Open Mic, February 17, 2018
Newcomers & Haggard Night
All the rain in the Tennessee Valley over the past week couldn't dampen anyone's spirts as folks gathered for the twice monthly performing arts and open mic show at the Arts Center on Saturday, February 17th. "This is a great environment for people to share their talents with their friends, neighbors, and families," said Arts Center president Ron Hackett. Host Robert Foster started the show with a trio of country favorites that started with "Almost Home," by Kerry Kurt Phillips. He finished with a pair of tunes by Merle Haggard entitled "Mama's Hungry Eyes" and "Daddy Frank." Randall Mills finally returned to our stage after a long absence. He performed "People are Crazy," by Billy Currington; "Check Yes or No," by George Strait; and "Hotel California," by the Eagles. Elliott from Petersburg was on a postal theme for the evening that was inspired by Foster, who retired from the US Post Office. His set included "Love Letters in the Sand" by J. Fred Coots and the lyrics by Nick Kenny and Charles Kenny, and "Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" by Fred E. Ahlert, Joe Young. Newcomer J. D. Honea sang more country favorites while and Drew Tucker accompanied him on guitar. Honea's set included three more Haggard favorites: "Things Ain't Funny Anymore," "I'm always on a Mountain When I Fall," and "What Am I Going to Do with the Rest of My Life." Another newcomer Marty Scott took the stage to sing three more country favorites. Tucker also accompanied Scott on guitar. Scott's set included "Cold Beer Conversation" that was made famous by George Strait, "I'm Going to Live Forever," by Billy Joe Shaver, and "Making Me Look Again," by Drake White. Our third newcomer of the night was Chris Thompson, who sang and accompanied himself on a Fender electric guitar. His selections included "Dixie Land Delight," by Ronnie Rogers; "One More Last Chance," by Vince Gill and Gary Nicholson; and "That's Alright Now," by Arthur Crudup. The last song is best known as the first single recorded and released by Elvis Presley. Avant-gard songwriter Thunderbyrd Newman returned with two new songs that were written in Hawaiian Slack Key. Newman was inspired by a song Ron Hackett plays in this alternative guitar tuning and decided to learn it. He was surprised to find that Hawaiian Slack Key is a collection of alternate open tunings for the guitar. He used the Taro Patch tuning for his original songs were "Smile in My Heart" and "You're Baby Sister Will." Apprentice host Travis Leimer performed next. His set included "Yours," by Russell Dickerson, "Beth," by Peter Criss and Stan Penridge of the band Kiss, and "Perfect," by Ed Sheeran. President and co-host Ron Hackett always gets the anchor position and performs last in the regular round. He invited his friend, Tucker, back to the stage for an impromptu jazz jam. They performed three jazz standards that included "All of Me," by Seymour Simons and Gerald Marks, "Girl from Ipanema," by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and "Blue Bossa," by Kenny Dorham. There wasn't time for an encore round this week, so Hackett closed the show with his jazz guitar arrangement of "Besame Mucho." The title means Kiss Me Much, which is ironic because the songwriter was a young Mexican pianist named Consuelo Velazquez who had not yet been kissed, and she had heard that kissing was considered a sin. Pictures from the show can be found on the Arts Center's website and on their Facebook page. "We now video the shows for broadcast on FPU's Channel 6," said Hackett.
Photos
Photos courtesy of Ron Hackett
Robert Foster
Randall Mills
Elliott from Petersburg
Drew Tucker
JD Honea
Marty Scott
Chris Thompson
Thunderbyrd Newman
Travis Leimer
Drew and Ron
Ron Hackett