This past Saturday was a great night at the Pheonix Room in Norfolk, NE. Awesome crowd, ice cold drinks and just a really good time. We were able to debut a new song too, which for now is titled “20 More Ways.”

We’re going to continue to play that new song and start adding a few others to our setlist at upcoming shows. Please let us know what you think of the new songs, we love to hear your feedback!

Thanks to everyone that made it to the Phoenix Room this weekend! It was good to see you all and we hope you had as much fun as we did! We have this weekend off but next weekend we’ll be in O’Neill, NE for their big St. Patrick’s celebration. Hopefully we’ll see some of you there!

I just wanted to let our fans know that I had a bit of a sad day yesterday.  In March of this year I was able to go back to O’Neill, Nebraska and have some fun at the St. Pats celebration.  Our band has actually played those shows 10 years in a row dating back to 1996 or so but it was cool to be there and just enjoy some beers and good times and not have to perform!  I was in line awaiting a drink when this younger guy approached me and said what a big fan he was of the band and he wished we were playing!  He gave me a big hug and then started crying…………I couldn’t believe it!

I asked him what was wrong and he went on to tell me that his brother had died not long before in Iraq……..my heart just sank! I didn’t understand why he was telling me all this at first because I didn’t even know the guy.  Turns out, he and his brother used to come to every show that we played in that area, and I said come on man, not all of them? He said yeah, we were, and still are big fans and wished the band played more shows out there!

The stories went on, he was still crying, and I was just taking it all in.  He told me the absolute best times he had with his brother were when they knew Mr. Hand was coming back to their area for a show!  Again, I said come on, yeah right!  He told me with such an honest face that it was the truth and that those times road tripping to the shows, hanging out and singing along with us meant more to him and his brother than I could ever imagine.  I was speechless!

He then took off the black OUR FALLEN SOLDIERS rubber wrist band he had been wearing since the day his brother died and gave it to me.  I didn’t want to accept it but he insisted.  Now, we both had tears in our eyes.  He wanted me to have it to show me how much Mr. Hand meant to him and his brother.  I told him I would never, ever take it off!

I wore that wrist band, and never took it off up until last night when it broke unexpectedly.  I felt so bad, but I made sure I took it home and put it in a safe place.  I know how much our band meant to these two brothers, and I can’t tell you how much his story meant to me, it’s absolutely priceless!  It just goes to show how much something you may think is insignificant can mean to someone else and the memories it can create.  I don’t remember this guy’s name or his brother’s, but I’ll never forget the words he spoke to me and the memory he created for my life!