Scottsville Conservatory Showcases Talent At The Lyric
“The Does” were the first group to play. Each member, Ava Waldron (vocals/bass), Rachel Rather (drums) and Ian White (guitar) have been playing their respective instruments for only a couple of years and this was only their third time performing in public together.
By Chris Cole,
Staff Writer
The Lyric Theater along East Main Street in Scottsville has become a hub for great music over the last couple of years. From Gospel to Bluegrass, Country to Americana, Jazz standards to Barbershop, their stage has hosted a wide variety of genres from musicians who are established within the local Bowling Green to Nashville scene.
On Saturday, July 19, it was time for the homegrown talent to take over.
Students of Johnny Thompson and the Scottsville Conservatory had a night to themselves. Three different acts, some just at the start of their musical journey to others further along, went for nearly three hours in front of one of the larger crowds that The Lyric has had this year.
Starting things off was a trio of very young talent going by the name “The Does.” Originally pronounced like the female deer doe (as they were an all girl band), drummer Rachel Rather stated that when two previous members left, they were looking for a replacement guitarist and saw Ian White at an open mic night.
“Johnny didn’t want him in for some reason,” said Rather. “But my mom was like, ‘Just bring him in,’ so he came in.”
Rather and bassist/lead vocalist Ava Waldron justified a boy being in an all girl band with an interesting argument.
“I call him ‘doe-eyes,’” said Waldron. “He has big eyes” to which Rather agreed.
They played a set that consisted of some Lenny Kravitz (“Fly Away”), The White Stripes (“Seven Nation Army”) The Offspring (“Gotta Get Away”), HIM (“Join Me In Death”) and classics such as The Beatles (“Twist And Shout”) and Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Simple Man”).
Waldron almost got herself into a little bit of trouble with that one when she said “You look like the kind of crowd that would like Lynard Skynyrd.” “You mean old,” someone in the audience responded. “Well…” was about all she could say.
This was only the third time that this iteration of “The Does” had played together. They’d previously done an open mic night and had a concert over at the Allen County Public Library.
While having only a handful of shows played together, “The Does” showed some real talent. Waldron both sang lead vocals and played bass. That’s something that a lot of professional bands don’t do because it is very difficult to do both well. Maybe the most famous example of a bass player being the lead singer is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known by his stage name Sting, of the British band ‘The Police.” It was another lead singing bassist, Peter Steele of the band “Type O Negative” that inspired Waldron.
“If (Steele) can do it then I can do it,” said Waldron.
Ian White stated he doesn’t “have a single musical tie or any musical family members at all” but claims former “Guns ‘N’ Roses” guitarist Slash as an inspiration for his playing.
As for Rather, she stated “My dad did guitar for awhile…he kinda introduced me to drums when I was a kid. And then three years ago on Halloween night I started taking drum lessons.” She said though that there’s not really any drummer she cites as an inspiration, instead liking singers more.
Bentley Simmons then took the stage with a distinct country twang. He played several covers but did sneak in an original song he composed.
After “The Does” completed their set, Bentley Simmons took the stage.
Thompson introduced him as a student who had “just spent some time at Belmont University in Nashville and a little time at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass.”
He got up and played some Country music with a sound similar to that of David Lee Murphy.
Simmons stated that thanks to Thompson and the support he’s received from the community, he’s become a much better performer and song writer. One person who he thanked specifically was his grandfather who was in the crowd.
“Without him, I know I wouldn’t be here playing tonight,” Simmons said. He then went on to play the song, “I Wish Grandpas Never Died” by Riley Green. It was the song he closed his set with.
The last group to get up didn’t have band name but they’ve got a well known musical name in area.
The last to take the stage was The Stone Family (they didn’t have a band name). Aiden Stone (guitar/vocals), Daniel Stone (drums) and Amy Stone (keyboard) were joined by Carter Douglas (bass and honorary Stone) during a set that really rocked.
Aiden Stone got up on guitar…well, he ended up using about three different guitars…and showed some technical skill that the best Blues and Rock guitarists have. At times he sounded like Stevie Ray Vaughn. At other times he sounded like Joe Satriani.
Joining him on stage were bassist Carter Douglas, drummer (and father) Daniel Stone and at one point Amy Stone on keyboard. She joined the rest as the Stones covered a Rolling Stones song “Miss You.”
It wasn’t just covers they did though as Aiden Stone revealed he’d written a song about his girlfriend’s nasty, dirty cat, which he then performed.
“I’ll get a riff going and Johnny will be like, ‘Get down to that recording studio and get it recorded before you lose it,’” said Aiden, talking about how Thompson has helped him grow not just as a musician but as a songwriter as well.
The crowd of roughly 74 people all seemed to agree that the young talent Scottsville has and a place for them to develop that talent such as the Scottsville Conservatory is a blessing to have in a place like ours.
Johnny Thompson of the Scottsville Conservatory introduced the performers that would be taking the stage at The Lyric on Saturday, July 19. He stated “Each of these groups are great examples of our beginners, intermediate and advanced students.”
