Wednesday, July 28, 2010

JULY 27, 2010
BK LOUNGE


The heat seemed to be no deterrent for the faithful fans of the Stranger Creek Band tonight. As is the custom, the lounge was nearly full as the show began.

It was so good to see Sharon Miller back at her seat tonight after undergoing a hip replacement recently. Sharon reported that she is feeling really good and her hip is getting stronger all the time.

It is also good to see our friend, Roger Hawkins (MO-KAN OPRY) feeling better. He had a really busy weekend last week traveling around northwest Missouri to see the country music shows that he has been missing. WAY TO GO, ROGER!

The blog and photo below is reprinted from MO-KAN OPRY.com with the permission of Roger and Jean Hawkins. Thanks, guys!

A large crowd of dancers and listeners gathered at the BK tonight in spite of the scorching temperatures outside and as the magic hour of 6:30 arrived, Larry Dean stepped front and center to sing the familiar Johnny Cash "Folsom Prison Blues," "Old Time Rock & Roll" and Delbert McClinton's "Goin' Back To Louisiana." Gordon Riley, the group's great lead guitarist and the rest of the band, including John Malone on drums did just a super job on "Back Home Again In Indiana" and Gordon himself sounded great, singing Merle Haggard's "Big City." Gordon and the crew returned later with the "Bells Of St. Mary,' Chet Atkins' "The Old Spinning Wheel" and "Honky Tonk." "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier, who plays fiddle each and every Saturday night at Annie's Country Jubilee in Tonganoxie, KS was just awesome here tonight, playing "Fire On The Mountain," "Down Yonder," a medley of old fiddle tunes, "Arkansas Traveler/Ragtime Annie/Lop-eared Mule/8th of January" and "Devil's Dream."

The group's bass player and a super vocalist in her own right, Mary Bichelmeyer put her soft, sweet voice to good use, singing Pam Tillis' "Don't Tell Me What To Do," "Sentimental Old You" (our request- thanks Mary!), Patsy Cline's "Crazy Arms" and a great duet with husband Garry of Lacy J. Dalton's "Black Coffee." We had talked briefly with Dave Purcell a couple of weeks ago about an old George Jones number, "I Always Get Lucky With You" and darned if he and this great band didn't perform it perfectly here tonight and followed it closely with "Today I Started Loving You Again." Dave returned with Willie's "Help Me Make It Through The Night," "Northern Star" (a Garry Bichelmeyer tune) and a song written by Dave's father, "All The Boys You Ever Knew." And speaking of multi-talented Garry Bichelmeyer, he was in fine voice himself tonight and sang "Stand By Me" for the 50's crowd, followed by two self-penned numbers "I Don't Think I Could Take Losing You" and "Marie."

Scott Gilmore was on hand tonight to help close the first half out with "Johnny B. Goode" while Annie Little stepped forward a little later to entertain the crowd with another Garry Bichelmeyer creation, "I Must Have Been Out Of My Mind" and "Anne Murray's "Could I Have This Dance." It was a pleasant surprise to see Scott Lane drop in to visit tonight. A good friend of Gordon Riley's, Scott's band, The Brushhogs" play at various venues throughout the Metro area. Scott opened the second half and sounded just super singing Hank Jr.'s "Whiskey Bent & Hell Bound," Garth Brooks' "I'm Much Too Young (To Feel This Damned Old)" and Dwight Yoakam's "Fast As You." Larry Dean did a beautiful job picking his acoustical guitar and singing "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" to end tonight's festivities.

(Below) Scott Lane sings another crowd favorite


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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

JULY 20, 2010
BK LOUNGE


Just about an hour before show time a big wind and rain storm blew up over the area. Some of the band members got pretty wet trying to get their equipment in without it getting too wet. However, we did get everything in with no damage. Some of our fans must have decided to stay home out of the weather tonight because the crowd was smaller than usual. But we opened to a nice group and everyone soon got into the mood for some good music.

Once again, I am reprinting Roger and Jean's blog from MO-KAN Opry.com They do such an outstanding job of writing, I could not come up all of the song titles and the original performers like they do. Also, I would not have time to write it all down and operate the sound equipment, too. I appreciate their generosity so much in sharing their work with us. Be sure to go to their web site, MO-KAN OPRY.Com for information on all the shows in this and the surrounding areas. Thanks again Roger & Jean!!

The crowd was a tad smaller than usual due to the big storm that eventually dropped more than 2" of rain on the metro area, but none the less enthusiastic as Larry Dean stepped to the mike and started tonight's festivities with Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" followed by a Travis Tritt number "Living On Borrowed Time" and Eddie Arnold's "Make The World Go Away." Larry returned later in the evening with with a couple of George Jones tunes "You Just Don't Know How Good You Got It" and "Sinners & Saints" as well as a rock & roll classic, Elvis' "Don't Be Cruel." Gordon Riley, the group's great lead guitarist was up next to sing Dave Dudley's "Truck Driving Man" and he and the rest of the band including drummer John Malone did a super job on the instrumental "Honky Tonk." Multi-talented Garry Bichelmeyer got a big hand as he sang the old bluegrass standard "The Old Home Place," "A Rainy Day Off" (a song written by Garry some years back), "Catch A Falling Star," "Long Black Train" and "Stand By Me."

Our friend "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier, who plays fiddle at Annie's Country Jubilee in Tonganoxie, KS every Saturday night was a tad late tonight due to the high waters near his house, but great troupers that they are, he and wife Sug made the tough trip across town to entertain the folks tonight. Marvin began his set fiddling "Silver Bells," then it was the Merle Travis classic "Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette." A bit later Marvin returned with "Rubber Dolly," "Faded Love" and by request "Ragtime Annie." Mary Bichelmeyer, the group's bass player showed her vocal talents, singing "Don't Tell Me What To Do," Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight" and "Your Cheating Heart." David Purcell did his usual fine job tonight singing audience favorites "The Cowboy Rides Away", a George Strait number, Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again," a Garry Bichelmeyer number, "Northern Star," "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "You're A Once In A Lifetime Thing." It's always a pleasure to see Ron Fine stop by and sing a few with the gang and tonight he did just a super job with the Waylon/Jesse classic "Storms Never Last" and Hank Sr.'s "House Of Gold." Ron also closed out the evening with "Mountain Railway."

(Below) Mary (l.) and Garry (r.) Bichelmeyer visit with David Purcell (seated)



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Thursday, July 15, 2010

JULY 15, 2010
GRINTER BARN JAMBOREE


As usual, the ladies from "Friends of Grinter" came up with a delicious meal before the show tonight. When the Taco Salad was finished, the band took their place in front of a large, capacity crowd at the Grinter Barn.

The show was outstanding, too. The entire band was in their usual fine form and just before the break, a cake was brought in while Larry Dean sang "Take This Job And Shove It" in honor of Garry Bichelmeyer's recent retirement.

Dave Purcell made a surprise visit during the first set and entertained us with a few songs. Dave is always very, very well received by the audience and tonight was no exception.

And we were honored to have as special guest from Annie's Jubilee, Mr. Fred Uzell. Fred delighted everyone present with great Dobro music throughout the show. We certainly look forward to seeing and hearing Fred again soon.

We are able to announce two new engagements for the band tonight. On Friday,
August 6; please join us at the Johnson County Fair in Gardner KS for a show from 8:30-10:30.

Also, on Friday, September 24 we hope to see you all at the Grinter Applefest. Time and details for that show will be announced at a later date.

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

JULY 13, 2010
BK LOUNGE


Despite a hot evening, the crowd was near capacity and very enthusiastic as the band took their places last night. It was good to see so many new faces and all of the old ones again. The band especially appreciates all the people that return week after week to listen to them and enjoy the company of friends.

Be sure to join us Thursday, July 15 for the Grinter Barn Jamboree. The ladies are going to serve Taco Salad and our special guest will be Fred Uzell from Annie's Jubilee in Tonganoxie KS. Fred is the Dobro and Steel Guitar player at the Jubilee every Saturday night.

Once again we are reprinting the text below from MO-KAN Opry. Thanks to Roger and Jean Hawkins. They do it so much better than I could.

Like everyone else. we sometimes take things for granted but we took a moment this evening to reflect on how lucky we were to have a place like this to escape Tuesday evening's searing heat and walk into the air-conditioned comfort of the BK, visit briefly with old friends and to sit back, relax and be entertained for the next 2-1/2 hours by this great little band who plays the kind of music we love the most -- good ole down-home traditional country music! Some years ago when John & Mary Pettersch invited us to stop by some Tuesday night and check things out, we had no idea as to the extent this relationship would nurture and grow nor even a hint as to the friendships and alliances that would develop in time. We don't miss many Tuesday nights if we can help it and we consider it both a pleasure and a privledge each and every time we attend.

Larry Dean kicked off tonight's session with a great Travis Tritt number "I'm A Member Of A Country Club," Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" and a favorite George Jones song "If Drinking Don't Kill Me (Your Memory Will)." Larry returned later with the sidesplitting Brad Paisley hit "Ode De Toilet" (The Toilet Song). We swear David Purcell sounds better each and every time we hear him. Tonight he did a beautiful job on Keith Whitley's "When Each Tear You Cry Becomes A Rose," "There Will Always Be That One" and Willie's "Remember Me." Returning later, it was George Strait's "The Cowboy Rides Away," "I Wonder How Many There Would Be" (a song written by Dave's late father) and "You're A Once In A Lifetime Thing." Master lead guitarist Gordon Riley and the rest of the band including drummer extraordinare John Malone jumped back in time a bit to do an old Chet Atkins number "Spinning Wheel" and a bit later stirred up the dancers with the "Pennslyvania Polka." "Marvelous" Marvin Bredemeier who plays fiddle every Saturday night at Annie's Country Jubilee and incidently was once one of Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys got the fingers poppin' and the feet shufflin' as he played Bob Wills' "Milk Cow Blues," "Down Yonder" for BK employee Julio - "I Love My Rancho Grande" and a special request (guess who?) "Ragtime Annie!" Mary Bichelmeyer used her soft, melodious voice tonight to sing "Tears On My Pillow," Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" and "I'm Blue Again" while multi-talented husband Garry Bichelmeyer got a big ovation as he sang "Kansas City," a song he just recently finished writing entitled "Losing You" and Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire."

Annie Little was on hand this evening and got a hand as she sang "Let Me Be There" and Johnny Cash's "Remember Me I'm The One Who Loves You" while Scott Gilmore got the line dancers moving shortly before break with "Johnny B. Goode." Bill McFalt also popped in to sing a great oldie, "I Overlooked An Orchid" and Ron Fine, who we love to hear sing these great old country standards did an incredible job with "Now And Then There's A Fool Such As I," the Waylon/Jesse classsic "Storms Never Last" and closed tonight's festivities with the Hank Williams gospel number "House Of Gold." (Below) Ron Fine entertains the crowd with another classic number



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Thursday, July 8, 2010

JULY 6, 2010
BK LOUNGE


After missing last week's show at the BK Lounge, it seems I am having trouble catching up on things. We had a good enthusiastic crowd as usual at the Lounge. Everyone was in the mood for good country music as the band stepped to the stage.

The below reprinted from MO-KAN Opry.com with the permission of Roger and Jean Hawkins. Thanks again Jean and Roger

A big crowd was on hand once again as David Purcell began tonight's festivities with a Buck Owen's favorite "Together Again" followed by "Help Me Make It Through The Night." A bit later, David returned to sing a Garry Bichelmeyer tune, "Northern Star," a Willie sound-alike of "Blue Eyes Cryin In The Rain," "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away" and Merle Haggard's "It's Not Love But It's Not Bad." Multi-talented Gary Bichelmeyer himself was up next with Gene Watson's "Paper Rosie," Johnny Cash's "Sunday Morning Coming Down," "Kansas City" and somewhat later a brand-new song he recently composed about one of Nashville's landmarks, "Blue Bird Cafe." Gordon Riley, the group's great lead guitarist and the rest of the band including drummer John Malone got the feet shufflin' with "Sitting On Top Of The World" before Gordon returned to sing "Red Necks, White Socks & Blue Ribbon Beer. Mary Bichelmeyer used her smooth, velvety voice to sing a couple of crowd favorites herself tonight with "Tennessee Waltz" and "House Of The Rising Sun." We missed Larry Dean the first half tonight, but he opened the second half with Travis Tritt's "Living On Borrowed Time" and Alan Jackson's "I'm A Little Bluer Than That." Good stuff!

Annie Little always sings a great song and tonight she delighted the folks with "Just In Case," "Precious Lord Take My Hand," "Let's All Go Down To The River" and another Garry B. song, "I Must Have Been Out Of My Mind" before Scott Gilmore excited the line dancers as he stepped behind the mike to sing "Johnny B. Goode." We were so glad to see Sandy Davidson who used to own and operate the Paola (KS) Opry drop in with friend Chuck Parcher tonight and sure enjoyed hearing Sandy sing "Let Me Be There," Bill Anderson's "Once A Day," "Silver Threads & Golden Needles" and Connie Smith's "Baptism Of Jesse Taylor." Chuck showed he's certainly no slouch behind the mike as well singing Ray Price's "Crazy Arms," Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings" and closing the festivities tonight with "Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me." (Below) Sandy Davidson & Chuck Parcher visit with us after tonight's session



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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

JULY 4, 2010
AMERICAN LEGION


The food was already being served when we arrived at the American Legion Hall to begin setting up for our 3:00PM show. There was a grill going on the patio and the hamburgers and hotdogs were rolling off. Some of us were tempted to skip the sound check and get some of the wonderful smelling food instead.

At 3:00PM a capacity crowd filled the large hall. As soon as the music started the floor filled with dancers. For the next 3 or 4 hours the large, enthusiastic group danced and ate to their hearts content. I don't know if they enjoyed the food or the music most. I know the band really enjoyed the wonderful response they got for their efforts on this Sunday afternoon.

The band was in fine form; performing country and rock & roll songs steadily. We were without our fiddle player who could not join us because of a previous engagement in Illinois. He was ably replaced by Kurt Shoemaker, a fantastic steel guitar player who hails from Ionia Kansas. Kurt has played steel guitar in country music star Martina McBride's band. He is also a frequent Nashville recording session participant. It was a great pleasure and honor to have this outstanding musician join us.

We certainly look forward to another show at the American Legion located at 7500 West 75th Street in Overland Park Ks. Please watch this web site for announcements
regarding upcoming Stranger Creek Band shows. Also, join us every Tuesday evening at 6:30 at the BK (Burger King) Lounge located at 95th and Quivira in Lenexa Kansas.

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