Mitch and Terri

Mitch and Terri McCalib have been married for 25 years.. Last night I was honored to celebrate their love surrounded by many friends and family at the Lake Ridge country club in Lubbock Tx.. It must have been sometime last December when Mitch told me about the event and didn’t give me any other options.. “You are going to be there, and Mason and the Gin Line are playing..”

Of course that sounded very much like a perfect night to me.

Mason Server and The Gin Line band put on a perfect performance. The Gin Line – Mason Server lead vocals, Blaze Butler Bass Guitar, Cole Stanley Lead Guitar, Matt Newsom drums.

The McCalib family has become my own. A big part of me and who I am today, and what I stand for.

Mason and the Gin Line Lakeridge Country Club

I first met Mitch and Terri’s son Hayden at the Blue Light in Lubbock. The very same night I first got to meet Mason Server and Blaze Butler of the Gin Line. that night I also met Charlie Stout and the Author and fellow music lover Tom Mooney.

Mason and The Gin Line had just released Caprock Composition.. I had been following and corresponding with them on Twitter. I made plans to meet up with them at their show at the Blue Light. The guys welcomed me into their circle, and I have been hooked ever since. Today I even have a dog named Blaze after the bass player and convinced my daughter to name my grandson Mason..

Hayden and his brother Rhyder were at that very concert, we began talking, as Hayden was working in Midland and found out that’s where I was from. From that conversation I learned that the company he was working for was looking for parts people- at the time I was building hydraulic hoses and selling parts. I decided to give it a go and change jobs and it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done..

Mason Server asked his cousin Hayden McCalib to help him sing the final song in the set.

In a way, I guess that meeting with Mason changed my life. A new job, new friends, Mason was the first artist who actually believed in my blog and gave me credit and confidence to persue my dreams. I still ain’t where I want to be but I am a hell of a lot better than I ever was.

It wasn’t long after that first night that I ended up divorced. Through some personal experiences and work on myself and with the support system of some amazing individuals like the McCalibs and family.

I was able to walk through it with grace and dignity. I found myself diving deeper into my recovery and learning to love myself again. These people never judge me for who I am and I have just as much fun on the dance floor at a Gin Line show sober as they do 13 beers in.. to each is own..

Happy anniversary Mitch and Terri. Thank you for the Memories…

Pancho.

Tough Country

“Wonder why we settled here,” sings William Clark Green, “ with the rattlesnakes and the prickly pear and a water table two hundred feet down…”

The Panhandlers were ecstatic to be back in West Texas last night as they graced the stage at the Wagner Noel in Midland.

This band’s music centers around the land they all adopted as home.. a sentiment that rings in as West Texas the Best Texas.

Cleto Cordero Flatland Cavalry/ Panhandlers

Band member Cleto Cordero grew up in Midland and the hometown advantage was felt by all.. as his mother sat in the front row he sang the songs he’d written along the way from places like Lubbock and Marfa and Eastland. Songs about the oil and the cattle and the cotton,

I love the people here most of all and there is a culture that is a mixture of a cowboy and a farmer and a roughneck and everyone in between..

This was the second time I’ve seen this act live although I’ve seen each individually.

The singers of the band consist of Cleto, who heads up his band Flatland Cavalry, William Clark Green, Texas Country turned Rock Show, Josh Abbott of the JAB who holds the whole project together, and songwriter and performer John Baumann. Each brings talented musicians from their own groups together on one stage as they sing songs together in a style that is not usually heard in their own shows.. Each of them are accomplished songwriters and together they are unstoppable.

The ties they share stem from their college days as alumni of Texas Tech university and their love of songwriting.. specifically songs about Texas..

The band plays mainly original songs they’ve written although they can and will throw in covers by other notable Texas Musicians, including Guy Clark , and Terry Allen. They also recorded a song called “West Texas in My Eyes,” written by a personal friend of theirs and mine, Charlie Stout. And last night they covered the Highwaymen… Willie Nelson , Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings.

I ain’t crying…

Pancho.

Midland Jamboree

“Well fix your hair up big as Heaven I’ll go down to the 7-11,” begins one of the Panhandlers newest creations, Midland Jamboree.

This evening , in the neighboring county of Midland, the Panhandlers performed live at the historic Ector Theater.

Keller Cox kicked off the show, opening for the Texas Country supergroup the Panhandlers. Accompanying Keller was Flatland Cavalry fiddle player, Wesley Hall.

Keller Cox announced during his set that he has been in Lubbock Texas just this week recording for an upcoming LP.

Keller T Cox With Wesley Hall Ector Theater Odessa Tx 11/19/22

The Panhandlers is made up of Cleto Cordero the front man for Flatland Cavalry, William Clark Green, Josh Abbott of the Josh Abbott band, and John Baumann. I always knew these people were some extraordinary songwriters in their own right, but when the four of these guys got together to write some songs what they came up with was magical.

I discovered the Panhandlers after an introduction to songwriter Charlie Stout at the BlueLight in Lubbock by Mason Server of Mason and The Gin Line. Stout had written a song called “West Texas in My Eye.” The song was covered by the Panhandlers band. The song appears as performed by the Panhandlers on the television series Yellowstone. I was proud to hear William Clark Green give a huge shoutout to Stout tonight from the stage for his songwriting ability and work on that song. Green also explained that it was Josh Abbott who pitched the song to the group. “We’ve got to do this song,” Abbott told the others. What a beautiful decision it was for all involved.

The Panhandlers original LP has become one of my favorite albums of all time. The song Cactus Flower, penned by Cordero for his wife Kaitlin Butts quickly became “our song,” for my girlfriend and I. We were both emotional after finally getting to hear the song live together this evening.

Currently the Panhandlers have 14 original songs. In tonight’s set the group of songwriters each performed one of their own original songs. They also covered a few more. During the encore, the group did a stellar performance of the Terry Allen tune Amarillo Highway.

I had a grand time seeing these guys play. If you get a chance to see them, it’s a show that you won’t want to miss. I’ll keep listening and looking forward to more songs about the culture and class of the West Texas Caprock.

West Texas is The Best Texas

Pancho.

West Texas is The Best Texas

The Texas Country super group The Panhandlers is at it again. West Texas is The Best Texas is there latest EP and a song written by Cleto Cordero.

Cleto Cordero, member of the Panhandlers and also the front man of Flatland Cavalry, knows the best because he’s been there. Cordero was born and raised in West Texas, originally from Midland. During his college years he cut his teeth in the music scene at places like the BlueLight in Lubbock.

West Texas is the Best Texas is a moniker I’ve adopted and made my own. I first heard the term by songwriter- and world class photographer Charlie Stout. The Stout penned “West Texas in My Eye” is for sure a fan favorite song that the Panhandlers play. The song was even featured on the television series Yellowstone.

West Texas is the Best Texas,

Pancho.

A Night at the Light

Well… That Just Happened
Charlie Stout

Last night I witnessed perhaps one of the greatest moments in Mason Server’s career. Mason and the Gin Line put on perhaps their greatest performance to date. Texas Singer/ Songwriter and artist Charlie Stout and I had a short conversation after the event and in a description of the show, Charlie in his slow drawl simply stated, “Well… That Just Happened.”

The musical Gods were shining in the old Bluelight in the Depot District of Lubbock, Texas last night. I saw 3 bands and none of them were a disappointment. Besides just the bands I saw some good friends and made some new ones. Everyone seemed to be feeling the buzz in the room. The crowd was visibly entertained from start to finish. Blaze Butler, Mason and The Gin Lines bass player once told me, “The Blue Light is a wierd little place but it’s our place we like it.” All 3 bands that played there last night had the hometown advantage as they all had some beginnings in that little place that feels like home.

Eric Harrison, Marco Gutierrez with Blaze Butler

During the set, lead singer of the Gin Line Mason Server shared his heart and gave thanks to those who had helped him when no one else would to be able to get his start. During his song “Pipeliner” Mason called his producer, Eric Harrison and Marco Gutierrez of Dirty River Boys, now the lead of West Texas Exiles to the stage to sing the song with him. On the Mason and Gin Line album, Caprock Composition, it is Marcos voice that can be heard in the harmonies.

Cale and the 45s kicked things off last night, Cale has super talent. Cale is another Texas artist who plays country rock and plays it from the soul. At one point during Cale’s set I jokingly told Mason, “they are pretty good for an opening band.”Masons response was, “They are the bomb.”

The West Texas Exiles were next. They are a phenomenal mix of talent. The vibe seemed to flow more naturally for them than it had the night before at the Goldenlight and they found their sounds together on the ol’ Bluelight stage. Last night was only the bands second show together as the West Texas Exiles. A namesake that comes from one of the bands songs. The group played together as if they had been touring together for years.

The night was one of the best days I have had in a long time. There’s something about live music that sets me free. I can’t wait to get to do it all again, see ya down the road.

Pancho.