3........................ Erwins Pawn, Freedom Bail Bonds, A-Team Rentals 4.......................................................Ward Motor Co 5.............................................Boyd’s Equipment Inc 6.......................................... Tripps Harley Davidson 7.................................................................Greg Lair 8....................... Broken Spoke Lounge, Custom Sun 9............................................. Chrome Wheel & Tire 10................. Lone Star Liquor, Assiter Auctioneers 11.................................................................... Splash 12, 13................................................BAND LINEUP 14........................ Bell Trailerplex, Mattress Express Midtown Motors 15.................................................................. Servpro 16........................................................Marble Depot 17................. Lone Star Liquor, Assiter Auctioneers 18................Wayne’s Wagon Works, Calico County 19........................... Canyon Road Animal Hospital 20.................. Dales Pickup Accessories, 2J Motors 21..........................................................Graymac Inc 22............ Amarillo’s Finest Tattoo & Body Piercing 23................................................ Basden Bail Bonds 24............Buzula Furniture, Amarillo Gold & Silver
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History of Homers...
In a quaint little town, in a quaint little neighborhood on a quaint little street just south of the city, a history-making event took place just 15 short years ago.
The folks in attendance were your regular Joe’s. They were hard working, clean living, fun loving guys and gals with a few extra five-gallon buckets of rocky mountain oysters on their hands. So they just did what came naturally...they filled a couple of coolers full of beer, gathered up some lawn chairs, mixed up some trash can punch and threw the fries in the cooker.
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By the next year, scads of folks from miles around were buzzing about Homer’s Backyard Ball. Friends invited friends and those invited their friends. Imagine one person telling six of their closest friends, and those six telling six more and so on...six degrees of separation at its best. Of course you can’t very well drink cold beer (or iced tea) and eat barbeque and calf fries in silence and the little jam box that sufficed in the quaint little neighborhood just didn’t cut it out in the great wide open of the infamous Snake Ranch. So a flatbed trailer, some electricity and lights were added and KAZAM...the perfect setting was created for a little Texas Music concert. That was the Coup de Grace...or as they are known, Cooder Graw™. Stage crawlin’, undergarment flingin’, calf fryin’, cold beverage guzzlin’, outta tune bellowin’ folk from all over the United States (and California) had the time of their lives. Now they’re hungry for more.
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Homer’s Backyard Ball Foundation
The mission of HBBF is to provide support through grants, fundraisers, and events to community organizations that provide financial assistance and services to area youth for disease research, life opportunities and physical or personal development. Current Benefactors: Make-A-Wish North Texas Chapter
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Amarillo West Rotary Club – Diabetes Camp Wish Elks Lodge #923: - Elks Sweetheart Fund - Cribs for Life American Cancer Society – Hope Lodge Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations (JDRF): - Amarillo – Rope for a Cure - Pampa – Walk for a Cure Turn Center The Outdoor Adventure Foundation Snack Pak for Kids
Khiva Shrine Center, Amarillo, Texas
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The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Homer’s Backyard Ball Cook-Off as a Texas State Barbeque Championship Competition.
** $10,000 in prize money will be awarded based on 90 teams or more ** ** All cook teams must have a currently inspected or new fire extinguisher that is accessible at all times during the cook-off. ** SCHEDULE: Friday, May 17 8:00 am Gates open to cook teams – all sites assigned upon arrival 6:00 pm Kid’s Q turn in - $10 entry fee – one age group 18 and under - Download Kids-Q Rules 6:30 pm Dessert turn in - $20 entry fee 7:00 pm MANDATORY cook’s meeting/container pickup
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Saturday, May 18 Turn-In Times (subject to change) 11:00 am Calf Fries 12:00 am Cook’s Choice 1:30 pm Chicken 2:00 pm Chili 3:00 pm Pork Spare Ribs 4:30 pm Brisket 6:30 pm Awards (cook off tent) - TENTATIVE - Cook-off packets will be handed out at the entry gate when you arrive on Friday. Parking will be strictly enforced. - NO MOVING VEHICLES ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT. No ATVs, personal golf carts, motorcycles or four-wheelers will be allowed onsite. TEAM PRICING: - 1 cook team spot (30 X 40): $150 (includes 6 armbands) - 2 cook team spots: $200 (includes 8 armbands) - Chili Cookoff Only: $25 (includes 1 armband) Additional armbands can be purchased below for $25 in advance or $30 the day of the event.
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they come together, they put on an awesome live show with music that will scoot you around any size dance floor! Being voted Best of Amarillo Local Country Band in 2010, these guys have shared the stage with some of the top Texas Country Music artists around including Tommy Gallagher, Bart Crow, No Justice, Rich O’ Toole, Aaron Watson, Gary P. Nunn, Robert Earl Keen, Nashville Recording Group Little Texas, and Neal McCoy!
The Buster Bledsoe Band www.busterbledsoeband.com
The Buster Bledsoe Band has been burning up the highways around Eastern New Mexico, Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle as well as the Texas Panhandle and Central Texas since early 2007. The band is made up of lead singer and acoustic guitar player Buster Bledsoe, drummer Israel Lupercio, bass player Kenny Rickwartz, lead guitar Chris Adame and sound guy and flashlight engineer Shawn T. White. The members of this band have very different and unique backgrounds, and when
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Cooder Graw
www.coodergraw.com Formed in 1998, the fledgling group Cooder Graw released their debut album HOME AT THE GOLDEN LIGHT, which credits Matthew McConaughey, a fraternity brother of Matt Martindale, as executive producer. In 2000 came their debut studio release simply titled COODER GRAW, co-produced by multiple GRAMMY Award-winner Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel and Hayden Nicholas, nine-time #1 country songwriter and guitarist for Clint Black. The album was well received at Americana radio and was on the national radio charts for thirteen consecutive weeks. By 2001 they had taken a stronghold in the heralded Texas music scene with their second live offering, SEGUNDO, garnering them their first Top 10 Texas hit with “Willie’s Guitar.” That same year they released SHIFTING GEARS, scoring them their next two Top 10 Texas hits, “New Dress” and “Better Days.” The next two album releases include 2004’s WAKE UP and the Texas music fraternal order that is LIVE AT BILLY BOB’S TEXAS, a by-invitation-only affair featuring their most well-known song, “Llano Estacado,” that was featured on a series of national Dodge truck commercials.
Cooder Graw has shared the stage with some of country music’s biggest stars including Willie Nelson, Alabama, Dwight Yoakum, Robert Earl Keen, Mark Chesnutt, Lee Ann Womack, Pat Green and Asleep at the Wheel. They have performed at many of the finest venues across the Southwest, have appeared on a slew of compilation albums and have enjoyed success with a pair of music videos that aired on major country music networks, including Great American Country (GAC).
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Although front man Matt Martindale has gone on to perform with his individual outfit, The Matt Martindale Band, he ultimately initiated the idea of this reunion after repeated requests from fans over the years, and he couldn’t be happier. “We spent a lot of time on the road back in the day doing 150 plus dates a year and we needed some time away from the road and more time with our families. It’s been a long time now and I just can’t wait! I’m excited to see the guys, hang out with our old friends and reignite that part of our lives.”
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The Dirty River Boys www.dirtyriverboys.com
The Dirty River Boys are paving their own road as they travel it. They are a testament to the idea that “if you can dream it, you can do it,” moving with determination ever closer to the light. Above all is their belief in their music. It motivates them and provides exultation for each member, as well as for the audiences who have become fans by the force field the band creates in live performance.
Steely intention aside, there is a magic to being in the right place with the right stuff at the right time. Home in El Paso, the Dirty River Boys yearned to make mu-
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sic the centerpiece of their lives. Then they played their very first Austin gig, a happy hour set at hipster haunt, Lustre Pearl. The music they presented was energetic and infectious, though stripped down acoustic. The joy was unmistakable. And a new path with exciting possibilities was being born. The band migrated to Austin shortly thereafter, where they thrive amidst the other musicians in town, and love the strong sense of community they found. “Being in Austin, with so many great bands, it makes you up your game.” Travis Stearns and Nino Cooper met in the music scene in El Paso. They started gigging every once in a while, while they waited patiently for the day they could dedicate themselves to music 24/7. The Dirty River Boys trio formed 3 years ago, when Marco Gutierrez quit his job and school to join the band. “We had to go against full bands in El Paso, us with three people with acoustic instruments. It shows if you are consistent and serious about your music, you can really make it. We put our hearts out there every night. People see that.” They added an upright bass player about a year and a half ago. Colton James joined for a 90 minute set at the River Road Icehouse. It was a trial by fire and a foursome was forged.
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The new album, Science Of Flight, was recorded at Yellow Dog Studio in South Austin, Texas. Marco, Nino, Travis and CJ put aside just five days for the process. They played everything on the album themselves, only tapping on the legendary Kim Deschamps to lay down pedal steel. Expect surprises; Wurlitzer, marching drum sounds, train whistles, a rattlesnake. The band was mindful of their ability to recreate the sounds on stage in the live environment. The Dirty River Boys are seemingly always on the road, having logged 200,000 miles in the van, though thankfully, the rattlesnake is not a traveling companion. Science of Flight has been described by The Dirty River Boys as Western, Fat, and Rock and Roll. It touches on myriad emotions with gentle harmonies that shimmer
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with beauty, acoustic rave-ups, and hook driven tunes. “This time, we made a record. We build it, recording the parts ourselves. This is a band record. We are really excited about it.� Jessie Scott, Music Fog.
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Two Tons of Steel www.twotons.com
Before there was Americana, before there was Texas Country, Two Tons of Steel front man Kevin Geil and his original band, ‘Dead Crickets,’ rocked a sound that blended the best of musical worlds and pushed the envelope of Texas’ sound with a signature brand of highenergy country meets raw punk. The San Antonio-based group packed the small bars and local hangouts and quickly became the Alamo City’s most-loved band, earning them a spot on the cover of Billboard Magazine in 1996. It was the beginning of a twenty year journey for Geil and the 4-piece ensemble. Releasing ‘Two Tons Of Steel’ in 1994 and ‘Crazy For My Baby’ in 1995 on Blue Fire Records, a sponsorship deal with Lone Star Beer quickly followed. Dead Crickets, renamed Two Tons of Steel in 1996 began traveling outside of Texas, including stops at the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville, Tenn., the National Theater in Havana, Cuba, and European tours, to greet fans who had embraced their Texas-born sound. In 1996 they released ‘Oh No!’ on their independent label, ‘Big Bellied Records.’ They followed up the passion project with a live recording
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at the legendary Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas, taped during a Two Ton Tuesday Show 1998. In 2013, the band marks 18 years of ‘Two Ton Tuesday Live from Gruene Hall.’ The summer-long event drew 13,000 fans in 2012 and more than 150,000 fans since it began its annual run in 1995. The popular concert series was captured in ‘Two Ton Tuesday Live,’ a DVD-CD combo released on Palo Duro Records in 2006. Also that year, the band’s first national release, ‘Vegas,’ produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Lloyd Maines on the Palo Duro label, took them to No. 7 on the Americana Music Charts and was one of the top 20 releases of 2006. Two Tons released ‘Not That Lucky’in 2009. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Americana Music Charts and has made Two Tons of Steel a band to watch in 2013. The group continues to push the line between country and punk with its next project produced by Lloyd Maines, due out July 2, 2013.
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