The Last Live Performance

The last live performance I attended was to see comedian Preacher Lawson at Ohio University on February 7.

It seems like a thousand years ago.

It was a great night too. The comedian was truly funny plus I enjoyed a nice moonlit walk in the snow across the college green.

I had no idea that it would be the last time I would sit in a crowd and enjoy live performance for a year.

The impact this pandemic has had on performers and venues is devastating. Personally, I look forward to the day I can sit in an auditorium or wander through a music festival again and can only hope that these places are still operational when it’s safe to do so again.

What was the last live performance you attended?

This Is Why We Adventure

Walking down the street in Piqua, Ohio, I stumbled onto an old Episcopal Church made of stone and adorned with gorgeous stained glass. A pickup truck out front served as work space for two locals who had removed the church’s antique front doors for repair.

After stopping to ask if it was ok to go inside, I climbed the front steps and passed through the opening where large red doors with enormous ornate hardware should have been.

Natural light flooded through colorful stained glass in all directions, giving the sanctuary an almost other worldly feeling. That alone was worth the visit but I was greeted by another surprise, a man playing the piano with the confidence and grace of a trained concert pianist. I stayed for just a few minutes but he never stopped playing, agilely transitioning from one song into another without a break.

Normally I would say that churches are best enjoyed in solitude but having this space filled with extraordinary music made the experience so very special.

I chatted with one of the woodworkers on the way out and learned that the pianist is known around town, always scruffy, always carrying the nap sack I saw resting next to the piano, and possibly homeless. This possibility made me sad. The thought of anyone being homeless is horrible and it seems such a shame that a person with this kind of talent would be down on his luck.

It was a good reminder to not judge a person or place, especially when you don’t know the entire story. The woman I spoke with said that she sees him around town but was amazed when he showed up one day and began playing song after song.

This is why I wander small town side streets and backroads It is these peaks behind the curtain and the surprises around the corner that make it worthwhile. The glimpse inside the church and the powerful gift of song from someone that locals know as a street person made my day. It gives me cause to keep going, to keep looking for the secrets that our world holds and to keep looking around the next bend.

Lonesome Magic At Studio B

If you ever find yourself in Nashville and looking for something to do, take the tour of Studio B that is offered by the Country Music Hall Of Fame.

So many amazing hits were recorded at the historic RCA Studio B that it would be impossible to name them all. Roy Orbison, Floyd Cramer, Fats Domino, Willie, Dolly and even Elvis recorded here during the glory days from 1957 until 1973.

I was reminded of this place last night. Sometimes it’s fun to jump down the rabbit hole that is YouTube and look for good music. Last night I enjoyed street buskers, vintage soul, disco and even a great acoustic cover of the old Looking Glass song “Brandy” before landing on Elvis singing “Are You Lonesome Tonight.”

If you take the Studio B tour, they talk about many recordings that were done here and dwell some on the work that Elvis did and how the King harnessed the power of light and colors. They hung Christmas lights for holiday albums and had a set of filters to place over the lights to make the room red or blue.

When he recorded “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” Elvis wanted the room completely dark.

That’s right. He and the band were shrouded in complete darkness. He wanted the song to not just be sad. He wanted it to be absolutely forlorn.

Photo courtesy Google Images

When the tour guide reached this point in the story, he turned off the lights and played the song for us.

It was like hearing the song for the first time and it was almost magical sitting in the room where he recorded it. I almost expected him to be there when they turned on the lights.

I still get goosebumps at the memory.

Want to experience the song in a new way? Turn out the lights or at least close your eyes while you have a listen. Click here to listen now.

I honestly don’t recall the cost of the ticket but I do remember thinking it was worth every penny. Admission includes transportation from the Hall Of Fame to Studio B, your guided tour and a little bit of magic if you enjoy country and rock and roll music.

Patsy Cline Museum

Let’s go back to Nashville, shall we?

One of the best decisions I made during my last visit to Nashville was to check out the Patsy Cline Museum. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing to go there. My original plan to tour the Ryman was impeded by a matinee interfering with afternoon tours. There are  many museums in town but I couldn’t get out of my head the idea that I needed to see the Patsy Cline Museum.

It’s on the second floor of the Johnny Cash Museum. By the way, that one was a madhouse – noisy and with people standing everywhere. In comparison, the Patsy museum was a bastion of quiet, sophistication and the smooth sounds of Patsy’s voice.

This isn’t a large museum but it’s extremely well done and there appears to be room for growth as they acquire more pieces for the collection. They have some stage costumes (made by her mother and beautifully done), furnishings from her her home and even a booth from the soda fountain where she worked as a young woman. Costume jewelry, the watch she was wearing when she died and lots of music can be found here.

A jukebox plays “Crazy” on a loop and a video tells her life story.

It’s all very well done and tells her story, which is quite old now, in a way that feels timeless – much like her music.

I was torn because the experience was so pleasant with only a handful of other visitors in the museum during my visit while other attractions like the Cash museum downstairs, had lines out the door. I hope their attendance picks up and that they’re able to survive. The thought of a Patsy Cline museum not surviving in Nasvhille is shameful.

Want to go? Get more details here.

 

 

I’m Trying To Learn Guitar

Music is one of the best things this life offers. Today I mostly listen to records and play around on the internet looking for old tunes time has forgotten.

But I took piano lessons when I was a kid and also picked up alto sax, flute and clarinet. It’s been a lot of years since abandoning most of those but I kept up with the piano sort of half heartedly until just a few years ago. I still have a piano in my home but life is busy and it’s been so long since I played regularly that I’ve pretty much lost my way.

A pal, who is an expert guitar player, suggested that I give the guitar a try and was kind enough to help me get started, trading me a guitar for some records. I demanded that he teach me a few things as well.

So for the last few weeks I’ve been working with what he showed me as well as with a nice little Hal Leonard book. My approach is to practice a little every day and now have some really sore fingers to prove it.

Sadly, my technique is not improving. I’m attempting to learn “Ode To Joy” but the results aren’t very joyful at this time.

I’ll keep trying.

It’s fun to learn new things although I really hate being bad at something. That should be incentive to keep working at it but it’s easy to become frustrated. My friend tells me that every time you see someone who is good at guitar, that person has spent a period of time – maybe even a lifetime – living with their instrument.

If that’s what it takes, my job and other interests will probably interfere with my future as a rockstar. Nonetheless, it’s good to try new things.

 

Sun Studio

Talking about the National Civil Rights Museum reminded me of my trip to Nashville and Memphis. It was a whirlwind trip of music, classic cars and barbeque and it seemed like everything I did was my favorite thing.

But truly, one of the highlights was the day at Sun Studio in Memphis. Sun Studio is a landmark in Memphis and in music. Known as the “Birthplace of Rock and Roll,” Sun is like a time capsule where you can stand at the microphone Elvis used and where the voices of  music legends echo through the halls.

This is where the Million Dollar Quartet spent a December day in 1956 just playing around and where someone was smart enough to record portions of the music created that day by Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Howlin’ Wolf and BB King recorded here too along with a host of others.

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It’s a guided tour and it was packed the day we were there. It seems like the tour lasted about an hour and they give everyone time to step up to the Elvis mic. Some people have their picture taken kissing the microphone. I did not. Ick! The germs!

If you go, they recommend getting there about twenty minutes before your desired tour. They sell some light snacks and ice cream plus they have t-shirts, music and other souvenirs. Admission is $14 for adults and, if you’re into that kind of thing, it’s worth every dollar. Want to plan a visit to Sun Studio?  Click here. 

One of these days I’ll tell you more about this trip and some of the other fun things you can do in Memphis.