Croy & the Boys’ Golden Rule of Honky-Tonks

“We normally don’t do country, but we’ll make an exception,” sniffs an arrogant bar manager, exquisitely played by all-star Austin drummer Matt Strmiska, in a hilarious new video. “How bad can it be, really?”

A screen shot from “The Last Thing On My Mind”: (l-r) Matteo Barrera, Carson McHone, Sam Kossler, Matt Strmiska, and Corey Baum.

The clip for “Leaving’s the Last Thing” captures Austin honky-tonk favorites Croy & the Boys catching attitude from the snooty crew at a cocktail bar, including characters portrayed by local genre mainstay Carson McHone and her bandmate Sam Kossler, then transforming the stuffy club into a rowdy, outlaw country outpost when they sneak in a gang of Austin dancers, most notably ubiquitous local two-steppin’ presence Ricky Espinoza.

Not that the Austin quintet avoids the common genre pitfall of playing to drunken tourists in the short. A wasted bachelorette partier jumps onstage and grabs the mic, while bros crowd the dance floor, knocking people over and yelling “Freebird!” Finally, singer Corey Baum stops the song for a much needed public service announcement:

“Look, you don’t have to know how to dance to come out on the dance floor, but like most things in life just don’t be an asshole,” he explains. “Also, it’s probably never been funny to yell ‘Freebird’ at the band, and anyway we have a set-list.”

In the end, Croy & the Boys get the last laugh, transforming the haughty nightclub into a party and winning over the crowd. The sniveling bar manager compliments them and asks them back.

“Yeah, we’ll think about that,” the good-natured Baum replies. “You know, I wasn’t sure you were gonna be able to hang at first, but y’all did alright. You got it together. Now it’s the end of the night and the last thing on my mind... is leaving.”

Nothing like throwing shade while slipping in the titular line.

Baum explains that the clip, directed by Paul Galvan, spoofs the vexing behavior his band sometimes encounters at local gigs.

“The video is reacting to people who don’t have any reverence for the space or the music at honky-tonk shows,” he reveals. “It’s not an uptight thing about rules. It’s about respect. There are times the dancers at our show feel disrespected because there are drunk people being dumbasses on the dance floor.

“It’s also common for a big bachelorette party to come right up in front of the stage, literally as close as they probably can, then count to three and take a selfie with you as the background,” he sighs. “We joke about Austin actually being the bachelor and bachelorette party capital of the world.”

“Leaving’s the Last Thing” peels off Croy & the Boys’ late 2016 LP Hey Come Back. Baum’s recently returned from a series of performances in Europe as part of the ATX 6, so you can once again hear him and the Boys live at the White Horse on Wednesday nights. Just remember the one simple rule of honky-tonk etiquette: don’t be an asshole.

Here’s the video: