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My iPad photo of the rehearsal for the |
With the announcement that this week's issue of Style Weekly will be the last, I decided to preserve a few of the many pieces I have written for that periodical. How long its archives will remain online isn't known at this writing.
So this first Passing Parade post isn't about the opinions aplenty contained in the 34 Back Pages I penned between 1999 and 2016. Nor is it about basketball. It's about music.
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Dec. 10, 2013: Billy Ray Hatley Tribute Show at the National
Although it was months in the planning the uncertainty that preceded Sunday night’s show at the National was understandable. After all, most of the vocalists had learned songs just for the show. And, while the freezing rain had mercifully changed to ordinary rain, as the stage was being set up the weather was still threatening to sabotage Sunday night’s tribute concert.
The good news is the show went on without a hitch. (Photos of the event can be found here.)
The better news is the Billy Ray Hatley Tribute Concert was show business at it best: the music was joyful and uplifting. The experience of being in that refurbished downtown theater will not easily be forgotten by anyone who was there on Sunday. No doubt that will be especially true for Billy’s wife Sara and their two children, Sierra and Sam.
After the last song was sung by Robbin Thompson, the emcee, Chuck Wrenn, stepped to the microphone to sum up what the musicians had just made happen, “Wow, what a night!”
Although the stage was filled by 24 performers (with a stage crew of eight), the entertainment offered was no jam session and the show ran smoothly. No covers of rock ’n’ roll classics were played. Every song was written by Billy Ray Hatley, who can no longer perform them. In all, one corny old show biz word well describes how the concert went over -- "boffo!"
Why and how did this show happen?
A few years ago longtime Richmond favorite Billy Ray Hatley had the bad luck to have his career ended by a condition (Frontotemporal Lobe Dementia) that can be traced to an operation he had in 2005 and his four years in the Navy (1965-69). Eventually, his friend and sideman/collaborator Jim Wark convinced Sara Hatley that putting a tribute show together, made up of Billy’s music, would be the right thing to do. A team was assembled. Velpo Robertson, Rico Antonelli and Dave Owen, also fellow bandmates and close friends of Billy’s, joined Sara and Jim to produce the tribute.
“We got together to discuss the possibility in March,” said Rico. “The hardest part was deciding what songs to do.”
Decisions had to be made about who to include and who would sing which songs, to play the role that had always been Billy’s. It was decided the musicians who had been the sidemen in Billy’s two bands, Big City and The Show Dogs, would back up the invited singers. As each vocalist would only sing a couple of songs that meant handing small roles to people who were all used to being the stars of whatever gigs they played.
Brad Tucker said, “Egos were checked at the door.”
Space won’t allow a recap of all the material presented, but three highlights include: Bill Blue’s gritty performance of “Elvis’ Motorcycle.” Bill traveled from Key West to be there. Michael McAdam’s soulful performance of “Roll the Dice.” Mike traveled from Nashville to be there. Susan Greenbaum’s stirring performance of “Promised Land,” which provided what was maybe the biggest goose bumps moment of the night.
Appearing in addition to those performers already mentioned were: Charles Arthur, Steve Bassett, Jody Boyd, Junie Carter, Craig Evans, Chris Fuller, Eric Heiberg, Janet Martin, Gayle McGehee, Mic Muller, Li’l Ronnie Owens, Drew Perkins and Jim Skelding. (Bruce Olsen was scheduled to be there but was prevented by a cold that stole his voice.)
After the sound checks, two hours before show time, Wark had reminded the performers, “There’s nothing sad about this [show]. It can’t be about what Billy has been through. It’s about what he gave us.”
Those friends and fans of Billy’s who braved the weather to be in that room shared a one-of-kind experience. Throughout the show the spirit of camaraderie flowing from one song to the next was warm and palpable. Perhaps the peak of that feeling occurred mid-show, when Sara stood behind a microphone and thanked one and all for being there.
Proceeds from the tribute show and a CD anthology of Billy Ray Hatley recordings will benefit the Hatley family and the Daily Planet.
A video of the whole shebang was recorded and will eventually be presented by WCVE in 2014.
In case anyone missed it the first time, Chuck said it again, “Wow!”
*Feb. 25, 2014: HOTH: The Gold Standard
The stage was a flatbed trailer parked in a cobblestone alley in Church Hill. It faced the back of Chuck Wrenn's house. The audience spilled into adjacent backyards and wherever else it could. With no licenses to legitimize it, the fourth annual High on the Hog had the edgy cachet of Richmond's freewheeling warehouse parties of the '70s.
On Oct. 11, 1980, Richmond didn't allow large outdoor events combining properly amplified rock 'n' roll music and alcohol consumption, especially on public property. When the Megatonz opened the show, to think the cops would come eventually made sense — which probably encouraged the crowd's collective desire to live in the moment.
Instead, a chilly rain came while the second band, Don' Ax Me
... Bitch, was performing.
Rather than wait out the downpour,
Wrenn, the irrepressible impresario, broke out large rolls of
heavy-gauge transparent plastic. Armed with staple guns, he and
volunteer assistants assembled an awning to keep the rain off the
equipment and musicians. The audience followed suit by unrolling
more plastic, standing underneath while it was held overhead. Those
dancing in the mud felt the power of rock 'n' roll to
simultaneously express lamentation and celebration. With electric
guitars of wailing in defiance of the rainstorm, the sense of
solidarity felt by those baby boomers was the stuff of legends.
The rain subsided. The Memphis Rockabilly Band finished the show. No real trouble from the cops appeared. It was a charmed afternoon.
The series of High on the Hog parties began in 1977 as a small, pork-themed gathering of neighborhood friends. No electric guitars. In the years that followed the event took on a life of its own. Along with Wrenn, those on the team organizing three decades of parties were John Cochran, Larry Ham, Bobby Long, Steve McKay, Dave O'Kelly and Randy Smith. In 1983 that group stuck a deal with city authorities and went legit.
The transformation allowed the stage and festivities for High on the Hog 7 to move into Libby Hill Park. On the bill were the Bop Cats, New Victims of Love, Evan Johns and the H-Bombs and Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band. The turnout was huge, and the untainted success of the event paved the way for a new era. It allowed for Jumpin' in July, Friday Cheers and the countless beer-truck-in-the-street and music festivals that followed.
In High on the Hog's peak years, it took some 350 volunteers to chop the pork, serve the beer, tend the stage. The Silver Stars, a beloved gospel group, set the record for most appearances with 10. While space doesn't allow for the complete list, here are some of the other acts that graced the stage in the park:
Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, Big City, Big Posse, Bill Blue and the Nervous Guys, Billy Hancock, Billy Ray Hatley and the Showdogs, Bio Ritmo, Car Bomb, Deanna Bogart, Dirtball, the Diversions, Evan Johns and the H-Bombs, Faded Rose Band, Glenn Pavone and the Cyclones, the Good Guys, Good Humor Band, Janet Martin Band, Marcia Ball, NRBQ, Page Wilson with Reckless Abandon, the Radiators, Steve Bassett, Suzy Saxon and the Anglos, Terry Garland, and the Wall-O-Matics.
A Nor'easter drenched Richmond on Oct. 7, 2006. In the torrent the massive sound system couldn't be erected. Two scheduled acts couldn't perform in the conditions. Nonetheless, Lindy Fralin volunteered a scaled-down sound system. Tarps were lashed to the stage to block the wind-driven rain. The Bop Cats went on for a handful of dauntless regulars in front of the stage. Unfortunately, without the expected income from food and beer sales, the backers' rainy day fund was sopped up. Thus, High on the Hog 30 closed the book on a generation's gold standard for Woodstock-inspired parties.
The Memphis Rockabilly Band, fronted by the late Jeff Spencer,
finished the show. Its encore was Link Wray's "Run Chicken
Run," with Bill Coover playing lead guitar for one last dance,
with umbrellas, in the mud.
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Oct. 24, 2014: The Grace Street Era
Is today's live music and associated art scene in Richmond the coolest it's been for a while? Given the musicians, artists, nightlife venues and galleries, you might think so. And judging from local media, including Facebook posts, it's easy to gather the impression that a lot of people think the answer should be yes.
Maybe it's true. In 20 years we'll be better equipped to say for sure. But if the premise is accurate, then I wonder about timing: Today's in-crowd, music-and-art-driven milieu has been the coolest since when?
If we're to believe much of what was said during the RVA Music History Tour, put on Sept. 27 by WRIR-FM 97.3, the answer is the late-'70s to mid-'80s, centered on the Fan District's nightlife scene. That was when the 800 and 900 blocks of West Grace Street were the epicenter of what was shaking.
The era got under way when undergrad punks began annoying their older siblings — grad students and adjunct faculty, who were still hippies. During that transition, from hippies to punks, a cutting-edge scene emerged. That little section of Grace Street mattered, pop-culture-wise, more so than any other time. It fizzled out in the late-'80s, when the neighborhood fell on hard times. It became scary after dark. Venues closed.
The history tour was led by Gregg Kimball, Don Harrison, Ray Bonis and Bob Gorman and put together by the nonprofit radio station and the special collections and archives department of Virginia Commonwealth University's James Branch Cabell Library. The tour meandered its way from the library, in the heart of the university's Monroe Campus, to the Empire at the corner of Laurel and Broad streets.
About 30 people stopped at various places along the way to hear tall tales recounted about legendary shows and colorful characters: Bo Diddley at Rockitz ... the truncated 1972 Jerry Lee Lewis show in Monroe Park … the Handbill War of 1982 ... early House of Freaks shows at the Jade Elephant ... the Puppy Burn (a war protest rally with a scam for a hook) ... the Ramones at the Franklin Street Gym for Halloween (Single Bullet Theory opened) ... "Rocky Horror" at the Biograph ... the Grove Avenue Republic's secessionists ... Springsteen at the Back Door ... clothing-optional classes at the Free University ... Taj Mahal at the Pass ... Chuck Wrenn busted for selling the Sunflower (a hippie periodical) ... Color Radio getting untamed ... Iggy Pop at the Mosque ... beatniks at the Village Restaurant.
Upon dredging up all that nostalgia, what became obvious was that VCU had facilitated so much of what we discussed. Yet the growth of the university, especially in the last 20 years, hasn't always been seen in a good light. While the university's expansion has done much to rejuvenate downtown Richmond, it's also turned some Richmonders against it. To be fair, it must be acknowledged that the university has critics who have come to see it as a juggernaut, trampling and destroying.
Like plenty of people, I've been unhappy with some things VCU has done during the four and a half decades of its existence. There's nothing wrong with questioning what it's doing and will do. Still, to answer the juggernaut charge, the university has delivered so much that's been a boon to Richmond that harping on the harm it's done along the way can sound petty, sometimes.
While some may decry the startling transformation on Grace Street, which has seen high-rises sprouting from the same lots where townhouses once were situated, I won't jump on that rickety old bandwagon. When I measure VCU's impact, I look more at the talented people in our midst who are associated with the university, and less at the buildings.
Instead of complaining about all the national chains that have shouldered their way onto Grace Street, I'd rather tout the emergence of the stretch on West Broad Street, between Belvidere and Second streets, which seems to be at the heart of a cultural blossoming. Yes, there are other parts of town — including Scott's Addition and Manchester — that also are becoming hubs for galleries, theaters and clubs, but the Arts and Cultural District downtown clearly is the most happening part of this city in 2014.
Walk the area on a First Friday and you'll get the picture. Such a concentration of energy and entrepreneurial spirit is bound to shake things up in the future.
Now the university seems slowly to be moving toward connecting its two campuses. The effect that the university's most significant work in progress, the Institute for Contemporary Art, is going to have on both the Fan and Arts districts will be huge. When the ICA opens, as designed by Steven Holl Architects, it's going to draw international attention.
But it's important to remember the good old days. Because of the university's attention to documenting that era in its archives, my two grandchildren will be able to get a picture of what it was like when I managed the Biograph Theatre from 1972 to 1983 at 814 W. Grace St.
What WRIR's tour of that once-bohemian neighborhood made clear to
me is that since that wonderful era for live music faded into the
mists, the university clearly has been the best thing my hometown has
had going for it.
Nov. 24, 2015: The Dads Second Album Release Party
Enthusiasm filled the room when local rockers the Dads were performing. It exploded from the speakers. Steamlike, it rose from the crowd. Between 1980 and 1985, onstage in a saloon, the Dads delivered like few others.
Richmond was an accommodating home to some noteworthy black leather-clad punk bands during this period. There was an art-rock scene as well. In live-music venues you could hear reggae and hybrid sounds that fused Caribbean tempos with pop. Other rock ’n’ roll subsets were represented. Among them was a crossover scene that mashed up ’60s British rock with ’50s Memphis rockabilly. With two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, the Dads operated somewhere in that groove.
The Dads’ sound wasn’t warmed over from the social causes and political crusades of the ’70s. They weren’t hurling nihilist anger at the establishment. Instead, they filled the air with harmonies and a beat that provoked young bodies to move. Theirs was a catchy sound easy to like, and as it turned out — difficult to forget.
But capturing their act and making it into a consumer product wasn’t so easy. The Dads’ one album, produced during their time as a touring band, was released by CBS/Estate Records in 1984. It was decidedly less than satisfying.
“Very unhappy” is how lead guitarist David Ayers characterizes how the band felt about the album. “It was so light and tame-sounding compared to what we were doing live,” he says.
Having met in 1980 as members of Virginia Commonwealth University’s orchestra, Ayers and drummer Mike Tubb were the two original members featured in every iteration of the band. With other pals along for the ride, the group started busking. Eventually, after some personnel shifts, what became the 1981 touring lineup stabilized: the late Bryan Harvey (vocals and bass); Mark Lewis (vocals and guitar); David Ayers (guitar); Mike Tubb (drums). In 1983, Lewis was replaced by Kevin Pittman on vocals and guitar.
“We were very tight musically and as friends, so our breakup had nothing to do with us not getting along or anything like that,” Ayers says of the band’s 1985 parting. “It was more the feeling that the Dads had come to the end of our road.”
Before the band dissolved there was a second album in the works. Accordingly, 30 years later the chance for another ride down that road has arrived.
Recorded by Sal DiTroia, who played guitar on the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer,” the tracks were laid down in 1985 at Live Oak Studios in Chesapeake. Recently Tubb and Victor Benshoff, the Dads’ sound man and road manager, dusted off 11 of those tapes. After some tweaking they were made into the centerpiece of a new album. Four songs recorded in 1982 and engineered by Bruce Olsen also are included.
About to be released by Planetary Records, the new album is titled “Redemption.” Isn’t all that good news worth celebrating?
News of this special event was first posted on Facebook by Mike Tubb. Brooke Saunders soon joined to promote it. As the word spread others came forward to volunteer to help perform 30-some numbers from the Dads’ songbook.
Among the musicians expected to gather onstage at the Canal Club are: Coby Batty, Mark Brown, Craig Evans, Gary Fralin, Harry Gore, Paige Harvey, Stephen McCarthy, Suzy Peeples, Kevin Pittman, Rob Reisinger, Brad Tucker, Jim Wark, Todd Woodson and too many more to fit in this space.
“Redemption” CDs will be available at the event and then go on sale at Plan 9 Music. Remembering the death of Harvey and his wife and two daughters in 2006, and the death of Victor Benshoff earlier this year, proceeds from the show and CD sales will go to charities selected by the Harvey family and the Benshoff family.
Now fans of the Dads, both old and new, will be able to travel the down the aforementioned road. The show amounts to a local reunion and is expected to be packed. The souvenir album should better replicate the soundtrack to many a good time back in the day. What’s not to like about that? S
The Dads perform at a CD-release party for “Redemption” on Friday, Nov. 27, at the Canal Club, 1545 E. Cary St. A small army of musicians will perform. The doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.
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Feb. 29, 2016: Review of Robbin Thompson's Real Fine Day
Robbin Thompson penned many songs throughout his long career as a songwriter -- one of which was officially designated as Virginia's popular state song last year.
Thompson's last recorded work was a celebration of life itself, entitled “A Real Fine Day.” On Sunday, Feb. 28, the music lovers who packed the National on a sunny afternoon for a tribute to Thompson, the tunesmith, enjoyed an unforgettable experience -- a real fine day, indeed.
Chief among those who put together the well-run event were Bob “Rico” Antonelli, Velpo Robertson, who acted as music director, Skip Rowland and Jan Williams, who acted as technical director.
The show's proceeds are to be donated to two local nonprofits, SPARC and JAMinc. And, speaking of SPARC, one of the highlights of the show was the segment in which a group of youngsters from that splendid program for kids rushed onto the stage to dance along with a recording of Thompson singing “A Real Fine Day.” It prompted more than a few grizzled Thompson fans to wipe tears away from their cheeks.
The show's performers included four musicians from the original Robbin Thompson Band (which goes back to the '70s): Velpo Robertson (guitar), Bob “Rico” Antonelli (drums), Eric Heiberg (keyboards) and Audie Stanley (bass).
All of the songs performed during the concert Sunday were written by Thompson. "At times, the love in the room was overwhelming,” said Skip Rowland, who photographed the event for the planners. “In addition to the music, everyone was treated to video contributions from Phil Vassar and Timothy B. Schmit."
Robbin's stories were told onstage by some of the performers. Mike McAdam reminisced about meeting Thompson when McAdam's high-school band shared a bill with Mercy Flight, at the behest of the late Tom Maeder, who represented both bands at the time. McAdam chuckled, remembering how tough it was to follow Thompson, even then.
Brad Spivey recalled the time he went to a Robbin Thompson show at Ashland Coffee & Tea, and afterward asked Thompson to sign the CD he bought. “I felt a little goofy asking a friend for his autograph,” he said.
Thompson gladly signed it, but he added a message that Spivey imagined would be something like, “To my friend, Brad,” or words to that effect. But when Spivey looked at the CD, over the signature it read, “Listen and learn.”
Performers came from as far away as Chicago and Nashville to be onstage for a song or two. And many attendees also traveled to be there for this once-in-a-lifetime show.
Pam Barefoot made the trek to Richmond from the Eastern Shore. Barefoot, who has known Thompson since their days at Virginia Commonwealth University, is now the president of Blue Crab Bay Co. A few years ago, she put together three Robbin Thompson concerts down in her neck of the woods.
“Prior to the 2011 concert,” Barefoot said, “we walked around town and passed by the Roseland Theatre. Robbin told me his dream was to perform there, so I decided to see if I could make that happen … Robbin has a loyal following on the Eastern Shore.”
From the stage, Chuck Wrenn thanked former-state Sen. Walter A. Stosch for his part in having the General Assembly designate “Sweet Virginia Breeze,” written by Thompson and Steve Bassett, as the popular state song. Wrenn also read a letter from Gov. Terry McAullife.
Like many other baby boomers who were at the National, both Barefoot and Wrenn were at the legendary 1970 Steel Mill/Mercy Flight show atop a downtown parking lot. No concert from the hippie era in Richmond ranks above it in pop-culture importance. Steel Mill was Bruce Springsteen's band; Thompson fronted Mercy Flight. Not long after that show Thompson joined Springsteen's band as the featured vocalist and toured with that group for the better part of a year.
Other supporting players and performers for the National show included: Steve Bassett, Jody Boyd, Marna Bales, Leetah Stanley, Gregg Wetzel, Mike Lucas, Michael Lille, Carlos Chafin, Brooke Fauver Drumheller, Kyle Davis, Jon Carroll, John Stanley, Lewis McGehee, Carter Gravatt, Adam Stubbs, Bill Bevins, Erin Thomas-Foley, Tim Timberlake and Chip Miller.
Two of the other highlights of the show were: McAdam's bluesy performance (guitar and vocal) of “I Won't Quit.” McAdam nailed it. Then there was Miller's singing of “Bright Eyes.” He sounded so much like Thompson that it was noticed by several of the musicians standing in the stage-right wing.
The underwriters of the show were: Digital Video Group Inc. (DVG), Donna Meade Dean-Stevens and The Old Dominion Barndance, Dr. Joe Niamtu, Kirk Schroder and Schroder Davis PLC, Nick and Becky Colleran and Acoustics First, and Virginia Tourism.
Robert W. “Robbin” Thompson (1949-2015) was born in Boston, raised in Florida and he made Richmond his home for most of his life. Rest in peace, Robbin.
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