Blaggards

SlapperCast 198 (Rough Cut, Early Release)

Both of our gigs last week were rained out, and Friday night we took advantage of the downtime to record an episode of SlapperCast with Heide. We talk about obscenely high ticket prices, Heide's recent gig with Marie Osmond, Shane MacGowan, the Pogues, Steel Panther, Thin Lizzy, Blaze Bayley, Dolly Parton, and a bunch of other stuff.

MP3 attached below.

TOUR DATES

• 2022-11-27 01:18:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Special BLACK FRIDAY Discount for Patrons

We're about to announce a special 15% discount sale for Black Friday, but wanted to give YOU a bigger discount. 

Through this Sunday, November 27, Patrons can enter this coupon code at checkout for 20% off:

7ERMUMKA

As always, thank you all so much for your support!

https://blaggards.com/store/

SlapperCast 197 Segment (Early Release, Unedited)

Here is an unedited segment we recorded after leaving our first ever show at the Meridian, a fantastic new music venue in Buda, Texas. This was originally meant to be part of Episode 196 but didn't make the final cut, so it will be included in Episode 197.

We believe our fans will LOVE the Meridian as much as we do, so we hope to see you all next time we play we play there. Not only is it a great music venue with a full bar, real stage with pro sound & lights... it's ALSO a coffee s...

SlapperCast #195 (Extended Rough Cut)

Here is a rough cut of SlapperCast Episode 195, featuring a vancast segment recorded after we left our gig in Galveston this past Friday, AND an interview with the man who is putting our 2023 Ireland Tour together: Dennis O'Carroll of Doc's Irish Tours.

SHOW DATES

• Fri Nov 18 — O’Bannon’s Taphouse —College Station, TX
• 2022-11-08 06:52:48 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 194 - Rough Cut

Here's a nearly completed version of SlapperCast Episode 194, pieced together from two segments filmed in the van following our two shows this past weekend, along with some footage shot Saturday night in College Station with a very rowdy crowd at beloved O'Bannon's. This includes footage from my own camera set up stage right, a brief clip captured by Kevin during the show, and a clip filmed from the audience by our friend Ellen Reeves.

At the end, as a bonus I tacked on a couple takes o...

SlapperCast 193 (Extended Cut, Early Release

Here is an extended cut of SlapperCast 193, recorded by Patrick and Chad late Friday night a couple hours after a long rehearsal. Bonus material: a bit of conversation before and after the show, including a topic we considered for the show but dropped at the last second, and several takes of us recording a special Halloween feature for our friends at the WHIP Radio in Illinois.

Perhaps because this was recorded so late a night, this episode resembles some of the loopy, late night conv...

SlapperCast 192 (Unedited, Early Release)

Here's an early release of SlapperCast 192, recorded remotely with fiddler Heide Riggs. We talk about our friend, the brilliant comedian Doug Stanhope and the thrill of hearing him talk about us on his podcast, upcoming tour plans for January, and next year's IRELAND tour. We then do the usual round of song kills & revivals before Patrick leads us through a series of "lightning round" questions. 

Special guest star this week: Heide's golden retriever Ben, here to talk about his...

SlapperCast 191 (Extended Cut, Early Release)

Here is an extended version of SlapperCast Episode 191, recorded last night in Patrick's living room, which we haven't done in awhile. 

Also for the first time in a long while, we have a couple shows coming up at two Molly's Pub locations (Molly Maguire's and Molly's Conroe). This prompts Patrick and Chad talk about the great Eamonn Finnerty, co-owner of Molly's Pubs, who was instrumental in helping Blaggards get off the ground in Houston, starting with Patrick's earlier band On th...

Blaggards LIVE 3-Piece at Continental Club Houston (Full Show)

Sunday, October 2, 2022, we played an afternoon show at the Continental Club Houston's backyard stage. I set up my tripod near the stage and recorded the entire show on my phone. I wasn't able to do anything special with the audio this time, but it still sounds great thanks to sound engineer Luba Dvorak. Soon we will start recording live shows to multitrack again so I can do a proper mix for future shows.

This is one of our three piece shows without a fiddle, and really showcases the ta...

SlapperCast 189 (Rough Cut, Early Release)

SlapperCast Episode 189 was recorded right after we picked up Heide at Dallas Love Field on the way to our gig at Lewisville Western Days, and afterwards as we drove her back to the airport before driving home to Houston. Yes... she literally flew in and flew out the very same day just to play this one gig with us. Jet-setting is becoming one of Heide's superpowers.

Special guest this week for the very first time: Patrick's daughter Tara Devlin, who joins us to kill/resurrect some music...

SlapperCast 188 (Rough Cut, Early Release)

Here's an early release of Episode 188. I'm in the midst of editing, but wanted to give you something today. This is a quick but highly spirited episode we recorded early Sunday afternoon as we drove back to our hotel immediately upon leaving ScotFest in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The completed version will include a few more clips from the weekend. 

(MP3 attached below)

SlapperCast 187 (Early Release, Extended Cut)

Episode 187 was recorded on the way to Sherwood Forest Faire and on the way back. It was a LONG but amazing day.

The night before we'd played at Molly's Pub in Kingwood, and didn't get home until after 2 AM. We then had to leave for Sherwood at 8:30 AM, each of us maybe two hours of sleep in the meantime. So the first segment gets off to a slow and humorously crabby start (I was also ticked off at the time because I thought I'd lost my old iPhone SE which I had brought to record auxilia...

SlapperCast 186 (Unedited)

Here's an uncut version of Episode 186, filmed in the van last Friday right after we left No Label Brewing in search of some fast food. 

We conclude this one with some words for our dear old friend and fellow lifer musician Davee Bryan, whom we recently learned is terminally ill with cancer.

Patrick and Davee met when Patrick was bartending at Aviator's in the 1990s, and Davee later essentially served as Patrick's mentor when Patrick first started performing live. Years later...

SlapperCast 185 (Early Release, Extended Cut)

Episode 185 was recorded in the van immediately after leaving O'Bannon's Taphouse in College Station. This was drummer Kevin Newton's first gig there, and suffice it to say, the Aggies did not disappoint. 

(MP3 attached)

SlapperCast 184 (Extended)

Here is an extended cut of Episode 184, recorded as we drove through winding mountain roads shortly after we left Hamilton, Montana. You get to enjoy the views with us in this one.

We got home last night after driving 30 hours, dropping Heide and Kevin off at Denver International Airport about midway through. Patrick and Chad drove the rest of the way, down through Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. It'd been awhile since we'd done one of those marathon cross-country drives… they can b...

SlapperCast 183: Double the Red (Early Release)

Recorded in the van en route to Omaha in the midst of our Midwest tour, we introduce you to drummer Kevin "Thunderstick" Newton, who had played his first show with us in Wichita only a couple nights before. Kevin is an absolute powerhouse on stage and we can't for you all to meet him!

(MP3 attached below)

SlapperCast Episode 182 (Early Release, Unedited)

Heide Riggs joins us this week to talk about her new fiddle, and the ABBA tribute band she worked with recently. Also some news about our upcoming tour.

Artists discussed this week: Oasis, Linda Ronstadt, Paula Cole, Guided By Voices, Foster the People, Rod Stewart, and Mozart.

TOUR DATES

• Thu Aug 11 — Barleycorn’s — Wichita, KS
...
2022-08-07 00:26:27 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 181 (Early Release, Unedited)

Recorded this morning, here is an early, unedited release of SlapperCast Episode 181. This week, Patrick and Chad talk about some off-the-cuff home recording they did over the weekend, which resulted in a fully-produced cover of Johnny Cash's "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" that we think turned out rather nicely (available here on Patreon). 

We also talk about songwriting, mixing and music ...

Don't Take Your Guns to Town (Demo)

Here's a cover of Johnny Cash's classic "Don't Take Your Guns to Town". This is a new demo that Patrick and Chad recorded this past weekend at Patrick's house, as sort of an experiment to see how quickly we can put new material together using our new gear. 

We used our Midas MR18 digital mixer as a recording interface, the same mixer we've been using at live shows for the past few months. ...

SlapperCast #180 (Early Release, Unedited)

Patrick, Chad & Heide talk about solo gig experiences: the good, the tough, and the weird. 

Also discussed: Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, George Harrison, David Byrne, Eminem and Leonard Cohen.

VIDEO: Reunion Show at Continental Club — July 15, 2022

(Photo by Laurie Valenzi Buell)

Here's (nearly) the entire performance from our 18th Anniversary Reunion show on Friday, July 15, 2022, at the Continental Club Houston. Fiddler Chris Buckley and drummer Mike McAloon returned for this special occasion, and soundman Luba Dvorak recorded the show for us. 

Chad filmed the show with a camera set up at the back of the room, mixed it with L...

SlapperCast 179 with Mike McAloon (Early Release, Unedited)

Longtime Blaggards drummer Mike McAloon joins us again for a marathon episode recorded in the van on the way to our reunion show in College Station, and also on the way home. 

This episode's highlight is a really fun, 35-minute long conversation about classic Houston restaurants, which got cut short only because Chad's phone ran out of storage.

MP3 attached below.

TOUR DATES 2022-07-18 22:15:49 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 178 with Mike McAloon (Unedited, Early Release)

You heard it here first, loyal supporters! 

Mike "the Machine" McAloon is returning to play THREE shows with us this month, along with Chris Buckley on fiddle, starting THIS FRIDAY:

• Fri Jul 15 — The Continental Club —Houston, TX ( 2022-07-12 00:43:37 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 177 (Early Release, Unedited)

Fiddler Heide Riggs joins us again to talk about ear training in music, past audition experiences, classical music, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Prince, Barry Gibb, et al. Also: more news on our ongoing drummer auditions. 

SlapperCast 175 (Early Release, Unedited)

Recorded last night with fiddler Heide Riggs, here is an early, unedited release of SlapperCast 175. 

As we first announced here on Patreon shortly after the fact, this past Monday Eric suddenly told us he was leaving the band effective immediately. Literally within minutes of making this news public the next day, we starting getting messages from prospective drummers, and by the end of the day we were practically overwhelmed… needless to say, this has been very encouraging. ...

SlapperCast 174

First off, some breaking news: literally right after we finished recording this episode, Eric told us he's leaving the band effective immediately. 

Needless to say we're looking for a new drummer, but also at the moment this throws a lot of our upcoming tour dates up in the air. Nothing is canceled yet, but we felt y'all deserved to know ASAP. Hopefully we'll be able to make a more concrete announcement soon. We'll keep you posted. 

Having said all that, strangely enough...

SlapperCast 173 (Early Release, Unedited)

Episode 173 was recorded in the van shortly after leaving the Nick in Birmingham, AL, the final date of our "Beast Coast" tour. Heide Riggs joins us again to talk about our experiences on the road, and of course we kill/rescue some songs as well. 

We'll be going out on the road again with Heide in July & August. In meantime, we have a couple shows with Chris Buckley coming up in mid-July (Houston & College Station).

But before all that: this THURSDAY, June 9th, P...