Dolly Shine No More

SAN ANGELO, TX — For a half-decade, front man Zach McGinn, lead guitarist Jerrod Flusche and drummer Johnny Goodson ascended up the Texas music scene from their young beginnings in Stephenville. Together, they form the nucleus of a band called Dolly Shine, a name that is a phonological derivative of the Spanish term Dalé Shine, and was very popular. Two songs became live music venue sing-alongs. Their ballad “Should’ve Known” is a break-up song with the signature line, “When you set the bridge on fire, you gotta watch it burn.” The other is “Spinning my Wheels,” about the challenge of getting over a broken heart.

Then suddenly in November 2016, the band announced they were breaking up.

WATCH: The Dolly Shine story:

The news of the breakup shocked their fans and many wondered why. Their future seemed so bright. The reality was that, as McGinn told us, life got in the way. It was getting married, the need to provide more stability, and having babies, McGinn said.

Drummer Johnny Goodson went to tech school before the band broke up. He learned how to be a diesel mechanic. “Had to pay the mortgage,” Goodson said.

Jerrod Flushe signed on to be Koe Wetzel’s guitar player, a gig that just recently ended. His wife, Tarran, is the marketing and communications director for Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, the largest honky tonk in the Texas Country Music scene.

McGinn kept his feet in the scene, too. He hosted a songwriters’ show at Blaine’s Pub on one Thursday night every month over the past two years. “It made me realize I missed it,” McGinn admitted.

Both McGinn and Flusche are writing music and plotting to release their own music as solo acts.

Flusche is the songwriter of the song “Snakeskin Boots,” a song Dolly Shine recorded. But more recently, a new band named Copper Chief turned it into a rowdy hard rock revision in their recorded version. See "It's More Than Just About Methamphetamine and Killing People."

Much of the song, about a cousin selling methamphetamine in North Texas, is untrue, but very relatable to growing up in north Texas, Flusche said.

When the Dolly Shine Reunion Tour was announced in late February, tickets went on sale soon thereafter. One of the four stops was at downtown San Angelo’s Blaine’s Pub on Saturday, May 11. The show sold out online in a week.

“Blaine’s is one of the iconic 'Top 5' places to play in the state of Texas,” McGinn said. The band also performed their reunion tour at Lubbock’s Blue Light and Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth. This week, the finale show of the reunion tour is at the Twisted J Live in Stephenville. Tickets there are going for as much as $100 each.

Will Dolly Shine ever get back together? All three agreed. Dolly Shine is special. But none are ready to pack up and head out on a 200-day touring schedule like they were before the breakup in 2016.

Will there be more Dolly Shine by other means? If the excellent ticket sales are any indication, you bet there will be. Flusche said, "We have a lot of ideas and things in the works to continue the Dolly Shine experience." No one is saying exactly how right now, though.