Olde Towne Revival

Huntsville’s only brewery, Olde Towne Brewery, recently burned down. It was a blow to the beer loving government employees and southerners that inhabit this city. It was an especially sad situation for my dad since he and his friends had always been extremely loyal to the owner and his brew. Last night there was a benefit held at Crossroads for the Olde Towne and my father and I both went together. It was the first time I would go to a bar with my dad. I was kind of nervous.

Bird's eye view from the smoking lounge looking down onto the stage.

The first band, The Turner Family Band, lead by a vocalist/guitarist and the brother-in- law of my friend and coworker, M, moved through a selection of covers from Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and others. The second local band, whose lead singer looked uncannily like my ex-boyfriend T, was called Johnny Black and the J-Birds. I am not sure how to describe what I was feeling when they came on, but it was almost a feeling of relief. On this kind of night I would have expected something more like The Blasters, which is great for some but snoozefest for me. So, when this four-member band came onstage and blew our faces off with quick-moving, melodic punk/rock/rockabilly original tunes, I was ecstatic. Check them out.

Here's Johnny. Usually not this bad of a photographer, but I was caught off guard and didn't come prepared with a good camera!

Though my dad and I didn’t stay for the rest of the bands scheduled to perform, I have to say that it has to be a success when after a couple of hours of loud music my dad put his arms around me, smiled and said he loved me. My friends/coworkers met and mingled with his friends/coworkers. For once, mixing worlds was not challenging. I actually had fun with my dad and it didn't involve Lord of the Rings! And to think I spent years as a teenager running away... -K

Learn about the Free the Hops movement.