Colin with gig news and thoughts on Slim Dunlap and college football.
Read MoreA Very Incomplete Guide to Columbus Live Music November/December 2022
Colin with a cheat sheet for local music in Cbus this Holiday season.
Read MoreLeague Bowlers to Headline Public Lands Grand Opening
Colin Gawel and The League Bowlers will be performing Friday November 5th, 5:30pm, for Public Lands Grand Opening at Polaris Mall.
Read MoreWe've Got Cool Gigs the Next Five Weekends - by Colin Gawel
Heads up, yo. I’ve got a bunch of different shows coming up this spring, so here is the run down. Hope you can catch one or all. Also, it’s always helpful to fire up Spotify playlists featuring: Watershed, Colin Gawel and The League Bowlers. Or all three.
Friday April 5th - I’ll be riding shotgun with Brian Phillips on the CD1025 Morning Show. Tune in or stream it at www.cd1025.com
Saturday, April 6th - Colin & The Bowlers at the CD1025 Big Room Bar. Two Sets. Free. Music 8-11 pm
Friday, April 12 - Watershed at Slim’s Downtown, Raleigh, NC. special guests: The Bleeding Hearts. Our pal and Slim’s owner Van Alston is throwing a big bash to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of this venerable establishment. To do something a little different in honor of the occasion, we plan on performing the set in chronological order. So if you want to hear some tunes from Twister, don’t be late.
Friday, April 19th - Colin & The Bowlers at Peaches Grill, Yellow Springs, OH. Do you know what is a tough gig to get? This one. I think I have booked the Mercury Lounge in NYC twice before I even got a response from Peaches. That’s because Yellow Springs is a gem of a town and I am personally very excited to finally have the opportunity to grace Peaches’ stage. Bowlers play all night so reserve a hotel room or rent a party bus and make a night of it.
Saturday, April 27 - The PBR 10K: Woodlands Backyard (NOT the tavern - 668 Grandview Ave). Join 1,200 of your best friends as they try to drink 10,000 PBR’s between noon and 6 pm outside Woodland’s Backyard. Bowlers play 3:30 - 5 pm. All proceeds benefit Directions for Youth & Families.
Friday, May 3rd - Terry Anderson and The Olympic Ass Kickin’ Team w/ special guests The League Bowlers at Ace of Cups. Terry Anderson is my favorite songwriter. The OAK Team is my favorite rock n roll band. DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. That is all.
George Jones = Rock. Motley Crue = Pussies.
George Jones finally passed away this week. I became familiar with George after picking up a copy of his auto-biography I Lived to Tell It All some 20 years back. I distinctly remember reading a rave review of the book by Columbus firebrand Jon Petric and picking up a paperback copy before driving from Ohio to Rhode Island with my then girlfriend.
Damn, George could party. At least 30 times during the drive I would yelp, "I cannot believe he is alive!" and continue turning pages. George was guzzling a bottle of whiskey for breakfast, blasting shotguns through the roof of his bus and riding lawnmowers down the highway to buy booze. And then he discovered cocaine.
Remember Nikki Sixx's mostly bullshit autobio The Dirt ? Even that fake shit was half what the old Possum was up to on a daily basis. "Oh, you snorted ants by the pool and Ozzy was impressed?" George did so much blow and booze that he thought he was a duck and disappeared into the woods for months and would only talk in "quacks" when spoken to.
When you get so high you think you are a duck, not just for a night, but for weeks, that is some serious party. QUACK!!!
The book was published when Jones was supposedly sober and turning over a new leaf. About six months after its release, George crashed his Oldsmobile into a bridge support at 90 miles an hour with an empty bottle of whiskey clanging around the wreckage. The accident tore his liver in two pieces and he was not expected to survive.
Shit, man, it's gonna take more that that to stop George Jones' liver. Not only did he survive, he came back and toured the next 25 years. His voice never suffered and he sure sang a bunch of great songs. I've always been partial to "Why Baby Why" because the League Bowlers used to cover it at Joe Oesteich's insistence. Let's get you some George. Read the book and appreciate his gift.
And a nod to the great Dash Rip Rock for teaching us Yanks "White Lightning" was 20 times heavier/better than anything Vince Neil would ever sing. And George always looked better than Vince. In fact, I bet George looks better today resting in a casket than Vince looks taking the stage tonight at the Oshkosh County Cheese Festival or where ever he is playing. R.I.P. ya old crazy possum.
colingawel.com