that means that all you Alabama and close to it Kris Bell fans need to head to Birmingham for two great shows this weekend!  Kris is gonna end your March right!

Friday, March 30- THE NICK
Saturday, March 31- WORKPLAY with Brother Cane and Within Reason

And then back to Nashville!

Wednesday, April 4- Mercy Lounge with Jasmine Cain & Goldy Locks

That’s a lot of chances in a short period of time to catch the guys rockin’.  Get to one of these shows if you can. A little Kris Bell American Rock can sure brighten up a week.

Since some of us are still living on our memories of a few Texas shows, here’s a little photo share from Austin:

Remember to check in at Kris’ official site and Facebook page as well as at Rebel Bell’s Facebook page to see what’s up!

Keep rockin’ and “see” ya’ll soon!
Lisa

London’s is a loud, crowded bar in downtown Tullahoma, Tennessee.  The people there, even though they don’t necessarily come out to see Kris, really show enthusiasm for the music.  As a fan, I appreciate a good, long acoustic set from Kris.  He’s relaxed, talkative, and I think that really connects with the audience.  And Coop’s conversations with people as they walk by between songs is incredibly amusing.  Of course, if I start quoting him, next time I’m there, he won’t say a word, so I think I’ll keep those quotes to myself   You’ll just have to come with me next time, so you can experience it for yourself.

The set list was a mixed bag of blues, rock, and rebellion, including covers of popular hits like Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” and The Rolling Stones‘ “Gimme Shelter,” as well as his own songs, ranging from the introspective “Gray” to the kick-ass new song “Hereafter” (in my opinion, a hit in the making).  I always enjoy watching the crowd reaction when Kris rips into “Runnin’ Out on You” or “So-Called Friend.”  In fact, Friday night, “So-Called Friend” got the most enthusiastic response, especially when Kris introduced the song by asking if anyone at London’s had ever had a friend who just took and took and never gave anything back.  Well, even a kindergartner can relate to that kind of relationship.  (Mom!  Jimmy won’t SHARE!)  The crowd hooted and hollered and was engaged throughout the entire song.  I’d post a photo, but the bar is so dark that none of my photos turned out very well.

Towards the end of the night, sweetheart that he is, Kris played MY favorite song, “The Match,” which I totally appreciate.  It’s the song that made me realize what a great talent Kris is, all the way back in 2006.  I know I’m not alone in that feeling either.  After 3 hours of music, broken into 3 sets, it was time to go home.  Boo!  Oh wait!  I have more music tomorrow night!

Saturday night, the Kris Bell Band returned to The Limit, the venue they played opening night just over a year ago.  This time, they were sharing a double bill with Hip Kitty, a fun band from the Nashville area.  Their tight harmonies and heavy guitars reminded me a bit of Blackwater James, also from Nashville, but Hip Kitty is led by a charismatic female singer, and she strutted the stage like she owned it.  She and the band rocked the crowd with their 80′s flavored rock for almost an hour, closing out the set with a chorus or two of “meow meow meow.”  I guess with a band named “Hip Kitty,” it was inevitable.  HA!

*** HIP KITTY ***

And now the moment I – and those around me – had been waiting for…  THE KRIS BELL BAND!  Oh wait,what’s that buzzing sound?  Guess we’ll have to wait a minute for the sound team to figure out why we’re getting that low hum so that Kris and the guys can actually start playing.  For those who have been to The Limit, let’s share an eye roll and move on LOL!  I guess it could happen to anyone, right?  Whoops!  They found it (sort of), so Kris, Coop, Shane and Bryan hit the stage and prepare to rock us.

This show started differently than usual.  Kris normally cranks up the volume with a series of power chords and rips into “Livin’ for Tomorrow” or “Will I Believe,” but not tonight.  Tonight he started slowly, softly, with some stellar guitar work, a little quick rhythm, shades of the classics of the 70′s, leading into that classic Kris Bell tune, “What Song Is It,” followed quickly by “Will I Believe” and “Bad Mutha.”

*** KRIS BELL BAND ***

When they got to “Whipping Post,” Coop gave up a quick shout out to Gregg Allman and his Grammy win before pumping out the trademark bass riff that starts the tune.  The band really poured their full energy into the song, and Bryan showed off mad skills on his new guitar, Ruby.  All I’ve got to say is, Bryan must be loving his new baby, because he’s been practicing like a madman.  He played better than I have ever heard him play that night.  Rock on, Mr. Denton!

After “So-Called Friend” (careful, boys, this is an ALL AGES show ha ha!), they kicked into my favorite two songs of the night.  “Hereafter” has all the makings of a hit song – catchy riffs, strong lyrics, memorable chorus.  I love it live, and cannot WAIT to hear it on the up-coming EP.  It should be open-the-sunroof, crank-up-the-volume, share-with-the-world magnificent!  The song promises to be a special tune for Kris.  I can just feel it.  Follow that with “Take It All,” and the crowd at The Limit is whipped into a frenzy.  When the boys indicated that’s it and put their instruments down (yeah yeah, we know it’s all a game, but you gotta play the game to get the prize), people started shouting what we ALWAYS do at the supposed “end” of a Kris Bell show:

“FREE BIRD!!!”

Kris looked out and raised his eyebrows, as if to say, “Really?  You want to hear ‘Free Bird‘?” and the crowd got louder.  Coop and Bryan shrugged back into their guitars and Shane ducked back behind the drums, looked at each other, and then started the trademark opening guitar riff, while Kris walked back to grab his slide.

Any words I type to try to describe the Kris Bell Band playing “Free Bird” will fall short of the actual experience.  “Riveting.”  “Emotional.” “Intense.” Not even close.  I just encourage you to get to a Kris Bell Band show and pray that they get a nice long set, so they can play ALL of the songs – the originals, the classic covers, EVERYTHING.

So that’s it!  Coming up in the next few weeks, Kris will be all over the place.  First, next Friday, March 9, he and the guys will be playing for their lives as part of Hard Rock Cafe’s “Hard Rock Rising” competition.  You may have voted for Kris several weeks ago by downloading “I Know the Sun Will Call” at the Hard Rock Nashville’s Facebook page.  With that vote, you earned Kris the opportunity to compete against other finalists at Hard Rock Nashville.  I’m not sure who Kris is playing against, but having the best fans in the world there to support him would go a long way to move him to the finals on March 23.

After that, Kris and the boys will head to Texas to reunite with former bandmate Heath Clark at the Red Gorilla Music Fest in Austin.  They will rock Darwin’s Pub Wednesday, March 14, starting at 9:30-ish.  They’ll follow up that gig by heading to Tyler, Texas, to play a show March 16, at the Half-Moon Grill.  Rumor has it that Heath might be playing there too, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

When he returns to Nashville, he’ll have gigs at London’s (yep, it looks like it could become a regular gig) and Hard Rock with two-piece rock band The Cold Stares, and at the end of March, he’ll head down to Birmingham, Alabama to play at Workplay, opening for Brother Cane.

In between shows, Kris will be working to finalize his EP at The Castle Studios in Franklin, Tennessee.  He hopes to have it out there in a month or two, so be on the lookout.  Follow Kris on Facebook and Twitter, and follow Rebel Bell on Facebook and Twitter.  We’ll make sure you know when the EP is out.  There are some surprises in store, I’m sure of it.

June, 12 2008 @ 11:00 pm at Republic of Texas Bike Rally, Austin, Texas
I’m sitting in with my good friend Mike Estes and Skinny Molly. It’s always a great time and a great show with those guys! For more info, please visit Skinny Molly’s myspace page. www.myspace.com/skinnymolly

If you get to make it, ENJOY!  Kris, Mike and the rest of Skinny Molly…. have a great time, and ROCK TEXAS!

B2B

Jimmy, JRoxx and Coop–the same John Cooper from the Kris Bell Band–put on a great show, especially since FQC was having technical issues.  Plus I had a good time hanging with my friends PMC and CindyG.

So, while Kris is hard at work in the studio, check out these guys if you can…

Lynyrd Skynyrd All I Have Is A Song

Do you ever think about the days before we all knew each other?  Before we had heard of Kris Bell?  Before Rebel Bell was even a thought in someone’s mind?  The days before I discovered blogging?  ROTFL!!

We now adore the man, the music, the guys in the band, and each other…the before seems like such a different lifetime.  Kinda cool….kinda weird..in a good way LOL.  I like this time in my life!!!  I hope ya’ll do too.  Don’t you feel like we are on the edge of something GREAT?!  The excitement is in the air around Rebel Bell….the future is gonna be wild!  I can’t wait to see that excitement grow and grow.  I am so glad and proud for what Kris has done and will be doing (know ya’ll are too) ….he was doing it long before he knew about us or we knew about him, but I am glad to have jumped on this journey.  I’m also glad to be sharing it with all of you.  My head gets crowded with thoughts of this group, but only in the best possible kind of way LOL!  I like being a Kris Bell fan a lot!  I’m thinkin’ it is one of the best things to be!  Who knew just a few short years ago…..but I think it is pretty cool!  K…..enough rambling, go back to your daily life, but keep a Kris Bell song in your heart and head today.  It’ll keep you smiling!!

B2B