News:

April 9th, 2009

So I get a phone call from the Band/Musical Director from Six Flags Fiesta Texas. There was an opening position for their full time drummer. I went to meet Ray, the Entertainment Managers, and watch the two shows. I also met the band, cast, and crew while they took me on mini-tours of their facilities. After an interview and a couple days of pondering I agreed to take the gig. I soon received mp3’s of all 21 tunes along with charts and set lists and hit my rehearsal studio full steam. I had just 2 weeks to learn both shows, and I was still playing 5 nights with the Tomans while teaching the other 2….whew! I put in my 2 weeks with the Tomans, did a quick run-through with the new band and played my first shows on April 4th. The 2 shows are called “Country Rocks” and “Forever Country”. All shows are just 30 minutes long so we fly through the set list. Both shows are top 40 country covers while the “CR” show has more dirt and a bit more edge with a couple of classic rocker’s, the “FC” show features a more traditional feel from today’s top 40 country artists. We soon begin rehearsals for “Showstopper”, a top 40 pop/rock/hip-hop/country/variety show indoors in the Zaragoza Theater. Along with the Zaragoza, we also play at the other 2 outdoor amphitheaters. When the summer season hits we’ll be playing 6 days a week, 4 shows a day, performing 3 different shows in 2 theaters……and I’ll still be teaching at Alamo! Get ready for a crazy summer!!

I also added a few things to my website. There is a new slide show from my days with the Tomans as well as new pics added to my studio session slide. Don’t forget about some pics of my students and a few shots from the TMEA Convention. Be sure to give them a look. Thanks for stopping by!

Caleb

January 12th, 2009

Here we are in the new year of 2009 and a lot has transpired since I last posted a news page. It’s about time I fill everyone in on what has been happening with me and my music for the past two years. The next few paragraphs will briefly describe my recent trips, shows, and musical endeavors.

I’ve been staying busy playing locally with the Toman Brothers around the San Antonio area and I’ve also been working with Kenny Orts & Jon Wolfe who are regional touring artists from the Austin area. Both in ’07 and ‘08 I received several calls for some “one-offs” here and there. Playing with many different bands and artists has challenged me to keep my chops sharp, my mind open, and my ears big. Overall it has been a great experience for me the last couple of years and I’d like to share some of those experiences with you.

Key West: The first week of August (2007) was another endurance test on the island of Key West , Florida playing the Hogs Breath Saloon with Haydn Vitera. Haydn has been proving himself within the Latin rock/rock en espanol scene. He calls his music Alterlatino Rock. If you recall I recorded the drum tracks to his recent debut album in which you can hear some of those tracks on my discography page. Joining Haydn and myself on stage were Johnny Guns on guitar, Aldo Ramon on bass, and Michael Duffy on percussion. It was an incredible line-up. Good stories were told, big parties were had, and great music was made. At times we turned a 3 minute song into a 15 minute jam reminiscent of something like Pink Floyd meets Santana. You can find out more about this exciting experience by logging on to www.hogsbreath.com or you can read about my first time in Key West by viewing the news entry I posted in the summer of 2006. Don’t forget to check out some cool pics that I recently uploaded on my photo page.

Teaching: When I arrived home from Key West I took a position at Alamo Music in downtown San Antonio as their new drum instructor. Working at the Alamo School of Music and playing 18-25 gigs a month is a busy schedule to say the least. I am fortunate to be able to make my own schedule at Alamo Music and have my students on Mondays and Tuesdays while playing gigs the rest of the week. I have my own studio up stairs with 2 drum kits, a piano, stereo and many other cool resources that make my lessons fun & educational for both me and my students. Special thanks to good friend Mark (Petrocelli) at Pro-Mark for the cool swag and teaching materials. Look for a “student” page coming soon on my site. As of December ’08 I have +/- twelve students a week ranging from 8-53 yrs of age, both guys and girls, making my job quite a challenge……I love it!

China: November 1-6 (2007) I was in Shenzhen, China with Dave Jorgenson representing American country music as guests of The Peoples Republic of China (their government) during a weeklong art/culture festival. The festival included performers from all over the world promoting worldwide peace using art, music, and dance as the common thread to unite all. It was an experience to last a lifetime to say the least as I witnessed some of the most incredible talents by some of the best performers the world has to offer. We flew into Hong Kong after a 16 hour flight from Newark and then took a short ride into Shenzhen. There was a day and a half of just travel, but after checking into our premium 5 star hotel rooms and having some local brew, things got better quite quickly. After all we were American guests in a communist country being treated to every red carpet amenity known to man. Our tour guide/translator was an employee of the government and no expense was spared making sure our time there was pleasant. We performed two shows. The first was at the opening ceremony in the grand ballroom playing 2 songs. The second was at an outdoor amphitheater playing 4 songs. Our workload was short which allowed us to take part in many tourist activities that were well documented with pictures and videos. There are many pics in my photo page and videos soon to follow. I could write a book describing my time there but the pics say quite a lot. Do yourself a favor and give them a look.

Las Vegas: December 8-12 I could be found in good ole sin city. It was my first time to Vegas and I was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience. I played 3 shows with Jon Wolfe at the South Point Hotel and Casino. We were there as part of the festivities during the weeklong National Finals Rodeo. It’s obvious that rodeos and country music go together so we were stoked to be included in the finals here in Vegas. We had a pretty large crew with us for the shows. A 7 piece band with road manager, Jon’s manager, merchandise people, and the like proved to be somewhat chaotic at times. We were able to pull it together and deliver some flawless shows that pleased the crowds and Jon’s Nashville label guys as well. The venue was first class with a complete digital multimedia system and a fantastic crew to take care of the knob twistin’. After our shows we traveled in stretch limos to various clubs and other hot night spots. We visited Club Moon, The Playboy Club, The Wynn, and a few others. Thanks to our good friend Gino for taking great care of us. There are a few pics on my site so be sure and check them out.

2008: After all my worldly travels last year it was a nice to stay here in the great state of Texas for a while……..the entire year to be exact. Playing with the Tomans, Kenny, and Jon, as well as teaching kept me very busy. To wrap up the year, I was called for a session in Austin to fill in for 6-time Grammy winning drummer Dave Sanger. Congratulations to Dave and Elizabeth on the birth of their daughter and thanks for the studio work! So there you have it, the last two years in my musical life were very rewarding while being fun and challenging. I hope you have a great new year and remember to check my site out when you can. I’ll be working on posting new pics and videos as well. Take care, stick around and I’ll see you soon somewhere down the road. Until next time….CHEERS!

Caleb

08-05-08

Caleb... and a camel...

News update coming soon..............check out new pics in my photo page. I added two more slide shows from China and Vegas. Stay tuned.... ~Caleb <On stage in Bandera, TX with young buffalo>

2-18-07

Caleb

8-14-06

            It’s been five months since I added a news update to my site so I thought it was about time to fill you guys in on what’s been happening. I’ll start from where I last left you and bring you current.

Back in March I played the Houston Astrodome with Jason (Allen). It was an awesome show. I’ve got some great pics from that show.  I’m in the process of getting them posted on my photo page so check back soon for that. Throughout the spring and summer we traveled a lot with Jason, playing a large number of

the big outdoor shows that test any man’s tolerance for Texas heat and humidity. On April 21^st we recorded a live CD at the legendary Gruene Hall just outside New Braunfels, TX. It’s on Smith Records and will be out September 12^th at all finer retail stores. The first single “Kickapoo Creek” was released to radio recently and is doing great. There are 15 live tracks and 3 Nashville studio tracks.

June was pretty crazy filled with great news and not so great news. My nephew, Paden Lane Maass, was born on the 14th and I had major eye surgery on the 19th and wasn’t able to play drums for 10 days. That sucked! My eye is doing well these days and Paden and the family are happy and healthy. He’s a cool kid.

The summer NAMM session was held in Austin from the 14-16th. I went on Friday and Saturday for a while and checked out some new gear and did the usual milling around talking to other cats in the business. It was definitely smaller than Anaheim but still worth the time. I was able to check out Johnny Rabb and Ten Finger Orchestra @ Club 1 to 1 down on 5th street. Those two guys are insane to watch. Check them out if you can. Monty Montgomery was down at Antone’s so I had to check that out as well. Thanks again to Kevin and Mark at Pro-Mark for everything.

Take care, stick around, and I’ll see ya soon!

Caleb

3-02-06

      Well, here we are----March of ’06. January was awesome. My trip to Los Angeles was a great experience. There I attended the NAMM show, saw some very cool gear, met some great people, and got to see a couple of shows. A big thanks goes to Mark (Petrocelli) and Kevin (Radomski) at Pro-Mark for everything. Also---a big thanks to good friend Bobby (Jarzombek) for showing me the “hot-spots” around Hollywood and LA. ----- In-N-Out burger kicks ass!
      When I got back from LA it was off to Chihuahua, Mexico for some shows with Jason (Allen). We drove. THAT was a trip. I won’t go into details-just use your imagination here. We did celebrate my 30th birthday down there—in large fashion I might add. We were close to 4 hours down in Mexico and the country is incredible. The shows were great. The people down there are crazy for country music. They went nuts! It Rocked!! Trust me. Thanks to Armando for showing us around town and taking great care of us. The hotel was first class. We did do a bit of “tourist” type stuff checking out Poncho Villa’s headquarters and other sites of interest. Clearing customs coming home wasn’t that bad but the drive home took forever. I was glad to get home.
      Jason’s schedule for February was very busy. We did two San Antonio Rodeo shows and some other dates out in the piney woods of east Texas. We recently acquired an in-ear monitor rig so we’re getting that thing dialed in now. I’ve used Shure E5’s for years but this is the first time the band is using them together. It’s better and we’re all getting used to it. The band and the show has tightened up quite a bit. We have a new production manager traveling with us now. Russell (Dickinson) is helping us on the road with all our sound and stage issues. Thanks man!
      We have some cool stuff coming up in the spring. We will be at the Houston rodeo in the Reliant Astrodome on March 18th. The show there at the Hideout will rock! There are also many festivals and great outdoor shows coming up as well. Check my tour page for details. I’ve added some pics from my LA trip and the shows down in Mexico. See them on the photo page. I’m also in the process of adding more info on my discography page. More details include track listings, musicians, and other misc. studio tid-bits. The setup or “Gear” page is coming along nicely and should be up soon. There you’ll find info on my current setup with Jason and you’ll also be able to find details on kits I’ve used in the past with other artists. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see ya down the road soon! CHEERS!!

Caleb