Last week, GoTriCities, Dr. Enuf, JJs House of Music and several musicians and volunteers helped produce The Ultimate Rock Showcase during Fun Fest at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium. Despite the fact that “Elvis had left the building” (with exception of some possible DNA), the fans walked away with several memorable performances.
Vince Staten, a Times-News columnist, was walking the halls of the auditorium as we were loading in equipment. He was waxing nostalgic too, talking about the night Elvis played Kingsport. Evidently, “The King” played here before his rise and Vince recalled him signing autographs outside our hospitality room.
Last year, GoTriCities presented the first showcase at the Civic Auditorium presenting regional bands that perform “original” music. These songwriters were a great initiation for our annual event, but this year, we decided to try something different. Of the many entrants who contacted us online at The Buzz, we selected four of the region’s most popular rock bands — Sober Otis, CattleAxe, Goodspeed and Johnny Rock Star.
The day began early as the audio crew from “The Soundpranos” arrived after lunch to set the stage. Phil Davis was the chief engineer and every case, every cord and every connection was in place, checked and sounding great by the time the doors opened at 6 p.m. The hall filled quickly too as the lights were turned out and the bands got ready to play.
The first band to the stage was new sensation Johnny Rock Star. Adam Cloninger is the striking voice for this band and his talent and determination along with his other mates will certainly attract a lot of attention over the next few months.
From backstage, I watched David “Rollo” Rowland pound his drum kit with a tunnel vision that convinced me he had put a lot of effort into rehearsing for this show. I’ve never heard a better performance and along with guitarist Jonathan Wilhelm and his new age metallic style, this band slashed through a great set list that ignited the night.
Goodspeed arrived earlier in the day to get the lay of the land, so to speak. While talking to the guys, it reinforced an earlier notion that I believe is a big part of this band’s success. Goodspeed is a good time!
Not only were the guys wide-eyed with enthusiasm, but when TK, their drummer, kicked his 28-inch kick drum painted like a checkered cab, he sent out a wave of pandemonium that rocked the band and beyond.
In a local radio survey, Goodspeed recently took honors as “best live band” and “best male vocalist.” Their original song “Easy Baked Lovin” also took top honors in another award category.
Chris Gibson was the most entertaining front man of the night and together with his band, they made a lasting impression. Later reports described their set as the most fun you can have listening to live music and it shows!
A day before the concert, we weren’t certain CattleAxe was going to perform. Drummer Al Sammons was in Vegas and in a last minute “red-eye” flight from the city of lights, Al rolled into Tri-Cities Airport ready to rock – hours before the show.
CattleAxe is one of the area’s notable hard rock bands with a set list than stretches back to the early ’70s and their music couldn’t be more enduring behind the locomotion of three native legends.
Greg Yates (Pink) and Tom Bettini are pilot/co-pilot of this threesome and mesmerized many Fun Fest fans young and not so young that enjoyed the band’s floorboard acceleration.
Sober Otis wrapped up the Showcase with all the glamour of seasoned professionals including an epic medley that brought the audience everything from The Bee Gees to Metallica. It was a little overwhelming too, as their fans made it difficult to clear the stage after their performance.
There’s a lot of effort that goes into an event like this and the best reason to participate are in the smaller moments. Early in the night, a parent told me their daughter was eager to get Johnny Rock Star’s autograph. Her eyes were sparkling when we made our way through crowd and backstage to Rock Star’s Adam Cloninger, who was more than happy to sign an autograph, the same place Elvis did, many years back.
Kingsport comes full circle every year during Fun Fest and this summer celebration always leaves great memories, too, especially when the streets are live and loud with the sound of music.
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David Cate is new media director for the GoTriCities Network.