There are some exciting things happening around The Derailers' world, and we want you to be a part of them.

On Wednesday, April 17 we'll be playing LIVE on KUTX radio with host Jay Trachtenberg. We'll be on in the 2:00 hour. In Austin you can tune in at 98.9 fm. You can stream KUTX programming online. It's worth it!

On Saturday night April 20, we'll be returning to one of our favorite places on Planet Earth - indeed our "natural habitat" - the Broken Spoke. The show starts at 9:30. The Classical era had the courts of Vienna, Bebop Jazz had 52nd Street in NYC, and we are lucky enough to live in an age where we can hang out and perform in the center of the known honky-tonk universe. Come share in that scene with us.

On Sunday morning April 21 at 11:30 we'll be broadcast on a program entitled "Songwriters Across Texas". It is shown on the CW network (Austin cable channel 12). More about that show here.

On Sunday night April 21, it's another Derailers SUNday show at the One-2-One Bar on S. Lamar in South Austin. These shows have been getting more and more popular with the dancers. "It's the best way to spend the day between the chicken and the hay!" The fun times begin there at 7:30.

You can always count on finding the latest updated schedule here at www.derailers.com. If you tweet, follow us at https://twitter.com/derailers. If you are not already on our email list, just fire off an email to thederailers@gmail.com and put "subscribe" in the subject line. It helps if you tell me the general area in which you live too. Finally, the best and most interactive way to stay in touch with The Derailers is by liking our facebook page. That's where we post silly photos and videos and speak with you about Derailers events past and future.

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are  making plans. Big plans. I can't divulge anything yet, but there are some really cool things on the horizon. Keep your ears pricked and your eyes peeled. We'd like to see you again soon!

Have a fun time ALL the time,

Basil McJagger
The Derailers

We were lucky enough to hang with country music legend Charley Pride recently at a party in Dallas.

Scott is lonely.

Vic Gerard

Basil McJagger (#3)

Brian Hofeldt

Here are some upcoming shows. Forward this on to someone you love - or would like to love:

04/13/2013 Gruene Hall New Braunfels TX
04/14/2013 One 2 One Club Austin TX
04/20/2013 The Broken Spoke Austin TX
04/21/2013 One 2 One Club Austin TX
04/27/2013 Springfest Bee Caves TX
04/28/2013 One 2 One Club Austin TX

05/01/2013 State Line BBQ El Paso TX
05/02/2013 The Lumberyard Roscoe TX
05/03/2013 Love and War in Texas Plano TX
05/04/2013 Longhorn Saloon Fort Worth TX
05/18/2013 The Broken Spoke Austin TX
05/25/2013 The Crossroads Fredericksburg TX
05/31/2013 The Broken Spoke Austin TX

06/01/2013 Back Porch Bar Port Aransas TX
06/08/2013 Schoepf’s Bar-B-Que Belton TX
06/15/2013 The Broken Spoke Austin TX

07/05/2013 Blanco’s Houston TX
07/27/2013 Private Event Show Low AZ
07/31/2013 The Grove Plaza Boise ID

08/04/2013 Big Valley Jamboree Camrose AB
08/08/2013 ABQ BioPark Albuquerque NM
08/09/2013 Santa Fe Bandstand Santa Fe NM
08/10/2013 Chili Fest Central City CO

The weekly Derailers SUNdays rock & roll shows that have become so popular will live again!

After a brief hiatus, the weekly SUNdays series will start up again at the One-2-One Bar (1509 S. Lamar Blvd) in South Austin on Feb. 10.

These are FREE SHOWS 7:30-10 on Sunday evenings. It fits perfectly between where your coming from and where you're going. They feature the rock & roll side of The Derailers that is only hinted at in the regular show.

Come dance and drink with us starting Feb. 10.

Basil McJagger
The Derailers

Best country/bluegrass band - The Derailers
male vocals - Brian Hofeldt
guitar - Brian Hofeldt
drums - Scott Matthews
bass - Vic Gerard
keyboards (sic) - Basil McJagger

This is the 20th year of The Derailers, and we've made the top-10 list consistently. We're not nominated for the Hall of Fame, but you can write-in anyone you like.

This poll is open to anyone anywhere - but you can only vote once and the poll closes on Feb. 1.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/feedback/musicpoll/12/

Please share this link with all your friends!

Thanks,

Basil McJagger
The Derailers

After the show, Garrison Keillor and the gang treat the City of St. Paul MN to a street dance and meatloaf supper. We'll be performing for that too. If you're in the area, come on down and dance! (This time of year, you might need to keep moving just to stay warm.)

Don't forget to look at our upcoming dates here at Derailers.com, and come visit with us over to our Facebook site.

Have a fun time ALL the time,

Basil McJagger
The Derailers

If you are anywhere near Colorado next week, you NEED to see these shows.

Talk to us about it over at our facebook page.

Have a good time ALL the time,

Basil McJagger
The Derailers

We had a blast on the "Go East" tour and the "Feed Jenny" tour. New Mexico is such a beautiful and diverse place. We love to get to know it better, and we love having a line on the freshest Hatch peppers. Each and every night of the "Go East" tour is documented right here in the News section of Derailers.com. Go take a look if you like.

For four out of the last five years, we have performed on the season opener show for A Prairie Home Companion. Each year they have a street dance an meatloaf supper out in front of the theater and we have performed for that too. This year is no exception. Mr. Garrison Keillor and all the great folks at APHC have graciously invited us back again to kick off their 2012-2013 season and we couldn't be more excited about it.

The show will be broadcast live on September 15. It is produced by American Public Media which is carried by NPR in most areas. In Austin APHC is broadcast on KUT 90.5fm at 5:00 on Saturday evening and again at noon on Sunday. You can listen to it online by going to http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/. I'll post some photos and videos here and over at our Facebook site.

Be sure to check out all the new shows listed in the Datebook section and don't forget to notify the people you love when we'll be in their neighborhood.

Have a fun time ALL the time,

Basil McJagger
The Derailers

Brian found a quiet corner in a cigar bar called Jakes. It's across the street from the Zoo. He was comfortable, so that's where he chilled for the afternoon.

Vic, Basil, and Scott went shopping at nearby Ruby Begonia's. Ruby's is owned by friend of the band Jenn Johnson, who has a great eye for vintage clothing and a shop full of items she's found here or there. She takes great care of us. If you find yourself in Lincoln, go visit Ruby's and tell Jenn The Derailers sent you.

After that, Vic and Scott decided they needed some trim - so off to the barber we went! We went to the Straight Edge Barbershop in Lincoln's Sharp Building. Sharp Building, get it? That reminds me of one of my favorite OLD Lincoln jokes: "Q. Did you hear about the guy that got killed downtown?" "A. He leaned up against the Sharp Building and it cut him right in half!" Anyway, we were able to load in to the show over at the Zoo Bar looking a little sharper (har har) then before.

Our show at the Zoo was an early one starting at 6:15. I can't begin to tell you all our our friends that were there. It seemed like the entire crowd was made up of friends and family. That makes for such a fun show - and a fun show it was. It was very hot outside. It was steamy inside the Zoo, but it was still the coolest place in town.

After the show Vic, Scott and Brian headed down the road for Texas. I stayed behind in Lincoln. I went to a huge party and sat and watched fireworks with our pal and former road manager Deuce Burbach while enjoying some delicious pork chops. It was a long, hot trip and it ended with a bang for sure.

We had a great time on this tour. I think the band sounded very tight. We didn't encounter any huge difficulties, and besides being too late for comfort a couple of times, we hit all of our downbeats. The Derailers continue to work, and we'll look forward to getting out there again and seeing YOU. Thanks for being with me on this tour blog. As always, please do head over to the facebook site and visit with us there.

Adios for now,
Basil

Here I am with the Huskers flag that hangs in the Straight Edge Barber Shop.

The Sharp Building. Of course! Where else would you have a barber shop?!?

Vic gets a cut, and Scott combs his the way he likes it.

The Zoo Bar in Lincoln Nebraska

We woke up on July 2 in the middle of Iowa somewhere in I-80. We beat it out of there and headed the 45 miles into Des Moines.

I must let you know that on this trip Vic has a new smart phone. While working the kinks out, he discovered that he could find the best (and worst) diners, dives, and drive-ins in any city all across this great land of ours. He made a few suggestions for restaurants that were just spot-on. Tasty places we'd have never visited otherwise. One of those was in Des Moines.

The place he took us to is called the B&B Grocery, Meat and Deli. It touts itself as "The Home of the Killer Sandwich". We weren't exactly sure how to take that slogan, but we decided to eat there anyhow. All of us continue to live, so they must have meant "killer" in the Jerry Lee Lewis way.

The B&B Grocery has been operated by the Brooks Family since 1922. It's an old-timey butcher shop and grocers market that would be very much at home in Texas. It seemed a lot like Louie Mueller's in Taylor or Smitty's in Lockhart. It has a lot of color and character. We ordered our sandwiches, and as they were being made, the owners took us back to the meat locker to see the butchered meat hanging up. It was cool, but not for the faint of heart (Scott stayed outside.) I had a pork tenderloin sandwich (what else?!) and it was fantastic. The meat extended out past the bun, just as it should. If you find yourself in Des Moines, it's a good place to go. Actually, we must also recommend Noah's Ark Italian restaurant, but we didn't visit there on this trip.

We made another stop in West Iowa at a truckstop that had a Maid-Rite Sandwich Store in it. Our band is divided on just how we feel about Maid-Rites. My Iowan mother used to make them for us kids when we were little. Vic had never tried one, and seemed to enjoy his very much.

We arrived at my parents' cabin by the lake (near Lincoln) a little before supper time. Mama McJagger prepared a delicious meal for us consisting of pulled pork sandwiches and fried bass that she had caught earlier.

After supper we went downtown in Lincoln and met with our pal and former Derailers road manager Deuce Burbach. It was great to see Deuce and tip some cold drinks with him again. We also ran into legendary Lincoln drummer and Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Dave Robel who took us to his house to look at his drum stuff.

Dave has what he calls "The Rimshot Lounge". It's a bar and barstools made from legit vintage 60s Slingerland drum hardware and finish. It's very cool. He has tons of drums and drum accessories so Scott was very happy to have come along, and the two of them had a lot to talk about. Dave even had a bunch of old 1950s 45rpm records for Brian Hofeldt to check out. Everyone had a fun visit.

We went back out to the cabin and enjoyed a few of Papa McJagger's libations before calling it a day.

Come visit with us on our facebook page, and follow us on Twitter - if you're into that.

Basil

Brian and Vic inspect (and approve of) the meat at the B&B Grocery in Des Moines.

My pork tendedrloin sandwich at the B&B Grocery in Des Moines.

The Derailers with Joe Brooks in the KILLER ZONE! B&B Grocery Des Moines.

Brian, Deuce Burbach, and Scott at O'Rourke's, Lincoln Nebraska.

Scott tries out some Xtra Large sticks at the Rimshot Lounge.

Dave Robel, Vic, and Scott in the Rimshot Lounge

First, a correction. The Hansen family of Stevens Point WI spell their name with an "e" at the end, not an "o". Sorry Hansens!

On July 1, we just flat-out did an S-ton of driving. We got up (feeling kind of bleary and cloudy of mind) and left beautiful Stevens Point. We drove all day and got to Chicago in the afternoon. It was hot. Very hot. We made it to Berwyn in time to get set up for Fitzgeralds' annual American Music Festival. It's a great fest, if you're in Chicago around Independence day, I highly recommend it.

We met our pal Matt Focht, my Uncle Kim and Aunt Kathy, and a bunch of our regular Chicago friends. While it was hot, we were lucky to have been on the indoor stage, so it was fairly pleasant. The show did have some rough spots. There are sub-woofers built into the stage at Fitzgeralds. Brian managed to stand in what turned out to be exactly the wrong spot. It was one of those times where there was just a dead spot in the room, and he found it. It made the show hard on him. To the rest of us, however, it sounded great! There was a packed room full of happy, smiling people. Some (like our friend Millie Simpkins) even eeked out enough room to dance a little. There was plenty of cold libations at the bar as well. We rocked through our 75-minute set and then cleared off quick, as Paul Thorne was next after us.

We had supper at Buona. It's an Italian sandwich store just a block or two away from Fitzgeralds there in Berwyn. They have very tasty sandwiches. We really wanted to go eat at the Sawa Warsaw Smorgasbord, but a storm had knocked out all the power the night before and it was closed. We've been to Sawa before. It's a delight. A real all-you-can-eat magical journey into the land of stuff that can stop your heart.

After supper we left town and drove and drove and drove. We stayed about 45 miles east of Des Moines on I-80.
It was pretty hot, and we were pretty rushed so I don't have any photos to share.

Don't forget to visit with us on our facebook site.

Have fun times,

Basil

When in Chicago, be sure to visit Fitzagerald's, the Sawa Warsaw Smorgasbord, and Buona.

Archie Hanson bought a bar in Stevens Point WI in 1977. He decided to retire. June 30 was his last night. So he threw a party. All drinks were free - to clear out the bar. It was an invitation only party and the place was totally packed. What fun. Archie's is still operating in Stevens Point as "Archie's Still". They have lots of cool mid-century furnishings and fixtures. Go check it out if you're up that way. It feels just like home.

For one of us, it IS home. Vic Gerard grew up in and is a proud son of The Point. His mother and his childhood friend were there to see the show. And the food they made for us... The party goers brought pot-luck food. If you know anything about Wisconsinites, you know that meant plenty of fine home cooking. Mrs. Hanson marinated and grilled steaks for us in the band.

It's clear that Archie really cares about good music and running a great bar. He has photos of music luminaries on the walls including Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Willie, Gene Simmons, and even our pals The Stone River Boys and Dale Watson. Among his photos is a recent shot of The Derailers.

The Hanson family thought of everything, and spared no effort when it came to hosting us. They had a trailer (with very cood A/C parked out back. It was stocked with everything we could have possibly needed or wanted - and some stuff we'd have never thought of. Upon our arrival, we were no more than inside the bar and a bag of cheese curds was placed in my hand. Now that's hospitality! We had a delightful time, and we can't wait to go back again.

Head on over to our Facebook page. We've now seen our 5000th "like" and we're still growing!

Have fun times,

Basil

Basil, Vic, Brian, Scott. The Derailers group photo in Stevens Point WI. We are holding a couple bottles of Point Lager. Go get it - if you can.

These chese curds were in my hand the minute we walked into the building. Good times!

Archie Hanson addresses his friends and family one last time as owner of Archie's.

Scott and Brian relaxing in the band trailer.

The sign on the ladies' room door. Archie's is full of these cool mid-century details.

Photo of The Derailers on the wall at Archies.