One show this past year left me with a great memories and will be a memorial we’ll talk about for years to come as family, friends and musicians joined together for a musical tribute for the late Mike Mahaffey at Gatsby’s in Johnson City, Tennessee.
‘Mikey’ was one of several talented players from Northeast Tennessee who passed away this past year. He died suddenly in his sleep on Monday, September 15th, 2005 of heart failure. He was 38-years old and left a wife and three young children.
Mike graduated from Sullivan South High School and I remember playing loud rock and roll at the Fordtown Ruritan Club back in the early 80’s when where teens.
After graduation, he formed a local band called ‘Toyz’ with Derek Helvey, David Rowland and Tim Hoogcamp. They made an impression on the arena rock crowd with Van Halen covers and other rockers from the mid-eighties. He later booked a gig with a touring band named Avalanche, got a gig later with former New Grass vocalist, John Cowan in a new rock band called Dr. Nick and ultimately played with Blackfish and Self – a band led by his brother Matt who launched the Mahaffey family into the MTV limelight and currently tours with Beck.
Another musician that joined us in our teen jam in Fordtown was Tad Dickens. I knew Tad as a drummer from who was with me in the high school band. We all were pot-smoking rockers with a desire to play louder than anyone else. Tad went to ETSU, was one of the founding drummers with one of the most popular bands to come out of Johnson City – Brian and The Nightmares.
Not long after he left that band, he left Tennessee altogether and relocated to the Percussion Institute in LA for a bit, came back to the region, put his drum sticks down and finished his degree in journalism at ETSU. Since then he has worked at The Elizabethton Star, Johnson City Press and is presently the online editor at Roanoke.com.
Mike’s death rekindled something special in Tad. He wanted to do something for Mike’s kids and he sent me an email back in the fall about putting together a benefit. I thought it was a great idea from the start and when he told me that he was going to contact former members of Mikey’s band to appear at this show, the event took on an even more character.
If you’ve ever tried to put organize an event like this, you already know that it’s a truly a labor of love. Everyone is busy and hardly no-one will commit time to a ‘benefit,’ but Tad didn’t stop until he had several commitments from Mike’s former bandmates, local players, audio engineers and club owners to support his idea.
After several weeks of preparation, Tad had a date, an event and a league of extraordinary musicians who came together for ‘The Mikey Show’ at Gatsby’s.
Here is the cast of characters;
Alan Prince – Sound Engineer for many bands in Northeast TN
Terry McCoy- Guitars (guitarist for Sober Otis and former bandmate with Mike)
Brad Tester- Bass (Sober Otis)
Bo Bradley- Bass (Various bands)
Cheri Spinizolla- Avalanche
Kimber- Avalanche
John Cowan – John Cowan Band
Quinten Horton- Recording
I was impressed to hear that Tad had contacted both Cheri Spinnizola and John Cowan and was planning on having these two terrific vocalists headline the band. In addition, he brought together a backup band that was made up of local musicians who had worked with Mike throughout his life.
For the the local guys, we planned a couple of rehearsals to prepare 20 songs for Cheri and John. Both of the performers set us up with a CD of their material and we began working on the songs Friday afternoon, right before the Saturday show. I took the day off and met Tad, Bo, Brad and Terry McCoy at the Bowman Bradley farm in Gray, Tennessee and we rehearsed throughout the afternoon on several rock classics Cheri was to sing.
We had a good rehearsal and a fun time too. It was terrific to play with Terry McCoy. He’s the Mad Max of the Tri-Cities music scene and has truly lived his life with his guitar leading the way. He’s played with several bands including his most recent Sober Otis, and has taught several people in the community and is one of the most sought after rock guitar teachers in the Tri-Cities.
Our Friday rehearsal was lots of fun and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had a Friday night gig with Reagan Boggs at Stir Frye Cafe, so the whole day was surrounded by music.
The next day, we were to rehearse again in the afternoon at Gatsby’s. We were especially looking forward to rehearsing with Cowan since his music was original work and a bit more complicated. We arrived at the club sometime around 2pm and Alan Prince was building the stage and the PA.
Evidently, John decided not to fly from Nashville to Tri-Cities. He was supposed to arrive with Cheri and her crew. Her husband is a pilot and the weather was bad, so John decided to drive. Our 4pm rehearsal was out of the question and we all had our fingers crossed that he would arrive by 7pm and we would have a chance to rehearse, but that didn’t happen either.
We did get a chance to rehearse with Cheri though and wow, was she fun to work with! I guess she stood about five feet tall and had long blonde curly hair and one of the most powerful rock female voices I’ve heard in my travels. Her set was a sonic soup including AC/DC, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin, Joan Jett and Led Zeppelin. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to turn up that new Hammond organ and perform to these great songs.
Cheri brought a few friends with her too- a special acquaintance was ‘Kimber’ – one of Mike’s old girlfriends. She recalled a memory of jamming with Mike at my home in Mt. Carmel several years ago and she sang backup with tonight. We also had a great time remembering Mike and his music.
Sober Otis started the show around 8.30 and their band was a weave of several local players too. A few weeks back, Otis’s lead vocalist, Tim Cooper died from a heart attack and Rusty Honeycutt (10,000 Flames) stood in with Brad and Terry and rocked the early show with a great set of modern rock covers.
I was a the bar with Kimber when John Cowan met Tad at the front door of Gatsbys. He was dressed in non-descript jeans and jacket and just came over from the hotel. He introduced himself and made his way to our table to reminisce with Cheri and Kimber.
In the meantime, Jason Crawford who plays banjo and fiddle had just finished a set with Trey Hensley in Greeneville. I had invited him to join us and to be sure and bring his banjo. He’s a big fan of Cowan and eager for the chance to play. We were performing a song called ‘Baby King’ and the banjo solo was perfect for Jason. I introduced him to Cowan and they both began to talk about banjo and Jason had a spot on the stage.
When Sober Otis finished their set, myself, Brad, Bo and Tad reset the stage and began to turn on the juice as Cheri set the room on fire with a great performance and an awesome set of those great rock classics. She was electrifying and the crowd was into the impromptu event!
I was a bit nervous about performing cold with John Cowan. The recordings we had to work with were several old soul songs and a handful of originals and weren’t the kind of songs you could pull successfully on the cuff. I will say there were a few gimmes on the set list (Mustang Sally and Little Wing), but John’s arrangement made these songs so much more open ended as his voice seemed to soar outside the boundaries of the ho-hum quality of these old songs.
I remember Watching Mike Mahaffey perform with John Cowan when they were in Dr. Nik together. It was in a smoky red white and blue warehouse building in Knoxville called Uncle Sams. I was completely blown away with Cowan then as the former, operatic voice of New Grass and he still stands at the top of the list as one of the most powerful male vocalists I’ve ever heard or performed with.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind that we didn’t rehearse and we hit the stage sometime around 10pm. John called out songs one after another and we all worked real hard to listen to each other and give him the backup he needed.
Tad Dickens played great. He hammered the kit all night long and Terry McCoy’s shimmering guitar stands out on the recordings I’ve heard. Bo and Brad forged a heavy groove into the music and me and Jason Crawford tossed in a few melodies and rhythms that made for a unique, once in a lifetime experience.
Quinten Horton was in the audience that night and had a microphone set up in the middle of the room and managed to get a recording of ‘Baby King,’ ‘Little Wing’ and an a cappella song John sang in honor of Mike. Not bad either. You can click the links below to listen to those recordings.
I had a great time playing with both of these acts and someone in the audience admitted that the smile on my face never disappeared and he was right. This was a wonderful night of musical reflections and I never felt so much a part of a local music scene as I did that night.
Over $2500 was raised at the door that night to help Mikey’s children.
One final note….earlier in the evening, I had changed clothes out in the parking lot and locked my keys in the car and I was saved by an old friend.
There was one other person having a better time than I and that was Keith Smith. Keith is a close friend of Tad Dickens and he was dancing most of the night in front of the stage and was a real help to me.
After the gig was over and the bar called out the last call, Keith phoned his AAA card and had a wrecker come help me unlock my Jeep. Thank you Keith!
He’s a very special person and I owe him big time. As soon as the door was unlocked rain began to pour and I had just enough time to load my gear and head for the house after another memorable weekend performing here in the Tri-Cities.
Mike was a talented musician from Kingsport. His heart shaped many souls and I guess that’s why so many people jumped on the benefit and invested lots of time and money to put together this tribute.
Special kudos to Tad Dickens especially. His patience and passion is appreciated and it was good to see him home and even more gratifying to perform with him onstage that evening.
For those that weren’t there, you missed a rare performance of incredibly talented players. If you ever see John’s name anywhere, get there early. He’s truly something else.
Quinten Horton recorded a few files from the room mike and for the rest of you that weren’t there, here’s a few songs with John Cowan – John sings, Tad plays drums, Terry is on guitar, Bo Bradley on bass and Jason Crawford is on banjo. The keyboards and Hammond organ played by another lucky soul!
Click here for ‘Baby King’
Click here for ‘Little Wing’
Click here for ‘Troubles Here Below” – a cappella Cowan