JIM HINCKLEY'S ROUTE 66 CHRONICLES - : 2014 ROUTE 66 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL WRAP UP AND MOVING TOWARD 2014

JIM HINCKLEY'S ROUTE 66 CHRONICLES - : 2014 ROUTE 66 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL WRAP UP AND MOVING TOWARD 2014

Route 66 From A Distance

If I had my druthers, I'd be somewhere on 66. I like the sense of the past it offers. It's the closest thing to time travel. The Mother Road takes me back to a simpler time. Simpler for me, I was only 8 years old. I remember traveling the two lane highway from St. Louis to Anaheim with my family, to attend the grand opening of Disneyland back in 55'. Side note: My wife and my Chevy truck were both built in 55! It was a good year! But seriously, that trip was the best trip I can remember as a child. I remember thinking that my dad must be the smartest guy in the world to be able to find his way to California! The attractions along the way were as exciting for me as the amusement park near the end of the trail. Meramac Caverns in Missouri. The Buffalo Ranch and Frontier City in Oklahoma. The oil wells of Texas. The Jack Rabbit Trading Post in Arizona. And finally the realization that we finally crossed the border into the Golden State!

I have carried the old road with me throughout my entire life. I was born on 66 in St. Louis, MO. Raised on 66 in Azusa, CA, and to this day I still live and breathe 66. Though my home's Nashville, my band, 'The Road Crew' performs "Songs From The Mother Road." We take the stories and history of 66 to audiences everywhere. We encourage people who have never experienced this piece of Americana to discover her for themselves. When they return, they always say something like, "where has she been all of my life?"

You can download "Songs From The Mother Road" on iTunes or purchase our CD at roadcrew66.com. My friend Woody Bomar wrote all the tunes on this album, of course with the exception of our version of Bobby Troup's "Get Your Kicks on Route 66." We open every show with this tune as a tribute to my dad who absolutely loved America's Main Street!

We plan to join our fellow roadies in Amarillo this June for the National Route 66 Festival. Come and see what all the fuss is about!

http://roadcrew66.com
Favorite link: http://route66people.com

The Road Crew performs "That Ol' 66" on YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6OoyMXfsRQ&feature=related

Route 66 Festival Presents The Road Crew

The Road Crew (my band) has been asked to perform at the Route 66 Classic Car Festival June 25th at 7:30 in downtown Litchfield, IL. It has been a long road to get to the point of being embraced by the Route 66 community and for good reason. We know people come and go, who may or may not have a true passion for the old road. Who have big ideas for preservation, projects and products, but soon fade into nothing more than just a passing whim. The Road Crew's (CDs) "Songs Fro The Mother Road" are sold in museums and gift shops all along The Mother Road, and even abroad.

Many years before The Road Crew and our music, my company created audio (history) books about Route 66. Our soundtracks have been used in museum tours, radio shows and audiobooks for over fifteen years. My passion for the road began as a boy traveling Route 66 with my family during the 50s & 60s and continuing throughout my adult life. America's Main Street houses many wonderful memories for me and even today, the mom's and pop's of 66, the people working behind the scenes to preserve our heritage, the journalists, cooks and authors are all still here to share this piece of America's past. Thank you Route 66 People for accepting me and The Road Crew as one of your own!

The Road Crew traveled part of Route 66 last October. We played for Melba Riggs and The Four Women On The Route, for Laurel Kane and her guests at Afton Station and even got to spend some time with Kelsie at The Rock Cafe and play a few tunes.

A big thanks to Carol and the city of Litchfield for having us entertain this coming June! We are excited and pleased to be Friday nights entertainment! Hope to see you all there!

Visit - http://route66people.com

The Road Crew Performs at The Route 66 & Classic Car Festival!

The popular Nashville, TN based band, The Road Crew, will perform June 25th at the “Official Route 66 Festival & Classic Car Festival” in Litchfield, IL. The band takes its name from the love of “The Mother Road.” In fact their latest CD is a collection of original songs about Route 66. They love to perform those songs as well as other classic, upbeat 40s, 50s and 60s rockabilly, country and swing music at Route 66 festivals.

The Road Crew started a few years ago with founding members Joe Loesch and Woody Bomar, friends since army days. The two have played together in bands for most of their adult lives. Starting in 2005 the two became avid travelers of Route 66. So the obvious thing was to create music about their new passion. It started when Woody, a well-known Nashville songwriter, composed a song called “That Ol’ 66”. This then lead to more songs and before long the guys had an album’s worth of material based on their experiences. Joe, an audio producer/engineer, and Woody then reached out to their friend Don King, former Epic Records recording artist and hit songwriter, to join the band and the project. Enter drummer Jason Harmon and The Road Crew was born. They now perform the music and travel to Route 66 festivals and tourist sites to share it.

According to Joe, who is also an author and producer of audio books including a Route 66 series (www.newwaytoread.com), “Our music album, Songs from the Mother Road, is really a group of stories about the struggles, the joys, the heartbreaks and the adventures associated with Route 66.” The musical styles include folk, country, blues, western swing and even a touch of surfer pop. Song titles include Chain of Rocks Park, The Motherland-OK, Dust, Tucumcari Tonite, Running Down The Mother Road, The Sun On 66, and 7 others. There’s even a bonus track featuring a new (Beatles-inspired) version of the Bobby Troup classic, (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66.

In their concerts the band also performs songs of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, Buck Owens, Carl Perkins, Asleep at the Wheel, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry and many other early country, swing and rockabilly icons. See The Road Crew starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 25, in Downtown Litchfield for a Sock Hop, contests, prizes and some great music. Learn more about The Road Crew, their music, their video and their adventures: www.roadcrew66.com

Audiobook Popularity

Audiobooks are becoming more and more popular each day and experts say that the market for audiobooks is going to grow significantly larger. For example, over $124 million worth of audio books were sold in the UK and $120 million in Germany. Experts say that this year the market is expected to rise by 20% in Europe, and audiobooks are even more popular in the US.

Here are five great reasons why audio versions are a convenient and exciting way to "read" a book:

1) SAVE TIME: You can listen to an audio book anywhere and everywhere. You can listen while driving to and from work, walking the dog, going on a bike ride, working around the house or at the computer, while keeping fit, suntanning at the beach or waiting in line at the supermarket. The possibilities are endless.

According to a recent survey, the average American driver spends 1 hour and 13 minutes commuting daily to and from work. This means over 440 hours a year for each person, or 11 full-time work weeks spent listening to drive time radio or staring out at the traffic. Imagine how much you could learn during this "traffic" time just by listening to spoken recordings in your MP3 player or car stereo.

2) MULTITASKING: If you love reading but are generally busy doing other things, audiobooks can give you the opportunity to read more books than you would otherwise have time for. Audiobooks are a terrific and practical way to fill many of those unproductive or "dead" moments we all experience in our daily lives. It’s a whole new way to read.

3) AGE, ILLNESS & DISABILITIES: Audiobooks are great for older, ill, recovering, or disabled people and can be a wonderful gift for someone in a nursing institution. This is a gift they can remember and enjoy again and again.

4) IMPAIRED VISION: Audiobooks can be a blessing for blind people, or people with impaired vision. It can give them the chance to experience and enjoy a wide range of popular books, stories, novels and information - both fiction and non-fiction.

Spoken books or narrated book recordings can help people by improving their education, help them develop new hobbies and learning habits and by greatly enriching their life, both personally and professionally.

5) HELP CHILDREN DEVELOP A LOVE OF BOOKS: Arguably, the most important skill a child can acquire is the ability to read. Audiobooks can be easily used to stimulate literacy and a love of learning in children. Children can listen to audiobooks while following the story in the paper book. Or they could listen just to gain and improve vocabulary and communication skills. If you want to instill the love of reading in your child, audiobooks can be a excellent start.

There are many more benefits of choosing to listen to audiobooks. Hopefully the few reasons provided here should be enough to encourage you to start exploring the exciting world of spoken books.

Audiobooks

There are only three kinds of people in the world: * Those that like audio books * Those that don't * (and by far the largest) Those that have never tried one. - www.newwaytoread.com - Listen to the sound bits there. Also, check out the podcast area.

The Road Crew Travels The Mother Road

The Road Crew plans to travel a portion of Route 66 beginning October 1st, 2009 from the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis to OK, City. Myself, Joe Loesch and my band buddies Woody Bomar and Don King will leave Nashville the morning of October 1st and head up to House Springs, MO to spend the night at my sister's (Leah) place. We'll head out to the Chain of Rocks the morning of October, 2. We'll then make our way west and plan to spend Friday night at the Munger Moss Motel in Lebanon, MO. We perform for the big car show in Galena, KS, Saturday night the 3rd, from 7 to 8. We'll spend Saturday night at a bed & breakfast in Baxter Springs. Sunday afternoon the 4th we'll play some music for Laurel Kane and her guests at The Afton Station from 2 to 3. The rest of the week, we'll just be taking in the old road! - The Road Crew is a 5 piece band, however just three of us will make this trip. We specialize in Route 66 music and hits from the 50s & 60s. - Left to right: Woody Bomar, Joe Loesch and Don King