Saturday was a very busy day! There were many preparation to be made for the party. It included setting up tables and chairs in the yard for guests, a new fire pit for late evening picking and singing, conversion of the garage to a kitchen for serving great food from Billy Sims BBQ and cobblers from Tulsa's Delta Cafe. Tom Gauldin and I did a lot of running around picking up the food and ice.
At about 6pm, the guest started arriving. Food and drinks were served and everyone was making new acquaintances and renewing old ones. My nephew, Mike Gauldin and his wife Samantha were there and I haven't seen them in a few years! Mike is currently an EMS and police officer in Jenks, OK.
First up on center stage was Sis's friend, Will Coppoc, a concert bassist. Will played beautiful music AND told some good jokes (even about banjo players!). Will says this, "I started playing piano when I was five. I actually started playing bass when I was 12, in the Jenks Public School system. After a year at Jenks, I lived overseas for a few years in Egypt (my dad got a job transfer over there), where I met a bass teacher from Ukraine who was very influential to my playing. I completed high school at Jenks and decided to major in music. I attended UNT (formerly NTSU) where I got my bachelors in music performance. I wanted to stay at UNT for my masters degree in performance, but OSU ended up being a better deal, partially because I get a two-year contract with the Tulsa Symphony as part of the deal. In addition to playing with Tulsa Symphony, I have also played with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Tulsa Signature Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the Las Colinas Symphony of Irving, TX. I also play freelance jazz gigs, musicals, and do some private teaching."
Next on stage was Fiawna Forte. She is a songwriter and excellent musician, playing many instruments. She has a large following in the Tulsa area. Lenora has been playing upright bass for Fiawna's band for quite a while. Here's some facts about Fiawna:
1. Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Multi-Instrumentalist
2. 2010 debut CD “Transitus” won wide-spread critical acclaim and helped land Fiawna Forte in the Boston Phoenix’s “50 Bands/50 States” issue as the top band in Oklahoma.
3. Fiawna Forte’ Band named one of the top 50 New Bands in America.
4. She was in a movie called “Find Me.”
5. Her song “I’d Rather Die” was the music behind a South Korean TV commercial about their new Vega N 6 cell phone.
6. She’s about to release her 3rd CD on June 7th where she wrote all the songs, plays all the instruments, and produced the CD.
7. Wrote many of the songs she performs as a teenager.
8. Has had several TV appearances in Tulsa & OKC playing her original songs.
9. Been on talk radio shows in Tulsa.
And lastly, 14th Street Reunion, featuring Don Johnson and Sis! Don sang several old and contemporary songs and I accompanied on banjo and dobro. Since we didn't write out our set list...and just played off the top of our head...we forgot to perform an original written by me and Sis..."Sister's Minor". Oh well, I'll bet we don't forget it next time!
If you would like to see more pictures of the jam, Click here .
Also, you can view the videos at this link-> The Videos . Look for the "14th Street Reunion" channel.
