Cash Casino Weekend...

Regina, SK, March 24/08 -  Our weekend at the Cash Casino in Calgary was a great time, as usual. The day before we left, we played the Brighter Futures for Children Concert at Casino Regina, where we helped to once again set a record for funds raised for the SCEP and Early Learning Centres. Thanks to the generosity of Regina's music community, as well as Doug and Gloria Archer and their staff at Knight Archer Insurance - the major sponsor of the event,  both charities will be able to continue the good and valuable work they do for the children of Regina. Of course, it goes without saying that the event would certainly not be as successful if not for the many community sponsors who contribute to the event. Special thanks to Jim Hopson and the Saskatchewan Roughriders for their invaluable contribution this year.

The Cash Casino, as always, was a fun gig. It was especially nice to welcome Tim Jeffery back to the stage with our group. He was part of the Prairie Fire Band back in the late seventies and early eighties until he left to form his own successful country group, the Honky-Tonk Heroes. It was like he had never left...we pulled some of the old tunes out of the bag, and he was right there with his original parts. We will be returning there later this year and hope to see all of the familiar faces who show up to support us every time we play there, plus some newcomers.

Good news on Easter Saturday...Mark and Lindsay Leik welcomed their new son, Graden. The boys in the band are all eagerly awaiting pictures.

We are in the studio in two weeks, starting on Buck U Two and then in May we really get down to the business of touring and playing dates. Watch this site for upcoming events, including our fourth consecutive year at Danceland, Manitou Beach, for New Year's Eve. Reservations are now being taken at 306-946-2743.

Dallas Steel Show...

Regina, SK, March 22/08 - Just got back from the Texas Steel Guitar Association's annual show and convention. It was nice to see Calvin Vollrath in attendance...we had the pleasure of performing with super steelman Billy Phelps on the Saturday show, along with Texas guitar legend Randy Corner. The Sklarman also sat in with Canadian steel master Al Brisco on his show on Saturday morning.

The Carter Steel Guitar company had an impressive exhibit, as usual, and special thanks to John and Ann Fabian for their hospitality.

On Friday, we joined Tommy Hooker and his group (including super fiddler Reggie Rueffer and steel legend Johnny Cox) at Pearl's Dance Hall and Saloon at the Fort Worth Stockyards. What a pleasure to hear and perform with such outstanding performers.

On Saturday after the steel show performances, the Sklarman went to Brady, Texas for the 19th anniversary celebrations for Heart of Texas Records. It was was really great to spend a little time with our old friends Texas dancehall legend Darrell McCall and his wife, Mona. Also in attendance were Heather Myles,  and Leona Williams, two of the truly great honky-tonk singers, and Justin Trevino, producer, musician and singer, who has just moved to Brady. Thanks to CEO of Heart of Texas Records for the invitation to the event. On steel at the performance was Dickey Overby, who was as impressive as ever. Another person of note at the event was original Buck Owens pedal steel man Tom Brumley, who will be performing full time with Darrell at a newly refurbished theater in San Antonio, starting this summer.

On the way back to San Antonio, I visited the Trio Club in Mingus, Texas, and had the pleasure of sitting in with the Jake Hooker Band. My good friend, Joe Bielinski, of KTFW radio, lives just up the street. As a matter of fact, his parents once owned the Trio Club. We will be performing there on July 19. It will be our return to the Texas honky-tonks, where we spent the winters from 77-82. The crowds are as big as ever, and more than half the crowd last Saturday was under the age of 30. Everyone was dancing to real Texas honky-tonk music. What a thrill to see and hear that kind of music played so well for such appreciative people. After the show, we all went over to Joe's place and watched country videos, collected by Joe since the 70s...people like Carl and Pearl Butler, Del Reeves, Billy Walker, Buck Owens, the Wilburn Brothers...can't wait to do more of the same in July!

Be sure to tune in to www.countrylegends921.com every Sunday from noon to five, Texas time, for the Joe Bielinski show. If you wonder what has happened to steel guitars and fiddles on the radio, that's where they live. Tune in and get countryfied.  Some Pics from the week:

Sklarman with KTFW's Joe Bielinski and Jake Hooker at the Trio Club in Mingus, Texas...	The Billy Phelps show at the TSGA convention...L-R: Randy Corner, Calvin Vollrath, Brian Sklar, Paul Polish and Billy Phelps.
Darrell McCall with his oldest fan club member...99 years young and still going strong, with a bouquet of 11 roses Darrell gave her. Darrell wrote and recorded the hit song "Eleven Roses."	The Sklarman with Heather Myles...one of the few female country singers who knows what the term "honky-tonk" means!

Spring News...

Regina, SK, March 11/08 - Back from the Grammys and hard at it. we had an amazing time in Los Angeles, were treated like kings and queens, and fully intend to be back next year. Despite the fact that the nomination was for our polka album, as the Western Senators, a nomination is a nomination, and we were grateful to be chosen from the large field of entrants this year.

We are now in the process of working on several recording projects, both country and polka, as well as a new television series with Canada's Grammy winner, Walter Ostanek.  The show will be taped live at the first ever Casino Regina PolkaFest, featuring Ostanek and the Western Senators, Cleveland Ohio's Eddie Rodick, and Regina's al Almassey. The show runs from six to midnight on Friday, May 16th and from two to midnight on Saturday, May 17th. Tickets are now on sale from Casino Regina's box office. Summer is shaping up to be great, with our annual visit to the Calgary Stampede and then a three-week EuroTour. Details will be available later this spring.

The annual Brighter Futures for Children concert will go on March 20th at Casino Regina's Show Lounge. Tickets are now on sale from Knight Archer Insurance offices or Casino Regina's box office, or any member of SCEP or the Early Learning Centre. This fundraiser is growing every year, and as a result is providing more and better support to young kids in Regina who need a hand up and a headstart in life. There will be performances by six different bands and individual entertainers, all for a 30-dollar ticket price, and for that you even get a complimentary beef-on-a-bun.

At this writing, the Sklarman is packing to head for Dallas for the annual Texas Steel Guitar Show and Convention. The show runs from March 13-16. I will also be attending the 19th anniversary celebrations for Heart of Texas Records in Brady, Texas on the 15th, and joining Joe Bielinski (the mayor) on Country Gold Radio on Sunday, March 16th. Joe's show runs for five hours every Sunday, featuring the best in real country music...check it out.

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Pistols!

Regina, SK - We had the biggest crowd ever at Danceland this past New Year's Eve, and then a very enjoyable performance at the Lieutenant Governor's Levee at Government House in Regina on New Year's Day. Special thanks to Arnie, Millie and all the staff at Danceland and Carolyn Speirs, who arranged the entertainment for the New Year's Day Levee.

Now it is full speed ahead in our preparations for the trip to Nashville on January 22nd for the NARAS Grammy Party and then to LA for the awards weekend, February 9th and 10th. We have been nominated in the Polka Album category (as the Western Senators...our alter egos) along with Walter Ostanek. We are hopeful, but even if we don't win, it is an honour being the first Saskatchewan band ever to get a Grammy nomination.

We are about to begin work on some new recordings. More details to come later this spring...then off to Europe again this summer, starting in Denmark the second weekend in August. And of course, we will once again be at the Calgary Stampede. Prior to the Stampede, we will be performing, along with Leah Durelle, in Athabasca Alberta for their annual River Rats Festival. More details to come.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Pistols!

Regina, SK - A very Merry Christmas to all of our friends and colleagues. We had a great year, and are now eagerly awaiting February 10th in Los Angeles. The Western Senators have garnered a grammy nomination in the Polka Album category...that's field 17, category 76, number 4, if you are keeping track. The whole group is going to LA for Grammy week. For those of you who are unaware, the Western Senators is the name of our other group. Under that name, we add two accordion players, Joe Schultz (who has been with the group since its inception) and Mark Leik, a great player and writer.

In 07 we cut an album, along with three-time Grammy winner Walter Ostanek, entitled Dueling Polkas. You can check it out at www.polkarama.com

On December 6th, we received the news that we had been nominated. Now we await the final verdict of the members of NARAS. In the meantime, we are enjoying Christmas with our families, with New Year's Eve to follow at world famous Danceland, Manitou Beach.

Have a great holiday season and an even better 1008!

Christmas is coming!

Regina, SK - Well, first off, congratulations to the Roughriders on their first Grey Cup victory since 1989! Now on to business...it's been a banner year for the Tex Pistols and we want to thank all of our friends and fans for their continued support.

Norsk Hostfest was a huge success, where along with Leah Durelle and the Western Senators, we got our first taste of playing for one of the primo music events in North America. If we have one regret it is that we didn't do this show many years earlier. This was the 30th annual show, and to say it was a blowout would be a huge understatement. Over 60,000 people attended this year's show and many of them went home with CDs...many more continue to order through this website and through www.polkarama.com the site of our friends the Western Senators. Special thanks to Janis Richards...CEO of JR Music and Rich Anhorn of the Hostfest, who were responsible for us being part of this year's event.

The Senators have two new videos and one new CD available through their site...check them out...they are well worth the investment.

Once again, we will be playing New Year's Eve at Danceland, Manitou Beach, along with the Senators. Tickets are on sale now...still only 99 bucks a couple for the best party on the planet. Call 306-946-2743 for tickets.

We are planning on doing the same as last year...taking the first couple months of 2008 to get into the studio and work on Buck U Two and several other projects we have on the go, so that they will all be ready for the coming spring and summer playing season. Another Eurotour will commence during the first part of August, and of course, we will be making our annual appearance at the Calgary Stampede. Details will be available on this site early in the spring.

That's it for now...Merry Christmas to everyone and have a great 2008!

September, 2007...

The Sklarman went and did three shows with Switzerland's Honky-Tonk Pickers. Check out the pics at www.honkytonkpickers.com . All three dates were packed with great country music fans, and the band was hot, hot, hot! Special thanks to all the guys in the band for making me so welcome and allowing me to perform with them.  It was also a hoot to see our old friend, Britta T at the country festival in Walterswil. She did a couple of great numbers with the band and brought the house down, as usual.

The Legends of Canadian Country Show was equally wonderful, with appearances by many of the people who built the country music industry in Canada. The crowd were royally entertained for over three hours with music and comedy performed the way it was in the days of the package shows people used to see in local arenas all over Canada and the US. We are looking forward to participating again next year in Winnipeg.

Next up...Norsk Hostfest in Minot in October and some dates with the Western Senators to celebrate Oktoberfest in communities all over Saskatchewan. Check the upcoming dates page for details...

August, 2007...

Well, another Stampede is in the books, and the Kimberley weekend was stellar. We are taking some time off this month...Aaron and Lindsey are touring the Maritimes and eastern states. We have completed the project with Walter Ostanek, due for release in September.

We went down to Minot to make preparations for the Hostfest. It's going to be a hoot. We are also preparing for the Legends of Canadian Country Music Concert in Regina on September 9th. Two shows, 1:30 and 7:30. Advance tickets are twenty bucks and are available from the German Club...that's where the show is going to be. It will include performances by Ray St. Germain, Joyce Smith, Jimmy Arthur Ordge, Freddie Pelletier, Calvin Vollrath, and of course, the Tex Pistols. Also performing will be the legendary Smilin' Johnnie and Eleanore Dahl and there will be a special guest appearance by Tex Emery.

That's it for now. See ya in September.

May, 2007...
The recording project with our friend, Walter Ostanek is nearing completion, and the Pistols are back at it on the performance circuit. We just did a one-nighter on Saturday, the 19th and it was a blast, to say the least. We are currently preparing for a big summer, with the Dauphin Countryfest on July 1 and then off to the Stampede on July 7th, with Black Tie and Blue Jeans on the 8th, three days at Calgary's Cash Casino, and then to Kimberley, BC on July 13.

In the meantime, we have the SUNTEP graduation and the Cathedral Village Festival on May 25th...that's right, the grad from five to eight and the festival from ten to midnight. Then it's Mosaic Festival time and we will be at the Aborginal Peoples' pavilion on May 31st, June 1st and 2nd.

The casino gigs at Casinos Moose Jaw (Mae Wilson Theatre) and Regina, and Club Regent in Winnipeg were all just great. It was nice to see our friend, Marny Duncan-Cary (and the lovely and talented Dave Chobot) warming up for the Oak Ridge Boys at Club Regent the night before we did our show.

That's it for now. See you at the annual Relay for Life in Wascana Park on June15th. We're on at 8:30...also, don't forget National Aboriginal Day. We will be at Louis Riel Park at 5 p.m. - that's June 21st.

April, 2007...

We had a record crowd at our annual Brighter Futures For Children Concert here in Regina on the 29th of March. Thanks to the other entertainers, Jack Semple, Stepchyle, Marny Duncan-Cary and her very talented young daughter, Sheila Deck, and Bob Evans. Also a big thank-you to Jamie Lewis of CKRM, who did a fabulous job as our official host. And we can't forget Doug and Gloria Archer of Knight Archer Insurance, who took over the responsibility of organizing the event three years ago. Without them, this surely wouldn't be the success that it has become.

The Buck U project is now officially launched, after being completed for over a year. Some things just take time, and the inserts surely did, but they look great! The new band photo is cool...thanks Bruce Vasselin from Designer Photographic Technologies in Regina...truly a genious!

Also want to mention our good friend, Lionel Wendling of Normandy, France, with whom the Sklarman has performed on many occasions. Lionel just released a killer western swing album, simply entitled "Western Swing" and it is well worth ordering. E-mail him at lonestar-music@tiscali.fr

That's it for now...enjoy the spring and let's get ready for a great summer...

February, 2007...

We spent a couple of days in the studio, working on a new project, and will be returning for three more days on the long February weekend. The Sklars are back from holidays in Cuba, and it was great! Some incredible musicians over there, and the nicest beaches we have seen since the ones we saw in Spain.

Some interesting stuff coming up for the summer...no details to release yet, but it is shaping up to be a dandy. We will be returning to the Dauphin Country Jamboree, and of course to the Stampede, and also the big festival in Kimberley, BC. More details later in the spring.

We are mourning the passing of our good friend Jack Crossman, and our friend and colleague, Doyle Holly. Both were very close friends and both were totally dedicated to country music, and will be missed by everyone who knew them.

Be sure to catch the seventh annual Brighter Futures for Children concert at Casino Regina on March 29th. All the performers donate their time and talent in aid of Regina's SCEP and Early Learning Centres. Get your tickets from Knight Archer Insurance, the SCEP or Early Learning Centres or the Casino Regina box office. See ya there!
 

Euro Tour Ends...
Click Here to See Pictures from Eurotour2006

The 2006 Tex Pistols tour of Europe is now in the books, and what a great tour it was! Special thanks to all of the folks who organized the shows the Pistols played, and also to the fans who packed the halls and festival grounds, rain or shine.

The sun came out for the last five days of the tour and the show in Munzbach was a fitting way to wrap up EuroTour '06.

Kees De Haan did a great job of organizing the itinerary, lining up ground transportation, accommodations for days off, and just making sure that the whole tour came off without a hitch.

The Pistols have a total of about nine gigs of pics and video, which will be uploaded to this site as soon as time permits.

Planning is already beginning for EuroTour '07, and over the next few weeks, the Pistols will send out promised e-mails to the couple of hundred fans and friends who requested pics taken on the tour.

Now, it's on to Casinos Moose Jaw and Regina with the legendary Ferlin Husky and Leona Williams...what a Labour Day weekend it will be...and then there's Wayne's World tailgate party on Sunday the 3rd...and the shuffle beat goes on...
 

Euro Update...August, 2006

The Tex Pistols are halfway through the 06 tour, and it has been memorable, to say the least.

It  has rained everywhere, but the crowds have been great, and nobody lets a little rain spoil a good party.

The festivals at Fideris in the Swiss Alps, Floralia in Holland (the Tex Pistols' second appearance there), and Silkeborg in Denmark were all huge successes. New pics to be added, both stills and movies as soon as the band gets back home...

Today, the TPs head back to Gouda in Holland for a couple of days, then to Munich and the famous Oklahoma and Rattlesnake Saloons...then off to the festival in Munzbach Austria.

Special thanks to all the radio people who have interviewed the band and picked up music to spin on their radio shows, and to their many friends and fans who have travelled from as far away as the Canary Islands to take in Tex Pistols shows.

By the way, Wayne is still looking for number 19!
 

Another Great Calgary Stampede!

Calgary, AB - Stampede 2006 was another barn burner, and the Tex Pistols want to thank the thousands of people who attended events where we performed. The St. Louis was packed every day for lunch, the Cash Casino was a hoot, as usual...Jeff Knight's party at the Cadillac Ranch was the biggest ever, and we set a new record at Black Tie and Blue Jeans...175 thousand dollars for Dreams Take Flight!

Congratulations to Lucille, Earl, John and all the volunteers who made the Black Tie and Blue Jeans show such a smash. Special thanks to Hot Rod Harriet of Country 105 in Calgary, who did a stellar job of hosting the event. Plans are now underway for Black Tie 2007. The event sells out every year before the end of January, and there is a long waiting list for tickets, so get yours early.

Special thanks to Morris, Myna and all the staff at the St. Louis. See ya in '07!

Release of "Buck U" set for August 5th

Regina, SK -  When Buck Owens died on March 26th of this year, we were really disappointed at the lack of attention his passing generated. After all, Buck had totally changed the face of country music in the sixties and seventies and we felt that he deserved at least as much attention as the late Johnny Cash...who we also admired and respected.

So we went into the studio and started cutting tracks...tunes that we had either done or wanted to do for a long time. When we hit seventeen, we figured maybe that would be enough for a great West Coast Country album. Since then, we have come up with at least another twenty or so tunes that we wish we could have included...guess that'll be volume two.

Anyway, the name of the new project is "Buck U - Class of '60" - a collection which includes tunes by Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart and some artists who could have qualified as West Coasters. We're proud of the project, which features most of the same players we assembled for the "AAIIEE!!" project two years ago.

We will be releasing the project in Europe on August 5th at the Fideris Festival in Switzerland. A North American release date will come later on, sometime in the fall. So all of you West Coast Country freaks, get ready for this one. We're graduates of the University of Buck Owens - Buck U - and proud of it!

When in Calgary, be sure to visit  the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, located on the Calgary Stampede grounds.