1987

Fishin’ In The Dark – The Best Of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Rick France 1987, 1988, Classical, Country , , ,
Fishin’ In The Dark
The Best Of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The song “Fishin’ In The Dark” was the last number one hit for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. First appearing on Hold On in 1987, but I never had a copy until their greatest hits CD years later. I was more interested in their songs that received a little more airplay on the stations I grew up on in Chattanooga back in the 70’s; WFLI, WGOW & KZ106. Songs like “Mr. Bojangles”, “American Dream” and “Make A Little Magic” and yes I know the latter was 1980, but I was Class Of 1980 at Tyner High School so cut me some slack – it counts as the 70’s as far as I’m concerned. Those songs defined The Dirt Band to me, and up until I met Kathy those three songs were pretty much all I knew about the band. Boy was I in for a rude awakening.

After she finally said, “Yes” in late November of 1987, we started making plans for not just our wedding but our lives together. One of our first dilemmas revolved around season tickets. I am a rocker at heart, but I am primarily a “Prog Rocker”. One side effect of Progessive Rock is a love for Classical Music and I had season tickets to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Kathy had season tickets to Lanierland Music Park which had been providing country music fans their country fix since the early 70’s. Needless to say, I had never heard of the place. We both came to the conclusion that we couldn’t keep both sets of tickets and so a decision was made to meet in the middle. Kathy loved ballet and since the Atlanta Symphony played for the Atlanta Ballet we decided to get season tickets to the Atlanta Ballet from that point forward. In my opinion, I was coming out on top in this deal.

After our wedding, since the season for both venues was drawing near an end, we decided to sell those few remaining tickets we had save for one pair to each. Kathy had no preference with the symphony and since I favor strings over brass my favorite classical composer is Mendelssohn, and the Atlanta Symphony was featuring Mendelssohn and Gorski in one of the remaining concerts which is what I chose. For Lanierland, Kathy suggested I might like Restless Heart and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I had heard one Restless Heart song that sort of sounded like pre-Hotel California Eagles but mainly visions of “Make A Little Magic” and “American Dream” made me go, “yeah, I think that would be a pretty good concert.” So the decision was made, tickets set aside, and date nights established.

The two concerts were a few weeks apart and first up was the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Kathy and I got all dressed up for this one; one of the few times that I put on a coat and tie. I can clean up nicely from time to time, but she on the other hand looked stunning. We had a nice dinner beforehand in Roswell and then made our way to downtown Atlanta for the symphony. I had pretty good seats right in the middle about 30 rows back and the place was packed with everyone in their Sunday best. They first performed Mendelssohn and after a brief intermission finished the night with Gorski. During the intermission most everyone left the auditorium, but we remained behind with a few others. I asked Kathy what she thought so far and she said, “It’s good, but I like violins better when they’re fiddles.”

This one lady that looked like an old schoolmarm about four rows in front of us turned around slowly and pulled her glasses down on her nose and gave us a look that could stop a train. As she turned back around we both cracked up, but the comment and schoolmarm was engrained in our psyche from that day forward to be referenced whenever the situation allowed. The rest of the evening with my new beautiful bride was wonderful with the exception of Kathy standing at the finale and waving a lighter in the air while yelling “Free Bird!” OK, maybe she didn’t really stand up and yell, but it is still one of my favorite jokes to tell regarding that evening.

Next up was Lanierland. I must admit it was much more my style of a blue jean date night. Lanierland Music Park was a fairly small venue so they would have two shows each night of the same bands and our tickets were for the second show. I have been blamed for being cheap and my car at that time fit that bill. It was a white Nissan Sentra straight-shift that had no air conditioning and no radio. We arrived at Lanierland with the windows down on a cool summer evening thanks to the wind blowing off of Lake Lanier. I could tell it was going to be a cool night to enjoy this little “American Dream”, and then without warning – IT HAPPENED! As we pulled up to park the car the first thing I heard was, “You and me goin’ fishin’ in the dark. Lying on our backs and counting the stars where the cool grass grows.”

In total shock I said, “What in the world is that?” I was hoping that the first show was a completely different band.

Unfortunately, Kathy responded with, “That’s Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.”

I’m thinking, “No it’s not! It can’t be! Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 70’s Rock and that’s not 70’s Rock” but all Kathy did was laugh at me because of the pathetic look on my face.

What I found out real quick was simply this; it ain’t the 70’s no more and this was not my childhood Dirt Band! Nitty Gritty was full blown country and this evening was not going to be “Make A Little Magic” – this evening was “Fishin’ In The Dark” and the two were not the same. I came real close to turning that car around and leaving, but I was quickly reminded by the voices in my head that it was my idea to take her to the symphony and then to this, this, whatever it was. I was here and there was no way of escape.

Oh sure, they did a medley of those 70’s hits – a medley – not the whole songs – a medley. Thank God they did “Mr. Bojangles” in its entirety, but even those 70’s songs seemed to have a bit more of a country twist on them than I remembered. All I can say is I felt more like a fish out of water in the dark than anything else remotely close to that evening. I had been to a lot of concerts at this point in my life, but none had prepared me for this night of music.

Still, I looked at this beautiful woman standing beside me singing every word to every song. The smile on her face as she danced and swayed to the music and all I could think was that I was the luckiest man alive. The style of music may not have been to my taste at that time, but that night was more than I could ever imagine. I was in love with this country music loving girl and there was no place on earth that I would rather be than right there with her. Crickets were singin’ and lightning bugs were floatin’ on the breeze and it felt so good to be right there with her and I would do it again right now if the opportunity arose.

What can I say? She’s a little bit country and I’m a little bit rock n’ roll. They say opposites attract and you can’t get more opposite than the two of us. I’ve always said and maintain to this day that if two people are just alike then one of them is unnecessary. Through the years, I have grown to enjoy and appreciate some of Kathy’s country music which is probably something I would never have done on my own accord. Plus, “Fishin’ In The Dark” has become our unofficial song because every time we hear it one of us will always say, “they’re playing our song.”

Might I suggest that next time you and the one you love look up and see a lazy yellow moon shinin’ through the trees that you take a little walk across the fields down to where the creek turns back and try a little Fishin’ In The Dark.

Rick E. France

 

State Of Independence – Jon and Vangelis

Rick France 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2004, Electronic, Prog Rock , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
State Of Independence
Jon and Vangelis

In 1991 my daughters, Katie and Melissa, were taking dance at Rose Barile’s Alpharetta Dance Theatre (ADT). That year for the Senior Company, which my daughters were too young for at the time, Rose had choreographed a liturgical dance to the song “State Of Independence” which I had the pleasure of watching on several occasions. Being a huge fan of Yes since the album Fragile, I recognized Jon Anderson’s voice right off the bat. Initially I thought it was from a Yes album that I might have missed, but soon discovered it was from a Jon and Vangelis album entitled The Friends of Mr Cairo. This particular song along with Rose’s dance became a staple in my life in more ways than one. As a result this song has multiple storylines as well as timelines in my life but in order to get the full story we must step back in time a bit to the time where it all began with a close family friend, Jennifer Williams, who was also dancing at ADT.

In 1987, before Kathy and I got married, I was doing a weekly Bible Study at her house with the teens from Antioch Christian Church where Kathy attended. I was in the band ForeSight and my hair was halfway down my back and permed like most any 80’s hair band guitarist of the day. My hair was as wide as my shoulders and it was BIG! I was in my second year of discipleship with Jack Vandiver and he use to crack this joke all the time about people having an attitude of “Turn or Burn, Try or Fry, Shake or Bake” that I thought was quite funny. So I had this car tag airbrushed that had a Bible in the upper left corner and flames in the lower right corner with the words “Turn or Burn”. I’m sure everyone doesn’t see the humor that I saw in this or even see any good coming from it, but one time I pulled over on I 85 to help this girl who had a flat and she told me that the only reason she let me help her was because of this tag.

Anyways, Kathy was already friends with the Williams family which consisted of Brenda and her three children Jennifer, Ben and Lindsey but the first one I met was Jen, a young teen at the time that Kathy had invited to the Bible Study. I remember when she came in she had quite an attitude and opinion already formed regarding me. She obviously did not want to be there and beyond huffing and puffing at pretty much everything I said, she did not participate in the discussion and was quick to leave as soon as the opportunity arose. Later, Kathy informed me that she was quite offended by my car tag and as a result had no interest in anything I had to say. I never told Jen this before, but I actually removed that tag because of her. I never intended to offend her or anyone else and I was not going to let a car tag cause anyone to stay away from Christ. Needless to say, I never saw her again at the Bible Study but our lives would connect again a couple of years later.

Kathy and I were married on February 13, 1988, and we still live in the same house of that Bible Study. Right before we got married, my hairdresser bride-to-be talked me into cutting my hair which endeared her to my mom for life. We were married at Promised Land Bible Church (PLBC) where I soon became the Youth Pastor and began working with the teens of LightForce. I’m not sure exactly what year the Williams family became a part of PLBC, but Ben was one of the teens that we built the youth group on. However, my relationship with Ben is a story for another day.

By 1991, Jen had become a pretty important part of our lives both at ADT where Jen, in my opinion, was an accomplished ballerina as well as at PLBC. While she did not regularly attend LightForce, most likely due to her being a Junior in High School and most the teens were Ben’s age and therefore just kids, she did attend PLBC regularly and was involved in many special events we did. One of my favorite things she did with us, which I still have on VHS, was our Youth Sunday on May 19, 1991. We reenacted an Isaac Air Freight skit named “Let’s Trade Your Salvation” and Jen played the part of Carol Barrel. The host of the show, Monty Lucifer (played by Philip Gard), would try to get Bernadette Weiser (played by Amanda Ayers) to trade her little bag of Salvation (which contained a Bible) for various prizes. At one point Jen stood beside a crock pot, in first position of course, and pointed to it while Jay Tatellyaboutit (played by Lee Stewart) said, “This is no ordinary crock pot Monty, but a Spiegel crock pot. If you want to get crocked tonight this is the pot for you. That’s Spiegel, Chicago 666, Illinois.” In hindsight, probably not the best line for a Sunday morning. Jen, or rather Carol Barrel, later modeled a mink coat for Bernadette (that wasn’t mink) while standing in third position – because you can take the ballerina out of the ballet but you can’t take the ballet out of the ballerina.

Kathy and I had season tickets to the Atlanta Ballet back then, but I mainly went to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform. I never really appreciated ballet until we started going to watch Jen perform with ADT. She was a beautiful dancer and it was watching her perform that caught my attention and developed my appreciation for ballet and dance. Watching Jen and the work she put into it; the grace in which she danced, it was like a light came on in me. I finally saw the beauty and the art of dance all come together in her. The first time I saw her and the Senior Company perform “State Of Independence”, well that was all it took for me to be hooked once and for all. Those flowing white dresses and the precision of those young ladies as they interpreted that song was one of the most beautiful, artistic dances I have ever witnessed. Years later when I began to dream and work on my own Christmas production of “The Star”, that dance influenced the vision I had for the angels and the white flowing dresses that we used for the angels. Just as in the dance that Jen was a part of, the angels would hold the hem of their skirts and spread them out to form their wings as they would dance in “The Star”.

As with all things in life, the winds of change come and go. In 1993 this young lady spread her own wings and moved to New York City where she still lives today. The rest of her family moved to Oklahoma that same year. We remained in touch and from time to time they would come home to visit. I know it was mainly because their dad still lives here, but I like to think that they came to see us too.

By 2004, Ben was living in Tennessee, Jen was still in New York and Brenda and Lindsey were in Oklahoma, but that summer they all came to Hickory Flat at the same time for a little reunion that we got to be a part of. Our living room was packed with both families and we were laughing and reminiscing for hours on end. Jen mentioned she had just turned 30 and I was shocked because to me she was still this young teenage girl. I commented that there was no way she was “that old”. She acted like I had offended her by calling her old and played that card quite a bit that week as I recall.

The following Sunday after church we all went to Ryan’s to eat before they headed home. I was sitting directly across from Jen when she piped up and said, “Kathy, whatever happened to that long haired jerk you were dating that was doing that Bible Study at your house?” No one said a word or rather no one could even get in a word edgewise as Jen went on what seemed like a 10 minute tirade about how she couldn’t stand that jerk and how awful he was and yadda, yadda, yadda. When she finally did stop I just smiled and said, “She married him.”

Her eyes got as big as the moon. Her mouth dropped wide open and she exclaimed, “Nooooooo!”

We got a lot of stares due to the amount of laughter at our table over the next few minutes and truth be known, I am quite thankful she never realized until that moment that I was the same person. If she would have known that, I might not have ever had such a sweet friend as her for all these years. I quite possibly would not have appreciated my own daughters’ dance, and as a result I might have missed out on those early years of their dance due to my own ignorance. I might have never even thought of using dancers to portray the angels in “The Star” and that production would have fallen short of the beauty and wonder that it became. I might have never had the relationship with Ben and Brenda and Lindsey that means so much to me to this day. My life would have been a whole lot different and contained a lot less laughter and had far fewer memories to treasure without this beautiful dancer if she had put two and two together.

This song is on my phone to this day in my favorite “Prog Playlist” which I listen to more than any other play list. Every time this song comes on I envision the Senior Company and Jennifer dancing to it. I still see the white skirts flowing to the beat of the song and the exquisite performance of the routine. As I watch her dance in my mind’s eye, I lift her up in prayer every single time and the thought of her always changes my countenance for the better. You see, she still brings joy to my life as the flood of memories pass before me. I still appreciate everything about her both then and now because my life was blessed to watch this beautiful dancer grow from a young, obstinate teen into her own beautiful State Of Independence.

Rick E. France