by Debbi | Oct 23, 2009 | Famous Folk, Jukebox, Newsworthy, People
I was really excited to see a recent album review in Ink, the Kansas City Star entertainment magazine that gets dropped off weekly at The Sandbar.
First, a bit of backstory. Peach has a brother, Patrick, who she bought The Sandbar from many, many years ago. Patrick has a daughter, Katlyn. We haven't seen her a lot around The Sandbar, but she danced with us on the Love Shack float in the St. Patrick's Day parade a long time ago:
I'm sure she'll love that I posted this picture. At least I didn't identify which one she is with little white arrows; you can try to figure that out yourself.
Anyway, Katlyn is a very accomplished singer and songwriter. She's been with the band Another Holiday for awhile, but she is getting ready to release her first solo album, "I Think I'll Stay Inside."
Ink magazine reviewed her album and really only had amazing things to say about it, even calling Katlyn "one of the most stunning female voices in the region." In fact, the only complaint they seemed to have is that the end of the album has a lot of slow songs.
The review ends by calling her album a "near perfect debut." That's a super compliment. The article doesn't say when her album will be out- maybe it already is- but if you're in the market for new music, pick up a copy and check it out.
Congratulations Katlyn, The Sandbar is proud of you!
by Debbi | Aug 21, 2009 | Jukebox, Web/Tech
Music has been a hot topic around here lately, so I came up with a couple new ways for you to experience our jukebox when you can't actually be at The Sandbar.
1. Check out the new Sandbar Jukebox iMix at the iTunes store!
I used the suggestions made on our Facebook page and in the comments here and put together an iMix. It's published on iTunes, so you can open it up and purchase some or all of the songs to make your own playlist. (When you click on that link, you're going to be prompted to pick an application to open it with).
You might notice some obvious Sandbar songs missing from this list. My original list had about 25 songs on it. Unfortunately, if a song isn't available to be purchased on iTunes, it can't be included in the iMix. I was surprised by the number of songs I wanted that weren't available- or at least the version I had wasn't in iTunes. I wasn't interested in changing the data on my music files just to make it compatible with iTunes.
You can even rate this iMix- assign it some stars and let me know what you think.
2. Listen to the Sandbar Jukebox station on Pandora!
If you aren't familiar with Pandora, you should be. It's awesome. And the best way to get through a long boring day at the office.
I created a Sandbar Jukebox station for our fans. Now, it's likely that you'll hear songs on here that aren't actually on our jukebox. Pandora lets you select an artist, song, or genre that you like, and then it chooses music that has similar attributes to what you selected. It's a very analytical and detailed process that I don't fully understand so I'm not going to attempt to explain it.
But, I've created my own stations based on artists I like, and I haven't been disappointed yet. So if you love our jukebox, check out our Sandbar Jukebox station on Pandora.
I'm pretty excited about these two musical options, so check them out and let me know what you think.
by Debbi | Aug 18, 2009 | Jukebox
Last week on our Facebook page, an old friend of the Sandbar- Brad, who has actually been mentioned here before and probably doesn't know it- left a comment with a list of his favorite Sandbar jukebox songs. He lives far away from Lawrence now, but likes to stop by when he's in town to visit family.
His list was pretty good, and it inspired another former regular and buddy of Brad's- Trent- to chime in with his own additions. I was hoping that more people would leave comments and add to the mix, but no one did. Maybe this post will encourage people…
Anyway, I thought I'd post a list of the songs they suggested. These are all Sandbar staples- songs that when you hear them, you think of The Sandbar. At least I do. Feel free to add to it in the comments!
- Shake a Tailfeather – Blues Brothers
- Fins – Jimmy Buffet
- Stuck in the Middle with You – Stealer's Wheel
- You Never Even Called me by my Name – David Allan Coe
- Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
- Boogie Shoes – KC and the Sunshine Band
- Rock the Boat – Hues Corporation
- Bare Necessities – The Jungle Book
- Volcano – Jimmy Buffett
- Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
- Get Down Tonight – KC and the Sunshine Band
- Dancing Queen – Abba
- Sweet Home Chicago – Blues Brothers
- Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
- Under the Sea – Little Mermaid
- Southern Cross – Crosby Stills & Nash
- Delta Dawn – Helen Reddy
- Son of a Son of a Sailor – Jimmy Buffett
- America – Neil Diamond
- Hakuna Matata – Lion King Soundtrack
- Friends in Low Places – Garth Brooks
I'm pretty sure all of these songs are still on the jukebox. Next time you're in the bar, play a couple of these tunes!
by Debbi | Jul 24, 2009 | Jukebox, Random Questions
A little over a week ago, I posted a new random question over on the right side of the page. This time I wanted to know what your favorite jukebox song is.
There could have easily been a hundred options to pick from, but for lack of space and time, I picked a few songs that seem to be played over and over, every night.
I also gave you the choice of "something else." I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised that this option didn't have more than half of the votes! That tells me I did a decent job of picking the popular songs.
Now, for the votes:
- "Something Else" won, with 44.7% of the votes
- Sweet Caroline had 23.7% of the votes
- Car Wash, 15.8%
- Don't Stop Believin', 10.5%
- Sweet Home Alabama and Jessie's Girl both had 2.6% of the votes
I was glad that so many of you left comments (on here, Facebook, and Twitter) about your other favorite songs!
- Son of a Preacher Man
- ABBA
- Disney songs
- Like a Prayer
- Brown Eyed Girl
And my all-time favorite sing-along song, David Allan Coe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name."
Any suggestions for the next poll question? Leave a comment with your idea.
by Debbi | Jul 12, 2009 | Jukebox, Random Questions
I got a lot of response from the last poll I put on here, asking you to vote for your favorite Bahama Mama toys, so I thought I'd do another one.
We have a lot of music on our jukebox. It hasn't changed a lot over the years, but several years ago we managed to add some more music to it without removing any by condensing multiple CD's into one. And, we frequently get compliments on the music mix that we provide- it's a good rotation of oldies, sing-along-songs, beach music, and some dance tunes thrown in for fun.
Some songs get played more than others. Others don't get played at all. Some get played so many times in one night that Dave threatens to remove them from the jukebox (he wouldn't really). What's the song that you need to hear every time you visit?
I picked a few of the songs that seem to get played more frequently; check out the poll on the right side of the page to cast your vote. If you don't like any of my choices, vote for "Something Else."
If you pick "Something Else," though, please leave a comment and tell us what your favorite jukebox song is!
by Debbi | Nov 25, 2008 | Jukebox
I was hanging around the bar on a Monday afternoon, watching Dave scurry around cleaning and stocking and doing whatever it is he does, and planning for St. Patrick's Day with Peach. Yes, we start planning our float early; in fact, we're a little behind schedule right now. But don't worry, we have a great idea in development.
Anyway, doorguy John and regular patron Emerson stopped by for awhile, and they told me a funny story from Sunday night.
Sunday nights aren't usually very busy, with bartender Joe and a few regulars making up the majority of the sparse crowd for most of the night. On this night, however, a small group of college students stopped in for some drinks.
Apparently this little group didn't like the selection on the jukebox. (I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that before; usually our jukebox gets rave reviews from practically everyone). But on this particular night, one of the girls wanted to hear Stevie Nicks, who unfortunately isn't in our library, and she demanded that Joe hook up her iPod to the sound system.
Joe, bless him, declined. We may be in the business of customer service, but that service doesn't extend to taking responsibility for a complete stranger's electronic gadget and plugging it into our system so that they can hear whatever song they want, whenever they want. And of course, with the Factor in charge, it's highly likely that hooking up her iPod would have wreaked havoc on the world.
The girl was obviously not accustomed to being told "no," and she continued to yell at Joe and demand that he play her music. And she now wanted rap music. Somebody must have forgotten to tell her they were in The Sandbar. Home of cheesy tropical tunes, cryin' country, and sing-along songs.
Joe refused to cave in to her demands, and eventually the group gave up and left. Perhaps next time they'll bring along some quarters and use the jukebox, like everyone else.
