9 pm, $7 for 21+, $9 for 18-20
https://www.facebook.com/CowboyDaveBand
Hillbilly yuckster by day, Saturday-morning-cartoon hero by night, Cowboy Dave and his band of honky-tonk all-stars are poised to put the western back in country and western. Known to many as the deadpanned FortyTwenty frontman and fiddle player, Cowboy Dave Wilson has spent the better part of this decade honing his craft throughout the honky-tonks of the Midwest and South.
The debut Cowboy Dave recording, a six-song EP, was released on Slackjaw Records in May. With the help and guidance of Emmy-nominated producer Greg Kincheloe, the album features an array of gritty, country-flavored cowbilly songs penned by Wilson.
The group brings a plethora of experience to its high-energy live show, drawing on influences ranging from the Bakersfield sound to straight-up Western Swing. In its short existence, the Cowboy Dave Band has been touring regionally, sharing the stage with such acts as David Allan Coe, Junior Brown and Split Lip Rayfield.
Guest musicians on the album include Col. J.D. Wilkes (of the Legendary Shack*Shakers), who plays the villian in the Cowboy Dave Theme Song, Steve “Fuzzy” Blazek (pedal and lap steel), Charlie Johnson (upright bass), Tony Robertson (electric guitar), Tony Hillhouse (drums), Kincheloe (banjo), Shaun Sparks (harmony and co-writer on Baptist Church Blues) and Lern T. (harmony on Friend In A Bottle and Drug Around).
The EP is being supported by a healthy string of tour dates, so look for the Cowboy Dave Band in a honky-tonk near you. And when there is trouble, rest assured, Cowboy Dave will be there.
The Bottle Tops
https://www.facebook.com/thebottletops
The Bottle Tops are a group of artists residing in Lincoln, Nebraska. Created by Mike Semrad Junior, Kerry Semrad and brother Andrew James Semrad, the family of musicians have settled for nothing less than rocking the wiggles out of every audience member.
They are joined by some local string pickin’ heroes including such names as Mark Wolberg (The Amalgamators), Mike McCracken (Lloyd McCarter Band and The Doodly Squats), Nate Morris (John Walker and the New Hokum Boys), Josh Rector (Emmett Bower Band), Marty Steinhausen (The Tijuana Gigolos), and Benji Kushner (The Mezcal Brothers) All of these individuals reside in Lincoln, NE, Great Plains USA.
Mike and Andrew Semrad were drawn to music at a very early age. The two young boys started entertaining at family gatherings performing such country music hits as Eddie Rabbit’s “I love a rainy night” and Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira”. Of course, with the relatives they had, music was everywhere the young duo turned. Both sides of the family, the Semrads (Father’s side) and the Allison (Mother’s side), were riddled with musicians. Mike Semrad Sr. (Fremont, NE) started one of the very first Rock N’ Roll bands in Fremont, Nebraska called J. Harrison B. & The Bumbles, in 1962, while Uncles Robert and Richard were influential within the early Grand Ole’ Opry scene.
Mike Sr. later joined the midwest rock monsters, The Smoke Ring, in 1968. He was then a part of some amazing sessions, both at Sam Phillips Recording Studio and Sounds of Memphis Studio (now The House of Blues Studio on Camilla St in Memphis). These sessions produced a remake of The Four Lads 50′s hit “No Not Much” – which after release on Goldust Records, was then leased to Buddah Records from New York.
To the present day and throughout the relationship of Kerry and Mike Semrad, a kindred spirit of music has existed and always has been present. Finding this voice through new songs has become an uplifting journey that transcends just husband and wife; It’s a connection within the listeners and together they find that deep comfort in the soul that is driven by the sound the Semrad family creates.
