August 16th, Retrophonics Studios - I hope Jim will get the final mix for "Back Again" done this week. Today we worked on for the second time,  "This Land Is Your Land" a Big Lonesome song we recorded for a project many years ago. It was a great band that didn't last to long but we did get a recording out of it. I hope with Theresa and Brianna's help I will be able to post this for you all to hear. We also worked on "Life Goes On", "Ain't Life Grand" and "Took Off Like A Rocket" three new songs for our Carpetbaggers' 3rd release.

August 18th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Tony and Frankie at Hurricane Grill and Wings - It was hot but we had a great night! This will be our last gig until September 22nd at the Hurricane Grill and Wings. So see in a month!

August 19th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at Pelican Landing - What a blast! This is a great place, come check it out! Thanks Jeff, Sarah, Jen and the rest of the staff you guys are the best! See you next week!

August 20th,  Carpetbaggers DAVE and Sue at Tides and Oyster Co. - It was a little quiet tonight but we still had a nice time playing. It started picking up as the night went on and we finished with a nice crowd. See you guys the 3rd Friday next month! Thanks Felicia and staff!

August 21st, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Tony and Frankie at  Zaharia's - We had a nice night, no rain! Thanks Angelika and staff you guys are great! See you next month!

August 22nd, 23rd and 24th, Camping with the Westcott's - Theresa and I spent a nice couple days in Clearwater at the Avalon RV Resort camping with Wayne and Sue. We had such a good time.  The first night we went to see Steve Earle and the Dukes at the Bilheimer Capitol Theatre, we had box seats courtesy of Wayne. We had dinner at Clear Sky Global Bistro on Cleveland before the show, it was the bomb. It was one of the best restaurants I've been to in a long time. We had a nice day by the pool on our last full day and we had dinner at Thai Basil, that was excellent as well.  Later Theresa, Sue and Wayne were able to go at a bottle of 1816 while I had a zoom meeting with the other members of The North Star Band about the future. Overall a great trip. We made it back safely and after parking the camper and unloading I got to work on our show list for The Music By The Sea show tomorrow.

Wayne, Sue and Dave

Jim was going to work on the mastering of "Back Again" on his own since I was out of town. I'll be working with Dan at Bagan and Co this week to hopefully finish "LIVE And A Little Touched" my new release. Hopefully some shows in March of next year with the North Star Band. Thanks for letting me live my dream! Keepin' It Real!! -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html

August 10th, Retrophonics Studio then to St. Augustine Fish House and Oyster Bar - Jim and I worked on a mix on a song for the upcoming release of  The Big Lonesome's "The Big Lonesome Rides Again" project, "This Land Is Your Land".  Then after a couple of hours of rest I went and set up for a gig at St. Augustine Fish House and Oyster Bar. I had a good time actually, it was a nice evening weather wise too!

August 11th,  Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane grill and Wings - We had a nice hot evening under the umbrellas! We had Brady Green and our own Frankie Urzetta show up. Frankie helped us by closing out the evening with "God Bless The USA"!

August 12th, Bagan and Company - We finished  "LIVE And A Little Touched", now we have to listen and make sure everything is the best it can be. Thanks Dan Bagan and Clay Blasser for your help and hard work on this project. 

August 12th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at Pelican Landing - The gig went great! Thanks everyone for crossing over the bridge. Thanks Jeff, Sarah, Jen and everyone else at the Pelican Landing, you guys are the best!

Pelican Landing

August 13th, 14th, DAVE at  The Big Deck Bar - This was a short weekend not playing on Sunday. Still, I had a great time as always. I look forward to hanging out with Darlene, Bryan and all my Cedar Key friends!

It's been a great week! I'm looking forward to working with Jim DeVito on our new Carpetbaggers "Back Again" release and adding the tracks from Barry Dunaway for our new project "Say Grace". Which is a future release we are working on and our our third Carpetbaggers' release. I'm looking forward to getting together with Dan Bagan at Bagan and Company to finish up my new release "LIVE And A Little Touched". Thanks for letting me live my dream!!! Keepin' It Real!!! -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html

July 27th - I had a night off to go out on the town with Theresa, Wayne and Sue. We checked out some restaurants and pubs around town, Dog Rose Cafe, Odd Birds, Black Fly and Pelican Pub. All nice places however our last stop was Pelican Pub where we met with Jeff, the owner. This will be one of our new venues for Carpetbagger's Thursday night gig.  The Corner Bar is under new ownership and will be closed for a face lift. Please come check us out! I think your going to like it!

July 28th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane Grill and Wings - Cancelled!

July 29th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at Corner Bar - We had a great last night! We will be at the Pelican Pub next Thursday, come check it out 6 to 9 pm.

July 30th, DAVE at Aunt Kate's - Brian threw me a bone this week when I realized I wasn't working, he gave me a gig. I had a blast on the porch by the water.

August 1st, I had another day off and Theresa had just gotten back into town so her Brianna, Braylen and I went out to Mellow Mushroom for dinner to have some pizza and listen to One Good Ring a band that brother Ed is in.  It's a dead style band and it was Jerry's birthday, they were great.

One Good Ring

August 2nd, Retrophonics Studios - Jim's mastering machine was down so we worked on "This Land Is Your Land" a song The Big Lonesome recorded several years ago. I hope to post it soon so ya'll can hear it. It brought back some great memories.

August 4th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane Grill and Wings - We had rain the whole time except set up and break down. We had a nice little crowd for as nasty as it was. Thanks Abe and staff you guys are the best!

August 5th, Bagan & Co.- Dan and I finished the orders for my new "LIVE And A Little Touched" project. We should finished up this week - can't wait!

August 5th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at Pelican Pub - What a great night! I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as the Carpetbaggers did. Thanks Jeff and staff! You guys are the best!

Carpetbaggers at Pelican Pub

August 6th, DAVE at Aunt Kate's - The rain stopped me just as I started! Welcome to Florida! I will be back here this Sunday from 1pm to 5pm a little extra to make up for the rain out. 

August 7th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at the San Sebastian Winery -It was the day from hell that went right on through to the gig. After setting up and being rained on, re-setting up with most of the stuff working okay we did our show. My hat goes off to the great folks I'm playing with they are true pros. We ended up having a great night in spite of all that was going on.

August 8th, DAVE at Aunt Kate's - I had a nice hot late afternoon gig out on the porch by the water. Thanks Brian, sorry you're not feeling well. Dave, Tina and staff you guys are the best! 

Looking forward to maybe finishing "This Land Is Your Land" a Big Lonesome recording, and getting the rest of my tracks for "Say Grace" our 3rd Carpetbaggers project. Also see where we are on "Back Again" the new and 2nd Carpetbaggers project. Looking forward to getting together with Dan Bagan at Bagan & Company to try to finish up "LIVE And A Little Touched" my new solo project. Thanks for letting me live my dream! Keepin' It Real! -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html

July 19th, Retrophonics Recording Studio - Jim and I located The Big Lonesome tracks, we are thinking about doing a mix on "This Land Is Your Land". We made plans to lay down two more tracks for our 3rd project "Say Grace". 

July 19th, Songwriter's Night at Corner Bar - As usual, it was a nice night! Jamie and Todd did a great job. It was good to see Don Oja Dunaway, Rob Peck and Sue Westcott in the audience.

July 21st, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane Grille and Wings - The rain held off, it was a nice evening. Good to see Woody Pernell in the audience.

July 22nd, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at Corner Bar - We had a great night! It seemed like everyone was a little tired coming in to set up. The crowd was a little smaller and quiet so it made it hard to get going. Everyone hung in there and we made it to the end. Good job everybody! 

July 23rd, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at the San Sebastian Winery - We got lucky again with the rain. We had a big night and we played well. The San Sebastian Winery is a well run business, you can tell, and our fans and friends seem to love it. Thanks Kyle and staff you guys are the best!

July 24th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at St. Augustine Fish House and and Oyster Bar - We were rained on twice and still got the gig in. Even though I was at my wits end before we started the music brought me back around. I really enjoyed playing music with my friends Carpetbaggers tonight. All the other problems seem to go away when we start to play and I enjoy every minute of it! Thanks!

July 25th, DAVE at Aunt Kate's - I was canceled last minute, sorry for the inconvenience to the people that were going to show up.  A couple folks tested positive for that thing and they decided to close and clean for a couple of days.  A responsible thing to do. See you here the first Friday in August.

Jim Devito was a little under the weather so we will talk through our mix on "Back Again" the new Carpetbagger release. Hopefully we will be back on track next week and finish this project up. Also look for a new mix on "This Land Is Your Land"  from a previous unreleased project from The Big Lonesome. I'm excited. Dan Bagan is also under the weather so we've canceled our Bagan & Company "LIVE" show this next month. Hopefully we will all be back on track for our next show September 7th Carpetbaggers with Rob Peck opening the show. This will be a good one! Also look for "LIVE And A Little Touched" soon to be released. Thanks for letting me live my dream! Keepin' It Real -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html

July 12th, Retrophonics Recording Studio - Jim and I worked on 3 new songs "I Feel Love", "You Knew It" and "Say Grace". These are tunes we are considering for our next Carpetbagger's Project we are calling "Say Grace"for the time being, it's subject to change. There are 14 songs that I wrote or co-wrote and 1 instrumental Tony wrote. Jim is almost done mastering "Back Again" our most recent Carpetbagger's project that will be out soon.

July 13th, DAVE at The Fish House and Oyster Company - I had a nice night the weather was good, big crowd. See you the second Tuesday next month!

July 14th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane Grill and Wings - A threat of rain so we set up under the tent. Well, it never rained but we still had a decent night. It was good to see our friend Brady Green and a few friends he brought with him. See you next week!

July 15th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at the Corner Bar - It was another great night! What a treat it is playing with this group of players. See you next week!

July 16th, Carpetbaggers DAVE and Sue at Tide Oyster Co - It's always a nice night playing with Sue. This isn't the fanciest bar on the strip but the food is good and it has a great sound. It is one of our favorite gigs. Thanks Felicia and staff see you next month.

July 17th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Frankie at Zaharias  - Finally good weather! We had a lot of fun at this great place. Thanks Angelika and staff you guys are the best!

July 18th, DAVE at Aunt Kate's - I was a nice afternoon on the porch by the water. Will Hurley and Rhonda stopped by.

We should be finished mastering "Back Again" the new Carpetbagger's project this week. We have now started the Carpetbagger's 3rd release "Say Grace". Also should be closing in on my new release "LIVE And A Little Touched" which is 10 videos and audio tracks done at Bagan & Co. with Dan Bagan. Thanks for letting me live my dream! Keepin' It Real! -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html

July 6th, Carpetbaggers at the Classic Car Museum of St. Augustine for the Bagan and Company "LIVE" Show on facebook - We missed Sue but we made it through. Chelsea did a great job! We had a nice small audience. thanks Dan, Clay and Theresa we missed Wayne too!

July 7th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane Grill and Wings - Carpetbaggers - Thanks to Elsa we did not play tonight. See you next week!

July 8th, Bagan & Company - Dan and I put the finishing touches on the "LIVE And A Little Touched" project we have been working on. We should have a new DAVE release by the end of the month just ahead of the Carpetbaggers release "Back Again".

July 8th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue, Tony and Frankie at Corner Bar - This our last show  together for the week. We had a little PA system trouble, thank goodness I had a spare rack in the truck. I will have to rewire the old rack when I get back from Cedar Key. This is still a fun band to play with, everyone's got each others back,  so one way or the other we end up having a good show. See you next week!

July 9th, 10th and 11th, DAVE at The Big Deck Bar - We had a great weekend in Cedar Key at The Big Deck. We always look forward to this get away. We saw Pete and Pat, two friends I've always looked forward to seeing when we are here. Also saw Bob Cooper drive by but didn't get a chance to chat. Thanks Darlene, Bryan and staff you guys are the best! See you the second weekend of next month!

I'm looking forward to finishing up "Back Again" our new Carpetbaggers project with Jim DeVito at Retrophonics Recording Studio. So now Dan (Bagan and Company) and I  will start the art work and packaging plans. Also I will be laying down 3 more demo tracks on new songs I have written "I Feel Love", 'You Knew It" and "Say Grace". Right now the working title to the new project we are starting on will be called "Say Grace", the Carpetbaggers 3rd effort. We have about 16 songs we are taking into this project, I'm excited. I also have a new flash drive 10 videos with separate audio tracks "LIVE And A Little Touched" that I've  been working on with Dan Bagan at Bagan and Company. Thanks for letting me live my dream! Keepin' It Real! -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html

June 28th, Retrophonics Studios - Jim and I worked on the mixes for "Come On", "My Tractor", "Dust Them Blinds", "The Desert", "Safe Travels" and "This Romance". Now Jim will master the tracks and we will be done! Time to get ready for the start of Carpetbaggers #3.

June 30th, Carpetbaggers DAVE, Sue and Tony at Hurricane Grille and Wings - We barely made it through the gig, rained on  us twice. This gig is one that I am glad is over. We will try again next week! See you then.

July 1st, Travel Day - Theresa and I made it to Fayetteville about 7pm that's where we stay, it's a little over half way to the Northern Neck of Virginia. We had a good nights rest and were off in the morning about 6am.

July 2nd, 3rd and 4th, DAVE at Coles Point Tavern - I had a three great days on the Rivah. It's always good to get up and see my friends and Theresa gets a chance to visit her family. Thanks Ann, Chris and staff, you guys are the best! Thanks Randy for supplying part of the PA system I play through. Thanks Acie for putting us up or putting up with us. All the other folks to many to list, you helped make it a great 4th for me! Also thanks to my Father, he and Margie came down Sunday. As always it's great to have a chance to visit and play their requests! After the gig on Sunday we headed back south towards home.

July 5th, Travel Day - We made it to Fayetteville about 9pm last night and headed for St. Augustine about 6am this morning and home by early afternoon. 

Looking forward to our "LIVE" show this week w/Chelsea Saddler. Sue had some business to take care of this week, we will miss her for tonight's show. Also going to be finishing up "LIVE and a little touched" my new DVD/Flash Drive release. Also hope to get together with Jim DeVito at Retrophonics and put the finishing touches on "Back Again" the new Carpetbaggers release. Then it's back in the studio to record 3 more demo's "Say Grace", "I Feel Love" and "You Blew It" along with and instrumental Tony wrote that should make about 16 songs to start working on for our next Carpetbaggers project. Thanks for letting me live my dream! Keepin' It Real!!!  -David

see you down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
check out my upcoming performances here:
http://davidwattbesley.blogspot.com/p/schedule_31.html