Motley Crue, all close personal friends of mine
“Take me down to your dance floor. I won’t mind the people, when they stare. Paint a different color on your front door and, tomorrow, we may still be here!” ~ Gram Parsons, “A Song for You”
I am a groupie. I always have been.
When I was in high school, I was two hours late for my curfew once because my friends and I wouldn’t go home one night until we “partied with” Motley Crue. By “partied with” what I mean is that we followed their limousine around our hometown of Mobile, Ala., for several hours after a concert until they finally got out at a bar in a spot where we could approach them (a strip club, of course). Then, we swarmed them to say “That was awesome!” and “We’re in a band, too!” four or five times each in about ten seconds. They said “Thanks. Keep it up.” Then, the bouncer from the club said, “You kids get out of here before I call the cops!”
On Monday, I was telling all of our friends at school about how cool Tommy was, that Mick and Nikki wanted to get together and jam, and that Vince said my songs kick ass!
Since then, I’ve interviewed, introduced and played music with hundreds of performers, and I still get that jubilated feeling every time. I get roused if it’s Carrie Underwood or the girl sitting next to me in a songwriting class who sings like an angel. (Her name is Kendra Miles, and I’m pretty certain that many of you will hear her sing soon too). Live music always gives me that crazy-good feeling where I have to shake and squeal a little bit no matter who might be watching.
In the words of the great Billy Joe Shaver, “God loves you when you dance! And, may the God of your choice bless you!”
There are plenty of opportunities to dance this month and no good excuses not to. Don’t even try!
I know it’s hot; it’s summer. Remember that it was only 52 degrees on the last day of exams this Spring, and enjoy the heat!
I know you’re broke; we all are. Local Color has FREE admission, FREE food, and Newcastle pints for only $2. (Food/Admission tickets for underage customers are only $5.)
I also know you have to work or go to school; Local Color runs from 8–10 P.M. every “Hump night,” so you can still get plenty of beauty sleep for a productive Thursday and finish the week strong.
Steven Parvin and the Moonshine Matinee crew will perform Aug. 10 at Bluesboro
Plus, we have fantastic shows lined up! For the first few weeks of August, the host of WMTS 88.3’s “A.D.D. Radio” Jacob Roberts will be leading some all-star jam sessions as MTSU students trickle back into town after Summer break. Local favorites Moonshine Matinee will be featured on the 10 and Backwoods Heathens on the 17 with a ton of special guests stopping by to play for the cameras. Local Color’s television producer Megan Brantley will be bringing her mobile production unit out and collecting footage for our “Back-to-School Special” and preparing her crew for the fourteen week regular season which starts Aug. 24.
And what a season it’s gonna be!
The premiere episode will feature:
Reggae music from Murfreesboro’s The Tendeez. Their drummer is the latest musical genius to emerge from the Jennings family, and just like his great uncle Waylon, he does things his own way and does them very well. Austin Jennings also writes some of the songs for the band and is joined by some other great players: Cody Chlebowski, Stephen Hemphill and Michael Moore. The Tendeez have a sound that is part Bob Marley, part Rage Against the Machine, part Pogues and all their own.
The incredible acoustic music of John Kelley. A lot like another famous storytelling John (John Prine, that is), John Kelley has a delivery that makes you feel like he’s inviting you to Christmas dinner and has the ability to make you laugh, cry and then laugh again during the same song. His company, Audio Electric Research: The Acoustic People has some of the best products on the market and will be providing acoustic guitar amplifiers for Local Color this season as well.
Winner of 2010’s album AND song of the year by the folk DJ charts for her release “Home,” Louise Mosrie. Louise may be the best songwriter in Nashville these days, and everybody knows it. To watch her perform is quite a treat, too, and even comical in retrospect. Louise probably weighs sixty pounds wet and wearing boots, but her stage presence could stop a train.
One of my dearest friends and a true hero of mine, Aaron “Woody” Wood, just killed it at Bonaroo this year and will be coming over from Asheville, NC, (see additional article on him here) to help me kick off the new show with a bang, and things won’t slow down a bit throughout the season. I hope to see you at Bluesboro every Wednesday, and if you are a performer, we still have some spaces open; I would love to hear from you at www.facebook.com/LocalColorMTSU or LocalColorCommunity@gmail.com.
