Big Valley Mustangs at Vienna Coffee House

It always warms my heart when close friends share with me how they met people who have made a difference in their lives, and in so many ways and sometimes suddenly and unexpected.  Such is the case with Big Valley Mustangs-Michael Merritt (lead vocals), Billy Seals (guitar), Bobby Seals (bass), and Kevin Feeney (drums, formerly of Decompressed 

Big Valley Mustangs is an Americana band from Knoxville, Tennessee.

It was a dreary, rainy day on Saturday. A great way for me to spend a night like this is to see a live band at Vienna Coffee Shop.  I had been curious about Big Valley Mustangs for a few months.  I had seen pictures of them on Facebook and what they were working on at their rehearsals.

What I had seen online was nothing compared to what I saw in person!  What did you see, you may ask?  Not only talent, but sincere passion in playing and drawing in the audience, and lyrics that are anything but cliche.  Big Valley Mustangs wasn't just another band filling up time on a weekend night at a coffee shop.  Nor was it one who played nothing but covers of songs everyone knows by heart.  

A few songs and lyrics that stood out to me are "Roses and Rainbows":  "For better or for worse is better than roses and rainbows."  As a longtime Tanya Tucker fan, I have the lyrics of "Love Me Like You Used To" stuck in the back of my mind.  Those lyrics have now been replaced with "I don't love you like I used to; I love you more." In the 1960s, The Byrds gave us "Turn, Turn, Turn," with lyrics based on Ecclesiastes 3.  Big Valley Mustangs did the same thing in "Filled With Love."  Some other noteworthy lyrics are:  "We'll whisper hope at the end of each day."

If any of you are familiar with that lost element of music in which a song title is the same as the band's, that isn't that way with Big Valley Mustangs.  They had a song called "Big Valley Mustangs."  Lead singer Michael shared how for a while, they had played that at a fire hall. What a great visualization of paying your dues and making memories, making the most of every moment in life!

Having gone to many shows of various genres, the lead vocalist always asks some nice question, primarily, "How are you feeling tonight?  Having fun?".  What did Michael ask the audience?  "How many preacher's kids are there?"  Surprisingly, there were a considerable number of them.  I believe the song they had, as a "shout" out to them, was called "Preacher Boy."

They have a "fun song," too.  It is "Road to Heaven."  It started out as a jazz song, but evolved into one with many genres.  Kevin provides a great drum intro.  The song transitions into a blues-style guitar break, which segues into a jazz-like jam that builds well.   

But that wasn't the only song that was rich in that and more.  For more of that, check out "Lone Wolf" and "Black Soot."

Another different way the band connected with the audience was asking who knew the lyrics to Johnny Cash's timeless hit "Folsom Prison Blues."  Michael had everyone try to fill in the blanks a la Don't Forget the Lyrics.  Let's just say I need to brush up on my Johnny Cash.  They led into a cover of that same song.

The connection with the audience only got deeper when they led into "Rosalie".  It was a song in honor of Billy and Bobby's (twin brothers) mom.  After the song, an older gentleman, who happened to be their father, stood up and gave an emotional comment about their mother.

Another cover they did was not one I expected.  In fact, it was one I had forgotten and had been somewhere in the depths of my subconscious.  Does anyone remember a one-hit wonder 4 Runner, and their song "Cain's Blood" ("Half of my blood is Cain's blood/half of my blood is Abel's)?  I'm still trying to figure out when and where I heard that song.

Their last song was "No More Goodbyes."  That goes double for me and my relationship with this band.  It's only hello, I am a fan for life.

Blind Peace

Hard rock chick's gotta have her rock-blues fix!  And the sooner you deliver it, the better.

And I got this rock-blues fix from the Bluegrass state.  Blind Peace (Tony Sell, vocals; JW Gregory, guitar; Derek Lester, bass; and Mike Stevens, drums) from Albany, KY, provided that for me.  Thanks, guys!

Three songs later, I was satisfied.  What songs did I hear?  I'll be more than happy to share them with you.

"Rebel Son"-a deep, soulful, and I dare say spiritual song, about a son leaving home, and his mom's difficulty in letting go.  The lyrics to the first verse of this song echo the second of Bad Company's "Shooting Star."   A modern-day Prodigal Son portrayed in a classic rock-style song.


https://www.reverbnation.com/blindpeace/song/23052112-rebel-son

"Lonesome"...well, I don't have it in me, either, to write a song called "Born to Lose."  However, I know  "Lonesome" would be better, and I and my listeners would get what they need out of it.  I might even sound cliche when I say this, but this is the ideal song that portrays, with apologies to 1986's Crossroads, "The blues ain't nothing but a good man feelin' bad."

https://www.reverbnation.com/blindpeace/song/22054164-lonesome

"Walkin' Shoes"-rock-blues at their best, hardest, from start to finish-Blind Peace's face-melting song.  What I respect about lead singer Tony is in the opening lines, he has a perfect opportunity to say SOB...but he doesn't.  My hats...er, walkin' shoes...off to you, you son of a gun.  Peace, love, Blind Peace!!

https://www.reverbnation.com/blindpeace/song/22105838-walkin-shoes

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Music Of Led Zeppelin Dancing Days/Moby Dic...

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra plays Led Zeppelin

Not too long ago, I tuned in to WUOT, the local public radio station, to get my classical music fix.  The piece featured on that day was a classical version of "Stairway to Heaven."  I thought that was ingenious.

Then I heard the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra was going play the hits of Led Zeppelin.  I just had to go and get a night of this.

With the orchestra was Windborne Music, a rock band, with Randy Jackson, former lead singer of Zebra .  The stage had rock band-style lighting, making it a stimulating, electrifyin rock-classical atmosphere.

I had never heard of Zebra.  Therefore, I looked them up on YouTube, and listened to a few of their songs, none of which I recognized.

Randy Jackson

These two bands played note-for-note many of the hits by Led Zeppelin.  And they did so in ways that surprised me.  One of the ways was with "Black Dog."  Not having gone to an actual Zep show, myself, I'm not sure if it was common for Plant to invite the audience to join him in singing the iconic staccato vocals of "Ah, ah, ah, ah".  But it was fun to join Jackson on this part, the beginning one-liners, and that ever-famous, "I don't know what I've been told/A big-legged woman ain't got no soul."  A great call-and-response/sing-along scheme to an audience of several hundred.

Even greater was the start of "The Ocean"...Yes, you guessed it: "We've done four already, and now we're steady, and then they went 1, 2, 3, 4."

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the rich talent in guitarist George Cintron .  Though he and Jackson have a palpable stage chemistry, when it comes to guitar solos, especially for "Heartbreaker", it is, to say the least, captivating.  The icing on the cake for Zeppaholics like me was the transition into "Misty Mountain Hop"-a melodious melody, sweet to the ears.

Jackson stated that Led Zeppelin didn't have a show where they didn't play "Moby Dick".  Therefore, Windborne, themselves did likewise, with Andrew Payne on drums.  This was the first symphonic bands concert I had been to where a soloist gets a standing ovation during their performance.  That happened at least once, during the climax of the drum solo.

In addition to these timeless rock anthems, in all its rock band/strings/woodwind/brass glory, they also played "Going to California" and "Tangerine", with "Stairway to Heaven" to put a bow on an incredible night.


With all of the delectable eye and ear candy I got, this only made me want to get the Lead out even more this way! 

Shallowpoint at The Concourse

When Shallowpoint announced they would be up to open for One-Eyed Doll's Vision tour at 6:15, they weren't kidding.  I stood in a long line waiting to get in.  I wasn't inside for even five minutes when they started playing.  And got things started on the right note (no pun intended) for the night.

This was my first time seeing Shallowpoint in about a year and half.  Since that time, Heath Devine has joined as their guitarist, and Jason Drake their drummer.

Heath Devine

Jason Drake

No show-let alone the set for the first band up-would be complete without their mascot making its guest appearance.  He appeared on stage during one of my favorites of Shallowpoint, "Haze".

But they saved the best for last:  "Enemy".  I don't think there was a Shallowpoint fan who didn't sing along with lead vocalist Chuck Shallowpoint, especially the chorus.

This was the first show I had been to that Shallowpoint has been the first band up.  Please note:  They should do this at every show they play at.

Chuck Shallowpoint

Fort Defiance at the Blue Plate Special

"I'd like to go to the Blue Plate Special some time," I had kept saying week in and week out.  The Blue Plate Special is a live show in downtown Knoxville, TN, at the WDVX headquarters. But I rarely get around to going there.

I guess it took having Fort Defiance, and cold late-March weather, to play there for me to go.  Led by Jordan Eastman, with his newlywed wife Laurel, they played for a packed house.  For those of you who don't know Jordan, the best way to sum him up in a nutshell:  Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, and Johnny Cash-all in one young man.  Before he met Laurel, and she started playing with him, he was a solo artist.  Being only one man didn't stop him from playing music on stage as if there were a whole band.  He plays guitar and harmonica with some rich, sweet sounds emanating from both.  Add to that a box he stands on; with his boots, his left foot taps a tambourine.  To describe him as a multi-talented musician (which for all intents and purposes, he is) would be an understatement.

The songs in Jordan Eastman's solo career, and their titles, are complex, abstract, but rich and deep in meaning and musical talent.  If you recall a song called "Baby, Don't Hooked on Me,"  some of his songs have a similar theme.  This is the one thing that stands out in my mind about them.  As can be expected, when he meets someone not only to be in a band with him, but also to spend the rest of his life with, the choice of songs changes.

I'll never experience for myself a Johnny and June Carter Cash show.  Seeing some of them on TV at times, I notice the chemistry between them.  Jordan and Laurel have recreated that with their songs and stage presence.  Not only was Jordan on a box, but Laurel was, too.  In fact, at one point, they were in step with each other as they sang and played.

The other band that was supposed to play for this noontime special cancelled at the last minute.  To me, that only meant I, and everyone else there, could enjoy more of their music-and to clap their hands and stomp their feet in time to the music.  In the middle of their set, the radio hostess Red Hickey interviewed them.  I had an opportunity to learn the story of the boxes and the tambourine.  The tambourine Jordan used was his 6th one, which was holding up well. 

Later that night, they had a show at the Preservation Pub in downtown Knoxville. 

Sinful Lilly interview with Jullia Pope from All Things Hard Rock