JAN 5 2024  The Gruene Grove                          PHOTOS  
SMOKEHOUSE HOSTS FIRST FRIDAY BLUES BASH

The innaugural First Friday Blues Bash for 2024. Days before the show all eyes were on weather apps to see what the forecast was for Friday night. The temperature at downbeat was looking to be 60 or below. Chris, manager of The Gruene Grove and friend to SGA and our fans, said "LET'S DO IT!"  We let everyone know the show was on and we got on the road to Gruene. This would be our second show with our new lineup with Low Dog on guitar/vocals and DC on bass. The fire pits were glowing when we got there to set up and a small crowd was gathering. Scott and Sammy were excited to play through their brand new Brad McCool amps. Tanner, sound man from Head Waters Sound, took care of getting the stage wired and sound checks done. Downbeat was right on schedule and the night was off to a great start. SGA All-Star Jason Crisp came down from Austin and got to play a few songs. We were glad to have our dear friends Jeanette and Big Mike in the audience. And joining the Butler section were Sarah and Graham. Our other friends Eddie and Greg came to watch and before you knew it, 10:00 was upon us. It was a wonderful show and ended just in time before it got real cold. And, to the amazement of his close friends, Sam Langford Massey played a Les Paul Gold Top for the ENTIRE show. We have evidence!

W h a t   a   S p l e n d i d   V e r s i o n   o f   t h e   B a n d
TRUE TO SMOKEHOUSE FORM ... THREE SMOKIN' GUITARS AND A HEAVY RHYTHM SECTION

Since January of 2020, the starting lineup for Smokehouse Guitar Army included Granvil Poynter on guitar/vocals and David Meissner on bass. We had known eachother since around 2006 and frequently played together, at a jam or sitting in for a gig. The full time schedule started on the third day of 2020. Our First Friday residence show at The Cove. Joining Scott and Sam: Granvil and David with Rene "Maddog" Lopez on drums. This version of Smokehouse was a beautiful fit of music and friendship. Besides all the San Antonio shows, this team traveled and performed together up in Gruene, over in Houston, and outer Austin. The two times this group played Houston it was a special treat: the wives came on the trip, families and fans came in from everywhere to see us. Fun times with fans and family! Everywhere, everytime.

Granvil and David will be putting all their effort into their band and we know they will continue to do great things. They are fantastic musicians. And they are our friends.

Since January of 2020, the starting lineup for Smokehouse Guitar Army included Granvil Poynter on guitar/vocals and David Meissner on bass. We had known eachother since around 2006 and frequently played together, at a jam or sitting in for a gig. The full time schedule started on the third day of 2020. Our First Friday residence show at The Cove. Joining Scott and Sam: Granvil and David with Rene "Maddog" Lopez on drums. This version of Smokehouse was a beautiful fit of music and friendship. Besides all the San Antonio shows, this team traveled and performed together up in Gruene, over in Houston, and outer Austin. The two times this group played Houston it was a special treat: the wives came on the trip, families and fans came in from everywhere to see us. Fun times with fans and family! Everywhere, everytime.

Granvil and David will be putting all their effort into their band and we know they will continue to do great things. They are fantastic musicians. And they are our friends.

DEC 10 2023  The Gruene Grove                          PHOTOS  
SMOKEHOUSE HOSTS GRUENE GROVE BLUES JAM

This would be our last gig for the year and we were hoping that the weather would hold out so we could have a good turnout for the finale. The sun was out since early morning and there was little or no wind. So the temperature was comfortable and the sun was radiant in a clear sky. The place filled up real quick and you could see that eveyone was ready for some good blues. It was the December Gruene Grove Blues Jam, hosted by the new-look Smokehouse Guitar Army.

Smokehouse is built around incorporating three unique vocal styles and guitar techniques. With the recent vacancy, we are pleased to announce that Low Dog has joined Smokehouse. He will front the band with Scotty and Sammy on lead guitar and vocals. Coming back to the band is SGA All-Star DC Olson, acclaimed bass player. He will be joining drummer John Butler in our heavy duty rhythm. The jam was a great way to end the year. With our new lineup we had an absolutely fantastic show. It was great to see our friends and fans so we could wish everyone Happy Holidays. We are ready for 2024. First show: First Friday at The Gruene Grove Friday January 5, 2024. See y'all there!

R e a d y   t o   B o o g i e   i n   2 0 2 4   !
TRUE TO SMOKEHOUSE FORM ... THREE SMOKIN' GUITARS AND A HEAVY RHYTHM SECTION

DEC 10 2023  The Gruene Grove                          PHOTOS  
SMOKEHOUSE HOSTS GRUENE GROVE BLUES JAM

This would be our last gig for the year and we were hoping that the weather would hold out so we could have a good turnout for the finale. The sun was out since early morning and there was little or no wind. So the temperature was comfortable and the sun was radiant in a clear sky. The place filled up real quick and you could see that eveyone was ready for some good blues. It was the December Gruene Grove Blues Jam, hosted by the new-look Smokehouse Guitar Army.

Smokehouse is built around incorporating three unique vocal styles and guitar techniques. With the recent vacancy, we are pleased to announce that Low Dog has joined Smokehouse. He will front the band with Scotty and Sammy on lead guitar and vocals. Coming back to the band is SGA All-Star DC Olson, acclaimed bass player. He will be joining drummer John Butler in our heavy duty rhythm. The jam was a great way to end the year. With our new lineup we had an absolutely fantastic show. It was great to see our friends and fans so we could wish everyone Happy Holidays. We are ready for 2024. First show: First Friday at The Gruene Grove Friday January 5, 2024. See y'all there!

G u i t a r l i n g t o n   2 0 2 3
GREAT ROAD TRIP ... GREAT FRIENDS ... COOL GEAR

		October 20-22 2023. Arlington, Texas. Arlington Convention Center. It's an annual tradition to attend the GuitArlington show to see some very fine equipment from all over the world. The vendors are as unique as the gear they display and after all these years we have become very familiar with them. It was good to see San Antonio local guitar shop owners Jason from Spacetone Music and Joe from Robot Monster searching for that next great find. The annaul tradition is hooking up with our good friends from Third Eye Music out of Springfield, Missouri. We were also going to meet up with some new friends, Ken and TIna from SK Guitars in San Antonio. SK Guitars just became a Coprorate Sponsor of the San Antonio Blues Society. This year's trip had one more special twist to it. Our good friend Jeff from New Mexico was convinced (by us) to join us on our adventure. So, flights were booked, gas tanks were filled. Destination: Arlington. The show felt comfortable right away. Familiar booths and some new vendors. And as usual we ran into our friend Chuck Zeigler. Eventually we made it over to the Third Eye Music booth, greeted by our friends Tom and Jeff. Tom is a renownded Les Paul expert.
	Jeff • Scott • Victor • Sam First Supper	They let us in! Good for the venue? For the vendors? For our wallets?	Ruth Brinkmann, one of The Ones in Charge, visits with Scott and Sam
	Wall to wall great gear! Always alot to see ... and buy!	If one enjoys shiney objects and neat shapes that need to be here	PSA: This could happen if you do not control your guitar gettin'
	Tina and Ken Jackson with Sam	Chris, supporting Third Eye Music, hanging with Sam and Jeff	Sam, Jeff and Jeff's new acoustic. Sam really likes it. Uh oh.
	Tom and Scott, Chris and Sam	Scott, Ken, Chris, Tina, Jeff, Sam	Long time friends, Scott and Jeff.
	Sam Tom Damir Chris The Crew from Arlington      Jeff  Scott  Ken  Tina  Jeff
	And now, the pefect ending to the roadtrip: Stephenville's Hard 8 BBQ	Selection limited to well-smoked meats and super tasty sides	Let 'em know you saw it here! The Hard 8 BBQ in Stephenville
click here to see all the fotos from our trip to Guitarlington
Thanks Everyone! A GREAT time! Again next year!

W a

It's typical with Texas winter weather that their will be show postponements and cancellations. We lost shows in January to the weather. Fortunately, we did get one of our February shows in, hosting the Gruene Grove Blues Jam. While Scott's physical therapy and rehabilitation we cruising on all eight cylinders, he felt that he needed to sit out one more show to be sure that his return to the stage would be strong and enjoyable. The Texas Saint, Michael Mulligan, sat in for Scotty on vocals and guitar. Now, the weather is getting nicer and shows are pretty much happening as scheduled.

In March Scott is feeling that he was ready to return to the stage. FIrst show in March is our first Friday gig at The Gruene Grove. The plan is to have SGA All-Star Jason Crisp back down in and share guitar and vocal work with Scott. As it happened, the Army turned into Guitar Nation ... four guitars bringing the powerful boogie that only four guitars can do! Fellow All-Star Shelby Cheyenne played the second and received applause after several of her lead solos. And, we celebrated Scott's birthday with cake and toasting. This was a fun night that a lot of us needed. It was good having eveyone hanging out together and the band played sure played great!

FEBRUARY 13  SGA hosts The Gruene Grove Jam   PHOTOS

Hosting the Gruene Grove Blues Jam is one our favorite gigs. The weather is (normally) great and it's fun to hang out with visitors from out of town who came by to enjoy great music from area blues players. It was fun getting to jam with our longtime friend and All-Star Michael "The Texas Saint" Mulligan. Scott was still sidelined so this was a great chance to play with Micheal again.