NEW BOSTON, Texas - Parson B and the Part Time Sinners will turn a scrapped live show into an opportunity to reach fans online Saturday.
The local band had a Scottie's Grill date canceled, just like every live concert has been during the coronavirus crisis, but decided to keep the music going by scheduling a live broadcast via the band's Facebook page, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday.
They will take the stage at Music Country USA, but don't go down there to see them. They want fans to maintain social distancing and watch online via Facebook Live. You can tune in on the band's page or Facebook pages of band members.
Barry Bobbitt sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar, while his fellow Sinners consist of David Palmore on lead vocals and guitar, Tony Paschal on vocals and lead guitar, Glenn Smith on bass and Don Adams on drums. Together, they play a mix of Texas country, outlaw country, classic rock and Southern rock.
Originally, they planned on playing outdoors at an "undisclosed location" from Carbondale, Texas, but the possibility of rain necessitated they call an audible and head indoors.
Once the Scottie's gig was pulled, they just about immediately thought of going livestream.
"We were all thinking it, and then we all said, yeah OK, let's do that, so let's just do it the night we were supposed to play at Scottie's," Bobbitt said. "Everybody's stuck at home, nobody's going out. (We're) just entertaining people and we're going to encourage people to go buy their favorite take-out, from wherever, some of the local places in town."
As Bobbitt puts it, it's a chance to sit back on the couch, listen to music and just have a good time.
"It's going to be kind of loose but we're going to be having fun, so hopefully everybody else will," Bobbitt said. They'll give a set list to one of the band members and let him call songs as they play. They can interact with the crowd via Facebook, so expect them to stop and chat with the online audience.
"We'll try to entertain the best that we can so everybody can have just a good time, just get their mind off of everything that's going on for a little while," said Bobbitt, who is the "Parson B" of the band.
They've broadcast shows from their band's Facebook page before, but nothing like this where the audience is completely online. "We're going to be playing to an empty place," the lead singer said. Prior livestreams were mostly done so they could go back and see themselves perform to assess what's working or not.
Bobbitt said he watched local act The Moss Brothers Band perform a livestream show this past Saturday night. "They did a fantastic job," he said, noting the band had a good time and a solid setup for the show. This is what they aim to do.
"It's a whole different dynamic that we're dealing with because we're used to playing and used to people yelling stuff at us and talking to us," Bobbitt said. That dynamic adds to the fun of live music. But he encourages people to settle down and still have fun, although what's happening now with the coronavirus is serious.
"Realize that life is still going to go on and we're just going to have to just do it in a different way. We're not going to be able to do it the same way we've been doing it until all this is over with," Bobbitt said, noting there are lessons to learn, too, such as shutting things down and spending more time with family.
He points out that some bands are setting up livestreams where they can get paid via donation. Their band isn't doing that, however.
"We're doing this just for pure entertainment factor right now, and really to promote some of the businesses that have been good to us, that have let us play there," Bobbitt said.
(To see the Parson B and the Part Time Sinners livestream show, find their page on Facebook, @parsonbandtheparttimesinners.)