Sunday, January 17, 2010

Good Gravy, Fillin' Station, Kingston Springs, TN 1/16/2010


It was a dark and stormy night...rainy, a little hard to see on the roads. My friends told me to stay home. But look, when you really like an act and want to hear them play, what's a little rain, anyhow?

I'd already been a fan of one of the two husband and wife duos who make up the group Good Gravy. "Cool" Ray (guitar, vocals) and Ariel DeSilvis (vocals, percussion) also perform around the area as Those Two. After hearing Ariel's awesome power vocals and great songs, I was sold from the get go (and she's my hero also since I'm an aspiring percussion player who's only gotten as far as playing rhythm egg). The other half of the group is bass player Tom Good and Susan Julian, yet another amazing and powerful singer and one mighty keyboard player. Along with their original songs, whenever this combo takes on just about any cover song they choose to handle, they put their smooth jazz/blues/pop/R & B/rockabilly stamp on it and knock it out of the ballpark. Add in Fillin' Station owner and former War harmonica player Patrick Weickenand sitting in wailin' on the harp for a number or two and you've got icing on the cake.

In my opinion, Ariel and Susan are two of the best female vocalists I've heard in this town. How cool is it to have two equally top-flight singers in one band? A couple of other folks who were there that evening were so impressed with Good Gravy that they pledged to bring a crowd with them at the group's next Fillin' Station gig on the 30th. Some of the group members can also be heard at the weekly Thursday night blues jam at the Fillin' Station.

Me, I'd call it awesome gravy. Taste and hear for yourself.