Without question, Charlie O's World Famous in downtown Montpelier is the best rock and roll bar in Vermont. This was proven once again on Friday night. A packed bar and dance floor from 10 to 2, people rocking along to everything we played and the fabulous Sarah & Maggie behind the bar. Despite sinking to new lows and playing two songs we had vowed to never, ever cover (you'll have to figure those out yourself) this was just one of those great nights.
The fun was brought in a huge way. We were, unfortunately, missing Dangerous Dan Haley but got a huge assist from Brother Bob Blythe sitting in. Rachael Rice had to leave after the first set but managed to get a whole night of awesomeness in anyway.
First Set
1. Walking After Midnight 2. Sweet Virginia 3. Rock and Roll Medley 4. That’s All Right Mama 5. Sympathy for the Devil 6. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 7. Triple R 8. Two More Bottles of Wine 9. Truck Drivers Wedding 10. Six Days on the Road 11. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 12. Up Here on the Stage 13. Willin’ 14. Can’t Let Go 15. Telecaster Girl 16. Folsom Prison Blues 17. Silver Maple 18. Dixie Chicken 19. One Way Out 20. Riding Ahead of the Storm 21. Midnight Special
Second Set
22. Guns Beer & Wedding Gowns 23. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 24. Smoke Smoke Smoke 25. Faraway Eyes 26. Looking at the World 27. Up on Cripple Creek 28. Moretown Girl 29. Brown Eyed Girl 30. Lodi 31. Let it Bleed 32. Take Me Back to Tulsa 33. Tulsa Time 34. Old Time Rock and Roll 35. Okie From Muskogee 36. Mama Tried 37. Truck Drivin’ Man 38. It Came out of the Sky 39. Honky Tonk Women 40. MOXIE 41. Iko Iko 42. Its All Over Now 43. We Brought the Fun
Rustbucket Brothers, Claire's, August 19, 2010 set
Sun, Aug. 22 2010
This evening's version of the Rustbucket Brothers was Bill "Rust" Fraser, Kevin "Bucket" Brown and Glenn "Brothers" Howland.
As usual, Claire's was friendly and provided a great dinner. It was also packed with diners. It was nice having a big crowd but also provided a bit of a challenge when trying to keep it mellow for the dinner crowd and simultaneously crank it up for the bar crowd. Hopefully we didn't chase both of them away.
We can't remember the order we played 'em but are pretty sure this is what we played - sorted by singer. If we remember more we'll add 'em!!
Bucky:
Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers Pina Colada Sunshine Tupelo Honey/Caravan Looking at the World Through a Windshield Okie from Muskogee Hey Good Lookin’ Alison Glendale Train Jesse James Texas Double Eagle RR Blues Close up the Honky Tonks A Song for You Up on Cripple Creek Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight Smoke Smoke Smoke Long Black Veil Colorado Six Days on the Road
Rusty:
Background Music Can’t Fly on One Wing (new original) Little Sister Fire Breakdown Miracle Man Pancho & Lefty The Harder They Come Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns
Summer Party July 10
Sun, Jul. 11 2010
We had a wonderful night courtesy of the Thayer's in Walden, VT. A quintessential Vermont setting, beautiful evening, stunning sunset, starlit sky, great folks, great food and a fun time - including a "stump the band" request session at the end of the night. The whole thing was more fun than humans should be allowed to have. In keeping with the casual party vibe, we played lots of cover songs that people could sing along with.
For this evening's event we had old friend Charlie Watson sitting in on drums as Terry Hodgdon couldn't make it. As usual despite no rehearsal and not playing with us for quite a while, Charlie just nailed everything perfectly. We were also, once again, graced with the presence of Kate Sprout on fiddle and focals as well as Bob Blythe on guitar & mandolin. We missed Dan Haley - who was playing a Mr. Casual gig - but managed to soldier on without him!!!
1. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door 2. Angel From Montgomery 3. Moretown Girl 4. Lodi 5. Willin’ 6. Triple R 7. Walking After Midnight 8. Pina Colada Sunshine 9. Six Days on the Road 10. Truck Drivin’ Man 11. Burning Love 12. Let it Bleed 13. Silver Threads & Golden Needles 14. Tulsa Time 15. Take Me Back to Tulsa 16. She Thinks I Still Care 17. Mama Tried 18. Okie From Muskogee 19. Ring of Fire 20. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 21. Wipe Out 22. Dixie Chicken 23. Two More Bottles of Wine 24. Smoke Smoke Smoke 25. Dead Flowers 26. Up on Cripple Creek 27. Telecaster Girl 28. Rock and Roll Medley 29. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 30. Can’t Let Go 31. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 32. Sympathy for the Devil 33. Looking At The World Through a Windshield 34. Folsom Prison Blues 35. It Came Out of the Sky 36. Crazy 37. Mustang Sally 38. Iko Iko/Brother John/Willie & the Hand Jive/Man Smart, Women Smarter/Who Do You Love and more 39. Silver Maple 40. Tumbling Dice 41. All Over Now 42. One Way Out 43. MOXIE 44. Midnight Special 45. Proud Mary 46. Bad Moon Rising 47. House of the Rising Sun 48. Johnny B. Goode 49. We Brought the Fun/Secret Agent Man
Party set, June 12th
Sun, Jun. 13 2010
We had one of our all time best gigs yesterday. Many thanks to James & Lissa for having us play at their party -beautiful home, great people, wonderful food and atmosphere. It was an honor and pleasure to be part of the celebration of their accomplishments.
Musically speaking, we had one of our best nights ever. We practically had an orchestra! At one point there were 10 of us packed onto a cozy porch jamming away. Bob Blythe (guitar, mandolin, and zaniness) and Kate Sprout (fiddle & vocals) joined us and sound man extraordinaire Glenn Howland played some guitar and added some superb harmonies. It all came together sublimely, as though we'd planned it or practiced it or something! It's hard to remember a 4 hour gig where every single song clicked. Party guests seemed to enjoy it, that's what counts right?
1. I Ain’t No Dylan 2. Angel From Montgomery 3. Moretown Girl 4. Lodi 5. Jokers Wild 6. Willin’ 7. Silver Maple 8. Triple R 9. Walking After Midnight 10. Pina Colada Sunshine 11. Six Days on the Road 12. Truck Drivers Wedding 13. Burning Love 14. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 15. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 16. Bobbie Said She’d Dance
(Rachael/Dan/Kate set, 3 songs)
17. I'm a Railroad 18. Dixie Chicken 19. Two More Bottles of Wine 20. Riding Ahead of the Storm 21. Smoke Smoke Smoke 22. Simple Song 23. Take Me Back to Tulsa 24. Tulsa Time 25. Folsom Prison Blues 26. Okie From Muskogee 27. Let it Bleed 28. Up On Cripple Creek 29. Telecaster Girl 30. Can’t Let Go 31. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 32. Sympathy for the Devil 33. Goin Down the Road Feeling Bad 34. Iko Iko/Brother John 35. Saints Go Marching In 36. Midnight Special 37. We Brought the Fun/Secret Agent Man
Rustbucket Bros at Claire's, April 29th set list
Tue, May. 25 2010
We're a little late in posting this due to some internal administrative confusion (in other words we forgot!!) As always Claire's is a great gig with lots of nice people who really listen to the music. Wonderful food and atmosphere.
On this particular evening, the Rustbucket Brothers consisted of Kevin "Bucky" Brown, Glenn Howland, Dave Blythe and Rusty - plus special guest star Bob Blythe- Dave's brother. Bob is an ace musician & entertainer who recently moved from Philly to Vermont. You may see him at our gigs from time to time, we're always glad to have him on board.
Given the informal nature of Rustbucket outings we, again, can't remember the order of the songs but here's what we played, listed by the person who sang them:
Dave:
Lodi It Came Out of the Sky Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight The Ballad of Davy Crockett Six Days on the Road Shake, Rattle & Roll
Bob:
He Stopped Loving Her Today Don’t Bogart That Joint Folsom Prison Blues I Saw Her Standing There Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On Blue Suede Shoes Slow Down
Bucky:
Old 603 Texas Double Eagle RR Blues Moretown Girl In the Pines San Francisco Bay Blues I’m a Lonesome Fugitive Mama Tried Okie From Muskogee Truck Drivin’ Man Looking at the World Through a Windshield Tupelo Honey/Caravan Take Me Back to Tulsa Hello Mary Lou
Rusty:
Background Music Triple R Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns We Brought the Fun I Ain’t No Dylan Wrecking Ball Hard Livin’ West Texas Waltz Rock and Roll You Can’t Always Get What You Want Windfall If I Were the Man You Wanted Ring of Fire Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
TRIPLE R PLATTER: RUSTY ROMANCE RARITIES--Free Downloads
Sun, Mar. 28 2010
We're digging deep into the Rusty Romance archives, bringing up live tracks, alternate takes, and lost mixes for your listening and downloading pleasure. We hope you'll keep checking back, as we'll continue to add new tracks!
Charlie O's, March 10 set
Fri, Mar. 12 2010
Friday night at Charlie O's World Famous with Rusty Romance, a sure fire combination for fun. This gig featured our first "mystery mini-set" in the middle, an idea we may use more often in the future. Despite our varied sound and rocking tendencies we continually get called a country band - so we went with the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy and played a boot kicking, honky tonkin' six song set of classic country songs. First set was all originals for which we really appreciated the warm response.
At the end of the evening, one guy who had possibly imbibed too much told us that "It's great to hear bands playing odd ball music"
1. I Ain’t No Dylan 2. Ad Nauseum 3. County Road 4. Up Here on the Stage 5. Old 603 6. Jokers Wild 7. Triple R 8. Pina Colada Sunshine 9. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 10. Moretown Girl 11. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 12. Silver Maple 13. I’m a Railroad 14. Truck Drivers Wedding 15. Simple Song 16. Telecaster Girl 17. Riding Ahead of the Storm
18. Jackson 19. Okie From Muskogee 20. Walking After Midnight 21. Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys 22. Mama Tried 23. Folsom Prison Blues
24. Rock and Roll 25. Hot Ticket 26. Sympathy for the Devil 27. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 28. Tulsa Time 29. San Antonio Rose 30. Dixie Chicken 31. Can’t Let Go 32. Willin' 33. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 34. Smoke Smoke Smoke 35. Two More Bottles of Wine 36. Up on Cripple Creek 37. Tumbling Dice 38. It’s All Over Now 39. Midnight Special 40. MOXIE 41. I Saw Her Standing There 42. We Brought the Fun
Rustbucket Bros @ Claire's, March 4th
Sat, Mar. 6 2010
Claire's in Hardwick is a wonderful place, great food, great atmosphere and really nice people. The playing space is small so all we can squeeze in there are a few Rustbucket Brothers at a time. Last night Rusty, Bucky and Glenn "Mr. Coffee" Howland made the trip and had an absolute blast. We started playing at 7:30, didn't stop until just after 11 with no break. Just one song after another pouring out until the tally stopped at 51 songs. Putting the set list in any semblance of order is impossible, its all we could do to remember them all. Vocals were divided between Bucky & Rusty so the songs are listed by the singer. One might note that several songs were "stolen" from other Rusty Romance band members who weren't present!!
Bucky:
1. Old 603 2. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 3. Pina Colada Sunshine 4. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 5. Riding Ahead of the Storm 6. MOXIE 7. County Road 8. Moretown Girl 9. Mommy, Daddy & Jesus (the first song Bucky ever wrote he says..) 10. Truck Drivers Wedding 11. Telecaster Girl 12. Truck Drivin' Man 13. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 14. When I Paint my Masterpiece 15. Six Days on the Road 16. Mama Tried 17. Okie From Muskogee 18. Roly Poly (Bob Wills) 19. Looking at the World Through a Windshield 20. Me and Bobby McGee 21. Smoke Smoke Smoke 22. Willin' 23. Birthday 24. T For Texas (More Bob Wills, not Skynyrd!!!) 25. Moonlight in Vermont (instrumental solo, very purty) 26. Secret Agent Man (rasta style) 27. Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin (Ernest Tubb) 28. Glendale Train 29. Hey Good Lookin’
Rusty:
30. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 31. Triple R 32. We Brought the Fun 33. I Aint' No Dylan 34. Good to Go 35. Streetwalker & a Shy Girl 36. House of Women 37. Wrecking Ball (Slaid Cleaves/Rod Picott) 38. Hard Livin' (Joe Ely) 39. Tumbling Dice 40. These Boots are Made for Walking (that's right, Nancy Sinatra) 41. Nebraska 42. Tangled Up in Blue 43. Knockin' on Heaven's Door 44. Windfall (Son Volt) 45. Ad Nauseum (Thanks, Dan) 46. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight (Thanks, Dave) 47. Lodi 48. Background Music (Larry Hooper) 49. Powderfinger 50. Pancho & Lefty 51. The Devil's Right Hand (Steve Earle)
Rehearsal Dinner, Feb 26th
Fri, Mar. 5 2010
Many thanks to Donna & John Flynn for having us play at the rehearsal dinner for their son John and his beautiful bride Heather. The Vermont College gym never looked so wonderful and was packed with fun loving folks. The food was spectacular. We played a first set of mellower stuff than notched it up for some post dinner dancing. We truly appreciated being included. It was also a nice treat to have Kate Sprout sitting in with us for the evening.
1. Kansas City/Route 66/Shake Rattle & Roll/Steamroller/Statesboro Blues (jazzybluesy medley) 2. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 3. Now I’m Stumbling 4. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 5. Thank God 6. Lodi 7. Willin’ 8. Walking After Midnight 9. Burning Love 10. San Antonio Rose 11. Angel From Montgomery 12. Six Days on the Road 13. Up Here on the Stage 14. Take Me Back to Tulsa
15. Oceans of Diamonds 16. Foggy Mountain Breakdown 17. Glendale Train 18. Sympathy for the Devil (country version) 19. Ring of Fire 20. Two More Bottles of Wine 21. Dixie Chicken 22. Cotton Fields 23. Midnight Special 24. Up on Cripple Creek 25. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 26. Jackson 27. MOXIE 28. Sympathy for the Devil (rock version) 29. One Way Out 30. I Saw Her Standing There 31. Satisfaction 32. Silver Maple 33. We Brought the Fun/Layla ending
Valentine's Gala, Mad River Glen
Mon, Feb. 15 2010
Nothing says Valentine's Day quite like Rusty Romance! And no one parties quite like skiiers!! We had a blast playing at the Mad River Glen lodge for the Stark Mountain Foundation annual gala. It was a decidedly rock and roll crowd so, unusual for us, we played mostly cover songs.
We did get to play a "mini-set" between two fundraising auctions and loaded that up with all orginal songs. We were delighted when the crowd kept dancing and singing along to those.
We had been asked in advance to play "lots of Rolling Stones" so we did our best to comply, even learning two songs in the sound check and playing them during the party. Yet somehow managed to miss "You Can't Always Get What You Want" which we almost always play. Oh well. A good time was had by all.
First Set
1. Now I’m Stumbling 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Lodi 4. Mama Tried 5. Angel From Montgomery 6. Cotton Fields 7. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 8. Willin’ 9. Dead Flowers 10. Take Me Back to Tulsa 11. Tulsa Time 12. Six Days on the Road
Mini Set
13. Triple R 14. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 15. Telecaster Girl 16. Simple Song 17. Truck Drivers Wedding 18. MOXIE
Third Set
19. Moretown Girl 20. Sympathy for the Devil 21. Its All Over Now * (newly learned) 22. Can’t Let Go 23. Tumbling Dice * (newly learned) 24. Honky Tonk Women 25. Dixie Chicken 26. Up on Cripple Creek 27. Folsom Prison Blues 28. Midnight Special 29. I Saw Her Standing There 30. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 31. We Brought the Fun/Secret Agent Man
Rustbucket Happy Hour #4, The Finale!
Sat, Jan. 30 2010
Our great run of January Happy Hours at Langdon Street Cafe came to a rousing conclusion on a frigid evening. Hopefully we heated things up inside the Cafe. For this evening our Rustbucket lineup consisted of Rusty, Bucky, Dangerous Dan, Rachael, Dave & Glenn. We were also delighted to have Mark LeGrand play a song with us.
Over four weeks of happy hours we played for seven and a half hours, performed 84 songs and only repeated six - all by request. And somehow, even counting the Rusty Palooza night, we managed to leave unplayed four songs from our two CD's. Go figure. Many thanks to those folks who attended some or all of these and thanks, of course, to the Cafe for having us.
1. Nebraska Medley (Rusty hit the entire Nebraska album in 10 minutes) 2. Old McDonald Had a Farm (hey, when a 1 year old makes a request...) 3. Looking At the World Through a Windshield 4. Like a River 5. Orphan Girl 6. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 7. I Ain’t No Dylan (Dave finally showed up) 8. Dead Flowers 9. Ad Nauseum 10. Pina Colada Sunshine 11. You Never Can Tell (C’est la vie) 12. Riding Ahead of the Storm ("soulful" style) 13. Up Here on the Stage 14. Sympathy for the Devil 15. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 16. Silver Maple 17. Simple Song 18. Smoke Smoke Smoke 19. Starline Lounge 20. Pancho & Lefty (with Mark LeGrand on guitar and lead vocals) 21. Moretown Girl 22. Streetwalker & a Shy Girl 23. San Antonio Rose 24. We Brought the Fun
Rusty Palooza Part Two
Wed, Jan. 27 2010
After our more casual early set and the dazzling performances by Rachael and Dan's bands, the official Rusty Romance took the stage - a little tighter, more originals and rocking a little harder. As usual, the fun was brought! We were joined by Noah Hahn from Mr. Casual on bowed upright bass for two songs and by Kate Sprout from the Cosmic Americans on fiddle and vocals for a bunch of songs. First time we've ever had a string section!! It was wonderful having both of them.
1. I Ain't No Dylan 2. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 3. Joker’s Wild 4. Ad Nauseum 5. Moretown Girl 6. Willin’ 7. Faith Healers and Pedal Steelers 8. Triple R 9. Pina Colada Sunshine 10. Simple Song 11. Two More Bottles of Wine 12. Riding Ahead of the Storm 13. Up Here on the Stage 14. County Road 15. Dead Flowers 16. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 17. Six Days on the Road 18. Truck Drivin' Man 19. Telecaster Girl 20. Dixie Chicken 21. Can't Let Go 22. Midnight Special 23. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 24. Truck Drivers Wedding 25. MOXIE 26. We Brought the Fun
Rusty Palooza part one
Wed, Jan. 27 2010
The so-called Rustbucket Brothers )which consisted of the entire Rusty Romance band)played a fun set followed by wonderful sets by Rachael Rice & the Cosmic Americans and Dan Haley is Mr. Casual. We continued our "no repeat" rule for the happy hours except for one requested song.
1. Jazz instrumental 2. Stay All Night, Stay a Little Longer 3. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight 4. Streets of Baltimore 5. The Weight 6. Californa Stars 7. Walking After Midnight 8. Hey Good Lookin' 9. Leave it There 10. Long Black Veil 11. Me & Bobby McGee 12. Humpty Dumpty Heart 13. Jersey Girl 14. Paradise
Rustbucket Happy Hour # 2 rocked!!
Fri, Jan. 15 2010
Ok, its hard to call it the Rustbucket Brothers (stripped down, smaller, acoustic, casual version of the band) when we had every Rusty Romance member plus sound man extraordinaire Glenn Howland. That's right - 8 of us crammed onto the tiny Langdon Street Cafe and were a bit less acoustic, less casual and a lot less stripped down. It was really a Rusty Romance gig in disguise!
We're trying to make it through four straight happy hours without repeating a single song. So far we're on track. And next week's happy hour will really be acoustic, honest, we promise!
1. Background Music 2. Take Me Back to Tulsa 3. Joker’s Wild 4. Starline Lounge 5. Two More Bottles of Wine 6. Lodi 7. Dixie Chicken 8. Okie From Muskogee 9. Can’t Let Go 10. Still Feeling Blue 11. Lodi 12. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 13. Mama Tried 14. Horseshoe Lounge 15. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 16. Truck Drivers Wedding 17. Simple Song 18. Silver Threads and Golden Needles 19. Mamas Dont Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys 20. MOXIE 21. Nine to Five 22. Midnight Special
First Rustbucket Happy Hour a rousing success!!
Sat, Jan. 9 2010
We started off the January run of Rustbucket Brothers' Happy Hours at Langdon Street Cafe with a bang. Great crowd, great energy, great fun. For this show the "Brothers" were Bucky Brown, Rachael Rice, Rob Halpert, Terry Hodgdon, Glenn Howland and, of course, Rusty. With drums, keyboards, electric guitars etc we strayed a little ways from the true "acoustic" format but fun was had by all. Along the way we celebrated Elvis' 75th birthday in style. We're already looking forward to next Friday.
1. Six Days on the Road 2. Truck Drivin’ Man 3. That’s Alright, Mama 4. Willin’ 5. Walking After Midnight 6. Triple R 7. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 8. One Way Out 9. Moretown Girl 10. Tulsa Time 11. Angel From Montgomery 12. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 13. Milk Cow Blues 14. Rock N’ Roll 15. Close Up the Honky Tonks 16. Pancho & Lefty 17. Sympathy for the Devil 18. Play With Fire 19. Old 603 20. Telecaster Girl 21. Folsom Prison Blues 22. Hound Dog 23. Blue Suede Shoes
First Night set
Mon, Jan. 4 2010
First Night Montpelier is always a great event and we are always proud to be a participant. This year was no exception. We had a little excitement with a possible power failure resulting in us having to improvise one fully "unplugged" song before things got back to normal. We like to think we re-energized the place!!!
1. Orphan Girl (unplugged) 2. Midnight Special 3. Telecaster Girl 4. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 5. Silver Maple 6. Moretown Girl 7. Simple Song 8. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 9. We Brought the Fun
January is Rusty month at Langdon St. Cafe!!
Mon, Jan. 4 2010
We happy to announce that the Rustbucket Brothers are playing the Friday Happy Hour at Langdon St. Cafe in Montpelier throughout January. We'll be there from 6 PM to 8 PM on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.
The 22nd is an extra special night - Rusty Palooza!! We'll be putting all the bands in the Rusty family together for one big show starting at 6 PM and ending at closing time.
6 - Rustbucket Brothers (acoustic roots n roll) 7:30 - Rachael Rice & the Cosmic Americans (country) 8:15 - Dan Haley is Mr. Casual (rock/pop) 9 to 1 - Rusty Romance - (full electric roots n roll, one set of originals, one set of covers)
Charlie O's - Sat, November 7th set
Mon, Nov. 9 2009
Rusty Romance, Charlie O's, Saturday Night. A perfect combination for fun. This evening was no exception. With Dan Haley and Rachael Rice off on their fabulous Portland, Oregon tour we were graced by the presence of Sarah Jarvis who stepped in - no practice, not much prior warning - and just nailed it. That lady can SING!
As usual at Charlie O's we were all over the musical map - Redneck to Reggae, New Orleans to New Jersey, Rusty to Dusty - recapturing some songs that have been absent for our set for awhile and figuring out some new songs on the fly.
1. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight 2. Lodi 3. Mama Tried 4. Willin’ 5. Angel From Montgomery 6. Up Here on the Stage 7. Bobbie Said She’d Dance with Me Tonight 8. County Road 9. Triple R 10. Pina Colada Sunshine 11. Son of a Preacher Man 12. Smoke Smoke Smoke 13. Riding Ahead of the Storm 14. Colorado 15. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 16. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 17. Up on Cripple Creek 18. Telecaster Girl 19. Six Days on the Road 20. Truck Drivin’ Man
21. Angel From Montgomery - back by popular demand 22. Dixie Chicken 23. Truck Drivers Wedding 24. Two More Bottles of Wine 25. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 26. Midnight Special 27. Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys 28. Okie From Muskogee 29. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 30. Moretown Girl 31. Tulsa Time 32. Take Me Back to Tulsa 33. Get Back 34. Son of a Preacher Man -worked once, ought to work twice 35. It Came Out of the Sky 36. Dead Flowers 37. Honky Tonk Women 38. Iko Iko/Man Smart Women Smarter 39. Saints Go Marching In 40. MOXIE 41. Rock and Roll Medley 42. Streetwalker and a Shy Girl 43. Old 603 44. Secret Agent Man 45. Rivers of Babylon 46. Jersey Girl 47. We Brought the Fun
Rustbucket Brothers at Claire's
Mon, Nov. 2 2009
We made our first foray into the Northeast Kingdom, playing as the Rustbucket Brothers at the wonderful Claire's Restaurant and Bar. We highly recommend this place, nice ambiance, great food and really friendly staff. Live music on Thursday nights too. The acoustic Rustbucket format worked perfectly. On this occasion the "Brothers" consisted of Kevin "Bucky" Brown on guitar and mandolin (that's right - no steel or dobro!), Dave Blythe on bass, Glenn Howland on guitar and Rusty on guitar and harmonica.
1. Background Music (Larry Hooper cover) 2. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 3. Lodi (Creedence cover) 4. Streetwalker & a Shy Girl 5. Pina Colada Sunshine 6. Tupelo Honey/Caravan (Van Morrison medley) 7. Pancho & Lefty (Townes Van Zandt cover) 8. Riding Ahead of the Storm 9. Leave it There (old gospel tune) 10. Midnight Special (Leadbelly cover, sung by Rusty - who needs the gal singers?) 11. Cotton Fields (another Leadbelly cover)
12. Thunder Road (Bruce Springsteen cover) 13. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 14. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 15. Up Here on the Stage 16. 6 Days on the Road (Dave Dudley cover) 17. Truck Drivin Man (Buck Owens cover) 18. Moretown Girl (new Bucky song, rapidly becoming a favorite) 19. House of Women (new Rusty song, Dave had never heard it before and still nailed it on the bass!) 20. County Road (another new Bucky song) 21. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (Richard & Linda Thompson cover) 22. Telecaster Girl 23. Okie from Muskogee (Merle Haggard Cover) 24. Mama Tried (more Merle) 25. It Came out of the Sky (Creedence cover) 26. You Can't Always Get What You Want (the Stones of course) 27. Take Me Back to Tulsa (Bob Wills cover) 28. We Brought the Fun
CD Release/Benefit Party a HUGE Success
Mon, Oct. 19 2009
Our CD release party and Breast Cancer Research benefit exceeded our imaginations! The Lamb Abbey is an excellent place to play, especially with the jam packed enthusiastic crowd that showed up on Saturday night. We were proud to have raised $1,200 for the cause and to have rocked the house. Many thanks to Pitz Quattrone & the Earthman Band who provided a wonderfully slinky first set, to the incomparable Kelly Grey who willed this all to work, to the papers and radio stations who gave us wonderful publicity and, mostly, to the over 100 people who came, danced, bought CD's and T shirts and donated money to the cause. An amazing night.
1. I Ain’t No Dylan 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Up Here on the Stage 4. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 5. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 6. Triple R 7. Pina Colada Sunshine 8. Silver Maple 9. Riding Ahead of the Storm 10. I'm a Railroad 11. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 12. Willin’ 13. Telecaster Girl 14. Hot Ticket 15. MOXIE 16. Midnight Special
17. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 18. Truck Drivers Wedding 19. Can’t Let Go 20. Jokers Wild (new Dan Haley original) 21. Moretown Girl (new Kevin Brown original) 22. Two More Bottles of Wine 23. Up On Cripple Creek 24. Six Days on the Road 25. Truck Drivin’ Man 26. Take Me Back to Tulsa | 27. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 28. I Saw Her Standing There 29. We Brought the Fun
Announcing CD Release Party and Breast Cancer Benefit, Oct. 17th
Mon, Sep. 28 2009
Better late than never! We're finally holding our official CD Release party for Roots N' Roll on Saturday night October 17th at the Lamb Abbey in Montpelier. This party will also include Pitz Quattrone & the Earthman Band.
We're very proud that the party is also a benefit for Making Strides Against Cancer - supporting research for a cure for Breast Cancer. All proceeds from the event will go to this very important effort. Wear your pink ribbons!!
The Lamb Abbey is located at 65 Pioneer Center, tucked behind the VFW. Show starts at 7:00 PM and is BYOB. Suggested adult donation is $10 per person, kids are free. Please join us to celebrate our new CD and, more importantly, to support this cause.
Rustbucket Brothers at Charlie O's, Sept. 2
Thu, Sep. 3 2009
a-cous-tic (uh-koo-stik) adj. "pf. pertaining to, or being a musical instrument whose sound is not electronically ehanced or modified" (Random House) Apparently some of us failed English because we're not sure how two electric guitars and an electric bass meet the above definition. Oh well.
This version of the Rustbucket Brothers featured Kevin "Bucky" Brown, "Dangerous Dan" Haley, Glenn "Mr. Coffee" Howland and, of course, Rusty. A somewhat sparse but hearty crowd at Charlie O's heard an eclectic set which started out with good acoustic roots intentions but veered into late 70's Boston area garage band covers. Dan and Rusty traded off bass duties, there was a banjo siting and somewhere in there three new original songs got trotted out.
Set list (in approximate, not accurate, order):
1. Sweet Jane (Lou Reed cover) 2. Jambalaya (Hank Williams cover) 3. Background Music (Larry Hooper cover) 4. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 5. I Want to Live and Love Always (Hank Williams cover) 6. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 7. Looking at the World Through a Windshield (Commander Cody cover) 8. The Coo-Coo Bird (Clarence Ashley cover) 9. Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover) 10. I Ain’t No Dylan 11. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover) 12. When I Paint My Masterpiece (Bob Dylan cover) 13. Joker’s Wild (new Dan Haley original) 14. Moretown Girl (new Kevin Brown original) 15. House of Women (new Rusty original) 16. You Never Can Tell (Chuck Berry cover) 17. Kinky Sex Makes the World Go Around (long forgotten Rusty original) 18. Streets of Baltimore (Gram Parsons cover) 19. Just Like a River (Jim Boyer cover) 20. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 21. Powderfinger (Neil Young cover) 22. Border Radio (Dave Alvin cover) 23. Tupelo Honey/Caravan (Van Morrison medley) 24. Still Feeling Blue (Gram Parsons cover) 25. Truck Drivin’ Man (Buck Owens cover) 26. California Stars (Wilco cover) 27. Take Me Back to Tulsa (Bob Wills cover) 28. Secret Agent Man (Johnny Rivers cover) 29. Pancho & Lefty (Townes Van Zandt cover) 30. Six Days on the Road (Dave Dudley cover, sung by Dan) 31. Tangled up in Blue (Bob Dylan cover) 32. Roadrunner (Modern Lovers cover) 33. Pablo Picasso (Modern Lovers cover) 34. Whipped (Dogmatics cover) 35. Crossroads (Robert Johnson/Cream cover) 36. MOXIE 37. We Brought the Fun
Loomis St. Block Party set and story
Sun, Aug. 30 2009
Well, well, well. Today was probably the most interesting and unusual Rusty gig in a long time. We were missing Dan, Rachael & Rob so we knew we had to make some "adjustments". Sound man par excellance Glenn Howland grabbed a guitar and played brilliantly all afternoon, not to mention adding Brian Wilson-like harmonies all day. Who knew he could do that? From now on he gets a mic at the sound board!!
On top of that, with Dan missing Kevin brought his mandolin and and dazzled us, and he played banjo magnificently as well (first real banjo presence in a Rusty gig ever). We had to dig deep for a few songs that we haven't touched in a year or two, but that just made it more fun. Plus, for the first gig ever we had no set list, just made it up as we went along. Beautiful weather, great food, our #1 fan and our favorite front porch combined for a great afternoon!!
1. Nebraska 2. Border Radio 3. Every Night About This Time 4. Tennessee is Not the State I’m In 5. Foggy Mountain Breakdown (bass player Dave finally showed up....) 6. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 7. Horseshoe Lounge 8. Starline Lounge 9. Triple R 10. Pina Colada Sunshine 11. Riding Ahead of the Storm 12. Mama Tried 13. Willin’ 14. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 15. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 16. Take Me Back to Tulsa 17. Smoke Smoke Smoke 18. Telecaster Girl 19. Okie from Muskogee 20. I Ain’t No Dylan 21. Six Days on the Road 22. Truck Drivin’ Man 23. Up Here on the Stage
24. Moretown Girl (new original by Kevin) 25. Paradise 26. Cotton Fields 27. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 28. Act Naturally 29. Up on Cripple Creek 30. Dixie Chicken 31. It Came out of the Sky 32. Hound Dog 33. Rock N’Roll Medley 34. Secret Agent Man 35. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 36. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 37. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 38. California Stars 39. Ad Nauseum 40. Close Up the Honky Tonks 41. Jersey Girl 42. MOXIE 43. Iko Iko 44. When The Saints Go Marching In 45. We Brought the Fun
The pouring rain gave way to sunshine just in time for us to set up and play outdoors. Taylor Park in St. Albans is a beautiful setting for some summer evening music and we thoroughly enjoyed our first visit to that city. The set list follows, as does a link to a video of one of the songs from the evening:
1. Up Here on the Stage 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 4. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 5. Ad Nauseum 6. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 7. Pina Colada Sunshine 8. Simple Song 9. Riding Ahead of the Storm 10. Silver Maple 11. Willin' 12. I'm a Railroad 13. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 14. I Ain't No Dylan 15. Six Days on the Road 16. Truck Drivin' Man 17. Old 603 18. Triple R 19. Two More Bottles of Wine 20. Telecaster Girl 21. Up on Cripple Creek 22. Truck Drivers Wedding 23. Can't Let Go 24. MOXIE 25. We Brought the Fun
Charlie O's Set
Sat, Jul. 11 2009
After nearly 100 gigs over 6-plus years it gets a little tough to compare one outing against another. But in a discussion of our best gigs ever, this one would certainly get mentioned early and often! A packed house from start to finish, great energy, some different material and some wonderful musical moments all mixed up with unique atmosphere that only exists at Charlie O's!
What was not to like? A warmly received set of all originals, a 21st birthday girl in a tiara, a "rockstar" dancer, somersaults and the fantastic Charlie O's staff!
1. I Ain’t No Dylan 2. Ad Nauseum 3. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 4. Up Here on the Stage 5. Silver Maple 6. Pina Colada Sunshine 7. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 8. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 9. Riding Ahead of the Storm 10. Telecaster Girl 11. Simple Song 12. Hot Ticket 13. MOXIE
14. Triple R 15. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 16. Dead Flowers 17. Rose of San Antone 18. Smoke Smoke Smoke 19. Dixie Chicken 20. Willin’ 21. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 22. I’m a Railroad 23. Two More Bottles of Wine 24. Truck Drivers Wedding 25. You Never Can Tell (C’est La Vie) 26. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
27. Walking After Midnight 28. Mama Tried 29. Up on Cripple Creek 30. Folsom Prison Blues 31. I Saw Her Standing There 32. Birthday 33. Mercury Blues 34. Can’t Let Go 35. Long Black Veil 36. One Way Out 37. Looking at the World Through a Windshield 38. Iko Iko 39. We Brought the Fun
Brown Bag Lunch set
Thu, Jul. 9 2009
It was so lovely to watch the sun come out as we played. The large and appreciative crowd seemed to enjoy being outdoors in a rain free day and certainly gave us a wonderful response. Not a bad way to spend a lunch hour!
1. Up Here on the Stage 2. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 3. Ad Nauseum 4. I Ain't No Dylan 5. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 6. I'm a Railroad 7. Telecaster Girl 8. Triple R 9. Pina Colada Sunshine 10. Simple Song 11. Truck Drivers Wedding 12. MOXIE 13. We Brought the Fun/Birthday/We Brought the Sun
Rusty Romance on AREA CODE 802 compilation!
Thu, Jul. 2 2009
Breaking News: Nassau Broadcasting (Frank 107.1/Froggy 100.9) has just released the AREA CODE 802 compilation featuring 16 Vermont musicians/bands. The CD is for Prevent Child Abuse and is now on sale throughout Central Vermont. We're proud that our song "Telecaster Girl" from our ROOTS N" ROLL album was selected. The folks at Nassau had over 150 submissions and included 16 - we're delighted to be on there along with Susannah Blachly, Patti Casey, Jamie Lee Thurston and many others.
There's a reason why some people call Charlie O's the best bar in the world! The Rustbucket Brothers - the acoustic version of Rusty Romance - made our second appearance expecting a quiet mellow Wednesday night. We planned to play a lot of slower, purty songs. Instead we were met with a wonderully enthusiastic and energetic crowd led by a bunch of graduating nurses celebrating their achievement. We swiftly shifted gears and rocked as hard as we could with our acoustic instruments. We dug deep into our collective memories and cobbled together a bizarre and eclectic set of music that was fun for all.
For this show, the "Brothers" were Bucky Brown, Dan Haley, Dave Blythe, Glenn Howland and, of course, Rusty. This set list is assembled from post gig memory, we think its complete, cannot vouch at all for the proper song sequence!
1. House of Women (new original) 2. Background Music (Larry Hooper cover) 3. Close Up the Honky Tonks (Buck Owens cover) 4. Withered and Died (Richard Thompson cover) 5. Stay all night, stay a little longer (Bob Wills cover) 6. The Cuckoo (Clarence Ashley cover) 7. Lodi (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) 8. Secret Agent Man reggae style (Johnny Rivers meets Bob Marley??!! You had to be there! ) 9. Smoke Smoke Smoke (Commander Cody cover) 10. Triple R 11. Long Black Veil (Johnny Cash cover) 12. Pina Colada Sunshine 13. You Can't Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones cover) 14. Looking at the World Through a Windshield (Commander Cody cover) 15. Im a Railroad (with a Sun Ra cover Rocket Number Nine imbedded within) 16. It Came out of the Sky (Creedence cover) 17., Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 18. Take Me Back to Tulsa (Bob Wills cover) 19. Jersey Girl (Tom Waits cover) 20. Tequila (Champs cover) 21. Powderfinger (Neil Young cover) 22. C'est La Vie (You Never Can Tell) (Chuck Berry cover) 23. Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin cover) 24. Mustang Sally (Wilson Pickett cover) 25. Satisfaction /For What its Worth (Stones and Buffalo Springfield cover medley) 26. Bobbie Said She'd Dance with me Tonight 27. I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles cover) 28. Gloria (Them/Patti Smith cover) 29. Six Days on the Road (Dave Dudley cover) 30. Truck Drivin' Man (Buck Owens cover) 31. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 32. The Honky Tonk Downstairs (Poco cover) 33. Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover) 34. We Brought the Fun
Rusty Romance "Good to Go" Featured
Tue, Apr. 28 2009
We're honored to learn that ROOTS N ROLL's rousing opening track "Good To Go" is featured in VERMONT LIFE's multimedia celebration of Vermont State Fairs.
You can watch and listen here:
Montpelier's Black Door is always an excellent place to play - nice room, great sound, good crowd and wonderful staff. Last night was exceptional however! Great energy, a fun, appreciative crowd and an overall good time - complete with a surprise (even for us) ending.
1. Take Me Back to Tulsa 2. Pina Colada Sunshine 3. Silver Maple (w/Margaret Stocksdale on harmony) 4. I Ain’t No Dylan 5. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 6. Bobbie Said She'd Dance 7. Dead Flowers 8. Ad Nauseum 9. Rock and Roll 10. Triple R 11. Six Days on the Road 12. Truck Drivin’ Man 13. Can't Let Go 14. Telecaster Girl 15. Smoke Smoke Smoke 16. Truck Drivers Wedding 17. Up Here on the Stage 18. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers
19. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 20. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 21. I’m a Railroad 22. Horseshoe Lounge 23. Mama Tried 24. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (w/Margaret Stocksdale) 25. Simple Song 26. Up on Cripple Creek 27. Hot Ticket 28 Iko Iko 29. Riding Ahead of the Storm 30. Two More Bottles of Wine 31. MOXIE 32. Saints Go Marching In 33. Haunted House 34. Dixie Chicken 35. I Saw Her Standing There 36. We Brought the Fun 37. Sunshine of Your Love 38. Crossroads
Capital Plaza Boosters Dinner set
Sun, Mar. 29 2009
Ok, every now and then a band has an evening where the audience takes over and the musicians just go along for the ride. This was one of those nights - we strayed way off the plantation as the classic hit requests just kept on a coming. Lets just say Sweet Home Alabama and Mustang Sally aren't normally in our set lists! Oh well, a good time was had by all - even those of us that finished up the evening at the Black Door with the Dixie Red Delights!
1. Take Me Back to Tulsa 2. Up Here on the Stage 3. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 4. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 5. Still Feeling Blue 6. Pina Colada Sunshine 7. Its Only Rock and Roll 8. Six Days on the Road 9. Truck Drivin’ Man 10. Okie From Muskogee 11. Sweet Home Alabama 12. Honky Tonk Women 13. I Saw Her Standing There 14. MOXIE 15. Mustang Sally 16. Up on Cripple Creek 17. Truck Drivers Wedding 18. We Brought the Fun 19. Willin’
Newspaper Review of "Roots N' Roll"
Fri, Feb. 27 2009
Vermont country: Roots 'n' Roll' from Rusty Romance By ART EDELSTEIN Arts Correspondent - Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus Published: February 27, 2009
Rusty Romance, the Montpelier country band, has just released its second album, "Roots 'n' Roll." Fans of this popular septet will find an album that in form and sound closely resembles the band's first CD, "Who Bought the Fun?" which garnered a Times Argus Tammie Award in 2006 for best Vermont country album.
The seven original band members appear on this new CD, and like their first effort, this album was recorded in a single marathon session, this time at a barn in East Montpelier on Sept. 14, 2008.
As a "live" album, this CD is infused with a sense of energy and immediacy.
The performers cut a groove that is somewhat difficult to match when recording in a studio. Live albums also produce some flaws, and there are a few missed notes and an occasional bit of off-key singing, but these are too few to tarnish the end product.
Bandleader Bill "Rusty" Fraser explained the eight-hour recording process this way: "We did it in one day. We did several retakes and a few more overdubs than on our first CD. For the most part, the songs heard on this CD are what we would do live on stage."
Vocalist Michelle Gardner, featured on many of the songs in this 13-song album, has since left the band due to her heavy work schedule, said Fraser. While the band knew she was leaving, he said Gardner recorded the project because "we developed the songs with her and she had been with the band from the start in 2002. We decided she should be on the CD even though she was leaving the band.
"Michelle had been part of our original sound and several songs had been written with her in mind," Fraser explained.
Gardner has since been replaced by Rachel Rice, a singer-songwriter and guitarist and harmonica player known for her work with local bands The Deer and The Cosmic Americans.
Rusty Romance could complete the album in a day because, "we have a great time together, a great sense of who we are musically, and we do a lot by feel," said Fraser. "We were all prepared to put out a good record."
This new album is populated with 11 original songs as several of the musicians write. "We like writing our own songs," said Fraser. "We have multiple songwriters."
The first album featured more cover songs as the band was still developing its own material. "We feel we've hit our stride with this album in terms of song writing," Fraser acknowledged. "It's a direction we'd like to go further in. We're more than a covers band. With multiple songwriters there's a lot of room for creativity and it doesn't put the burden on just one person to produce all the material."
The material here may not yet have reached the level of the Grand Ol' Opry but some of the songs do cook. I was especially impressed by two contributions from Kevin "Bucky" Brown's "Telecaster Girl," and "Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues." These are hard-driving country blues numbers. Fraser's "I Ain't No Dylan" looks at the performing life when you know you won't get the fame that Bob Dylan has garnered.
"We're trying to build up our own material so we can perform just our own songs but we're not there yet," admitted Fraser, discussing the band's writing ability.
With the addition of the singer Rice audiences will be introduced to another group of fresh songs not available on either of our two previous albums.
As with their first album, we hear musicianship that is strong. Brown is an excellent lead and slide guitarist, Dan Haley splits his time between mandolin and guitar; David Blyth on bass guitar and Terry Hodgdon on drums keep a solid beat. Fraser's rhythm guitar and Rob Halpert on keyboards fill out the sound.
This album will certainly make fans of the band smile. For those who want to hear what local part-time musicians whose jobs would seem out of place in the world of country music, (we have a city manager, two attorneys, an elementary school teacher, a retail store manager along with a full-time musician and a music store retailer) this is the opportunity.
Fraser said for now there are few live gigs lined up for Rusty Romance which tries to play out about once a month.
"Roots N' Roll" now on iTunes
Tue, Feb. 24 2009
The new CD, "Roots N' Roll" is now available on iTunes (as is, of course, the first one "Who Brought the Fun?") Check it out, write a review, tell all your friends!!
Charlie O's set
Mon, Feb. 23 2009
Nothing beats a Saturday night at Charlie O's World Famous. A special thanks to the hockey crowd and "professional" pool players.
Here's what we played:
1. I Ain’t No Dylan 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 4. Ad Nauseum 5. Silver Maple 6. Triple R 7. Pina Colada Sunshine 8. Riding Ahead of the Storm 9. Simple Song 10. Up Here on the Stage 11. Willin’ 12. Six Days on the Road 13. Truck Drivin’ Man
14. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 15. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 16. Me & Bobby McGee 17. Two More Bottles of Wine 18. Dixie Chicken 19. Up on Cripple Creek 20. Telecaster Girl 21. Haunted House 22. Can’t Let Go 23. I’m a Railroad 24. Its Only Rock and Roll 25. Hot Ticket 26. Truck Drivers Wedding
28. One Way Out 29. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 30. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 31. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 32. Dead Flowers 33. Rock and Roll 34. Train Kept a Rollin’ 35. Smoke Smoke Smoke 36. MOXIE 37. Still Feeling Blue 38. Take Me Back to Tulsa 39. I Saw Her Standing There 40. We Brought the Fun
Rustbucket Bros. at Langdon St Cafe
Sun, Feb. 15 2009
The debut of the "Rustbucket Brothers" was a rousing success. Rusty, Bucky, Dangerous Dan, T-Hoj and Mr. Soundman Glenn Howland on guitar, played a two hour acoustic set at Langdon Street Cafe. The place was full with an attentive and fun crowd. We got to play some new songs and also play a lot of old songs in new ways -this is definitely a format we will use again.
1. Background Music (Larry Hooper cover) 2. Old 603 3. Simple Song 4. I Ain’t No Dylan 5. Looking at the World through a Windshield (Commander Cody cover) 6. Train Kept a Rolling (Yardbirds cover) 7. Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin cover) 8. Telecaster Girl 9. Ad Nauseum 10. Windfall (Son Volt cover) 11. Streets of Baltimore (Gram Parsons cover) 12. I’m Like a River (Jim Boyer cover) 13. Triple R 14. Truck Drivin’ Man (Buck Owens cover) 15. I’m a Railroad 16. Texas Double Eagle Railroad R Blues 17. Truck Drivers Wedding 18. Haunted House (Jumpin' Gene Simmons cover) 19. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 20. Passport Photo (a Bucky Brown original, new to the band) 21. Rose of San Antone (Bob Wills cover) 22. Take Me Back to Tulsa (Bob Wills cover) 23. We Brought the Fun
"Roots N' Roll", the New CD is out NOW
Mon, Jan. 19 2009
We're delighted to announce that our new CD titled "Roots N' Roll" is here and available. Its currently on sale at Buch Spieler CD's in Montpelier, through this web site at at CDFReedom.com. it will soon be available at iTunes, eMusic, Napster and other on-line outlets. And, of course, you can obtain one through any band member.
We're pleased with the CD and think that it really captures the band's sound. Former singer Michelle Gardner is in great form on the recording. Its great that her voice is included in this collection.
CD Tracks Are:
1. Good to Go 2. Telecaster Girl 3. Up Here on the Stage 4. Now I'm Stumbling 5. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 6. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 7. Streetwalker and a Shy Girl 8. Riding Ahead of the Storm 9. Truck Drivers Wedding 10. I'm a Railroad 11. I Ain't No Dylan 12. MOXIE 13. Midnight Special
Langdon St Cafe Set
Sun, Jan. 11 2009
The cold and snow kept some folks away but the hearty souls that showed up all had a fun time. It was great having Rachael with us for her first "official" full gig. A special bonus was having Margaret Stocksdale from The Dear join in for a couple of songs. We played a first set of all originals, a second set of (mostly) all covers. A shout out to Sandy, Deb & Jim - they know why.
1. I Ain’t No Dylan 2. Ad Nauseum 3. Up Here on the Stage 4. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 5. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 6. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 7. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 8. Triple R 9. Old 603 10. I’m a Railroad 11. Pina Colada Sunshine 12. Simple Song 13. Truck Drivers Wedding 14. Hot Ticket 15. Telecaster Girl 16. Riding Ahead of the Storm 17. MOXIE 18. We Brought the Fun
19. Silver Maple - a new (to us) Rachael original (w/Margaret) 20. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (w/Margaret) 21. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 22. Dead Flowers 23. Willin’ 24. Six Days on the Road 25. Truck Drivin’ Man 26. Walking After Midnight 27. Up on Cripple Creek 28. Dixie Chicken 29. Me & Bobby McGee 30. Silver Threads & Golden Needles 31. Mama Tried 32. Jersey Girl
First Night Montpelier set
Thu, Jan. 1 2009
Happy New Year to all. We enjoyed having Rachael Rice join us for the first night festivities. 45 minutes goes fast but it was fun - we managed to get in a bunch of songs from the new, soon to be released, CD:
1. Up Here on the Stage 2. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 3. I'm A Railroad 4. I Ain't No Dylan 5. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 6. Willin' 7. Two More Bottles of Wine 8. Truck Drivers Wedding 9. Simple Song 10. MOXIE
NEW Rusty Romance music available!!
Sat, Dec. 27 2008
We're pleased to announce that our second CD "Roots N' Roll" is completed, at the manufacturer and due out for release around January 20th (give or take a day or two). The CD contains 12 original songs and 1 cover song, any good Rusty-farian will recognize most of 'em.
In the meantime, we're releasing 17 live tracks for free download. These are all cover songs that were recorded at the Six Days on the Road party on September 13, 2008. They are truly live recordings - no mixing, no mastering, no editing. They are just as they were played that night. The great recording was done by Bennett Shapiro.
These 17 tracks may someday become a more official "live CD" but for now are yours for free simply by clicking on the following link:
1. Tupelo Honey/Caravan (Van Morrison) 2. Willin' (Lowell George) 3. Truck Drivin' Man (Terry Fell) 4. Colorado (Rick Roberts) 5. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (Richard Thompson) 6. Up on Cripple Creek (Robbie Robertson) 7. Dixie Chicken (Lowell George) 8. Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette) (Merle Travis) 9. You Can't Always Get What You Want (Jagger/Richards) 10. Horseshoe Lounge (Slaid Cleaves/Karen Poston) 11. Mama Tried (Merle Haggard) 12. Still Feeling Blue (Gram Parsons) 13. I'll Fly Away (Albert Brumley) 14. Take Me Back to Tulsa (Wills/Duncan) 15. Haunted House (Simmons) 16. It's Only Rock N' Roll (Jagger/Richards) 17. I Saw Her Standing There (Lennon/McCartney)
Musicians are, of course, Dave Blythe, Kevin Brown, Bill Fraser, Michelle Gardner, Dan Haley, Rob Halpert and Terry Hodgdon. Drums on tracks 8 & 9 were played by Charlie Watson.
Turn it Up - a great success
Mon, Nov. 17 2008
This was an evening to remember. About 250 people filled up the Vermont College gym and donated $2,700 to the cause of helping needy people heat their homes. Seven musical acts (and one humungous finale) contributed some really great music with a wide variety of styles but with a common theme of inspiration, faith and hope.
Rusty Romance finished up the show by teaming up with the talented trio "The Dear". We played:
1. Never Run Dry (a new original written by Kevin) 2. Knocking on Heaven's Door 3. Orphan Girl 4. No Depression (the old Carter Family song, also done by Uncle Tupelo) 5. Leave it There 6. Thank God
We were then treated to a nice surprise - a great Irish fiddle tune played by Montpelier High student Joe Carlomagno.
Finally we had nearly 20 people on stage - 6 from Rusty Romance, 3 from the Dear, 3 from the Barn Band, Susannah Blachly & George White, Mark LeGrand & Sarah Munro, John Mowad & Sarah Hotchkiss and Dave Keller. The grand finale consisted of:
1. When the Saints Go Marching In 2. This Land is Your Land 3. Amazing Grace
One performer observed that it was like having our very own Grand Ol' Opry. True enough. It was amazing to see and hear the array of talent based right here in Montpelier and Central Vermont and an honor to be part of such a wonderful show. Many many thanks to David Blythe for organizing the whole thing.
Turn It Up! November 15th
Mon, Oct. 27 2008
We're proud to announce that Rusty Romance is taking part in a great musical event to raise money for low income fuel assistance. Turn It Up! is an evening of inspirational music to benefit the Montpelier and Central Vermont Community.
Performers include:
Dave Keller Susannah Blachly & George White Mark LeGrand & Sarah Munro Damn Yankee String Band Rachael Rice & the Dear The Barn Band Rusty Romance
Saturday Night at Charlie O's
Mon, Sep. 29 2008
Oh my! What a seriously fun rock and roll night. Packed house, wild dancing and "flashes" of brilliance. Many thanks to the enthusiastic and energetic crowd that buoyed our spirits. Thanks, too, to Charlie Watson for the amazing drumming with no rehearsal. It was a nice treat to have Paul Markowitz from the Great Brook Blues Band join us on harmonica for a few songs as well. The fun was most definitely delivered!!
1. Triple R 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Ad Nauseum 4. Pina Colada Sunshine 5. Son of a Preacher Man 6. Simple Song 7. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 8. I Ain’t No Dylan 9. Now I’m Stumbling 10. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight 11. Willin’ 12. Up Here on the Stage 13. I’ll Fly Away
14. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 15. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 16. Good to Go 17. Six Days on the Road (with Paul) 18. Truck Drivin’ Man (with Paul) 19. I’m A Railroad (with Paul) 20. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 21. Mama Tried 22. Riding Ahead of the Storm 23. Smoke Smoke Smoke 24. Telecaster Girl 25. Dixie Chicken 26. Take Me Back to Tulsa 27. Midnight Special
28. Rock & Roll Medley 29. Texas Double Eagle RR Blues 30. Its Only Rock & Roll 31. Me & Bobby McGee 32. Up on Cripple Creek 33. Two More Bottles of Wine 34. Truck Drivers Wedding 35. Iko Iko 36. We Brought the Fun/Satisfaction
SIX YEARS ON THE ROAD!
Mon, Sep. 15 2008
On Saturday night, we celebrated our 6th anniversary of playing together. We started out at a small house party on September 13, 2002 as kind of a fun goof. Six years, 85 gigs, 50 venues/events and one award winning CD later here we are. Many thanks to the Kaplan's for allowing us to have a party at the wonderful Cummings Barn. We recorded the whole evening for a possible live album.
Here's what we played, first set all originals, second set all covers:
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 3. Now I'm Stumbling 4. Pina Colada Sunshine 5. Simple Song 6. Truck Drivers Wedding 7. Streetwalker & a Shy Girl 8. Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight 9. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 10. Triple R 11. Old 603 12. Ad Nauseum 13. Good to Go 14. Up Here on the Stage 15. I'm A Railroad 16. Telecaster Girl 17. Riding Ahead of the Storm 18. MOXIE 19. We Brought the Fun
20. Rock and Roll Medley 21. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 22. California Stars 23. Willin' 24. Six Days on the Road 25. Truck Drivin' Man 26. Colorado 27. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight 28. Up on Cripple Creek 29. Dixie Chicken 30. Smoke Smoke Smoke (w/Charlie Watson on drums) 31. You Can't Always Get What You Want (also w/Charlie) 32. Horseshoe Lounge 33. Mama Tried 34. Still Feeling Blue 35. I'll Fly Away 36. Me & Bobby McGee 37. It's Only Rock & Roll 38. Haunted House 39. I Saw Her Standing There 40. Take Me Back to Tulsa 41. Amazing Grace
New CD in the works
Mon, Sep. 15 2008
We're delighted to announce that we just recorded 13 songs for a second CD. We still have a lot of re-mixing, editing, mastering, packaging etc to do. We're looking at a spring 2009 release. But we're very excited, the material is upbeat and fun (of course). Many of the songs will be familiar to Rusty-farians from our live perfomances. The CD will feature 12 original songs and 1 cover song. We'll also be releasing some live material, probably via download right here on this web site. You can look for that within the next couple of months. Tracks on the new CD include:
Good to Go Telecaster Girl Up Here on the Stage Now I'm Stumbling MOXIE Streetwalker & a Shy Girl Riding Ahead of the Storm Truck Drivers Wedding I'm a Railroad Bobbie Said She'd Dance With Me Tonight Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues I Ain't No Dylan Midnight Special
Block Party Set
Sun, Aug. 24 2008
A glorious way to end the summer! Perfect weather, a nice crowd, great food and lots of good feelings all around. Many thanks to Sandy Vitzthum who once again hosted this great event and allowed us to spill Moxie all over her porch. Special thanks to the fabulous Rustettes for adding their vocal prowess and to Sophie G. for the sax.
1. California Stars 2. I’m Stumbling 3. Angel from Montgomery 4. Streetwalker & A Shy Girl 5. Bobbie Said She’d Dance With Me Tonight (debut - new original written by Dave Blythe) 6. I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight 7. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 8. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 9. Up Here on the Stage 10. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 11. Good to Go 12. Willin’ 13. Telecaster Girl 14. Up on Cripple Creek 15. Two More Bottles of Wine 16. I’ll Fly Away
17. Tequila (w/ Sophie Gardner on Sax) 18. Colorado 19. Still Feeling Blue 20. Horseshoe Lounge 22. Mama Tried 23. Dixie Chicken 24. Riding Ahead of the Storm 25. Truck Drivers Wedding 26. Smoke Smoke Smoke 27. Take Me Back to Tulsa 28. Rock and Roll Medley 29. Truck Drivin’ Man 30. I'm a Railroad 31. Its Only Rock and Roll 32. Midnight Special 33. Haunted House 34. Son of A Preacher Man 35. MOXIE 36. I Saw Her Standing There 37. We Brought the Fun 38. Amazing Grace
Annual Block Party August 23rd
Tue, Aug. 5 2008
The annual Loomis St. (Montpelier) Block party is coming up on August 23rd from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. (Rain date, Sunday the 24th from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.) This is always a great time. We play on the porch at 14 Loomis, the street is blocked off. There's a grill and kids games and coolers. Its pot luck and BYOB, otherwise free and open to all. A great way to end the summer.
Currier Park, Barre - set list
Wed, Jul. 30 2008
We managed to dodge the rain tonight and got a full set in outdoors! A few rain drops midway through did not deter us. The nice crowd of approximately 150 people hung in there despite the touch and go weather conditions as well, way to go Barre!
Here's what we played (after about 5 sound check songs) :
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Good to Go 3. Truck Drivers Wedding 4. Simple Song 5. Riding Ahead of the Storm 6. Streetwalker & a Shy Girl 7. I’m Stumbling 8. Up Here on the Stage 9. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 10. Six Days on the Road 11. I’m a Railroad 12. Telecaster Girl 13. Up on Cripple Creek 14. MOXIE 15. Midnight Special 16. Me & Bobby McGee (by request) 17. We Brought the Fun
Jaquith Library, Marshfield - Set
Thu, Jul. 24 2008
The soggy conditions forced us inside to the small gym in the Library basement but certainly didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits. What an amazing crowd, we surely appreciated your support - two standing ovations, thank you very much. It was really nice to be able to play a full evening of mostly our own original songs.
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Good to Go 3. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 4. I’m Stumbling 5. Pina Colada Sunshine 6. Simple Song 7. Riding Ahead of the Storm 8. Triple R 9. Colorado 10. Six Days on the Road 11. I’m a Railroad 12. Texas Double Eagle Railroad Blues 13. I’ll Fly Away 14. Streetwalker & a Shy Girl 15. Old 603 16. Ad Nauseum 17. Up Here on the Stage 18. Truck Drivers Wedding 19. Up on Cripple Creek 20. Telecaster Girl 21. Midnight Special 22. We Brought the Fun
Summertime Party!!!
Mon, Jul. 14 2008
We had fantabulous time at an unnamed private party this past weekend. The weather, food, setting and crowd just couldn't have been better. Here's what we played:
1. California Stars 2. Tequila 3. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 4. Walking After Midnight 5. Mama Tried 6. Dead Flowers 7. Pina Colada Sunshine 8. Simple Song 9. Son of a Preacher Man 10. Truck Drivers Wedding 11. Colorado 12. Six Days on the Road 13. Truck Drivin’ Man 14. I’m a Railroad 15. Good to Go 16. Rock and Roll Medley 17. Its Only Rock and Roll 18. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 19. I’ll Fly Away 20. Up on Cripple Creek 21. Haunted House 22. Smoke Smoke Smoke
23. Take Me Back to Tulsa 24. Two More Bottles of Wine 25. Angel From Montgomery 26. Mustang Sally 27. Folsom Prison Blues 28. Telecaster Girl 29. Dixie Chicken 30. MOXIE 31. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 32. Riding Ahead of the Storm 33. Honky Tonk Women 34. Secret Agent Man 35. It Came Out of the Sky 36. Beer Barrel Polka (yup, that's right - it was on the spot inspiration) 37. Midnight Special 38. Sympathy for the Devil 39. I Saw Her Standing There 40. Iko Iko 41. Crossroads 42. Sweet Home Alabama (a fave of the party hosts and guests) 43. We Brought the Fun
Independence Day Parade
Sat, Jul. 5 2008
Wow -what a great Independence Day weekend for us! After dodging a serious rain scare, we had a great time playing to the usual huge crowd at Montpelier's July 3rd festivities. Special thanks to Charlie Watson for the last minute fill in on drums and special thanks to Andy Harper for the truck, flat bed and expert driving.
Parade set:
1. Pina Colada Sunshine reggae style 2. Cotton Fields 3. Good to Go 4. Riding Ahead of the Storm 5. 6 Days on the Road 6. Truck Drivin’ Man 7. Truck Drivers Wedding 8. Son of a Preacher Man 9. Midnight Special 10. Telecaster Girl 11. Two More Bottles of Wine 12. Rock and Roll Medley 13. We Brought the Fun 14. Iko Iko
Charlie O's on the 4th of July
Sat, Jul. 5 2008
Whew! We certainly set off some fireworks at Charlie O's!!! Great crowd and great night. We were missing our vocalist extraordinaire, Michelle Gardner, but soldiered on bravely. Many thanks to Rachael Rice, the original hot ticket, for joining as for the last two sets. A shout out to the out of town crowd who cajoled two encore songs from us and requesting something by Cream of all people! Our ears are still ringing!
Charlie O's sets:
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Lodi 3. Ad Nauseum 4. Mama Tried 5. Up on Cripple Creek 6. Truck Drivers Wedding 7. Dixie Chicken 8. Pina Colada Sunshine 9. Simple Song 10. Up Here on the Stage 11. Six Days on the Road 12. Truck Drivin’ Man 13. I'm a Railroad
14. I Ain’t No Dylan 15. Knockin’on Heaven’s Door 16. You Can’t Always Get What You Want 17. Dead Flowers 18. Its Only Rock and Roll 19. Triple R 20. Hot Ticket (a rockin'Rachael Rice original) 21. Smoke Smoke Smoke 22. Take Me Back to Tulsa 23. Can’t Let Go 24. Willin’ 25. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 26. Two More Bottles of Wine 27. Me & Bobby McGee 27. Rock and Roll Medley 28. It Came Out of the Sky 29. Folsom Prison Blues
30. Walking After Midnight 31. Silver Threads & Golden Needles 32. Secret Agent Man 33. Telecaster Girl 34. Haunted House 35. MOXIE 36. Honky Tonk Women 37. Sympathy for the Devil 38. Satisfaction 39. I Saw Her Standing There 40. When the Saints Go Marching In 41. We Brought the Fun
42. Crossroads 43. Free Bird (hey, a drunk person yelled it out, what's a band supposed to do??)
Onion River Exchange benefit event
Thu, Jun. 19 2008
The fabulous Langdon St Cafe hosted a very cool event for the Onion River Exchange, Montpelier's new Time Bank. Music was provided by americana band The Dear, jazz duo Andrew Moroz and Rob Morse and, of course, roots rock from none other than Rusty Romance.
Our set list:
1. I Ain't No Dylan 2. Good to Go 3. Six Days on the Road 4. Colorado 5. Horseshoe Lounge 6. I'm Stumbling 7. Up on Cripple Creek 8. Son of a Preacher Man 9. Simple Song 10. Riding Ahead of the Storm 11. Telecaster Girl 12. Two More Bottles of Wine 13. Dixie Chicken 14. Midnight Special
At this point, vocalist extraordinaire Michelle Gardner had to leave so we were forced to carry on without her. Fortunately Rachael Rice from the Dear stepped in to help out.
15. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 16. Willin' 17. Dead Flowers 18. Me and Bobby McGee 19. Truck Drivers Wedding 20. Smoke Smoke Smoke 21. We Brought the Fun
It was a great night capped off when the Celtics won the NBA title with a smashing 131-92 win over LA!
Bob Labbance Benefit Party
Sun, May. 11 2008
What an incredible night. A huge crowd turned out at the Old Labor Hall in Barre to support their friend Bob Labbance and his family. The event raised over $8,600 for the family. Equally as important it was a great time for Bob to be with his friends and vice versa, enjoying great food, company and music.
The Barn Band was great, they even got some assistance from the Rusty Romance rhythym section for their last four songs.
The unquestioned highlight of the night was when 14 year old Simone Labbance played her sitar on the stage for her dad and all the guests. She got a well deserved standing ovation and there weren't many dry eyes in the house.
Rob Halpert gave a beautiful speech about Bob which touched everyone.
Then we came on to rock out for the rest of the evening. We dispensed with a lot of our usual fare - originals, slow songs, some of the twangier numbers - and went for a good old rock and roll set. Bob Labbance is a huge Rolling Stones fan so we worked up a special 7 song sequence for him.
We were fortunate to have Dan Haley with us, he always adds so much to our lineup. He was dealing with the passing of his mother this past week and in her honor took some of his musical wizardy to a new level it seemed.
Here's what we played:
1. Secret Agent Man 2. Son of a Preacher Man 3. Telecaster Girl 4. Smoke Smoke Smoke 5. Simple Song 6. Dixie Chicken
The Rolling Stones set:
7. Play With Fire 8. Faraway Eyes 9. Dead Flowers 10. Its Only Rock and Roll 11. Honky Tonk Women 12. Sympathy for the Devil 13. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
14. Six Days on the Road 15. Truck Drivin' Man 16. I'm a Railroad 17. Take Me Back to Tulsa 18. Iko Iko (with the Barn Band joining us)
Radio Bean Set
Sat, Apr. 12 2008
That was a fun night! We had a blast playing at the cozy little Radio Bean Cafe in downtown Burlington. I think the six of us were quite a sight cramped into a corner that barely fits three people! But a great crowd, great place and great fun. Many thanks to our Burlington area friends who took over the front table.
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Good to Go 3. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 4. Triple R 5. Six Days on the Road 6. Telecaster Girl 7. Riding Ahead of the Storm 8. MOXIE 9. Midnight Special 10. We Brought the Fun
Black Door Set
Sun, Feb. 24 2008
The Fun was definitely Brought last night at the Black Door. Thanks to a great crowd, great dancers and Jay the great bartender. Lots of wonderful energy in the room.
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Pina Colada Sunshine 4. Son of a Preacher Man 5. Simple Song 6. California Stars 7. Old 603 8. Still Feeling Blue 9. Up Here on the Stage 10. I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight 11. Ad Nauseum 12. Now I'm Stumbling 13. Six Days on the Road 14. Truck Drivin' Man 15. I'm a Railroad 16. Colorado 17. Up on Cripple Creek 18. Riding Ahead of the Storm 19. Take Me Back to Tulsa 20. When the Saints Go Marching In
Second Set
21. Tequila (Michelle on bass, Amy B on guest vocals) 22. Rock and Roll Medley 23. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 24. I'll Fly Away 25. Mama Tried 26. Triple R 27. Haunted House 28. Truck Drivers Wedding 29. Smoke Smoke Smoke 30. Two More Bottles of Wine 31. Telecaster Girl 32. Midnight Special (Dave version) 33. We Brought the Reggae Fun 34. Jersey Girl
New Black Door gig just added!!
Fri, Feb. 15 2008
We just added a Saturday night gig at the wonderful Black Door, one of Montpelier's finest music locations (and a pretty fair restaurant as well). We'll be there next week, February 23rd, beginning at 9:30 PM and going until closing time.
Langdon St. Cafe Set List
Fri, Feb. 8 2008
A fun night was had by all, many thanks to the Barn Band for the great opening set and to the huge crowd that was there. We hope you had as much fun as we did. Here's what we played:
First Set (the Twang set)
1. Up Here on the Stage 2. Walking After Midnight 3. Faith Healers & Pedal Steelers 4. Triple R 5. Mama Tried 6. Colorado 7. Ad Nauseum 8. Willin’ 9. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 10. Close Up the Honky Tonks 11. California Stars 12. Horsehoe Lounge 13. I’ll Fly Away 14. Double Eagle RR Blues 15. Angel From Montgomery 16. Six Days on the Road 17. Truck Drivin’ Man 18. Cotton Fields 19. Telecaster Girl 20. Two More Bottles of Wine 21. Take Me Back to Tulsa
Second Set (the rock set)
22. Rock and Roll Medley 23. Good to Go 24. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 25. Up on Cripple Creek 26. Pina Colada Sunshine 27. Son of a Preacher Man 28. Smoke Smoke Smoke 29. Truck Drivers Wedding 30. Me & Bobby McGee 31. Midnight Special 32. MOXIE 33. Honky Tonk Women 34. When the Saints Go Marching In 35. We Brought the Fun 36. Amazing Grace
Bethany Church Benefit Concert SET LIST
Sun, Jan. 20 2008
Thanks to all who braved the cold and missed the Patriots game to see this show. Mark LeGrand and Sarah Munro were wonderful as usual. The"outrageous roots rock circus" (as Mark called us) played a fun set as well with a great sound mix provided by Bennett Shapiro of Madtech Sound.
1. Starline Lounge 2. Good to Go 3. Tupelo Honey/Caravan 4. Triple R 5. Willin' 6. I'll Fly Away 7. Rock & Roll/Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On/Boppin' the Blues/Shake Rattle & Roll 8. Pina Colada Sunshine 9. Smoke, Smoke, Smoke 10. Truck Drivers' Wedding (debut of a new original!) 11. Riding Ahead of the Storm 12. MOXIE 13. Midnight Special 14. We Brought the Fun 15. Amazing Grace
Langdon Street Cafe with the Barn Band
Thu, Jan. 17 2008
Our January 26th evening at the fabulously funky Langdon Street Cafe just got better as we've added our friends, the talented americana group The Barn Band to the bill. They will start things off at 8:00 PM and we'll take over at 9 until closing. As you may know, the Barn Band includes our newest member, Rob Halpert, so he'll be doing double duty that night.
First Night SET LIST
Fri, Jan. 4 2008
One of my New Year's Resolutions is to post our set lists as they were actually played shortly after gigs.
Here's the First Night set:
1. Guns, Beer & Wedding Gowns 2. Six Days on the Road 3. Up Here on the Stage 4. Riding Ahead of the Storm 5. Up on Cripple Creek 6. Double Eagle Railroad Blues 7. Telecaster Girl 8. Two More Bottles of Wine (with the Rustettes) 9. MOXIE (with the Rustettes) 10. Midnight Special (with the Rustettes) 11. Iko Iko (complete with noise makers and instrument switches)
First Night and LANCASTER, PA fans!!!
Wed, Jan. 2 2008
We had a great time at First Night Montpelier as usual, highlighted by the appearance of The Rustettes and the crowd playing noise makers for the last song. Thanks to all of you for coming.
One very special treat was meeting two fans from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They said they had seen us play last year at First Night and made special plans to return to Montpelier again this year just to see us play!! How cool is that? We really appreciate it a lot. However, we didn't get your name and contact information. Please zip us an e-mail via rusty@rustyromance.com to let us know how to stay in touch with you.
Best wishes for a great 2008 to Rusty-farians everywhere. Keep bringing the fun.
NEW BAND MEMBER - Rob Halpert
Tue, Jan. 1 2008
We're delighted to announce that we've officially expanded the Rusty Romance roster. Rob Halpert is the 7th band member as of New Year's Eve. Rob plays keyboards and has a great singing voice. His musical tastes and attitudes blend right in with the rest of us. We look forward to adding that new dimension to our sound. Plus we make the new guy buy the Moxie....
Rob sat in with us for a few gigs this fall and it just seemed like a perfect match. He is also a member of the wonderful americana/folk group The Barn Band and will continue in that role. We hope that this will lead to even more double bills with our friends in that band.
Benefit Show Postponed, Now Set for January 20th
Mon, Dec. 17 2007
Due to the major snow storm this weekend, the benefit concert at Bethany Church has been rescheduled to Sunday, January 20th. Mark LeGrand will perform at 3:00 PM, Rusty Romance at 4:15.
RUSTY ROMANCE at FIRST NIGHT MONTPELIER
Mon, Dec. 17 2007
Don't miss the fabulous First Night Montpelier celebration/
We're playing at 7:00 PM at the Unitarian Church following fellow rootsy/americana acts Wagtail and the Barn Band.
BENEFIT SHOW AT BETHANY CHURCH - December 16th
Mon, Dec. 3 2007
Rusty Romance and Bad Monkey (Mark LeGrand's new rock trio) are teaming up for a benefit concert on Sunday, December 16th at 3:00 PM at Bethany Church on Main Street in Montpelier.
The show is to benefit a family in severe need of assistance with medical and travel expenses. Tickets are $10 each or $25 for a family and will be available at the door only.
Bad Monkey starts the show at around 3:00, Rusty Romance will play at around 4:15. Come on in from your holiday shopping, warm up and enjoy some great music while helping out for a nice cause.
SUMMER '07 TOUR COMPLETED!!
Thu, Oct. 4 2007
After a really great party last weekend (thanks to the two birthday boys), Rusty Romance has wrapped up an excellent summer of 2007 - 3 gigs in Maine, the parade, the barn party, the Black Door, the Brown Bag lunch series and others. We had some great fun and got to play some great music.
Thanks to all of you who came out to see us, thanks to those of you who booked us to play, thanks to Rob Halpert for joining us on keyboards and to Charlie Watson for filling in on drums a couple of times.
We're taking a break this fall to work on some new songs and, hopefully, a new CD of 2008. We'll be back in public on New Year's Eve for First Night Montpelier. Look for us in the 7:00 PM time slot at the Unitarian Church - we plan to have some extra special New Year's fun for you.
We're putting together our 2008 schedule now, please contact us if you'd like us to play your event, party, festival or venue. We will definitely be bringing the fun once again in '08.
RUSTY GOES DIGITAL!!
Thu, Oct. 4 2007
CDFreedom.com is now selling our music in mp3 format so people can purchase individual songs for 99 cents each or purchase the entire Who Brought The Fun? CD in mp3 format for $9.99.
The hard CD with graphics and liner notes is still available for $15.00
Within the next 4 to 10 weeks, Rusty Romance mp3's will be available for sale on:
The first public performance of our band was on September 13, 2002 at a party at our friends' house on Loomis Street in Montpelier. Its hard to believe that five years has past since that fun night.
For that occasion we called the band Rusty Romance and the Raunchy Rednecks and the lineup included Rusty on acoustic guitar and vocals, the inimitable Ruby Ditch on acoustic guitar and vocals, old friend Stu McIntire on lead guitar and keyboards, Dangerous Dan Haley on mandolin, guitar and vocals and David Blythe on both upright and electric bass. We also featured an electrifying appearance by blues legend Short Willy Truman and the debut of the Choirloft Chicks who included Michelle Gardner. Obviously the foundation of the band now known as Rusty Romance was set that evening.
Since then we've played 70 public gigs which include weddings, festivals, parties, downtown events, bars and out of state trips. We've released an award winning CD and written enough songs for a second CD. Mostly we've just had a whole bunch of fun. I don't think any of us expected things to take off in the way that they have.
As fate would have it, the annual end of summer Loomis Street block party that we usually play was rained out on August 25th. Its been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, September 9th from 2 PM to 6 PM. As such, it is doubling as our celebration of our 5th anniversary, Please join us and sing/dance along with us. If you've played with us sometime along the way we'd love to get you up for a song or two.
RUSTY ROMANCE TO HEADLINE MOXIE FESTIVAL!
Tue, Jun. 12 2007
After a very successful Maine weekend, Rusty Romance is delighted to announce that we're heading back to the Pine Tree State in July.
As any good Rusty-farian knows, Moxie is the unofficial beverage of Rusty Romance so its only natural that we would play at the world's biggest celebration of the unique soft drink. The Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls, Maine draws as many as 30,000 people in mid-July for a parade, fireworks, games, family activities, Moxie flavored ice cream and musical entertainment.
We're very pleased that we will be playing the prime Saturday night set from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM on July 14th. We hope some of our old and, after this past weekend, new Maine friends will join us and perhaps some Vermonters will make the trip as well. It promises to be a good time for all.
The rollicking, ribald and ridiculous Rusty Romance roadhouse revue rolls out of Montpelier on Friday the 8th and pulls into the Montsweag Roadhouse in Woolwich, Maine that night for two nights of bringing the fun. Come on by and say hello. Ayuh!!
RUSTY ROMANCE SUMMER TOUR 2007!!!
Sun, May. 6 2007
Thanks to all who came to the Langdon St Birthday celebration. We think it was maybe our best night of playing music ever, your great energy had a lot to do with it.
Summer is on the way which makes everyone happy. We've got a few summer dates for you to bring some fun with us.
On June 8th and 9th we're very excited to be traveling to Maine for two nights at the Montsweag Roadhouse on Route 1 in Woolwich (across the bridge from Bath). This is a great restaurant and pub with an excellent live music set up. If you're within striking distance stop in on Friday the 8th to see us. The 9th is a private function (ssshhhh, it's Rusty's 30th High School reunion), we're not sure if they'll take kindly to party crashers!! Who knows, maybe we'll make a run to Hussey's General Store!
The following weekend, June 16th, is the annual Barn party at McKnight Farm in East Montpelier. This year we'll be joined by Mark LeGrand and the Lovesick Bandits as well as some musical guests from the Barn Band. Music starts at 6:30 and we play until the cows come home. Rumor has it that Rusty might miss this one but with all these extra folks there no one is likely to notice.
We're back in Montpelier in July. Look for us in the July 3rd parade as usual. We'll be playing downtown in Christ Church park on Thursday the 12th at noon time as part of the MDCA Brown Bag Lunch series. On Saturday night the 29th we're back at the Black Door starting at 9:30 PM.
We finish up the summer on August 25th at the Annual Loomis Street Block Party in Montpelier. This usually starts around 6:00 PM and runs until 10:00 PM, good family fun and an excellent way to get ready for fall.
We look forward to seeing you somewhere this summer!!
RUSTY'S BIRTHDAY PARTY, APRIL 27th!!!
Wed, Apr. 18 2007
One of our favorite haunts, the Langdon Street Cafe, is hosting us on Friday night, April 27th for a celebration of Rusty's birthday. We won't tell you how old he is but if you look at our calendar you'll see we're playing at his 30th high school reunion in June - you do the math!
This should be a great night because we follow our good pals Mark LeGrand and the Lovesick Bandits and their regular Friday happy hour. Should be a fun evening of honky tonk and roots and roll - not to mention a double dose of Dangerous Dan Haley which is worth the trip in and of itself!!
RUSTY ROMANCE HEADLINES CVCLT PARTY ON MARCH 10th
Tue, Feb. 20 2007
Rusty Romance is proud to be headlining a great evening at Montpelier City Hall on Saturday night, March 10th. The Central Vermont Community Land Trust is throwing a gala 20th anniversary party featuring 4 great local bands, dancing and a cash bar. Admission is $10 in advance from CVCLT, $12 at the door. Music lineup includes:
7:00 Dave Keller Trio - soul & blues
8:00 Calamity Janes - alt country
9:00 Vincent Flats Blues Band - blues
10:00 Rusty Romance - roots & roll
RUSTY ROMANCE WINS BEST VERMONT COUNTRY CD AWARD!
Thu, Jan. 4 2007
WHO BROUGHT THE FUN? , the debut CD by Rusty Romance, has won a "Tammie Award" (Times-Argus Grammy) from the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus, taking home a medal for the Best Vermont Country CD of 2006!!!
The Times-Argus gave 6 awards: best vocal performance, best instrumental CD, best jazz CD, best country CD, best rock CD and best overall CD.
Here's what the Times-Argus had to say:
2006 Tammie Awards December 29, 2006
By Art Edelstein, Arts Correspondent
It's time again to award the albums and musicians whose performances are the best of the best for Vermont music in 2006. We introduced the Tammies * Times Argus Grammies * last year and for this year there is a completely new list of winners. And now to the awards. The envelopes, please.
Best Country Album: Rusty Romance released "Who Brought the Fun?" early in the year, and this CD by Montpelier's resident country band remains a winner. Listening to the CD brought back the country music of the 1970s in all its twanging glory along with the memories of flat beer, stale smoke, and a hankering for Merle Haggard. This is a group that doesn't take itself too seriously, writes good songs, plays reasonably well and has no aspirations beyond giving Vermonters a good time. If today's country music has become too complicated or political for you, Rusty Romance is the band to listen to.
We can't tell you how delighted we are to win an award for playing "reasonably well" and having "no aspirations". In all seriousness, we appreciate the recognition and all the support you all have shown us. And remember - you can purchase this award winning CD at:
Buch Spieler, Montpelier
Rivendell Books, Montpelier
Riverwalk Records, Montpelier
Dudley's Store, East Montpelier
Hussey's General Store, Windsor, Maine
www.CDFreedom.com
DOWN EAST RUSTY
Tue, Dec. 12 2006
Many Rustafarians know that the legendary Hussey's General Store in Windsor, Maine was the inspiration for Bill "Rusty" Fraser's hit song "Guns, Beer and Wedding Gowns." Well, we are pleased to announce that the Rusty Romance CD WHO BROUGHT THE FUN is now in-stock and for sale at Hussey's! We invite any of you who find yourselves in Maine to drop by that venerable establishment to say hello; and maybe quaff a Moxie or two. Tell 'em Rusty Romance sent you!
WDEV AND VERMONT GRANITE MUSEUM PRESENT...
Thu, Oct. 5 2006
Your favorite roots and roll band, Rusty Romance, is playing at WDEV's Harvest Fair Friday, October 13th at the Vermont Granite Museum in Barre, Vermont. The place is huge, so bring friends: there is lots and lots of room for dancing.
The festivities start at 6 with a pig roast dinner. Rusty Romance will be playing from 7:30 to 11:30 or so... There's a bonfire planned, and other activities as well.
Suggested donation is $20 with dinner, $8 just for the party. And, of course, there's the cash bar.
Proceeds go to benefit the Granite Museum.
There is no doubt that fun will be brung!
RUSTY ROMANCE AND RADIO VERMONT ANNOUNCE...
Sun, Aug. 27 2006
Rusty Romance are delighted to announce that they will be playing an evening dance at the Vermont Granite Museum in Barre, Vermont as part of a big autumn event sponsored by legendary radio station WDEV. The date is Friday, October 13th.
WDEV is still finalizing some of the other event details, and they--and we at rustyromance.com-- will have more information soon. We hope you'll mark your calendar, save the date, and come take part in what promises to be a really fun fall frolic.
THE FUN WAS BRUNG AT LANGDON STREET CAFE
Tue, Jan. 17 2006
Thank you to all the loyal Rustafarians who braved torrential rain, icy roads, and wind-blown snow-- all occurring within minutes of each other; hey, it's Vermont-- to attend the Rusty Romance CD Release Party and Fuel Assistance Benefit at Langdon Street Cafe. The band rocked, twanged, and swung hard to a full house all night long. Best of all, donations at the door and proceeds from CD sales raised $360.00 for the Community Fuel Assistance Fund.
High points of the evening included a speed-core/thrash/punk/ surf version of "Who Brought The Fun" and--gulp-- a rare Rusty Romance version of "Free Bird." Special guest Abby Getman, who designed the CD cover (and came up from Boston for the evening) was in the spotlight for a rousing jam on "Tequila". All of which goes to show that at a Rusty Romance show, anything might happen.
Again, thanks to all who attended. You truly brought the fun.
CD RELEASE PARTY AND FUEL ASSISTANCE BENEFIT AT LANGDON STREET CAFE
Fri, Jan. 13 2006
The Rusty Romance CD Release Party is coming up on Saturday night, January 14th from 8:30 PM to 12:30 AM at the Langdon Street Cafe in Montpelier, Vermont. There will be a $5.00 admission fee which will be donated in its entirety to the Community Fuel Assistance Fund.
The CD will be for sale that night and the band will donate one-third of all sale proceeds to the fuel fund as well.
Please join Rusty Romance and their friends for a night designed to bring the fun and help some neighbors stay warm this winter.