Billy Holcombe

Blogging at RestaurantsATL

2011-11-06T20:40:00.001-05:00

As you may have noticed, I haven't blogged in over a year at this page. Most of my personal blogging these days is done at RestaurantsATL.com where I write about Atlanta restaurant news, specials, happening, and events. Check it out here if you are interested:

Sweetwater Magnum IP

2010-07-03T16:34:00.001-04:00

Sweetwater Brewery released their newest Dank Tank, Magnum IP, during their Wednesday brewery tour on June 30th. I was off work so I went down and sampled a few of the Magnum IP’s….this new imperial pilsner was delicious. If you’ve never been to Sweetwater Brewery, here is a video from the event to give you an idea of the brewery and tasting room.

Charleston Trip

2010-07-03T16:25:00.001-04:00

I’ve been terrible about keeping this blog up to date but its tough when you spend part of your professional life blogging everyday too. Anyway, Cristi and I went on vacation to Charleston this past week. We go a couple times a year to see our friend Kevin (best man in our wedding) and would move there ourselves if we had the right opportunity. Here is a video that pretty much sums up our trip….it was fun and relaxing!

Silence is Golden

2010-06-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

I had no intention of writing a blog about Clark Harris (aka Clark Harris) when we met up yesterday at the Virginia Highland Summerfest but his story is so amazing that I could not help myself. In case you are not familiar with "Silent Clark", Clark is only speaking using social media for 100 days in an effort to raise awareness and $100,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Clark's mother, Ruth Harris, passed away from cancer last February and he is doing this in her honor.

My wife and I met up with Clark and his wife, Genna, at Everybody's Pizza before we all walked over to Summerfest. I thought it would be a little awkward trying to communicate with Clark since he can't talk (not even to his wife or co-workers) but it really wasn't weird at all. I let our waitress know beforehand that Clark was coming and explained what he was doing so she would know why he wasn't ordering or answering questions that he asked her. Clark actually carries this card below with him and hands it out to people when they try to talk to him:

The more we hung out with Clark, the more we felt inspired to help him spread the word and reach his goal. If you have an opportunity, visit his website at http://www.socialmediaexperiment.com/ and make a donation if you feel inclined and please let others know. Clark will be having a big "break the silence" event at the end of the 100 days (August 7th) so be on the lookout for that! You can also follow Silent Clark on twitter @silentclark

Drummer Lance Tilton Passes Away

2010-05-07T08:45:00.003-04:00

I barely knew Lance Tilton. I had seen him play drums a couple dozen times with some of my favorite bands over the last couple years ...he picked up a few shows with the Zac Brown Band a few years ago when they were in between drummers and I had seen him play several shows lately with his band, Ben Deignan. He was a fantastic drummer and always had a smile on his face.

I first met him at Taco Mac about 6 months ago and talked to him for a little while about the Ben Deignan Band and how big I thought they were going to become. Lance was such a nice guy and you could tell how much he loved music in just those few minutes I spent talking to him. My wife and I would run into him a few more times after that and he would always spend a few minutes talking with us and treated us as friends.

When I got home last night, I jumped on ajc.com and noticed a headline that said "Atlanta Drummer in Up and Coming Band is Dead." I immediately said to myself...."Please don't be Lance." I nearly dropped my computer when I read the first line and saw that it was indeed Lance. He was killed in a car wreck at 3AM in North Georgia. It was so hard to go to sleep after reading that and I barely knew him...I can't imagine what his friends and family are going through and my heart and prayers are with them. Lance was young, talented, good hearted, and had such a bright future. Anyone who ever met Lance is truly going to miss lanceondrums.

Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown Crossroads

2010-03-27T08:27:00.003-04:00

Just in case you missed the CMT Crossroads featuring Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown….here are some video highlights from the show. Hopefully these will stay up on You Tube for a little while.

Brew Your Cask Off

2010-03-26T22:38:00.007-04:00

I’ve been terrible about keeping this blog updated lately but the last month has been a TOTAL blast...especially last weekend! I was asked to be a judge at the Brew Your Cask Off Festival at Sweetwater Brewery and it was one of the best gigs ever! There were 90 cask ales brewed by a few local celebrities, Atlanta restaurant owners, businesses, and a few home brewers competing for best cask. My “tough” job was to sample the beers along with 26 other judges to determine the winners.

There were more good beers than I thought there would be but I also tasted lots of nasty beers. The winners ended up being #1 Fontaine’s (Hop n’ Spicy), #2 Gibneys (ELT Ale), #3 Taco Mac (PNS Reserve), and #4 Locos (Moose Brew). Raging Burrito won the Biggest Loser award for the worst beer (Raging Xocolate).

Over 1,000 people showed up later in the evening to sample the beers, listen to live music, and tour the Sweetwater Brewery. The cask ale brewed by Cypress Street (Knobzilla Vanilla Oatmeal Stout) ended up winning the award for crowd favorite. I must admit….it was one of the most fun days I’ve had in a while. I guess spending 10 hours at Sweetwater Brewery is fun for anyone though.

Colder Weather

2010-02-09T15:55:00.003-05:00

The Zac Brown Band recently finished recording their new cd and I imagine it will be several months before it is mastered and released to the public. One song that will be on that record is "Colder Weather" and I think its one of their best songs ever. Here is Zac performing it at the House of Blues in Los Angeles:

David Ryan Harris Returns to Atlanta

2010-02-08T20:23:00.001-05:00

David Ryan Harris returns to Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta on March 18th, a day after he performs with John Mayer at Philips Arena. It's always a great homecoming for DRH when he returns to Atlanta and the intimate venue at Smith's is always a special place to see him play.

With John Mayer being in town and off on the 18th, there is always a chance that he may pop in Smith's Olde Bar to perform a song or two with DRH...he's been know to do that.

Whether Mayer shows up or not, it really doesn't matter because David Ryan Harris will give you your moneys worth by himself. While his songs sound great recorded, David is very similar to Clay Cook in that you really have to see him perform live to appreciate his talent and great songwriting.

To get your tickets, click here....it will definitely sell out!

Here is a video of David Ryan Harris singing a Michael Jackson tune right after the King of Pop passed away:

5 Seasons Mug Club

2009-12-31T13:31:00.003-05:00

I love living in Sandy Springs and one of my favorite places is 5 Seasons Brewery. They have a beer called the Hopgasm that brewermaster Kevin McNerney (formerly of Sweetwater) concocted up that is insanely good .
I’ll be drinking a bunch of them for FREE in 2010 thanks to a new promotion that the Prado store is running. All you have to do is purchase the mug shown here for $20 and they will buy your first beer every time you visit in 2010…just have to remember to take the mug. They only have a limited number that they are selling so I went and got mine today. It’s only applicable at the Prado location and does not include high gravity beers….still a sweet deal.

David Ryan Harris Returns to Atlanta

2009-12-24T09:59:00.003-05:00

I’ve been listening to David Ryan Harris for a few years but never had the opportunity to see him play until last night at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta. He was simply AMAZING!

Many people know David Ryan Harris as John Mayer’s guitar player but he proved last night why he has built up such a strong following himself with lyrics and vocals that were as strong as anyone I’ve seen in a while.

I was surprised at how hilarious and entertaining he was in between songs and he was very engaging with the crowd. His songs Pretty Girl and Turn Around were my favorites of the night.

I’ve seen a lot of concerts this year and this was definitely my favorite show….David Ryan Harris is the real deal. He may be playing at Smith’s again in March when John Mayer returns to town for his tour. I HIGHLY recommend going and you may even see John Mayer pop up on stage…he’s known to do that when DRH is playing in Atlanta.

Merry Christmas from the Family

2009-12-14T23:12:00.002-05:00

I love the Christmas season but I get tired of Christmas music REAL QUICK. One Christmas song that I’ve always loved though was Robert Earl Keen’s “Merry Christmas from the Family”. I think we all have some relatives that are a little “different” and maybe even dysfunctional but that is just a part of life. Might as well accept it and find some humor in it. This song does just that….

My 10 Favorite iPhone Applications

2009-11-22T15:34:00.002-05:00

I just got an iPhone two weeks ago so like most people who just get one….I’m obsessed. I’ve been researching all the different apps out there and try to download only the best free ones. There were a few that I found that were just too good not to buy but even those were less than $5. Here are my favorites:

1. Scanner 911- Whenever I’m sitting around bored, I’ll pull up this app and listen to the local police station scanner. It’s fun to listen to the cops talking about where they are headed and who they are busting. You can easily find your local police scanner on here. This one was $.99 cents.

2. TweetDeck- I use mulitple twitter and facebook accounts so this FREE app allows me to manage all my accounts at one time very easily from anywhere. Free.

3. Texas Hold’Em- I play this tournament style texas hold’em game constantly. It looks like you’re at a real poker table and you can make the game go as quickly as you would like. You start off playing in a garage and as you win more tournaments, you move up to bigger and better tournaments…love it. Cost me $4.99 though.

4. iWant Pro- This app takes all the great sites like Yelp and Urbanspoon and helps you find ANYTHING you’re looking for in your area…restaurants, bars, gas stations, banks, taxi cabs…anything. Free.

5. Sex Offenders- This app pulls up all the sex offenders in your area with their photos, address, and crime so you can keep the kids far, far away. This was $1.99 but always a hit at parties.

6. The Weather Channel- Simple app that is much better than the already installed weather app that comes on your phone. Find out the forecast quickly. Free.

7. FindSpecials- Find out all restaurants and bar specials in your area in seconds. It automatically finds your location and tells you all the specials around you….it’s amazing. Free.

8. Google- I like the google app because I can just speak whatever I want to search for on google and it pulls it up as if I was typing it. Free.

9. Alarm Clock- The alarm clock ring options on the iPhone are not that great so this app allows you wake up to any song from your playlist and has a few other options to make waking up in the morning a little easier. Free.

10. Blackjack Free- If I’m ever waiting in a long line at the store then this is my go to app. I play a few games of blackjack and I’m at the front of the line in no time. Free.

Some other applications that I have and like are AllRecipes, Craigsphone, Dictionary, ScoreCenter, Fandango, Frogger, iBeer, Pac-Man, Pandora, PS Mobile (Photo Editor), Yelp, Drinks Free, Open Table, Urbanspoon, Wikipanion, Flashlight, Paper Toss, Kronos Action Bowling, and Kayak.

Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown Band performing together on CMT Crossroads

2009-11-21T09:42:00.003-05:00

CMT announced this week that two of my favorite musical acts, Jimmy Buffett and the Zac Brown Band, will be performing together in Nashville next month as they begin filming for CMT Crossroads. The episode will air next March and they will perform a few of each others songs together. Anyone who listens to the Zac Brown Band can tell that Jimmy Buffett was an influence in some of their song writing over the years with songs like “Where the Boat Leaves From” and Toes”
As someone who has been following the Zac Brown Band from the early days at Dixie Tavern, I can’t wait to see Jimmy Buffett performing some of Zac’s songs and it will be very cool to see the two of them sit down to talk about music, food, and family (I’m guessing that is what they will talk about.) CMT always does a great job with these Crossroads episodes.
Here is a video of the Zac Brown Band perfoming “Devil Went Down to Georgia” at the CMA’s this year….

Atlanta’s Best Blogger

2009-11-09T19:29:00.003-05:00

Well… I’ve got to say that I’m very proud of my wife, Cristi Holcombe, for being named Atlanta’s favorite local blogger by AJC.com for her interior design blog Charm Home. Cristi was the readers choice pick and she thanks EVERYONE for voting for her!Way to go BABY!

Taco Mac Prado

2009-11-04T20:47:00.002-05:00

The new Taco Mac Prado opened tonight which means my bank account will NOT be looking pretty in a few months. I can actually walk there from our condo so its WAY too tempting to go down there and have “just one beer”. I got a sneak peak last night before it officially opened and was very impressed with the VIP room downstairs. I’m still not exactly sure if downstairs is for private parties or what but it is a spectacular room with comfy couches, a bar, flat screen TVs, and only the best beers on tap. You have to go through the kitchen to get to the stairs which leads down to it.

Downstairs was closed tonight so me and Cristi sat at the bar (we may not have been allowed down there anyway if it was open) and was amazed at the 140 beers that they had on tap and 208 different bottled beers. I’ve had 259 different beers on my Taco Mac passport card (or Brewniversity as its called now) so I still have a ways to go.

I happened to recognize two of the top twitter folks in Atlanta at the bar… Atlanta Beer Master and Atlanta Beer (as they are called on twitter). I got a picture with them as you can see at the top of this post and talked to them for a while….GREAT guys.

All in all, Taco Mac Prado definitely has some kinks to work out (as all restaurants do on opening night) but I think its going to be a great addition to Sandy Springs and hope that it is successful.

If you haven’t been to the new Prado lately then DEFINITELY go check it out! 5 Seasons Brewery, Genki, Eros, Fuego Mundo, Kobe Steaks, Yoreka, and Taco Mac are all open now. It’s great to see that this area is becoming popular again.

Favorite Ladies of Music

2009-10-29T23:06:00.002-04:00

I was looking through my iTunes collection today and realized that 95% of my Ipod is made up of guy singers like Johnny Cash, Jimmy Buffett, George Strait, Ray Lamontagne, Alabama, Bill Withers, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, etc.

I don’t have hardly any women singers in there and I think most guys are like me. I guess its just not cool to blast Carrie Underwood or Madonna if you’re a straight dude…period.

With that said, here are some videos of ladies that I think are cool and badass musicians. I admit that I listen to some Miranda Lambert, Dixie Chicks, Ashton Shepherd, Sonia Leigh and Indigo Girls from time to time too…SHHH…don’t tell anybody.

JOAN BAEZ:

BRANDI CARLILE:

JENNIFER NETTLES:

Georgia Theatre Benefit

2009-10-27T19:51:00.002-04:00

The Zac Brown Band will be hosting a benefit show on Friday Night (October 30th) at the Fox Theatre to help rebuild the Georgia Theatre and rumors are running wild on who the “special guests” are going to be. The only confirmed guests are Little Big Town, Joey + Rory, Shawn Mullins. Oliver Wood, Aslyn, and Sonia Leigh but I’ve heard that Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock, and Kellie Pickler may be there too. If fact, Sonia Leigh herself said that she would playing the benefit with Kid Rock and Kellie Pickler on her twitter page back on October 7th.

I can only speculate but considering that Zac is asking $100 per ticket, I know that he’s going to give fans their moneys worth so don’t be surprised if all these musicians make it. He’s good friends with Kid Rock and Kenny Chesney and neither have shows scheduled that night. Tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster and at the Fox Theatre Box Office.

Since you’ve heard all the big names, I’ve posted a video below of two of the other performers…Oliver Wood and Aslyn. I actually took the Aslyn with Zac Brown video below.

OLIVER WOOD

ASLYN WITH ZAC BROWN

Boycott Monster Energy Drink

2009-10-14T22:05:00.002-04:00

I’ve never been a fan of Monster Energy Drink anyway but now I’m totally DISGUSTED at this company for their actions against Rock Art Brewery and Vermonster Beer.

They are totally bullying a small Vermont brewery that has been around for 10 years for trademark infringement….TOTAL BS. Check out this video below and as always…support your local brew!

Luke Bryan’s New CD

2009-10-10T09:18:00.006-04:00

When I was at Georgia Southern, I used to drop my afternoon classes during Spring semester so I could go to the pool every day and play pool volleyball and drink a few cold ones at Bermuda Run. One guy that was there almost every day too was Luke Bryan. At the time, Luke was going to school at GSU and was lead singer of a band called Neyami Road. His band quickly became one of the most popular bands in the area and students (myself included) would pack into a bar called Legends to watch them perform. Luke was a great performer and I always thought he could make it big. A few years after graduating from GSU, Luke moved to Nashville and it wasn’t long before he was signed to Capitol Records. His first album produced a couple top 25 hits including “All My Friends Say” which peaked at #5. He also co-wrote a #1 hit for Billy Currington called “Good Directions”. Luke’s new album "Doin' My Thing" just came out this past week and I can’t stop listening to it...it’s REALLY good. His first single from the album “Do I” has quickly climbed the charts but there are about 3 other songs on the album that I like just as much. I think we’re going to be seeing a lot of Luke Bryan over the next year after this album…great job Luke!
Here is a video of Luke Bryan playing one his new songs called “Drinkin’ Beer and Wastin’ Bullets” by himself….without the band backing him up:

Weekend in Nashville

2009-10-04T20:21:00.004-04:00

I just got back from Nashville today and I’ve got to say that I was blown away at how many talented musicians play there all day, every day. Cristi and I had been wanting to go to Nashville for a while so we cashed in some of her Hilton points and got a free hotel at the Hilton Nashville Downtown which is only a couple blocks away from Broadway and 2nd Avenue. Broadway is the most popular road for live country music with world famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge, Robert’s Western World, Legends Corner, Second Fiddle, The Stage, and many others. 2nd Avenue is another busy street with bars and clubs but we stayed on Broadway for the most part.
One of the many things that I loved about Nashville is that most of the bars had live music all day long. At noon on Saturday, we were watching an incredible band at Legends Corner and then we stepped outside and took 10 steps to Tootsies and listened to another good band. None of the bars on Broadway charged cover either and stayed open until 2AM. To make money, the bands would walk around the bar with a tip jar which seemed odd at first but this was the norm in Nashville. It made us realize how tough it is for these bands to make a living in Nashville but they are all just hoping for that break and they were all extremely talented. Many of the bands would play one bar in the afternoon and then play another bar later that night.
We quickly figured out the most popular cover songs in Nashville too which were Folsom Prison Blues and Save a Horse-Ride A Cowboy….everyone sang those songs. One song that we had never heard but discovered while were there was “Snake Farm” by Tim McDonald (originally recorded by Ray Wylie Hubbard) which I can’t stop singing…just a funny, good song. All in all, we loved Nashville and can’t wait to go back. We even saw a famous musician in our hotel elevator…Little Richard. If you haven’t been to Nashville, book a trip…you will love it!

Atlanta’s Top Musicians

2009-09-18T21:46:00.007-04:00

I’m not sure if people in Atlanta even realize how many country, pop, rock, and hip hop artists from Georgia have become famous in the last few years but the list is impressive. Atlanta has a long history of producing musicians that make it BIG and I don’t think that trend is going to slow down anytime soon with musicians like Ben Deignan, Blackberry Smoke, Corey Smith, Gareth Asher, Nic Cowan, Levi Lowrey, Brantley Gilbert, Heather Luttrell, and Sonia Leigh on the verge of mainstream success.
Here is a list of Georgia musicians from different genres that have made the big time.
COUNTRY: Many of the top country artists from today hail from Georgia including Sugarland, Zac Brown Band, The Lost Trailers, Lady Antebellum, Billy Currington, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bryan. Some other famous country singers from Georgia include Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, Jerry Reed and Mark Wills.
Here is a video of Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland performing in her early days on Channel 11 Peachtree Morning:

HIP HOP: When people from other parts of the country think of the Atlanta music scene, many think of Hip Hop thanks to the “Welcome to Atlanta” song and Atlanta artists like Lil Jon, T.I., T-Pain, OutKast, Ludacris, Bubba Sparxxx, Akon, Bonecrusher, Fonzworth Bentley, DJ Drama, Young Jeezy, Arrested Development, and Yung Joc.
POP: John Mayer got his start at Eddie’s Attic as one half of LoFi Masters with Clay Cook (Clay now plays for the Zac Brown Band). Other pop artists from Atlanta include Shawn Mullins, Indigo Girls (Folk), and Brenda Lee.
ROCK: SO Many to mention…The Black Crowes, Collective Soul, Drivin N Cryin, The Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, Sevendust, The B-52’s, R.E.M., Georgia Satellites, Rehab, Butch Walker, and Black Lips.
R&B: Usher, TLC, India Arie, Kelly Rowland, Ciara, Otis Redding, and Little Richard.
SO, who is Atlanta’s next BIG STAR??? I think it’s Ben Deignan. He’s starting to get a big following in the area and on the internet and I think it’s just a matter of time before we hear him on the radio. Here is video of Ben Deignan performing his local hit “Sexy Black Dress” on Fox 5 Atlanta:

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSICIANS!!

Labor Day in Charleston

2009-09-07T16:51:00.013-04:00

My wife Cristi takes a girls trip every Labor Day so I've started going to Charleston, SC on that weekend to hang out with my buddy Kevin who lives on Daniel Island. A few of my other friends also go and we basically play poker and drink more than we should the first night, watch A LOT of College Football on Saturday, recover on Sunday, and head back to Atlanta on Monday. My favorite part of the trip this year was the recovery day on Sunday. We went to Poe's Tavern for lunch on Sullivan's Island and then headed downtown to just walk around the city. Charleston reminds me alot of Savannah, GA. with the river, bars, restaurants, hotels, old historic homes, and beautiful trees lining the streets. I definitely want to retire to Charleston one day....the history, beaches, downtown, great outdoor restaurants and incredible weather just make it the perfect place to retire in my mind and luckily my wife agrees. This is definitely the "calm" version of the weekend. I have some good drunk video but I'm not going to post that...yet.

Craft Beer in Atlanta

2009-08-30T19:26:00.006-04:00

We were going to go rafting down the Chattahoochee today and needed some canned beers to take down the river with us since bottles are not allowed. Since Georgia laws won’t allow us to buy beer on Sunday, we had to go to Green’s Beverage yesterday so I could get Young’s Double Chocolate Stout in a can (If I’m going to drink out of a can then I want a decent beer). ANYWAY, I loved the huge selection of beers at Green’s and it got me thinking of the best places to buy and enjoy craft beer in Atlanta. Here are my picks based on the huge variety of craft beer sold at these places:
Best Craft Beer Stores in Atlanta

Best Craft Beer Bars in Atlanta

The Brick Store Pub
The Porter Beer Bar
Taco Mac
Five Seasons Brewing (for their own brews)
Charlie Mopps
Summits Wayside Tavern

Clay Cook plays Eddie's Attic on September 8th

2009-08-26T20:03:00.008-04:00

The one night Clay Cook returns to Eddie’s Attic is the only night of the year that I have my fantasy football draft….OF COURSE! I’ve mentioned Clay a few times on my blog but he’s got to be considered one of the best songwriters and musicians in Atlanta and very few people put on a better acoustic performance. Clay is notorious for convincing John Mayer to move to Atlanta after attending Berklee College of Music together in Boston. They became the duo, Lo-Fi Masters, but eventually broke up right before Mayer made it big. Clay co-wrote many of Mayer’s early hits including No Such Thing, Neon, and my personal favorite…Comfortable. Clay is now a full time member of the Zac Brown Band after playing with the Marshall Tucker Band for a few years and occasionally plays with Shawn Mullins. Apparently, he still finds time to write and record many of his own songs since I hear he’s wrapping up a new album of his own. It’s always a special occasion when he returns to Eddie’s Attic and I highly recommend that you try and make it out to see him if you have the opportunity. He’ll be playing from 8-11PM. Here is a video of Clay playing guitar (about 6 minutes in) with the Zac Brown Band at Bonnaroo this year:

Fall of Envy

2009-08-24T10:29:00.004-04:00

When I first moved to Orlando in 2005, I didn’t know anyone outside of work down there except for an old college buddy, Tom Harrington, who had been living there for a few years. Tom and his brother Greg had just sold their pool business a few months before and were playing in a new band that would eventually become Fall of Envy. I hung out with Tom and Greg probably a handful of times in the year that I was down there and each time was memorable and definitely some of the best times I had while I was there. The reason I mention all of this is because Tom and Greg have been on my mind a lot over the last 3 weeks. On August 1st, Greg tragically passed away. I’m not going to go into the specifics surrounding his death but I am deeply saddened for his family, friends, and fans. Greg was one of the most fun, sincere, hilarious, and charming guys I ever met. Tom posted a touching blog here about his brother and the future of Fall of Envy. Below is a tribute video to Greg that I found on You Tube. The song was written by Greg and is called “Far From Here.”

Shoot The Hooch

2009-08-23T18:09:00.006-04:00

A group of my old college friends and I used to rent rafts and “Shoot the Hooch” every summer until they shut down the operation in 2002 because of pollution in the Chattahoochee River. They re-opened it a few years later but we just never picked the tradition back up again. I mentioned this to Cristi a few weeks ago and we decided that we wanted to go on a nice weekend but were surprised that Shoot the Hooch was charging $25 a person to rent a raft at their Atlanta locations when you can rent a tube for $5 at Cool River Tubing Company in Helen, GA. After a little research, we found out that Shoot the Hooch is a total rip-off and you can rent tubes from other places in Atlanta for much less. We went to a place called $10 River Tubing off of Abbotts Bridge Rd. this weekend and did the 2 hour trip for just $10 a person. We had a BLAST and highly recommend it. We’re going to do the 4 hour trip next time. The website for more information is http://www.gorivertubing.com/

Charm Home

2009-08-22T14:41:00.004-04:00

My wife, Cristi Holcombe, has started her own design company called Charm Home Design. Charm Home offers a wide variety of interior design services catered to each and every client. Whether you are in need of a little guidance or a complete design plan, Charm can help you out every step of the way. Charm provides clients with custom color selection, space planning, furniture and accessory selection, bedding and drapery design, home staging, and model home design. Check out her website at http://www.charmhomedesign.com/ or you can follow her blog at http://www.charmhome.blogspot.com/

Sweetwater Brewery Tours

2009-08-15T08:46:00.008-04:00

There are so many things to do and see in Atlanta but one of my favorites is the Sweetwater Brewery Tour...eventhough I don't go on the actual tour. For the last couple years, Sweetwater has opened their doors to the brewery every Wednesday through Friday from 5:30- 7:30PM so people can sample beers and take a tour of the operation. For $8, you get a Sweetwater glass (that you can keep at the end of the night) and 6 beer tickets to sample the various Sweetwater classics like Sweetwater 420, IPA, Blue, Georgia Brown, and Motor Boat. They give two tours of the brewery during the 2 hour period but many people just stay in the tasting room or outside on the patio and drink. They have lots of bars set up and a band is usually playing outside. Sweetwater recently added Saturday Tours from 2:30- 4:30 as well. You can check out more details about the bewery tour and directions at http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/

Amazing Sand Art

2009-08-13T07:57:00.000-04:00

Kseniya Simonova is an extremely talented artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent". You have to check out this video...wow!

Atlanta Falcons 2009

2009-08-11T08:14:00.000-04:00

The Atlanta Falcons signed the best tight end in the history of the NFL this off season but no one in Atlanta seems too excited about it. As an Atlanta native, I've got to say that this is one of many things that drives me crazy about our local sports fans. We never seem to get excited about anything until one of our teams makes the playoffs then people come out of the woodwork in support.

Well, I'm thrilled over the off season moves and believe the Falcons have the opportunity to be much better and go deep in the playoffs IF they can overcome the difficult schedule. The Falcons have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this year (Ranked # 4 most difficult by ESPN) and that can wear on a team when they are playing guys that aren't as beat up and worn out. If Matt Ryan can avoid a sophomore slump, Michael Turner continues to run well, Tony Gonzalez plays like Tony Gonzalez, and the defense steps up then there is no reason that they shouldn't be back in the playoffs. We'll see...

Gator Fans Wear Jeans Shorts

2009-08-01T09:06:00.004-04:00

As a Georgia Football fan, it never gets old making fun of Florida fans for wearing jean shorts. I know they have kicked our butt A LOT over the last 10 years but this statement always seems to get under their skin. With football season approaching and the Gators picked to be #1 again this season with Tim Tebow leading the way, I guess this is the only retaliation that we're going to have....unfortunately.

Hilarious Wedding Entrance Video

2009-07-26T08:44:00.002-04:00

I just saw this hilarious wedding entrance video a few days ago and had to share. I want to be friends with these people....too much fun...

Flody Boatwood Debuts in "Toes" Video

2009-07-07T20:20:00.007-04:00

The Zac Brown band just released their new single "Toes". Flody Boatwood, who made his first appearance alongside the band on the CMT Awards, is featured in the video. Kid Rock makes an appearance at the end. Hilarious video and great footage of Lake Lanier. (Photo by Jeffrey Skillings)

Put Chad Elkins on ABC's WIPEOUT

2009-07-06T18:21:00.002-04:00

My friend Chad Elkins needs 10,000 people to join his Facebook group to get on ABC's new hit show, Wipeout. Watch the video below and join his group at http://www.wipeoutchad.com

Zac Brown Band and Shawn Mullins Perform Together

2009-07-02T18:11:00.010-04:00

I'm constantly looking for good music on You Tube and here is a video of two of my favorite Atlanta musicians, Zac Brown and Shawn Mullins, playing together. I've heard Zac in interviews say that he knew he wanted to play music professionally after he saw Mullins play when he was 15 so this had to be a cool experience for him. Below that video is another one of the Zac Brown Band performing with legendary songwriter Darrell Scott on the 2009 Cayamo Cruise....a guy everyone in the band admires and a song that they cover in concert. I would have loved to been on this cruise.

Kermit & Bob at Lake Allatoona

2009-05-19T21:14:00.012-04:00

When I was in college at Georgia Southern University, I must have watched Kermit & Bob perform 100 or more times at Buffalo's Cafe. They brought a lot of enjoyment to our lives during those times with fun drinking songs that Kermit made up...sometimes on the spot. Almost anyone who has graduated from GSU in the past 20 years (or flunked out) has witnessed a Kermit & Bob show and probably had a drink or many to "1,2,3....turn it up." SO, me and my close friends from school were very excited to see them play at our good friend Tonya's surprise birthday party on Lake Allatoona this past weekend. Well, not long into their 2nd set at the lake, Bob fell in the lake with his guitar plugged in and strapped to him. It was an eventful night to say the least but good fun. Here is some video that I took of the night.

One Year Anniversary

2009-05-17T22:07:00.003-04:00

Me and Cristi celebrated our one year anniversary a few weeks ago in Cancun but today is officially our anniversary. We went to dinner at one of our top 3 favorite restaurants in Atlanta, CHOPS, and it was delicious as usual. I can't believe it's been a year already. I'm a lucky man to have such an incredible wife and have no complaints about marriage...only blessings. We both ate a slice of our one year old wedding cake and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would taste. The caterer had left the flowers on the cake though when she packed it after our wedding so there were old dead flowers on the top...who would do that??

No Swine Flu In Cancun

2009-05-03T12:51:00.005-04:00

Okay, I guess there were a few cases of the Swine Flu in Cancun but we tried to ignore it while we were there last week and just have a good time and relax. Cancun was beautiful...I've never seen water so blue in my life and I thought I had seen some clear water in the Bahamas, Key West, and St. Lucia. I realized this trip that I'm getting old and prefer relaxation over complete drunkeness but definitely still enjoyed a few drinks...nothing crazy. My biggest surprise of the trip was that the mexican restaurants don't serve queso dip and had NO CLUE what it even was. Milk is different over there too...they don't even refrigerate it, it's just in cartons on the store shelves and doesn't taste like milk. Our plan of just eating cereal for breakfast after we got tired of spending $50 for breakfast every morning at our hotel didn't work out too well. Anyway, here is a video recap of our trip below whenever I felt like videotaping.

Karaoke in Atlanta

2009-04-19T14:52:00.005-04:00

Every once in a while, Cristi and I get an itch for some good old fashioned karaoke. A good karaoke bar is hard to find and we ended up in Roswell, GA Friday Night at the Brunswick Bowling Alley where they have karaoke. It's a sad sight in there and not a place that I like to admit ever going to but we did. Below is a video compilation of the characters that were there singing karaoke and dancing...

Flip Video

2009-04-10T16:48:00.002-04:00

I just discovered the "Flip Video" thanks to a friend and cannot believe how awesome it is! For only $120, the Flip Video takes the perfect clear video for uploading to You Tube, Facebook, emailing to friends, etc. It has a USB attached to the side and a built in memory card that takes up to 60 minutes of video so you can easily attach it to the computer and upload videos quickly without having to worry about keeping up with a bunch of cords and such. Get a Flip Video, you will love it!

Braves Future

2009-04-07T08:01:00.003-04:00

I'm excited about the future of the Atlanta Braves. Our young guys like Tommy Hanson and Jordan Schafer are simply bad ass and look like they are going to contribute quickly! Schafer hit a homerun in his first major league at bat on Sunday and no one in the minors can touch Tommy Hanson. The only reason Hanson is in the minors is because the Braves need a left handed starter in Tom Glavine and there is some loyalty there. We all know Glavine is going to get drilled with his 78MPH fastball or will get hurt so Hanson will be in the majors soon enough.

Julianne Hough?

2009-04-06T16:35:00.002-04:00

Sure, she's good to look at but there is no way Julianne Hough deserved to win the ACM for Top New Country Artist over Jake Owen and the Zac Brown Band last night. She is horrible and only won because of her appearances on "Dancing with the Stars." She had already beaten out Ashton Shepherd for Top New Country Female Artist to move on to compete against Jake Owen and Zac Brown Band which was a disappointment too. Ashton Shepherd was robbed. Oh well, time will tell who the best really is so I guess it doesn't matter.

Carolina in My Mind

2009-03-10T21:23:00.010-04:00

On our way to Hilton Head this weekend, we were listening to James Taylor and I realized that I've never really known if his song "Carolina in My Mind" was about South Carolina or North Carolina. I guess it doesn't matter...but since you're probably wondering now too...it's North Carolina. He grew up there. Anyway, I've made a few trips to Hilton Head over the years since it was so close to Georgia Southern but the drive from Atlanta was longer than I thought. I was just glad that we had a hotel room waiting on us...the last time I was in Hilton Head was with Casey Murray in college and we were your typical poor college students with just enough money for beer but not enough money for a room so we slept on the pool chairs that night next to the tiki hut. I know that's sad but it was kind of fun looking back on it. Hilton Head was beautiful as always and I always get excited when I see palm trees. Palm trees are the one thing I miss about living in Florida. Hilton Head was unusually slow and it seemed like people may not go there as much anymore but it is still the off season (barely) and we all know the economy sucks. We were only there for one full day and spent it laying out getting burned, drinking some cold ones at the tiki hut, and going to a nice dinner with friends. All in all, it was a good weekend getaway. Next trip...Cancun at the end of April.

By the way, "Carolina Girls" by General Johnson is another song that may make you wonder if they are talking about NC or SC. I did a little research and both states seem to claim this song and the band said that it's about southern girls from both of these states. Definitely one of the best beach music songs of all time.

Operation Boot Camp

2009-02-21T10:11:00.003-05:00

I got up at 6AM today to go to Operation Boot Camp. That's not how I usually like to start a Saturday but I have to admit that I had a blast and got the best workout of my life. I've been trying to promote one of my apartment complexes that I work on(Rockledge: A Residential Resort) to outdoor groups and fitness people in general since we're located on the Chattahoochee River and have running & walking trails, 7 swimming pools, tennis courts, etc. I basically just worked out with everyone this morning then handed out Rockledge water bottles and bags to all the attendees and told them about Rockledge. It was great but I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Now that I worked out this morning, I won't feel bad for drinking lots of beer at Oysterfest today!

Hal's on Old Ivy

2009-02-14T23:31:00.001-05:00

Cristi and I had an incredible Valentine's Day dinner tonight at Hal's on Old Ivy in Buckhead. It was voted "best steak in Atlanta" this year by the AJC (readers pick) and Cristi likes it better than Bones and Chops. After tonight, I think I agree with her and the AJC readers. We both got a 12 oz. filet and you would have thought that I was in an eating contest as fast as I was devouring it...it was SO good. The atmosphere is great too...it's upscale but doesn't have that stuffy feel that some restaurants have. We had a great time and can't wait to go back!

Zac Brown Band and Ashton Shepherd Nominated

2009-02-11T22:02:00.004-05:00

I like all kinds of music but it seems like I've been listening to country music more than ever this past year thanks to musicians like the Zac Brown Band, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, and an up and coming real country girl named Ashton Shepherd. I was pleased to see that all of these musicians were nominated for awards at the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards announced today. Zac and his band were nominated as the Top New Vocal Duo or Group and Ashton Shepherd was nominated for Top New Female Vocalist. It's great to see these artists get the recognition they deserve. If you are not familiar with Ashton Shepherd then check her out below. She is real country...

UPDATE: Zac Brown Band won the award for top new vocal duo or group. Ashton Shepherd lost to Julianne Hough for top new female artist.

Pat Green

2009-02-01T23:04:00.003-05:00

A few friends came down from Tennessee yesterday to go to the Pat Green concert with us at Wild Bill's. We've gone to Wild Bill's twice in the past month just because they have been getting good bands lately. I used to be a big fan of Pat Green before he was signed by Nashville but it seemed like his music changed once he got signed and I haven't been as big of a fan lately. I've got to say though....he put on a badass show last night. He played all of his old classics. We got a table this time which was much better than standing on the dance floor with 1,000 other people. We didn't have to fight the crowd to get out or get back everytime we needed to get a drink or go to the bathroom. Me and Brock had gone to Taco Mac earlier in the day to test out a few high gravity beers while the girls were out shopping so I was already feeling pretty good by the time we showed up. I didn't feel too good this morning but we went to J. Christopher's for breakfast which made me feel a little better. I always thought that place was kind of fancy for a breakfast place but it was really good.

Day Labor in Sandy Springs

2009-01-29T00:55:00.000-05:00

I love living in Sandy Springs but I don't understand this city sometimes. City officials are very concerned over the image of Sandy Springs and are overly strict about things like the city sign ordinance but they allow over 100 day laborers to stand on the corner of Roswell Rd and 285 soliciting construction work every day. It looks horrible and I can't even pull into the gas station over there without someone trying to jump in my Jeep. It seems like Sandy Springs would change their priorities but this has been going on for almost 10 years now before Sandy Springs was even a city. With the economy being as bad as it is though I guess we have to try and make light of the situation and I thought this video below was absolutely hilarious and relates to the whole day labor thing.

Lazy Day

2009-01-25T20:50:00.003-05:00

I was bored today and wanted to figure out how to use my video editing program so I made a slideshow of our wedding with our first dance song "First Dance by Corey Smith" playing in the background. I guess I could have put together something a little more manly but slideshows are gay no matter what you put on them....

Inauguration

2009-01-21T23:49:00.000-05:00

Now that Barack Obama is our new president, let's look back on George W's top 10 funniest moments of his presidency. This is one of the funniest videos I've ever seen:

Why am I blogging about a dentist?

2009-01-15T16:13:00.001-05:00

Since when did going to the dentist become a good experience? I went to Dental TLC in Sandy Springs and actually kind of enjoyed going to the dentist today. I know that sounds crazy but they go above and beyond to make it a unique and great experience. First of all, the lobby doesn't feel like a dentist office. They have a flat screen TV, young friendly staff, good music like Jack Johnson playing overhead and it just feels laid back and relaxed. It gets better when you're taken back to get your teeth cleaned. They offer you two remotes, one controls the flat screen TV and one controls the massage chair you're sitting in. Once I turned it on Sportscenter, they asked me if I wanted free laughing gas. I said of course, give me the max! They hooked up my laughing gas and then gave me headphones so that I could hear the TV once they started working on my teeth. Just as I thought that I wasn't going to be able to see the TV since they were laying me back so far, I realized that they had a TV on the same channel in the ceiling. I'm not kidding! I hardly even noticed the cleaning between Sportscenter and the laughing gas.

Brick Store Pub

2009-01-11T00:38:00.002-05:00

Cristi and I decided to go to Brick Store Pub in Decatur today. I had been wanting to go for a while and was stoked to check it out and try some new beers. We got down there around 3PM and I expected the place to be dead since it wasn't really lunch or dinner time. I was surprised when we walked in to see that the place was actually packed and we couldn't even get a table. We made our way to the bar and two people just happened to be getting up as we approached...yeah! I prefer the bar over a table anytime and luckily Cristi doesn't mind the bar either. The beer menu was amazing. They don't even serve beers like Budweiser, Miller Lite, etc. The beers are either Belgian beers or microbrews from around the country for the most part...AHHH, my favorite. I've got to say, I loved this place. I felt like I was in a different country and the bartenders were very friendly and knowledgeable of all the beers. I can't wait to go back again but the place is far from our condo.

Time to Celebrate!

2009-01-07T22:57:00.001-05:00

I got a new job today so we went to 5 Seasons Brewery to celebrate! I had forgotten how great that place is but can literally walk to it from our condo. Kevin McNerney, founder of Sweetwater Brewing Company, left Sweetwater towards then end of 2008 and is now the head brewmaster at 5 Seasons. I tried one of his first original brews as the head brewmaster tonight and it was incredible! It's called a Hopgasm and it gave me a hopgasm for sure. I'll be returning soon for more.

Playoffs?

2009-01-04T01:40:00.000-05:00

The Atlanta Falcons definitely played better than I expected this year. It's incredible that they were able to go 11-5 and make the playoffs with a rookie QB, coach and GM. SO, we picked up some Buffalo Wings at $3 Dollar Cafe and headed over to the Garrison's today to watch the first playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals. A minute into the game, a cable outage in the area occured (seriously!) so we missed the whole first quarter. The three of us guys decided to go up to Twisted Taco just around the corner to watch the game and the girls said they would call us once cable came back on. The Twisted Taco on Holcomb Bridge turned out to be a great place to watch the game with a great beer selection and lots of TV's. The girls called us in the 3rd quarter to tell us the game was on so we left and picked up a couple pizza's at Laura's Pizza (Fantastic by the way) and went back to the Garrison's. The Falcons looked bad and we lost but who can really complain?? It's amazing that we did as well we did this year so I'm not too bummed. Now I just hope we're able to keep all of our good players and pick up a few new ones in the off-season and during the draft.

Zac Brown Band Concert at Wild Bill's

2009-01-03T00:41:00.003-05:00

It's no secret that I'm a big Zac Brown Band fan and was definitely excited about going to see them play tonight at Wild Bill's. Me and Cristi used to go see them play all the time before they made it big but it's probably been close to a year now. Our friend Mitch rode with us and realized that he had forgotten his ticket back at our place so I had to turn around and go back. Luckily we weren't too far away when he realized it or he may have had to buy another ticket :)

We all met my mom and step-dad for dinner before the concert at Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse. I had made them a Zac Brown CD a few months ago and they have become fans and decided to go with us. Dinner was horrible and we got to the concert way early but it was fun just spending time with family, having a few drinks, and listening to music. The beer tub girl did try to rip me off though by giving me back the wrong change. She said it was a mistake but I'm not too sure. Anyway, Cristi and I were excited to see that Sonia Leigh was the opening act. She is a great song-writer and we used to go see her play a lot as well. She was great as usual. Zac came on at about 10:30PM and the band just rocked! Clay Cook played with the band for the first time (without even ever rehearsing with them) and was awesome. The place was sold out and extremely crowded (couldn't go to the bathroom and get back) but we still had a blast. Here is a video that I took at the concert below...

Gatlinburg at Christmas

2008-12-21T22:31:00.001-05:00

Cristi's Dad lives in Pigeon Forge and we went up there this weekend to celebrate Christmas a little early with him. I've been up there a few times with Cristi but this trip was supposed to be a little different because we were going to Dollywood... seriously! It ended up raining both Friday and Saturday night though so we just went to the Smoky Mountain Brewery in Gatlinburg instead, a great compromise. I must say, I've NEVER seen Christmas lights like they have in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. It was AMAZING. Gatlinburg is definitely....redneck....but we will be taking our kids (once we're ready to have them) to see the lights at Christmas one day.

New Auburn Head Coach Hilarity

2008-12-15T19:11:00.001-05:00

Being a Georgia fan, I should be happy that Auburn made the worst coaching choice in the history of college football by naming Gene Chizik the new coach. In all honesty though, a lot of Cristi's family went to Auburn and I've grown to pull for them on occasion when Georgia isn't playing them. I just can't understand the decision at all but I do find hilarity in the situation. First, the whole program lies about Tommy Tuberville resigning instead of being fired to stay in the good graces of MANY high wealth alumni who liked Tuberville even when Tuberville's mom even admits that he was fired. THEN, they go and sign one of the worst football coaches in terms of win-loss record (5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State) in Gene Chizik. In a time where alumni donations are already down because of the sinking economy, a decision like this could cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars from Alumni. Not to mention that their rival (University of Alabama) is one of the hottest teams in College Football, has maybe the best coach, and already had a huge leg up on Auburn when it came to recruiting. Why would a good recruit with options to play at other schools go to Auburn in a time like this? Most won't. Better Auburn than Georgia though!! Below is the video of Auburn's Athletic Director getting off the plane after meeting with Gene Chizik...hilarious!!

Marta is not Smarta

2008-12-07T02:44:00.001-05:00

I had a ticket to the SEC Championship Game today at the Georgia Dome... #1 Alabama vs. #4 Florida in one of the best matchups of the year. The problem with any sporting event in Atlanta though is traffic and parking. I was meeting an old vendor of mine who gave me the ticket and some other people at Legal Seafood before the game and then we were going to walk over to the Georgia Dome after lunch. Although I've told myself the last 5 times that I've taken Marta that "This will be the last time that I ever take Marta", I somehow forget how awful the experience really is and do it anyway thinking that it will be easier, quicker, and cheaper. It was only cheaper..definitely not easier or quicker. For some reason, it seems like Marta has less trains running during big events instead of more and I waited almost 15 minutes in the cold Lindbergh station before the train arrived. I then had to take the train to Little 5 Points to transfer which meant waiting in the worst train station in Atlanta for another 10 minutes. Once I finally arrived at the Dome, it took a little while to walk down to Legal Seafood. In all, it took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to a place that's only 20 minutes from my house. Coming back was much worse but I'll spare you the details. The one cool thing was that Vince Dooley was on my train coming back. The game was INCREDIBLE but I think I'm officially done with taking Marta to any events.

Total Wine & More

2008-12-04T14:39:00.001-05:00

I was over at PetSmart yesterday picking up some dog food and noticed that Total Wine & More had just opened up next door. I decided to go in and check it out and was pleasantly surprised to find the BEST BEER SELECTION that I have ever seen. I used to only drink Miller Lite in college but then I joined the passport club at Taco Mac and began trying different beers and have admittedly become kind of a beer snob. I love micro brews from California and Colorado and it's actually hard for me to even drink Miller Lite anymore which may surprise my college friends. Anyway, this place allows you to make your own 6 pack out of the 300 or more beers that they sell and they even have the beer ranking from beeradvocate.com listed on the price label...one of my favorite websites where serious beer drinkers rate and reviews beers from all around the world. To give you an idea, I've never even heard of over half the beers in the top 100 but when I find one it's usually heaven in a bottle. I could go on forever but to make a long story short, I selected the following 6 beers... RJ Rockers Patriot Pale (SC), Great Divide Saint Bridget's Porter (CA), Mojo India Pale Ale (C0), Butte Creek Organic Porter (CA), Left Hand Imperial Stout (C0), and Left Hand Blackjack Porter (C0). I think you can find all of these beers at Taco Mac but it's nice to be able to enjoy them at home and at a much cheaper price. I think this will become one of my favorite weekend stops.

Clay Cook joining the Zac Brown Band

2008-12-03T19:42:00.003-05:00

In one of my first blogs ever, I mentioned I was digging Clay Cook's music. Unless you are into the local music scene then you may have never heard of Clay but he is one of the most incredible musicians in Atlanta and has played with Sugarland, Shawn Mullins, The Marshall Tucker Band, and co-wrote many songs for John Mayer including Comfortable, No Such Thing, and Neon. He also just released his own album recently in which he wrote every song and played EVERY instrument on the album. WELL, Clay just announced on his blog that he is leaving the Marshall Tucker Band after the new year and will be joining my favorite local band turned HUGE Country Band, the Zac Brown Band. The Zac Brown Band currently has the # 1 Country single in the land for the 2nd straight week and the # 2 Country album behind Taylor Swift (which I predicted would happen a few weeks ago on this blog). I'm not sure what instrument he will be playing with the ZBB since he plays everything but I assume it will be Bass/ Guitar. Clay adds a lot to this band...an additional song writer, incredible back up vocals, and even more musical creativity. It doesn't hurt that he has his own studio too.

Here is Clay's wikipedia page and I've added a video of "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band at the bottom:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Cook

Bone's

2008-11-21T10:51:00.000-05:00

We had dinner at Bone's last night for Cristi's birthday. This is one of our favorite restaurants in Atlanta and their service and food is always incredible. When I made reservations on opentable.com, I mentioned that it was Cristi's birthday under the comments sections. Some restaurant might not pay attention to these comments but Bone's definitely reads it. We arrived about 30 minutes early and went to the bar. The nice bartender asked if we were having dinner in the dining room that night and if so then he could just put the drinks on that tab. I told him the reservation was under Holcombe and he came back a few seconds later with our drinks and told Cristi "Happy Birthday Mrs. Holcombe" without me mentioning it to him. Ahh, I love Bone's...they take service to a new level. A few minutes later, I decided to go ahead and let the maitre d know that we were at the restaurant. He said that they were ready for us as soon as we were ready. I went back to the bar and got Cristi and headed back to the Maitre d stand. The Maitre d welcomed Cristi with a "Happy Birthday Mrs. Holcombe" and walked us to a private table in the wine cellar area of the restautant. When we arrived to the table, it was decorated for Cristi's birthday and the waiter soon came over and also told her Happy Birthday. This may not seem like a big deal but it's amazing how something as little as that can mean so much and make you feel special. The dinner was UNBELIEVABLE as usual. We both got Filet's. They always win the award for "best steak" in Atlanta . I actually think Chops has the best steak but vote Bone's a close 2nd followed by Hal's. However, Bone's service is superior to all Atlanta restaurants in my book. Anyway, back to the story. After fininshing our meal, Bone's capped off the night off with a birthday ice cream cake that was awesome. We left stuffed and happy. I highly recommend Bone's for a a nice dinner. It will run you somewhere between $100- $200 for 2 people but worth it.

Good Music

2008-11-16T08:06:00.001-05:00

It seems like all good music these days come from people that aren't even on the radio. Guys like Ray Lamontagne and Amos Lee have huge followings and are incredible musicians but radio just doesn't play them because their genre is hard to describe and their music doesn't sound like every other song on the radio. Even top selling musicians like Jimmy Buffett and Jack Johnson never got radio play for years because their sound was different. I will never understand record labels and radio stations so I spend hours finding good music online since I can't find it on the radio. As many of you know, I'm a big fan of the Zac Brown Band and glad that they finally got signed and radio is playing them. Their song, Chicken Fried, is a good example of record labels and radio not having a clue. Zac has been playing this song for 8 years and FINALLY they get signed and this song is now the # 3 song on the billboard country charts. This is definitely their most radio friendly song but not even close to their best one in my opinion. Anyway, the whole point of this blog was to tell you to check out Ray Lamontagne and Amos Lee if you have never been fortunate enough to hear their music. They have been around but it always surprises me that people don't really know them. On John Mayer's blog, he says that Ray Lamontagne "is as brilliant as any artist that has ever lived." A VIDEO OF RAY LAMONTAGNE PERFORMING WITH DAMIEN RICE IS INSERTED BELOW.

Phone Stolen

2008-11-14T01:56:00.000-05:00

I went to go work out today at LA Fitness. As I was getting out of my jeep, I decided to lock up my phone and wallet in my glove compartment since I didn't have pockets or a lock for the lockers at the gym. I never leave my Jeep locked since someone could just slash my windows open easily (or actually unzip them from the outside) but I do have a lock on my glove compartment so I throw things in there sometimes. As I'm locking my wallet and phone in the glove compartment, I think to myself that maybe I should just take them with me but decide that it's safe. I go workout for about and hour and then head back out to my jeep. As soon as I open my driver side door, I see that the glove compartment is busted open and my wallet is laying on the floor. I pick up my wallet and see that all of my cards, license, and everything is still in there (luckily I had no cash). I look in the glove compartment for my phone and of course it's gone. The worse part of this is that I had just gotten this phone YESTERDAY because I got laid off on Tuesday and had to give my old phone back to my former company. I had spent all night typing in email addresses and phone numbers because my SIM card did not transfer the info properly. SO, I go in LA Fitness and tell them what happened and they call the police. The guy at the counter tells me that they have mini lockers at the front that I could lock my stuff in for free....GREAT, glad I know now. I ask him if I can use his phone but realize that I don't even know any of Cristi's phone numbers. About 10 minutes later, the police show up and tell me that break ins used to be a big problem at LA Fitness but they had slowed down recently. They write up a police report and I head over to AT&T to get a new cell phone. As luck would have it, I didn't have insurance on my phone and since I had just signed a 2 year contract the day before to get my phone at a discounted price, I would now have to pay full price to get a new phone since I couldn't sign a new contract. Just to recap my week so far, I got laid off on Tuesday and have my car broken into on Thursday and am wasting much needed money on stupid cell phones. The week can only get better, right?

Fall Classic/ Buffalo Wings/ Halloween

2008-11-02T17:33:00.001-05:00

I won the Holcombe/ Hollenbeck Cup yesterday! It was close for the first 9 holes but Kevin hit it in the water 3 times on hole # 10 which pretty much sealed the victory for me. The weather was perfect and we headed to lunch at my favorite wing place...Wild Wing Cafe..for wings and football. The Jalapeno Cheddar Wings are unbelievable and I always order too many so I can take some home. After lunch, I went home to watch the Georgia- Florida game which was very disappointing. Mark Richt is a great coach but offensive coordinator Mike Bobo should be fired for some of the play calls he made in this game. I stopped watching in the 3rd quarter and me, Cristi, and Stephanie got in our costumes for Don's halloween party. I didn't have any beer so I had to go to Kroger in my full costume (70's Basketball player with a curly fro and headband). No one paid me much attention which was fine but there were a group of mexicans staring at me like I was a fool. Don's halloween party was fun as usual. Any night that ends at the McDonald's drive-thru at 2AM in the morning is usually a fun night.

Zac Brown Band Signed by Atlantic Records

2008-10-29T22:25:00.001-04:00

I should probably work for the Zac Brown Band as much as I promote them. I started following their music a few years ago when they were playing small bars around Atlanta like Dixie Tavern and Wild Wing Cafe. They would always put on an incredible live show and I would drag anyone that would go with me to their concerts. In the last year, they have really started to make it big and just got signed by Atlantic Records today http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003880832. If you haven't heard of them, check out their website at http://www.zacbrownband.com.

Yuengling Comes to Georgia

2008-10-27T23:32:00.000-04:00

I was introduced to Yuengling beer a few years ago when I lived in Florida and loved it! Yuengling is America's Old Brewery but we haven't been able to get it in Georgia until NOW! They just started shipping here at the end of this month and it's starting to arrive which means that Cristi no longer has to stop in Tennessee and Alabama for me to get Yuengling on our trips back from her parents house. It's available at Taco Mac and some liquor stores and should be everywhere by the middle of next month. Thanks to the guys at http://www.bringyuenglingtogeorgia.com/ for all your work in making this happen :) Here is an article about it below...can you tell I'm excited?

http://onlineathens.com/stories/102208/liv_346888709.shtml

Fall Classic

2008-10-27T23:07:00.001-04:00

This Saturday will be the 12th year of the Holcombe/ Hollenbeck Fall Classic Golf Tournament. The tournament was founded after Kevin Hollenbeck mentioned nonchlantly in conversation that he usually beat me in golf and we began arguing and finally agreed that we would play each other in what we dubbed "The Fall Classic" to settle it. After a few drinks, we decided that winner would get a trophy that was actually a big beer mug engraved with the writing "The Fall Classic Holcombe/ Hollenbeck Cup." In a grueling match that fall day back in 1997 (I was only 20 years old), I beat Kevin and was awarded the cup. We have gone on to play this tournament every year since then (except for one year that we were too hungover to play or something like that) and I'm undefeated (10-0). Our friends will be pulling for Kevin this weekend as they always seem to pull for the underdog but I still think I will take him...I'll let you know on Sunday. The photo of our trophy is above.

Nice Little Saturday

2008-10-26T01:44:00.001-04:00

Costco has great deals on tires but you DON'T need to get there 30 minutes before they open on Saturday like the front desk guy told me last week. I got there at 8:30 this morning and was the only one in line until about a minute before the place opened but atleast I was out of there quick and me and Cristi had time to go to Old Hickory House for breakfast before our 10AM appointment at Massage Envy. We are members at Massage Envy which means that I get a one hour massage for $49/ month and Cristi gets one for $39/ month (not sure how that's fair). There are definitely better places that you can get a massage but we've been going for about a year and know all the massage therapists so we request the best ones and it's a great deal. Mine today told me to drink plenty of water as they always do but I knew I would be drinking plenty of beer instead at Taco Mac for the Georgia game. Georgia played well today but I'm worried about the Florida game next week. Even though our defense intercepted a few and ran back some touchdowns, LSU moved the ball pretty well against Georgia as Alabama did a few weeks ago and Florida has a better offense than both of them. On offense, Matthew Stafford still overthrows the ball way too often but I guess he makes up for it at other times. The game next week is going to be good one...

10 Degrees South

2008-10-25T01:58:00.000-04:00

We stopped by 10 Degrees South on Roswell Rd after dinner tonight to hear this guy Dwight Raby play a few songs. If you've never been to 10 Degrees South, it's a South African restaurant with a great bar scene if you are good looking, single and rich and still fun to people watch if you're married and none of the above like me. I was definitely the least cool of the guys in the place. Anyway, Cristi and I went to see Dwight play because we used to see him up at Cheesburger in Paradise and he would always play Zac Brown songs that we requested and was just a nice guy. Dwight ended up not being there for some reason but they still had live music and the guy playing was great. Our table was near the mic and the guy playing asked us if we had any requests. I looked down at his guitar case to get an idea of the kind of music he liked because he had stickers of bands all over it and to my surprise, he had a Zac Brown Band sticker. I asked him if he could play a Zac song and he said that he was good friends with Zac and ended up playing "Chicken Fried." This was a good end to the week.

Miller's Ale House

2008-10-24T02:31:00.001-04:00

Cristi and I met her boss and his wife at Miller's Ale House in Alpharetta tonight for the Auburn- West Virginia game. Cristi's family went to Auburn and she is a big fan even though she went to East Tennessee State. Her boss went to West Virginia. I'm not a fan of either team but I AM A BIG FAN of the Ale House since I lived in Florida for a little while and Ale House is THE Sports Bar down there. Their Zingers rock and they have great beer specials and lots of TVs. I still prefer Taco Mac and will spend more money for good beers there but this is a good spot for a change. Anyway, we stayed out past our normal 10PM bedtime (man, we're getting old) so I'm tired and going to bed.

World Series and The Backstreet Boys

2008-10-23T00:36:00.000-04:00

If the World Series couldn't get any worse with the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays playing, they let The Backstreet Boys sing the national anthem for the first game tonight? It was so bad that I just turned it off and got on the computer before the first pitch. Baseball just isn't what it used to be.

Tuesdays Gone

2008-10-21T21:42:00.003-04:00

Today was a great day at work. We had a ton of agents show up for our luncheon at 870 Inman. If you are not familiar with Inman Park, you need to check out the area. Some of the best restaurants in Atlanta are in Inman Park with Kevin Rathbun Steak, Sotto Sotto, Fritti, Shaun's, and others. Cristi is traveling today with work but gets back tonight. I'm digging my new CD by Clay Cook. He wrote every song on the CD, played every instrument on it, and produced it. If you've never heard of Clay, he wrote several songs with John Mayer (Neon, Comfortable, No Such Thing) and played with Sugarland, Shawn Mullins, and currently plays full time with The Marshall Tucker Band. He plays solo every once in a while at different bars in Atlanta and it's a treat if you get to see him play live. I saw him play for the first time a few weeks ago at JCT and he was pretty much a badass.

First Blog

2008-10-21T00:31:00.000-04:00

Cristi and I have been BUSY lately. She has been traveling almost every week for work and we've been out of town the last four weekends. I went to Lake Hartwell this past weekend for the "Annual Guys Weekend at Lake Hartwell." 17 guys (most of us good friends from college) act like drunk idiots for an entire weekend every October. We play poker, listen to good music, repeat old stories, try to drink like we did in college, grill out, make fires, laugh at each others misfortunes, and just sit around and do nothing. I think this was the 6th year in a row that we've gone and we plan to continue the tradition every year. Most of us are married and many have kids but the wives excuse us for this weekend. Its funny how excited we all are to get there every year but then we can't wait to get back home come Sunday.