankfully we have a great friend in Santa Fe who didn’t mind us keeping him up until midnight and had beds set up for our weary butts. It was another great night in Santa Fe for our second appearance at The Cowgirl BBQ, and despite the freezing temperatures we kept warm by drinking tequila and rocking out. Departing the next morning it was cold and overcast, freezing rain in the forecast and a decision made. We would travel south to I-10 in lieu of the threat of closures on I-40. Yes, 16 hours instead of a mere 12. We almost killed each other. But we made it back to L.A. safe and sound in one go, arriving home on Saturday morning at about 3:30 am after dropping Joe off in Hollywood. AND THEN. Dave got sick on Sunday. Like projectile vomit sick. Food poisoning or stomach flu we’re not sure but he was not well for days. I plugged away, unpacking, grocery shopping, organizing. AND THEN. I got sick. Projectile vomit sick. And I threw up on Sunset Blvd which is so rockstar I can’t even begin to tell you. Apparenly it puts me in league with Slash, Paris and many other people who go by one name only. Just call me Gal. BUT. We’re better now and have done two great gigs back in L.A. with a trip to San Francisco tomorrow. The show must go on.        
Auditioning for America’s Got TalentLast Sunday we auditioned for America’s Got Talent in New Orleans. Being that the Crescent City wasn’t an open call location, like Tampa or Anaheim I was curious to see who the talent scouts for the show had dug up. It turned out to be quite a scene of some of the city’s finest, mostly as yet “undiscovered” talent. I’m not naming names, but there was a singer from a top burlesque troop, a well know trombone based band and a crazy Ukranian band just as a tantalizing wink, wink. We showed up at the Hyatt Regency at 1:30pm for our 2pm audition and finally turned in our paperwork at 2:30. They asked all kinds of questions about why we think we’re America’s next great talent, who our heroes are, events that have impacted our lives, struggles we’ve faced keeping the act going, etc. When we finally got called for our audition at 3:30 we were more than ready to head in. Now, you will recall that this songbird was battling laryngitis. My nerves were steeled to push through, and the whole performance was to be only 90 seconds anyway. Since we were allowed only acoustic instruments, we decided two guitars were better than one and invited Chris Adkins, a guitarist and singer who’s been playing with us in New Orleans and who came with us to Colorado last summer to round out Joe Ransom on guitar and of course, Dave Brouillette on upright bass. We did “Satin Sheets”, a song made famous by Jeanne Pruett in 1973 and has a powerful vocal melody, gets right to the chorus and has a great harmony part. I should also mention that they specified that the selection should be a cover song. Here’s a good video of her version: http://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgZutNGdcqH0&h=GAQHt8t4x&refid=0 We walked into the room and there was a woman on her laptop sitting at the table who didn’t even look up. The handler who led us in took a picture of us holding our number and then another guy came in and sat at the table. First things first…we performed, my voice held up although I wish it had been stronger but all in all I think we did a great job. Then there was the Q&A with the fella at the table. So here are answers to those questions like, “What happens next?” They don’t make any decisions until January and basically, if they call you back for the second round, that’s when you audition in Los Angeles in front of the celebrity judges from the show. Then if you make it through THAT it’s a week long process in Vegas and the final round is the show where you spend four days in Los Angeles for rehearsals and the taping of the show. And they let you know ahead of time to make sure that’s all something feasible for you to do. If you get selected they want to make sure you’re not going to bow out unexpectedly because you can’t get time off from your “real job.” So now you know how it works. They also asked what we hoped to get out of the process. Although my joke usually goes something like, “people die from exposure” there didn’t really seem to be any better answer. And apparently there was a band a few seasons back who only made it to the second round, got 30 seconds of tv time and were able to parlay that into upping their asking price and tons of new fans. The first round judge also seemed quite impressed when he asked if we were on iTunes and we replied “yes and we’re also on Pandora.” Eyebrows went up. Our impression is that the foks at American’s Got Talent are interested in working with acts that already have something going for themselves and know how to translate any exposure into tangible results. Do we fit the bill? Only time will tell.        
LaryngitisAh, laryngitis. By now alot of you might have heard through social media that I had to end the show at Le Bon Temps Roule early last night. It’s absolutely frustrating to have a tool that you trust and rely on just totally give out on you, particularly when it’s a part of your body. I feel defeated, deflated and let down but I have to remind myself that I’m human. A little background… So…I think I can, I think I can get through one or two sets tonight. And breaking news…we’re supposed to audition for America’s Got Talent tomorrow. We’ll see what happens with that!        
My Halloween in New Orleans“Halloween is finally over” I said with mixed feelings of relief, longing and fond rememberence. Until last week we had been staying in Marrero with our bass player Dave’s mom. It (mostly) kept us out trouble but we needed to be closer to downtown so that we could be walking (er, stumbling) distance from all the festivities. We took a friend up on her generous offer and spent the weekend right outside the French Quarter in the Marigny. And use the facilities we did indeed. So much so that it took me two days to recover. Literally. New Orleans is, of course a well known destination for Mardi Gras madness and the Jazz and Heritage Festival, but throngs of party goers have been flocking to the Crescent City for All Hallows Eve for years. And for good reason. The city has ghost stories gallore going back hundreds of years and even some more recent ones that would curdle your blood. (Keep your ears peeled for a new Gal Holiday song based on the American Murder Ballads of yore.) And now that the Voodoo Music Experience has become such a popular music festival, the city is even more swollen with folks itching to kick up their heels. And it was a night of ghosties and ghoulies in abundance on the steets along with plenty of young gals proud to show off a little skin. In fact, our show on Saturday at Banks Street Bar got a little shaken up by a posterior flasher and her mud flap girl tattoos. Truck driving songs always seem to get ‘em going and it’s not every day a woman pulls her pants down for us. Where was I? Oh yes, Halloween. To brass bands galore, we walked down the overflowing Frenchmen Street, a favorite of locals and tourists alike and we popped around the corner to Checkpoint Charlie’s. It’s a place where bikers, hippies, boat captains and people who need to do their laundry while drinking tend to congregate. It’s also the place where Gal Holiday first got our feet wet, way back in 2004 and where we learned how to deal with obnoxious drunk people during our show. And nothing much has changed of course. Although the clienele has changed slightly over the years, as has the management they still know how to make a damn good late night burger and pack in the crowds. I had my introduction to Spoonfed Tribe this year, and they were great but the real treat of the evening was Voodoo Town, the band who played before them. Our friend, trumpeter and loop master extraordinare, Trace Barfield and his bandmates were in fine, improvisational form and they left me wishing I’d gotten there earlier to see more of their show. All in all it was a wild time in the French Quarter but we had places to go, people, places to go. My ultimate destination was Mimi’s in the Marigny ( where we’ll be playing one more time on Nov. 10th) and a very special lady named, Meschiya Lake. She’s the ultimate siren of song and occasionally of debauchery, too. She and dem Little Big Horns really make my feet go tippety tap and my heart go pitter patter with their jitterbug, classic jazz sound. They were a joy to listen to as was Meschiya’s friend from New York who sang a couple numbers with the band. Wish I gotten her name and BOY do I wish I had gotten more pictures of the night. I took about two and they stink. So much for a photo blog. Most of the rest of the night is a blur but as I said, we were stumbling distance to home. Until next year, New Orleans. Oh wait, we’re here through Thanksgiving. More time for trouble. Except that we’re back in Marrero…and headed to Mimi’s tonight.        
Let the Mystery BeIt’s my favorite time of year! Whenever we add new material to the set I get to choose from some of the most amazing songs ever written to bring you, our listeners fresh ear candy. Sometimes the song selections even come from our audience, as I encourage folks to write down suggestions on our email list. Many times the songs are just not something I’m particularly interested in singing but occasionally there is a stand out. Such is the case with Iris DeMent’s outstanding song from 1994, “Let the Mystery Be.” Our band often gets complimented on our song selection and so, with that said, I felt that it was time to add a song with a deeper message than just the cheating heart, tear in my beer refrain. This year I’ve been trying to develop my songwriting craft by looking at songs by John Prine, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon as well as Merle Haggard and more traditionally country writers. I’ve found that while it’s important to have a message in your lyrics, it’s equally important to try not to alienate your audience, especially in country music where a large portion of your listeners have more conservative views. You can still be punk rock without screaming about Anarchy. And you can speak about politics and religion without being radical. I was unfamiliar with Iris DeMent before hearing her marvelously crafted song. She is an amazing songwriter who tends to write a lot about charged subjects such as religion, war, sexual abuse and government policy. She grew up the youngest of 14 children in a deeply religious Pentecostal family, and “Let the Mystery Be” speaks to that subject. I love the song and hope that you will also! 
LET THE MYSTERY BE (Iris DeMent) Everybody’s wonderin’ what and where they they all came from Some say once you’re gone you’re gone forever Everybody’s wonderin’ what and where they they all came from Some say they’re goin’ to a place called Glory Everybody is wondering what and where they they all came from        
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