It was quiet in Kingsport last Saturday night. We performed at Tomy Thai on East Stone Drive and frankly, the place was vacant. Sure it was late. They don’t let the band start till 11.00, but it wasn’t the band. As a matter of fact, there was a lot of talent in the room and I was reminded again about another great lesson for musicians.
I like Friday gigs. Gives me something to look forward to at the end of a long week. We had planning this performance for several weeks since ‘Richard Houser and Friends” played Tomy Thai the last time. We made another run at our rehearsal at Alan Gamble’s house and regional bluegrass artist favorite Jason Crawford joined us and we ran through several songs to get our bearings straight. We have an impromptu set-list that works Richard’s original songs and several Blue Rapture blues songs into old favorites from Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers and a few others.
After our brief rehearsal, we like eating at the bar at Tomy Thai. Sarah always treats us great and likes tripping Richard up on the hottest of the hot Thai entrees right before the show. Thank goodness for their cold drinks…we even celebrated the show with another glass of Zipang – sake champagne that turned out to be a nice compliment to the great food at this new restaurant.
One of the reasons the bands start so late is the crowd that comes to eat. They are usually full of patrons all through the early part of the night, but around 10.00 they moved the tables and we brought in our gear which spreads across the wall just beyond the bar. I was excited too, because Greg Smith told me lots of players were coming and a couple I’ve never performed with before including Ronald Baisden, the talented instrumentalist from Blue Rapture and a young man named Anthony whom we met back in Erwin at a gig with Reagan on the Nolichucky.
Doug Habenna was playing bass again tonight. He’s still hanging out in Kingsport on furlow from Goose Creek Symphony and it was a treat to have him, because I despite having to play bass lines on the keyboards. Anthony showed up right before the first set and brought out his guitar to join with Greg and we warmed up with Amy Smith singing along with Richard on a medley of Moondance and Fever. Amy is a beautiful–talented actress from the Barter stage and when she’s on the mike, stand back! She’s got such an incredible voiceand I always enjoying backing her up. I secretly hope we get to perform some torchlight Billie Holiday songs in the future.
Richard was in great form tonight too playing guitar and delivering his original music with signature authenticity and sometime during the first set, Ron Braiden showed up at the door and made no haste bringing out his tenor sax, flute and harmonicas. I’ve seen him perform many times now and although it was hard for me to hear from my side of the stage, there were moments when I could hear the intensity of his instrument and soaring solos.
With a band this big, Richard on voice and guitar, Greg Smith on guitars, Doug on bass, Alan on drums, Jason on mandolin, Anthony on guitar and me on keyboards, we probably had the biggest act on stage in Kingsport last weekend. Now that’s not a “big band” but the music is full, I just wish there were more friends at Tomy Thai, but that didn’t stop the music.
After the first set, we sat outside and cooled off with a Stella Artois and talked about music, gear and the local scene. Many of us had never performed together and that’s part of the excitement of this project. Any egos are mixed in a pot and whatever comes out of the ‘Houser Project’ is what it is and tonight was great.
While Richard and I were talking about his art (he’s a painter) and an upcoming gallery show when we started talking about Dr. Ronald Baisden who drove down from Johnson City to play a set. Richard’s been working with him for a long time with Blue Rapture and what he said resonated more than any thought latelty about what it is to be a musician. Ron sounded great tonight, but Richard made a point to tell me that as long as he’s performed with Ron whether in practice or on stage, this guy gives every bit of himself when he’s playing music. Whether he’s in a rehearsal or in front of hundreds, he plays his music at 110% and that struck a chord with me…something I’ll continue to culture too moving forward.
There are many reasons a performer enjoys the stage. There’s a lot of reflection in the music from the ego to the girls (just kidding), but what inspires me the most is the limit players will take their emotion and instrument. It was once said that John Coltrane played beyond the range of his instrument and that’s true about Ron too. He’s a great soloist and hopefully I’ll have a chance to work with him again.
Ron had to leave a little later during our last set. That was close to 1.00 and all but the restaurant owners and their friends seemed to be still up, but we didn’t stop set because the music was great and the moment we shared that night was one of a kind – no better place to be and playing music with new friends is a great way to spend a Friday night.