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Buffalo Roaming: The Angelus Rocked

My buddy Scott Greene and I had been talking about our annual pilgrimage to The Angelus for months. he was about as excited about it as I was. after all, it is too much fun every single year. This would be Scott’s fourth trip and my eighth.

We headed out in Scott’s Dad’s mini-van with some great CD’s blowing the best of our collections all the way from point “A” to point “Z.” Bands like Gov’t Mule, Marshall Tucker, Casting Crowns, Silver Travis, Bo Bice, Jackson Crossing, and of course, The Charlie Daniels Band.

It was a beautiful day for a drive, and Scott and I caught up on everything from sports to music, politics to family, with good ol’ Southern Rock as background music.

After many hours on the road, we stopped in Lake City, Florida and hit the sack. We always break the trip up into two sections, it just makes it easier. Especially since I usually have to do a solo gig very shortly after we arrive each year.

ANGELUS DAY ONE
On Thursday, we drove on into Tampa to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and the party was officially on. Well, that is, after we waited two more hours until the room was ready.

I was to play in the Lobby Bar at 5:15. By the time the room was ready, I had all of 15 minutes to get dressed in my Buffalo clothes and get ready for the stage.

Downstairs I met country singer songwriter Amanda Martin, who would be  sharing the stage with me for a songwriter’s circle. We originally were set to be joined by our old friend Donnie Winters, but he was unable to be there. I asked Tommy Crain if he and bassist Kerry Creasy would join us like they did with me last year (man,it was fun!) but Tommy said Kerry had not yet arrived. We would have to wait to jam.

Amanda and I had a pretty nice crowd, including long time friends and Angelus supporters Tom and Ann Bell. The problem came when I plugged in my Washburn acoustic. We couldn’t get any sound out of it. Sound man Pete McCaffrey tried every trick in the book and then we realized it wasn’t his cords or PA, it was a short inside my guitar, Oops. I played my first song on Amanda’s axe, and then one of the other performers loaned me her acoustic.

Amanda and I swapped off, me playing songs like “Natural Born Cowboy,”  “Smell All The Roses,” “Into The Light,” “Painting Her Toenails,” and “I Want Paris Hilton To Be My Friend.” Amanda sang several of her originals such as “Whiskey Makes Me Cry,” “I Don’t Think So,” and “You Can’t He;p But Love Me.” A good time was had by all, and I continued to see many friends I had not seen since last year’s event.

Pretty soon it was time for the Pairing Party in the grand ball room. When we came in there was a young country cover band playing, and we all mulled around and spoke to old friends and new ones. As usual, there was a wide variety of buffet finger foods, as well as chefs carving roast beef, lamb, ham and other vittles.

I found myself hanging out with old friends such as CDB members Charlie Hayward and Pat McDonald (who says “Hey! to his buddy James Calemine of Swampland), BB Borden, Pat Ellwood and various members of The MTB. I finally met their newest addition, sax/flute/key man Marcus Henderson (husband of Georgia Music Hall of Fame director Lisa Love) - a great and funny guy. I also fulfilled the plan set forth during one of my recent interviews by meeting Bo Bice and as he said during the interview -”I look forward to meeting you and putting hand in hand.” Which we did. Bo is a great kid. An old Southern Rock soul in a young body.

Long time Angelus supporter, cartoonist Guy Gilchrist, came over to speak, and asked me to run up to his room with him, he had me a gift. As a former cartoonist myself, I was thrilled when he presented me with the original drawings of three of his daily Nancy comic strips, each with a different Southern Rock theme! How cool is that?  Now, this is the first year I knew that Guy was also a songwriter and singer, and he gave me his new CD, which includes some help from mutual friend Tommy Crain, Guy sat down and played me several of his originals, and I loved them all. I also liked being the recipient of a private concert. Cool factor number two.                                                                                      

Soon it was time for Tommy Crain and The Crosstown Allstars, and they came out of the shoot locked and loaded with a brilliant cover of “Hot ‘Lanta” by The Allman Brothers Band. They followed that with one of their own, “Find Another Lover,” with Bob Rumer singing his heart out. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Bob has one of the best blues voices on the scene. Towson locked in on drums with Kerry on bass, and Bob Jones just wailed on the B-3. The cherry on top was Tommy Crain, dressed in tie-dye, wielding that famous Les Paul gold top, smoking the fretboard like it was  a filterless Camel.

Charlie Daniels joined the Allstars for a blistering mini-set that included “Further On Up The Road,” “One Way Out,” “Stormy Monday,” “The Legend of Wooley Swamp,” “Trudy,” “The South’s Gonna Do it Again,” and of course, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” with Charlie playing the song faster than ever. It was seriously hot.

The set was all that and more, and when it was over, Scott and I and a few others made a bee-line to the hospitality room for an adult beverage or two. There I met my pal Rick Broyles, the videographer and photographer as well as Fast Fred, a fellow traveler and picker. We were joined off and on by various and sundry brothers and sisters of the road, including MTB bassist Pat Elwood and his significant other Linda. Toward the end of our conversation, one of Ginger Ambrose’s friend came by walking his bulldog, and we had some fun playing with him. That’s when I snapped the tell-tale shot of Ricky kissing the pup. That old boy is loves dogs as much as the Buffalo does. 

Scott had already headed in for the night, and I said a temporary goodbye to Broyles, Fred and the others. As I walked into the hotel I saw Kerry Creasy and his wife Donna headed for the hospitality room. I told them good night and told Kerry how great he had played and sang with Charlie. I had no way of knowing it would be the last time I would see my friend alive.

ANGELUS DAY TWO

After due showers, me and my running buddy Scott headed down to hit the breakfast buffet in the grand ball room. As I exited the elevator and rounded the corner, I ran right into Tommy Crain. I noticed he looked a bit distressed. “Michael, we lost Kerry last night,” he said. Well, I was like, “What, did he go home?” I was not even awake yet. “He died,” said Tommy. There was a group of friends there, although all I can remember is Crain. I totally lost it and hugged Tommy as we let the emotions and shock wash over us. I just couldn’t believe Kerry had died. He was so full of life.

After a while, Scott and I made our way to breakfast. One of the first folks I saw was Tommy’s keyboard man Bob Jones. I gave him a Buffalo hug and shook his hand and spoke briefly. He too was in shock.

I called Mike Proctor, the guy who has the High Lonesome in Rome, GA, an invited guest of Angelus this year, and told him the news about Kerry. It nearly floored him. He said he was on the way down to meet us. We ate a little eggs and bacon and then headed back toward the room with Proctor. All along the way we were running into folks who were just hearing the sad and tragic news. On the second floor, just outside Kerry and Donna’s room, stood Towson and Bob. We spoke for a while and then Donna asked to see me. I went in and spoke and held her and let her cry her heart out. I felt so much for her. Such a loss.

The next few hours are a blur. I didn’t do much of anything until time to go down for my 4 PM set with Amanda. Arriving in the Lobby Bar, I found it filled with a whole lot of folks, including CDB/Bonnie Bramlett fan club boss Ginger Ambrose, Danny Shirley from Confederate Railroad and Doug (MTB) and Rene Gray.

Ginger’s friend Taylor Henry was doing some fine acoustic tunes and sounding mighty excellent as his mother watched from the front lines. It only got better when Tommy Crain stepped up during a song, plugged in his Chet Atkins acoustic guitar, and started playing lead fills. This is one reason why Tommy is almost always voted by us “Most Valuable Player.”

Tommy offered to let me play his guitar for my set since mine was broken. Bob Rumer has loaned me his resonator, but I chose to play Tommy’s because I had never played a steel body resonator guitar before.

Amanda started off with a cover of “Suspicious Minds,” and I dedicated “Fire On The Mountain” to Doug Gray and in memory of George McCorkle. Amanda did a mix of covers and originals, as did I, and the hour long set seemed to just fly by.

I retired to the room for a while after the set, knowing that the Banquet and Auction would soon begin in the ballroom. We sat with our friends Tom and Ann Bell, at a table right beside the Marshall Tucker Band table. Throughout the evening I kept making my way over to sit and speak with the now long haired boy BB Borden (“ I just noticed one day that everyone in the band had long hair except for me, so I grew it out,” he told me.) bassist Pat Ellwood and his girl Linda, Clay Cook and his girlfriend, Doug and Rene Gray, and new guy Marcus Henderson, whom I was glad to finally meet. It would be the next day before I heard him rock, and boy howdy, he is good.

Charlie spoke to the crowd and lead in a prayer. He played a video of Jodell singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with the kids from The Angelus home. It was very touching.

The Sweeny Family returned for their second year, mixing Andy Griffith style (G-rated) comedy with some super tight mountain music pickin.’ They played a lot of the old songs, and asked Charlie Daniels to join them for “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” and a couple of others.

The man in charge of pro wrestling in Florida spoke and introduced a table full of new up and coming young wrestlers. Then they showed a hilarious film clip of Charlie Daniels at his new job as a pro wrestler, doing a “clothes line” on two hulking wrestlers at the same time. Pretty dog gone funny. 

Lots of awards were handed out including Thank You awards for years of service to several including Ginger Ambrose, The Marshall Tucker Band and Confederate Railroad.

There was a live auction that began with a heated bidding war between a fan and singer Bo Bice. It was for a golden fiddle, signed by Charlie Daniels. Bice eventually won the fiddle for a whopping $3,000. Of course, it was all for The Angelus.

Over the next few hours, I spoke with so many great people, including Angelus even organizers Gar and Tammy Williams, and Ginger and Bobby Ambrose, Charlie and Hazel Daniels, Brad “The Animal” Lesley and many others. The fellowship is a big part of the fun each year.

Finally, we were all filled with prime rib, tea and coffee, and ready for Tommy Crain and The Crosstown Allstars with guest Charlie Daniels. Charlie Hayward filled in for Kerry and even played Kerry’s bass. Tommy wore Kerry’s hat, which had been signed by all of us for Donna. Charlie spoke about Kerry, and the jam began.

The Allstars, Tommy in particular, were on fire. I know it had something to do with working the emotions out on the instruments, but you should have been there. It was amazing.

Daniels joined in for “The South’s Gonna Do it again,” and  the classic which brought myself and Guy Gilchrist to the stage to sing backup alongside CDB regular Carolyn Corlew. The band played “Sweet Home Alabama,” with Chad Brock sitting in.

Charlie and Chad left the stage, and Crain kicked into “Hot Lanta.” “Jessica.” and a dedication to Kerry on “Can’t You See,” with me singing. Then came “Whipping Post” for what seemed like 45 minutes. I told them later that, although I have been fortunate enough to hear the Brothers play it live many times, the song never sounded better than on this night, as these fellas played it in tribute to their fallen brother. The people watching knew they had witnessed a major event.

ANGELUS DAY THREE
We hit the breakfast room pretty early, where I sucked back probably far too many cups of Joe. The big outdoor concert was moved from the old location to the actual back parking lot of The Hard Rock, and I must say, I think it worked out better overall.

We ran into Tom and Ann on the way out, and our friend Mary Wilson had just driven in. She’s a dear, and one of the CDB’s biggest little fans.

Hanging out backstage and running back out front to snap pictures was an aerobic workout and I enjoyed every minute of it. Throughout the afternoon I found myself in conversations with everyone from Rick Broyles and Bo Bice to Doug Gray, Chris and Jenny Hicks (who had just arrived), Dennis from US Legends Guitars, the boys from Confederate Railroad, including Danny Shirley, Charlie Hayward and his wife, Taz DiGregorio and his wife Donelle, my buddy Mike Proctor, all the Crosstown Allstars and Marshall Tucker band cats, and many others.

We got there in time to catch Confederate Railroad’s smoking set, which as always ended with a half dozen or more young girls onstage for the band’s hit “Trashy Women.”

Because he had to catch a plane later, former American Idol and full time Southern Rocker Bo Bice hit the stage next, backed by the N-Kahootz Band. He mesmerized the audience with several tunes from his latest album Let it Shine, including my personal favorite, “You Can’t Take The Country Out of Me.” Bo rocks, fellow babies. He is also one heck of a nice guy. He simply rocked the yard with his closer, a familiar little Skynyrd tune called “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Next up were The Crosstown Allstars with special guest Dangerous Danny Toler. It was great to see the former Allman Brothers/Dickey Betts guitar slinger again, and Tommy seemed really happy to have him join in. They played dual leads and smoldering versions of “Hot ‘Lanta” and “Jessica,” along with a funky take on the right Rev. Al Green’s “Take Me To The River.” It was amazing, and the Angelus kids in the front row were dancing in their seats.

Next came The Marshall Tucker Band, beginning with “This Ol’ Cowboy,” before bringing Chris Hicks to the mic to deliver the title track from his new solo album, “Dog Eat Dog World.” The MTB turned in a blistering, extra long jam on “Ramblin’ On My Mind,” featuring guest jammers Tommy Crain, Dan Toler and Ric Willis. The set closed, as always with a stage full singing “Can’t You see,” and the ol’ Buffalo accepting Doug’s kind invite to sing.  At one point, there were no less than five guitar players lined up across the front of the stage. If I didn’t know better, i would have thought they were The Outlaws.

The Charlie Daniels Band closed out the show with a set of great tunes including “Drinkin My Baby Goodbye,” “Wooley Swamp,” and many others. At one point Charlie brought Kerry Creasy’s wife onstage and held his arm around her as he sang “Amazing Grace.” Of course it all ended up with a huge jam on “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” and everybody left the show satisfied. You could not have asked for more. No way.

After the show, I joined Doug Gray and Rene, along with kid singer (and good buddy) Aaron Kelly and his sweet Mom for dinner. Scott would join us later in the Garden Restaurant on the second floor.

The sponsor appreciation party wrapped things up in style with The Crosstown Allstars, delivering the goods on “Standin’ On Shakey Ground,” “Jessica,” and a guest appearance from myself to sing and play my George McCorkle model Copley guitar on “Can’t You See,” as well as to sing “Crossroads.” It was a stone blast, baby. Also joining in was Big Mike from The Trunk Band, who can play like nobody’s business.

Tommy cleared the stage of all but his band to dedicate the beautiful Tony Joe White tune, “Rainy Night in Georgia” to the memory of Kerry.

After the show, some of us hung out for a while. The Angelus is the GRITZ charity of choice. We will always support the cause. They do great work, and they have heart. The next morning we would say our goodbyes and put the Dodge in the wind. By the time we arrived home at around 7 PM, the 2008 Angelus was just another great memory - albeit it a little bittersweet. We’ll miss you Kerry.

Keep it Real. Keep it Southern.
Buffalo

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