Blaggards

SlapperCast 172 (Early Release, Unedited)

Episode 172 was recorded late last night here in Broomall, PA, a few hours after our gig in Rockville, MD. This is the second time we've done a show at the DevMo household (first time was Episode 138 last September). Fiddler Heide Riggs joins us to recap the tour so far, kill some overplayed songs and shine a light on some (by our estimation) underrated/under-appreciated music. Featuring guest appearances by our graci...

SlapperCast 171 (Early Release, Unedited)

A quick show as we're getting ready to hit the road for our East Coast tour. As always, we kill some songs and continue our new feature of rescuing underrated songs & albums.

Some of you have expressed frustration with the songs we've chosen to kill, but loyal listeners will note that we OFTEN disagree with each other about what constitutes good (or bad) music… this week is no exception.

Cheers and as always, thank you SO MUCH for your support. 

Also, if you know ...

SlapperCast 170 (Early Release, Unedited)

This week we have some more tour date news, and we kill some songs submitted by SlapperCast listeners in addition to our own selections. ALSO a new feature: we "rescue" three albums from relative obscurity.

SlapperCast 169 (Early Release, Unedited)

Recorded while driving home from our first ever gig at Home Sweet Farm Biergarten in Brenham. It was a GREAT night and we can't wait to come back.

Greg Fugate posted a few videos from the show on our official Facebook group, by the way. Thanks Greg! 

TOUR DATES

• 2022-05-09 18:52:33 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 168 (Early Release, Unedited)

Here's an unedited, early release of SlapperCast Episode 168, recorded this morning. This week, as recently promised, we have a long discussion about band names, good and bad, spinning off a bunch of tangents along the way.

MP3 attached below.

TOUR DATES

• 2022-05-02 20:23:55 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 167 (Early Release, Unedited)

Here's a completely unedited vancast we recorded right as we hit the road for Taylor this past Friday to play at Black Sparrow Music Parlor. Uncommonly great venue, by the way, and we highly recommend you check it out... we will be back there soon! Thanks again to Greg Fugate for bringing it to our attention. 

In this episode we talk about upcoming tour dates and kill some songs. This time (GASP!) we're not exactly in full agreement over our selections.

MP3 version attached b...

SlapperCast 166 with the Mighty Orq (Early Release, Unedited)

At long last, this week we're joined by our old friend the Mighty Orq, brilliant guitar player, songwriter, and tremendously talented vocalist who has been all over the Houston music scene for decades. Blaggards has shared the stage with Orq and his band many times in the past and it is an absolutely thrill to finally have him on the show.

Orq is also a brilliant photographer and did our latest promo shots, but we didn't get around to talking about that this time. Not to worry, he will ...

SlapperCast 165 with Luba Dvorak: Early Release (Almost Unedited)

Here's a really fun conversation we recorded yesterday with our friend, the massively talented and industrious Luba Dvorak, musician, songwriter, sound engineer, and man about town. Luba has an amazing story that starts in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia and winds through Vancouver and New York City before landing here in Houston.

MP3 attached below. As always thanks so much for your support!

https://www.lubadvorak.co...

SlapperCast 164 - Van Segment: Early Release (Unedited)

Here is the second segment of SlapperCast 164, shot in the van as we drove to our gig at 1886 Humble Backyard last night. We missed our exit while we shot this, by the way… ALL FOR YOU! 

ECH joins us to kill another song, and we talk about our upcoming six-night engagement in Las Vegas, which was just booked this week.

In the final edit of this episode, this vancast segment will be split into two bits to bookend 2022-04-02 22:28:26 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 164 with Mark Riddell: Early Release (Unedited)

Here is the full, unedited preview (video and mp3) of a GREAT conversation we had today with Houston's hardest working bass player Mark Riddell. As you may have heard, Mark recently completed his first solo album Corporeal Pilot. Patrick got his hands on an advance copy of the CD and has been raving about it, as you will hear during the show. 

We also talk about the state of country music and the music industry in general, and of course, kill off a few songs.

ECH was...

SlapperCast 163: Early Release (Unedited)

Here is the uncut video (and MP3) of SlapperCast Episode 163, recorded in the van while we were driving to our gig at O'Bannon's Taphouse in College Station last Friday, March 25. 

This week start off by "killing" a few songs we're sick of hearing, one being by a band that has since broken up… which leads us to speculate what might happen to our individual careers if Blaggards were to suddenly stop gigging. 

MP3 version is attached below.

Cheers and thanks so muc...

SlapperCast 162: Early Release (Unedited)

Hot off the presses, here is Episode 162 of SlapperCast, recorded mere moments ago after we all got home from an extremely sunny and windy show at Bumpy Pickle in Houston. This week, we slay a few more songs and recap our Paddy's Week shows, and look forward to a very busy month of April and an East Coast tour in May. 

As usual, the video edition will be out on the SlapperCast YouTube chann...

SlapperCast 161: Early Release (Unedited)

Here's a quick episode we recorded in the van on Saturday right shortly after leaving our gig in Lewisville, released EARLY and uncut… just for y'all. Completed episode with video will be out tonight at midnight.

Special guest: fiddler Heide Riggs, who will also be joining us for St. Patrick's Eve at Poor David's in Dallas this Wednesday, and at Heights Theater in Houston on Paddy's Day, Thursday, March 17. 

Details and ticket info at 2022-03-15 00:12:56 +0000 UTC View Post

New Single: "Come Out Ye Black & Tans" (Early Release)

Here is a high quality (320 kbps) MP3 of our new single, "Come Out Ye Black & Tans".

This will be released on all major streaming services on Sunday, March 13. But you, dear patrons, get to hear it first... right here, right now.

Guitars & lead vocals: Patrick Devlin
Bass & backing vocals: Chad Richard Smalley
Drums: Eric C. Hughes

Written by Dominic Behan.
Recorded January 13, 2022 at Edgewater Studios in Sugarland, TX (2022-03-08 01:48:06 +0000 UTC View Post

Artwork Preview: "Come Out Ye Black & Tans"

Here's the latest draft of the cover artwork for our upcoming digital single "Come Out Ye Black & Tans", which we're aiming to release around the week of Paddy's Day, March 17. 

Chad put this together in Photoshop today, with collaborative feedback from Patrick, aiming to make it look like a weathered LP sleeve. The photo is one of our recent promo shots by the Mighty Orq / TMO Photography. No plans to release this one on vinyl at the moment, but you never know… it may wind u...

SlapperCast 155 Preview: A Conversation with Luthier Liam Leach

This week on SlapperCast we're thrilled to introduce you to our friend Liam Leach, fledgling luthier (maker of stringed instruments) and the creator of the newest guitar and bass you've seen us playing recently. In fact, Chad has been using Liam's "Bravacado" bass exclusively since Liam gave it to him back in early October, and used it during the recording session for "Come out Ye Black and Tans" l...

Recording Session, Jan 13, 2022: "Come Out Ye Black and Tans"

Here is a behind-the-scenes video of our recording session for "Come Out Ye Black and Tans" (Dominic Behan) at Edgewater Studios last Thursday, January 13, 2022, with recording and mixing engineer John Shelton.

The session ran from roughly 10 AM to 3 PM with no lunch break, so here you have five solid hours of work condensed into 21 minutes with a sort of "fly on the wall" perspective of our working process that few are privy to.

John Shelton was an absolute pleasure to work with...

SlapperCast 153 - Bonus Material

From tomorrow's Episode 153, the full segment with Tim "Elvirus" Aballo of the Outsiders PBR, unexpurgated for Patreon supporters. Most of the second half of this will be trimmed from the completed episode.

Also, as a test, if you're logged into Patreon you should be able to access the episode here (let me know if this works):
https://slappercast.fireside.fm/153-extra

SlapperCast 152: The Naughty List (Early Release)

Here is Episode 152 of SlapperCast, "The Naughty List", released about 10 hours early just for y'all. 

In this episode, we share a few stories about places we've played that, shall we say, did not make the best decisions with regards to running an actual music venue. 

Vitriol and profanity included, while the actual names of the venues have been artfully censored to protect the ...

Blaggards Archive: Everyday is Christmas (Since You're Gone) Photo Shoot & Artwork Drafts

Here are some previously unseen photos taken by Jason Yu for the cover of our single Everyday is Christmas (Since You're Gone), along with a few iterations of the artwork by Chad that led up to the final version, included here as well. 

These photos were all shot on the backyard stage at the Continental Club Houston on December 9, 2020, the same afternoon we shot 2021-12-26 03:39:12 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 151 (Early Release)

Here is an early release of SlapperCast Episode 151, not publicly available until Tuesday, December 28. 

In this brisk episode, Paddy & Chad discuss last-minute Christmas shopping, New Year's resolutions, and the direct signal gear we've been using for our instruments. 

LIVE at the Continental Club Houston/ROCK THE SHELTER (Full Performance)

Here is our entire performance from Sunday's ROCK THE SHELTER benefit show at the Continental Club Houston, featuring Jeff Duncan on fiddle and Luba Dvorak running sound.

MP3 download:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r2hlvo09ukc4pbf/blaggards-rocktheshelter-2021.mp3?dl=0

SET LIST

1. If I Should Fall From Grace With God
2. The Boys Are Back in Town 2021-12-21 22:10:56 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 149 (Early Access)

Patrick and Chad tell the TRUE story behind two of the more enigmatic numbers on BLAGMATIC: "Wagon Wheel" and "Sweet 16". 

ALSO: some background info on how "PLFM" was written.

Show notes

• BLAGMATIC Limited Edition Vinyl
  https://blaggards.com/store/blagmatic-limited-edition-vinyl/
• ALBUM REVIEW: BLAGMATIC by Jack Gonzo — Scoundrel's Inn...
  2021-12-14 02:33:52 +0000 UTC View Post

SlapperCast 148 preview (unedited)

Here is an unedited segment of SlapperCast 148, recorded last night in the van shortly after leaving the Celtic Ray Public House in Punta Gorda, Florida. 

The full episode, including a new interview with Mark & Flint from Catch My Carbon, will be released at midnight CST tonight on YouTube and wherever you find podcasts.

SlapperCast 146: Early Release

Here is an early release of SlapperCast Episode 146, recorded in the van shortly after leaving our Thursday night gig in Beaumont. 

The video edition will be published on our SlapperCast YouTube channel on Tuesday morning, 12 AM.

Subscribe to SlapperCast on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgPnYk70e080KQnQcCeTCgw?sub_confirmation=1

BLAGMATIC vinyl test pressing - unboxing & first listen

Paddy and Chad unbox and listen to the vinyl test pressing of BLAGMATIC, back on July 23, 2021. Hearing this pressing for the first time was quite literally a jaw-dropping moment for us. 

As you can see, there's no artwork on a test pressing… which you hear us making jokes about immediately upon seeing it.

We got the album covers and sleeves printed a couple months ago (which are gorgeous) and we're expecting the actual vinyl to show up sometime this week. So yes, we'll be ...

BLAGMATIC review by London Celtic Punks

We were thrilled to read this review of our new album today… very detailed rundown of the album written by a true fan of the genre. Can’t thank those guys enough.

We’re on our way down to our gig at Haak Winery as I type this… BEAUTIFUL weather today. Hope you all are doing well.

Photos from ScotFest by Tiffany Rea

Photographer Tiffany Rea sent us these brilliant photos tonight, all taken last month at ScotFest in Broken Arrow, OK, and we wanted to share these with you first. 

Again, it has to be said what an amazing job fiddler Heidi Riggs did at these shows… we WILL be playing with her again, so stay tuned.

You can find Tiffany Rea on FB here:
https://www.facebook.com/TiffanyReaPhotography

Photos from 38 Special Opening gig at Arena Theatre

Last Friday, September 3rd, we opened for 38 Special at the Arena Theatre, a Houston venue that's been around since 1965, with an endless list of legendary performers who have graced its circular, rotating stage. Performing here was an amazing experience for us that we'll talk about a bit in this week's episode of SlapperCast.

The staff at Arena Theatre were fantastic and treated us as if we were the headlining act. The crowd, too, was incredibly enthusiastic. The layout of the theatre ...

BLAGMATIC High-Res Master (96 kHz/24 bit FLAC)

For all our audiophiles, here is the new album in high-res FLAC, a lossless audio format converted directly from the 96 kHz/24 bit master. This is higher quality than CDs, which are 44kHz/16 bit.

Currently, this is included with all BLAGMATIC vinyl pre-orders (along with an MP3 download), and it will be available on the website soon as a stand-alone purchase. But our Patreon supporters get it f...