Live from Downtown Fort Walton Beach, It’s Saturday Night

By Chris Manson June 12, 2008 Issue

Frank Sinatra once warbled, “Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week,” but then, I don’t think he ever visited downtown Fort Walton Beach.

Jimmy Chandler, featured in The Beat last month, raved about this blues guy who plays at Fokker’s Sports Pub every Friday and Saturday. Sure enough, Garry James is the real deal, playing bottleneck and homemade steel guitars and stomping on a washtub with a microphone strategically placed underneath. James shares his last name with one of his heroes, Elmore, whose “Dust My Broom” fits neatly into the set between “Midnight Special” and “Stand by Me.”

James performed for 30 years in Colorado, Texas, and Mississippi. Before relocating to Milton, James worked as a pipe fitter in Boston and rocked the high-minded MIT crowds. He started building his steel-bodied guitars in the early 1980s. “The sound they spit out leaves the resonator in the dust,” he says.

As the father of a 12-year-old son, James doesn’t want to travel, but admits that it’s hard to get steady work. An article published in the Pensacola News Journal resulted in only one gig. “I would love to just make guitars for people,” he says. Happily, James just landed the Thursday night slot at Milton’s Main Street Café beginning tonight.

James is a guitarist, singer, and harmonica blower of tremendous force, as his readings of both blues classics and more contemporary singer-songwriter material like Neil Young’s “Hey Hey My My (Out of the Blue)” demonstrate. He doesn’t work from a set list, but he will do songs the crowds want to hear—in his own style, thank you very much.

Joe “Fingers” Fuller, a staple at Maas Coffee Roasters down the street, likes to play audience requests, too. When my lady and I stop by right around closing time, he’s giving that trifle “Do the Hokey Pokey” everything he’s got. I was really impressed with his girl singer the week before, but tonight she’s nowhere to be found. Channing Lynn could be the long lost love child of Andy Kaufman, staying in character well before and long after the crowd has dispersed. She’s also a terrific singer in the “diva” style and a skilled multi-instrumentalist. She, Fuller, and guitarist Steve Perkins recently recorded a CD you can buy at their appearances.

There’s a lot of between-song rambling, a lot of goofing around, and a lot of fun with Fuller and Company. Recently, a young mandolin player sat in for most of the set, as did a tenor sax player who just stopped by for a cup of Jim Maas’ spectacular brew. I even found myself plunking away on Lynn’s banjo for a few songs—fortunately, I was nowhere near a microphone.

KC’s, an appealing outdoor venue, brings the beach to Miracle Strip Parkway. They also have Andy Durand, a solo performer who spent some time in the bands Iron Butterfly and Kingdom Come. Durand’s singing is raw and emotional, and he gets a good sound out of his guitar, whether he’s playing Van Halen or Kenny Wayne Shepard or one of his own compositions.

“My original songs are going off really well,” Durand reports. “Everyone loves them.”

Durand also turns up at Scoreboards on Okaloosa Island Tuesdays and Thursdays. “Playing solo is the best way to meet other musicians,” he says. “I try to support the younger musicians. There’s a lot of talent around here.” Durand plans to reform his band Wolf Gang with local performers.

Second Time Around
Hog’s Breath hosts their second annual Destin Songwriters’ Festival next Friday and Saturday beginning at 9 p.m. The festival offers a who’s who of Nashville-based talent, notably Kyle Jacobs, who penned Garth Brooks’ recent smash “More Than a Memory.”

The Beat’s Record Roundup:
- Famous L. Renfroe: Children (Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum). Mysterious, guitar-heavy gospel-soul isn’t quite as haunting as Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night,” but it’s about as close as anyone has come. Available from www.emusic.com.
- Al Green: Lay It Down (Blue Note). With ?uestlove of the Roots manning the booth and the drums, you might have expected something more modern. But this is classic Call Me-era Green, whether the soul great is singing alone or teaming up with Anthony Hamilton, Corrine Bailey Rae, or John Legend, all of whom know better than to try and one-up the man.
- The Sleepers: Comeback Special (Pravda). Great, in-your-face Detroit garage band pulls the plug only once for the hilarious closer “Makin’ Bail,” the funniest rock and roll success song ever.
- James Carter: Present Tense (EmArcy). Carter’s a master of baritone, tenor, and soprano sax, as well as bass clarinet and flute. A guy this dynamite can’t avoid the spotlight, but he gives the other musicians room to shine on “Rapid Shave.” Elsewhere, Carter pays inventive tribute to one of his forefathers on “Bro. Dolphy.”
- Robert & James: One Rock at a Time (www.robertandjames.com). DeFuniak Springs country-gospel duo’s second stellar set will make a believer out of you yet.
- Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash pa Osteraker (Columbia/Legacy). The CD debut of Cash’s third and least-known prison concert album, available as a Swedish import, is well worth hearing despite the relative politeness of the overseas inmates. More than half of the songs weren’t on the original. All are performed with gusto, including several songs previously unknown to this Man in Black superfreak.
- Los Straitjackets: In Concert (Yep Roc). The undisputed kings of surf rock plow through guitar-dominated originals and delightful covers like “Theme from The Munsters.” There’s a longer, double-CD version available, but a little of this stuff goes a long way.
- Mass: Planet String (Sky House). Their newfangled instruments may be amazing to see in concert but don’t translate so well to disc. Sort of like Evanescence without the heavy metal crunch.
- Mess Anger: Black House Mess (Pyramid). Bad heavy metal dude has an obvious Alice Cooper influence, but none of the man’s pop smarts. Plus a cover of “Sympathy for the Devil” that’s about as scary as a Smurfs cartoon.

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