photo by ©John Blair
February 22nd--Dave's on Dickson--The
Jimi Hendrix Tribute Concert--Fayetteville, Arkansas--What a
fantastic production brought by Brian Crowne and Doug Haase
Productions! The perfect venue, the perfect crowd and an electric
atmosphere charged the night designed to pay homage to the late, great
Jimi Hendrix. Gary was so keyed up that it is a wonder he would
ever come down off cloud 9. Doug's band, the Tyrones opened the
show with a strong set of original rhythm and blues. Oreo Blue
took the stage for the power-packed audience and pile-drove through
about 80 minutes of some of Jimi's most popular material and a few
obscure grooves. After the set, both bands joined together for
some great jams. The highlight of the evening was certainly the
wonderful crowd and the great production. There are many to
thank: Mark, Rob, and all on the sound crew (who did an excellent
job); Dave Bass for offering the venue and his great staff; Miles Stone
for the spotlights; The Tyrones--Carl Thomas, Mike and Andrew Milburn,
Fuzz Foster, and Doug Haase; Trey and his great and talented video crew;
Mel Wood for the cool set design; Joe Cole for the amazing lighting and
programming;
J.J., Vince, and Dwight for their recording expertise; the unbelievable performance by Chris Payton on Little Wing--WOW!;
Bryan Martin for all of his efforts and for being the all-important
guitar tech; and many others. And of course all or our wonderful fans who drove
in from at least five states to see the show. Special thanks to
Doug Haase and Brian Crowne for making it all happen. We are all
excited to see the finished product in a few months. There is
still a lot of work yet to be done. Pictures from the inimitable
John Blair will be forthcoming. Our presentation to the VH1 Save the
Music Foundation and our continuing relationship building effort with
the Hendrix Experience Group are still in the works. Keep your
eyes out for the DVD and CD later this spring!
photo by ©John Blair
February 15th--The ByPass--Gary
Hutchison 50th Birthday Bash (Show 3 of 3)--Joplin, Missouri--Another
sensational show with talent abound. On this final birthday
celebration for Gary, his old band mates from Southern Fried came out
for a reunion show that was highly anticipated for, say, the last twenty
years. Rod Williams, Steve Duncan, Danny Houston, John Hulette,
and others came to the stage and relived the glory days of Southwest
Missouri's hottest musical moments. When Dick Collins joined the
group on stage, all (including the author) were mesmerized by his
powerful vocals. Hank Rotten also graced us all with his humor and
stage savvy performing our favorite novelty tune, Sleepin' With My
Butt To The Wall. Dick and Hank were also kind enough to roast
Gary when the occasion permitted. As we all know...he deserves
it! Oreo Blue opened and then closed the show peppering in a few
of the special guests along the way. It was a great night for
music and memories.
The World-Famous Oreo Blue Rhythm
Section after a strong performance
Photo by ©Ron Ray
February 8th--Ardmore, Oklahoma--After the
surreal shows of Thursday and Friday, Brian and I set out for Ardmore to
perform with the TJ Scarlett Band at the Cheap Trick/Ian Moore after party.
Ian Moore was phenomenal with his eastern Indian influenced rock and
blues. Cheap Trick performed to par with their party-style arena
rock and took many of us back a few years. (Dream Police was my personal
favorite!) Immediately afterwards, The TJ Scarlett Band took the
stage at the Trivoli rocking the hungry concert-goers with classic power
rock and soulful originals. TJ's blistering technique floored the
musicians in the crowd and bass player, David Snell bewildered all with
his six-string bass. The band was soon joined on stage by Texas
Blues phenom, Wes Jeans and a newcomer also from Texas, Oliver
White. Both had powerful tone and presence and if you haven't
heard them yet, you will. Our gracious host, Aubry Harris of the
Two Frogs Grill who promoted the concerts along with Brian, came to the
stage and delivered a few funky renditions and the show soon turned into
a free-for-all of guitar-slingers. What a weekend!
|
Brian and Stephen at the Cheap
Trick/Ian Moore after party Jam
Photos by Tip Jones (Thanks, Tip!) |
|
Aubry Harris and Dave Snell |
TJ, Oliver, Stephen, and Brian |
Wes, TJ, Oliver, Dave, Brian |
|
Wes Jeans |
Oliver White |
Brian Crowne |
February 7th--George's Majestic Lounge--Gary
Hutchison 50th Birthday Bash (Show 2 of 3)--Fayetteville,
Arkansas--Brian joked in the last entry about things getting
better...They did. The common comment was that the performers
experienced something religious or spiritual. Oreo Blue performed
the happy hour set and were quickly joined by Jimmy, TJ, and Tim from
the Nace Brothers Band and the rout of the 275 revelers was on.
During the break, a crew of friends and family enjoyed dinner at
Powerhouse and then back to catch the Nace Brothers first set of the
night. David Nace, with his gritty and soulful voice, led the boys
through a strong set that started everyone smiling. Oreo Blue pile drove
through the second set again picking up some of the Nace boys and David
Renko from the Cate Brothers band. Darren Ray of Big Bad Bubba sat
in on a super-strong version of Some Kind of Wonderful.
When the Cate Brothers took the stage for set three, their groove became
infectious. The Cates were joined on stage by Scott, the
e-washboard man. Even though the three bands root in similar
genres, each has their own style, approach, and brand of energy.
And when the jam set started, all three bands combined in a gumbo-like
mix-and-match full of power, finesse, soul, heart, and a genuine
appreciation of the musical camaraderie that dominated the
weekend. All agreed that this special event in Gary's stead,
should be repeated sooner before later. So keep your ears to the
ground for a follow-up. Photos, video, and audio recordings may
follow soon!
Thanks to all for making such an event possible.
Brian Crowne for making it all happen, Camy Hutchison for her support,
and the great bandmates that joined us on stage...Ernie and Earl Cate,
Ron and Mickey Eoff, Dave Renko, David and Jimmy Nace, TJ Erhardt, Tim
Williams, Scott (the e-washboard man), and Darren Ray.
| Gary's Party at the
Adelaide Ballroom
photos by Steve
Nichols (thanks!) |
|
David Nace, Tim Williams,
Earl Cate
|
Gary and Brian w/Nace Bros. |
|
Jimmy Nace and Gary
|
Jimmy Nace, Gary, Brian,
David Nace, Earl Cate, and Ron Eoff
|
February 6th--The Adelaide Ballroom--Gary
Hutchison 50th Birthday Bash (Show 1 of 3)--Ft. Smith, Arkansas--Well,
the first night of Gary's 50th bday party and the blamed snow had to
hit. It obviously put a damper on the turnout, but not on the
show. Three great bands on one stage in one night It doesn't
get much better than this, but check in with me after Friday. Just
kidding, Thursday was great, and we really appreciate all of our fans
showing up especially the ones that drove in from all over creation.
You're cool!--Brian
Crowne
February 1--Live from Rhythm & Brews in Jackson,
Mississippi--The
band loads up and departs for a long road trip with the normal
trepidation of performing a new club for the first time. Is it
going to be fun, cool, packed, a dump, a bummer, shi…y, or just plain
straight up right. I am here to report that Rhythm & Brews is
the latter along with their patrons. We were treated right from the get
go, and it didn't' change after we showed up. Beth, crew and
patrons have it going on down there in Jackson. It's cool when you
feel like a Rock Star and you're still paying your dues. The crowd
was gracious, rabid and ready to rock. What more can you ask for?
BBQ, and it was kick a** too.--Brian
Crowne
January 24-25th--Kaptain Kenny's--Hot Springs,
Arkansas--Well, it was cold and the horses didn't run, but we
managed to have a great couple of shows. Hot Springs is always an
experience and this weekend was no exception. Kaptain Kenny's has
a stealer crew and we'd like to thank our fans for showing up ready to
rock. Thanks to Mike and table, also Bill it's always good to see
you guys. We also made some new friends in the Kenny's staff and
we look foward to seeing most of you at Gary's Birthday Party February
6th in Ft. Smith. Thanks to Dave, JD, Barbara (mom), Jennifer,
Eve, Terrell and Ashley. We look forward to seeing you all again
soon. Did I mention the best food we've had in Hot Springs.--Brian
Crowne
photo ©
John Blair
January 17th--The Kitchen
Pass--Neosho, Missouri--Our first public show of the new year at one
of our favorite little joints and it was cool. As always the food
and service at The Kitchen Pass were exceptional. The crowd was
great and it was good to see some of our old friends out that we haven't
seen in a while. Most of this month so far has been dedicated to
rehearsing for our next big project, a live Jimi Hendrix Tribute concert
to be released as a concert DVD and audio CD. Watch our schedule
for Saturday February 22nd for info on the big night.--Brian
Crowne
