When I’m Gone

This is a bluesy duet we put together for Amanda and me.  Its got a “Hit the Road Jack” vibe and it got a great response from the completely awesome audience we had at the Elbo Room that night.  I love songs that involve bragging and competition and think Amanda was more than game to be my foil on this one.

Went Back

We always have to be careful where we put this song in the set because I am worried that I am going to shout myself horse. The other thing on this song is that the horns completely deepen and change the sound.  If you listen you can hear that ae added an instrumental verse late in the song just to feature that alto and tenor sax

Lord Deliver Me

This is what Amanda and I are playing in the picture at the top of this post.  Its one of the first songs I ever wrote and brought to the band and we could rip through this song in our sleep.

If you want to download the MP3s of any of the songs you hear here just write me a comment below and I will give you a link and a password.

Photo Credit: Fabi Lima

My band and my website have a logo. Now, I just need something to put on my cape.

The show’s next Friday at the Elbo Room, we go on at midnight.  Hopefully the cops will let us finish this one.

This is a big deal, to me because this is my band.  We’re playing the best venue we have ever been booked at on the biggest night of the week. So, in honor of Hombre headlining the Friday show at the Elbo Room I am gonna feature the story of Tom and I, the first Hombres.

Tom and Casey

Tommy and I have been buddies since we were 12, but we haven’t always been band mates. Tom has always had bands, lessons and drive to play. I saw every incarnation of those bands.  I often tried to write songs and never finished them. Tom wrote hundreds of songs played by a number of bands. I wrote melodies and lyrics without knowing what key they were in or how they would ever get played. While Tom played his songs at school assemblies I sang mine in the shower, where most of them lived and died.

But, every once in a while I would take one of my songs to Tom, and that’s awesome for me. Tom is a top notch guitar player with plenty of his own songs, so when I took him my songs he not only translated my melodies into notes he also wrote hooks and transitions, changed verses and added bridges. He took tunes for humming and made them into playable music.

I always looked forward to taking Tom whatever new songs I had.  Hearing these songs with instrumentation translated them from musical sketches or tunes in my head to real songs. Arranging the songs was more than enough to make me happy for years.

Playing Gigs

Recently we have started picking up enough collaborators to have a proper band.  With a committed drummer and bassist (Amanda and Cool Keith) our band finally has the muscle and sound to gig out.  A rhythm section in a song that always wanted to make you dance but never could is water in the desert. Songs without a rhythm section need an audiences attention songs with a good rhythm section demand it. All of the sudden the songs started to bloom.

We have started playing a smattering of small gigs. Then two weeks Tom used his credibility as a member of Cobalt and the Hired Guns to get us this gig at the Elbo Room.  Its a big enough gig that we called in an extra Amanda to play her horn for us.

So, If you want to see the Hombres play the biggest gig we’ve ever had come out to the Elbo Room Friday the 23rd.  Its a show a decade in the making.

1. H for Hombre, my band, preforming live this Saturday
2. UFC 98
3. Cobalt and the Hired Guns live at Shuba’s this Sunday

North and Clark has got love for all these guys so we are going to celebrate them in the following ways:

First, the Hombre show is a private gig, but if you, gentle reader, want to come write a comment below or contact the boys in the band, and we will make sure we get your name on the list. It’s on the west side at Avers and Fullerton at about 8:30.

Second, we who write for North and Clark love the UFC, but know precious little about it. So, we called in our long time supporter (can you be a long time supporter of something that has existed for a month?) and general homie Elias Cepeda from InsideFighting.com in to do a preview (posted in a couple hours). You will see a longer interview with Elias on Wednesday.

Third, we got a great response to the first interview with Tom Fort so I put together a little mini clip of some of Tom’s thoughts (Post Saturday) on metal for all you Cobalt heads, or Metal heads, or podcast heads.

It’s a Holiday weekend folks enjoy yourselves.