Hosted by Forrest Hill on April 12, 2014
A gathering of old friends and neighbors, Musical Talent, and performers, enjoying good food, good memories, and a good time. Including, but not limited to the list in our host, Forrest Hill's words:
"On April 12, The Music Festival Way Back in the Woods was held. Since A-Mail does not accept pictures or videos, you can find these at my Face Book site. I am still adding videos, pictures and stories. One of the prime purposes of this event was to bring folks from our old neighborhoods together. That was successful, as people that attended Avondale High, Towers, Columbia High, Southwest DeKalb High, Tucker, Murphy, Gordon, and Decatur High schools came to hear some REALLY great music and reunite with old friends.
Dusty Brown,(Yes, from those Avondale Browns), was instrumental in securing not one, but two flat bed trailers that we backed end to end and set up two sound stages. Folks brought in tables for the food, (there must have been about 10 tables), and folks started bringing in the food. Smoked ribs, pork butt, chicken of all kinds, vegetables, salads, desserts, you name it... There was sweet tea, lemonade, and whatever everyone else brought. We NEVER ran out of food.
The cars started pouring in about 1 pm and almost never stopped. We had to remove a few curb stones to get the last one in. They parked in the yard, terraces, on hills, and in the woods. Folks claimed every lick of shade they could and some brought those beach umbrellas. Dusty brought a canopy. The rest sat on the porch or in the sun. Several folks estimated the crowd at about 150.
Gib Huelett (AHS) and his band, "The So Called Arthur Kings," got folks going and did a superb job. Terry Wolfe and Jack Crouse brought the house down with great guitar, harmonica, and saxophone playing. They played about an hour.
Danny Miller, (SWD), brought in some folks he had not performed with for a while. His drummer, Terry Kinemer, attended AHS and came by the day before to check out the set up. I gave him a fresh chicken egg. During the concert, he leaned back while getting ready to play, and told me he took it home and made the best fried egg sandwich he ever ate. The lead singer, (the name escapes me now), could impersonate a number of artists, including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, David Allen Coe, and you name it...There was another AHS player in the group. They performed about an hour.
Jimmy George made the trip from North GA and brought a few talented performers. They sang Gospel, and at the end, I got Jimmy to play "Polk Salad Annie." For you history buffs, Jimmy was delivered by the old country doctor, Conrad Allgood of Scottdale fame. They played about an hour.
Glen, "Scottdale," "Linthead," Johnson, (AHS), hit the stage and lit up the folks with his absolutely astounding slide guitar playing and old time songs. I thought I was in heaven. Glen brought five guitars, all tuned to a different key, as he backed up many performers during the day. He really did shine!
In between sets, I tried to insert Mike Russell, (his daddy taught Industrial Arts at AHS). He brought that sound that reminded you of the train hobos of the 1930's, though he might not appreciate my take on it.
At one point, my youngest son, Max, sang, "Six More Miles," an old Hank Williams, Sr. tune.
Then, it was time for us old duffers to take the stage. It was probably about 4:30 pm. We had been practicing for weeks. We gathered confidence as Glen Johnson encouraged us. We were not in the best of shape. Glen was having a time getting used to dialysis, Tommy's wife had surgery the day before. We were a rag-tag bunch. Tommy hit the keyboard with, "Let's do the Twist." I grabbed my sister in law, Holly Kline, and we tried it out. When Tommy did a Ray Price, I danced with my daughter-in-law. Tommy was on a roll, and did one hit after another, just like he used to do at Misty Waters. Glen backed up the songs with slide guitar, Mike was on guitar. Jerry, also from Misty Waters, played some of the best pedal steel guitar I had heard in years. Phil Lazenby played the harmonica. A fellow named Loper played bass, and I forget the drummer's name. We sure had a band!
Somewhere sandwiched in between songs, I attempted "The Tennessee Waltz," then Glen prompted me to do, "Hank Williams, Sr's, "Cold, Cold Heart." Later, I did, "Honky Tonkin," which everyone seemed to like, and I finished with, "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It."
Pastor Doug Druker sang and played a few songs that some folks said, "Stole the Show."
This was an extravaganza delivered by the old folks from the old neighborhood. They really did a great job, and can't wait til next time. Me either....You missed a great chance to see and hear old history if you didn't make it, but we'll try to do it again!"
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