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On Saturday, April 6th, KPIG-favorite Antsy McClain brings The Trailer Park Troubadours *and* an entire PBS film crew to Watsonville’s Mello Center for a big concert and a whole lot of fun.
Hard to believe that just a little over ten years ago, Antsy McClain was “ready to call it quits”.
Antsy was out from Nashville for band rehearsals last weekend. We chatted over coffee, and he told the story about how their 1998 debut record “Doublewide and Dangerous” was just sitting, unreleased, in supplier warehouses. He was about done with it all. Then the late Laura Ellen Hopper called from KPIG Radio. She invited Antsy and the band to open for Robert Earl Keen at KPIG’s annual Humbug Hoedown. Laura Ellen also told him that songs like “It Ain’t Home ’til You Take the Wheels Off” and “Skinny Women Ain’t Hip” were popular on the station.
That news, and their opening slot for Keen, were the breaks they needed.
Antsy was soon retrieving product from his label and their distributors. “I bought thousands of CDs, VHS tapes of our EPK video – all the rage at the time, and I bought the rights and intellectual property issues to our website.” Antsy’s first independent release, “Way Cool World”, soon followed. He’s been an indie artist ever since.
Antsy plays nationwide, but he’s particularly fond of the west coast. That’s due in no small part “to the KPIG family…we do our largest shows in northern California”. He plays in Santa Cruz several times a year, including annual New Year’s Eve shows at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz and a regular appearance at the Santa Cruz County Fair.
The Mello Center show will be extra special, since he really is bringing a PBS film crew along. “We could have done it anywhere in the country”, Antsy said, “but I wanted to do it here with my friends”.Songwriter/teacher Peter Berkow, who’s also a PBS producer, first heard of Antsy through his sound-man Dale Prince and Australian fingerstyle guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. Berkow’s now a pal of Antsy’s and pitched the idea of filming a Troubadours concert to PBS. The rest is history…or at least will be when the special airs.
For this concert, they’re building a special “trailer park set, full of ’60s and ’70s kitsch”. They’ve even designed the setslists so that folks who might be new to the band will immediately get the “Enjoy the ride” motif behind Antsy and his music. The first set features “Hangin’ With My Friends”, “Living the Dream”, and “Living in Alumimum”, while the second half includes funny fan favorites like “My Baby Whistles When She Walks” and “Everything’s a Dollar”.
Antsy wanted to remind everyone that this won’t be a “tight, sit on your hands thing”. Anyone who’s been to a Troubadors show knows it’s a big fun party. Lots of laughs, lots of loud shirts, and lots of “Flamingoheads” singing along. Be ready to have a good time. You’ve been warned.
Tickets
Tickets at on sale at unhitched.com – available for the concert or the concert AND the after party the next day.
Past Podcast Highlights
Want to hear from Antsy himself? He’s been a guest on my “Songs and Stories” podcast several times. Click here to listen:
- Episode #119 – “Living the Dream”
- Episode #101 – “Heroes (and Vinyl) Last Forever”
- Episodes #51 and #52 – “Antsy McClain of The Trailer Park Troubadours”