I’ll be honest: I wasn’t sure of the difference between a roadie and a groupie.
I think I was a groupie once. I really wanted to meet the Oak Ridge Boys when I was in high school, and we tracked down their tour bus.
They weren’t on the bus.
Today, however, I moved up in the world. I was a roadie. Or, at least, a roadie wannabe. And for none other than the awesome country band Restless Heart.
Their public relations person, Kay, reached out to us about giving the band publicity, as they would be performing at the Kansas State Fair Sept. 13. And so I told her of Kathy’s (and my) quest to apprentice different behind-the-scenes jobs during the fair. She quickly set us up to meet Doranne Kelly – the group’s official road manager – to help do a sound check.
We met as the band was taking the stage for a sound check, and we got to hear them sing their rendition of “Wichita Lineman” and others.
But what does a roadie do? Local roadie Mike Laskowski, who helped set up the grandstand stage and was sitting on stage during the check, mentioned sound and lights – but as he went into more detail, he lost me.
Then Greg Jennings came on stage. Kathy asked him if he was in the band. He said he was a singer. She told him she was going to be a groupie – er, roadie – for the day and help out.
He just smiled.
Thankfully, Doranne arrived. I think she realized that neither of us could adjust sound, set up a mic or run the lights. She gave us our job. She told us to sit in the audience area and listen. The band was finishing up their sound check, but Doranne told them to play one more.
“The newspaper ain’t got no ears,” joked Paul Gregg, who plays base guitar and is a lead vocalist for the group.
But they played their No. 1 chart topper, “Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right).”
It sounds awesome, I said. I grew up listening to Restless Heart, the mighty Oaks and Alabama. This is the music I love. Don’t change a thing.
We then did what we know how to do. We sat down band members Dave Innis and Larry Stewart and asked them questions.
We realized the world is really a small place and we are all connected. Dave is actually connected to Meade, Kansas. His mom and dad, Gene and Betty Innis, grew up there. His family helped found Meade, and his grandfather was a town mayor for a while. His parents always returned to their hometown to visit family and for high school reunions.
“In fact, he was instrumental in the public works program that built the Dalton Gang Hideout,” Innis said.
Kathy asked Larry where he was from. “St. Louis?” she asked, looking at his St. Louis Cardinals jersey. He shook his head. “The beach, lifeguard?” she asked, looking at his lifeguard hat.
Kentucky, he said.
Dave and Larry went to college together, then helped form the band in 1984.
Before the group first disbanded in the mid-1990s, Restless Heart would garner four certified gold albums, along with six No. 1 hits, including “I’ll Still Be Loving You,” “Wheels” and “Why Does It Have to Be (Wrong or Right).”
It had gotten to be a grind. Not everyone would always get along, said Stewart of the group disbanding. But they got together later in life for reunion performances. Now they’ve been together for 16 years and loving it.
Next stop is Branson, Mo., said Stewart. They will do about 70 shows this year. Next year, said Innis, they hope to do more.
So, no, we’ll never be roadies, although Kathy asked Dave and Larry if they would hire her as their road manager if Doranne ever left.
Lets just say she’s staying in Hutchinson.
NGALLS – As he drove his red combine through his field of corn, Joe Jury hoped this wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime crop.
