A lot of things came together for me last week, like those moments where the fragments of life, conversations and acquaintances all seem to meet for a moment. Times like these make life that more mysterious.
This has been a very busy year so far. The first couple of months has included a trip to Las Vegas, work with various musicians, a musician’s funeral and a retro romance with the way things used to be. From the music of the “brat-pak” era to memories of teachers and old friends, all of these memories converged into one night at the “Black Tie-Blue Jeans benefit at MeadowView Convention Center in Kingsport. Sponsored by Clariten, Mountain States Health Alliance and several of the region’s businesses, this event began as a simple wine-tasting and in the mid-nineties expanded into a silent auction, an elegant dinner, a live auction, plenty of live music and a great night to share some more laughter. Before the night was over, this event/fundraiser would raise $54,000 for the American Heart Association and another great social event in Kingsport.
Several weeks ago, Vivian Crymble called from Mountain States and invited me to perform at Black Tie and Blue Jeans. We met working with the Northeast Tennessee Technology Council several years ago and I’m inspired by her enthusiasm for the projects she’s involved with. Along with several other folks on her gala committee they subtitled this year’s event with the them – “Dancing Through The Decades.”
Vivian asked if I knew Ed Herbert. Ed is the Marketing director for Mountain States and we had met many years ago while working at the Times-News and a few other engagements. He is a former Opryland vocalist (I grew up during the era of Opryland’s theme park) and he was interested in singing a few songs with me. That was a great idea because I had a longing to play some new songs and the thought of playing old Frank Sinatra gave me something to look forward to for weeks.
In between our conversation and the night of the event, several things transpired that all seem to layer on this story, so before I get to the Black Tie performance, I must regress and attach a few other experiences to this music and performance her East Tennessee.
It wasn’t long after Vivian called that Ron Wilcox passed away suddenly. Ron was my band director at Colonial Heights Middle School and a big influence in my love of music. The night of the funeral, Charlie Goodwin opened the door for me at Colonial Heights Methodist Church and after greeting him and stumbling over my own words of sorrow, he described the situation simply – “Ain’t that a kick in the head.” That was a puzzling comment and at the time, I thought it was original, but it wasn’t until a few weeks later while driving down Dean Martin Drive in Las Vegas and listening to the song, “Ain’t Love a Kick In The Head” that Charlie’s comment made all the sense in the world.
Nevertheless, it got me in the mood for the class and cool style of the music of the “Brat Pack” era. An era of suits, cigarettes, a glass of scotch and the world in the palm of your hands. Too bored with being cool, Sinatra, Martin, Davis and Joey Bishop made a mark on the music world with some great music. Over the next several weeks, I would be listening to everything from Miles to Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin, preparing for Black Tie and Blue Jeans.
In the meantime, Vivian had produced a commercial with WJHL for this event and since she mentioned our names, it was important to prepare as much as we could.
Ed and I were very busy over the next few weeks and decided instead to rehearse the day of the event and run through some songs on the piano. He had sent email with a handful of titles he was familiar with and that was my soundtrack from Tri-Cities to Vegas and back over the weeks. Along the way, I began to arrange a decent version of “New York, New York,” “The Lady Is A Tramp,” “That’s Life” and a few others.
On Saturday, the day of Black Tie event and I spent the morning finalizing the new songs and writing a few cheat notes. When I arrived at MeadowView, I thought for a moment it was the wrong place. Kingsport’s convention center is celebrating 10 years this year and they’re having a great one too. Recently recognized as one of the leading facilities in the Marriott industry, MeadowView is even sporting new carpet. But, when I saw all the cars, I immediately got that feeling I was in the wrong place. Evidently, this event was scheduled along with a Big Boy–Big Toy vendor convention and a couple of major clubs with speaker/training sessions near the grand ballroom.
Around the corner, I could hear someone playing piano and the glassware making its way out of the boxes. I greeted Vivian and Ed Herbert was tinkling the keys. We hadn’t seen each other in quite awhile, shook hands and made no haste to begin to play the Yamaha grand. We spent a little time running over our email recommendations and in about an hour we had a 7 song set together and I went back to the house. It was 4.30.
I arrived back at MeadowView an hour later and beckoned one of the hosts for a glass of Valpolocella, which quickly transformed into a Pinot Noir. I met Ed at the piano and he mentioned while he was waiting, he noticed several songs in my book he was familiar with including, “Fly Me To The Moon,” “Moon River, “”Misty” and the Lennon/McCartney song , “Michelle.”
We couldn’t wait to start playing some of these new songs, so we started early – sometime before six. It wasn’t long before a good crowd had mingled in the lobby of the grand ballroom. We were positioned near the wine tables and across the hall was the inventory of silent auction items on display. Our side of the room was busy too with people greeting each other before dinner. Ed sang in a black tux coat, cummerbund and blue jeans and together we were relaxed and confident with the music. Earlier we had talked about “wallpaper music.” That’s the type of music that is the backdrop for a social scene. Unlike a stage, people are free to mingle and talk and the music sets the tone and I felt good about the mood.
There were lots of familiar faces at MeadowView – a sampling of healthcare professionals, business leaders and politicians. Even though I was enjoying several great moments playing music it was especially intriguing to watch everyone before the doors were open to the auditorium.
It wasn’t hard for me to immediately notice Steve Grindstaff and his wife. With his red coat and gold glasses, they were one of the coolest couples of the night. Got a $10 bill to prove it too as Steve dropped a ten into a glass he brought to the piano.
Shortly after we were finished with our set, Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey introduced himself outside the ballroom. He’s certainly familiar as a local politician and the headlines include his name weekly in our region. As an auctioneer, he was especially suite for the evening and provided himself both effective and entertaining for this fundraiser.
There was a lot more music planned for the night and as we wrapped up our part of the program and the doors were opened to the auditorium, A Bag A Cats were finishing up their sound check. Bob Cantler who sings for the band likes to describe their sound as “Tri-Cities Best Party Band” and they do a great job, especially later in the night as the auction was wrapping up, they had lots of couples on the floor with their blend of classic party tunes.
All of the tables were set and Vivian had kindly saved me a seat at their table. This was one of the best parts of the night too because I got to enjoy dinner with her husband Al and one of the best looking women at MeadowView. Kerri Rhoten was dressed like Paris Hilton and was in costume because she was on the gala committee. She had on dark hollywood glasses and we had a great time talking about everything from people, music and poetry. She works for Applachian OBGYN and was the delight of the evening.
In addition to Bag of Cats, there were some opening musical acts too and while we were sharing red wine at the table, we heard more wonderful music from the ETSU Bluegrass Ensemble and a few accapella songs performed by the singing deputies from Sullivan County. From the Broadway, Vegas music we were playing, to bluegrass and barbershop to hip dance tunes, Black Tie and Blue Jeans had a terrific playbill.
Larry and Jane Crawford and their son John and Leann shared a table with Jantry Shupe. Jantry is evidentially thinking about a run for political office and we had a good time talking about his “bumper sticker” for the campaign. I kind of like it too…”Shupe Happens.”
I really wasn’t surprised to see my friends from Town and Country Realty either. Andy and Missy were joined by Jewel McKinney, Diane Hillis and several others at their table. WJHL was certainly a part of the program tonight as anchor Sarah Diamond brought her flavor of cheer to the event and was host along with Ramsey.
The music was wonderful, the conversation was delightful and the benefit was a memorable social evening. One of my good friends Mark Salyers was sitting next to me. As the auction was wrapping up, I got a bit nervous for him because I noticed he was bidding on one of the more talked about auction items of the night – a Labradoodle. Evidently, this is registered breed and a cross between and Black Lab and a Poodle. On the auction cards, the pup was valued at $2500 and all of a sudden a bidding war ensued. Ramsey was leading the volley of bids, Grindstaff and his table was working up the excitement on our side of room and I was hoping Mark would let the dog go, but they must have wanted the dog. Auctions are exciting for this very reason and Mark’s kids will surely love the new pup. He was exhausted though by the end of the night and asleep at Mark’s feet.
As Bag a Cats began to draw the couples out to the dance floor, I decided to leave and bid farewell to Vivian, Kerri and several others along the way and looking back, this is one of the most enjoyable events I’ve been to this year. The folks at Mountain States, MeadowView and everyone involved deserve plenty of gratitude for a job well done and I hope to join them again next year and would love to perform with Herbert again and maybe next time we’ll pick up some Nat King Cole and Dean Martin too.