|
Let's
start at the beginning... |
| I've
been playing guitar since the age of nine, but even before that, I was destined
to play music. Here, at the ripe age of two, in 1956, Las Vegas Nevada,
was apparently my first performance. It was a duet. I don't know who my
partner was, but hey, what a looker, don't you think?. I had good taste
even back then. Must have been a country gig, otherwise why would we have
worn cowboy hats? Of course, everyone in Las Vegas wore cowboy hats. To
this day, when I'm introduced on stage, I get that person to say "All
the way from Las Vegas, Nevada, Gary Chappelear" (Sounds pretty cool,
huh?) When we moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1957, I lived with my grandparents
on 4th Avenue West, close to Lowe's skating rink, not far from Legion Field.
On one side of us was Jessie Warth, who played bass guitar for The Lamp
Lighters. They practiced in an open garage. I would sit on the back steps
and listen to them. On the other side of us was Ross Gagliano, drummer for
Ross & The Rebellion. Henry Lovoy of Razz-Ma-Tazz sang with them. They
practiced in the house, so I had to go sit on THEIR front porch to hear
them well. I used to see them play everywhere from Holiday Beach, to The
Hub Teen Club in Roebuck. With two bands practicing on either side of me,
I guess it was just meant for me to play music. |
|
When
I was nine, Jimmy Channell, who lived across the street and up 2 houses,
had been given the task of cleaning out their attic. My Dad said I had
to clean out the garage. The garage wasn't big. It was just large enough
to barely squeeze a Volkswagen Beetle in it and open the doors. I dreaded
cleaning out the garage cause I had to take everything out, sweep, and
straighten up, and put it all back. Jimmy and I made a deal: He'd help
me with the garage and I'd help him with the attic. The garage was done,
and we headed over to his house for the attic job. He climbed up a rickety
ladder, got into the attic and started handing me dust-covered stuff down.
Eventually, he found a guitar with one string on it. He figured out how
to play the opening to the song for the T.V. show "Peter Gunn".
He showed me, then we could both play guitar. He immediately took his
"attic money" (yes, we both got paid for our hard work with
extra allowance money), rode our bicycles to the local drug store and
he bought a set of Black Diamond Strings. He began to play stuff, so I
had to have a guitar too. I bought a cheap acoustic guitar mail-order
by saving up my allowance money, and my brother gave me $5.00 for my birthday
to complete my goal and even ordered it for me. The total came to about
$30.00 and I was on my way to be a rock star! But then, so was everyone
else in my neighborhood. |
| There
was a lot of talent in our neighborhood, which was what probably dangled
the proverbial carrot in front of me to want me to play. Larry Lester had
a Gibson Melody Maker, and along with Frank Thurman who played guitar also,
and drummer Chuck Kennedy, had a group called "The Unknowns".
Jimmy Channell, Larry Lester, Gary Wheeless, and Tom Strickland had a group
for a while. I remember them playing "I Can See For Miles" by
The Who on Tom's driveway. That must have driven his neighbors crazy. (Long-haired
hippie music). Steve Freeman was the lead singer, with drummer Barney Baker,
in a group they called "Benedict Arnold and The Traitors". They
all wore the Colonial 3-cornered hats like Paul Revere & The Raiders.
E.T. Hollander, Henry Lagman, Pat Patrick, Hugh Crosley and David Short
had a group called "The Shades". They all wore sunglasses. That
was cool. They played stuff by The Animals, The Kinks, etc. They were the
first band I actually heard practicing in the neighborhood in West End.
The Hollanders lived across the alley right behind me. After hearing a band
playing a couple of times, I figured out where it was coming from, so I
went over and sat on their front porch and listened to them. I had just
gotten my guitar and didn't know how to play anything (except Peter Gunn).
When they finished, I asked E.T. if he would teach me how to play guitar.
He told me he played bass, and he was left handed, so he couldn't, but Pat
Patrick could. He gave me Pat's telephone number, and I called him. I told
him what I wanted, and he said he would teach me, because he was teaching
a couple of kids in the neighborhood. I went to his house. It turns out
I had met his mother about a year prior to that. I was skateboarding, and
had fallen and skinned my knee. His mother had cleaned and bandaged my bloody
knee. When I knocked on their door, his mother answered. She remembered
me. I told her I was there to take guitar lessons. She invited me in and
we chatted until the student Pat was teaching was finished. Pat had great
equipment, a Kalamazoo electric (sort of a Strat copy) and a Fender Deluxe
amp. I found out how that really made a difference when Jimmy got his Strat.
Wow! It didn't take 3 people to mash the string down. |
| Pat
Patrick gave me some lessons that summer. I paid him $5.00 for a Mel Bay
Chord book, fifty cents per lesson twice a week, and away we went. Jimmy
Chanell got the first good guitar in the neighborhood; a '66 White Strat
and a Fender Amp. Some lucky kids had drums. No one had a P.A. system. We
plugged microphones into a guitar amps. Some amps had two plug-ins. Two
mics fit as well as one. It didn't make any difference if no one could hear
the vocals, no one could sing well anyway. But we played real loud, and
that was good. We sang through the 5 watt Bogen P.A. at our grammar school
when we shook the dust off the rafters playing "Born To Be Wild"
as loud as we could. I still play "Born To Be Wild". |
| My family
used to pack up and go to a distant cousin's (on my Grandmother's side of
the family) house in Riverside, Georgia. Nancy Rumsey, who was about my
age, played the organ. When I was about 12 years old, I carried my cheap
acoustic guitar with me, and she showed me how the keys on a keyboard related
to the notes on the guitar neck. I sort of understood, and learned a few
chords, but never really put any of it to practice, till a few years ago,
we couldn't find a keyboard player, so I bought a Yamaha PSR-630, and re-learned
the keyboard. I can chord around and do a few things to add something besides
guitar to a tune. Jamming with other guys can get to sound like "Guitar
Wars" if too many folks are strumming. So, thanks, Nancy... |
I played
in talent shows, and stuff in grammar school. We actually got paid once
for playing at a party at someone's house. We put together a group. Randy
Speakman played drums. David Eads and I played guitars. We were called
"The White Plains Revolution". We didn't have a bass player.
We didn't need one. I think we made about $5.00 each. I remember playing
"A Day In The Life" by The Beatles, and "Sunshine Of Your
Love" by Cream. We weren't that good, but we were loud and no one
cared. They had a live band at their party. It was huge! When I was about
14, Jimmy Channell began to play with a guy named Joe Cerravalo, who played
bass and sang. Terry Huffstutler played drums, and Jimmy played guitar.
Joe was 15, and would get his grandfather in the car to let him drive
to practice. He would come to pick up Jimmy and I would tag along. We
were coming back from Forestdale one night, and the Beatles "Hey
Jude" came on the radio. It was the long version, and after a while
of the "na-na-na-na-na-na-na-nas had been going on, I remember Joe's
grandfather reached over and turned the radio off and said "Enough
of that na-na-na sh*t". Why do you kids listen to that?" Of
course, the Beatles were the greatest band ever put together. |
Trading
In My Skates (which I always rented) |
| I was
still going to Lowe's Skating Rink for socializing on Fridays or Saturdays
and would spend the night with my grandparents until I was about 12. I gave
it all up when my nephew and niece, Rex & Melodie DeFoor invited me
to come spend the night with them and go listen to a live band at a place
called "The Attic" in Bessemer. I had never been to any place
like that. It was a nightclub for teenagers. No alcohol, just soft drinks
and snacks, but they had live bands on Friday and Saturday nights. It was
dark, the band, "The Sounds Of Time", was loud, and even though
I was scared to death because I didn't know anyone, I was thrilled. Kids
danced. I didn't know how to dance, so I parked myself up against the back
wall, and just absorbed the sights of all the kids, and the sounds of the
band. They wore Naru Jackets like The Beatles. At intermission, they changed
jackets, and I thought it was a different band coming in for a second set.
Someone's parents had bought a lot of equipment. They had a wall of amplifiers
and speakers. It was the first time I ever heard "Fire" by Jimi
Hendrix. I don't remember any other songs they played. But the next day,
I went out and bought "The Jimi Hendrix Experience". I was soooo
disappointed when I went to play the record on my little 3 watt Philco record
player. It was nothing like the extreme mounds of wattage volume I had heard
"Fire" blasting away the night before. I never went back to the
Roller Rink. I knew at that point live bands was where it was at. I knew
one thing: I was going to have to learn to dance if I was to survive in
the social world. More about that, later... I started going to hear live
bands at all of the teenage nightclubs. The Teen Scene in Ensley, which
was the old closed down Ensley Bowling Lanes, where my Dad had bowled when
I was younger, was huge. They had hung all black lights in the place, so
it really made a difference what you wore. It was there I saw The Bubble
Puppy perform Hot Smoke and Sasafrass. There was The Hub Teen Club in Roebuck.
I lived in West End. Even though we were only 14 or so, we would walk to
Five Points West (3rd Avenue) and thumb to Roebuck which was on the other
side of Birmingham. There was no Interstate back then, so 3rd Avenue was
a busy street. We could catch a ride with someone to downtown 20th Street
because they were going to Homewood. Then we'd catch another ride to Woodlawn
because they were going to Eastwood Mall, so they'd drop us off on 77th
Street. Then we'd catch one last ride to Roebuck. We always found someone
we knew there, offered them a dollar for gas, and we had a ride home. On
Sundays, we'd go to Holiday or Cherokee Beach. They'd have a live band from
2:00 - 4:00 pm. Or we'd go to Avondale Park on Southside and hang out with
the hippies and try to look cool wearing tie-died jeans, no shirt and a
fringed leather vest. That was my first experience with cool outdoor festival
type concerts. They had great bands out there. One of them was called Black
Mountain. Joe Breckenridge was the only member I know of in Black Mountain.
It was my first experience with huge, outdoor P.A. Systems that could be
heard for miles. Wow! |
David
Walls & The Persuasions |
| While
in high school, I didn't really play in any bands. I knew lots of bands,
so I would get them to come and play at "Activity Period" at our
school. "Nation" came and played. Chuck Kennedy, Frank McAnnally,
and some other guys. I jammed with bands, and would end up running sound
and hauling equipment for them. I hung around (and got paid for doing it)
with David Walls and The Persuasions. David Walls sang, Chuck Kennedy played
drums. Jimmy Channell was playing guitar with them, which is how I got hooked
up with them. He left and Dennis Price replaced him playing guitar. Kenny
Williams had a Hammond B-3 & a Leslie. We hauled that organ and leslie
up stairwells to play gigs. He also had a Fender guitar, knew a few chords,
and played about 2 songs on it. Once, they were playing for a High School
"Lead-Out", at "The Top Of 21". Kenny and his girlfriend
Vicki Clark, went down to the garage to make-out during the break. It was
time to start back and Kenny was nowhere around. So they played "Heartbreaker"
by Grand Funk Railroad and I played rhythm guitar. Kenny was embarrased
when he walked in and I was playing his guitar. It served him right. You
snooze, you lose. Vicki's best friend was Terri Donahue. She was hot. I
was in lust. Course, she didn't even know I existed. However, after hanging
out with The Persuasions, I knew I was destined for music greatness! They
had a Shure Vocal Master, and would put the amp/mixer down on the side of
the stage where I could adjust it. I'd go out into the audience, then adjust
the P.A. and tell the guys who needed to turn up or down. Later, when snakes
became about, it was so much better to run sound from 50 to 100 feet from
the stage. They had built 2 boxes, with 5 ceramic light fixtures in them.
This was there lighting system. It had red, green, blue, yellow and white
flood lights with extension cords plugged into a box with 5 switches on
it. It was incredibly dangerous, but it worked. I'm glad electronic keyboards
came along. I got real tired of carrying Hammond B-3s and Leslie speaker
cabinets. |
Barbara
O'Neil And The Steelers |
I
played country music as part of a backup band for Barbara O'Neil after graduating
from high school. I played with a Pedal Steel player named Ray Askins. Mike
Caudle played drums. Joe played rhythm guitar and sang all the male lead
vocal parts. Barbara had recruited my roommate, Tom Strickland, to play
bass. I wasn't into Country music much, but we played just about every weekend
somewhere. I was familiar with the songs because my Dad listened to country
music a lot. Buck Owens, Charlie Pride, Merle Haggard, etc. We played a
lot at the Moose Lodge in Selma, Alabama for some reason. The money was
good, and we always had a good time. My roommate went on to play with someone
else, but I hung in there with Barbara. We picked up a bass player for a
while named "Red", cause of his hair color. When he left, we picked
up a guy named Claude Donaldson, who has been a really good friend ever
since. Claude is a great bass player no matter what kind of music he plays.
|
New Year's Eve
- 1973
Knights Of The Round Table |
Bruce
Hunter & The Country Gentlemen |
| With
a gruesome tale about a guy who beat me and others out of a bunch of money,
I wound up in Vero Beach, Florida, playing guitar with a fellow by the name
of Bruce Hunter. John Mende was the other guitar player. I learned a lot
from him. Claude played bass guitar. Alvin Yates (who died of a heart attack
10/10/1993, R.I.P., my friend) played drums. He did the best Ed Sullivan
imitation you've ever seen. When we didn't have a job playing music, Bruce's
dad would hire us as construction workers for $5.00 an hour. We'd leave
at lunch, and go drinking. We all got to know Joyce who was like a mother
to us at Big Daddy's Bar. We traveled through Texas playing in Victoria,
Texas at "The Texas Rio Grande and Railroad Company Club" which
was a huge Ramada Inn with 2 swimming pools, and it's own strip mall attached.
We also played at "The Fiesta Club" at a Hotel in Alice, Texas,
about 30 miles West of Corpus Cristi. We had a left-handed fiddle player
with us for a while. He was really good. I don't remember his name. Bruce
is still playing music in Nashville. We were a bunch of long haired (yes,
I had hair then) rock'n'rollers playing country music. We had tons of equipment.
We scared most of the country music fans to death with all the stacks we
had!. |
Alice, Texas 1974 |
Joker |
| About
1976 or so I was living on Southside in my very first 1 bedroom, no-roommate
apartment. It had 4 rooms, and was affordable. One day, I saw a guy come
out of an apartment in the next building with a guitar case. A few days
later, I was coming home from practice with my guitar as he was driving
by. We didn't know each other but had given a nod or small wave in passing.
He stopped and asked if I played. I said yes. He said we'd have to get together
some time, and drove off. A few days later, he showed up at my door with
a six-pack of beer, and said, "Hey, let's talk music". I invited
him in. He looked at my record collection, we downed a few beers while talking
about our favorite music we liked to play and what we liked to listen to.
I put on a 10" reel of rock and roll, and told me he played bass guitar
in a band named "Joker" with his brother, who was a drummer. He
invited me to one of their practices, so I went. This is where I first met
Ben Treschel (Trexel), the guitarist. He was about 15 years old. Stuart
Kracke sang. Chris Goins also played guitar. |
Gary running sound for "Joker" at Highland Raquet Club
circa 1976 |
| The bass
player's name was Ray Armstrong. Ray died about 2000. Jessie, his brother
played drums. They were awesome! "Joker" was a high-energy, serious
Rock-n-Roll group playing Foreigner, Alan Parsons Project, Led Zeppelin,
etc. They would rent the Highland Racquet Club, tack up flyers on all the
telephone polls in the neighborhoods, charge $5.00 to get in and a huge
crowd would show up. I helped them to pick out equipment for a P.A. system
and became their Audio Engineer (sound man.) I bought a used snake and didn't
check it out ahead of time. I was underneath the stage 15 minutes before
their first concert soldering wires to a monitor send line to get it to
work.Whew! I solicited a good friend of mine, Ron Rains (Rox) who liked
the same kind of music to run the lights. I didn't know at the time he was
color blind. We'd have to tell him what color the gels were, but he knew
the songs, could keep time and worked from effect rather than just trying
to make it look pretty. We sat tables on top of each other so we could see
the stage. That's us in the blue & yellow shirts (above everyone else)
in the back with the reel-to-reel playing during the breaks. I earned the
nickname "Knobs", he was Ron "Rox" (and he did, and
still does). I was Audio, he was Visual. I still have my "Joker"
T-Shirt. I think Ron does too. Mine doesn't fit anymore, but I refuse to
throw it away. There was another band, "Touch" that "Joker"
would do a double-bill at Highland with. There would be a capacity crowd
to see these two groups. What great fun we had! Ben Trexel has about six
CDs out now. His latest project is AppleSpaceBar. He's been a studio recording
engineer for some very important people including "Train", and
produced a lot of great local talent. He recently starting playing with
a newly formed band "Rock
Candy", and after the sax player asked me to run sound on their
first job, I told him I would but not to tell Ben I was coming. When Ben
showed up, he was surprised and told everyone in the band not to worry,
"Knobs" was running sound. All they had to do was play, and I'd
make sure they sounded good out front. |
Happy
Chappy - The Dancin' D.J. |
| I'll give you brief
mention of the "illegal crossover" I made during the disco era
to become a D.J. (Disc Jockey for you young folks.). The Hollywood Country
Club was abandoned and turned into "The Hollywood Disco" during
that timeframe. Bruce's wife, Joy, who has always been a dance instructor,
was in charge of a dance group called "The Hollywood Dancers",
based loosely on "The Golddiggers" a popular all-girl dance group
on T.V. I remember some great times at the disco. They were looking for
a D.J., Joy gave them my name, and I was hired. I was known as "Happy
Chappy, The Dancin' D.J." Every Friday and Saturday night the lighted
runway style dance floor would be packed below the 12 foot tall podium I
played music from. About 10:30 or so the dance floor was cleared and "The
Hollywood Dancers" would take over for a cool routine Joy and the other
girls had worked up. Every once in a while Joy would get me to join them
and do a "freestyle" kinda thing in the middle of what they were
doing, just to add something different to their routine. I had a blast!
I got to choose the music, and keep it hopping. Of course, I had to dress
real snappy. So I'll tell you about the clothes (including how I came upon
my 4" platform shoes - see above "The Shoes".) I was walking
downtown between music stores on 4th and 5th Avenue North. On 19th Street,
was a clothing shop called "Cal's Ltd.". Cal(vin) was a heavy-set
black fellow and his business partner, Ivan was a tall string-bean dude.
These guys were dressed to the 9s! I was walking by their shop and looked
in the window one day, and, as they were always looking for a sale, convinced
me to come in and check out their clothes. I started to buy all my clothes
there. Wide collar shirts, three piece, loud colored suits, wide-brim hats,
and the platform shoes. They knew I liked to dance, so they invited me to
this club that was somewhere around Fourth Avenue North and Tenth Street.
I don't think they thought I would actually show up. But hey, I was into
dancing, and listening to all kinds of music, so one Friday or Saturday,
I showed up. It didn't bother me that I was the only "white boy"
in the place. It was a jumpin' nightclub, and the ten or eleven piece band
was awesome! I found Cal & Ivan, they invited me to sit with them and
we had a great time. I loved the music, and told Cal I didn't know if I
could keep sitting there cause I wanted to dance. I certainly didn't want
any trouble. But I didn't know anyone besides Cal & Ivan and didn't
want to ask anyone's girlfriend to dance so I could be killed instantly
and placed in a dumpster out back, never to be heard from again. Cal pointed
out a girl and said I should ask her to dance. I did. She looked me up and
down once, and gave me a polite "no thanks". I shuffled back to
the table. Ivan pointed out someone else I could ask to dance. I did and
she accepted, and once I got on the dance floor, it was hard to pull me
off. The only reason I stopped was because they started playing some slow
love song, and I didn't know the girl well enough to continue, so I told
her how much I appreciated the dance, and went back to the table to catch
my breath. I think Cal & Ivan were impressed. I wound up dancing just
about all night long with various girls and had a ball. My fashion courtesy
of Cal's was a big hit whether I was out dancing, playing in a band, or
just trying to be cool. My favorite suit was a peach-colored three piece
suit, with matching peach suede platform shoes. I wore that suit til it
got absolutely too small for me. |
|
|
So, beginning
New Year's Eve, and then just about every weekend in 1994, The Steel City
Ramblers, Rex deFoor on Cajun accordian, Don Parker on guitar, Al Picarelli
on drums, Roger James on fiddle, and me playing bass guitar, travelled all
over the Southeast playing authentic Cajun music. We even sang in French.
Thanks to Mrs. Sara Hobson, my high school French teacher, I actually understood
what we were singing. Cajun music can only be described as "Happy Music".
Whether you're listening to it, or playing it, you'll pass a good time.
(Bon ton roulet!) From time to time, I still play bass guitar and have drummed
for him, played guitar and keys on occasion. We played in Kosciusko, Mississippi's
25th Natchez Trace Festival. We played at CityFest, in Tuscaloosa about
4 years in a row. We were the very first band (ever) to play at Beam's Crawfish
Boil, in Birmingham. I really don't understand how they can call it a Crawfish
Boil without an authentic Cajun band. We played at The Alabama Crawfish
Festival in Faunsdale, Alabama. Hat's off to John Brussard who throws one
heck of a good time every year with about 30,000 of his closest friends.
|
| Cajun
is really a cool culture. To give you an idea of how our schedule was, one
time, we opened a Cajun restaurant on a Thursday night, played Friday night
in a local bar, got up Saturday morning, dedicated a newly built bandstand
in a Bessemer Park. Left there and was the warm up band that afternoon at
The Briarfield Ironworks Festival for this new found group of girls called
The Dixie Chicks. We were back in the local bar Saturday night. Then Sunday
afternoon we played at a lakehouse for a 40th wedding anniversary couple
of which the wife was from Louisiana, and the husband surprised her with
catered Cajun cuisine, and an authentic Cajun band... us. But the MOST fun
I had playing bass for Rex, was in Rock Island, Illinois in 2001. They had
a Cajun Fest. (The cops there call it Drunk Fest). Nine Cajun bands, two
stages, all weekend. We were one of the only 2 bands NOT from Louisana.
The other band, The Porch Dogs, from Florida, were good too. We'd played
Jolie Blonde (the official Cajun National Anthem), and everyone stood, took
their hats off, and sang along with us. When we finished that, Rex told
everyone to remain standing, that back in Alabama, we had our own Alabama
National Anthem. We played "Sweet Home Alabama" and we had thousands
of people in Rock Island, Illinois singing with us by the time we got to
the Chorus. Us and several thousand people singing "Sweet Home Alabama"
in Rock Island, Illinois. It doesn't get any better than that! iiiieeeeeeeyyyyyy!!!
|
The
Esteemed Librarians |
| I became
a member of The
Magic City Blues Society (MCBS) because I love the blues. When I was
young, I never knew Eric Clapton didn't write "Crossroads". Who
was Robert Johnson? I found out a lot great tunes are remakes of old blues
songs written by people never heard of. They probably never got paid for
a lot of them, either. I believe the line in the movie "Crossroads"
was: "The blues ain't nothing but a good man on the worst day of his
life". And as Kenny Wayne Shepherd says: "Everybody gets the blues".
The MCBS jam sessions are great for getting to play some old standards with
guys you never get to play with otherwise. 'Course, I'm into getting paid
for playing, too. I've been a Board Member of the MCBS and the Librarian
as well. The MCBS Library consists of over 1,000 CDs, videos, tapes, etc.
of various Blues material. I was in charge of the Library for a few years,
taking to all the events sponsored by the MCBS. |
 |
| If you're
a member, you can check stuff out, then bring it back at the next event,
or take it to someone at a drop-off point. It was great to get to listen
to so much music any time I wanted. I was named Library Gary. The MCBS puts
on several music events each year. For several years I was the stage manager
at the Battle of The Blues Band, and eventually given the title, "The
Stage Nazi", because I ran a tight ship. Each year there was a huge
event known as The Sloss Birthday Blast. Each Labor Day Sunday, from noon
until 10:00 pm we'd have about 10 bands play on the main stage, and during
the changing of the bands, we had a second stage set up with usually a duo
or trio acoustic act of some kind. One year, we had an opening for an acoustic
group between main acts, so I told The Board, I'd put together a group to
fill the slot. "The Esteemed Librarians" consisted of Bruce Andrews
harpist extraordinaire, and great guitar player George Dudely and myself.
We had a really good time. And the crowd did too. Bruce and George have
a duet called 2BLU.
They've been all the way to Memphis, Tennessee to the International Blues
Contest (IBC) twice and made it to the finals in 2008. Bruce now plays with
The Alabama Blues Machine. Ross Roberts & company. They're great! |
Roadie,
Stage Hand, Sound Guy, Etc... |
| When I'm
not playing music, I can be found hauling equipment, being stage manager
at some function, or running sound for some group somewhere. I'm just liable
to show up anywhere. Festivals are my favorite. I guess the non-bar atmosphere
is the best part of it. I can take the family and not have to fight a bunch
of cigarette smoke. Being the stage director at the MCBS Sloss Birthday
Blast, and Battle of the Blues Bands, my specialty was rotating bands on
and off stage in a hurry. This is how I became known as "The Stage
Nazi" (TSN). I had lots of help, but orchestrated everything pretty
smoothly. We've always been "on time" and no equipment has ever
been lost, stolen or broken, with the exception of one drummer's hardware
case wheel disintegrating but not due to any abuse that my guys did to it.
It was just old and worn out. The drummer just laughed at the guy whose
face was really comical when bearings and pieces of wheel went everywhere.
We gave "wheechair service". I literally had a wheelchair to help
some older artists get to the stage. We wouldn't let anyone carry anything
except keys and sunglasses. The drummers couldn't even tote their stick
bag. I love running sound for a good band. It doesn't always have to be
so loud. It's all about the "Knobs"... There was an event known
as "Phillips Fest" at the Alabama Theatre to help Marc Phillips
pay for his medical bills after he had been through so much treatment for
his throat cancer. I helped backstage, got to meet a lot of great musicians
who donated their time and showed up for Marc. There were some old friends
who had not spoken in years, and had parted on not-so-good terms, that came
and relationships were healed. This was more than just an event for Marc... |
Randall
Hall's Most Dangerous Praise Band |
| I've had
the privilege to play guitar at a couple of Churches. I've been part of
the rhythm section backing up many vocalists, and play with a few orchestras
of about 20-25 (card-totin' music-reading) folks. Some can't understand
how I play in Eb, Bb, etc. without being able to read music. The good Lord
just blessed me with being able to "hear it". I can read chord
charts, but I still can't tell "time" with the stuff. Around 2000
- 2001, Randall Hall, our Minister of Music at First Baptist Church of Center
Point, put together a nine-piece group of 5 horns and a 4 member rhythm
section from the orchestra. Everyone read music except me. It all started
with a Men's Retreat one weekend. We brought the group back from the retreat,
and that Sunday night, the congregation heard music like they had never
heard before. We stunned the old folks, but the young folks and the kids
went nuts. We played a lot of stuff by The Jericho Horns. We played at some
other churches like Church at Brook Hills, and around the state until First
Baptist Church of Center Point built a second church at a new campus in
Argo, AL and eventually split off and became CrossPoint. In 2007, I got
a copy of an email from one of the trombone players. It said, "Hey
Jake, this is Elwood. Let's put the band back together for a reunion."
So we got the guys back together and played two reunion concerts at Lakeside
Baptist Church in Hoover, and Crosspoint. We practiced a few times, and
it was like we had never stopped playing together, even after six years. |
Centercrest |
When
First Baptist Church of Center Point split, instead of following the "cool"
music all the way to Argo, we stayed a little while at FBCP until we got
tired of just listening to the organ and piano and temporary pastors.
We found Centercrest Baptist Church in Center Point to attend. We were
getting ready to sell our house, so I told the Minister of Music, it was
a temporary thing, but I'd play guitar and participate in whatever he
wanted me to do. He worked me into the small group consisting of a pianist,
organist, and sometimes bass player and drummer. The Minister of Youth
Music played piano, and the bass player, Johnny, and the drummer, (Alvin)
Wayne and I wound up playing a bunch of "Christian Rock" music
over in the youth building on Wednesday nights. |
Three
Drummers Named Alvin |
| Let me
pause here to tell you about an interesting coincidence. Although I have
played a lot of different music with a lot of different musicians over the
years, I have played with three really great drummers all named Alvin. The
first was Alvin Yates with Bruce Hunter and the Country Gentlemen. The second
was Alvin Smith of the Smith Band. And the third was Alvin Wayne Barnett
with whom I played at Centercrest Church. All three of them had different
styles, but were great to play with. All three of them are dead now and
I miss them. I just though this as an interesting note and wanted to share
it with all of you. |
