ZTNB 2006
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ZTNB stands for Zero To None Bunch. It’s a group of friends getting together to play music, share their thoughts through song, drink beer, and have a good time.
It started as a great idea that we thought would never happen (zero to none chance of happening). We're too busy, too lazy, too old, etc.
But look at us now. It's turned into a really fun event. We have all progressed as muscians and songwriters, as well becoming better friends.
Participants:
Neil Brincks
Doug Duhon
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Backstage Ranch (Tira, TX )
The last “Z” of the year saw the crew move the show out to Tira, TX. Everyone spent the weekend out there and it was a great time. Doug made it out there, along with Jared and Becca. It seems like I hadn’t seen him in a long time. It was great to hang out and jam with him. Neil and Julie was there, Robert of course, and Robbie and his family were all there. Katie and Avery were out of town, so it was just me and Lisa. Also, Rob and Robbie’s friend Staci and her husband Kenny, and there two daughters, Ashley and Brittany, were also there.
Robbie fried a few turkeys on Saturday. He always does a great job when he frys some birds and this was no exception.
After a day of messing around in the mud and lounging around, we started the “Z” with me going first. I played mostly originals with a couple of covers thrown in. Neil played bass on my whole set and Doug played a full kit, so it was very band-like, and that was very cool. I think it sounded great. I screwed up “Long December” for some reason, and my voice was not at its best (to say the least), but still I think my set was pretty good.
Troy's set:
Long December (Counting Crows)
Knocking on the Door
The Same One
Still I Wait
Can't make it Right
Long Way to Get
One More Time Again
With You
Goldilox (King's X)
Is This It?
Neil played second and I played bass on his set. Again, with Doug playing his full kit, it really had a big sound and Neil sounded great as usual. He started off with either an improved song or a new original. I think he was just messing around but it really sounded good. It needs to be a song.
Neil’s Set:
Norwegian Wood (The Beatles)
Save Yourself (Julian Coryell)
Ahab’s Lament
Time of Your Life (Green Day) Julie Songer on Violin
Uninvited (Linda Perry)
Too Dark to See
Ghosts
We're Going to be Friends (White Stripes)
Robbie played his set next. It was his birthday. He was pretty much “on” I thought. He played some of my favorites. He also performed in a tan suede jumpsuit that his mom bought him for his 35th birthday. It really added to the show.
At the end of “Pitiful Loser”, Robbie re-proposed to Tonya, thus renewing his marriage vows. He had a pretty ring for Tonya to seal the deal. That was very cool. It was nice to know that he made us all a part of that.
Robbie’s Set:
Purple Faggot Kangaroo
Downtown
A Long Way to Go
Welcome to the Machine (Pink Floyd)
Playing Dead (Crash Test Dummies)
Misplaced
My Hate
Forever Young (Alphaville)
Kenny
Pitiful Loser
Robert played last. He had some gifts for us all. He had some new T-shirts printed and gave us each a South Padre shot glass. One shirt had the text on the back, “Where’s my steak dinner”, which is so inside and I’m not going to explain it. The other shirt said, “You’re a suck guitar player. What do you think about that old man?”. His set was also very good. One song in particular just about had the waterworks flowing for me. It was very moving.
Rob’s Set:
Just like Life
Gone Happy
Did I say that out loud
The last 8 or 9 months
Marissa
Piece of another puzzle
Tell my daughter
Here for always
Running
Go to the "Video" page for some video clips of the night.
Participants:
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Troy & Lisa's house
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We had ZTNB at our house this month and it was good times had by all. We had a short crew with no Neil or Doug, but we had an added dimension as my new band with David Harbour and April Samuels played a short set before the “Z” got started.
I think we played really well. We ran through the 8 songs that we have down so far and we pulled them off with only a few hitches.
The “Z” sets got started a little late (what else is new), but we all played good sets I thought. Rob played first and did his thing. He played some of his hits…Running to Catch Up and Marissa being my all-time favorites. I played a little bass on his set. He also played a song that was an old one that I didn’t remember.
Robbie played next. At this point April had gone home, and I think so did Harbour, as he was feeling sick all night. Robbie through in a new tune, which I can’t remember the name…did he say the name?? I’m not sure.
I’m hearing now that Rob’s old/new song was “Candy Store of Dreams”, and Robbie’s new song was called “Broke”.
Participants:
Neil Brincks
Julie Songer
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Tira, TX
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The ZTNB festivities went out to Tira, TX. Lisa and the girls were not there, and neither was Doug and family, so there was a big part of the crew missing, but all in all it was a great weekend. The weather was very mild and the night was perfect for a nice warm fire. We spent Saturday goofing around on 4-wheelers and throwing Frisbees, and then when night came, we started the ZTNB Halloween party. Everyone (except me) was dressed up. There was a scary King Diamond looking guy, a pimp, a punk rocker, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a Rasta chick, Mini Mouse, a Lumber Jack, a very unskilled gynecologists, a pilgrim, and Uncle Bob who was red-neck 100% USA American. Tonya made some yummy chili, so we had our bellies full and we started the show.
Show notes by Robert Steel:
First off, Neil had a blistering set. He set the tone bigtime. He finished on an incredible performance of his song "too dark to see". Julie really added to his set with the fiddle and Troy added some bass. Also loved the new intro to "John is a dickhead", great job on that.
I was up next and I came out to try to entertain as much as I could, running out, throwing candy and toys and had some redneck one liners written and a red neck clap along song. I felt good about my set overall. I think I flubbed a few songs a tiny bit, but overall I felt decent about it. Although I was out of tune most of it. I kept meaning to tune and kept just forgetting to do it. I need to pay more attention to that.
Troy came out and tore it up. Neil needs to always be on bass on T's set. With Neil on bass it gave Troy freedom to run off with some solos and he was nailing some great stuff. Very nice set. Love when Troy gets to bust out with some freedom. Neil held down the groove nicely.
Robbie came out and delivered a great show as well. Love the newer song. Also great flow and good song selection. Thanks for playing the Paul Simon song. Also great covers.
Note from Troy: We also played “Dust in the Wind” with Neil on lead vocals and Julie on fiddle which was awesome. She really nailed the solo and Neil did a great job on vocals.
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Participants:
Neil Brincks
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Brincks Amphitheater and Bar-B-Que Pavilion (Neil's House)
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Since our other September “Z” was cancelled we decided to throw one together at the last minute. We had a small crowd and a scaled down P.A., but the music did not fall short in any way, and we had a great time. We actually started and ended the sets before midnight. That had to be a first. I thought everyone played and sang really well.
The only downers were that Lisa and the girls could not make it, and neither could Doug and his fly. Hopefully next month will be a fully-stocked Z with all the fixin's.
We even and added bit of excitement on our Whataburger run at 3 a.m. The guy the waited on us at the drive through was having some serious fun. He was yelling and balancing drinks on his head. Good times there… and his name was “Savage”. How great is that?
Participants:
Neil Brincks
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Lisa Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Troy & Lisa's house
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ZTNB went down at our house this time. Doug unfortunately did not make the trip, but he was there in spirit, and we did get to see him on the Padre video that Robbie made, which was very cool. Lisa made some kick-ass enchiladas as well as fried breakfast flautas the morning after.
Lisa, Tonya, and the girls all helped out keeping everyone fed and happy. There was a terrible chocolate chip cookie accident that almost brought me to tears. We lost a few, but the 5 second rule kept many of them alive for quick consumption.
There was a short set by the girls. It was really sneaky and done while the guys were all busy in the other room. Amber, Ashley, Tonya, and Lisa all sang “I Will Survive”. Lisa and Tonya both played guitar, which I wasn’t aware they even knew how to play guitar…but they did.
Harbour came over but did not play. We had a late start and it was around 2 when it was time for his set, and he was done before he started.
It was somewhat uneventful, which is a mixed blessing. There was no drama, but drama keeps it interesting, so maybe it needed some. It was typical in a lot of ways.
Neil didn’t want to play, so we all begged him and of course he played and sounded great as usual.
Rob played early, which was not typical. He sounded really good. He played Chet, which I always like. Not that the Ovation doesn’t sound good, but it’s cool to change it up.
Robbie had a couple of new songs. One was a cover and one was an original. He put Tonya to sleep which he should never let her forget.
I think my set was decent. I started off playing a few songs with Lisa. We sang “If I Fell” by the Beatles, “It Ain’t Me Babe” by Johnny Cash, and “Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” by Mitch and Mickey. That was really fun. I love singing with Lisa and she has a beautiful voice. The rest of my set was all originals. Mostly the usual ones I’ve played in the last year.
Can’t Make it Right
Is This It?
Victim
Free From Tomorrow
Knocking on the Door
I think that’s it????
It was good times. Robbie and his complete crew were there and they all slept over. Robert and Ashley were there also. Ashley left somewhat early, but Rob stayed the night.
Participants:
Neil Brincks
Doug Duhon
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Brincks Amphitheater and Bar-B-Que Pavilion (Neil's House)
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It seems like it had been a while since our last “Z”. It was really good to get together. Pretty much everyone was there. Me and my fly, Doug and fly, Robbie and fly, Robert, Ashley, and Neil and Julie. Julie brought her kids also, so we had a good size group. We played outside at Neil’s which always gives me that festival feeling. We had burgers going on the grill, kids playing, dogs running around, and music being played.
All the sets were really good as usual. There was not much new stuff, but I really don’t hear everyone’s songs very often, so it’s always good to hear them and never sounds old to me. Neil has a semi-new song that it still very fresh, and Doug was commenting that he took it to another level on that song and was really feeling it. I agreed.
I played my usual songs, although I did play Dayna Kurtz’s “Fred Astaire” as a warm up. I love that song. I don’t know if I do it justice, and I have to really change the words to not make me sound gay, but I love to play and sing it. I also did “Last Good Taste” by Dayna. I also did “Rocket Man” by Elton John, which I hadn’t played in a long time, but I did play it the night before while jamming with David Andrew who was in town, but had to head back to Louisiana earlier in the day, so he couldn’t make the “Z”.
Robert has this killer antique washboard that Doug played on a few songs and really gave Dopsie Jr. a run for his money. I swear can make anything sound musical. I’ve seen him play pots, pans, light fixtures, etc. He can make it work somehow. I always enjoy playing with Doug. It’s great because when I play solo I tend to extend parts and cut short others, and don’t really follow the song structures perfectly. Sometimes for effect, sometimes because I forgot the next chord or line, but he can just go with it and adjust on the fly, and usually anticipates the changes from either my dynamics, body language, or just some kind of musical E.S.P.
Participants:
Neil Brincks
Doug Duhon
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Location:
Lakehouse Lounge (Rob's Family Lake House)
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April fools day turned out to be a reunion of the “Z”. Doug came in to town with Becca and Jared. Robbie and his family (including Amber), Neil and Julie, and me and the girls (Lisa, Katie, Avery), and Robert were all there, and Robert made it more special by getting his uncle’s lake house. It’s such a cool place and we made a full weekend out of it. We all got out there Saturday afternoon and enjoyed the day. The weather was perfect. We hung out, we fished, we paddled around the pond, the kids swam at the pool, and we jammed at night until 4 in the morning.
The music is always good, but with Doug on drums and Neil on bass, I get these glimpses of the band that never was. When Doug and Neil were hitting it just right I got that warm fuzziness. I miss that band thing.
Lisa and I played two duets. We both enjoyed the movie, Walk the Line, and since then started listening to some old Johnny Cash stuff. So we worked out “Time’s a Wastin’”, and “Jackson”. It was really fun. I had rehearsed a little with Katie, having her play her violin on “Can’t Make it Right”, but by the time I played my set it was 2 or 3 a.m. and Katie was asleep. So we are saving that for the next Z.
Robert did it right and brought some of his step-dads spaghetti, and kick-ass salad dressing from Okalahoma, and Lisa and Tonya made breakfast tacos Sunday morning, as well as all the other meals.
It was really cool to let the kids just roam around the gravel roads, play in the pool, and play at the pond. They had a great time. Beccca, Robi, Katie, and Avery were gone for hours just playing and exploring. It was nice to give them that independence. There are not many situations where we feel comfortable with that, but out there it’s pretty safe. There’s plenty of room to get scraped knees, bumps and bruises, but hopefully no molesters, rapist, etc.
All the sets were very good. Robbie played a Tori Amos song from her new album called “Waitress”. Very cool song. He played Pitiful Loser, which I think he has skipped the last couple of times. He also played “June 18th, 1976” by Pedro the Lion, which was also really cool.
I know our get-togethers don’t erase all the pain and frustrations of life, but man it helps. It was a good time and can’t wait to get together again.
Participants:
Mark Burkart
David Dye
Neil Brincks
Robert Steel
Troy Thibodeaux
Robbie Wilson
Jim Dugger
Location:
David Dye's House
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ZTNB was held at David Dye’s house this month. We had a good time with some good sets. David’s friend Jim Dugger came out and played drums on a few sets. That was really cool. Neil’s friend Mark Burkart came again and played a nice set of instrumental tunes. I really enjoyed my set with Neil on bass and Jim on drums. It really makes me want to get a band going.
There was no Lisa (and girls), Tonya (and Amber), or Doug (and family). That really left something missing for me.
Everyone’s sets were really good. It was a full night with 6 different sets.
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