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While shooting the breeze with fellow Easy Street
band members, after just another bar date, drummer Gene Acree began adding
up his lifetime gig total. To his surprise, the calculations came to the
astounding number of 5,000 (with a slight possibility of a lost night here
and there) on Friday, Nov. 17, 2006. Acree got his start in show business as a child
drummer, backing his father, Andy Acree, a popular local country musician
who is now in the Illinois Country Music Hall of Fame (didn’t know we
had one, did you?). The elder Acree performed for more than 50 years and
still makes several dates a year — he must be near 10,000 shows
by now. The younger Acree has performed with countless bands over the
years, including a stint with Dickey Betts of Allman Brothers fame. On his
milestone night, Acree slaps the skins for Elvis imitator Bill Cobb at the
Hoogland Center for the Arts. Hey, Geno, here’s to 5,000 more! Hearty congratulations are also in order for
keyboardist/vocalist Brian Curtis and the other Oohs for being chosen
Unsigned Artist of the Month in the November issue of Keyboard. The review, based on the
quartet’s latest CD, Llamalamp, praises Curtis’ “tasty compositional
depth” of keyboard work and the group’s “classic rock
vocal harmonies,” plus the “satisfyingly meaty” string
and horn arrangements created on, naturally enough, the keyboard.
It’s a great honor for the band, and, may I say, these guys are just
Oohs-ing with talent. Over the past few months one of the tastiest music
weeknights in town has been Fat Tuesday at the Brewhaus (617 E. Washington
St., 217-525-6399), with Frank Parker, John Crisp, Henry Miles, and others
jamming on fabulous jazz, blues, and R&B tunes. The great sounds remain
the same, but the gig’s been moved to Mondays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., and
renamed Frank’s Jambalaya. The veteran core band is joined by guest
players and singers to create a scrumptious mix of different sounds.
Yum-yum. Cindy Woolf, our favorite singing, writing,
guitar-playing gal from Arkansas, rolls into the Underground City Tavern
(700 E. Adams St., 217-789-1530) for a show at 10 p.m. Nov. 16. Woolf,
who’s recording a new CD with Big Smith’s Mark Bilyeu, brings
along a new backup group featuring Molly Healey on fiddle and Mike
Williamson (of Big Smith) on bass.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Nov 9-15, 2006.
