I’m completely thrilled that this event has finally come about. On April 10th, make sure you’re at The Down Home early and bring a few cans of food. Slow Motion Trio, These Undowners, Jamen Denton and Wise Old River will perform for one night at the GoTriCities Homegrown Showcase.

This evening has been in the works for several months now with each band working on a brand new CD which will be debuted on this Saturday night in April.

The Down Home is the perfect listening room in East Tennessee to enjoy live local music from these find songwriters. There’s no smoking, no pool tables and years of legendary performances at this legendary stage in Johnson City.

Several weeks ago, we met with Ed Snodderly, singer/songwriter and owner/operator of The Down Home. We were excited to present our idea and was happy to work with him to put together a benefit with Second Harvest Food Bank to support local food banks.

Doors will open at 6pm and showtime is 8.30. Ticket prices for all three bands is $12.00 and all proceeds go to benefit the hungry.

You’ll have a chance to see these new artists up close and personal and buy CD’s at the event.

This is gonna be a great time and we’re working with several outlets to help promote the show for a sellout. Hope to see you there.

Here’s a press release from the show.

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Regional musicians support area’s hungry at CD Release Party at The Down Home

JOHNSON CITY, TN – On Saturday, April 10th, The Down Home, GoTriCities.com presents regional artists Slow Motion Trio, These Undowners and Wise Old River in the GoTriCities Homegrown Showcase. Tickets are $12 and proceeds benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank.

The GoTriCities Homegrown Showcase is a regional showcase of original music from East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. In partnership with The Kingsport Times-News and The Johnson City, GoTriCities is a regional entertainment resource in print and online. Artists performing for this evening will be promoting new CDs of local original music.

“At the end of last year, we knew several artists had been working to complete new recordings,” commented David Cate, interactive director for GoTriCities. “It’s amazing how much local talent call our mountains home and we wanted to showcase these artists and there was no better place than the Down Home.”

The Down Home located at 300 West Main Street in Johnson City is a smoke-free environment, and has been since the trend became popular. There are no televisions in The Down Home, nor will you find a pool table or a jukebox. The Down Home exists for one purpose – to create a listening environment for those looking to enjoy the finest music of our region.

Historically, The Down Home was where you may see Doc Watson on a given night or the earliest concerts of Alison Krauss and New Grass Revival just a few years back. The Down Home is legendary to today’s era of bluegrass, Americana, traditional, and progressive artists as one of the finest acoustic settings in the nation.

“GoTriCities is about the best this area has to offer and we wanted to present a night of great music, but we also wanted to make a difference in the community,” said Patrick Savage, marketing director for GoTriCities. “We all love local music, but the idea of bringing together some of the area’s best local talent seemed to be a great opportunity to give back to the community. We’re thrilled to have the level of talent for this night of giving to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Slow Motion Trio has been described as having a unique sound and flavor that has been hung with many labels. Eclectic is a word that springs forth. As is polished. Original. Roots. Rock. Real. The label the band likes most, or feels encompasses their intentions and fits best, is “Mountain Soul”. An apt and succinct way to describe what you get from this group of well-traveled musicians. There are many parts to this collective, but the thread that holds it together is soul. Not soul music, but a soulful approach to the song.

Jared Bentley is the band’s principal songwriter and one of the region’s distinctive male vocalists with a legacy that threads to Joe Clark’s Remedy, Yukon, Clear and Culture Shock. Jared is backed by longtime collaborator Lance McCloud on bass, David Cate on keyboards, Lance Williams on guitar and Mike Sams – drums. You can listen to the band’s music and catch up with regional performances at http://www.myspace.com/slowmotiontrio

Since forming in the summer of 2008, These Undowners have never been insincere about their musical direction—they’ve just never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Their songs speak of love, loss, good times and bad times—bouncing around the gamut between edgy Americana and folk-infused funk. Although many of their “stories” are true (like Mary’s House, the dramatic under-story behind Lincoln’s assassination, or The Black Hole, the sad tale of a coal-mining boomtown’s collapse), it’s the clever writing and simple wisdom that make them compelling.

The band’s music showcases the songwriting of Clay Prewitt, and the phenomenal flatpicking of Blake Collins. Bassist “Doc” Marshall and Drummer Steven Reese create one of the tightest, most dynamic rhythm sections in the region. Together, the group gives rise to authentic mountain soul—and stories you can move your feet to. To learn more about this great band, go to http://www.myspace.com/clayprewittmusic.

Singer, songwriter, and son, Jamen Denton has played since he was twelve years old in the home basement with his brother Justin (drummer). As they grew up that was their passion. They went through a string of band names and musicians and in 2004 found a really wonderful sound with a talented group of musicians which they called Virginia Ground. Virginia Ground disbanded, but Jamen found himself an artist again with the help of his parents, who created with him Wise Old River.

From Wise Old River’s website (http://www.myspace.com/wiseoldriver), there is this description of their music:

“The songs we want to share are about the human condition, human experience, times of need, times of pain, times of being lost and times of being found, our searching, and finding hope, grace and truth and our times of spiritual growth. We sing about it all. Our desire is for our music to be stripped down organic, earthy, wires, wood and vibrations from our souls.”

Cate describes the night further, “These three acts look to make the night memorable, and the Down Home will certainly lend to the equation. Serving a great organization like the Second Harvest Food Bank makes it more than worthy of your attendance.”

The Food Bank is a non-profit organization serving the eight counties in Northeast Tennessee with emergency food for distribution. The mission of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee is to feed the hungry by securing and distributing food and grocery products to non-profit agencies that provide services to the needy, ill and elderly in the eight-county region of Northeast Tennessee. Approximately 200 agencies distributed food to an average of 31,000 people each month during 2009. To find out more, visit them on the web at http://www.netfoodbank.org.

For more information about the GoTriCities Homegrown Showcase visit http://www.gotricities.com

Last week, our team at Times Digital Group completed a documentary which celebrates the recent 2009 Harvard Innovation in Government Award presented to the City of Kingsport earlier in the year. This excellent presentation features interviews with city leaders and describes the ideas and passion that helped earn this recognition and we were glad to be a part of this year’s celebration.

There was a lot of stories about kids and candy this past weekend. That’s certainly what one might expect on Halloween, but there were plenty of parties going on for the big kids too and Downtown Kingsport had the biggest yet!

Granted – the weather was miserable. It rained almost all night, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from attending Kingsport’s first Halloween Costume Pub Crawl.

Saturday night, GoTriCities and participating downtown venues hosted the event along with The Kingsport Chamber of Commerce and Action Rental. Besides the soaking rain, the creepy, yet delightfully cool crowds on Main Street were much larger than we expected.

It was cloudy Halloween morning and I was watching the radar intently throughout the day.

Like many others, I was one those last-minute shoppers in line at Halloween Express in Johnson City. Formerly Bennigan’s Restaurant, this vacant building serves as ground-zero for costumes, masks and ghoulish paraphernalia this time of year and the parking lot was full.

After deliberating over several options, I decided on the “Minister of Death.” Besides, it gave me a reason to wear makeup.

As I drove into Kingsport around 5.00, the streets were divided with orange cones carving the streets for runners. The police department were on hand in the gray weather keeping safe watch for athletes who were running in the inaugural Haunted Half Marathon.

The organizers of this event did an outstanding job in their first year with reports of over 400 runners participating in this year’s race. Around 3.00pm, these participants lined up in front of The Bonefire Restaurant on Main Street and followed a meandering downtown course which totaled 13.1 miles. ( Click here for photos )

The streets cleared quickly after the race and I turned my attention to the rib sandwich at The Bus Pit. That’s one of my favorite places to eat among downtown eateries and it was warm and cozy inside with the John Patton Band playing acoustic music in front of the restaurant.

Doug Beatty, one of the organizers of this day of Halloween happenings was having dinner with his family and he was happy to describe some of the events of the day.

“Other than a few sprinkles, the Haunted Half was great” said Beaty. “I was looking at the radar on my phone and right when the race started the clouds cleared up and when it was over the rain rolled back in.”

We were both hoping the rain would clear before the pub crawl, but it never did. Instead, with the Kingsport Train Station as a backdrop, it was a cold, dreary shower that keep the streets wet all night.

Dinner was great (as usual) and I made my way back to our office on Main Street to prepare arm-loads of camera gear. GoTriCities.com were planning on taking plenty of pictures and shooting live video – but first the costume.

Jared Bentley called me while I was staring in the office mirror.

“What’s up?” he bolted as soon as I picked up the phone.

“I’m putting on my base makeup – don’t ask.”

After all the getup was in place, we finally got all of our gear together and made our way back down to The Bus Pit. Although there were going to be live bands at The Kingsport Grocery, Stir Fry and Kaffe Blue, we wanted a live camera here at this venue because Spank was performing.

Spank is a popular dance band that specializes in an entertaining stage show, complete with lighting and deep set list of popular 80′s music.

After we got our cameras setup, we moved down the street to Kingsport Grocery Company which already had a crowd downstairs with costumed guests all over the restaurant.

A guy dressed in a Beetlejuice costume darted by me on the way out to smoke outside and I couldn’t help but mention his name three times as he passed by. There were all kinds of costumes – some comical and others creepy that included vampires, wrestlers, pimps, zombies, Fred Flintstone, Slash from Guns and Roses, hippies, devils, angels and tooth fairies all around.

Upstairs, the second floor was crowded too as the Annie Robinette Band was tuning their instruments.

Annie is from Bristol and a popular songwriter on the local circuit. She was in the spirit tonight too dressed in a renaissance pirate costume and sounded the best I’ve heard her in a long while. Her busy summer schedule has certainly refined the band’s mix of distinctive songs and covers that kindled the mood for the rest of the night.

Johnny Rasar plays bass for the band and I had to ask him about his guitar which had a Frankenstein mug worked into the finish.

We both agreed every musician should have a Halloween instrument for just the right night and tonight was indeed – one of those special occasions.

We set up our cameras and everyone was extremely patient with us as we turned on the strobe lights and began to broadcast live on the Internet. This was one of our early experiments with live broadcasts and although the online audience was small, we enjoyed opening up the lens and this event to people all over the country from our hometown Halloween party.

There was a steady stream of costumed party-goers for the rest of the night, but we wanted to move back down the street to The Bus Pit after Annie’s first set. It was still raining, but within a few moments, we were across the street and working our way through a line of people already gathered in hallway of this terrific downtown venue.

The Bus Pit was opened in the summer of this past year to coincide with the Twilight Alive concert series and although it’s had a rocky start, the room still has plenty of potential of becoming a great Kingsport nightclub.

It used to be the old maintenance garage where city and county buses were once repaired. One of its signature features is an authentic city bus parked just inside the front door that serves as the bar and centerpiece of this locale.

The stage in front was decorated with cob webs, Halloween streamers and creatures and Spank’s gear made the place look like a real concert venue.

Hailing from Bristol, Spank is probably the region’s most popular band. They don’t pretend to be anything other than an 80′s dance band and they carry with them one of the largest light shows of anyone in the area – complete with a glaring 15 foot truss spelling out the word “Spank” directly behind them.

Spank includes Tom Mann who fronts the band on vocals and guitar, Pete Dixon on guitar, Collin McHenry on bass and Ironman John Grayson on drums. Tonight, they were dressed with geeky musicians with horn-rimmed glasses.

Once they struck their first notes they never slowed down the rest of the night. Their usual entertaining stage show invite fans on the stage to get “spanked” with a blue and green sticker which people wear on their bums as a badge of honor.

The Bus Pit had more people tonight than we have seen before and everyone seemed to enjoy the drink specials from the “bar-bus.” When the band took a break, the Halloween contest featured some of the best outfits from the night.

First place winner for the women included a renaissance winch who created her costume from scratch and my favorite for the men – a costumed Steve Grindstaff who yelled into the mike, “Who makes a deal like Grindstaff?” Of which the crowd responded – NOBODY!

The rain made it hard for people to actually participate in a “Pub Crawl.” Stir Frye had “Scaryoke” and Kaffe Blue was open with the “Ghosts in The Woods Band.” I’m not sure how many people crossed over to Broad Street, but the ghouls and cartoons on Main Street were back and forth all night from The KGC to The Bus Pit.

Around midnight, both locations had sold out of the glowing green arm bands which permitted entrance into all venues but the crowds kept coming as the night-owls made their rounds.

Later, we found ourselves back at the Kingsport Grocery for the late-night deejay and talked to two young ladies who were in town from Wise, VA. They were having a great time on the dance floor and we had time for one more live broadcast before shutting down for the night.

This year’s Halloween Pub Crawl was a roaring success and I’m certain everyone had a great night to remember. Event planners are already talking about the next party, so stay tuned for more to come.

Downtown Kingsport is still struggling to become a top-of-mind destination for the weekend, but there’s no doubt that we have some great venues and superb entertainment on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that’s kind of spotty and we hope to work together with these merchants and share ideas to bring more great events into the heart of the city.

So if you missed this years event, you missed quite the spectacle.

There are plenty of photographs online this year as our photographers at GoTriCities captured more than 300 photos. Check those out at great Halloween photos from this year’s event and make sure you keep Downtown Kingsport on your radar for a great nightlife still in the works.

Various images from the 2009 Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion in Bristol, TN/VA on September 18, 19 and 20th, 2009.

The King of Pop may have passed on to rock-n-roll heaven, but his music will live on for generations.

Last week, we witnessed one of the best new tribute bands to carry on the Michael Jackson legacy as “Who’s Bad,” a seven-piece band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina performed at the Electric Cowboy in Johnson City.

Ansley Roberts was excited about this group the first time he heard them several months ago.

Roberts has been producing some of the region’s most memorable live performances and still maintains one of the most active and professional entertainment agencies in East Tennessee.

Recently, he’s centered his attention at the Electric Cowboy a large venue located in a strip mall on Roan Street near the Carmike 14 Theaters in Johnson City.

Ansley had originally booked the band early in the year and GoTriCities was proud to co-sponsor this concert performance which featured a seasoned cast of entertainers who shared the music and the energy of Jackson to a crowd of 300 or more fans.

For my elitist musical friends, the idea of attending a tribute show is often met with a smirk and “C’mon!” These folks consider this form of entertainment one level above karaoke.

I’ve softened a bit over the years and realized (especially now) that I would never get to see Michael Jackson perform anymore. Considering his discography which spans decades and Ansley’s endorsement, the hype intrigued me to experience “Who’s Bad” at the Electric Cowboy.

“The Cowboy” is one of the few night clubs in our region that has a bona-fide stage, a sound system and a lighting rig to support touring bands. Recently, we’ve seen acts like Jackyl, Cold, Taproot, country star Trent Tomlinson and others show up on this venue’s schedule.

The opening band had canceled tonight and we arrived late to see a line of smokers in front of the entrance to the nightclub (believe it not – these folks have a non-smoking policy inside).

There are two large bars up front and along the side flanked by pool tables and several people had already staked their territory near the front of the stage.

Two Michael Jackson fans were moon-walking on their large dance floor dressed in eighties fashion – black loafers, black hat, white socks and one sequined white glove.

I spotted Ansley just inside the door and it was a pleasure to meet Monty Davis – the manager of The Electric Cowboy.

We talked about their current capacity and they tell me future plans include expanding the walls to accommodate over 1,000 making this place (in the old Goody’s building) the largest night club in the region.

There are many shows planned in the coming months here in Johnson City and they both seemed to feel a tribute show wasn’t my cup of tea for a music review. Usually, that’s true, but I can’t ignore the impact of Jackson’s music and very few performers may ever rival his success.

From his beginning as a child-star with the Jackson Five to his solo career that spanned decades, his legacy will forever be a part of the pop lexicon of this era. It wouldn’t be right to say that I’m a rabid fan, but his music was the soundtrack for the better part of my life and I was excited to hear the music again. And like many others – even if it was a tribute band – I was thinking – they better be good.

One of the selling points to the ‘Who’s Bad” performance is the subtitle that this group has as seven-piece band. That’s a “big-band” for today’s standard and although the stage props were at a minimum, it was good to see a rehearsed group of players kick off the first set. After a few rockin’ choruses – there he was…sort of.

From the left side of the stage, a tall striking performer dressed in a black tuxedo, hat, loafers skated into the stage to the first song of the set, “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough.”

Everyone at the Electric Cowboy probably looked just like me…skeptical with hands crossed and a critical eye, but that pessimism was squashed almost immediately as vocalist Joseph Bell delivered not only a convincing visual interpretation of Michael Jackson, but he was spot-on with his voice.

Backed up by one of the tightest rhythm sections I’ve heard in a long time, Bell was confident and stunning as he moved from songs that included “Dirty Diana,” “Smooth Criminal” and “Black or White.”

Described as the “Ultimate Tribute Band,” “Who’s Bad” calls Chapel Hill, NC their home, but don’t let their nearness cast any doubt on their level of showmanship. These guys are the real deal. A recent New York Post sums it up this way…”Can’t Beat It.”

Just before the show began, Ansley bought me a beer and said, “I’ll warn you in advance, the guys have two performers tonight and you’re in for a treat.” Evidently, the band travels with two impersonators who each have separate strengths.

Just as quick as the first set began, “Joseph Bell” moved off the stage and the music shifted quickly to Billie Jean. Taalib York teamed up with the horn players for a precise choreography at the front of the stage that excited all the girls up close to the stage.

It’s one thing to sing like Michael Jackson and it’s another tall order to match the changing profiles of this eclectic artist, but how could anyone do it all? That’s where York’s strength began to reveal itself during this performance.

Although Joseph Bell’s dance moves were good early in the set, it wasn’t until the two guys changed places that we saw the best dancer in the band. His voice and appearance isn’t as strong as Bell, but the dance moves from the “moonwalk” to the “anti-gravity lean” and other signature Jackson moves were mimiced with perfection.

Each vocalist changed clothes several times through the night representing Michael from the ‘Off the Wall” era to “Thriller,” “Bad” and others. Somewhere in the middle of the set, Joseph came out in a gold glittered jumpsuit complete with afro to work through a short set of Jackson Five songs including “I’ll Be There and ABC.”

A lot of acts can leave you bored after a first few songs, but I think everyone at the Electric Cowboy would agree that “Who’s Bad” was beat for beat, shockingly entertaining and visually intriguing.

No-one moved from their voyeuristic stance at the front of the stage throughout the 90 minute set. When the girls joined “Who’s Bad” on stage for one of there final encores, there was no doubt this band left a memorable impression on the audience.

Who knows what’s in store for “Who’s Bad?”

The band’s timing is probably at a fever-pitch now that we’ve lost the “King of Pop” and I suppose this year will be an extremely busy year. If they continue shaping their stage performance, add a bit more glamor and glitz, they could wind up touring the country and may find themselves in Vegas.

The music, the performers and the choreography are well-rehearsed and even though there’s no way you could expect any act to equal the presence of the original Jacko, these guys are just about as good as it gets.

“Who’s Bad” is a striking joy-ride for Michael Jackson fans and you’ll leave spell-bound if you get a chance to see them in the future.

Thanks Ansley and Electric Cowboy for such an entertaining show and it looks like this is only the beginning as you are scheduled to bring much more in the coming months including a visit by Our Lady Peace in late October. We’ll look forward to that show and we’re excited to see your crowds grow as you’ve got an extraordinary venue paired with a promoter who knows what he’s doing.

It’s been really busy the past few weeks as we begin to roll out several new websites we’ve been working on at GoTriCities. Our staff have completed some of their best work all year long this past week and we have received a lot of attention for the work.

Last week, we were proud to launch the new Kingsport Chamber of Commerce website which included lots of fan fare including an appearance on the Kingsport ChamberZone business television show with Bob Feagins and Laura Steel, a couple of presentations and a feature in the newspaper this past week with Chamber president Miles Burdine.

The new Chamber website is a exciting new improvement from their old site and features a ultra-intuitive distinction that makes it super easy to navigate. There are plenty of pages that promote their programs from Fun Fest to Keep Kingsport Beautiful and lots of events, promotions and videos throughout the website. The site features a complete directory of all Chamber members, a daily update for available jobs in the region and more.

Early traffic numbers show a two-fold increase in their traffic patterns so far and we’re excited about working with area businesses to promote their brands on the site in the coming months. We’re working with Accuforce to telemarket Kingsport businesses to extend new marketing opportunities on the site.

I’m very proud of some of the new commercials we have been producing with our creative staff at GoTriCities. Here are a couple of new projects we moved out of the studios last week.

The first one is a new commercial for IShopTheTri.com – a new regional Internet directory based out of Johnson City. The commercial focuses on the depth and variety of the listings in this useful Internet application and has a chic music bed to support the tech framework.

IShopTheTri Video Commercial from David Cate on Vimeo.

The second video supports a new mobile application we just launched for Town and Country Realty. Brad Smith did a great job as talent on the spot and Elaine Rinder was a pleasureable voiceover for both of these new videos.

Town and Country Mobile Video from David Cate on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Speaking to an audience has gotten easier for me in the past several years. With 24 years of experience in sales, you get to the point where the butterflies subside, especially after you make a mountain of mistakes along the way.

There’s still a bit of anxiety though and these opportunities are always learning experiences because mastering the art of presentation is a key to business success and I had chance to speak a three gatherings recently.

We’re getting ready to launch the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce website this week. Prior to the launch, I spoke to their Board of Directors for a sneak preview at their offices in Kingsport on May 20th. A group of 50 or so people were in the room that day and I had 10 minutes to deliver the quick tour.

On Thursday, May 16th, I was invited to speak to the Tri-Cities Metro Advertising Federation in Johnson City on the subject of Social Media. Mary Ellen Miller was also speaking that day and we had a chance to present several new ideas to the area’s advertising and marketing professionals.

This was a small group, but it was a significant gathering of peers at the Bank of Tennessee Financial offices in Johnson City. This swanky conference room overlooks State of Franklin road and the board room there has some of the coolest presentation tech that I’ve seen lately.

With windows all around, I lowered the screens in the circular office and presented a 15 minute presentation before about 35 agency reps, banks, hospitals, public relations professionals and small businesses.

My presentation was a collection of social media tools from our newspaper network, a review of the tools reshaping the media landscape and review of some of the ideas our clients are implementing using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other tools.

My main theme was the fact that social media isn’t all that new, citing our human desire for interaction and authenticity in conversations, but the the tools have certainly changed and we reviewed those ideas together.

Some of the interesting points of conversations from the session included how to effectively separate personal and professional identities using social media and how to ensure productivity in the workplace with these tools proliferating our lives.

Mary Ellen Miller did a great job introducing a lively collection of social media public relations examples and has been very successful re-branding herself after experience in television news, magazines and leading a PR firm at a local tech company. Her discussions on Social Media will continue on WJHL over the next several weeks.

Special thanks to Sarah Clevinger with The Bank of Tennessee and Jessica Bland with The Corporate Image for organizing this event. It helped me to sharpen my Keynote skills and I enjoyed sharing the new ideas about Social Media.

I’ll continue that discussion with clients over the next several weeks including a presentation to the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce tomorrow – June 1.

My last presentation was caught on video and that gives me a chance to critique the work.

The Kingsport Chamber of Commerce sponsors a Fourth Friday Breakfast every month at MeadowView Resort and Convention Center and they had me on the agenda for their session on May 22nd.

This morning meeting is open to all Chamber members to discuss business and encourage networking opportunities (plus a free breakfast) and it was up to me to open up the new Chamber website and give another peek before an audience of 250 local business people.

We had a good session and although I felt like my presentation was 20 minutes, it turned out to be only 9 minutes and that’s good. Most resources say people have at most a 30 to 60 second attention span and considering the early meeting time it would be very easy to fall asleep.

I had a good time speaking to all of these groups and look forward to other opportunities in the future.

Here’s the video from the Chamber of Commerce presentation.

Kingsport Chamber of Commerce Web Presentation from David Cate on Vimeo.

It was another busy week at work and we launched a new website for the Tennessee Constables Association.

This is an excellent design from our group and features several aspects of the constables in our state. Constables perform many legal services including, Evictions, Home Security Checks, Subpeonas, Deliver of Legal Documents, Summons, Security Escorts and much more.

The new website’s key function is the useful search where visitors can find their constable by zip code by the online database. The site also explains the services provided by these government workers and publishes handy links to other programs supported by their group.

Earlier in the week, we wrapped up a detailed user seminar for them to update every aspect of the website and we look forward to providing them greater services in the future.

Click here to visit The Tennessee Constables Association @ http://www.tnconstables.com

Summer’s here and with all the rain this season, the East Tennessee landscape is lush. Seems like there are more soggy days than sunny ones, but that’s not a bad thing is it?

Regular showers keep things fresh and fertile in the mountains and the smell of honeysuckle and wildflowers are hard to ignore driving the back roads.

The road to the Marker 2 Grill leads past Tri-Cities airport back into farm land before it ends at the banks of Boone Lake. It’s here I joined a small crowd recently to here Jamen Denton and Wise Old River. Jamen is an extraordinary local songwriter cultured here in the mountains of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

When it comes to being a good songwriter or poet, some say you’ve got to weather the storms of life. It’s a rite of passage and during these times many artists find their most creative verse.

It wasn’t long ago, Jamen and his band Virginia Ground were one of the most talked about acts on the local scene.

Together with his brother, Justin, they were appearing before large rowdy crowds all over the region. Country Music Television had featured their act on a documentary and it seemed they were on the verge of something great.

All of a sudden, the wheels seemed to get caught in the mud and rumors of disagreements, girlfriends, over-indulgence, relocation, frustration, false starts and other gossip seemed to indicate the band was finished.

At the heart of Virginia Ground was the voice and verse of Jamen Denton and although the band is history, I’ve stayed in touch with him on Myspace – hoping to see him resurface – because he’s got much more to give.

Recently, he sent me an invitation to join him with his parents in their new trio – Wise Old River.

His father James and mother Jeanie moved South several years ago and have always been great supporters of their son’s artistry. They currently live in Tazewell, VA and are working with their son as he returns to the music scene. They had rented a room at the La Quinta for the weekend and had scheduled two performances stating at The Acoustic Coffeehouse in Johnson City and also appearing near my home at Marker 2 Grill on Boone Lake.

It was overcast and a bit damp when I arrived at this lakeside venue in Blountville. Jamen was walking toward the water during a break and I sat down at the bar for a basket of boiled shrimp and a Fat Tire.

Sitting across from the stage, I waited for the band to start the next set – hiding out in the shadows. As they began to play, you could tell there were fans out tonight despite the small crowd because they called out the songs one after another and sang along with the choruses.

I made my way to the front of the stage with cameras in hand and sat down to listen to Jamen as he played ‘Back for You’ – my favorite Virginia Ground song that highlights his distinctive soulful style.

Even though their music was often described in the style of Americana artists and most noticeably The Old Crow Medicine Show, I always appreciated Jamen’s songs because of the intensity of the lyric and the soulful/bluesy quality of his music.

“Back for You” is more in the spirit Sam Cooke and John Mayer than the typical country flavored songs you hear in most original venues in the Tri-Cities and it was sure a favorite of the small audience that gathered here tonight.

Jamen Denton performs at Marker 2 Grill from David Cate on Vimeo.

Jamen’s father played a Greek guitar called a bouzouki and a slide guitar which added a rich tone to his music and his mother Jeanie sang silky backup harmonies as the night’s set progressed.

This acoustic set of original Virgina Ground songs worked well tonight for this small crowd. The songs are naturally elegant and even though I miss the rowdiness of the full band – it’s still a treat to hear a great songwriter perform these songs with such passion and intimacy. Jamen seemed unmoved by the room too as he closed his eyes and sang with an intensity that was augmented by the sweat gushing from his brow and leaving a ring around his shirt in the humid night air.

There were a few cover songs that pleased the audience including a Stevie Ray standard, Ben Harper and most notably a version of Ryan Adam’s ‘My Winding Wheel” where Jamen proves his ability to turn his own inflection on another artist’s material.

It was clear through the night there were several new songs that have surfaced in Denton’s set list since I had seen him list. A library of new songs about love, despair and words about mountain life including the one of my new favorites ‘Down in the Valley of Crows.”

Jamen’s songs are supported by a natural pulse on an acoustic guitar, but his talent was best summed up by Sunny who runs Marker 2 Grill. She mentioned to me after the performance that Denton was “definitely possessed by the music” and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

“It’s been a real good year,” Jamen shared with me after the show.

He evidently had recently come through a mutual divorce, but lit up with a broad smile as he showed me a picture of his young son Noah.

Tonight, they were wrapping up their last show and heading back to Tazewell and although the crowd wasn’t what most musicians would be satisfied with– Jamen said he didn’t care – “he loves it and glad to play anytime and anywhere.”

Wise Old River is a new outlet for Jamen’s music and the comfort of his immediate family adds a reinforcement to his talent as he reconstructs his sound with new material and a new spirit. It’s hard to say where he’ll wind up next, but he’s got plenty of fans like me who will continue to support him and enjoy his poetry.

As one fan stated as they were packing their gear from tonight’s show – “as long as you keep playin‘ – we’ll keep coming back.”

I can live with too and I’m certain we’ve yet to hear the best from Jamen Denton.