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Over the River

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Erik Swanson - songwriter, musician, friend 

Our bandmate and friend Erik Swanson passed away yesterday, February 16, 2021. Half of our songs were written and sung by Erik, but the space he leaves on the stage is much bigger than that. 

I remember the first time I met Erik. I was playing in my first Dallas bluegrass band, Spare the Horses. We were playing at Community Brewing Company and Larry Reed was on bass. Erik came by to make sure we weren't going to make it big and steal his bass player in Shoot Low Sheriff. After hearing us and being assured that wasn't going to happen, he stayed for the rest of the show. 

A collector of anything with wood and wire, Erik came up to me after the show asking me about what kind of banjo I had, what kind of pickup I used, etc. I saw him a few times after that and checked out his awesome Texas swing band and became a fan of his. 

After half the group of Spare the Horses moved away from DFW, I set out to form another band. I enlisted Kim Herriage and Floramay Holliday, who I had met in the Oak Cliff area, as well as my neighbor John Stolly. And of course, I invited my favorite bass player Larry. After a first get together with a few other musicians that didn't exactly go very well, Larry told me Erik was interested in what we were trying to do. I was thrilled. 

Erik joined us for our second jam and the band immediately jelled. We played several of his Texas swing songs 'bluegrass style' and it all just came together. I've always loved how bands bring different flavors to the same music. Spare the Horses had a great Red Dirt influence to our bluegrass. The Atlanta bands I was in, Hicks with Picks and Georgia Mountain String Band, sounded old school gospel and backwoods hillbilly respectively. 

In that second session of our 'new band', Kim and I brought the backwoods hillbilly, Floramay brought the singer-songwriter, and the secret spice to our sound was Erik and his Bob Wills style. It was still most certainly bluegrass, but with a Texas beat and swagger as big as Erik. 

It took a while to come up with a name for the band, but I finally decided on Over the River, because at that time all of us except Erik lived on the south or west side of the Trinity River. The name fit, and it is hard to believe we've been picking together for almost five years. 

We will miss you greatly, Erik, both on the stage and off. As great as a bandmate as he was, he was an even better person and we are lucky to have known him. 

As he's now playing up there with the Angel Band, the name of our band down here just took on a new meaning. As Flormay said, Erik, we'll see you again someday, Over the River. 

- Don Thacker 

Note: There is a Gofundme setup to help the family with expenses during this time. You can find it here, or with the action link on this site.

 

02/16/2021

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Friday Night Bath Time 

This Friday, 7/20, Don and Erik will be playing as a bluegrass duo - The Lonesome Johnson Boys. Everyone else is on vacation, but these hard working pickers will still be at it to play some tunes down by White Rock Lake as part of the Bath House Cultural Center's Festival of Independent Theatres. We play from 10-11pm as part of their FIT Underground series. So come on down, because Friday is bath night, whether you need one or not!

07/15/2018

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Foundry - Friday July 13th, 2018 

Come check us out this Friday at the Foundry from 8-10. We'll beat the heat with some cool tunes and breezy pickin'. 

07/08/2018

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From Highland Park to the Trailer Park 

While we thoroughly enjoyed playing brunch at Fearing's surrounded by bottles of wine that cost more than our instruments, we will be playing in a little more familiar surroundings the next two months.

July 12th, we'll be back at Adair's for the 7 o'clock show. Come join us and enjoy one of the best burgers in Dallas.

Then on August 25th, we'll be at Double Wide with the Straw Hat Society. We go on at 9, and then Straw Hat Society will finish out the night. Tickets are $10 for the show and we'll post the link when they go on sale.

Also another thanks to our neighbor Over the Bridge Arts and  Houndstooth Coffee for a very fun time last Saturday at the Over the Bridge Summer Solstice Festival, and to Papa Racz for having us play at his birthday party. 

 

 

06/29/2017

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BBQ, Bourbon, and Bluegrass 

06/01/2017

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Bluegrass Brunch - Dallas Style 

We have several new shows on the calendar. On May 21st, we'll be at the Dallas Farmers Market from 11am-2, AllGood Cafe on May 26th at 7:30p, and back at our favorite honky-tonk, Adair's Saloon, on July 12th for the 7:00 show. 

We also have a real swanky gig on June 18th. We are very excited because it is a brunch gig, and we've been after one of those. My friends in Atlanta, The Georgia Mountain String Band and the Glumson Brothers, play bluegrass brunches all the time. There are three or four bluegrass brunches every weekend in Atlanta, but it hasn't caught on here just yet.

And not only are we going to have a bluegrass brunch in June, we're doing it in a decidedly Dallas way. At the Ritz-Carlton. 

Oh yeah. We are proud to be the entertainment this Father's Day at Fearing's, arguably the finest restaurant in Dallas. The event is a Father's Day BBQ and Bluegrass Brunch; we are playing from 11am until 3. You won't need a ticket for this show, but you will need a reservation, and I would suggest getting one soon.

You can find all of our upcoming shows on the shows tab of this site, on the Instagram, Facebook, or Bandsintown.

04/27/2017

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We Got To Have A Fiddle In The Band 

 

We had a real treat Saturday at AllGood. Dustin Ballard, who plays fiddle with Erik and Larry in Shoot Low Sheriff hopped up on stage and did several songs with us.  You see, up to this point, we've been quite the outlaw bluegrass band, playing with a drummer and in Texas without a fiddle. And that fiddle sounded really good. Dustin said he'd join us again sometime, and we might also have another fiddle player join us too.

Our next  show is April 20th at Adair's Saloon. Hope you can join us. To get a preview, and to see some of Dustin's fine rosin rubbin', check out this video and the ones the Home page. See ya on 420.















 

03/27/2017

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We'll be back at Adair's on 4/20 

Sunday night was a ton of fun at Adair's. They have one of the burgers in town and it is the perfect venue for some country music and pickin'. We'll be back there on Thursday, April 20th. We will also be playing near the Oak Cliff Mardi Gras parade on Clifton Street the afternoon of the parade, 2/26. Float on by and hang out with us.




01/26/2017

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Next Sunday 

January 22, we'll be playing at Adair's at 7pm. So come join us right after the Cowboys punch their ticket for the Super Bowl.

Here are a couple of songs we picked for you in my living room last week. Hope to see you next week!

01/15/2017

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Happy Thanksgiving 

We had a good time Saturday night at Community Brewery, and our next booking is January 22nd at Adair's Saloon, 7:00. Thanks to everyone that came out last weekend, and especially those that got out and danced. We'll get er rocking again in January. See you there.

 

11/21/2016

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Pillers of the Community 

We just booked a show at Community Brewery for Saturday, November 19th at 5:30pm! Fantastic space to hear some bluegrass while sampling the best craft beer around. I highly recommend the Mosaic IPA. We'll be playing until 8:30, so come by the Community Tap Room and tap your feet with us.

10/28/2016

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Date Change 

We are rescheduling our gig Sunday at Adair's because, due to a boneheaded scheduling move by the banjo player (me), we booked a show at the same time as the Cowboys game. Not a good idea in this town. So we are looking at an alternate date. However, we have added a date - 10/1 at 10am at the Kessler School Pumpkin Patch. We'll be playing for 45 minutes when the festival starts. We are also working on a Sunday afternoon at the Dallas Farmer's Market and a few others, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are a couple of vids from our show at AllGood. Hope to see you soon.


 


 

09/20/2016

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Upcoming Shows 

We have two fun shows on the schedule. Aug 26th, we'll return to AllGood Cafe to pick and get some more of that good chicken fried chicken. Floramay Holliday will be with us with a bunch of her great Texas tunes and harmonies.

Then on Sunday, Sept 25th, we'll be down in Deep Ellum at Adair's Saloon from 7-10. 

We are working on some additional dates, and you can keep up to date through Bandsintown, liking us on Facebook or visiting www.overtheriverband.com. 

Hope to see you there.

08/13/2016

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AllGood 

We had a blast last night at the AllGood Cafe. I highly recommend their chicken fried chicken, and we'll be back there in August so that I can have it again. Thanks to Mike for having us, and to everyone that came out to hear us play. See you soon.

07/17/2016

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Announcing - Over the River 

I pleased to introduce the newest bluegrass band in the Metroplex, Oak Cliff's own - Over the River! Veteran pickers (and a drummer), assembled in this configuration for the first time, have come together to bring some old time and newgrass tunes just in time for the heat of Summer. Our belief is that fun times with family and friends get even better with foot tappin', swing dancin' or cryin' in your beer music. 

We will debut this Saturday, July 16th at the Allgood Cafe in Deep Ellum, from 7-9. Come join us for a good time and some chicken fried steak.





07/11/2016

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Pickin' and singin'.
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    Southern Flavor 4:01
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    Little Cabin Home on the Hill 2:37
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    Dead in the Tracks 3:37
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    Draw the Line 4:45
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    Fireball Mail 2:52
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    Wayfaring Stranger 6:25
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    Mama Tried 2:44
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    Mister Spaceman 2:57
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    Phoenix 3:06
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    Salt River 2:28
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    Why You Been Gone So Long 4:56
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    Funny, It's Not Funny 2:28
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    It's You That Done Me Wrong 3:28
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    Baby's Back in Texas 3:31
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