Category Archives: Desert Moon Video

A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)

Posted on November 7, 2010 by

On October 27th we lost one of the sweetest ladies we’ve ever known…..a true “Angel”. Ms Dobie Hatley loved music, musicians, friends, family and…..most of all…..life!!
She often told us that if something happened to her and she finished this life, she didn’t want any crying….didn’t want services or memorials…..she wanted everyone to have a party!! So…..we honored her wishes…..celebrated her life and collected funds for her favorite charity, HAAM (Health Alliance for Austin Musicians).

Really appreciate everyone that came to share their memories, the musicians for their music, and especially all the work by John Casner, Ms. Nancy, and the entire Giddy Ups staff that made the day possible.

The first artist was Michael Samuels. He shared his story of how, when he came to Austin, he had a drug and alcohol problem. He couldn't find a job......but, Dobie hired him. He credited her for being where he is now and how well he's doing.
Michael's story and his songs were straight from the heart. More than one of us had puddle-ly eyes. :) Beautiful! "Angel Fire" and "Dancing On The Wind" were our favorites.....until he ended with a harmonica version of "Amazing Grace" that had all of us breathless.
Thank you Michael.
Joe Gee hadn't really planned to sing. Just came to pay his respects. We're glad he sang, though.

We didn't get pictures of everyone.....just so busy visiting and listening and sharing. Hopefully Raven and Cathy will share theirs......saw them taking pictures all over the place. Unfortunately, some of the pictures included yours truly.....but.....maybe we didn't actually break the camera. :)
Thanks, Joe!!
So good to see Polly and Eloise. Now these gals have a story or two about our Dobie! :)
Caught Eloise and Yvonne visiting. How great to connect with friends and celebrate!!

Dan and Nicole brought another old friend, Don. Okay.....not all the pictures turned out like was wanted. This one did, but the one of Don didn't.
Didn't realize how long it had been since we last saw Brandy and Marilyn......until we saw Brandy's two precious boys. Wow!! How do we let so much time slip by?
Sam Bentley singing was so appreciated considering he could barely talk. :) Dobie loved songwriter Blaze Foley so Sam did Blaze's song "If I Could Only Fly" that he had learned specifically for Dobie. (There went those puddle-ly eyes again!!)
Food!! What is it about food that is such a comfort at a time like this? And, you can believe there are some GOOD cooks in this group!

More food!
And still more food! And there was another table full besides all this!!
Darrel Jones and Woz stepped up to the stage to help Sam.
Keith Kelso was up next. He decided he wanted to play acoustic instead of with his band because that's how it was the night he met Dobie.

Keith probably realizes that, except for a couple of songs, he sang the same ones he had that first night. Then he did his new song, "Land of Forgotten Fathers" about the current state of the world. Pretty sure Dobie was smiling after that one!!
Thanks Keith!!
So special to see John again. How long had it been? Don't know and not going to think about it! Just happy he was there!
There once was a band called Desert Moon. There's a whole book could be written on how and why they were Dobie's favorites......AND ours......but, Dobie's first. But, about 7 years ago the band broke up. This was only the 2nd time they'd played together since then. Dobie was really smiling down on this!! :)

Yes, there are more pictures of Desert Moon than anyone else.....we were just so happy to see them all again. To have them performing was just icing on the cake.
Darrell gets the credit for getting the band together for this "gig".....he called Mark and John and made the arrangements and then followed up to make sure all was working out as planned.
Mark Kuykendahl
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)

A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)

A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)

A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)

A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
Thank you guys.....hope you know how much this meant to all of us, and to Dobie.
The band that helped pull this entire Celebration together.....Lost John Casner Band. John talked with all the musicians, scheduled time, brought the CD player for the time between performances, and generally kept us calm when we were falling apart! :) Woz made a quick run out with his drums and his skills when our planned drummer couldn't make it. Darrell sat in whenever a lead was needed. And, JC was his normal steady self on the bass!

A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
Nancy, thank you for letting all of us use Giddy Ups to gather together. But, then, that's what Giddy Ups is.....a place made for music, memories, sharing, and friends.

Lighting is awful on this picture, but just love the expressions on everyone's face!
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
A Celebration of Dobie’s Life @ Giddy Ups (11/07/2010)
There was some dancing. This is Nancy and Thayron enjoying a 2-stepper.

Now that's a gentleman! :)
John shared a beautiful story about when Dobie was a care giver in a home for developmentally challenged kids. One severely autistic child would only say two words......"why" and "joy". The staff explained that he always said "why? why?" when they wanted him to do something he didn't want to do. John thought that was understandable, but when did he say "joy". Seems that as soon as Dobie's car pulled in the driveway of the home, the young man would start screaming, "Joy!! Joy!! Joy!!" THAT was our Dobie!
Nancy and Teree listening to John sing.


One of the highlights of the day was Desert Moon continuing the tradition of honoring Dobie’s request to play “Storms Never Last”.  John always changed a word or two just for her.  He did the same today…..just couldn’t sing it any other way.  Yep, there were puddle-ly eyes all around, but it was as it should be…was needed.  :)

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