Open Mic, April 7, 2018
It was a Dark and Stormy Night
The bad weather kept most people at home, but the few folks that did make it out for the show had a really good time. Host Robert Foster opened the show with a trio of his favorite folk songs. His selections included “Moon Shadow” by Cat Stephens, “Old Tennessee” by Dan Fogleberg, and “Mister BoJangles” by Jerry Jeff Walker. Apprentice host Travis Leimer followed Foster to the stage. With light attendance, Leimer had time to perform a few extra songs and gain more experience on stage. Leimer took second place in the Arts Center’s annual Music Scholarship, and he has been invited to audition for a country show in Tullahoma this August. His songs included “Momma’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys” by Waylon Jennings, “Hallelujah” by the late Leonard Cohen, “Wagon Wheel” by Bob Dylan and Darius Rucker, “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton, and an original song entitled, “I don’t Hate Love Songs.” Christian music singer Karrie Harris performed “Beyond,” “Let Your Glory,” “You Picked Me,” “Closer,” “Forever Friend,” and “You Cover Me” with backing tracks. Arts Center president and the show’s co-host Ron Hackett finished the evening with three of his instrumental jazz arrangements on guitar. Harold Arlen wrote the first tune, entitled “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” in 1933, He wrote the tune for an unsuccessful Broadway play called The Great Magoo, set in Coney Island. In 1973, Peter Bogdanovich used it for the theme of his movie about a con man during the Great Depression who finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter. The movie started Staring Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Next Hackett performed “I Remember You,” as song written by Victor Schertzingerfor the 1942 musical "The Fleet's In." In the musical, a shy sailor is kissed by a female starlet as part of a publicity stunt. He becomes known as a stud, and his friends bet that he'll be able to defrost an icy nightclub singer. Dorothy Lamour sang the song backed by the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Hackett finished with on of his favorite arrangements that he calls, “Swinging Over the Rainbow.” Based on Harold Arlen “Over the Rainbow,” Hackett arranged this tune sitting in an apartment in Seattle in 2015 shortly before his daughter got married. “Dad only gas two jobs at a wedding. Walk her down the isle and pay all the bills, so I had plenty of time to work on the arrangement,” said Hackett. He plays the song with a heavy swing style, which begets the name.
Photos
Photos courtesy of Ron Hackett
Robert Foster
Travis Leimer
Karrie Harris
Ron Hackett