Over the last ten years, we have had the opportunity to put some fantastic musicians in front of our students. \u00a0Living on the north end of US 45 makes importing high quality musical programs an expensive proposition. \u00a0In many cases, we have been able to partner with the Ontonagon Theater for the Performing Arts, but it still costs money to put on a concert for our student body. \u00a0The answer to the obvious question, \u201cWhy would you spend money to hold a concert for the Ontonagon Area School students?\u201d has always been pretty simple (for me, at least): \u00a0\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
I got my first taste of this type of event back in eighth grade when our principal surprised us by introducing the assembly we were about to see as a rock band. \u00a0A rock band! \u00a0Principal Brady was a suit and tie wearing, no nonsense type of principal. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was rumored that if you started a fight in his school, you would end up wearing boxing gloves and he would give you the opportunity to \u2018take a shot at him\u2019. \u00a0Everyone knew that he had been a Golden Gloves boxer in the Army but who would be dumb enough to take him up on the offer? \u00a0Of course, there were those who bragged that they would love to \u2018take a shot at old Bill the principal.\u2019 \u00a0The toughest kid in my neighborhood had to do this \u2018box the principal\u2019 \u00a0routine only once and all he ever said about it was \u2018don\u2019t ever make me do that again\u2019. \u00a0That was good enough for me. \u00a0\u00a0Even though he wasn\u2019t an exceptionally tall man, he cast a large shadow and we didn\u2019t challenge his authority. \u00a0To see him on stage with a microphone in hand introducing a rock band assembly program was, to say the least, unexpected. \u00a0Who knew \u2018Boxing Bill\u2019 liked music?<\/p>\n
The core of the band in question was the MacDonald brothers, Gordon and Warren. \u00a0Their father owned MacDonald\u2019s music store which was the source of my drum sticks and lesson books when I first started taking drum lessons. \u00a0Up until that moment, I didn\u2019t know that my classmate Warren even played the drums (he wasn\u2019t in the junior high band) or that he had an older brother who played bass guitar. \u00a0You will pardon me for not remembering who the other two musicians were or what they called themselves. \u00a0I can\u2019t remember if Warren had a cool red or blue sparkle drum set, but I do remember \u00a0that they filled Kaufman Auditorium with a wonderful wall of sound. \u00a0I also recall there were a lot of adoring females making their presence known. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t as frenzied as we had seen when the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show, but it was enough of a reaction to make the rest of us \u2018wannabe\u2019 rock stars jealous.<\/p>\n
The first touring band we were able to put in front of our students in Ontonagon was the Detroit area blues band Measured Chaos. \u00a0In 2003, bandleader Al Jacquez and I had struck up an internet conversation about a CD I had ordered from Al\u2019s label (33 ? records, home to his other band Savage Grace) but never received. \u00a0In the course of our discussion, he asked if I would be interested in a CD by his new band (Measured Chaos) and I in turn inquired what it would take to get them to Ontonagon for a show. \u00a0It took a couple of years, but we were finally able to schedule a show at the Ontonagon Theater in June of 2005. \u00a0Despite the long haul (and the subsequent drive to Traverse City right after the show), they had so much fun that they started trying to book a return engagement. \u00a0The effort was somewhat complicated by the departure of their original drummer, Bill Gordon, who moved to Georgia for employment purposes. \u00a0With his replacement, Frank Charboneau, and guitar player Mark Tomorski, both living in Los Angeles, it is more than a little bit of a commute for them to tour in Michigan! \u00a0\u00a0In 2008, their tour plans gelled and a return engagement was set for late May.<\/p>\n
This concert would take place while school was still in session, so I approached the school administration about bringing the kids to a matinee at the theater. \u00a0This would involve transporting some three hundred students in grades six through twelve to the show and back, thus chewing up a good chunk of an afternoon. \u00a0Did I mention that exams were also scheduled to start that week? \u00a0Of course, there was the problem of selling a \u2018blues band\u2019 to a bunch of kids who heard \u2018old guys music\u2019 when the subject was broached. \u00a0With most of the logistics solved on our end, it was time to inquire how the band felt about it. \u00a0There may have been some hesitation on their part, \u00a0but when one travels from Detroit for two gigs in at opposite ends of the Upper \u00a0Peninsula, having a third one certainly helps pay for the gas. \u00a0We assured the band (\u2018the kids will love it\u2019) and the kids (\u2018it is live music, give it a chance\u2019) that a good time would be had by all.<\/p>\n
The last detail was to tell every guitar player, drummer and singer in the school that they had \u2018reserved seating\u2019 in the front two rows. \u00a0With the house lights down, this ensured that the band would see a bunch of smiling faces in the stage lights. \u00a0Al had done school programs on his own, but never with a full band so we wanted them to feel welcome. \u00a0Being the first show in their summer tour, Al offered to make it \u2018educational\u2019 by explaining how they worked with the theater staff to get the sound and lighting right, and \u00a0\u201cwe could do a little \u2018Q and A\u2019 if you would like\u201d. \u00a0The gig was on and it all sounded great on paper, \u00a0but even great sounding ideas can fall flat on their face. \u00a0\u00a0We counted the days until the great experiment rolled into town and hoped for the best.<\/p>\n
The band seemed a little bit tight when they started as witnessed by the rather serious look on guitarist Tomorski\u2019s face. \u00a0Mark has a fun, goofball personality and to see him crank into his first solo with nary a smile on his face told me this was going to be \u2018business first, enjoyment later\u2019. \u00a0All my concerns flew out the window because halfway through Tomorski\u2019s first solo, I looked over and laughed out loud at the great big smile that stretched ear to ear on Tommy Croteau\u2019s face. \u00a0As a four year WOAS DJ and an avid guitar player, I knew if Tom was having fun, it was going to be alright.<\/p>\n
The band played a solid show but the telling moment came when the house lights were brought up for the \u2018Q and A\u2019 section. \u00a0The 2005 show had \u00a0a good house, but not anywhere close to capacity. \u00a0When the band saw the theater full up to the balcony, they exchanged happy smiles as they fielded a few questions about life in a touring band. \u00a0As Al said later, \u201cMan, we wouldn\u2019t mind starting all of our tours in Ontonagon!\u201d \u00a0\u00a0As the kids waited for the buses to shuttle them back to school, a good size mob of them surrounded the band for autographs. \u00a0Drummer Frank Charboneau had a great time talking drums with some of the front row guys and was surprised how many budding musicians were on hand. \u00a0Tommy C\u2019s summation: \u00a0\u201cBest school assembly ever!\u201d<\/p>\n
Since this 2008 show, we have been fortunate to co-host concerts with Kitty Donohoe of Ann Arbor, the Los Angeles based trio Trees, and most recently, last spring\u2019s concert with the Flint based Rusty Wright Band. \u00a0Rusty and Laurie Wright, like the other bands, have expressed an interest in doing another show for our students if they are in the area. \u00a0For our part, we would have a very hard time saying \u2018no\u2019 to the idea. \u00a0As always, we like to feature music by the artists who have graced our local stages and our regular listeners will vouch for the amount of airtime they all get. \u00a0\u00a0Keep your ear on WOAS-FM 88.5 or www.woas-fm.org<\/a> and we will continue to pump out music from the fine bands that found time in their busy schedules to share their music with our students.<\/span>