Friday, March 30th , 2007
Visit to KSCS and 97 “The Twister” In Dallas, TX.

This morning we left out of “Za Za Hotel” around 9am to go for a visit to KSCS and 97 “The Twister.” We were greeted by Tom Hunter (known as “The Hunter”), Chris Huff, and “Crash” with some really cool gift bags of cup coolers, radio station stickers and tee shirts!
We played some songs for them on the bus and then we were off to lunch at “Saltgrass.”
We were wishing so much that Six Flags would’ve been open. It was towering over us from across the street and the roller coasters looked menacing. We talked a lot with the guys and had a fun visit. Debbie and Tom talked about their likings of “Peter Schickele,” and his “Oedipus Tex and Other Choral Calamities” album.
Tom and Becky also had an in depth conversation about Multiple Sclerosis, being that Becky’s sister Roycelyn has had it for years. We also played a game called “The Game.” Ha! It had to do with someone mentioning a Recording artist and then it would be someone else’s turn to think of another artist starting with the last letter of the pre-mentioned name (example: Someone says “Sting,” the next person would have to name a recording act starting with the last letter of that name. So, the last letter of Sting is ‘G’. So the next person could say “George Thorogood,” then someone would have to say an artist that starts with “D” like “Damien Rice,” then someone would say “Elvis” ect.)
Anyway, the visit was a lot of fun and the food was really good. Adrian, our radio rep., had to run out to catch a flight home, but unfortunately his flight was cancelled due to the weather that was going on. So he ended up coming back and joining us for the ride home.
We’re on the bus rolling to Nashville now for a quick stop home before starting the Midwest portion of our radio tour. We’re trying to beat a storm system that’s just west of us heading through Texas. The wind is really blowing and the bus is swaying quite a bit. Some of us are napping, others are talking to family back home. I think I’ll find a good movie.
It’s unbelievable how far artist touring has progressed over the years. Early artists never had the bus comfort, nor cell phones or wireless internet back then. If you were lucky, you’d find a payphone to call home on, and even then you’d have to stand out in the worst of elements. Artists like Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline rode in cars or buses with seats only and just thoughts of family are what got them home. We feel so blessed and fortunate.
See you in the Midwest!

Thurs. March 29th 2007
“We’re heading for the big “D” and we DO MEAN DALLAS!”

Today we’re in Dallas, TX. where we had the privilege to hang out with “John Sebastian” of KPLX. John had previously been with the ‘The Wolf’ in Nashville before moving to Dallas and has been such a supporter of our group. So it was really nice to visit with him and to play our songs for him. Thanks John! It has been a stormy day here with all of the volatile weather that has been coming through.
It’s that time of year again; unpredictable things like hail, winds and tornados. We managed to get some sightseeing in before the weather turned nasty. We actually took a 98-year-old trolley down McKinney St. to “West Village” where there was a lot of cool shopping. Found one store in particular named “Cowboy Cool” and it was cool! Found a few “discounted” shirts (thank goodness) that will be nifty for stage.
We’re at the “Za Za Hotel,” which an extremely posh, vibe-y place where the likes of Lenny Kravitz and Madonna have stayed. It also has a club/restaurant by the name of “Dragonfly” that’s a pool by day, but turns into a club at night. We had lunch there earlier today and it was wonderful. Debbie’s parents are here, so nice to see them and Trenna has friends visiting as well. Always so cool to have family and friends amongst us. Tomorrow we have one radio visit here in Dallas and then we’re off back to Nashville for a “quick laundry stop.”

Wednesday, March 28th 2007
Stop off in San Antonio continuing onto Austin, TX.

We arrived in San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning! We all slept pretty well and today we were scheduled to visit WOAI channel 4 to take part in a pretty crazy and wild show called "Midnight Radio Theater" hosting the playing of a B movies on TV. We were hosting the movie called “Mad Dog Time” that none of us had ever seen before! Two gentlemen by the names of “Kactus Lou” and “Clayton,” who were also with the radio station KAJA out of San Antonio, TX., hosted this late night TV. show and wanted us to make a guest appearance with them. These two guys were such a trip to hang out with and the comedy never ended! The show consists of them picking B rated movies, or horrible sequels and joking/laughing them up (kind of like “Mystery Science 3000”) as the movie played. We had no clue what the movie was going to be, but we had to do a series cues with them and it was a blast!
When we finished, we were introduced to George King of KAJA. We took them all out to the bus, played some music, then went on to have lunch on the river walk at a fine place called “Paesanos.’” Excellent Italian food, wonderful lobster bisque soup, artichoke hearts and calamari. The restaurant was wonderful about getting our food to us because we had to run off to Austin for our next meeting.

We got into Austin, TX. A few hours later where we were greeted by Bob Pickett and Earl of KASE. Bob mentioned to us that they’d received a call on their morning show about a white tour bus with a bunch of ladies being pulled over by the border patrol! It turned out, that the Army gentleman that was there the other night when we were pulled over (Brian) was from Austin, and he’d called the radio station. Ha! It was really nice to meet and visit with Bob and Earl.
That would be our last radio visit for the day and we had the rest of the day free to site see and later on to hit up the club scene on 6th street. Austin is quite the happening place and Adrian, our radio rep., went on to tell us some factoids about who had played where and got their start in certain clubs (“Stevie Ray Vaughn,” “The Fabulous Thunderbirds,” “Z.Z.Top” ect.).
We went for a stroll and managed to catch a quick glimpse of “Kurt Russell.” They were having the premier of his new movie “Grindhouse” at the Paramount Theatre downtown Austin. We also had the opportunity to visit the state capitol and hang out in the rotunda and dome area. Absolutely beautiful!
We met up later again for dinner and went to an awesome sushi place by the name of “Kenichi.” We tried various rolls, yellowtail, cod, and quail eggs (well, I had the quail eggs. Ha!). Nice sake and plum wine too!
We then walked up and down 6th street checking out some live bands. We wandered off the beatin’ path a little and found a club called “Bourbon Rocks.” Inside was a band that was called “The Residual Soul Band,” and they were grooving! We were all drawn in and couldn’t help but to hang and watch them do one hell of a show. The whole band was rocking and the rhythm section was especially tight. It’s always so much fun to go listen to someone else play!
We hung out for a little while, but then realized how late it was and that we needed to get back to the hotel for a 7am bus call to Dallas.

Off to Corpus Christi and Mc Allen TX. we go!
Tues. March 27th 2007

Day two of our radio tour took us to two more really cool places, Corpus Christi and Mc Allen, TX.
We had bus call at 7am; some of us actually showered in our rooms the night before and then went to the bus to go to sleep to avoid having to wake up for bus call. That’s the norm when it comes to having early morning bus calls like that. I’m sure that we’ll be doing a heck of a lot more of those coming up!
Our first stop for today was K99 KRYS in Corpus Christi, TX., Where we met up with Big Frank Edwards, Kelly Morgan and crew. We were given a warm welcome and everyone was anxious to hear and visit with us. They had pizza and sodas (we behaved ourselves and did not partake, even though it was hard not to!). We played our acoustic set for them and signed pictures. Some of the guys got a kick out of the gear that we were using to play on.
We were then asked by Kelly Morgan to do some one-liners and an interview with her. The whole interview was a cool women’s bonding experience. We joked around with her and found out she's known as “The hardest working woman in country radio.” The interview was awesome and had a lot of depth. We joked as to saying that we all could have been on “The View” doing this interview. We had a lot of fun chatting up a storm with her.


We then moved onto KTEX of Mc Allen, TX., where we met up with Jo Jo, Patches and family for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. We talked about everything from songs, to the St. Louis Cardinals (Debbie and Patches being from Missouri), to fiddles, to hometowns and the list goes on and on. It was a joy to also have Jo Jo’s 9-year-old daughter Caitlin there. Such a smart little girl she is! We finished eating and moved on out to the bus where we serenaded them with our acoustic set. We all could have hung out all night! We even went as far as giving them a rendition of the “Orange Blossom Special” (kudos to Becky for it being her first time playing the rhythm on the acoustic guitar for that one & she ROCKED!). So it was a lovely evening and we all had a blast.

We drove off in our white bus only to get pulled over 10 minutes later in Falfurrias, TX. By the U.S. border patrol. We were greeted by various guards, a sweet U.S. Army soldier by the name of “Brian” and a big German Sheppard all about business by the name of “Cris.”We were escorted off the bus while they sent the dog in to sniff for whatever he could find that was not supposed to be there. While outside waiting for the doggie to do his duty, Becky carried on a conversation with Brian and managed to score a Velcro patch of the Texas flag off of his uniform. She was so tickled to receive that from him, it made her night! All sniffed out well for ole’ Cris, we signed photos for the boys of the U.S. Border Patrol, hopped back onto our bus and we were off. Just another wonderful day in the life of our dreams we’re living. : )

Our first day of radio visits!
Monday, March 26th 2007

Today was our first day of our radio tour, our first official set of visits. We were all anxious about our first radio acoustic show to be performed. Our first stop was KILT Houston with Greg Frey and Lauren.

The label had thought up a really cool idea about bringing our radio friends down to the tour bus and have us perform for them there. Our bus is equipped with an “extending side,” so when you park, you can literally expand one side of the bus so there can be more sitting and hanging room. The bus we’re on (formerly Rascal Flatts bus), has wooden floors and I always make a joke of being able to roller skate in there when the side is extended out (you could!). But it is such a cool and comfy setting and it doesn’t sound all that bad either.

So we waited anxiously as our radio rep. “Adrian” went into the station to get our radio guests. He brought them back on and introduced us. After chatting a while and letting them listen to one of our studio cuts, we put on our instruments and played them a few songs acoustically. We’ve always gotten a kick out of playing acoustically because it always gives such a different “life” or “flavor” to the songs that you’re so used to performing live. And in a way, it opens your mind up to a different creativity in a song. Plus, just the whole “intimate” setting.
After the bus show, we all went to this cool Tex-Mex place called “Little Papasito’s.” The food was extremely good, especially the Tres Leches!
The tacos yummy and the food portions were plentiful!


The next station we visited was KKBQ in Houston
Where we had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Johnny Chang and Christi Brooks. Johnny took us for a tour around the station. The station was on the 23rd floor, so the view from the conference room was amazing. We performed some songs for them as well and chatted.

After the visit, we all went back to the Hotel Derek and from there we all split off and went to “The Galleria Mall.” It’s a three level mall with an indoor skating rink! We’re all glad that we only had an hour or two there before dinner because we all could’ve gotten in trouble with all of the potential shopping that could’ve taken place!
We had dinner back at the hotel at a place called
“Bistro Moderne.” From there we called it a night, bus call was 7am in the morning and we were going to be traveling on to Corpus Christi, Tx. And McCallen, Tx.

"Here We Are Houston!"

Sunday, March 25 2007

We made it into Houston around 4pm on Sunday, ready to get off the bus and go expel some of that pent up energy you get from being cooped up on a 45 foot space for so long. It's wild how you still feel like you're moving after you get off the bus after such a long trip. We were all eager to get to our rooms, get organized, cleaned up, and head out on the town to go do something. Unfortunately though, it was Sunday and things were closing early. We ran our acoustic set and made sure that everything flowed smoothly and to tie up any loose ends that were needed, then we were on a search for a nice place to sit down, chill and eat dinner. After a walk up and down the street from the hotel (Hotel Derek) where we were staying, we came to a cool, vibey place by the name of " Grand Lux." It was an affiliate of "The Cheesecake Factory." It had an art deco atmosphere, and no matter where you looked, you would always notice some sort of cool, decorative, artsy detail about the restaurant. The food rocked along with the service. After that, we ended up going out and tearing up the town....,well, not necessarily. How about CVS pharmacy? Yes, you read right! We ended up making a trip to CVS for some supplies, however while we were in there, our post travel nutty illness kicked in. Trenna and I tend to be the two who are the most susceptible to this rage. Each of us walked through the store, picking up items that we needed, however, as we got going through the store Trenna started speaking up loudly to each of us not to forget.., (any kind of certain embarrassing items that you can think of, --you fill in the blanks!), and I of course, had to return the favor to her throughout the store visit. Of course people stared! By the time we got to the checkout, we had people in the store either in awe or cackling!" I know that the cashier was quite entertained along with us. I will say that I've never had such a fun trip to CVS ever until now. We brought a lot of laughter in huge doses over the counter!

On Our way out of town for our radio tour!
Saturday, 24 2007

Here we go! Cowboy Crush Radio tour for 2007 is underway!
We're all so excited to be hitting the road again and so looking forward to visiting and playing for the various radio stations, hanging with our radio reps and promoting our new single, "Some Men Don't Cheat." Left Nashville for Houston 10pm this eve. Didn't take us too long to get our "road legs" back on a moving bus. Once we all had our belongings settled in, we hung out and relaxed. It's amazing how much of a calming effect the road has on us. Some of us tend to get our best rest on the road. How neat it is to be back out again. You get on that bus, start to roll and immediately all of those dreams that you had as a little girl start to pop up in your head of wanting to be a star, wanting to make your mark in music, change peoples lives, even the thoughts of making your family proud and being able to take them to the awards one day. All these things come into your brain as you get on that bus and get ready to roll. How lucky we are to be given such an opportunity.