Gainesville Musicians: Wishin' and Hopin'

Gainesville Musicians: A Call to Action

 

(Note: photos courtesy of Debby Strickland © 2015 unless otherwise labeled)

When I first moved to Gainesville, I was fortunate to hear a variety of amazing bands, everyone from Jimmy Buffet (for free!) to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to Commander Cody and Emmie Lou Harris, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Bonnie Raitt. 

And of course, I got to hear Tom Petty sing before he ever got involved with the Heartbreakers.  We were out in a field off Archer Road, he played at a bar called Dubs, he played out at Graham Pond. Facebook has been burning up with memories on the site: Gainesville Rock History:  The 60s and 70s Bands, Venues, Stories.

Lots of great young bands played here, The Duppies, Less Then Jake, Against Me, and so many more.  But I had kids and a job so I never seemed to get out much.  Then all of a sudden, the kids were gone and my evenings were open.  And the music was everywhere.

A lot of the music we hear is free.  There are open mic nights, Thursday night at Cymplify, Thursday night at Loosey’s downtown, Coffee Culture every Sunday at 6 pm, a monthly open mic blues jam sponsored by the North Central Florida Blues Society.  I can go down to my primarily poetry open mic at the Civic Media Center and frequently hear great singers trying out their own brand new songs for the first time.

We are so lucky in this town – we have an active music environment.  Everyone knows musicians can be feisty and difficult (and if you’re saying “not me” right now, guess what? J ). But something amazing happens when they come together to play for a worthy cause: the evening becomes magic. So it was on Sunday, January 25, 2015 when a score of bands came together to play a benefit concert for the American Heart Association.  The event was absolutely wonderful.  I hope it made a lot of money for American Heart, but I’ll tell you what – it helped my heart just to be there.

Here was the lineup (Whenever possible, I added links to the Web sites or Facebook pages of these bands in case anyone wants to check them out or hire them for an event):

Schedule for Jan 25: BLUES for HEART at The Dirty Bar

12:30 pm Bo Page AKA Shaky Earle (https://www.facebook.com/shakyearle)

1:00 Bubba Can't Dance (http://www.bubbacantdance.com/band/content/who-we-are)

2:00 Root Redemption (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Root-Redemption/202082973138170)

3:00 Just Maybe (https://www.facebook.com/JustMaybeBand)

4:00 Anna Marie and Friends (https://www.facebook.com/pages/ANNA-MARIE-FRIENDS/270255689657177)

5:00 Hard Luck Society (https://www.facebook.com/The.Hard.Luck.Society)

6:00 Pete Karnes Blues Band (http://petekarnesbluesband.com/)

7:00 Middleground (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Middleground/160477307380835)

8:00 Little Mike and the Tornadoes (http://www.littlemikeandthetornadoes.com/)

9:00 Sheba The Mississippi Queen (http://www.sheba.cc/home.html)

10:00 The Jacoby Brothers (https://www.facebook.com/JacobyBrothersBand)

11:00 The Root Doctors (https://www.facebook.com/RootDoctorsGNV/info)

 

I didn’t get to hear every band – darn those previous commitments.  But I truly enjoyed hearing Bo Page, AKA Shaky Earle with Tristan Harvey and Earle Page.  Shaky Earl played an amazing banjo. Tristan also played for the Radical Press Benefit Show on Jan. 30, a versatile musician.

 

Next was a fun set by Bubba Can’t Dance.  Check out their Web site for an amazing variety of music.  The band consists of drummer Bill Binkley, Keyboardist Vernon Montoya, who also plays with the amazing band, Fast Lane, Saxophonist and trombone player Steve Hart, trumpeter Doug “Skywalker” Meyers, Bass player Michael Raftice who also provides vocals, and Yolanda Raftice, who sings and plays flute, Damian Angoli, an accordion player and singer, and Chris Tappan, a guitar player and singer.  Their music is fun and infectious.  The vocals are phenomenal, and every musician plays like a pro.  (Full disclosure here – Doug Meyers plays trumpet in my husband Ken’s band, Uncle Morty’s Rhythm Cream, so I’ve had the pleasure of listening to his music many times.)

 

(Photo of Bubba Can’t Dance courtesy of Ron Wilson)

One song that really surprised me was Smoke That Cigarette, a song originally composed by Merle Travis and Tex Williams in 1947.  (Yes, folks, it IS that old, even though it was redone by everyone from Sammy Davis, Jr. to the aforementioned Commander Cody.)  As a former smoker, I used to hear that song with sincere regret, particularly the line, “Tell St. Peter’s at the Pearly Gate that you just hate to make him wait/but you just gotta smoke another cigarette.”  Now it just makes me laugh!

I missed Root Redemption because I had to be at a previously scheduled meeting.  But I’ve heard them play before at the Dirty Bar on the Blues Open Mic nights.  The band consists of Alan Yeatter on Guitar, Rick Wagner on Drums, Gus Olmos on Harmonica, and Steve Roper on Bass.  They play great old style Chicago blues and Delta Blues with a driving beat.

 

I also missed Just Maybe, but again, I’ve heard them play before and know their skill. The band includes Ellen Donovan who sings and plays the flute and harmonica, Joseph Breeden, singer and guitarist, Steve Kattell, singer and drummer, and Richard Ritari, who plays bass, mandolin and sings.  Do I need to say that their harmonies are great?  They also have a diverse set of song interests including everyone from Adele to Wilson Pickett.

 

I don’t remember hearing Anna Marie and Friends before.  They were wonderful.  Anna Marie Kirkpatrick has an incredible voice and range.  Guitarists Tom Holtz and keyboardist Tran "The Piano Man" Whitley were talented and of course, I know Mark Armbrecht from the dynamic duo, Middleground.  Rusty Valentine played the drums.  I think it’s interesting that Anna Marie was mentored by the talented guitarist Nancy Luca.  Her influence is plain.  And I look forward to hearing some of her original work.

 

The Hard Luck Society was an interesting blend of a number of different styles.  I love the description on their Web site: “Band Members: Matt Shaffer, Dan Stepp, David Cook, Andrew Cook, and about a hundred other people who have played with us in the past.” And this – Band Interests: “We like to play for money.” From your lips to God’s ears, guys.

 

Pete Karnes stepped up next.  Anyone who has heard the Pete Karnes band knows that Pete’s harmonica playing is sometimes otherworldy.  I’ve seen Pete play with half the bands in town, and he’s uniformly amazing.  A member of the Blues Hall of Fame, Karnes hasn’t just learned the blues – he’s lived them.  I like to think he’s a good example of how music can save your life.  Check out his Web site.  And buy his new CD, I’m Still Here (http://petekarnesbluesband.com/).

 

Next up was Middleground, one of my favorite duos.  Barbara and Mark Armbrecht are amazing musicians with a huge repertoire.  I have reviewed their music before but am continually impressed with the range of their work.  Although they usually play together, for this night they were “the big band” – Rusty Valentine played on drums and Mark Jacoby joined them on blues harp. Barbara not only has a beautiful voice that renders every song she sings a gem, but she also writes gems of her own.  And Mark plays with half the bands in Gainesville (Not really - remember Mark also played with Anna Marie and Friends the same night).

 

And finally, it was time for Little Mike and the Tornadoes to play. It’s my understanding that Little Mike was one of the primary organizers of this great full day of entertainment, and we appreciate his contribution to local music and the American Heart Association so much.  Little Mike can sing like a pro, and play harmonica like no one else. His latest release, All the Right Moves, is available here http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/littlemikeandthetornadoe. And as always, on this night of celebration, his band was phenomenal.

 

(Photo of Pete Karnes and Little Mike – Courtesy of Monte Adkison)

 

 

 Next, Mike invited the exquisite Sheba, the Mississippi Queen, up to the stage.  Sheba is a phenomenal singer who brings a whole new element to the blues, a touch of gospel, and a whole lotta soul.  Sheba stretched the boundaries of blues with her song about a gentleman in black pantaloons.  I couldn’t find it anywhere – but I did find this

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/08/the-50-sexiest-songs-of-all-time.html?p=2

This woman is so versatile you wouldn’t believe it.  Not only can she sing songs that would make Don Juan blush, but she also just put out a CD of inspirational songs.  You can buy her CD, Detour Road, at this site:  http://www.sheba.cc/products.html.  Or get Butter on my Roll, and see Sheba’s other side!

 

(Photo of Sheba the Mississippi Queen – Courtesy of Monte Adkison)

Next up was the Jacoby Brothers, a blues band extraordinaire.  I’ve reviewed them before.  They’re so good, we tried to go see them at a local restaurant and couldn’t even get in the door.  Next time I’ll make reservations!  Eddie and Mark Jacoby are the staples of the band but they are ably supported by Tim Gant on guitar, Paul Verdon on drums and Thommy DeRosa on bass.  Come on guys, give us a hint, when are you doing a CD?

 

I didn’t get to see the Root Doctors because I had to leave early.  But again, I’ve seen them before and they are great.  The band members are Bryan Blair, Rob Dark, Jim McKay, Richard Groene and Ben Andrews.  I love their quirky posts on their Facebook page – for instance:

(Used with permission from James, Root Doctors)

 

 You run out of superlatives after a while.  The excitement and electricity in the place made all the bands sound exceptional, and the audience was grateful for the opportunity to hear such wonderful music.

I also missed the great Willie Green, playing with Tony Valentine – drat to those previous commitments.

 

But here’s the deal, I’m going out listening to these fantastic bands all over town.  My husband plays in Uncle Morty’s Rhythm Cream (http://www.uncle-morty.com/um/), I’ve been privileged to hear some great music by such bands (http://www.fastlanefunk.com/home.html), as The Couch Messiahs (https://www.facebook.com/couchmessiahs), R. Mutt Blues Band (https://www.facebook.com/pages/R-Mutt-Blues-Band/147373708710354), Other Voices (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Other-Voices-Band/163109263705840), Cracker the Box (https://www.facebook.com/crackerthebox), Nook and Cranny (https://www.facebook.com/nookandcrannymusic), and Uptown Swing (https://www.facebook.com/UptownSwingMusic). 

Then there are all those talented individual artists such as Shawn Manley (https://www.facebook.com/Shawn.L.Manley?fref=ts), Kathleen Taylor (https://www.facebook.com/kathleentaylormusic)  and Cassie Keenum (https://www.facebook.com/CassiesMusic?ref=br_tf).

And do you know why two of our most talented artists weren’t at the Heart for Blues concert?  Because they were busy representing Gainesville at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN.   Rick Randlett (https://www.facebook.com/rick.randlett.77?fref=nf) and The Bridget Kelly Band (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bridget-Kelly-Band/201550646603937) did a great job representing our town against the world’s stiffest competition.

Now if I can come up with that many talented people and I’m not even a musician, you people who are musicians should be able to come up with a whole multi-day concert.  Maybe we could even get the talented Storm Roberts to introduce everyone.

What we need is a massive 3-day festival in Gainesville, a local Woodstock, as it were.  Preferably without the rain, the drugs, and the massive loss of money!  The Facebook folks on Gainesville Rock History:  The 60s and 70s Bands, Venues, Stories have been trying to organize such an event for a while.  But as I know from organizing my writers’ group, (www.writersalliance.org), organizing artists is like herding cats.

Still, I think with all this talent, there should at least be a way to set up some concerts similar to those we used to have in the 70s where people just spontaneously gathered in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere and suddenly a concert was performed.  I know, it would have to be a lot more organized than that.  But we have so much talent here.  And seeing how the musicians inspire each other when they play together, I know that the resources are unlimited.  And I know they’d have to be PAID so this would have to be a super-organized event…

 

(By the way, when I was very young, I asked my mother if I could go to Woodstock, and she said, “You want to go to a concert out in the middle of a field in the middle of upstate New York with no adults?”  Then she laughed hysterically.)

Maybe if you got organized enough, you could also invite hometown boys Sister Hazel and Tom Petty to come for a visit.  I hereby volunteer to help with publicity – but only if I get a free ticket :)

 

(Thank you so much to the talented photographer Debby Strickland, Monte Adkison, James McKay and Ron Wilson for the use of the great photos!)