Boat Car Blog

April 19, 2008

2008-04-22T13:15:00.004-06:00

Well, Boat Car had a full day of musical fun times, politics and sun. We kicked off the Obama Rally put on by Nation for Change at Civic Center Park's Greek Theater downtown Denver. We were happy to lend a hand to try to get Obama elected. We played 3 sets:

Always Loraine
For Awhile
Lost in You
Old Will Thomas
Dead Man's Sweater
Fool's Gold/Psycho Killer
Feel Better

Obama
For What It's Worth

Key to Your Success
Burn for You
Mind Drive
Down Under
Fire

Then, we headed over to Quixote's to lend a hand with the Earth Day Music Festival and played the following set:

Always Loraine
For Awhile
Key to Your Success
Fool's Gold/Pyscho Killer
Feel Better
Defined in a Moment
Burn for You
Obama
Mind Drive
Fire
Dead Man's Sweater

Band News

2008-02-05T11:42:00.001-07:00

Boat Car is currently writing new tunes, working out the new compositions, recording here and there, and generally taking it easy for the time being. We hope to play some big shows in the near future.

Jeff's Secret Photo Session

2008-02-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Okay people, it's been a while since I logged on to Dis-here blog, but I've got something juicy for ya's. While going through the Boat Car archive I found some funny pictures of Jeff our redheaded mad man.

Enjoy-

Disclaimer: Picture not actually Jeff

upcoming shows

2008-01-02T09:23:00.001-07:00

We hope you'll join us at midnight this Saturday the 5th at Cricket on the Hill and at 9PM Thursday the 10th at the Falcon!!

pa-rum-pa-pa-pum

2007-12-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well-wishes and best of luck to Donny Broussard (drummer) who asked ol' Boat Car to drop him off during our little break after Halloween. Luckily, the rest-stop is located within walking distance of many other vehicles and venues and we feel certain the drummer boy will do just fine without us. Good luck to thee!

Before pulling back onto the long and winding road of musical distraction, to our delight, Brad Taylor asked to hop in. This dude's a fine addition to the Boat Car crew bringin' many years of experience and beat-keeping along with him. We're workin' up old and new tunes at a fevered pitch and will be hitting '08 with a full tank, new plugs and good rubber.

It's all in the journey...

Bushwackers 10/19

2007-10-26T16:24:00.000-06:00

We had a good time playing with Myth Lab (RIP) and the Wandering. It's a shame Myth Lab broke up because they were a tight little trio of fun!

Here's what we closed the bar with-

SET I: Road To Hell, Rhododendron, Lost in the Groove, Down Under, Beside Myself, Feel Better, Fool's Gold, Got to Get Better In A Little While, Key To your Success

Set II: Dearest Isabella>Mind Drive, Always Loraine, Cortes, 1000 Hornets, Screw Top Jug Wine, Old Will Thomas, Dead Man's Sweater

Boat Car's Newest Toy

2007-10-18T12:16:00.000-06:00

10/13/07 - Wyatt's Torch - What Goes Up, Must Come Down

2007-10-18T12:10:00.000-06:00

Well...what can we say? It must happen, right? Sometimes after soaring, reaching for the sun, your wings melt down and you plummet back to earth. The Bluebird show was the soaring part. The following Wyatt's show was the plummetting back to earth part. Boat Car couldn't hear too well that night...never really popped into gear and pulled onto the super-music-highway. Here's what we played:
SET ONE
Boat Car*
For Awhile
Can You Hear Me
Cortes
1000 Hornets
The Storm
Old Will Thomas
Something's Wrong w/ this Picture%
Feel Better
Kudzu Green
Funky Bitch

SET TWO
Fool's Gold
Beside Myself
Road To Hell
Dearest Isabella
Mind Drive
Dead Man's Sweater

*Improv Jam
% Galactic Cover

Boat Car at the Bluebird 10/10/07

2007-10-12T14:25:00.000-06:00

What a beautiful venue! Boat Car was thrilled to play here for a sizable crowd thanks no doubt to the fact we were opening for US Pipe and Balls Johnson Dance Machine. Here's what we played:
Fool's Gold
Beside Myself
Road to Hell
Lost in the Groove
Always Loraine
Rhododendron
Dearest Isabella
Mind Drive
Dead Man's Sweater

Dulcinea's Opening for Big Smith!

2007-10-05T13:14:00.000-06:00

Saturday September 29, 2007

Oh what a blast we had playing with Big Smith. If you guys haven't heard Big Smith please check them out- www.myspace.com/bigsmithband

Anyway, the guys from MO. stayed most of the day relaxing at the Boat Car compound with us and eventually crashed there after the big show. I thought we were pretty tight this set. Big Smith was amazing and had the place packed and full of dancing party goers. I hope to see that one day when we play!

This is what we opened the show with-

Loraine, Isabella>Mind Drive>Dead Man's Sweater, Old Will Thomas (by the way Bill Thomas plays bass in Big Smith), Road To Hell, Rhododendron, Feel Better, Fool's Gold,
Down Under

Toad Tavern RockFeast Music Festival

2007-10-05T13:08:00.000-06:00

9/22/07 There was a ton of emotion brewing around the band this night as Jeff made his triumphant return to the Boat Car Band. The crowd was pretty good, including my good buddy James from San Francisco. Unfortunately, we were plagued with technical difficulties throughout the set so it wasn't our best sounding show. We still had a blast! We love Jeff. Jeff is a key factor in Boat Car-

Always Loraine, Dearest Isabella>Mind Drive 1000 Hornets, Fool's Gold
The Storm, Dead Man's Sweater, Rhododendron, Feel Better, Lost in the groove
Down Under

25% of Boat Car goes mad, then recovers

2007-09-23T08:49:00.000-06:00

On the highways and byways of any life, there are sure to be potholes, detours, unexpected-knife-carrying-psychopathic-hitch-hikers and moments of sheer insanity. Certainly, had one been living one's life without eyes narrowly focused on good ol' Boat Car, one would've missed a wheel spinning free of the vehicle last week. This will be the stuff of trivia for the over-obsessive fan. I can hear it now..."Remember Wednesday, September 19th 2007? That was a dark day for Boat Car and the legion who follow in its wake." Fortunately, the craft is steered by committee and steady hands and it was shouldered long enough to repair and get back out onto the road spreading its own special brand of feel good mojo. Sometimes things need to breakdown to be rebuilt better. Sometimes heads need to be shaved and drummers need to be given microphones. Sometimes the road you're on suddenly turns to gravel or is washed out by a rushing torrent of water. Sometimes...most times...you'll find you're glad to have your vehicle and know it's gonna hold together no matter what.

New Album/ LP Started September 11, 2007

2007-09-12T15:19:00.000-06:00

We have officially started the recording process on our first album (Mason Jar)! We couldn't be more excited. We have dozens and dozens of songs, so we have a lot of work cut out for us in narrowing down the choices. We started last night at the Boat Car compound. With comfy orange 1970s carpet tickling our feet, Jeff engineering and producing, and a keg of Killians, we kicked the opening kick. Let the games begin! So far we have a drum track for Dead Man's Sweater and Feel Better. Both are going to sound amazing!

Hopefully, Jeff can post some of his pics he took last night on here.

Andrew

9/8/07 Mercury Cafe

2007-09-12T14:26:00.000-06:00

Check out the 3 Amigos up front! Looking good. See pics of Donny under the pics section of our website.

Dressed in suits, Boat Car played a quiet and intimate show/practice in the bottom room of Mercury Cafe. It was an interesting night to say the least. Hey Tasha, what did you do with those cameras? Ha ha- We love you.

The set list that we wrote out before the show is not correct so I am not even going to venture a guess as to what all we played. The first few songs Andrew played his acoustic guitar with the rest of the band. The band took two short sets and got louder as the night went on.

Highlight of the show? I'm going with a very spicy, quiet, and well played "Storm".

9/7/07 Bushwackers W/ Liquid Revival

2007-09-12T14:16:00.000-06:00

We had a blast playing Bushwackers last Friday night. We share the bill with our buddies Liquid Revival. LR brought their sound system, lights, and fog machine and let us have a full go at it. We played two fun sets with some new things thrown into the mix. The sound was fantastic, the lights were great, and the fog added an extra bonus. I give this gig 5 out of 6 beers! Liquid Revival closed the night with two ripping sets. Those boys can really jam! We look forward to playing with them again.

Judd- thanks for coming again!

Set 1

Can you hear me, For A while, Fool's Gold, 1000 Hornets, Cortes
Kudzu Green, Got To Get Better In A Little While*, Key To your Success,
Dearest Isabella>Mind Drive

Set 2

Dead Man's Sweater+, Old Will Thomas+, Road To Hell**, The Storm
Beside Myself, Lost in the Groove++, Ba Da Dah>Down Under***

*Derek and the Dominoes Cover
+ Played in the dark
**Debut
++Debut for Boat Car
*** Men at Work Cover

Cricket On The Hill 8/31/07

2007-09-04T23:43:00.000-06:00

Dearest Isabella*>Mind Drive*, 1000 Hornets, Feel Better, Dead Man's Sweater
Beside Myself, Fool's Gold, Always Loraine, Ba Da Dah

*No Sound Guy, so there were some serious sound problems. The sound guy showed up during 1000 Hornets and we kicked ass the rest of the night.

Friday

2007-08-31T17:18:00.000-06:00

Greetings fellow travelers! Not much new to report on the Boat Car front as of today. We play tonight at Cricket on The Hill at 9pm, a good Friday night gig, so we are happy about that. Tomorrow night Jeff and I are going to see Wilco at the Fillmore. Should be an outstanding time.

Hopefully within the next few weeks we will start recording our first album. We have about 50 songs to choose from, so it will be a lot of fun rehearsing and picking out the best.

We hope you dig our music, and we hope you dig the website. Leave us any feedback that you want. You can leave comments here on the blog or email us individually...

We all have an email address, for example, andrew@boatcarband.com

Take care-

Andrew, Joe, Donny, and Jeff.

Larimer Lounge 8/29/07

2007-08-31T17:16:00.000-06:00

Dearest Isabella>Mind Drive, Feel Better, Fool's Gold, Beside Myself+,
Key To your Success, Dead Man's Sweater, The Storm, Ba Da Dah

+Larimer Lounge Smoking Hot Edition!

Stage Coach- Franktown, CO 8/26/07

2007-08-28T19:16:00.000-06:00

The Stage Coach is about the only establishment in Franktown, CO, and they put on a little Sunday music festival to help raise money for a charity. It was a beautiful day, but we didn't bring our best to the table that day, but we got our 'bad gig' out of the way and made it a learning experience...Here's what we played-

Always Loraine
Old Will Thomas *Jeff's amp fried out during this song. For the rest of the set he had to borrow an amp.
Rhododendron
Feel Better
1000 Hornets
Fool's Gold
Lost in You
Can You Hear Me
MindDrive

Bushwhackers 8/25/07

2007-08-28T19:11:00.000-06:00

We played smack-dab in the middle of two death metal bands. Luckily, we pulled in the most people, thanks to Judd.

Fool's Gold, Always Loraine, For A While, Old Will Thomas, Funky Bitch, Feel Better,
Dearest Isabella> Mind Drive, Dead Man's Sweater, Ba da Dah

Wyatt's Torch Aurora, CO 8/24/07

2007-08-25T11:21:00.000-06:00

Set One:

Always Lorraine, Lost In You, For Awhile*, 1000 Hornets**, Carry Me, Feel Better, Dead Man's Sweater$,
Beside Myself, Fool's Gold, Dearest Isabella>Mind Drive

Set two:

Old Will Thomas, Kudzu Green, The Storm, Cortés, Funky Bitch+, Ba Da Dah++

* Long slow groove intro
** Per Judd Ampe's request (you rock, Judd!) Andrew breaks string leading to a bit of stage banter after the song
$ Extended outro
+ Son Seals cover
++ Donny, Joe, and Andrew leave stage during the last chorus. Crowd claps the rhythm and sings along with Jeff.

8/24/07 1:29 Am

2007-08-24T01:11:00.000-06:00

Greetings Boat Car passengers. I welcome you to the online journal of four friends and a band called Boat Car. As I write this I glow in the remnants of passionate coitus. If you were to smell my breath I'd smell of Fat Tire Amber Ale and contentment.

BUT, I digress- I am Andrew Merriam, lead guitar player, and one of the songwriters in Boat Car. I guess the powers that be have put me in charge of updating this bloggy blog. I am the 1/4 mouth piece. Hopefully my cohorts will join me sometime on here. My cohorts? Jeff Wiens, brilliant song writer, acoustic guitar playing, red-headed mad man! Joe Dorr, solid human being, funky bass slapping, entertaining, clumsy court jester. Donny Broussard, does the dude ever relax? No, but he's passionate as hell about music and plays a mean set of drums.

The goal of this blog? To entertain our fans, to keep you posted of our whereabouts and opinions. When we hit the road to tour I will try to keep a road diary so you can keep up to date.

Last Thursday night we played a show at the Toad Tavern in Littleton. About 6 months ago Joe, Jeff, and I played there as a trio for an open mic night and we were the only ones there. This time, we knocked 'em dead with Boat Car. Jeff's Dad along with a big group of friends and family came out to support us and I don't think we disappointed. Having an enthusiastic crowd definitely pumps us up and improves our sound all around. All in all I give the Toad show 5 beers out of six.

We have an exciting Boat Car weekend coming up. Tomorrow/Tonight (Friday night) we play Wyatt's Torch in Aurora. We have four freaking hours to fill, so I'm sure we'll whip out some covers we've never played. I also plan on taking us to outer space for some Ursa Major type of jams. Then we'll group together and bring the energy. I'm looking forward to it.

Saturday night we play Bushwhackers just down the road from my house, just south of Denver on Broadway. We've played there before and had a good time. I look forward to making $36 bucks again!

Sunday we head down to Franktown, CO for some kind of stage coach festival. Should be interesting.

Well, I'll keep you guys posted on the shows. I hope to see some friends out there. I also hope to get the ball rolling in picking up fans.

Time to listen to some more Todd Snider (and the beautiful thunder outside my window) and drink another cold one-

Cheese Whistle McStink (AKA- Andrew)

BOAT CAR

Greetings

2007-08-20T13:54:00.000-06:00

Boat Car is so happy you're here.