#maroon weekly

[clayhoneycutt-model]

Chance’s Corner w/ Clay Honeycutt - Interview

Find out what Clay Honeycutt has been up to lately and what are his plans for 2017. Modeling? Reality TV? Medical Sales? Possible Clothing line? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.

[needtobreathe-throughsmoke]

NEEDTOBREATHE Interview– Bo Rinehart By Maroon Weekly on October 30, 2013

By Sara Gilmore

 After spending the last couple of years selling out major venues like Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and appearing on festival stages at Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits, NEEDTOBREATHE is returning to smaller stages on their intimate Stomping Ground Tour. One of the last shows on the schedule—the only Texas performance—is right down the street in Waco, at Common Grounds on Nov. 3.

“This tour is about us getting back to our roots,” said lead guitar and back-up vocalist Bo Rinehart. “There’s nothing more exciting than feeling music together in an up close and intimate setting. We’re inviting our fans to experience some of our favorite venues across the country that played a big part in making us the band that we are today.”

We caught up with Rinehart last week about the tour and the band’s new album, set to drop in early 2014. If you’re going to the show, here’s a sneak peak at what to expect.

MW: Your Drive All Night Tour in the spring was huge, and now you’re doing this intimate college town, small venue tour. What’s up with that?

Rinehart: I think it started a couple of years ago. We went to Europe and were kind of playing these smaller shows again and kind of felt like the band was being reborn. We were loading our own gear, and we all had wedges and we just basically turned the amps up loud and you could play whatever you want. You didn’t have to stick so much to a show, and we just fell in love with it. It was just us playing music again, so we just fell in love with the idea and thought, “How cool would it be to do this in America and get rid of the extra production trucks, the extra bus, and just get all the guys we need all in one bus and make a show fresh and exciting every night for us?” And we knew it would be a cool experience for the fans to have.

MW: Waco is the only Texas date on the Stomping Ground tour. Of all the small, college town venues in Texas, why Waco?

Rinehart: I actually have no idea. Most of the schedule was all cities we’ve played before, and that’s why the name of the tour was to get back to our roots and play in our old Stomping Grounds. But there’s been a few cities that we’ve never ventured to, and it’s ironic we’re doing that on something called the Stomping Ground Tour, but I’m excited about it. We love playing Texas, and I feel like we’ve played in Dallas probably 25 times. And we love Austin, and I think we’ve made the rounds, but we’ve never played in Waco. So it’s exciting, and I can’t wait to see how it goes.

MW: You’re pretty well into this tour at this point; we’re kind of catching you on the tail end. What are some of your favorite things about being back in the small show setting?

Rinehart: Man, just the simplicity. We choose our set list every single show. We’re changing it up, and I think for me it’s been the easiest tour I’ve ever been on, because, you know, I’m always on my toes, trying to figure out where the band’s gonna go next. So it’s a lot more comfortable and relaxed, but it’s full on rock ‘n’ roll.

At one point with this tour we were thinking we were gonna do them acoustic, but we just fell in love with the interaction with the fans, and people have been coming to the shows ready to rock. And I think the fact that we can see your face, and see what you’re thinking, and see what songs the fans are responding to—it just fires us up. I feel like it’s been a while; normally you can only see the first two or three rows and then after that everybody turns into a sea of blurry. But in these rooms, you know, we can really see front to back and know everybody’s in there and have a good time together.

MW: You guys are kind of previewing a new album while you’re on this tour. Can you tell us a little bit about the new album?

Rinehart: We’ve taken a really long time making it, but I think it’s the most “us,” live, as any of the other records. We stuck to all analog and to tape, and I’d say about 95 percent of the record is all live performances. So it definitely sounds more like we do live more than any other record. We definitely pushed the bar a little bit as far as being intimate on the record.

MW: Any special things up your sleeves you plan to give fans coming to the Waco show?

Rinehart: Well, there’s a mix [of songs]. We’re gonna play some brand new ones. We’ll play a couple of hidden ones that we haven’t played in years. And I think we can basically guarantee it’s gonna be a fun show. The band’s in a really good place, and more than ever we are loving what we do. So I feel like once we step in the room, people are definitely gonna have a good time.

[txmma]

New Post has been published on TXMMA - Texas Mixed Martial Arts

New Post has been published on http://www.txmma.com/origins-the-history-of-the-legacy-fighting-championship/

Origins: The History of the Legacy Fighting Championship

The line outside Hurricane Harry’s for Lonestar Beatdown | Photo by Mike, Texas MMA Photographer

  Legacy Promoter Mick Maynard Talks About His Earliest Days Promoting Mixed Martial Arts Here In Texas

  HOUSTON, TX, July 17, 2013 - Houston-based Legacy Fighting Championship recently released an insightful video profile on their origins as a promotion dating back to 2006 when they promoted their very first events under the guise of the name Lonestar Beatdown in College Station, TX.

In the video, promoter Mick Maynard talks a little bit about those days long past – when the sport was barely emerging following the legalization of the unified rules of mixed martial arts in Texas less than a year earlier.

“It was 2006 so MMA wasn’t anywhere near as popular as it is today. I put together a Lonestar Beatdown promotion because I wanted a way to promote our newspaper and it (MMA) seemed to be our demographic,” said Maynard who initially ran his first events as a means to promote the newspaper business he owned and managed for Texas A&M students called Maroon Weekly.

Mick goes on to talk about the 16×16 square cage used for those first events – a cage where you as a fighter could almost literally meet your opponent at center-cage in just a few steps.

As a person who helped put that cage together for the first time, this writer can attest that it was equally as hard to construct as it was to fight in but luckily for everyone involved, Legacy has continued to evolve throughout the years to where it is now as a world-class promotion – that is still based here in Texas.

Here some photos along with the video celebrating Legacy Fighting Championship’s early days here in Texas as Lonestar Beatown.    

[kimberlydunn]

Kimberly Featured in Maroon Weekly

What do the latest Texas A&M Battle of the Bands, Parents of the Year and 6th Annual Duck Jam have in common? Kimberly Dunn. This emerging singer and songwriter has a charming personality and a sensational voice that is gaining popularity in the Texas country music industry, and it all started here in College Station. Last November, Kimberly Dunn '10 (also known as Kimberly Sue Garcia) tried out for the MSC Town Hall's Battle of the Bands. Her solo acoustic act then proceeded on to the finals where she competed against two other bands on the Rudder Auditorium stage. Both bands were very talented, but it was Kimberly who came out on top. One of the judges for the competition, Scott Willson, is also a guitarist for Flawless Escape, the 2008 Battle of the Bands winner. Scott recently started his own music management company called Up & Out Artists and upon witnessing Kimberly's infectious sounds, he encouraged her to meet with him and his partner Will Harrison. Kimberly traveled to Austin to meet with them a few times and by the end of November they were her managers and promoters! "I was a closet singer at first," Kimberly explained, but when she finally sang for her parents the first time they were very impressed. This gave her the motivation to keep singing. As a junior in high school she tried out for a talent show and the response from the crowd was great. "I was never really good at something before," she explained. But this was different. After high school, Kimberly attended San Antonio College and continued writing music for a year. She then got accepted to Texas A&M, following in her father and sister’s footsteps (class of '80 and '08). Kimberly’s desire to stay involved with music led her to join the Corps of Cadets to become a member of the Aggie Band. Due to the time commitments of the Corps and the Aggie Band, her grades were suffering and less time was spent on her own music. With her friends' and family's support, she decided to leave the Corps to focus on her true calling. Throughout the next few years Kimberly was met with several opportunities to further her music career and each time these chances failed. Kimberly has never let this stop her from doing what she loves and her strong support system is what has steered this ambition. This year, Kimberly's parents were named the 2011-2012 Texas A&M Parents of the Year. They are strong supporters of Texas A&M, entrepreneurs and great role models for Kimberly. She says no matter what hardships have gone on in their lives, they never show it and they never missed an Aggie football game or a chance to support their three daughters. Their advice to her, "Don’t worry about money. Do what you love and the money will come later." That is exactly what Kimberly has done. She is currently recording her debut studio EP at Ray Benson’s Bismeaux Studios in Austin, Texas, which is also the home of Asleep at the Wheel. The EP is scheduled to be released later this summer as Kimberly also finishes her last semester as an undergraduate student. None of this could have been possible without the help of Scott and Will's management. "Their contacts have opened so many doors," says Kim, "ever since I met Scott and Will everything has exploded!" When I asked her where she sees herself in five years, Kimberly explained that she'd like to be headlining major venues like Harry's and The Hall of Fame. "I want to be respected in the music industry," she explained. Kimberly went on to say that she hopes to make a name for herself so that she can support the nonprofit business that she has created which produces funding for malaria shots and other immunization shots in third world countries. Kimberly's enthusiastic view on life will undoubtedly lead her to success in the music industry and in her philanthropic endeavors. Kimberly Dunn will be performing in support of Aaron Watson and The Bellamy Brothers at the 6th Annual Duck Jam on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. She will debut her single "Randy Rogers" and will leave you yearning more of her Texas country melodies. By Sherrill Mogonye Originally appeared in the April 28, 2011 edition of Maroon Weekly.