Just wanted to drop in and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. We'll be getting an early jump on the celebrations next Monday night (Dec. 14) by living it up with the good folks who work at Drummer Dave's two  Rotten Ralph's restaurants. They're having their annual holiday bash, and we'll be dropping in to share in the festivities and provide some entertainment. It should be a blast - and an opportunity to try out some of our newest material on a …

Haven't had a chance to check in for a few weeks, but wanted to let everyone know how fantastic our two latest gigs were! We played Suds Sports Grill in Ellenton (Nov. 7) and D. Coy Ducks on Holmes Beach (Nov. 13) for the first time and both lived up to expectations. Suds has a great outdoor deck just perfect for both the band and the patrons. It was a nice cool night for us - the first snap of fall weather - and we have to thank all the friends of the band who came out and partied with us. I see Suds …

The band wants to send a special shout out to all the good folks who came out to Bayfest on Saturday (Oct. 17, 2009)! We had a great time in our debut at this event last year, but this time around was even better. The lineup of talent that Cindy Thompson and the crew put together was absolutely awesome and we were proud to be a part of it! The weather couldn't have been any better, and everyone was so supportive and enthusiastic. Special props to Adrienne. We threw her right in during the …

Dean Tribble was my best friend. He was a roommate and at times a brother. He was also one of those rare, really special people you get to know and get the honor of jamming or playing in a band with. Mike and I still talk about him all the time and I think about him daily. Dean and I played together starting in the mid 80s. When you played with him, you learned things through some kind of osmosis or something. My guess is some kind of magic. He had a huge talent for writing and arranging music. He would …

It's fun. I can't deny it. Hooking up the Guitar Hero and jamming out with my wife and 9-year-old daughter has become a regular happening in the Glaser house on weekends. But I still can't decide if it's a good influence or not. Will it make the youngsters take that next step and learn how to play a real instrument, or is it just creating more couch potatoes? Even the "real" guitar heroes are split on the subject. Jimmy Page and Jack White have been vocal critics, same for Stones' bassist Bill …

It felt more like a test flight than a full-out show, but our mid-week, mid-evening gig at Ace's last night was a treat. We blew through two hours of pretty comfortable material and welcomed Adrienne - who did a great job and even jumped in for her first lead vocal opportunity on Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know." It's only been a couple of weeks, but it's already pretty clear that Danielle and Adrienne are creating a really impressive one-two punch when it …

HWY 41 fans, we have some more incredible band news for you! We've added a new member to the fold with Adrienne Summerall coming on board to add more punch to our vocals. Adrienne has stopped by for rehearsals the past two weeks and done an incredible job of adding the missing piece to the puzzle - fantastic harmonies to complement Danielle's voice. We threw a lot at her the first time out and - believe it or not - she came back for more last night and was a huge part of what might have …

Found the results of a fun little poll in the latest issue of Guitar Player magazine. It lists the Most Beat-to-Death Covers by Cover Bands. Since we are primarily a cover band, I found it an interesting read. They list the top 11 most-covered songs and I found it interesting that we've only done four of them in shows over the years AND we only have one (maybe two) of them in our current setlist. So here it is, Guitar Player's Most Beat-to-Death covers of all time in alpha order:

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
All Right Now - Free
Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Cocaine - Eric Clapton
Freebird - Lynryd Skynyrd
Honky Tonk Woman - Rolling Stones
Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
Smooth - Santana/Rob Thomas
Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive

By request on Facebook, Danielle shared the details of her "American Idol Experience" at Disney's Hollywood Studios: We woke up around 7 a.m. Mom helped me with hair and makeup, and then we were off. We got there early so we went over by the turnstiles while dad went to buy a ticket. He came back and before my vocal coach could meet me. An Idol casting director walked through the line and I sang for him. We were directed to another guy who told me to go to the audition facility in 15 minutes. …

The rest of the HWY 41 gang wants to put a big shout out to Danielle - who maybe we can convince to write a little first-person story for us here. On Tuesday, our darling diva won the American Idol Experience over at the Disney theme parks. That gives her a guaranteed audition with the "Idol" producers next Thursday (July 9) at Amway Arena in Orlando, where the throngs will be gathering for their shot at fame and fortune. I know we'll all be pulling really hard for her. Come on out to the Bridge Street Market on Friday night and help us give her some kudos and big encouragement for next week. Way to go Danielle! You ROCK!

We just got an invitation to perform on Friday, July 3 at the Bridge Street Market on Bradenton Beach. Looks like we'll start at around 6 p.m. and play for a couple of hours, so if you're looking for a way to get your July 4th weekend started with a bang, come on out and have some fun with us. My only hope is that I can remember the gig this time around. We played the Bridge Street Festival back in 2007 on Labor Day - I think it was - and it was 150 degrees in the shade! By the time we hopped off the stage to make way for Koko Ray, I couldn't remember my name, where I'd parked my car, what day it was . . . you get the picture. Whew, was it HOT!

DG

Hi... this is drummer Dave... We took a few days off after the Friday Fest... We get back at it tomorrow night though... We are going to take a look at a bunch of songs we started but never finished and some new stuff... if anyone has suggestions as to songs they'd like to hear just pass them on to us... We are also starting to work harder on bookings, so if there's a club you'd like us to play pass it on to us and we'll talk to them and don't forget to put in a good word while you're there.... Guitar Dave, Danielle and I are on Facebook now too, so look us up and become friends.. that way you can follow all of our exciting day to day activities (Why just the other day I had fat free chili for dinner)... It would be really cool if we can make our website hugely interactive... the whole reason we do this is for the fans (believe me there is NO money in it)... we all play for the love of music and perform for the love of the fans....  

It'll be especially memorable for me because it was really our first time playing a public event with Danielle since she joined the band earlier this year. The outings with her at Ralph's were fun and so was the wedding, but Friday Fest on the island was our first show in front of an unknown audience. I guess I have sort of mixed feelings about the result. We had a great response from the folks in attendance and the feedback we received after our set was fantastic, but the sound setup …

The band had a fantastic time playing Micki and Tom's wedding last night in Nokomis - and we had such great feeback from everyone that I think it was a fun night for all. What a treat! Good food, nice people and a beautiful atmosphere. You certainly can't beat that when you're out playing on a Saturday night. One of the attendees was kind enough to shoot a few photos for us and I've uploaded them to the MEDIA section of the site. Danielle, of course, was a huge hit with the crowd. People are always …

The details are in on our time slot for the Island Chamber of Commerce's monthly Friday Fest on June 12. The event runs from 5-10 p.m. on the corner of Pine Street and Bay Boulevard on Anna Maria Island. We'll be opening the event and have a two-hour time slot from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Keep your fingers crossed that the summer weather pattern gives us a break that day and it's nothing but sunshine! Plan to come out for food, fun and . . . oh yeah, music!  Interesting rehearsal …

So there we sit, under a beautiful shade tree just steps from Coquina Beach . . . a perfect afternoon at the Relay for Life fund raiser. Jeff, Drummer Dave and I got there early to check out the other bands. Enjoyed a "Green Dayesque" set of originals from Later Days and some down-home, old-time blues from Blues Pig as day stretched into early evening. Our turn on stage was coming and we were ready to put a BIG TIME capper on the event. But Mother Nature had other …

Hey, Drummer Dave here... tonight we're playing at the Relay for Life in Coquina Beach to help raise money for Cancer research... I just want to say that this is a pretty cool deal... the feeling of giving back to the community is really nice especially a cause like this (I lost my dad to cancer 5 years ago).. at the same time you meet some cool people and you get some exposure.. and the way you donate at this is by purchasing things from the different teams... that's also really cool, it's nice when you get something for your donation other than a receipt for tax purposes (has anyone ever handed one of those in???)... anyway just wanted to express my feelings on the benefits deal and thank those of you that come out tonight... BTW we will have HWY 41 T-shirts for sale tonight... and rest assured that ANY time we play a portion of the proceeds goes towards Mike's Glaucoma Medication....

I've kept this in email form for a long time and figured it was time to wheel it out as we debut the Roadkill blog. For all of us band geeks, some words to live by (except for No. 8, of course) . . . 1. Unless you are in a concert situation, most of the people are not there to hear you. Your music is incidental. People go to restaurants and bars to eat, to drink, to socialize, do business, or maybe to be alone in a crowd. So if you reach some of them and entertain them, you've done a hell of a job. 2. …

Last night we did our final rehearsal to prepare for Saturday's Relay for Life show at Coquina Beach and we had a surprise visitor in the house. "Nick" Nichols, our one-time frontman, was in town and dropped by to show his support. It was great to see Nick again. He hung with us for about a half hour. Nick's living in Alabama and singing with Ballistic Fix in Birmingham. More on his band at www.ballisticfix.com or www.myspace.com/ballisticfix. Danielle was off to another karaoke competition at …