Live albums are a great way to create a sort of time capsule where listeners at home can be transported back to a show and given the ability to relive the night over and over again. Many notable live album recordings have come from Houston including Townes Van Zandt, The Grateful Dead, Reverend Horton Heat and Deep Purple to name a few.
Christopher Seymore and The Western Cosplay are tapping into this sentiment with their upcoming event where they intend to capture the weekly magic their Houston Horni Tonk Society has created over the last two and half years at the place where it all started for them.
Seymore and his band along with Houston guitar virtuoso Kelly Doyle and long, tall honky-tonker Johnny Fallstaff and the Starlight Lounge will all perform on Saturday, November 23 at the Continental Club.
The event will be recorded to be released next year as an album Live at the Continental Club and the evening will also be documented on film to create a short documentary highlighting Houston’s thriving honky tonk scene.
“I just want a chance to show our community and our dancing culture that is part of Texas too,” says Seymore describing their plans to capture the dancers by having a camera on the checkered dance floor.
“Come dressed to impress and have a good time,” says Seymore. “That’s the big thing, I want people to come in and enjoy it. Let’s throw a great party.”
The evening of festivities to create Live at the Continental Club will include special touches such as a live shirt printing station, exclusive merchandise and a live chain stitching station where attendees can have any word stitched onto any item.
The event also serves as a fundraiser for Seymore and the Western Cosplay’s upcoming album, King Of Nothing, which will be available for pre-order at the show and is due out next spring.
Fifty fans can also be a part of the completion and release of King Of Nothing by becoming “Honky Tonk Angel Investors” and contributing money for exclusive merchandise, early access and liner credits in the album.
The show will end with a bang as the gang continues the “Corn Liquor Train,” Seymore’s tried and true closing song, up the block to Two Headed Dog for the official afterparty.
“We want to capture what we do live on a regular basis. We want to capture little moments and other easter eggs for those who know,” he says, describing their plans to include their weekly jokes and witty stage banter into the live recording.
Every Tuesday Seymore introduces his band with warmth and humor at the end of the night after their two hour set where he often stops to thank the dancers and bartenders and invite patrons to pony up to the bar for their “cowpoke communion” of a Lone Star beer, a shot of bourbon and a loose cigarette.
“Putting those things into the recording that are our connection with our community and our friends. Our Houston inside jokes,” says Seymore, laughing.
Seymore and his band have been hosting and performing at the weekly Horni Tonk Tuesdays at Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge since they launched the Houston Horni Tonk Society in June of 2022.
Their intention has always been to not only help Houston’s country music community grow and thrive but also help to put Houston on the map for touring bands and provide a dependable place where music lovers can come to dance the night away.
Seymore and his band take it upon themselves to represent and pump up Houston in town and on tour and have no doubt created a blossoming scene of connected artists in Houston and beyond.
“Everywhere I go people just assume I’m from somewhere else in Texas,” says Seymore of life on the road. “It is identified with music depending on which genre you’re talking about. If you’re talking about Hip Hop, R&B, Blues, I think people recognize Houston for those things.”
Through Live at the Continental Club the band further proves their dedication to the preservation and celebration of all that Houston has to offer in terms of authentic country music, committing to film and audio the magic they have helped to harness and capture in the city.
“The big thing is just to have people come out, fill the room, enjoy themselves and be loud and rowdy and showcase Houston and what we bring to the table,” says Seymore. “Our little bitty scene that’s tiny but mighty.”
Christopher Seymore and the Western Cosplay along with Kelly Doyle and Johnny Falstaff will perform and record Live at the Continental Club on Saturday, November 23 at The Continental Club, 3700 Main, 8 p.m, $15-30.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
