Can I get a REVIEW from you?!
Can I get a REVIEW from you? Have you seen BlairOutLoud SOLO, DUO, or one of the full BAND line-ups? Have you had a good experience at our shows? Did you hire us for your special event or festival and we did great.. can you talk about that experience? We would appreciate solid reviews for our new GigSalad BlairOutLoud Page. This will help us get hired for events in the future. Thanks all!
Hello everyone! I’m excited to announce that BlairOutLoud now has a profile on GigSalad.com!
GigSalad is a web platform where you can search for and hire entertainment in all forms.. from music to magic, acting, speakers, etc etc.. many different categories to choose from. Here is the BlairOutLoud link:
https://www.gigsalad.com/blairoutloud_marietta
Our goal is to be featured when a client goes to search for live music in the metro Atlanta area.. and to be available for SOLO, DUO, or full BAND. One way to attract clients is to have REVIEWS featured on that page, and since we are just getting started there, we were hoping that you could take a moment to write a review!
Have you caught a BlairOutLoud show lately: solo, duo or the band.. or maybe you hired us for your special occasion like a private event or festival. If you had a positive experience we would love to hear about it would be grateful to have that on display on the GigSalad page.
BTW.. if you think we need improvement.. we would love to hear that feedback as well.. just if you can.. use the Contact form here on the website and let us know!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Here’s a way that you can Write a Review and it end up on GigSalad:
2023: Changes, Trials, and Triumph
It’s been a fantastic year.. and we need to acknowledge every one that put their time and effort into supporting us, performing with us, and helping BlairOutLoud succeed in 2023! We couldn’t have done it without you, and we are very excited what 2024 has in store.
Happy Holidays all!
Hope you are having a fantastic holiday season! Thanks for reading and your support.
Quick housekeeping:
I have been working diligently on the BlairOutLoud 2024 calendar and will be posting events very soon! I’ve already scheduled several SOLO and DUO gigs, as well as some TRIO and/or full BAND events. Announcements regarding some of the bigger shows will be posted here on the blog soon, and be sure to check the calendar here or the BOL FB Page for the latest updates!
I’m renewing my efforts to send weekly show notifications (and other news) to my email subscriber list, so if you would like to be a part of that, please SUBSCRIBE HERE! And.. by the way, if your algorithm sends you everything that I post, and you don’t want to also be on my mailing list, I won’t mind if you unsubscribe.. I would rather have a healthy list of folks that enjoy that platform for finding out about new events.. so no worries!
Click and browse photos from great events in 2023!
Reflections:
Well.. here we are .. the last week of 2023. If you own a business, it’s hard not to look back and reflect on the performance of your business, your wins, your losses, and think about what you should have done better, or what changes you should make moving forward. Despite some disappointment that we faced in the beginning of the year with some line-up changes on bass guitar, this interestingly led to opportunities to jam with many musicians that I had wanted to collaborate with for years. The end result is that several new players got to jam with the BlairOutLoud group, offering us some fresh energy, new song choices, and some nice inspiration to sustain us throughout 2023.
And one other unplanned item that happened this year, is that I was asked to join Jeremy Would Let Me Drown, a grunge tribute band performing the music of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden. This opportunity offered me a chance to work on music in a separate direction from the material of BlairOutLoud, and in the process I have been able to expand my repertoire of covers to unexpected heights.
Let’s get some numbers on the table:
Total number of gigs that I have performed this year, including SOLO, DUO, TRIO, BAND, and JWLMD: 199!
It just couldn’t be 200 could it.. HA. I was actually surprised to get closer to 200 this year.. the elusive gig record for me is 247 from 2019. But I’m okay not to hit that again.. that year was brutal on my schedule.
The SOLO gigs once again outweighed everything else, but that’s a given when I fill up most of my weekdays and some weekends with those events.
Like a repeat of ‘22, we played all over the place this year, had lots of great private events, set up in lots of different spaces, some stages, some floors, some outdoor tents, etc etc. Lots of variation kept it random, but we brought the party every time.
Gig breakdown for each line-up:
SOLO: 146
DUO: 23
TRIO: 8
BAND: 11
JWLMD: 11
New faces on stage with us this year:
Gary Stone, a seasoned approachable pro musician (he’s actually a drummer but also plays guitar and bass in many projects) has filled in on bass more than anyone else for TRIO and BAND gigs this year. We could call him the un-official official 4th member of BlairOutLoud BAND, but he is busy enough with his own projects that he has also had a few people fill-in for him! Gary is also highly experienced in live sound applications, so we benefitted greatly from his ear and expertise with dialing in our live performance.
Gary Stone
Derrick Gaddis, an incredible guitar player and great friend of the BlairOutLoud group, filled in on bass for several TRIO and BAND gigs earlier in 2023. He also participates in many other rock and country tribute projects which kept him busy all year long.
Derrick Gaddis
John Sousa: Once, when Gary Stone wasn’t available for a private event, he graciously lined up a killer bass player, another fine musician very active on the local scene in various projects, Mr. John Sousa. John has bass chops for days, and really brought a lot of bottom-end musicality to our material. So far he’s played a handful of gigs with us and we look forward to more in ‘24.
John Sousa
Chris Butler, someone I had known only from a distance, seeing him active with teaching and performing all around metro Atlanta, filled in on bass with the TRIO recently in December. We had a fantastic evening, and we look forward to another fun event with Chris on bass in January of ‘24!
Chris Butler
Jake Kitchen (bass) and Zach Neal (drums): Finally, there was one TRIO gig this year where I had to replace both the drummer and bass player position, and I was fortunate enough to have these two amazing players on a gig. This was a fun one. I’ve played with both of these guys in the past in other bands, so getting to jam with them as “BlairOutLoud TRIO” was a real treat and we had a blast.
So let’s talk about this other thing:
From left to right: Ben Daniels - guitar, Jeff Wheeler - drums/vocals, Keith Tuggle - bass, Tom Blair - guitar/vocals
This past April, Jeff Wheeler, the drummer/vocalist of Jeremy Would Let Me Drown, called me and asked if I would be interested.. or have the ability.. to sing a lot of Chris Cornell material, including the old school stuff. I responded that was fairly confident that I could handle it, and I mentioned that I’d done it before (at Chris Cornell Tribute shows). However, performing a 2-3 hour set, singing like that, could definitely pose a challenge for me.
So.. with challenge accepted.. I was asked to come rehearse some songs with them. What transpired after this definitely changed the momentum of 2023 for me. In July, we officially announced that I was the new guitarist/co-vocalist, and I played my first show at a brand new venue in Gainesville called Boot Barn Hall. This place is massive, and the stage is one of the biggest stages that I have played on in some time (possibly since my Colossick days even). We rocked it.. and even though you need about 1200 people there to fill the place, our 130 pre-sale tickets felt like a small victory for this brand new effort. New town, new band member (me), new venue.. and we played great and sounded massive.
Jeremy Would Let Me Drown on stage at Boot Barn Hall in Gainesville, GA on July 29th, 2023.
Gratitudes:
So, as we faced some challenges early on, it became apparent that all of the hard work in ‘21 and ‘22 to build momentum with BlairOutLoud is starting to pay off. It was easier than I thought to attract great guest-star talent. We discovered greater opportunities and we were able to fill the books with lots of fun events. The potential is growing, and everything that we’ve accomplished this year, both with BlairOutLoud and with JWLMD, seems to be propelling us into a fantastic new year.
We need to take a second to express DEEP APPRECIATION, and give a whole-hearted THANK YOU to all the players, their contributions, time, energy, and dedication to performing, supporting, and promoting for BlairOutLoud events in 2023. I had them all brushing up on tons of songs, following me on stage for starts and stops, and meeting me for early load-ins, light and sound installations, and late night load-outs. We did it all, and these guys rocked it!
One more time, give it up for:
Gary Stone, Derrick Gaddis, John Sousa, Chris Butler, Jake Kitchen, and Zach Neal! 🤘🙌👏👏👏👏
Bravo gentlemen!
Let’s not forget.. the GOOT.. we call him the Greatest Of Our Time.. Darren Goot: always solid on the drums in any style! It was a pleasure working with him again this year as always. Amanda Blair and I are very fortunate to have access to all of these great players and again we look forward to more collaborative efforts in ‘24.
And now.. THANK YOU.. to each and every one of you (especially if you’ve read this blog post down to this point) for all the support. You make this possible for us!
Closing Thoughts:
BlairOutLoud wasn’t established to be a performing entity exclusively, but I was planning at a very early stage to create video posts for music opinion pieces, product testing, vlogging, and other random musings. I have a renewed interest in making that happen in ‘24. This effort will start with small promo videos.. mostly talking to my subscriber list about things of interest, cool events coming soon, and other ramblings. So once again.. if you’d like to participate..
Here’s where I will also be promoting for shows:
I will continue to post gigs and special events on the Calendar, and Events Page (where BandsInTown is synced). Plus we will continue to post a weekly cluster on the BlairOutLoud FB Page. The facebook page will also list some of my Events: both BlairOutLoud TRIO or BAND plus JWLMD Events. Lastly, I post occasionally to X (formerly Twitter), and we will continue to post Reels promoting events to Instagram, where they are auto-shared back to the BOL FB Page.
Hope all of this helps! Thanks for reading. I will see you all next year! I hope that you have a fantastic and safe NYE, and a glorious and productive fresh and shiny 2024!
-Tom Blair
Let's Review 2022 🧐
Here is an overdue Review of 2022.. thinking about how far BlairOutLoud has come, highlighting some achievement, thinking about what we’ve brought to the stage, and commentating on where we can go from here. All line-ups from Solo to Band have great potential, and we are excited for what the new year brings!
Well… it’s mid February of ‘23.. perfect time to offer some reflection about 2022 right?
HA.. well I would have preferred to get a “Review of ‘22” post up at the end of 2022.. but I was just barely keeping up with everything week to week! I’m blessed to have the gigs and engagements that I do.. and BlairOutLoud finished the year pretty strong I must say. So.. finally, I’m taking a moment to stop, reflect, observe, learn, and review the brand.
Let’s look at some official numbers:
Total BlairOutLoud gigs for 2022 (basically, the number of gigs that I performed either as SOLO, DUO, TRIO, or full BAND): 178!
Pretty solid number I believe! I hit the ground running after a three week hiatus in February (used for brand organizing plus we got in a quick family vacation).
I’m not sure I’ll ever quite reach 2019’s number of 247 - That year was just absolutely insane for me.. and I learned that less gigs with higher paying base pay was my real goal.
Relationships felt stronger this year, private events were paying better, and tips are much stronger this year with an improved live show and better audience engagement.
Enjoy this photo reel with some highlights from the events in 2022:
In reviewing the pics, and thinking about all the ways that we performed, it is obvious that we really put ourselves everywhere in 2022. From restaurants with built in stages, in parking lots, on flatbed trailers, on lake docks, at pool side parties, and even one glorious gazebo in there.. we really played all over in lots of unique places in ‘22.
Here is the breakdown with the line-ups:
SOLO: 119 events
DUO: 19
TRIO: 20
BAND: 20
Concepts brought to the stage:
We worked hard on audience engagement this year. I had an idea to integrate a request system (one like I do at my acoustic shows: people text message me their requests) into the TRIO and BAND shows!
My vision was for people to scan a QR code and be given access to a special page on the website with artists and songs that we can perform. When the patron selected one of the songs, it automatically sent the request to my Google Voice line, where I read it in real time on stage and directed the band “in real-time” according to the requests coming in. I implemented this system at several shows on the back end of the year and it showed some promise. Check it out the link below and let me know what you think!
Here’s the “Live Links” BAND page with the Song lists and Tip offerings!
I feel like it’s a bold concept, and I’m going to continue to work on the look, feel, and workflow of this “Live Link” page moving forward. Over time I’ll continue to tweak it and make it better. Feedback is VERY WELCOMED.. good or bad. I’m just playing with this and looking for better connections with the audience.
Retrospection:
Let’s talk about BlairOutLoud BAND.
We are highly entertaining.. quite the talented group of musicians that are interested in getting paid decent to have fun and bring joy to those that participate. What we don’t have is a theme.. an outfit.. a tribute to a specific band, or decade, or really specific style. And we are good with that.. sort of..
You see.. because I have decided to not take the BAND into a specific direction, the thought originally was that this would open up opportunities to do lots of different events, and for example.. play classic rock where needed, 80’s danceable rock where needed, and 90’s alternative grunge and heavier material where appropriate. This is a solid plan, right? Keep it open?
Apparently not. Atlanta cover and tribute bands have gotten so specific, and so curated into a specific style or act.. that some of the OG cover “party band” style acts are getting passed over in favor of the flavor of the month tribute band (one of my friends called it “rock and roll halloween” bands). Instead of just getting up there and selling yourself to your audience, bringing them an authentic killer rock show, many musicians are trying to promote themselves as a “rock tribute” (whatever that means).. or specifically tributing one band.. the “Journey Experience”, the “A Night of Bon Jovi”, etc etc.
This is really not the direction that I care to take BlairOutLoud. If it means that I’ll have less opportunities in bars and clubs, then I’m fine with that. I would rather follow private party opportunities that are more intimate and connected with people that genuinely love what we do, rather than try to be the best cover act that beats all other bands to the punch when getting into all the hottest spots around town. It’s just not worth it to me, and I don’t have the drive to compete in that space.
Conclusions:
If you’ve read this far.. you rock. I wanted to commentate for a minute about the big picture of how I think, regarding our status. I’m confident that I portray the right amount of care for the audience, mixed with just enough of a curated song choice, and deepened connections with the audience to make a small dent on the scene with what we do.
This attitude I hope I bring to every line-up from my solo act to my full band. I’m here to have fun, make a decent pay.. and create connections/establish relationships with people that matter and feel good. I’m not here to play every sold-out terrible song that I don’t like.. nor am I here to dress up like the coolest cat on the scene with just right sunglasses, leather jackets, bandanas around my leg, etc etc. I’m not down with the “rock and roll halloween”. HA.
I believe that staying true to who we are, and what we do best.. ultimately is the best formula. We might lose members along the way, or change things up every now and then to grow and learn, but that’s okay.. at least we were honest, connected, and brought fun musical entertainment to our little world.
After covid, and up to the end of 2022, I chased the cover music scene hard with what I thought was a decent winning formula.. but as I see where I faltered, I’m beginning to understand that I’m not as concerned, as I once was, about being on top.
In 2023, things are changing.. I’ll still be all over the place with my solo acoustic show… I work with 4 scheduling companies now, with 2 of them prominently scheduling me in lots of great spots everywhere. The Trio and Band will still be at some of the bigger places.. but we will work to get lots more private events, festivals, and contracted dates with better appreciation for what we do.. and that will be just fine.
I wish you all a fantastic year! We will be seeing you out there for sure! If you’d like a great solo, duo, or band for your special event.. CONTACT ME HERE.. and let’s set it up!
Thanks all
-Tom Blair
BlairOutLoud 2021: A Year In Numbers
We’ve had a great year here at BlairOutLoud! Here is a quick recap of the numbers of gigs with each project, and a breakdown of the private events! Thank you for the support.. We are looking forward to a great ‘22.. Happy New Year!
Saturday June 12th 2021: BlairOutLoud BAND performing on stage at The Wing & Tap House - Marietta, GA
Here is a quick review in numbers of our events for 2021!
We had a great year and want to thank all our friends and fans!
TOTAL GIGS 2021: 208
PROJECT BREAKDOWN:
BlairOutLoud SOLO acoustic gigs: 150
BlairOutLoud DUO with Amanda Blair: 11
BlairOutLoud T2 with Tom Carling: 3
2 additional gigs booked as LK3 Acoustic*
BlairOutLoud TRIO with Tom Carling and Darren Goot: 27
7 of 27 still booked as LK3 early in the year**
BlairOutLoud BAND all members together: 15
* LK3 Acoustic was a label that Tom Carling and I used to promote our acoustic duo shows when we would perform without Darren Goot on drums (completing the Leonard Koggins Trio). This began to be used sometime in 2018.. We ironically used T2 Duo as our label earlier than that. But now we are back to using BlairOutLoud T2 to represent the same thing.
**LK3 was the acronym for Leonard Koggins Trio. Beginning early in 2021, we officially dropped the LK3 name, and changed everything over to BlairOutLoud TRIO. This move made it much easier for me to promote all of my projects under the same umbrella, with the signifier on the end of the phrase: T2, TRIO, BAND, etc.
Here was my blog post discussing the changeover from LK3 to BlairOutLoud.
Saturday October 2nd, 2021: BlairOutLoud BAND at Tyrone Founders Festival - Tyrone, GA
PRIVATE EVENTS: 20
-birthdays, weddings, private performances, BBQ fest, Founders Day, Retirement Party too!
SOLO: 9
DUO: 3
T2: 1
TRIO: 3
BAND: 4
Percentage: 20 events of total 208 = 9.6%
We have a goal of growing this percentage higher in 2022! In order to increase our number of private events we will be promoting this offering a little stronger. We love to play private events, clients are happier, more connected, and we can customize our playlists to suit the occasion. It’s a great relationship builder as well.
Here’s my latest blog post flushing out the details for our private events.
This has been a FANTASTIC year on so many levels for the BlairOutLoud Team! We really appreciate all the support our friends and fans give us. Thanks for helping us promote along the way.. Thanks for getting people to our shows.. and Thanks for making this a strong follow-up to a dark and crazy 2020.
Still, we had a few downers this year.. some events were cancelled or postponed. I was working with a graphics company to overhaul the promo and logo design and some of that work was also postponed until further notice. We still are putting some plans together to streamline more of our look and offerings next year.
Regardless, we DEEPLY appreciate the opportunity to book private events (and want to do so much more with that), and we are ALWAYS scouting for new places to perform around town.. So if you know of a place, reach out HERE and let’s connect!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
-Tom Blair
Sunday October 3rd, 2021: BlairOutLoud SOLO performing on the deck at Old Mulehouse - Jasper, GA
My Mini Review of the Boss KATANA-MINI Guitar Amp
I needed a small portable amp for the studio to use for guitar lessons that I give. I purchased the Boss Katana-Mini and I was impressed! Here is a Mini-Review (link to video in blog) of the KATANA-MINI portable battery powered amp! Enjoy!
WELCOME friends!
I just recently ordered another small guitar amp for the studio. I needed a small practice / portable amp to use for the purposes of giving guitar lessons for a select few, where the student and I both have small amps to plug electric guitars into.. And…occasionally there are instances out and about at gigs where having a little portable battery powered electric guitar amp would be really great for warming up or working out song ideas backstage before an event. (Not like much of that happened in 2020 in terms of big events.. but I digress).
I have seen several reviews of the Boss Katana series of amps, and I have been intrigued by them, but due to my actual needs, and being a little low on funds, I really didn’t want anything too involved.
So for $99 on Amazon, I decided, let’s fulfill the need of having another small amp in my studio for lessons, and let’s see if I can be satisfied with the tone of this little portable amp.. simple, easy to operate, and budget friendly.
Well I’m happy to report that it is exactly what I hoped for! A few days ago I propped up my cell phone front camera, hit record and captured my reaction as I dialed in some select tones and jammed a few riffs. The video is my simple Mini-Review of the KATANA-MINI portable battery powered guitar amp. ENJOY!
HERE is a few more details from the Boss Page if you want to dive in and learn more!
Comment here OR on YouTube and let me know that you stopped by! What did you think of the tone? If you have any questions, let me know how I can help!
Thanks all
-Tom Blair