Hank Williams tribute show recap

We had a fantastic evening of Hank Williams last night down at the Wheel HOuse. A deep, deep thanks to the great musicians who came out and put on a great night of music, solidly up and down the evening. Thanks to Jimmy C for hosting us, and hopefully having a decent night for the Wheel HOuse, with a pretty jolly crowd. Thanks to JT, Cory, and Tim for slaving over the sound and lighting equipment and hanging through the whole evening; even the extra sets at the end! Thanks to the folks who came out, your enthusiasm and enjoyment of the music and festivities is very humbling for me; but keeps me going.
That all being said, getting the thanks out there first; let's try to summarize the event! Besides the great folks that were there, I have to say I was disappointed by the crowd size; the rest of ya'll miss a great night of music; some real solid Hank tribute stuff, good musicianship, some of my goofy banter and plenty o' good door prizes. Come out next time; you don't want to miss these opportunities very much in life!
The musical line up was: Stephen Peck and his accompanist Arthur; setting things off to a great start with some solid selections of Hank and Hank Jr. A very good starting set - "I saw the light" starting it off. I was glad they had some friends they invited, to see Stephen perform. They had their own sound system and made 'em sound pro! Then we had Lisa and Jerry Queen, and the crack back up musicians they brought along as Neon Moon (for this event)- drums, bass and Jim Miller on pedal steel guitar. Wow, they blew everyone away with their excellent performance. They had not performed out since last fall, but were very smooth; great vocals, harmonies, and mixture of songs; fantastic pedal steel guitar work, solid back up instrumentation. The audience was entranced and pumped throughout. They had an easy banter and connection with the audience. I have to say some of the "regulars" couldn't believe where I might have got these folks to come participate; but Lisa Queen contacted me last year, and we stayed in touch, and they were very eager and generous to come play. I hope they got enough accolades to see the appreciation they so well deserved. They strayed a little from Hank (no one objected) and played CCR's Traveling Band. You should have seen Brendon dancing to that one (he knows CCR's catalog through and through)- he was really cavorting, as they say. Lisa can do a good Patsy Cline, et al, and Jerry looked like Fred Eaglesmith to me in that cowboy hat. He has some pretty impressive autographs on his guitar. They told of attending the Hank Williams events down in Alabama in the past, and the dedication of the stretch of highway near Oak Hill; so they have some great "cred" to be showcased at our humble little event.
Jonny Nutter was next, and his enthusiasm and dedication to these benefits is legendary. He had a sore throat and cold, etc. but kept coming up with more songs!
Todd Heslep was next, a very unique and solid set; sounding good on his new guitar! He knew the pedal steel player from 25 years ago, playing with some family members; a neat connection across the years.
1313 wrapped things up with a high energy frenetic paced rockabilly set; incorporating a lot of Hank III, and putting their all into it. Jonny's drumming was truly inspired and must have had him lose 15 pounds exerting himself. Shaun does a great job on guitar and vocals, and his haircut was looking especially grand. Dave was his usual great showman self; what he does with that bass is a must see if you haven't experienced it. They kept the tempo up solidly throughout their set, and gave the ones remaining a glimpse of the concept of "whole lotta hank" at its wildly diverse best.
The Hank Williams bobble head door prize was a big hit, as well as the yodeling electronic pickle. Brendon was very excited to win a CD; as were a number of others. Jerry Queen bought ALL the Hank Williams vinyl records; foregoing me needing to use them as door prizes that some folks might not have wanted/ needed; and kept me from lugging them back to the "big pile of dusty ol' vinyl" back here at the neighborhood center.
Thanks to Shauna for helping at the door/ table and keeping things organized on that front. Of course thanks to Bubba, too for taking money at the back door.
It was great seeing Ashlie out so soon after the baby; she is amazing! She is the true inspiration for the whole lotta hank concept; and we'll be looking forward to event III next year. I don't seem to get to some of the ideas of it (the jambalaya cook off, the look alike or song writing contest,etc. ) but maybe somebody can prod me, oh about January of next year..........
On to the next events!!! Thanks everybody who had a part in yet another great memorable event in the Americana Music Tribute series. (give me a sign of life; especially if I missed something!!)