March 19: The Continental Club. This set, led by Dave Alvin, is to celebrate the release of a Chris Gaffney Tribute CD, on which I had the honor to play a couple of songs. We nail it. Chris Gaffney, for anyone who didn't know, was one terrific singer and songwriter, with whom I had the pleasure of working many times and who had been a good friend for many years, before his passing on in 2008. I highly recommend the new CD, "The Man Of Somebody's Dreams".
March 25: Waring General Store, near Comfort, on the banks of the Guadelupe River. They want us for their CRAWFUNK Festival next month. Mmm...ok, sounds like it will be right up our alley.
April 1: The Hen House Cafe in Comfort for their big, annual, Crawfish Boil. Good crowd.
April 4: Antone's for Jesse "Guitar" Taylor's Birthday Party. Huge turnout. On-stage and off.
April 14: Texas State University, LBJ Student Center in San Marcos, to hear Ray Wiley Hubbard, Cody Canada and others perform live, with yours truly helping to back them up.
April 18: Manchaca Volunteer Firefighters Pavillion in  Manchaca, for the biggest-ever FIREBALL, with proceeds going, as always, to the Shriner's Burn Institute. This is a crawfish boil, plus there is brisket, sausage, hot dogs and whatever. We don't play until evening, but the fun begins early and we see plenty of old friends there.
April 30: It is Joel Guzman's birthday at Threadgill's South; there are many accordion-players there! Oww...!
May 1: Man, suddenly, I am getting busy, again! I don't know whether to thank the stimulus bill or what! Anyway, my thinking has always been to get it while you can and that seems to be working pretty well for me at this point. I hope that staying busy will continue to allow me to get better at what I do. And, I hope I can just stay busy.
May 2:Horny Toad Harley-Davidson in Temple, rain or shine, for a Crawfish Fest. Lots of cool bikes.
May 21: The Long Center for The Performing Arts, for a CD  Release Party. This is more than a concert, it's a little bit like "An Evening With Myrna", which is also part of the billing. The crowd is enthusiastic and I get to meet, and play music with, Jerry Martini, the sax player who put together the Sly ∗The Family Stone band. His playing is great, and, also, he turns out to be quite a nice guy. The CD (highly recommended) is "Letting Go" by Myrna Cabello.
May 22: Riley's Tavern in Hunter, where we always sound good.
May 23: Fredericksburg Crawfish Festival, where my band includes, in addition to R.C., Scott and Danny, the lovely Miss Conni Hancock and, the equally lovely, Miss Cindy Cashdollar, two outstanding examples of this Austin scene. And who, by the way, tear it up!
May 24: Gruene Hall near New Braunfels for the King Of Feel-Good Music in his favorite dancehall.
June 13: The Chisholm Trail Festival in Lockhart. This will make the 14th time we have played here. Excellent. Like I said, fourteen...
June 20: Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, and we are helping celebrate the club's 35th Anniversary. And, actually, there is some evidence to suggest that yours truly even played there during their opening months, with Joe Ely. (They tell me I had a wonderful time...)
June 27: Villa's Beer Garden, for a CD Release Party for Joel Guzman and Sarah Fox. Their newest is "Conjuntazzo" and, I  highly recommend you check this CD out. Joel is, actually, awesome, and he and his wife, Sarah, just harmonize like angels.
July 4: Crystal Falls Golf Club in Leander for a big Fourth Of July Celebration. Fireworks in the sky.
July 27: This evening, I cut the index finger on my right hand on a tree limb. I had to go to the emergency room, have 9 stitches and a tetanus shot. I, also, had to cancel a couple of gigs, which really made me think. Anyway, no tendons were damaged and things got back to normal soon.
August 13: Odessa, Texas for a big, Hot Summer Nights Concert at Odessa College. A six-piece band is called for, including George Carver on lap-steel and harp, with Conni Hancock on vocals and guitar. Excellent. Jim Starboard fills in on drums and, as always, brings his A-game.
September 25: Last Chance Chili and BBQ Cook-Off at Leon's Country Store in Rockne. Rockne isn't on most maps; I found it in the Texas Almanac.
September 26: The Uptown Festival in Dallas, at the corner of Fairmount ∗Cedar Springs. I play next to last, right in between Beto y Los Fairlanes and Brave Combo, a couple of my favorite groups. It is all good. Scott Wade can't make the trip, so, many thanks to Fort Worth's Gunzy Trevino, our drummer for the day.
September 27: KEOS-FM Volunteer Jam at the Hullabaloo Diner in the College Station area, that's Texas A ∗M country, alma mater of both my youngest daughter, Leah, and, my dad, Ponty, Sr. I feel comfortable here, for some reason.
October 2: I fly to France, arriving the next morning, and immediately get busy. Here is my itenerary:
October 3: Blues Night in Town Hall in LES JUNIES
October 4: La Tanneries, a bar in AGEN
October 9: La Luna Negra in BAYONNE, a wonderful, cave-like, room and, today is actually my birthday, so...  yeah, we tear the place up. My band is, again, Abdell on upright bass, Junior Delmas on drums and "Mr. Tchang" on guitar. Much thanks to them, and to all their families, for allowing them to tour with me. And, for making me feel welcome in their homes.
October 10: The Fairfield Café in TOULOUSE. This place reminds me of the fun Celeste and I had here last year, although this year it is all about me doing what I do best, and I travel alone, except for the band.
October 17: L'Odéon Theatre, in TREMBLAY EN FRANCE, just outside Paris. Our last night and we leave them with our best show yet. We opened for the legendary John Primer, bluesman deluxe on his own European tour, after many years with Magic Slim and that great band. In the lobby, there is a meet ∗greet between shows and, guess what? I am beginning to love these French people, as I get to go over there more and more often. They have a lot of soul.
October 18: Back to the U.S.A., one long flight from Paris to Houston and... right back to work. (In this business, one either complains about too much work or too little work...) Given that millions of people would give anything to get to go, I guess I should say that it all went wonderfully well. I met a new promoter or two, a new magazine writer, or two, and, had some excellent gigs. Add to that, a new fan or two, and, it was a huge success!!!
October 22: Guero's Taco Bar
October 23: McAdoo's Seafood Company in New Braunfels.
October 24: The Fredericksburg Wine ∗Music Festival
October 25: Gruene Hall and, I must say, what a wonderful birthday party. Shelley King was in the house, as was James Hinkle, from Fort Worth, both of whom "tore it up" with me and the Squeezetones. Lots of other musicians were there, too. Then, after a bunch of good jams, Joe Ely came and, as usual, stole the show, all the while wishing yours truly a happy 70X Around The Sun. So much extra-good music; so many folks and so much cake!!! And ... the presents!!! First and foremost, I hope everyone got to see the "Ponty Bone" neon sign. I hope this because, if you didn't, you probably won't... I have it safely mounted on a wall at home. Thanks to everyone for your birthday wishes expressed here and there, and, most especially, to those of you who came out, in person.
November 6: Antone's, where I am one of many special guests at a birthday party for Doug Sahm, who left us just a short ten years ago. What a night! Among those I played, or visited, with, were Augie Meyers, Louis Ortega, Jimmie Vaughan, Lou Ann Barton, Larry Lange, Sarah Brown, De Llewellyn, Shawn Sahm and so many more. By the way, the Doug Sahm tribute CD is called "Keep Your Soul" and, even though I am not on it, it features Delbert, Flaco, Los Lobos, Jimmie Vaughan, Charlie Sexton and many others, and is highly recommended. November 8: Java Jive, a Benefit for the Katherine Anne Porter School in Wimberley, featuring Doyle Bramhall, Van Wilks, Terri Hendrix with Lloyd Maines and, pb and the Squeezetones.
November 20: Central Market
November 27: Billy Ray Mangum's Sleeping Dog Art Studio, in San Marcos, for his annual party, featuring 15 artists or so, with special stuff for Christmas. Billy Ray already said they want the band back for next year, the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. Oww..!
December 3: Austin Bergstrom International Airport, for fliers only, but there are lots of those, especially this time of year, and, sure enough, there is a big crowd. Like almost always, there are one or two who we win over with our music, and who sign up to receive the Newsletter, and/or buy a CD.
December 11: The Evangeline Cafe. I love this place, all the people who work here, the owner and, especially, the food. See you for their next, annual, huge, Mardi Gras party. Oh, yeah, indoors and out.
December 30: The Ponty Bone Trio plays again at Gruene Hall from 1-5 this afternoon. Richard Bowden is back from Africa with tall tales galore; there is a bigger-than-average crowd and we have lots of fun.
December 31: For the first time since I can't remember when, I am off for New Year's Eve. And... I love it! Here is hoping that our country recovers enough of it's economic muscle to once again afford all of us a comfortable living. And me some good-paying work on New Year's Eve. In the meantime, all my thanks to each of you, your families and especially to my own family, for allowing me to say, with pride... I am a musician.

2010

January 1: This year reflects a change in my musical habits. I have (through no fault of my own, I might add...) played with my band, The Squeezetones, a little less and (somewhat...) made up for it by playing more as a duo or trio with other people and even a bit more by playing as a solo performer, both live and in recording sessions. You put it all together and then you call it "a career in music", I always say. My first priority is to continue to make beautiful music and... I still get in a lot of practice, an essential ingredient. Here is the year in review. I consider myself so fortunate to do something I actually practice at, like for fun.
January 15: As I do quite often, I join the R.C. Banks Band, comprised of ex-wife Amy Banks on drums and Mingo Bonecrusher on bass, at The Triple Crown in San Marcos. R.C. has been playing this gig, almost every two weeks, since The Triple Crown first became a bar. (Note: this was back during a whole other century...)
January 28: Gruene Hall with the Ponty Bone Trio. This is a group made up of R.C. Banks on guitar, Richard Bowden on fiddle and me.
January 29: Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos with those mighty Squeezetones.
February 4: The Mule Pub. The following four gigs are all in Ft. Worth and all feature the many fine musicians who make up that scene, one of the best in Texas. Thanks to Gunzy Trevino, James Hinkle and, the great Perry Jones, who kept us late on Sunday night with his blues. Hm, hm, hm.
February 5: Mambo's in Fort Worth
February 6-7: The Keys Lounge in Fort Worth
February 13: C. Hunt's Ice House in North Austin. Back with my Squeezetones: R.C., Danny and Scott for even more fun.
February 16: The Evangeline Cafe for Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) Night
February 20: Guero's Taco Bar
March 7: El Sol Y La Luna Restaurant for a Save The Lake Benefit featuring Sara Hickman and Bill Oliver
March 10: Jovita's for a very Special Birthday Party for Traci Lamar Hancock.
March 11-13: It's time again for the National Accordion Association to host their annual convention in Dallas. For more info, please go to: www.accordions.com/naa
March 20: Well, it's official. Yours truly has just been inducted into the Austin Chronicle Hall Of Fame, joining Joe Ely, Doug Sahm and so many others. What, after all, can one say? I am just deeply touched. As one of my songs says: "I hope everybody in here, gets everything they deserve," ... just like I continue to get, I'll add. Thanks to my folks (for so much, but especially for those accordion lessons from age 5 to 12,) to my Celeste (for my wonderful, last 17 years,) to my kids and grandkids (whose Dad &/or Grandad was "on the road" for many years,) and to all my fellow musicians.


March 25: Stephenville for the Cross Timbers Arts Council's Ragin' Cajun Dinner & Dance
March 27: Rosedale Ride at Samsung Computers in North Austin, a tradition that goes "Way Back"
March 27: Central Market
April 11: Giddy-Up's in Manchacha for the Weekend-Long Austin Outhouse Reunion, featuring Butch Hancock, Gurf Morlix, and many more
April 15: Gruene Hall for The Ponty Bone Trio
April 17: Roadhouse Rags in South Austin, Texas. A live music venue + used clothing store. It was a cold night, but the music also included the R. C. Banks Band and it was B.Y.O.B. (Texan for "Bring Your Own Bottle") You know, btw, as I may have mentioned before, I have a negative reaction whenever I see someone use the 2-letter code for the state name, a la the Post Office. For me, as long as I can write it out, I'll continue to write out T-E-X-A-S. All the other states, as well. And, some of them have pretty long names and might even cause you to have to think. Hey, that (come to think about it) is good for you.
April 23: Elgin City Park with Ernie Durawa from the Texas Tornados on drums.
April 28: McAdoo's Restaurant in New Braunfels. These folks always send us home with a little take-out and... it is So Delicious!!!
April 29: KUT-FM along with the fantastic Santiago Jimenez and the, equally, fantastic Joel Guzman and a star-studded band at 2 in the afternoon.
April 30: Threadgill's South for Accordion Mania II featuring Santiago and Joel along with several other outstanding accorion-players. And, it's to celebrate Joel's birthday.
May !: Hills Edge Pub & Grille in Wimberley
May 2: Guero's Taco Bar, rain or shine.
May 8: McAdoo's in New Braunfels
May 19: McAdoo's in New Braunfels
May 30: The Evangeline Cafe for a Texicalli Grill Reunion. Did we have fun celebrating at The Texicalli Grill Reunion, or what??? Me, personally, I played my best. R.C. was hot, both on guitar and singing, Howard Kalish joined us on fiddle, Curtis Clark, or Conni Hancock, played the rubboard, we had the always-excellent (and our number one substitute) Chico Oropeza on drums and Danny Wade on bass. They even had a Texicalli menu with "Dixie Red Hot" sandwiches and "Queso Fries" on it. Man, I really miss that Texicalli lunch menu but, even more, I miss my outspoken friend, Danny Roy Young. He laughed so much, often at himself. For that matter, one also misses Wash Hamilton, Doug Sahm, Jesse Taylor and... so many, many more... The list is long of friends who have already gone ahead. You are all thought about and remembered often.
June 5: Induction of Ponty Bone into the South Texas Walk Of Fame (including installation of a beautiful, tile, star with my name on it) down in Corpus Christi at a ribbon-cutting at 10am. Hey, this is all just a bit much for your accordion-toting buddy. I am so thankful that I am receiving awards... while I am still able to squeeze that box! On this night, btw, we also play the Executive Surf Club, with local hero Spencer Jarmon added to the band. Fellow new honorees include Ray Price, Mike Blakely, Terri Hendrix, Michael O'Connor and Agapito Zuniga (a legendary accordionist who favored the piano-key accordion, unlike most of his contemporaries) join such stars as Selena, Kris Kristofferson, Pozo Seco Singers and Christopher Cross.
June 10: Hill's Cafe for a Fund-Raiser for Missing Person Julie Ann Gonzalez. Larry Lange & The Lonely Knights are also featured. They are so good!
June 12: The Tornado Gallery in Lubbock for the Annual Birthday Celebration of a true Lubbock hero, Jesse "Guitar" Taylor. The Texana Dames, Mike Pritchard and Patricia Vonne are also featured and it run's way late, like it's supposed to.
June 17: City Park Pavillion in San Marcos for the Summer In The Park Concert Series. This is one of the first outings for the 5-piece Squeezetones, which features Spencer Jarmon on guitar and, fellow San Marcos-resident, R.C. Banks on piano and organ. We rule!
June 25: McAdoo's in New Braunfels
June 27: Gruene Hall near New Braunfels
July 3: Guero's Taco Bar. Despite our having played there many times, this is not "just another night"... Guero's noise permit has been pulled, we hope temporarily, and, in the meantime, there are no amps or speakers allowed. Truly acoustic. Acoustic bass, fiddle, guitar and accordion, no (electrical) help! The crowd had been moved forward from their regular seating at Guero's, which, normally, is back, allowing for a (dusty) dance floor. But, still...
June 9: Giddy-Ups in Manchaca. As I said in my Newsletter, NOTE: The Keepers, Brad Brobisky's band, which features me on accordion and also Spencer Jarmon on guitar (although this band did a brief tour of Holland with Jesse "Guitar" Taylor and me, once upon a time... see January 1996) and others. This is a, not surprisingly, good band, which, I guess explains why we just won't "go away".
June 10: Jovita's, with, again, the 5-piece band.
June 18: A Consciousness-Raiser for Missing Person: Julie Ann Gonzalez at Verde's on Hamilton Pool Road between Highway 71 and Ranch Road 12 . This girl, Julie Ann, is a fan of mine and her life demands an accounting. Her grandfather is an old friend whom I will help as long as I am able.
June 23: The Wildseed Farms near Fredericksburg for their Gourmet Chili Pepper & Salsa Festival, again featuring our (hot by now) 5-piece band. We make lots of new friends here and take home lots of stuff.
August 14: Today, it's Red Deer, Alberta, Canada for the Central Music Festival. The last time I played in Red Deer was when I had Creole fiddler/guitarist/chef D'Jalma Garnier in the band and he, along with promoter James Harvey, cooked up crawfish and gumbo and served up Texas wines there. (see November 1989) It was our 3rd trip to Western Canada. This time, we play great.
August 20: Tonight, we get to open for our good friends, Grammy-winners Brave Combo at Gruene Hall.
August 21: Guero's on South Congress
August 27: GiddyUp's in Manchaca. Yeah, it's me and the 5-piece Squeezetones kicking it.
August 28: Riley's Tavern in Hunter, Texas. This little community is just a few miles down the road from me and... who would have thought they would support two music venues? Yep, they don't have a Post Office or a convenience store but, they do have, both the oldest bar in Texas (Riley's) and, perhaps, one of the newest, The Happy Cow. Anyway, the new one is a pretty standard-looking steel building, known more for it's monthly belt-sander races than anything else.
September 1: OK, this is the month that my friends, the band, Chicken Mambo, comes to the Hill Country from Italy. This is the group which backed me up at the Rendez-Vous Festival in France in 2004 (see: youtube and then go to the one titled "MICIO OF THE ITALIAN LOW LIFE BAND WITH PONTY BONE") and, this is the group who opened for me at my 60th Birthday celebration (See October 1999) at Jovita's. I hope everybody was able to see them at one or the other of their gigs, most of which I joined them for.

September 11: ∗ The Uptown Marble Theater in Marble Falls for a live recording featuring Chicken Mambo's Fabrizio Poggi, Roberto Re, Stefano Bertolotti and Gianfranco "French" Scala, as well as Flaco Jimenez, Floyd Domino, Tommy Elskes, Debbi Walton, and many more. (∗ denotes a Chicken Mambo gig)
September 12: ∗Gruene Hall near New Braunfels on a Sunday afternoon. Tracie Ferguson, the long-time booker for Gruene Hall, is a long-time fan of Fabrizio and his band.
September 14: ∗Antone's, the Home Of The Blues. Ditto for Susan Antone.
September 17: ∗Mike Blakely's Fandango at Riverside Resort in Canyon Lake
September 18: Guero's with my own band, The Squeezetones.
September 19: Luckenbach Dance Hall near Fredericksburg, again, for a Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow, Chicken Mambo heads back to Italy with a new recording ready to edit and master.
September 23: ∗∗Zanders House in Plano (∗∗denotes a James Hinkle gig)
September 24: ∗∗Barking Rocks Winery in Granbury. Hey, this was a fun gig and featured some excellent wine!
September 25: ∗∗The Ridglea Jazz Cafe in Fort Worth
September 26: ∗∗The Attic Series House Concerts in Fort Worth. Hinkle and I are seated, telling stories and singing songs in an attic full of people on Fort Worth's Southside on a Sunday afternoon.
September 28: Back in Austin, I get to play The Broken Spoke with, among others, accordion and piano-playing Debra Peters and Jay Hudson on steel guitar.
October 1: Man, life is really getting fun. Some of my best playing has always been behind other singers and September was no exception. What with playing 6 gigs around the hill country with the Italian band, Chicken Mambo, and four gigs with my buddy, James Hinkle, up in the D/FW Metroplex. It doesn't get much better than this... By the way, both Chicken Mambo and James Hinkle have new CDs out and would love to hear from you at their websites. Google them; I can personally guarantee you will like their stuff. October 1st falls on a Friday this month and, as luck would have it, we do have a gig at Gruene Hall near New Braunfels that day. This club has been my "home" for many years; those lucky enough to be around New Braunfels that day listen to KNBT 92.1 FM in the afternoon for a quick interview with yours truly.
October 2: Cypress Creek Cafe in Wimberley. There is a new owner and "different" music is said to be a top priority; hey, that's me...
October 10: Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio at 4pm Sunday afternoon , celebrating The San Antonio Blues Society's 20th Anniversary.
October 20: McAdoo's in New Braunfels for delicious food and the Ponty Bone Trio.
October 22: The Allgood Cafe in Dallas. It is me and The Squeezetones, R.C. on keys PLUS James Hinkle on guitar and Gunzy Trevino on drums. Small-ish crowd but great music. Dallas. October 29: The Evangeline Cafe
November 6: The Tommy Elskes Duo (with Tommy and myself) opening for... James McMurtry at Gruene Hall
November 9: The Tommy Elskes Duo opening for... Lyle Lovett at Gruene Hall. I have never been treated so well, as part of an opening act. This crew set up special sound for just the two of us, completely. It was set-up and, then, not messed with. Lyle is, it seems, the real deal. Russ Kunkel on drums and Leland Sklar on bass join my old friend, Austin's Mitch Watkins, on guitar and a band of 15 or so awesome players.
November 13: The Happy Cow in Hunter.
November 24: R.C. Banks, our guitar player since the middle of 2007 (and our guitar player from 1983-1989) has a heart attack. The good news is that he is alright now and will be back soon.
November 26: Holiday Art Show & Dance at Sleeping Dog Art Studio near San Marcos, featuring Boy Wells on guitar.
November 27: Guero's Taco Bar, featuring Pat McCann on guitar.
December 1: Gruene Hall for the Ponty Bone Trio, this time Danny Wade on bass, Boy Wells on guitar and me.
December 3: Giddy-Ups in Manchaca for The Keepers.
December 18: The Happy Cow in Hunter.
December 31: Let me say that it has been a lot of fun being me lately and I wish all y'all the very best life has to offer. Have the best New Year you can have from Ponty Bone, another year older... FANTASIZE. By the way, don't forget to support your local scene by buying and giving CDs of your favorite artists as gifts. This is an absolutely fun thing to shop for, I might add. Take your time, think of everybody... Ask where the "local" stuff is and, if they don't have any, get out of there! It's a chain store!!!

2011

January 8: Guero's Taco Bar
January 14: Gruene Hall near New Braunfels
February 1: My new web-master, Rob Mahoney of RioGUMBO.com, has made lots of changes in the way the site works. For one thing, the Journal has been updated for last year. Pictures have even been added and that is all ready for viewing. For another thing, both of the two albums which I originally recorded way back in the 1980's, plus an ep and a 45, all originally on Amazing Records, will be available through the Music page on my web-site. One will be able to go there and download such classics as "Don't Call The Cops" and "Who Is They" for only 99 cents through paypal. Go. Listen to free samples. Buy.
February 11: Cypress Creek Cafe in Wimberley
February 24: The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio with Rick Cavender
February 26: C. Hunts Ice House, 9611 McNeil Road, benefiting a good cause, The Escondidos M.C.
March 1: We have the pleasure of being all over the map this next month. Map of Texas, that is. From Stephenville to the north, Kerrville to the west and San Antonio to the south; we are also looking for San Martians sightings at The Happy Cow and South Austin sightings at our old hangout, Guero's. Come one, come all.
March 4: City Limits in Stephenville, Texas for the Ragin' Cajun Dinner & Dance
March 5: Evangeline Cafe
March 8: Inn Of The Hills in Kerrville for a Mardi Gras Celebration (Go to: www.Kerrville.org for info)
March 13: Guero's Taco Bar
March 18: The Happy Cow in Hunter
March 19: Sam's Burger Joint in San Antonio, opening for Marcia Ball & Her Band
March 23: Waring General Store in Waring. Wednesday is Steaknite (Go to: www.Steaknite.com for info)
March 26: Jones Brothers Park in Jonestown for the Jonestown Cajun Cook-Off
April 3: Those who joined us at The Tarpon Ice House down in Port Aransas, for owner Paul Fain's 50th Birthday on the 2nd, found quite a party. For one thing, my old friend, French Smith, (who booked me for everything from Swamp Romp to Pecan Street Festival for at least 30 years) and who now has retired to Port Aransas, is Paul's brother-in-law and with plenty of help from his wife, Tanya, with whom I worked on several charities, the joint was jumping. For another, it was a San Marcos Suns "official" trip. That, alone, made this a huge deal.
April 9: "Crawfunk" at The Waring General Store in Waring
April 16: The Hyatt-Regency Lost Pines at Bastrop
April 29: Giddy-Up's in Manchaca, for a Keepers gig, featuring Spencer Jarmon, me and others.
April 30: The Wimberley Arts Fest in Wimberley, with Butch Hancock.
May 6: Private Performance (see photos).

May 7: Lazy Days Canteen at Roddy Tree Ranch, west of Kerrville. Cabins are available.
May 14: Cypress Creek Cafe in Wimberley for the annual Crawfish Festival. We were the headliners, but it started at noon with lots of bands.
May 21: Founder's Day in Rockwall, opening for Ray Benson & Asleep At The Wheel
May 22: Guero's Taco Bar
June 1: I'm doing a show with Owen Temple, Hal Ketchum and Kenny Grimes. It is at a place called Sacred Passages, 1218 Oakwood Loop in Wimberley (info online) and includes both some solo, strolling music and then, a little song-swapping on stage. Great time.
June 5: Gruene Hall near New Braunfels
June 9: Summer In The Park Concert Series in San Marcos. This will feature our 5th Squeezetone, the wonderful Spencer Jarmon on guitar, which moves R.C. Banks to keyboards. An excellent addition to the band, which also includes Scott Wade on drums and Danny Wade (no relation) on bass.
June 10: Night In Old Fredericksburg in Fredericksburg
June 18: The Happy Cow in Hunter
June 23: Pine Street Station on the corner of 5th and Waller. This turns out to be an artist's studio, huge and inviting.
July 4: The Tarpon Ice House in Port Aransas.
July 15: Guero's Taco Bar on S. Congress
July 24: Threadgill's WHQ on Riverside, with Karen Tyler, Billy Eli, Rosie Flores and Spencer Thomas.
August 1: My website is still at: www.PontyBone.com but things are always changing. I'm talking about things like the availability of downloading your favorite Ponty Bone tunes and charging it to paypal. By the way, they send me a note, complete with the customer's email address, each time someone buys one and, so far, they have all received a personal word from either myself or the webmaster. Available are alternate takes on two songs ("Texas Jumbo Shrimp" and "Frio City Road") produced by the legendary Lloyd Maines. In addition, there are two other songs ("Don't Call The Cops" and "Who Is They") which never saw digital reissue until now. And, finally, four other tunes which were previously available only on a 45rpm record put out by Amazing back in the 1980s. I recommend you go to my Music page to start downloading. Of course, our latest one, "FANTASIZE" is still available and it is on my Giftshop page, along with hats and tee-shirts.
August 6: Gruene Hall near New Braunfels, opening for the Texas Tornados
August 18: Concert By The Lake in Rockwall. Free. Come by car or boat.
August 26: Gruene Hall near New Braunfels. What a night it was. There was a kid there (about five years old) who played a tiny accordion, and "stole the show", as we say. There was a fully-dressed for their wedding, she dressed in white, he in tuxedo and cowboy hat, Bride and Groom. There were many more. If you want to, you can probably find the pictures.
September 2: The Happy Cow in Hunter
September 4: Cypress Creek Cafe in Wimberley
September 17: Guero's Taco Bar
October 1: I finally have my new customized Beltrami sounding like a million bucks, thanks to replacing the elaborate set-up (which included five condenser mics, a printed-circuit board, lots of circuitry, a "chip", phantom power, etc.) with a simple acoustic microphone placed amongst the smallest reeds. It sounds so much better! I finally wore out Frenchie, my Petosa, which had been played hard for over 20 years and will now replace her with Luigina, my Beltrami. I hope she lasts as long. By the way I recently went to my official Ponty Bone & The Squeezetones Facebook page. I know many of you use Facebook and probably didn't even know there is an official Ponty Bone & The Squeezetones site. So please go there and press "Like" for me and my band which presently includes me, R.C. Banks on guitar, Danny Wade on bass and, either Scott Wade or Chico Oropeza on drums. (By the way, they both play drums great...)
October 7: Guero's with Bobby Fuentes & The Flames. This is not a Squeezetones gig.
October 9: Gruene Wine & Music Fest in New Braunfels
October 14: Giddy-Ups with The Keepers. This is not a Squeezetones gig.
October15: Fishermens Celebration in Seadrift. Special thanks to solid openers The Jeff Inman Band.
October 16: Giddy-Ups with The Squeezetones, the entire weekend's proceeds to benefit HAAM.
October 22: Guero's. The Trio entertained without drums, thanks to a misunderstanding with the drummer. But, we had a fabulous night anyway, and... we received a $100 tip... indicating that (some of) those who were there had a great time, too. You know a few of our friend's have new CDs recently released. Randy Woodard has a new one out, so does Michael O'Connor. There are plenty to choose from by Larry Lange & His Lonely Knights. Ditto for Augie Meyers and Eric Hisaw. T. Jarrod Bonta also has a new one out. These are guaranteed to make Christmas shopping fun again, as you wind your way through Sundance Record Store (in my case...) or your own favorite music purveyor. Not to mention that we now have with us, a fresh stack of "Conway's Corner" by R.C. Banks, our guitar player and singer, on Loudhouse Records. Order them from me; he'll get the money. Or, see he or I on a break. Also, I will have out, before Christmas, a CD featuring The Willow Creek Project. This was a labor of love done at Firestation Studios in San Marcos. We promise to have another one out real soon, once again featuring the songs of both Barry Brittain and Winston Haun, who handle all the singing, and others... especially Wilbon Davis who contributed many of the songs. I co-produced it and played all over it, along with Lloyd Maines, Terri Hendrix, Paul Glasse, Richard Bowden, Grant Mazak, Aaron Lack, Lauren Rogers, The Ash Family and so many more. The Willow Creek Project is the name of the band; the CD is titled "Stepped In The Rhythm".
November 5: Guero's
November 25: Eye Of The Dog Party in San Marcos. We played this party last year; call 512-754-8171 for directions.
December 3: *Hilltop House Concert in Kerrville. This, and the following six gigs, are with Italian blues man Fabrizio Poggi. Gary Dean is on drums and, on bass or guitar, Donnie Price.
December 4: *Gruene Hall in New Braunfels
December 6: *Lucky Ranch Grill in Lampasas
December 7: *AJ's Ale House in Marble Falls
December 10: *Uptown Marble Arts Theater in Marble Falls
December 11: *Hondo's in Fredericksburg
December 13: *Fabrizio and his wife, Angelina once again return to Italy today and I am back with The Squeezetones.
December 18: Jovita's, for a Benefit for Traci Lamar Hancock (In The Name Of A Dame)
December 22: Guero's Taco Bar. With this gig, I conclude my year and look forward to the next year. I suspect it promises to be a big year for me. Once again, I wish, for family and fans, the best Holiday Season they ever experienced.

END-O

Part1 (1944-1982) | Part 2 (1983-1999) | Part 3 (2000-2006) | Part 4 (2007) | Part 5 (2008) | Part 6 (2009-present)