I have traveled all over the United States and I have never run across a city that has anything close to the amount of live music acts that Austin does. Being an Austin citizen, it is easy to take it all for granted,but just try to find more than one or two good shows per evening in San Diego or L.A. even on a weekend. Count your blessings Austin, and support your favorite musicians!!

Back to http://www.capitol-city.com

They say that Chicago is Austin's stiffest competition. I don't think anyone competes with SXSW, the South by Southwest event.

Doug, are you doing a thing at SXSW?

Happy New Year from Troy Dillinger & Del Dragons!!!--- We hope 1997 treated you well and that '98 will hold health, happiness, and success for you. Thanks to all of you who helped our year to be fantastic!!! Your continued support in the coming year is graciously anticipated--let us thank you in advance for a great 1998!!! Here's a little run-down of how 1997 shaped up for the band: 1997 rolled in with the us in the studio putting the finishes on our first full-length recording, "Southern Jumbo", and readying for the ardous task of shopping labels, etc. throughout the world. In March, we appeared at the SXSW music conference with guitar god Eric Johnson and on a sattellite radio broadcast to France. Momentum picked up for us almost immediately as the CD started to be released in local stores, we started to get airplay on local stations KLBJ and KGSR and a handful of others. By summer we had begun to establish ourselves as a regional touring act, and "Southern Jumbo" was gaining attention both here and internationally. By the end of summer, the CD was available in over 20 stores in Texas, we had added on radio stations with AAA, AOR, and college formats, were recieving excellent press for the CD, and to top it all off; we signed a record deal for Europe with France's DixieFrog Records. In the fall, we continued touring and playing locally (we opened for Kenny Wayne Shepard, Paul Rodgers, and Lynyrd Skynyrd (dude...) at the Woodlands in Houston), and the CD became available in international order catalogs and on the internet, as it was being released in Europe. The year ended for us with a bang as we recieved word that the CD was selling well in Europe and plans were being made for a spring tour. Unfortunately, we suffered the loss of co-vocalist Kim Patty (to the responsibilities of motherhood), and co-guitarist Kevin Carroll (to a death in the family which required a prolonged absence from music). Both are fine now and Kevin is back on stage with Jimmy LaFave. Determined to go on with our momentum (despite any references to Spinal Tap), we ended 1997 with a packed house at the Saxon Pub. We welcomed 1998 with the confirmation of a month to two-month tour of Europe, including Paris, Madrid, and Moscow, publishing and management agreements in the works, and a barrage of excellent press from European magazines. We also have begun to record a version of the record for the States, and have begun contacting American independent labels. The recording sessions featured producer/bassist Bruce Hughes (Ugly Americans/Poi Dog Pondering), keyboardist Ian MacLagan (Faces, Rolling Stones, et al.), and new drummer Brian Keeling (Water the Dog/Mr. Rocket Baby), and a special appearance by Scrappy Jud Newcomb (Loose Diamonds). We'll be expanding our touring base throughout the US this year and we've also recieved confirmation of our appearance at SXSW '98 (you'll recieve an invitation to our infamous annual SXSW party). We look forward to more good times with you all in the coming year, and if you have any additional questions or would like to get involved in any way with taking our music to the world, please email me back--we'd love to hear from you. If you haven't recieved a promotional copy of "Southern Jumbo" yet or would like new press materials, please email me back. If you're not in the music biz' we're starting the year with a thank you-- the first 15 responses to this email will recieve a free copy of "Southern Jumbo". Talk to you all soon..... ----Troy Dillinger & Del Dragons