JUNE 1st
neil kulhanek
Neil began playing guitar at the age of 10 and by the age of 13, he was playing parties and night clubs and dances with musicians three and four times his age. As time went on he played with various regional and international touring bands, traveling throughout the United States, and Canada. Neil's ability on the steel and lead guitars has kept him in demand as a sideman. He has played with Johnny Lyon, Gary P. Nunn, Kinky Friedman, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Rodriguez, Frenchie Burke, BJ Thomas, Lee Roy Parnell, Darrell McCall, and Terry McBride just to name a few.
Neil now resides in Brenham, Tx. with his wife and his dogs. He continues to play with his blues band, "Neil and The Real Deal", and plays with several other country groups throughout central Texas. Neil is always ready for a good time, playing some country, rock and blues.
bob appel
With unlikely roots for a country singer, Northern California native Bob Appel was exposed to the neo-traditional country sounds of Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, George Strait, Dwight Yoakam, and Aaron Tippin as a teen. It took years to appreciate the poetic story-telling, simple musical structure, and heartfelt vocal performance evident in their songs, and to understand that there was a common source of inspiration -- one steeped in country music traditions from prior generations. It was through the allusions in the lyrics and sounds of these singers that Bob found the music of icons like Hank Williams, Faron Young, Ray Price, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, and Wynn Stewart. After a few visits to the "home of country music", he was disillusioned by the commercialism he witnessed in the impersonal and overblown stadium shows, selling songs that capitalize on modern trends rather than respecting country music’s rich tradition. After one visit to Austin, Texas, Bob found music brought back to the basics, on a small stage with a small audience -- a participatory audience with diverse ways of appreciating traditional country music, whether two-stepping and waltzing, tapping a foot, singing along, marveling at the fiddle and steel, or simply reminiscing. Since moving to the live music capital in 2010, after years of watching from a seat, Bob Appel stands up every day and night -- at dance halls, festivals, markets, opry shows, honky tonks, beer joints, and bars -- bringing the musical traditions of times gone by to times yet to come.
