Blaggards

SlapperCast 234 (Early Release, Rough Edit)

Here's Episode 234, with all four band members on deck. We're preparing to hit the road this week, so that's the main topic of conversation. Also discussed: Turbo's new endorsement deal with SJC Custom Drums, Heide's ear-training class, Christopher Cross, Billy Joel, Living Colour and Spacehog. 

SlapperCast 232 (Early Release, Unedited)

Here's an early, uncut release of Episode 232, recorded, exported and uploaded from the van while en route from Weston, MO, to Little Rock, AR.

Thanks to Laurie "Merch Maiden" Valenzi for doing the camerawork on this one!

SlapperCast 230 (Early Release, Unedited)

Here is a very spontaneous vancast segment recorded on the road home from a recording session in Austin last Wednesday. The first 2 minutes or so has no video, because Mr. Genius here failed to press record. Fortunately, as usual Turbo was recording auxiliary audio on his phone, so you get to hear the whole silly shebang.

The impetus for this was Turbo revealing that he'd never seen a James Bond movie before.

What's your favorite Bond movie?

SlapperCast 229 (Early Release, Unedited)

This episode was recorded this past Saturday en route to Home Sweet Farm Biegarten in Brenham and again on the way back home.

The finished edit will be cut down for time to make room for an interview with our friend Heidi Pittman of the band PEACH PANIC in Calgary.

Thank you all!

Rocky Road to Dublin (Live in Galveston)

Here's a live three-piece performance of Rocky Road with an unusual extended intro from Patrick with improvised lyrics and banter directed at the audience. 

The other great thing about this is Patrick's guitar solo, playing the part that was originally just fiddle.

This was recorded on June 10, 2023 at Murphy's Irish Pub in Galveston, TX.

SlapperCast 226 (Unedited)

Here is an uncut version of Episode 226, recorded en route to Galveston and on the way back home. We talk about the Molly's Pub tour we started this weekend, share some stories from the early days of the band, and muse about what album of another band would we like to cover in its entirety. 

Quite a few PG13 moments of humor in this one... viewer excretion advised. 

SlapperCast Clip with Patrick & Turbo (Unreleased, Unedited)

This is a clip that Patrick and Turbo recorded en route to Haak Winery on Sunday, May 28, while Chad was "sleeping". I was intending to include this in last week's episode, but I didn't wind up having time to work it in. 

Bits of this may still show up in a future episode, but here's the whole thing unedited for you. There is some vibration noise here and there that I couldn't figure out how to get rid of, but it's still a fun listen. 

SlapperCast 224 (Early Release, Unedited)

Here is a spirited discussion recorded shortly after leaving our gig in Brenham a couple weekends ago, again filmed by Patrick's daughter Tara. We recap the gig, raving about HSF Biergarten and the terrific audience, and then ramble on a bit about chocolate ice cream.

SlapperCast 223 (Early release, Unedited)

Here's an early, unedited release of Episode 223. This one was filmed en route to our gig at HSF Biergarten in Brenham, TX, one of our favorite places to play. Patrick's daughter Tara joins us again, running camera and participating in the discussions. This week we do an extensive lightning round of favorite movies, directors, comedians, etc.

SlapperCast 222 Vancast Segment (Early release, unedited)

Here is the vancast segment for Episode 222, recorded en route to College Station on Friday, May 12. This one features special guest Tara Devlin (Patrick's daughter), who also handles most of the camerawork. 

This will be combined with our interview with Dennis O'Carroll of Doc's Irish Tours and some live footage from the O'Bannon's show. 

SlapperCast 222 - Dennis O'Carroll (Early release, unedited)

Here's our uncut interview with Dennis at Doc's Irish Tours, who gives us an update on our upcoming Ireland tour Oct 25–Nov 2. 

We'll most likely be doing another segment with Turbo before this episode comes out.

Cheers y'all! Much more to come. 

SlapperCast 221 (Early release, rough edit)

Episode 221 was recorded remotely with the whole gang early Wednesday afternoon. We had some connectivity problems that caused Paddy to disappear from our screens at one point, although since our cameras were all still rolling you can see all of us reacting to the moment. It also caused some insane delay, especially towards the end of the show. 

A lot of this will likely be cut out of the finished version, so enjoy the chaos while you can!

Cheers and thanks a million to you a...

SlapperCast 220 (Early release, Unedited)

Episode 220 was recorded on the way home from the Grapevine Lake Celtic Heritage Festival, where we played three sets with our old friend, accordionist Mark Kenneth.

Spancil Hill (Rehearsal)

Here is a rehearsal clip of "Spancil Hill" recorded at Patrick's Huntsvegas recording studio as we were working on refining the arrangement. As often happens in rehearsal, Patrick was being a bit more playful with the vocal melody, and very aggressive with his guitar work. 

This is actually an edit of two different takes. Can you guess where the edits are?There are two… the first one is kind of obvious, the second one is probably trickier to find.

Cheers and thanks a millio...

SlapperCast 219 (Unedited, Early Release)

Episode 219 was recorded EARLY in the morning this past Saturday as we drove up to the Grapevine Lake Celtic Heritage Festival & Highland Games, where we played with our old friend, accordionist Mark Kenneth. We also talk about the show we played the night before with the Kaleidoscope Project, a terrific Houston-based band that you should all check out ASAP.

We did record another segment on the way home that evening, but that quickly turned into Episode 220, which y'all will hear la...

Blaggards Archive: "Big Strong Man" Live in Galway (March 31, 2010)

Here is some footage from our first Ireland tour in March 2010: a performance of "Big Strong Man" at the King's Head in Galway, shot by our good friend Jon Young.

This was the classic 2009-2010 line-up with Chris Buckley on fiddle and Mike McAloon on drums. The audio isn't great quality but I've tried to sweeten it as best I can.

We CANNOT WAIt to get back to Ireland again this Fall, especially as we know a lot of you here will be joining us.

Following are some photos from t...

Nancy Whiskey (Rehearsal, New Arrangement)

Here is a clip of "Nancy Whiskey" from a recent three-piece rehearsal in Patrick's recording studio with Turbo on drums. 

We've been retooling our arrangement of this traditional folk song for possible inclusion on our next album or maybe a single. For years our arrangement borrowed a lot from Shane MacGowan's interpretation, but we're moving away from that now. We've shortened the song and added a new instrumental after the guitar solo and before the last verse, and Patrick will b...

SlapperCast 218 (Early Release, Rough Edit)

Here is an early release of SlapperCast 218, a rough extended edit. We had some connectivity issues this time, and for entertainment's sake I left part of that in here for you to enjoy… most likely that will not be in the final version.

This week, we start off with song kills and then talk about our recent show at Spirit Haven Ranch in Flatonia.

SHOW DATES

• 2023-04-17 20:35:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Blaggards Archive: "Sweet 16" (Alternate Take, 7-15-2020)

Here is an early version of "Sweet 16", the last of a dozen or so takes recorded on July 15, 2020. This is a rough mix that Paul Beebe gave us that night, paired with video that Chad was shooting on his phone during the session.

The song was brand spanking new and there were no lyrics yet, so Patrick scats his way through the song, stopping to laugh at one point towards the end. If you're familiar with the album version, you'll also notice there's no break after the first chorus, and th...

Blaggards Archive: SlapperCast Theme (Full, Rough Mix)

You may have noticed that we've discontinued the opening and closing theme of SlapperCast. Those bits were culled from a longer piece that, until today, no one besides us had heard in its entirety. At the end of the recording you can hear us discussing the possibility of including this in our live sets, but we never did.

This was recorded back on May 27, 2021, and was originally given the working title  "Benny Frank", as it was something Patrick had written for the pilot episode of...

SlapperCast Episode 214 (Early Release, Rough Edit)

Here is an early release of episode 214, recorded on Thursday, March 16, as we were driving to our gig in Longview. This is a short one since we had such a busy week, but we plan to recap Paddy's Day at O'Bannon's with Chris Steele ASAP, possibly on next week's episode, so much more to come!

SlapperCast 212: Deleted Scene

This is very silly moment from our show in Little Rock where Patrick is roasting the Scottish… completely in jest, of course… but we decided to err on the side of caution and snipped most of this out of the episode.

What do you think, should we have left this in?

SlapperCast 211 - Chris Steele Interview (Uncut, Early Release)

Here is our new interview with our old friend, O'Bannon's Taphouse and Blackwater Draw Brewing owner CHRIS STEELE! This is the second time Chris has been on the show, and this week we talk about his big Paddy's Day street festival we'll be playing next month, as well as what's new with his brewery.

The completed episode will include a second segment we'll be recording tomorrow during our rehearsal at Patrick's house in Huntsville.

MP3 attached below.

SlapperCast 210 (Rough Edit, Early Release)

This week's episode was recorded on the way to College Station for a show at O'Bannon's Taphouse for the Great Guinness Toast, an annual tradition we've kept up with O'Bannon's for ages. 

We talk about Patrick's recent trip back to Ireland, his botched flight home with Southwest Airlines, Ireland travel tips, and get back to some killing some songs. Interspersed are clips from the show, soundcheck, and the Guinness Toast itself, featuring O'Bannon's Owner Chris Steele.

MP3 at...

SlapperCast 209 (Rough Edit, Early Release)

Here is an early release of SlapperCast 209, mostly unedited except for a few cuts in the middle. This episode features Chad and Kevin, "the Rhythm Sexy" as Patrick puts it, talking about their earliest band experiences during their teens and early 20s.

About halfway through, Kevin's internet blinked out briefly and disconnected us, but because ZenCastr records locally you get to see us both reacting to the glitch for a minute or so, not being able to see or hear each other. It's pretty...

SlapperCast 208 (Early Release, Rough Edit)

SlapperCast Episode 208 was recorded last week up at Patrick's lake house (often affectionately referred to as "Huntsvegas") right before a rehearsal. We talk about "ear worm" songs, why people hated (and still hate) disco music, and what famous people we'd choose to "ride or die" with in a post-apocalyptic scenario.

MP3 attached below.

SlapperCast 206 (Rough Edit, Early Release)

Here's video of Episode 206, filmed around the last date of our tour in Bisbee, Arizona, home of our friend comedian Doug Stanhope. 

The rough edit includes footage of us arriving in BIsbee, walking around the town, checking out the stage at the Quarry, and goofing around in Doug's back patio after we stopped there to make a special delivery (he wasn't home). There is also a brief clip from our interview with Doug in 2020.

The main show, recorded shortly after we left Bisbee,...

SlapperCast Episode 204 (Unedited, Early Release)

Here's our interview with our old friend Bob Ruggiero, music journalist and author, who's been writing for the Houston Press for over 27 years. He was the first journalist to write about Blaggards (he also did a couple articles about Patrick's previous band On the Dole). Bob not only covers the local scene, he's also interviewed countless big names like Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Brian Wilson, Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson of Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper, Peter Frampton, and Dave Mason.....

SlapperCast 203 (Early Release, Unedited)

Here's an unedited segment from Episode 203, with Patrick and Chad recapping our recent Pogues tribute show at the Continental Club with accordionist David Mendoza, looking back on a momentous 2022 and looking forward to an even more remarkable 2023. 

SO GRATEFUL to have all of you along with us for the journey ahead. As always, thanks so much for your support.

We will be sharing an exclusive extended SOUNDCHECK video soon from that night, as well. Stay tuned.

MP3 attac...

SlapperCast 202 (Unedited, Early Release)

sFor the first time, we have all four Blaggards on an episode that wasn't filmed in the van! This week we look back on 2022 and talk about our goals for 2023. Also: Turbo surprises Patrick with a special gift.