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. Even with he temperature 60ish, Gruene Grove Manager Chris, (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. When we got there to set up a small crowd was already gathering. Scott and Sammy were excited to play through their brand new Brad McCool amps. Tanner, sound man from Head Waters Sound, got the stage wired and sound checks done. Downbeat was right on schedule and the night was off to a great start. This would be our second show with Low Dog on guitar/vocals and DC on bass. 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 colder. To the amazement of his friends, Sam Langford Massey played a Les Paul Gold Top for the ENTIRE show. We have evidence!

R e a d y   t o   B o o g i e   i n   2 0 2 4   !
LAST SHOW OF 2023 USHERS IN NEW VERSION OF SMOKEHOUSE

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!

First Friday of 2024 we are at The Gruene Grove!  See y'all there !

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 each other 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.

Great years... Great times ... Thank you Granvil! ... Thank you David!

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!

H e l l o   2 0 2 2
2022 STARTS OFF WITH POSTPONED SHOWS BUT THE BOOGIE IS NOW BACK AND HOT!

AND SO IS SCOTT ! !

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!

MARCH 4  The Gruene Grove   PHOTOS  

Scott returns to playing and it's his birthday! Jason and Shelby join in playing.

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. 

C l o s i n g   o u t   2 0 2 1
A SHORTENED YEAR OF GIGS ... BUT EACH ONE WAS A BLAST!

2021 is now in the rear-view mirror. As always we take time to appreciate the people in our lives and the life adventures we have had. Being grateful for the gifts and kindness we have received, well, that is kind of automatic. But let's be grateful for the challenges, especially the tough ones, that we confront. By completing and overcoming these challenges we demonstrate using our talents and wits to their fullest.

As far as the latter part of 2021, we were expecting a normal course to end to the year. We had a well loaded calendar of gigs to play and the clubs were hopping. We called upon our SGA All-Stars to fill in at times due to scheduling conflicts and boy howdy they sure come through. Here's a synopisis of the Smokehouse adventures through the close of 2021.

Scott admitted to hospital for bypass surgery ...

The end of November saw Scott, Sammy, and Victor down in South Padre for the annual Thanksgiving excursion to enjoy the beach, help with the shrimp overpopulation problem and to do some blues jamming with our RGV friends. We were scheduled to return on Monday to San Antonio, but we ended up cutting the vacation a day short so we could get Scott back to San Antonio to his doctor first thing Monday morning: he was experiencing severe chest pains.

MON NOV 29  Scott goes in the morning to see his doctor. A couple of hours later he calls us to let us know his doctor  was admitting him to Baptist Medical Center downtown. They knew surgery was called for. The next order of business is to do exploratory procedure to find the exact state of his heart, blood vessels, etc. They were considering putting in stints to open up some blood vessels.

WED DEC 1  The exploratory procedure was performed and the doctors realized that the heart is damaged and would have to be repaired. Meetings were held and it was determined that a triple bypass operation was required. They would continue monitoring him and scheduled the major surgery the following week. Originally it looked like it would be scheduled for Wednesday. Fortunately an opening came up for Monday morning, so Scott decided to remain in the hospital to be monitored versus coming home.

MON DEC 6  Scott goes in at 6:30am for triple bypass heart surgery. As you know, the first part of the operation is to take a length of blood vessel from the leg (length just short of from the knee to the ankle, inside of the leg). By 3:30 Scott was release to the surgical ICU on the sixth floor, completely monitored by staff and machines. He was pretty much out of it for the rest of Monday and Tuesday. The good news was all his vitals and metrics were very good.

WED DEC 8  Scott was awake although disoriented as is to be expected. He was eating regular (hospital) meals and was doing some very limited physical therapy.

MON DEC 13  The beginning of his third week in the hospital finds Scott now moved from postOp ICU to his private recovery room. And the flowers and visitors and phone calls came forth. This might have had as much to do with his early release as anything. Everyone was so supportive and reassuring. It really got Scott to really want to get on with the next steps of his recovery: rehabilitation.

THU DEC 16  Scott is released from the hospital and is on his way home. Friday morning he wakes up in his own house, although downstairs in his temporary bedroom. We next work on getting doctor appointments set up and physical therapy sessions scheduled. Medications are picked up from the pharmacy and his home recovery is underway.

SAT JAN 1  Scott has completed two weeks of physical therapy. He is able to go up and down the stairs. Driving is only an emergency option for him. His hands, especially his playing hand, are not completely responding - his coordination and dexterity are still lacking in his fingers and general hand usage.

The great news is that Scott is now on his physical training regimen and doctor visits. The scars are healing and no more tubes are hooked into him. As you can imagine, the slow rehabilitation process takes a long time to get you back to where you were. Especially with the length of stay that Scott had in the hospital and the trauma that his body went through. His spirits are good, very grateful to be in his own environment at home, surrounded by his musical equipment! It will be a long while before Scott can be back on stage, but his is determined to make that happen. 

T h e  l a t t e r  s h o w s  i n  2 0 2 1

DECEMBER 4  The Cove   PHOTOS  

This was our last show for 2021. Not only was Scott out of commission but so was Rene. Fortunately we had Shelby and Jason for another night and our longtime friend Sal sat in on drums for Rene.

DECEMBER 3  The Gruene Grove   PHOTOS  

This was the first show that Scott missed since we got back from the coast and he went into the hospital. At the same time, Rene had to be placed on the injured reserve list along with Scott. Jason Crisp sat in for Scott on guitar and vocals. And filling in for Rene was SGA All-Star Jamie Krueger.

NOVEMBER 6  The Cove   PHOTOS  

Jack Barber sat in for Dave on bass for this gig and it was a blast as usual. This was the last gig that Scott played with his band, until he returns!

NOVEMBER 5  The Gruene Grove   PHOTOS  

This was the last gig where the whole band played together, healthy!

OCTOBER 22  Backyard on Broadway   PHOTOS  

A fun night celebrating Granvil's birthday ... Our friend Charlie Cruz opened up the evening.

OCTOBER 10  Gruene Grove Blues Jam   PHOTOS  

Joey Fender and The 55's were hosting the month Blues Jam at The Gruene Grove. Scott and Sam hooked up with Cricket Taylor for a cool jam session. Long time SGA All-Star Gilbert "Big Daddy" Gonzalez drummed. To top this lineup off - keyboardist Doug Johnson played bass.

OCTOBER 8  The Cove   PHOTOS  

Another fun show at The Cove and tonight we celebrated Dave's birthday!

SEPTEMBER 30  The Gruene Grove   PHOTOS  

A couple of Special Guests join us ... Double Drumming with Fred Stewart (in from Mexico) and Jason Crisp joining us on guitar/vocals for the vacationing Granvil Poynter.

SEPTEMBER 26  SGA hosts The Gruene Grove Jam   PHOTOS  

Always a great time to be had hosting the jam at The Gruene Grove. Jason Crisp joined us for the fun and we made a new friend in the very exciting blues lady Cricket Taylor.

SEPTEMBER 17  Backyard on Broadway   PHOTOS  

A special night with Adam Johnson playing with Smokehouse once again. It had been a while since Adam, Scott, and Sammy fronted the show.

SEPTEMBER 11  The Cove   PHOTOS  

Tonight's show had a cool twist to it. Granvil and Dave had to take the night off. SGA All-Stars Charlie Cruz and Roy Perez stepped in and we had a BLAST!

SEPTEMBER 3  The Gruene Grove   PHOTOS  

We love our First Friday Blues Bash at The Gruene Grove! Every once in a while our dear friend and SGA All-Star Shelby Cheyenne stops by for a visit.

AUGUST 21  Metzger Biergarten at Cool Crest Family Center   PHOTOS  

It was a beautiful day outside and we were joined by Raul Garcia on drums while Rene was on vacation.

JULY 16  Backyard on Broadway   PHOTOS  

Some great photos from a rockin' night of Boogie Blues at The Backyard.

APRIL 21  Backyard on Broadway   PHOTOS  

This was the premier of Smokehouse at our new venu, Backyard on Broadway. Unfortunately, Scott had to travel to Virginia on family business. Our good friend SGA All-Star and SABS Lifetime Member Artist Shawn Pittman volunteered to not only fill in for Scott but also opened the evening with an acoustic show.

T h e  e a r l y  s h o w s  i n  2 0 2 1
BACK ON STAGE AT SOME OLD FAMILIAR PLACES ... AND SOME NEW ONES

We count ourselves fortunate to be back playing at our favorite places around the area. Fortunate that the band is getting through the pandemic safely. Fortunate that venues we perform at were able to ride the times out and stay open. Since February, we have performed a couple of times at The Cove and at The Gruene Grove. We had our first performance at a new venue, Metzger Biergarten, and have been asked back. Below you'll see photos from a fun show we had at The Gruene Grove. Our drummer's daughter, Karly, came out and played along with Shelby Cheyenne. Shelby is our long time friend and is a Smokehouse All-Star. Any chance we get to bring her up on stage we do it. Shelby and Karly put on a great set, especially for never having played together. It was fun to see these two young ladies jamming ... it was impressive to hear how good they are.

Once we get into May, we have our innaugural show at Backyard on Broadway. And we'll have our shows at our other venues going. We are booking out for about the next three months. Our lineup has been stellar with Scott, Sam, and Granvil on guitars and vocals. The rhythm section has been Dave and Maddog. And the shows have rocked!  The audiences were a blast to play for, and it's great to see our friends at our shows.

Take a look at our calendar and you'll find we have three good months of shows coming up. Soon, if all goes well pandemic-wise and everybody does their part to stay healthy, more shows will be booked. That means more Texas boogie blues for YOU ... come on out and join the party!

You know Smokehouse ... we love Bringin' the Boogie to everywhere in Texas!

S m o k e h o u s e  a t  S o u t h  L a k e  T r a v i s
 NEW VENUE  SEPTEMBER 2020

Just around the corner from south Lake Travis is a neat plot of land with a vodka distillery AND a barbeque shack. Welcome to Planet Rock Vodka Distillery and The Best Dam BBQ Joint! A new outdoor venue that opened just a few months ago. To top the complex off, there are Glamping facilities. That's glamour camping. Check out their website for information. It has plenty of open area to walk around and there are many unique and fun objects to snap phots of. Shaded Tables and picnic benches are arranged around the stage and the smell of smoking Texas barbeque surrounds you. Setting up for the show we were treated to fresh BBQ off the grill. We got a big case of the Baby-That's-GREAT-BBQ Blues! Planet Rock Vodka / Best BBQ Joint support the local music scene, booking acts from miles around. Even as far out as San Antonio! The owners had been to Smokehouse shows in the past, namely at the Buchanan Dam Beach Club in Lake Buchanan and in Kingland at The Place Downtown. This gig was also a celebration of Sammy's birthday. We were glad to have Shelby Cheyenne and Lea Ann come by and join in the fun. Kathleen and Tim came up from San Antonio to join in, as well as Darrell, Cathy, and Micheal. Micheal, great photographs you took and we appreciate you sharing them with us and SABS. Thank you Mary and James for coming by. We look forward to coming back up to play ... the next gig is booked for October 17. We thank Catfish, Scott, Haley, Jerry, and the entire staff for their hospitality.

You know Smokehouse ... we love Bringin' the Boogie to everywhere in Texas!

CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITES    PLANET ROCK VODKA DISTILLERY    BEST DAM BBQ JOINT 

D r o p p i n g  t h e  B o o g i e  o n  t h e  B o r d e r
ON THE ROAD AGAIN ... ANOTHER FUN ROAD TRIP TO DEL RIO  JUNE 2020

It was great to get back down to The Bak Yard down in Del Rio ... THANK YOU Rick and Brenda Rivera and all the staff at The Bak Yard for the hospitality! We had reports of possible rain storms coming into the area but that did not deter Smokehouse. We left San Antonio about 4:00 and made great time down Hiway 90. And when we got there, Rick had dinner waiting for us: burritos the size of artillery shells! And they were delicious, filled with meat and beans and rice and cheese, fried quickly before they get to the table. They did not last long! For this gig we were fortunate to have  our drummer from the Army of the Lake (our players from up in Lake Buchanan), John Carpenter. John has played a couple of out-of-town gigs with us. And our guest guitar player was Robert Saunders from New Braunfels. David Meissner would be on bass, with Scott and Sammy on vocals and guitar. David drove with his lovely wife Margaret and they came in from their cabin, just down the road about an hour from Del Rio. The rest of us came down in a two-vehicle convoy and it was an absolute blast. As an added treat, RIck and Brenda's friend Evelyn came in from Austin to celebrate her birthday in her home town! She had a great time, as did her guests, outdoors partying to some good blues with a great dinner provided by Rick and his barbeque station. We played two rockin' sets and as is the case most of the time, the Smokehouse boys were disappointed when it was "last-song". The boogie was in full drive and they were groovin'. We look forward to our next trip across Hiway 90 to see Rick and Brenda! 

H e l l o  2 0 2 0
GREAT START AND NOW CAUTION  Now, we must be alert ... We all must be safe

Smokehouse started the year with the line-up that closed out 2019: Scott, Sammy, and Granvil on vocals/guitars, David on bass and Rene on drums in the rhythm section. The band is clickin' like a Swiss watch and the shows have been a blast. We are very lucky to have been able to play our six residence shows at The Cove and The Gruene Grove  before the closures came. In February, Smokehouse opened the music show of the 2020 Alamo City Guitar Bazaar, held this year at Venue Villita. We always enjoy jamming at the monthly blues jam at The Gruene Grove and recently hosted the jam. Robert Saunders, a fantastic guitar player from New Braunfels, was a guest of ours on stage.  It took no time to see that Robert knows how to play some real good blues guitar. And one our favorite people in the world, Shelby Cheyenne, not only joined us at the jams but was also our featured guest at a Gruene Grove show. She just keeps getting better and better and we invite her up every chance we get! To top off a nice few months of some great gigs with great special guests, a friend of ours, Fred Stewart, flew in to San Antonio to visit and catch up on lost time. Well, as it happens, he is an accomplished drummer and so of course we enlisted him ino The Army! Fred sat in for a whole set. And it was a stone gas for everyone!

Our band is fortunate to have started 2020 with such great shows. To be able to have the killer players we have and to be able to have talented friends joining us on stage is a blessing. We do put in the long hours and the hard work to earn the great gigs we have. And we appreciate our venues for having us over and our friends and fans for coming to see us. But now, times have been changed by a worldwide event and we have to put some parts of our lives on hold. We are all now asked to change our daily behavior - stay indoors, avoid groups, avoid contact, etc. So let's do this. AND LET'S DO IT WITH STYLE! Be good to others. Look to be helpful to those isolated. With what we are facing, from now until the end of April, all shows have been cancelled. What May holds in store is mere speculation at this time. Friends, the music will once again play. Be alert. Be safe.

Friends, the Boogie will Return!   Until then ... "Let's work together!"

E n d  o f  2 0 19
A FINE CLOSE TO A ROCKIN' YEAR FOR SMOKEHOUSE    

It was a great year for the band and we want to thank all our friends and fans. Thank you so much for coming out to our shows. Thank you so much for the great emails and texts. Probably the biggest blessing we got was Sam recuperating from his dangerous illness. It was great seeing all his friends and fellow musicians coming together to see him recover. Now, he is back on stage with Smokehouse, 100%! We were fortunate to have some killer gigs to close the year out with Sam and the band. Go up on line and take a look at the pictures from the shows.

Smokehouse is grateful to our wonderful venues for having us over to perform. We always strive to bring an audience and keep an audience so the venue does well. And that's where our great audiences have been great. Thank you all again for coming by and catching our shows. We are going to be playing at some new venues this year. A big thanks to The Cove and The Gruene Grove for booking Smokehouse for the First Friday and First Saturday of each month in 2020. Now, there will be a couple of months where that schedule will be altered. So be sure to keep up with the calendar. And we'll be looking to see you at our shows in 2020. 

A  G r e a t  R o a d  T r i p  -  S a m  i s  B a c k  o n  T o u r
SAM IS BACK - JUST IN TIME FOR DEL RIO & GRUENE DOUBLEHEADER  SEPTEMBER 2019

Well, this is the moment friends and fans of Smokehouse and Sam Massey have been waiting for ... Sam's return to good health and getting back on stage with his band. For a long time, we did not know what would happen. Sammy had been quite ill at home for a couple of days. Nothing seemed right. When a friend went over to check in on him Sam was unresponsive and 911 was called. He was taken to a local hospital which determined immediately that Sam needed to be rushed up to Austin. The doctors in Austin examined Sam but had no leads on what was killing our friend. They put him into an induced coma and kept him under 24-hour observation. A tracheotomy was performed and for what seemed like years Sam lay there asleep with tubes and machines plugged into him. Then, things changed. The doctors now had an idea what was going on and they formed a plan of attack. They brought him out of the coma and began the treatment regimen. This staff of dedicated doctors, nurses, and technicians helped bring Sammy back to us. He was responding positively to treatment and therefore he was able to have more visits from family and friends which helped him so much on his road to recovery. Posters and cards and gifts filled his room. Sammy was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from those dear to him. The last leg of the recuperating process was to have Sam stay under observation at a convalescing home versus staying in a medical facility. While there he was able to get in some physical therapy as well as off-campus trips with friends coming by to visit. And now, Sammy is back out in society in his new digs north of Austin in Round Rock and he is doing GREAT! He will be using a cane for a while, but that's okay with Sam. Not too long ago he was re-learning how to walk.

As far as the band goes, we would gradually bring him back. A couple of songs a show, then maybe a full set, and eventually a full show. Well Sam just had to go way ahead of schedule. We figured maybe by December or January would be a realistic goal for Sam being able to perform for an entire show. To our impressed amazement, he was on stage with Smokehouse for two complete shows this past weekend, in Del Rio and in Gruene! And it was fantastic. Friday night we played our premier show at The Bak Yard in Del Rio and Sam did not miss a note. Rick and Brenda Rivera, owners of The Bak Yard, had a great time with us and invited us back to play before the year ends. We met new friends and got a chance to talk to some Air Force personnel from Laughlin AFB and many of our border protectors. SGA let them know how much we appreciate what they do for all of us. And a special thank you to Charlie Cockerell for making the trip and covering the bass work for the evening in Del Rio ... fine job. The next day we headed up to Gruene for our monthly residency at The Gruene Grove and as a special treat we were joined by internationally acclaimed Jack Barber on bass. This was the second time Jack played with us at the Grove and the rhythm section was rolling all night long. It was an incredible show and Sammy was on fire the whole night. Many in the audience came up to say howdy to Sam and let him know how glad they were to see him back. Yep, Magic Sam is back and boy is it great that Smokehouse continues to unleash the boogie as we do!

D o u b l e h e a d e r  W e e k e n d 
SAM SITS IN FOR A SET - HIS FIRST RETURN BACK TO THE STAGE  AUGUST 2019

Top of the month in August means First Friday at The Cove. This is by far one of our favorite shows we do in the month. Following a great performance by The Lavens, we put on a high powered, boogie driven Smokehouse show that had the people dancing! Our lineup was our core band minus Sammy, who is doing great these days. Jason Crisp was with us again to fill in at lead guitar/vocals, joining Scott, Stray Dawg, David Meissner, and Dan Aubert. Some friends from the past came by to see us play and it was a most enjoyable 3 hours. The next day was an evening gig up in Kingsland at The Place Downtown, a happening place where we have played four or five times before. They sunk a good amount of money and sweat into updating the venue, namely a new built up stage with completely upgraded audio and visual reinforcement. This gig has been planned for a few months with a special treat in mind: bringing Sam Massey down from Austin, where he is recuperating. His friends from the Llano / Lake Buchanan / Kingsland area - those that were used to being with him once or twice a week - were going to be at the show so everyone could visit. If, by chance, he could play that would just be extra icing on the cake. Well everything aligned and it was a complete blast! Sam was back with Smokehouse, playing the second set, and we were joined by Shelby Cheyenne, a favorite of ours. The place was rocking and the show was well appreciated. Please be sure and check out the photos ... we have a lot of buddy shots as well as performance shots.

O l d  F r i e n d s  &  N e w  F r i e n d s
COUPLE OF SPECIAL GUESTS SIT IN WITH SMOKEHOUSE IN GRUENE!  JUNE 2019

As happens during the course of our shows, this June 22 gig at The Gruene Grove had some logisitics challenges attached. While Sammy is recovering in Austin, Jason Crisp and Jamie Krueger have been filling in on the frontline. Both Jason and Jamie were unable to perform with Smokehouse at this show. Stray Dawg, our other lead guitarist and vocalist, along with his brother Dan, our drummer, had a prior engagement scheduled for that date. Which left Scott as the only active member SGA person to do the performance! Jason was able to connect us with his pal Nate Boff from Austin to sit in at one guitar/vocalist slot. And fortunately we were able to call out from the reserves our great friend, The Texas Saint, Michael Mulligan. We now had the frontline set, the rhythm section was next. We were honored to be joined by world renowned bassist and friend of Smokehouse Jack Barber. One phone call to him and he was in the band. To complete the rhythm section we brought in Eric Vasquez, the enthusiatstic drummer with the Texas Shinerunners to work with Jack and what we got was a solid hard- driving rhythm train to match the frontline guitar team. Smokehouse had a blast and The Gruene Grove was packed all night. We thank everyone for their kind comments and emails after the show. Thank you to Chris and staff for the hospitality and the great venue. And thumbs up to John O for the great job handling sound reinforcement. What a night!

H o u s t o n  A d v e n t u r e
THREE HOUSTON BOOKINGS IN ONE MONTH!  APRIL 2019

The April calendar for Smokehouse had a big time couple of weekends that we were able to align and join! Three gigs in Houston on back-to-back weekends: The Truck Yard, The Big Easy, and Shakespeare Pub. As everyone knows, our co-founder and lead guitarist/vocalist Sam Massey is in recovery from a major illness he had. So we set off for Houston with a mission to get Sammy's Houston fans to come out and sign get-well posters for us to take back to Sammy. We had done the same thing two weeks earlier at the San Antonio Blues Society's Fiesta Blues Heritage Series show. The posters were completely filled in with greetings and well wishes from everyone. Sam was brought to tears when Scott pesented him the framed signed posters. Thanks to everyone for coming out and sharing your support. We were fortunate to have Stray Dawg travel with us from San Antonio for his first Houston performances with Smokehouse. Jason Crisp came down from Austin for two of the gigs. From our Houston Reserves we called on Larry Evans for bass, Brad McCool on guitar/vocals, and on drums we had Snit Fitzpatrick, Albert Storo, and Ken Woodard. Thank you to The Truck Yard, The Big Easy Social & Pleasure Club, and Shakespeare Pub for making this happen. And once again, thank you to friends and fans for sending your best to Sammy.

A W e e k e n d  w i t h  C h r i s  D u a r t e
HOT BLUES GUITAR SLINGER COMES HOME AND JAMS WITH THE ARMY  MARCH 2019

Chris Duarte was the name that came up for our second Smokehouse Showcase at The Cove. After a few phone calls we sealed the date with Chris and The Cove. This was a great opportunity to bring back Chris to his native San Antonio. We were very fortunate that we found an open date on Chris' rather crowded calendar. This show was also featured as a SABS coPro. For this Showcase we were joined on bass by Bret Coats and Jamie Krueger on drums. Vocals and guitar work covered by Chris, Scott, and Stray Dawg. After booking this show, we were able to bring Chris' band, The Chris Duarte Group, to Sam's Burger Joint as the featured band for the San Antonio Blues Society's 2019 Fiesta Blues Heritage Series show "River City Blues Revue." Basing out of Austin for awhile now, it was great for Chris to come back to San Antonio and reunite with classmates, friends, and fans. As the SABS Fiesta show, Chris was proclaimed Lifetime Honorary Member Artist.

B a c k  t o  H o u s t o n
ON STAGE WITH TWO VERY SPECIAL GUESTS JANUARY 2019

We were asked back to Shakespeare Pub. Shakespeare was the first club that we performed at in Houston many years ago. This was a special Saturday show, so a casual roadtrip was had. Our friend from Lake Buchanan and guest drummer John Carpenter came down with Sam and we made it to Houston in real good time. A visit was made to Bart Wittrock at world famous Rockin' Robin Guitars. Bart was able to come by the show later to play a set with us. Houston's Brad McCool, on guitar/vocals, and "Big Larry" Evans, on bass performed with Smokehouse. And to top it off, our dear friend Richard Stewart made BBQ and brought dinner to the club to feed the troops. It was a great evening for everyone. And the dance floor was busy all night long!

S h a w n  P i t t m a n  J o i n s  T h e  A r m y 
SHAWN IS OUR SPECIAL GUEST AT FIRST SMOKEHOUSE SHOWCASE  JANUARY 2019

As often happens, coincidence of schedules allows for special shows to come about. Third week in January saw Smokehouse hooking up with Shawn Pittman, recent inductee as a Honorary Life Member Artist of the San Antonio Blues Society. Shawn and bandmate Jay Moeller were both inducted at the 2018 Robert Johnson SA Sessions, where they were the featured performers. We had a great show with Shawn as our guest for this Smokehouse Showcase at The Cove. This show was also featured as a SABS coPro. The rhythm section had Jason Crisp on bass with Jamie Krueger on drums. Scott, Sammy, and Shawn provided the guitar work and vocals.

The Gruene Grove - August 12, 2018   photos
Our first time performing at The Gruene Grove was a stormy day to start with that turned into a great show! Whether or not the show was going to go on due to inclimate weather in historic Gruene this particular Sunday was decided practically at the last minute - the show went on, as it must, and it was a hit! Jason Crisp sat in on guest gutiar and Jamie Krueger was on drums. And we're back in September!

Billy's Ice - August 18, 2018   photos 
This was a GREAT GIG! Picked up this premier show at Billy's at the last minute and we absolutely tore it up with guest guitarist/vocalist Charly Sardo and Gino Macias on drums. What a beautiful setup! Smokeghouse appreciated the efforts by Forrest and Adam and all the crew at Billy's for your hospitality. And a special thank you to Kody for helping make this event happen.  

Shakespeare Pub - July 13, 2018      photos
We returned to Shakes in Houston, site of our first Houston performance ever! San Antonio friends of the Army Granvil and Sylvia Poynter were in H-Town for the weekend, so they came by to see Smokehouse. As a full-fledged member of the Army, Granvil played a set with us and lit the place up. Our buddy and member of Smokehouse The Mighty Orq opened the evening. It was great seeing Orq and Miss Jamie again. The whole evening was a blast, and it was extra special seeing the Poynters there, as well as our good friend Richard Stewart. And as it happens we had some of other Houston fans of Smokehouse that also came by to enjoy some boogie!

Buchanan Dam Beach Club - July 14, 2018    photos    
It was the Last Boogie at the Club ... After many years Mary and Sam are closing the Club and taking time to enjoy life. They decided to have one last fling at the club so they threw a private party to enjoy with some sepcial friends and musicians that had become part of the fabric of the Club. So Mary asked The Mighty Orq and Smokehouse Guitar Army to perform the last gig. We had all the musicians up on stage througout the night and it was a stone cold gas! It was Boogie and BBQ! Smokehouse has come to love the area up there - both fans and musicians. And we have had many of the area musicians perform with Smokehouse and it has always been a superb show. We wish Mary and Sam all the best and thank them for doing so much to support live music and musicians!   Thank you both so much! 

A  S p e c i a l  F i r s t  F r i d a y  a t  T h e  C o v e 
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS AT THE COVE  JANUARY 2018

The first Friday of the month is always special for Smokehouse ... We are at The Cove to start the month off the right way! This show was extra special for we were celebrating Adam's birthday, along with Candace's birthday! And as an extra treat ... our friends Shelby Cheyenne and Brad came by for the show.

S m o k e h o u s e  R o c k i n '  H o u s t o n
BACK AT THE BIG EASY WITH SOME LOCAL HEAVY HITTERS   JANUARY 2018
Smokehouse played The Big Easy and what a show it was! In our audience we had such Houston top cats as Texas Johnny Boy, Jonn Del Toro Richardson, and The Mighty Orq. On stage we had Houston's Brad McCool and Albert Storo taking care of the rhythm beat, with Scott, Sam, and Adam on the frontline. To the Houston Blues Society and fans of the Blues, thank you for coming to our show, and all the blues shows in town. To Tom and his great crew at The Big Easy, your stage is the world! All of you are keeping the Blues jumpin' in Houston!

N e w  Y e a r ' s  E v e  a t  T h e  B e a c h
BRINGING THE BOOGIE TO THE BEACH  DECEMBER  2017

Mikel May's had us perform at their private New Years Eve celebration and it was a BLAST! Charlie Gnerre was able to sit in with the band for this NYE party in Corpus. We were extra fortunate to have Jason Crisp join us from Austin.

A  N e w  P l a c e  t o  P l a y  i n  H o u s t o n
EMMIT'S PLACE - WITH MIGHTY ORQ & OTHER FAMOUS HOUSTONIANS  DECEMBER  2017

A hoppin' blues hub in Houston - our first gig there and we are joined by the Mighty Orq! Thank you to Susan Davis and the crew at Emmit's for having us and we look forward to our next gig there! Jamming with Scott and Sammy will be The Mighty Orq, Brad McCool, and Snit Fitzpatrick. Houston Royalty.

S a m m y ' s  B i r t h d a y 
SAMMY'S SPECIAL DAY CELEBRATED WITH SPECIAL FRIENDS  SEPTEMBER 2017

Thank you to our Army of the Lake fans for coming out and making this a real special night!  Couldn't think of a better birthday present for Sam than a party at the Dam Beach Club. Courtney and Charly and Jonny sat in when the band and everyone had cake!

S m o k e h o u s e  H i t s  t h e  B e a c h  !
BOB HALL PIER IN CORPUS BY GOSH!  JULY  2017

Smokehouse's guitar frontline hanging out at the beach at Bob Hall Pier before the gig at Mikel May's Beachside Bar & Grill. It was a typically beautiful day on the Great Texas Gulf and it was shaping up to be a great night of Boogie, Brews, and Seafood!

Smokehouse's guitar frontline at Bob Hall Pier before the gig at Mikel May's Beachside Bar & Grill - July 22, 2017
Adam Johnson • Sam Massey • Scott Mayo

M i d  J u n e  i n  H o u s t o n 
A GREAT RETURN TO SHAKESPEARE PUB  JUNE 2017

Thank you to Jason and the staff at Shakes for a night of Houston Hospitality at its best! It was a fantastic turnout and we were able to put the great rhythm section of Houston's Brad McCool and Snit Fitzaptrick in the lineup. It was a pleasure having Boyd Bluestein in the audience.

A p r i l  i n  H o u s t o n  a t  T h e  B i g  E a s y 
ROCKIN' NIGHT AT THE BIG EASY SOCIAL & PLEASURE CLUB IN HOUSTON  APRIL 2017

We had a BLAST playing at the Big Easy in Houston. Long time All-Star of Smokehouse Brad McCool reminds us of the special bond between guitar players and their equipment. Brad has been marketing his new amp safety seat minivan accessory for guitar players and their amps. Eveyone else in the cargo bay! And, while leaving Houston on the return trip to San Antonio, we caught the blues show on KPFT 90.1FM hosted by Nuri Nuri. Smokehouse donated to help fund Nuri's show on Sundays. We call on all Houston area musicians, especially member bands of HBS, to help keep KPFT going.

Brad pampers his gear ... rest of band and
equipment in the cargo bay ... Brad's van.
 

Adam Johnson • Brad McCool • Snit Fitzpatrick
Scott Mayo • Sam Massey

B r a d  &  E d e n  T h r o w  a  P a r t y  ! 
THE NEWLEYWEDS AND CLOSE FRIENDS CELEBRATE, HOUSTON STYLE  JANUARY 2017

It was barbeque, brews, and blues at its finest. Courtesy of Brad and Eden. They invited their close friends to celebrate their recent wedding and they did it in fine style! The attendees were treated not only to some fine Houston BBQ, but Luther and The Healers provided the music for the evening. Brad joined in for a few songs and the dance party took off. Best wishes to Brad and Eden from the band! We love having you both as friends.

Houston - January 21, 2017    photos

S a t u r d a y  A f t e r n o o n  a t  O m a ' s
SMOKEHOUSE PLAYING OUT IN HILL COUNTRY  OCTOBER 2014

A great afternoon with our friends out in Gruene. The S.A. Blue Cats were covering the evening show and we performed at the matinee. Had a great lineup with Michael Mulligan on guitar and vocals, Richie Lee and Ty Grimes on rhythm.
Oma Gruene's Secret Garten - October 24, 2014    photos

S G A  B i g  B a n d  L i n e u p  a t  O m a ' s
INTERNATIONAL BLUES MUSIC DAY  AUGUST 2014

This gig turned into a full stage production by show's end and it as kickin' as you would think. It was a beautiful night in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. We had gotten a text message from a Canadian blues player that would be visiting in the area. After talking with Jonathon we told him to get down here to Texas and get out to Gruene. And for him to make sure and bring his sax. We had also been in touch with likely our favorite guest jammer, Miss Shelby Cheyenne - an amazing up and coming guitarist and singer. And to top of the guest list, a friend of the Army and a fine trombone player that we have played with before, Mr. Ruben Colon. This was a fun evening of making fine music with dear friends for a wonderful audience.
Oma Gruene's Secret Garten - August 2, 2014    photos

Adam Johnson • Richie Lee • Gordon Bartling • Scott Mayo
Ruben Colon • Shelby Cheyenne • Sam Massey • Jonathon Resney

S G A  O p e n s  f o r  O m a r  &  T h e  H o w l e r s
INTERNATIONAL BLUES MUSIC DAY  AUGUST 2013
Sam's Burger Joint - August 3, 2013    photos

A little over a year of entering the blues scene in San Antonio, we were asked to open for Omar and the Howlers ... BOY HOWDY YES!

Richie Lee • Adam Johnson • Ladd Denison (RIP) • Scott Mayo • Sam Massey

F i r s t  S m o k e h o u s e  G i g 
IN SPRING BRANCH, TEXAS AT THE SHADE TREE SALOON & GRILL     MAY 2012

Smokehouse Guitar Army had our first gig at The Shade Tree on a hot Texas Sunday afternoon and it was GREAT! The original San Antonio lineup for this Smokehouse band had Scott Mayo, Chris Jarvis, and Sam Massey as the frontline. Each sang and each played guitar. The rhythm section was Dave "Big Bird" West (RIP) on bass and Chris Nisley on drums. Kim and her staff at The Shade Tree were great hosts and everyone made us feel right at home.
                                                                                                                                     - Thank you Kim!

Shade Tree Saloon & Grill - May 6, 2012    photos

SMOKEHOUSE GUITAR ARMY PREMIER!
Clay Jarvis • Scott Mayo • Dave "Big Bird" West
Chris Nisley • Sam Massey

W H E R E  I T  A L L  B E G A N
M a y  6  2 0 1 2

Where it began for the Smokehouse Guitar Army ... Our first gig!

Shade Tree Saloon & Grill in Spring Branch, Texas ... April 6, 2012

... Thanks Kim!

F a r e w e l l  t o  B a r r i b a  C a n t i n a  !

Smokehouse Guitar Army wants to thank Gina Hartberger and the great staff of Barriba Cantina for so many years of Great First Saturdays! SGA always had a great show at Barriba and we so appreciate the hospitality of the crew there. We wish you all the Best of Luck in the future and hope to see you again.

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