Turning Back the Clock at Docs Who Rock

Prior to this past Saturday night (3/14/09), I hadn't performed in a Battle of the Bands since I was in the 7th grade. We're talking 1967-68.

It was wonderful to turn back the clock at the first annual Docs Who Rock in Spartanburg.

My band "Rock and Roll Reunion" was among the eleven acts.

Man, what a great night!

The Spartanburg County Medical Society Alliance made great decisions that led to this being a first-class event.

The venue was the Performing Arts Center at USC-Upstate in Spartanburg. The stadium-style auditorium was just big enough and very comfortable.

The sound system was handled by Palmetto Sound. I've worked with Alan Hulsey and his crew on many occasions, and they're always real professionals. The same held true this night. The PA was loud (the way I like it), but not too loud, and we had everything we needed.

USC-Upstate's light show was top-notch. It added a special feel to the performances, making them great fun to hear and watch.

My friend of nearly 30 years, Lamar Richardson, was a terrific emcee. The panel of judges, including my News Channel 7 co-anchor Amy Wood, handled their critiques of the performers with appreciation, humor and honesty.

And the performers were all great folks. Each of the acts included at least one doctor, and everyone did their best.

I'm especially proud of radiation oncologist Dr. Drew Monitto, the doc who rocked with "Rock and Roll Reunion."

Drew played keyboards with us. He'd never performed with a rock band prior to this event. When we began rehearsals soon after New Year's Day, my regular keyboard player, Andre` Kerr, switched to saxophone for "Docs Who Rock" and graciously let Drew use his keyboard set-up.

By the way, Andre` was great on the sax.

Drew showed up for every band rehearsal and worked hard on his own also.

We are really proud of him.

"Rock and Roll Reunion" put on a strong show and got high marks from the judges.

The final performance of the night was a blues set from "The Mac Hill Project." They were terrific. As I sat in the audience, I found myself enjoying their show tremendously. They were well-rehearsed.

When the judges' scores were tallied, there was a tie for first place in the band category.

"Rock and Roll Reunion" and "The Mac Hill Project" finished dead even.

The judges huddled and tried to come up with a tie-breaker. They couldn't.

It was a two-way tie for first place.

An honor, as far as I'm concerned.

After the show, our band members, spouses and other family gathered at the Denny's on Highway 9 to celebrate. It was a special time together.

Sitting at the table next to us was a group of ladies. When they finished eating and walked by us, one of the ladies told me they'd been at "Docs Who Rock" and how much they enjoyed our performance.

Music to my ears!

If you'd like to see the partial video of our performance that Amy live-streamed, visit this link:

http://qik.com/video/1241408

And Gerry Pate of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal took some great pictures. See the photo gallery at this link:

http://www.goupstate.com

Oh, and speaking of 1967-68, I was in a beach/soul cover band called "The Cavelles." We played in the finals of the North Carolina Jaycees Battle of the Bands, representing our hometown, Hillsborough.

We wore white nehru jackets with silver sequins, bought at Sonny's in downtown Durham. A band that wanted to look truly cool had to buy their clothes at Sonny's. And when a band made a purchase, their name was written on Sonny's wall.

At "Docs Who Rock," I wore a hawaiian-style shirt (shirttail out), navy slacks and Sperry Dockers with no socks. The only name written on anything was my signature on the charge card receipt.

The fashion of 2009 fit me much better.

But 1960's and 1970's rock music will always fit me like a glove.

See you May 22nd at the "Relay for Life" at Dorman High School. We'll be the opening act!