Action reporter Leo Kelly here filing this piece on our trip to Texas!!! The Road Oct 19, 2005 We headed out Wed Oct 19, We were to play our first Texas gig Friday nite, but Greg (drums) wanted to make sure we got there in time... and well... we did!!! We left 7pm-ish, Greg and Bob switched off driving all night, I got to drive the glorious entry into Texas!!!....we made great time...and by noon Thurs we were swinging thru the Austin airport to pic up Jem, the Chicks Rock Fest organizer. We harassed Jem pretty thoroughly on her musical history, she was a terrific sport about it all, before we knew it we were checking into our hotel. Greg and Bob had sleep to get, Jem had some organizing phone calls to make so Liz and I threw on our running shoes and took a sprint around the area ...we were near a mall... I will say, throughout the entire trip we saw more than our share of WHATABURGER stands... we never ate there, but they are more widespread in Austin than McDonalds. Additionally, Liz is from Dallas originally, and on our run we were going through some brush, she made me very aware of snakes! Thanks Liz, I thought this was a relaxing run...not a death march!!! Later after the boys got up and we had finished our run, we headed down to 6th Ave, this is where we were to play the following nite and also the home of a zillion clubs... this is THE reason Austin is called the "live music capital of the world".... this is where Stevie Ray Vaughn honed his chops!!! First stop was some grub, we saw a cool two story restaurant called the Iron Cactus w\ a patio on the second floor, occasionally a light mist would be released out of the pipes, keeping everyone cool. The band dines before any actual damage occurs that evening. (All photos by Jem Schmidt) We saw some great bands, we stopped in for one blues act who had PULP FICTION w\ subtitles playing off to the side. Not sure if that was tied into the music. I am guessing not. Walked further around town and caught JT Coldfire,a real standout! Man did he rock! Great singer and a terrific Tele player! (that's a guitar, keep up people!!!) and he had some pretty humorous and saucy lyrics! Liz Rocks out to JT COLDFIRE We also hit Coyote Ugly, where a flat chested girl danced on the bar and challenged all of the men's prowess. I dunno, it was Thursday nite, we were up for some fun, but it wasn't gonna get dancing on the bar crazy no matter what her threat! We then set off to fund Momo's where we would play the following nite. Well, we were about a mile off, so we jumped in the car and drove down. It's on the second floor above a great deli. This was a mega-cool club. Half-inside-half-outside on a patio on the roof. Stage was inside, but if you liked you could be sitting outside and see in to see\ hear the band. We hung out for a little bit (were relieved to see the signs Greg mailed down were posted, cool!) Greg fixes the signage.at Coyote Ugly We wrap up our nite at Coyote Ugly FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21- Austin, Texas We woke up pretty early and got moving. After arranging and rearranging the U-Haul a couple times, we took off to find Stubbs, a legendary Bar-B-Q place Liz's dad recommended. We were amazed to find a very cool outdoor arena too!!! They do some major bands here;Willie Nelson, Billy Idol, OAR, Wilco had all either just been there or were headed there! Maybe someday we will get to go back and play there! Here's a shot of their outdoor stage. Stubbs Stage Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls NOT following the rules again!!! As we finished our lunch at Stubbs Bob realized he left his debit card at Coyote Ugly the nite before, so back we went! Bob down on his luck! We then headed off to relax and walk off our lunch on Austin's beautiful bike path. The climate was a little warmer, but not much different than Iowa, until we walked under a bridge and could hear a LOT of squeaking going on!!! So we had bats and giant cows to contend with!!! Luckily, we did find some great deals in town that day!!! GIGTIME FRIDAY, OCT 21 When we got to the venue that nite, we found Bon Terra the opener had a massive following, we were lucky because their fanbase made the nite. Bon Terra have a musical maturity and strength only found in bands that have played together a ton. They've been gigging for 11-12 years now and it shows in their confidence on stage. The 2nd act 3 Kisses was another great Austin band, Tish the lead singer was very friendly and compared notes w\ Liz as they had just gotten back from an East Coast Tour. This band had great energy and Tish, the vocalist, really worked the crowd. Okay, I knew somehow we would run into folks we knew, and did we hit the mother load! Our buddy Willie (currently living in Arizona) had sent a couple of his former coworkers to check us out! So some new friends, cool! Then, Liz's cousin Evan brought a group of friends up from Dallas, not long before we were to hit the stage, my son Jake called from home to wish me good luck, sweet! Then we learned the sound guy was George DeVore, yes THE George DeVore from Fat Bertha and the Loveshakers!!! One of my brother Dan's favorite bands when he went to University of Northern Iowa!!! Whew! Okay, so we had some friendly faces in Austin, Awesome! You don't know how much a great audience can affect a gig! We played a blistering 90-minutes; WHAT'S WRONG NOW, CRUTCH, BREAK ME, 9 AM , BEAST OF BURDEN (Rolling Stones), LIZ'S SONG ,.hmmm, I can't remember everything we played, but it was a very energetic set. I think all the Bar-B-Q and Texas spirit gave me a little extra mojo on the guitar!!! A ton of fun and we got a great response from the crowd. I must add, we are very fortunate for that. I know driving that far, being fairly unknown in that region, it could have been a disaster!!! Anyway, this set rocked!!! Great times, great band and great people. We finished off w\ a late nite dinner downstairs, our promoter friend Jem and Robert, a friend of 3 Kisses in tow, we all shared many laffs. Good times! SATURDAY, Oct 22 Okay so off to Houston we go. Houston is a humongous city, very modern, and we did a lot of driving and sitting in traffic jams. To further compound matters, The Astros played the White Sox in their first World Series appearance ever that nite, which forced the hand of the club owner......to cancel!!! RATS!!! He simply thought his space might be better used for sports fans. I can't argue there, but after the traffic hassles we were bummed, getting to play is the "payoff." I have to thank Jem Schmidt and Outrageous Productions, w\o her and the Chicks Rock Fest, we wouldn't have got to play in Austin. She did everythingshe could to save the Houston gig, but a World Series was too much for all involved. Jem was terrific and we hope to work w\ her again very soon! Before leaving Houston, we dinned on a balcony (again) at CABOS in Houston. We were in the thick of downtown and got to watch it fill up. The game was being played in Chicago, but there were 2 big screens set up in the nearby city park and a crowd poured in to watch and cheer for their Astros. At this point we had our dinner, said good-bye to Jem and headed back to Iowa. Maybe a crazy trip, but that "go for it" attitude is sort of what makes Wicked Liz & the Bellyswirls! We do hope to head down again and played Austin, Dallas and maybe Houston in 2006!!! Leo, Greg, Liz and Bob are devastated by the gig cancellation. What we didn't eat! Liz would later swear she wasn't allergic to horses, but her face swelled up 3-times it's normal size!!! Luckily she had a 16 hour trip home to think that over!!! Hope to see everyone real soon! Please check back for our next adventure!!! --- Leo