Kentucky Thunder

Last night I went to see Kentucky Thunder at 3rd & Lindsley (where else?!) and the show was spectacular. The group is fronted by four incredible female vocalists / songwriters: Jonell Mosser, Vicki Carrico, Etta Britt and Shelia Lawrence. To top it all off, the band was a star line up as well with Greg Morrow (I dare you to Google him...amazing.) on drums, Allison Prestwood (This is a Real Audio clip of NPR interview w/Allison)on bass, Dan Baird on guitar and Randy Leago(scroll down for his bio on Kathy Mattea's site) on keys/sax. Let's just say it was the BEST Kentucky Thunder show I've seen. You would have loved it, too.

Oh...but there is more! Just before the second set was about to start, I thought I recognized a face in the crowd. He looked like someone John went on a two week Alaska tour with several years ago. So, being the extrovert that I am...I asked the man as he tried to pass in front of me, "Is your name Wayne?" He replied, "Yes." Instantly, I said, "Wayne Carson?" And he said, "Yes."

I was elated! Immediately, I introduced myself and reminded him that John had played with him on the Alaska gig with Rod Jerke's band. He remembered the gig and got a big smile on his face. I invited him to sit at our group's table and he did. He had the best seat, right in front of the stage. Very cool.

SIDE BAR: You may not be familiar with the name Wayne Carson...but I KNOW you know at least two (if not more) of his songs. Can you say: "The Letter" by the Boxtops or "Always on My Mind?" And these are just the two I can think of right now...there are so many more!

Wayne and I visited briefly before the set started. He had come down to see his friends sing and to support Jonell. (Jonell's husband, Andy Bob, was recently in a very severe accident that required 600 stiches in his face and left him with four fractured neck vertebrae. He's at home in a halo for six weeks...meanwhile he can't work and they've got bills stacking up and about $50,000 in medical expenses looming over them.) Jonell and Wayne write together and he's worked with her, Vicki and Etta in the studio.

When the women came back to the stage for the second set...all of their faces lit up when they saw Wayne sitting there. Etta came up and gave him a big smooch from stage while Jonell and Vicki blew him kisses and screamed "Wayne Carson" into the mic. What a riot!

About half way through the set, Vicki takes the mic and announces, "We've got one of the world's greatest songwriters in the house tonight...and we've also got a friend who is a GREAT singer in the audience. So, we have an idea...we'd like our friend Mike (not sure if that was his name but that's what his name is now! Ha.) to the stage to perfom "The Letter" by Wayne Carson who is sitting right here!"

Needless to say, it was GREAT. The band jumped in and everyone in the room went wild. Wish you could have seen it, too!

When the set ended, Jonell came over to talk with Wayne. It was so cool. She sat down and gave him a big hug and kiss. You could tell that they are great friends who really connect. Then Vicki came over and you could see the same. It was fun to witness the bonds of rooted musical friendships.

Then, Wayne and I talked about what John is doing now (told him about Blue Mother Tupelo, etc.), Eva Cassidy's version of "The Letter" and he reminisced about the Alaska gig. We had a really nice conversation and then he asked me if I had a pen so he could give us his number. John is supposed to give him a call when he gets back from the Florida trip. Very cool.

After Wayne left, Jonell and I got to visit a little more, too. She is one of the strongest and most determined people I've ever met. I really feel a connection with her both musically and personally. The last two times we've seen her, she's said, "Jeanne, when are we going to sing together? We've got to figure it out." Of course, I told her I'd love to sing with her. She said maybe we could get together to work up a song for the benefit on 7/15 (It's a benefit for her and Andy Bob.) If that works out, cool. If not, I told her we'll get to sing together sooner or later. She's got other things to worry about right now...and I don't want her to have to jump through hoops for me. But wow...singing with Jonell would be a BLAST.

Blah...blah...blah...wow.
I sure can go on, can't I?!

That's all for now. I've got to go figure out how to post the President's photo to this blog thing! Hopefully, you'll be able to see it by weekend's end!

Have a GREAT day.
XO,
BB