Friday nights are my favorite night of the week. I guess because after a roller-coaster week, this epitaph for the work week is always cause for celebration. I’m getting older and lots of my friends don’t get out much anymore and that’s all the more reason for me to jump on an opportunity to fly by the local music scene here in the Tri-Cities with my friend ‘Mad Max’ and his ’72 Dodge Charger.
I’ll call him ‘Mad Max’ for the moment, because that’s what it felt like as I sank into the seats of his metal hot-rod with nothing but a shifter on the floor and two bucket seats (with seat belts). Of course one of the signature stereos of the seventies hangs under the dash – a big knobbed Panasonic cassette deck that looks like an ad from an early Rolling Stone magazine and has been rumored to play nothing but Deep Purple.
First stop – The Wood Stone Deli, Kingsport, TN- The Woodstone is a local sandwich shop that has been in and out of business for over 30 years now, near the Fort Patrick Henry Dam. When I was younger, it was a great place to get draft beer to go and as always – the famous ‘Kitchen Sink’ submarine sandwich. They’ve opened and closed several times over the past few years, occupying one or two buildings on Fort Henry Drive. The latest home has been converted to a pool/sports bar and has live music most every weekend. Tonight….Warhorse.
Warhorse is a cover band that seems to have all their songs memorized and have a pretty good following. David Dinsmore plays bass in the band and they have a strong young vocalist that shows promise. His young rock blues voice complimented the older guys in the band, but there sound was a bit muddy as they still are sporting a small PA.
The audience was about 35 or 40 strong and the place seemed like it had been busy for the night. This is a tough room. They have a nice little cave for the band, but the few pool tables and limited seating capacity (80 maybe) always seems a little cramped.
Back in the Charger, we shifted into high gear and stopped by The Stir Fry Cafe in Johnson City next to Barnes and Noble. This club is one of the most surprising and enjoyable new venues in the area and serves a commendable menu of what they refer to as ‘neo-asian’ cuisine and electric martinis. Some regional developers scoffed at the idea of live music in between the bookstore and Chili’s and Cheddars, but this new restaurant in Johnson City gets my vote as one of the best run businesses in town and I credit that to the manager- Raffeale.
I don’t know his last night yet, but Raffeale is a young Adonis that has great character and a humble, but focused personality. He obviously has a heart for live musicians in the area and is booking everything from Alt-Bluegrass to Funk/Dance and each weekend, you’ll find one of the biggest crowds here at the Stir Fry- especially in the summer when they open the doors in the back to a spacious outdoor patio and stage.
Blue Rapture was performing tonight and Greg and Richard sounded great along with Sam Burke on bass, Ron on keyboards and the incredibly talented Jason Roller on drums. The band parted some months ago with their adorable blonde female vocalist and are rebuilding a gritty, creole blues sound with some of the finest musicians in the area.
To my surprise (and this is the case quite often at The Stir Fry), the audience rarely acknowledge the end of the music. It’s not because the band though, I just really believe the social scene is what drives this restaurant and the music is a part of their expectation. I watched Blue Rapture perform several funky tunes and everybody seemed into it, but when the music stopped, all you could hear was the roar of the chatter – BTW – Greg set a dB meter in the room one night – ambient noise from the audience with no band – 92 dB!
Some friends criticize this spot as the place where the local ‘Paris Hilton’s hang out and true, the faces show the blank face of youth, but it’s still a fun hangout and I can’t wait to play there with Reagan in December.
Closing time for the Stir Fry is around 1.00 am. That’s when everyone starts heading out – a few of them in Mercedes and Hummers. I never enjoyed getting into a muscle car more!
Tap’s Restaurant on Roan Street is another local pool/sports venue that has regularly hosted live bands for as long as I can remember in Johnson City. It’s one of those true local hangouts that has decades of edgy experiences and hosts the latest of the night creatures. It’s not a place Paris Hilton would go either, but you might find Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson.
Inside the door, ‘Johnny Rockstar’ was performing on stage right inside the front door. Adam Cloninger is the young lead vocalist for this band and is without doubt the brightest new modern rock voice in the Tri-Cities. The band had concerns about their name recently, but have decided to keep the JRS name and that’s most fitting since they really have their act together.
Kingsport’s David Rowland is on drums and has been playing a rock kit for over 25 years and together with bassist Greg Godsey and Jonathan Wilhelm, Johnny Rock Star has one of the most rockin’ bands in the area and turns out a good collection of original songs – I especially enjoyed the broken rock sound from ‘Charade’ that was the highlight of their final set. The covers were great too. I have to salute anyone able to pull of an AudioSlave song with convincing pipes and Adam never disappointed.
Alan Prince ran sound for the band and we both agree that Adam and the guys have as much potential as any of the local artists here in the Tri-Cities. Of course, Prince or ‘rainman’ is about the best engineer in the region and he knows what he’s talking about. They deserve better rooms and it will be interesting to watch their audiences and their path as musicians in the near future.
That was about it for the night. The streets of the Tri-Cities are pretty darn desolate at 3.30 am. The only things moving are newspaper carriers and Mad Max who dropped me off back in the village before shutting my door on the cold autumn night.