Roadside Libby at Lewisville Western Days
By guest writer, Lauren Gonzalez, Hurricane Highway on Facebook, also click here for her Website: Hurricane Highway blog spot
It is 7 a.m. on a Friday morning, and I am wondering why I am awake this early. This is the music industry after all. Why would anyone willingly get up that early? I certainly couldn’t tell you what this time of the morning looks like. Ten a.m. or 11, yes, 7 a.m. not so much. With coffee in hand, I go to meet up with the members of Roadside Libby as they are about to embark on this 4-hour drive to Lewisville, Texas, for Western days. Lewisville Western Days is a 2-day event that features live music, food, beer, and various vendors from the area. It consists of two stages each day: The Bud Light Stage featured Zane Williams, Mark McKinney, Randy Rogers Band, and Casey Donahew Band. The second stage, which featured Roadside Libby, also hosted Shane Smith & The Saints, The Damn Quails (who unfortunately got rained out) and a varied array of local and hand-picked bands chosen to be there. Did I mention it was four hours away?
That is a long way for any one to drive with no guarantee that you will have a crowd, merch sales, or even fun. So, on the road we went. Roadside Libby, founded in 2008, consists of members lead singer Andrew Van Winkle, bassist Jack Van Winkle, lead guitar player Chris Brady, fiddler Frank Martinez, and drummer Chance Gonzales. With one goal in mind for the guys to play good shows and win over some new fans one song at a time. It goes back to a grass roots way of doing things. Yes, you can find them ReverbNation, ITunes, Ourtracks, and Lonestar Music, just to name a few places. As of the day of the trip, they wereranked No. 7 on the ReverbNation country chart. They have a little over 800 fans on Facebook and 2.400 on ReverbNation. This all without an agent pushing their music to a program director or buying extra advertising in other publications, Facebook, or Twitter. This is on them. It is a constant everyday drive that this band has to stick together and give it their all, show after show. Touring more than 200 days out of the year, they are seeing as many miles on the road as such bands as Brandon Rhyder and Aaron Watson. The guys are currently planning on the work they are going to put in on their next release. An EP featuring about six new songs the band as a whole is in the works.
Four hours in the back seat of a van isn’t glamorous. It’s kind of boring to be honest. Town after little town all look the same. Traffic in Austin and Dallas is brutal. When you are hung over, riding in a bumpy van is the worst kind of feeling in the world. Trust me on this. While, in some ways, it can be as dramatic as it is portrayed, for the most part it is a bunch of dudes just going out to do what they love — play music and have some fun while doing that.
As the gates opened on the first day of Western Days, the guys set up shop. Some folks listened, nodding their heads to the music. Others meandered around as they went to the beer booths and various other booths. I have been to my share of festivals that feature lots of live music, but the set up here was tad bit off. They had most of the bands I wanted see going on at the same time. Usually the stages have alternating sets, so everyone can have a chance to hear who they want. Zane Williams and his full band were on at the same time as Roadside Libby. I did sneak over to see the competition on Friday. For the most part, the crowds on either side weren’t all that different. As the guys came off the stage, some of the folks in the crowd came up to tell them their thoughts and shake their hands.
We stayed to listen to Shane Smith’s set and then left to prepare for another day and show.
The next day arrived as dark ominous clouds surrounded the city of Lewisville. Sure enough, not long after we loaded in the van the rain poured on down. With not much to do but hurry up and wait to see if the band could even go on, we did exactly that — hurried up and waited. We all in the group wanted to see The Damn Quails play their set before us. Unfortunately with Mother Natures plans the Quails were cancelled. The guys once again would play the same stage and, because of the rain, would essentially be the first band of the evening. Some of the familiar faces from the day would be there again, but today was different — there was more traffic coming in the gate. this meant more of a crowd coming by to listen. All in all, some CDs were sold both by hard copy and ITunes. More than a few people from town asked if the guys would be back next year. With a day’s work done, we went off to celebrate the weekend.
Sunday morning came with out much fanfare. We pulled out of town and made the long trip back to San Antonio. A few things I learned on this road trip: (1) Costco pizza is delightful…why did no one tell me this before? (2)Texas roads are long, especially when you have a hangover that is making you miserable. Once again, trust me on this.
While the guys may not be selling out stadiums, they are among the good guys in this business. That’s not something you see every day, especially in this business, where nothing is ever what it seems.
As we pulled in to San Antonio, everyone was ready for home. For me, I will be off in search of new music this week. For the guys of Roadside Libby, they are preparing for another round of weekend shows. To do the process of unloading gear, sound checking, playing for three or four hours, reloading the gear, and driving home. To see where they will be next click here.