February Grind Features Talent Young and Old

by Dave Lieben

The February Monthly Grind, held at the Saxman Tribal House on February 16, featured some talented youngsters as well as some, well, not so young talent. Producers Rudy Saccomanno and Mary Kowalczyk put together a great show. Click on a small picture to bring up a large, printable version.

The evening kicked off with High-D & Professor Nelson. Heidi sang a couple songs while Roger played the piano, then Heidi switched to piano and was joined by Heidi's sons Nelson and Austin Hays, and guitar whiz Pete Atria. Young Jolene Ranzie Ginther did a great job singing the classic oldie It's My Party. Jacob Lyle Williams was a little nervous as he started, but calmed down quickly and sang up a storm on the disco classic Funkytown.

Atria and the Hays Brothers were joined by saxophonist Lynn Caldwell as they morphed into the band Plan B. Playing without keyboards, they started with fine versions of two songs written by keyboard players, Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island and Joe Zawinul's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. It's been a delight to watch Nelson and Austin progress as musicians from the early performances of the Rubber Band to become extremely talented young adults.

David Reynolds finished up the first half of the evening with a fine set of his own songs, including Postcards, Locals, an untitled song, and Blindfold. As everyone enjoyed their desserts and Raven's Brew coffee, many might have been wondering if the second half could top the first.

After the presentation of dessert awards, Seven Year Cold took the stage. Talented singer/songwriter Pat Stack was accompanied by his father Tom Stack, and later in the set his mother Jean Stack added some harmony vocals on the poignant Soldier's Prayer.

It was a great pleasure to see a performer long missing from the Monthly Grind stage, appearing as Professor Louboš the Eccentric. The long-overdue Professor astounded the crowd with his magic tricks.

Talented Junuean Mike Truax performed a varied set, accompanying himself on guitar. Some of his songs dealt with serious topics, like Tom Russell's Manzanar, about the detention of Japanese-Americans during World War II, while Don White's hilarious Be Sixteen with Me detailed a plan for getting a couple's twenty-something children to leave their home, by acting like the children had when they were teenagers. ("Let’s steal our daughter’s car, we’ll both get really drunk, we’ll put a big dent in her trunk")

The evening concluded with the ensemble Ugh! Dawn of Rhythm. As a group of cavepeople discussed the evening's meal, a series of grunts developed a certain rhythm, they kept the rhythm going with some nearby drums, and voilà! It's music! The group, in keeping with the evening's theme, was a mix of younger and older performers.

The crowd then put their chairs away and headed off into a lovely Ketchikan night.