n Greg Fundis and company, known to the rest of the world as 56 Hope
Road, make another Springfield appearance on Friday at Jazz Central Station,
atop the mighty Hilton. The Chicago-based group has been stopping in town every
few months while pursuing an aggressive grassroots-booked touring schedule.
After a crisscrossing of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota, a trip
to our great Southwest is on for February, along with a swing through Colorado.
The group performs twice on Friday, at 9 p.m. and midnight, jamming on songs
from its most recent CD, Drop It All.
n When lifelong friends (both well under 30 years old) Andrew Norsworthy and Matt Hopper decided to take a tour across the United States, they made some calls, lined up some couches, and went looking for gigs. The buddies grew up in Alaska, that hotbed of singer/songwriters, then Norsworthy went to Seattle and on to Europe and Hopper headed for LA. Each artist has enjoyed small breaks with previous bands; now they’re out together on the “Death of a Day Job” tour to build on those successes. Jim Wavering of 11 West says that Hopper was playing in town and came to check out singer/songwriter Micah Walk. Wavering asked Hopper to play a few songs on Walk’s break, and he apparently passed the audition. Norsworthy and Hopper, both on the Hatcher Pass Records label, located somewhere in Alaska, are scheduled for an 8 p.m. show at 11 West, at the corner of Adams and Fifth streets.
n Here’s a wish for a happy 68th birthday for Billy Rogers and hearty congratulations on 51 years in show business. I bet there’s a story or two behind those twinkling eyes. Rogers lives in Decatur and sings with Diversity, a John Sluzalis-led group featuring local jazz luminaries. Convey your birthday wishes between 8:30 p.m. and midnight this Friday and Saturday at the Lime Street Café on South Durkin Drive.
n For those who’re into planning ahead (I know some people actually
do that) and those who like Amy Grant and Vince Gill (I know some people really
do), they’ll be at the Peoria Civic Center on Dec. 10 to do their very special
Christmas show. Comedian Henry Cho opens at 7 p.m. Call 309-676-8700 or visit
www.ticketmaster.com to buy your tickets in advance. Grant and Gill have each sold more than 22 million
records. Imagine that.
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2004.
