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.

The 62nd annual Kingsport Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner was a refreshing break from the sliding stock market, corporate layoffs and other bad news we seem to be smothered by lately.

In fact, it was a soaring night of optimism as area business leaders celebrated last year’s success stories and look forward to the future. Besides that – the Beatles were in town…sort of.

“The last time I saw you, you was on Saturday Night Live.”

It’s not often you greet friends with a comment like that, but not Matt Mahaffey. He has a stellar musical career and the last time I saw him, he was performing a live set with Beck – jamming on spoons and other instruments before a world-wide audience.

Matt was in town this past weekend to perform at Capone’s in Johnson City for an annual benefit that honors his brother Mike who passed away four years ago.

He talked about Borat in the SNL dressing room (in character) and how they played Letterman the next night. He commented, “Dave must have a sweat thing or something because that studio was frigid.” Here’s his performance on You Tube. Matt is at stage left on guitar – he gets to perform with Borat.

The Bristol Motor Speedway is usually filled with fanatical Nascar fans at its peak times, but every October the track is silent except for the March of Dimes Wine Tasting we rarely miss.

This was the 10th Anniversary benefitting this important charity in our region and features food and wines from the area’s best restaurants and live music high above the quarter-mile track in Bristol.

It’s a great cause and for $30 per ticket, this is a night to remember especially with a gang of friends – we had eight in our party including Dan and Tracy Strickler, Jennifer and Scott Kilgore, Matthew Carroll, Crystal Robinson and Lisa Bettini.

Before the night was over, we enjoyed two hours of great hospitality and celebrated another successful social event high in the sky.

Last Friday, we attended the 2008 Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion sponsor reception at the historic train station in Bristol, TN. The organizers of this popular regional festival really know how to take care of their sponsors too gathering everyone under roof at this newly remodeled facility right below the famous Bristol sign on State Street.

This was the first time I’ve walked through those halls since the mid-eighties, when names like ‘The Third Rail,” F.O.B. Everret,” and “Greene’s Seafood” used to draw patrons to dinner and some degree of night life. The last time I was here was in the late eighties enjoying peppermint schnapps with my friend Robert Banks on a sub-zero February afternoon.

The folks who have reopened the “Train Station” have redecorated the place and it’s now a place for weddings and special events like the Sponsor Reception which kicks off this year’s festival which begins Friday.

Festival Director Leah Ross and this year’s chairperson Vicie Dotson welcomed guests while Annie and Paul Robinette performed their original music from a small corner in the room. There was an open bar to grab a cold beer and plenty of food from the culinary school in Bristol too.

We were among several regional businesses who were on hand to accept the festivals gratitude for their help with the festival and although we were also videotaping the event and shooting several photograph’s we were delighted to be among the many who were there supporting the festival.

It’s absolutely amazing how these two cities reach across borders and organize such a strong festival which features over 100 performing artists on 18 stages throughout the city. For a $40 price tag, you’ll not find a better form of outdoor entertainment all year and it all starts next week.

Vicie introduce each sponsor and awarded them with a gorgeous wood placque and this year’s heart award went to Katie Sword who accepted the award with a surprised look that was highlighted by the sun’s rays that were beaming in through the west wing of the train station as the day ended.

We shot plenty of video and have several photos to share including pictures of Carl Moore, Charlene Tipton showing off the new baby bump and several pictures of sponsors and their awards. We enjoyed the music too and more importantly, we’re excited about this year’s festival and look forward to dancing in the streets at this year’s festival which starts this Friday afternoon in downtown Bristol.

We spoke with Leah Ross on Buzzcutz last week.

Fun Fest is over with and time to catch up on a few thanks and memories of this year’s summer festival.

I didn’t participate a lot this year because we’re simply covered up at work. But there were a few things I really enjoyed – especially the Wine Tasting Seminar at Ridgefields Country Club.

In the past, Fun Fest has consumed my time every Summer. I’m not complaining, but our organization has worked with this city-wide festival for several years now and we’re glad to see it continue to be successful.

This year we’re making some changes with our brand and covered up with plenty of interesting projects. We were short on time and resources and took a break this year as a sponsor. This decision allowed me to enjoy one of the events I always missed each year.

Several weeks ago, Pam Cox with Accuforce Staffing Services called to hire my services as background entertainment for the wine tasting at Ridgefields. This was an exciting opportunity for me because these small party/chamber gigs are always one of my favorites because they allow for more improvisation on the piano and the wine makes everyone a bit more forgiving.

Friday night we stopped in for Johnson City’s First Friday downtown festivities and had a ball at Nelson’s Art Gallery as they celebrated the ETSU Pottery Class Graduation in an event called “Seize The Clay.”

You gotta love the Latin title and together with Matthew and Jared, we captured some interesting video footage from several young artists and Dick Nelson as he described some of the plans for the summer in Downtown Johnson City. Carson also shot plenty of pictures who can check out here.

There’s something about the holidays I don’t care for. There’s too much food, too much traffic and too many busy-bodies, but you can never have enough Christmas parties.

There were three Christmas parties in a row at Allandale Mansion this year and I played my usual holiday jazz at all of them – I wore a tux, drank plenty of red wine and although at times I welcome the ‘Grinch’ persona, I still had fun dragging out my holiday tunes for the business cocktail parties I get to play each season.

The Allandale Mansion is a great place for parties from 50 to 500. Over the past several years my job has been on the Yamaha grand and this year that included Tuesday night with Town and Country Realty, Friday with Bank of Tennessee and Saturday – The GoTriCities Holiday Ball.

There was hardly a place to park when we arrived at Kingsport’s MeadowView Convention Center a couple of weeks ago to see The Carousel. There wasn’t a convention, but there were plenty of parties going behind those doors on December 1st.

Gary Taylor’s daughter asked him several months ago if he would consider getting the old band back together for her wedding reception. Her dad played guitar for The Carousel in the late sixties and this turned out to be an important era of our small-town musical as this act cultured plenty of talent like Jim Shields, Bill Robinson, Ray Berry, Fred Goodwin and David Sproles. These guys hadn’t performed together for close to forty years and although he wasn’t sure he could pull it off – here they were for one night only – forty years later on December 1, 2007.

Straight to photos…

If I should die before I wake…would someone make sure that there’s a going-away party like the they had for George Hammonds at The Down Home ?

As it happens, I spoke to George a few weeks ago at Bristol Rhythm and Roots. As usual, he was friendly and seemed in good health and spirit, enjoying the festival and listening to Lightning’ Charlie at Java J’s. Unfortunately, that would be the last I would talk to George who died of heart problems on Tuesday, October 9th. A talented musician, radio personality and veteran, George’s death was another jolt for the Tri-Cities music community as we bid farewell to David Burton just a few weeks earlier.

Photos are Here…

I’ve known George for a number of years and we first met at WETS-FM in Johnson City. This was several years ago as our band was scheduled to perform a live set on Studio One. George helped run sound that day and from the first time we met, he established himself as a gentleman and real pro. He made us feel comfortable and his love of music was obvious over the years as he performed with The Groovemasters, The Billy Crawford Band, Lightning’ Charlie and many others.