Centennial Club

On Abbot Martin Road in Green Hills is a beautiful old building nestled in the lush growth of trees. It fits right in with the other houses of this upscale residential neighborhood. The appearance is so tastefully subdued that a person could drive by it a thousand times without realizing it is actually a civic organization, founded in 1905, called The Centennial Club.

It's what used to be called a "ladies club." All the members are women who are unusually active and motivated to do something positive for their community. 

They asked us to play at one of their luncheons on Thursday Sept. 11. Minna Gioia, the event coordinator, told us "You all will play and talk for 45-50 minutes and then leave 5-10 minutes for question and answers at the end." She also invited us to stay for lunch afterward. We appreciated being treated with such graciousness.

Going inside was like discovering a secret society. The building has the elegance of a country club, with an entry hall of polished marble and white columns. It's a beautiful place for receptions and events. 

The building has a large auditorium, and a lower level with rooms devoted to art classes. While we were there, a gardening lecture was happening in another room upstairs, with the door closed.

Although the members are all women, certain staff members are male, like the man who helped us set up the stage and sound system. 

I ventured downstairs and saw a list of "Don't Miss" activities on their schedule. 

There we were, among the bridge games and lectures on opera, billed as the "WannaBeatles Invasion."

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a blurry picture is probably only worth about a dozen, but this is the result of my beginning to learn how to use my new cell phone camera.

I apologize for the lack of clarity.

Dennis and Nathan setting up onstage

Blurry Nathan

We worked with their stage manager to bring a set of stairs to the front of the stage, to facilitate the part of our show where I go into the audience playing a wireless electric guitar solo. We'll stop at nothing to entertain people.

Steps to and from the stage

We were introduced by Minna and after the show, the ladies in the audience asked us questions, as if we were visited professors. And then they included us in their lunch, which was served there in the auditorium to everyone at their seat. It was an elegant affair, with linen napkins, featuring steamed asparagus and some delicious potato cakes.

I was surprised to meet the mother of a friend, 92 year old Marion Couch. 

She is very active at the club, still participating every year in the Christmas show, wearing a Santa hat and appearing onstage to lead singalong crowds. It was inspiring to see such energy in someone who's 92.

We set up our merch table in the lobby, and were overwhelmed by the response of the ladies who complimented us and bought our CDs on their way out. 

We had a great time at the Centennial club, and the ladies were exceptionally hospitable to us. We hope to see them again.

Thanks Minna, for your hospitality.

Bloggin' Bryan 30oct14

Oz

The word was out about Oz Arts, a new facility in west Nashville with an exciting schedule of performances from nationally known artists, dance troupes, film-makers and collectives. According to The Tennessean, Oz was "among Nashville's most intriguing - and inspiring - cultural venues."

It's also an excellent event space, and when Visitation Hospital Foundation hired The WannaBeatles to play their Fund Raiser on September 6, we got our first visit to Oz.

The place looks like a large warehouse, a metal building in an industrial neighborhood adjacent to the John C. Tune Airport on Cockrill Bend Circle.

Here's the artsy way they display

their street number on the building

Here's the patio out back, 

with a view of the John C. Tune Airport

Here's a view of the hallway, with sculpture,

paintings and light creating a distinctive look

Here are WannaBeatles David and Nathan 

as we set up onstage, 

with the logo projected behind us

One thing you notice inside is a great amount of art. There are art courses taught there, pottery classes, art projects in collaboration with local prisoners, and lots of paintings on the walls. Some of the paintings were direct tributes to famous pieces of art.

This tribute to Magritte caught my eye, not only for its humor and nod to modernism, but also because the founder of Oz got his start with pipes.

Here's the younger Cano Ozgener examining a carved pipe, from the pictures displayed in cabinets along the wall.

Oz is named for Cano Ozgener, a Turkish immigrant who showed enormous entrepreneurial energy by starting a company that built Meerschaum pipes, which led to another company that built custom cigar boxes and humidors. After that came the cigar company CAO (Ozgener's initials.) 

After selling the cigar company, the Ozgener family founded OZ as a non-profit art space and event center, using the space that formerly housed the cigar company.

Much of this fascinating story is told in glass display cabinets in the entrance hall, and also at their website, http://www.oznashville.com/.

Some carvings on display

Silent auction items on display

in what used to be a humidor

More distinctive shapes and lights, here in the lobby

The Visitation Hospital Foundation is a non-profit that sponsors a health clinic in Haiti. They were hosting a dinner, honoring a valuable board member, having a silent auction, and then enjoying Beatles music and dancing after dinner.

We were given the board room as a dressing room. It had a large table surrounded by chairs, and a large wooden sculpture in one corner. One wall was decorated with an elaborate color scheme, accompanied by a notice that explained the specific length and color of each piece on the wall. 

There was one classic moment when David asked Dennis about whether we'd be eating dinner, and Dennis immediately assumed the role of The Godfather, and in that famous raspy voice, gently reassured us how we could always depend on him to deliver.

Dennis doing "The Godfather"

David, Allan and Nathan in the dressing room. 

You can see from the smile that Dennis's act was getting across.

We had a professional crew doing lights, our good friend Allan doing sound, and it was a great evening in a fascinating place.

Nathan had an old friend who arrived in Nashville that night, and came to our gig.

He and Nathan had spent summers together in Vermont, enjoying the swimming holes and all the fun things kids do up there. John is now a banker in California, and had a conference to attend in Nashville, and used the opportunity to connect with an old friend.

WannaBeatles at Oz with Nathan's friend John after the show

There were many other people, names, and enjoyable sights in that creative place, so The WannaBeatles enjoyed our visit to Oz, and hope to return.

Bloggin' Bryan, 21October 2014

Tennessee State Fair

On Sept 5, The WannaBeatles returned to the "Moosic Stage" at the Tennessee State Fair, right between the Corn Dogs and the Pig Contest. 

It's an annual tradition, underscored this year by the surprise of seeing our photo in the Nashville Scene.

There's no other gig quite like the State Fair.

This year it was more complicated than usual getting to the stage, with a variety of possible entrance gates, new concrete barriers preventing the passage of golf carts, and different people calling each other on walkie-talkies keeping the lines of authority sufficiently blurry. 

Getting to the stage became such a guessing game that, during one of my cell phone calls updating my progress, Nathan announced his intention to take my photo when I finally arrived.

WannaBeatle Bryan arrives at stage, carrying umbrella

It also rained briefly, but the stage was under a tarp, so that was not a big deal. We got our gear set up, and our merch table too, this time overseen by our friend Jill Peek. 

While setting up, we were approached by a woman who wanted to borrow a microphone from us. Her name was December. She told us she was calling the Pig contest, and both her microphones had stopped working. 

Dennis became the Good Samaritan, lending her a microphone and cable from our supply, so that she could go on with her own show. 

Dennis with December

We were glad to make our small contribution to the animal entertainment portion of the fair, and glad to see our microphone again when December returned it to us. 

The Moosic stage is set up facing wooden bleachers for the audience. We were glad to see a few fans among the crowd, wearing WannaBeatles tee shirts. 

As previously mentioned in this blog, The WannaBeatles appreciate the support of local Beatles authority Richard Courtney. We have a banner with his name on it which we display when we can. At the State Fair, the stage setup didn't allow for it, but we were happy that night that we sold two copies of Richard Courtney's book, "Come Together: The Business Wisdom of the Beatles."

We also got to meet a new group, a female country duo called Dixie Jade, who performed brief sets between our sets. They were very professional performers, good singers, singing good songs they had written themselves. Turns out they're from California, but they're here giving Nashville a very good shot.

                     Dixie Jade onstage between our sets

We ate our pizza and funnel cakes, and gave the crowd a good show. It's good to be part of a great American tradition, at our own local fairgrounds.

Thanks to the Scene, our friends Richard Courtney and Jill Peek for all their support, best wishes to our new friend December, and keep an eye out for Dixie Jade. And stay tuned for blogs about the other fun gigs we did in September.

Bloggin' Bryan 10 Oct 2014

La Hacienda

During our trip to Virginia, we received a call from our friend Kent Burnside, who told us about a fund-raising event, to be held the following Satruday, to help a family whose child was afflicted with a debilitating disease called epidermolysis bullosa. 

Kent was calling on behalf of Gary Talley, a well known local musician, guitar teacher, and pop music veteran (the Box Tops) who knew the family.

In speaking to Gary, we saw he was deeply moved by the situation, and motivated to help, so we felt compelled to offer our support.

That meant making a commitment to appear the following Saturday night, along with Gary, and several other performers, at La Hacienda in Franklin. 

The evening  included a silent auction, along with several bands playing to help raise money.

The situation meant scaling down our expectations a bit. Gary took care of the backline, which meant that drums and amps would already be set up. That meant we could do an abbreviated set, with Nathan playing only bass. 

Bryan, David, Dennis and Nathan 

in our informal summer attire

The handsome WannaBeatle, David Toledo

          The mysterious WannaBeatle, Nathan Burbank

It was a rainy night. But there was a good turnout, and plenty of old friends. The main one for us was Jim Hayden, the original keyboardist for The WannaBeatles.

Jim has been playing around a lot, as a solo pianist and a member of his original band Peter Pandemic. 

He also plays in a duo with guitarist Larry Winslow, and they performed at La Hacienda that night, doing a selection of very tasty pop songs, like Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me." 

They also had Wanda Shepherd, of The Chill  Band,  joining them onstage singing and playing flute on "California Dreaming." 

Wanda Shepherd with Larry Winslow and Jim Hayden

Wanda and Larry 

with a great view of the stage decor at La Hacienda

We were delighted to see Jim, and he was delighted to see us. We sang along during his set, and he danced during our set.

Gary Talley, Kent Burnside, and Irene Kelly

Irene Kelly

Thanks to Michael Shumate for these photos!

We also appreciate Gary Talley - not only a fine musician, with a generous heart, but also providing lots of technical support throughout the evening. I got to play through his Line 6 guitar amp, and I'd love to try that again some time.

Other friends attending that evening included Barb Deniston from Hippie Radio and Laura Hill from The Jam Camp.

We're glad we could participate. Thanks to Gary and La Hacienda for making the EB Awareness Benefit Concert a reality.

Bloggin' Bryan 7 Oct 2014

Bethesda and Beyond

We had a three day weekend that turned into a six day trip in August. 

It was centered on Saturday night, August 23, at the Bethesda Theater, in Bethesda, Maryland. Sunday afternoon was a show in Clifton Forge, Virginia, where we played last summer.

A third gig was a family deal: Doug Cumming, brother of WannaBeatle Bryan, cooperated with our schedule and hired us to play at his house in Lexington, Virginia on that Friday night. 

So we had those three days booked. It looked like a long day of driving the first day, three and a half hours from Lexington to Bethesda the next day, then about four hours to Clifton Forge for the next day. 

It was not ideal, but it was feasible.

Then we got creative, teaming up with a company in Washington DC, to help promote our show in Bethesda, which is just north of Washington.

They secured us a television spot on Fox 5 morning show that Friday at 10 am, to promote the Saturday night concert.

That was a great opportunity to reach thousands of people, but the only way to do it was to drive up on Thursday instead of Friday.

The next wrinkle came when David suggested that we look into playing at Walter Reed Hospital while we're there. It didn't seem like we could fit another performance into our travel schedule, but after speaking to Dr. Micah Sickel at the hospital who was receptive to the idea, we worked out a plan to leave Nashville a day earlier, on Wednesday, in order to play at Walter Reed on Thursday. 

Coordinated with this plan was Nathan's job of helping his daughter Eliza move back to her dorm room at American University, which meant taking her, with her furniture, along  with us into DC. 

So there were some logistics to work out. 

For stage clothing, we took four separate outfits, which were necessary because there was no time to clean clothes between shows.

The good news was that we could spend the first day driving, then get a good night's rest and have energy for the next day's work. But that plan got unexpectedly disrupted with an injury the first night we arrived.

We left Nashville Wednesday Aug. 20. In addition to our usual gear, and Eliza's dorm furniture, we were also carrying Dennis's small PA system, to use at the gig Friday night at Doug's house. 

Because Lexington, the site of our Friday night gig, is located right off of Interstate 81, it made sense to stop there, see Doug's house, unload the PA system, and figure out where in their rambling Victorian house to set up the band for their party.

Here's the brotherly reunion in their living room, 

where The WannaBeatles decided to set up. 

Then we continued up the road to Bethesda.

We pulled into the American Inn in Bethesda around 11 pm, tired and glad to get rooms. The van and trailer could be parked in a lot a block away. 

We were pleased to see that our show was being 

advertised with this poster on the desk in the hotel lobby.

Nathan's Injury

As part of our security plan, the WannaBeatles had purchased a wheel-locking mechanism which we could install on the wheel of the trailer for its overnight parking.

The device was still new in its package when we arrived. The plastic moulding around the device was extremely strong. 

Nathan, attempting to open the package by cutting through the plastic, used his Swiss Army knife, applying much of his strength to pull the blade towards his other hand. David, watching, was just about to yell out a warning about how unsafe that looked, when the knife slipped and cut into Nathan's left forefinger. 

We had an injury in the parking lot. With blood. Plenty of it. Nathan wrapped his finger to stop the bleeding, and considered his options: would a bandage would be enough to hold it or was a trip to the hospital necessary? Considering his role as keyboard player, it was wise to give his finger the best care available.

It was serious enough for the emergency room. Nathan's wife Sally is a doctor, and she confirmed on the phone the wisdom of that decision, along with a dry reminder of the expected financial impact: "Well, there goes your profit for the trip."

With a temporary bandage around his finger, Nathan went with David and Dennis to a local hospital, where he waited over an hour, before getting treated. He received three stitches and some pain medication.

Temporary bandage on the hurt finger

The injured finger 

Doctor Dennis takes the pulse and calms the patient

(Thanks to WannaBeatle David for photos from the hospital)

Fortunately, the injury would not prevent Nathan from playing. Hopefully, it reminded him to be more careful around knives.

So much for our good night's rest. Nathan and his stretcher bearers came in at 3 am.

The next day was our performance at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The sign at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

The statue of Walter Reed, 1851-1902, Bacteriologist

The tower and the entrance to the America Building

Here's the entrance lobby, 

where our sound man was setting up for us to play

David setting up on the carpet in the lobby

David made friends with a veteran, 

whose name was George Lightfoot

 Here we are in the black shirts and red ties

 After our lobby show, we toured various floors to sing for patients, taking requests, and occasionally finding some spirited singers in the hospital rooms.

            WannaBeatles Dennis, David, and Bryan,

 ready to entertain in the hallways of Walter Reed

The WannaBeatles are grateful to Dr. Micah Sickel, director of Stages of Healing at Walter Reed, who organized the day for us, and secured us a fine lunch in the fancy cafeteria downstairs. 

That afternoon we drove over to American University campus, where we helped Eliza move into her dorm room. She was secretly proud to be the only student with a team of men wearing matching black shirts to help her move in.

That evening we could relax. WannaBeatle Bryan visited his cousin Oliver, whose wife, daughter and son would be attending the Bethesda show. The other three WannaBeatles found a nice Thai restaurant and enjoyed the time off.

The next morning was our visit to Fox 5 TV for an appearance on "Good Day DC" morning show. 

David setting up his drums

 David ready to go

Nathan does the weather

We did a pretty good interview with their host and sounded pretty good on a brief medley of Sgt. Pepper and Little Help from My Friends. We also did a version of "Good Day Sunshine" substituting the name of their show, "Good Day DC" as the title, which was a serendipitous opportunity.

We also got to meet Brian Chofer and Skip Kelly from the agency/label that booked us on the show.

Skip, Dennis, Bryan, David, Brian, and Nathan

Then we loaded up to drive to Lexington. We arrived at Doug and Libby's house, and set up in their living room. After eating a barbecue supper they served, we had just enough time to drive to the local motel to change clothes (this time it was short sleeved black turtlenecks) before returning for our 8:00 start. 

Part of the fun of this evening was my brother Doug and me reuniting, since we used to have a band together back in the 60's, which was our own Georgia-based version of getting inspired by The Beatles. Doug was looking forward to this opportunity, not only to hear these songs again, but to "jam," to play together the same way we did back then.

And so our first set flowed naturally into a jam session, where Doug brought out his saxophone and we played the funky harmonized horn parts on "Watermelon Man," our signature song back in high school. 

In addition, Dennis, thinking ahead to this night and knowing my parents would be there, brought along our big band arrangement of "In The Mood," the classic Glenn Miller hit from the 40's. Doug joined me on sax for that one, and Mother and Daddy danced their socks off.

Doug also had some of his local bluegrass musicians join the fun, playing other classic songs during our break, with Doug and me joining in.

It was a very personal WannaBeatles show, and very enjoyable in that way.

Here's a little family portrait, 

Mother, Bryan, Doug and Daddy, 

taken at Doug's house two days later, 

on our way back to Clifton Forge.

Saturday we were up early to get back to Bethesda for our big show at the Bethesda Jazz & Supper Club. I say "big show" because Dennis had been talking for weeks about it, not only with the managers of the club but also with Brian and Skip from Entertainment DC, who were using the show as a way to introduce us to other folks in the area. 

And so, during the drive back to Bethesda, Dennis was on his laptop, analyzing the set list, and instructing us on ways to smooth out transition sections of the show. 

It was a rainy afternoon.

Putting up sign at Bethesda Theater in the rain.

And the marquis with lights later that evening

There were more family connections in Bethesda. Nathan's daughter Eliza brought several of her friends from American University.

I got to see my cousin Oliver, his wife Anne, and their daughter Elizabeth and son Andrew. And at the table next to theirs were Stephen and Mary Preston, with their daughter Julia (a huge Beatles fan). Stephen is my sister's brother-in-law, another relative in Washington.

Anne, Bryan, Oliver and Andrew 

Elizabeth in her WannaBeatles tee shirt

Elizabeth was our chief volunteer at the merch table in the lobby... 

where Dennis caught up with his dear old friend Nadine.

We learned some history of the theater from Rick Brown, its current owner. It was built in 1938, and hosted numerous musical stars like Count Basie during its early years. Rick Brown bought it a year and a half ago, and restored its classic musical identity, as a jazz supper club. 

Rick told us about his musician father and talented mother.

Here's the tribute to them he installed in the dressing room.

They served us a full meal in the dressing room, which was located down a small spiral staircase, connected to half a dozen other dressing rooms down the hall, like a classic old theater. These rooms emanated history - the accumulated show biz flavor of thousands of actors getting ready before their moment onstage.

Our show didn't go exactly the way we planned. What happened is that listeners gathered at the front of the stage and started dancing. And then they kept dancing, throughout the set. My energetic relatives Elizabeth and Julia were out there among them, bouncing most of the show.

That meant that slower songs and specialty numbers, like our Simon and Garfunkel parody, were not needed. We stayed with the uptempo energetic songs, and everybody was happy.

WannaBeatles onstage, dancers up front

Brian and Skip from Entertainment DC were pleased with the turnout and response. They said we could probably come back in another six months and do another show there.That sounded great.

The next day we drove back through Lexington to play our second annual concert at nearby Clifton Forge, Va.

In Clifton Forge, we were treated to another Italian meal at Vic's, presented by resident New Yorker Steve Greenblatt, who impressed us last year with his expert touch with authentic Italian pizza and pasta.

WannaBeatles David and Nathan talking with Steve

Steve showing his muscle at the door

We were back at the uniquely designed Masonic Amphitheater.

David setting up at Masonic Amphitheater

Nathan setting up

Dennis setting up merchandise

WannaBeatle Bryan's setlist, lyrics & music

It was a treat to have family there.

Doug (who played clarinet with us on "When I'm 64"),

his wife Libby, their friend Sharon Massie, our Daddy, 

our cousin Janet, and our illustrious Mama

The WannaBeatles were delighted to stay again at the nearby Red Lantern Inn, where our host JoAnn even ironed our shirts.

Three WannaBeatles on the steps of the Red Lantern Inn

just before the show

It was another fine time in Clifton Forge, and then back home to Nashville the next morning - having survived our longest short summer tour.

-Bloggin' Bryan 26 Sept 2014