The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Big Al Anderson making annual summer visit
Shaboo Reunion Concert, dates at the Kate coming up
Big Al Anderson makes his annual summer visit to Connecticut this month, with the Shaboo Reunion Concert June 11, followed by two dates at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, June 13-14.
He's bringing his band, the Floor Models, including Jim Chapdelaine, Marco Giovino and Jesse Williams.
In Willimantic, the Shaboo Reunion Concert is a Michael Finnigan Memorial benefiting the Covenant Soup Kitchen. A variety of bands are paying tribute to Finnigan, an American keyboard player who played with a wide variety of musicians in pop, rock, blues and jazz, and was often seen with the Shaboo All-Stars.
The event is at the Shaboo Stage, 645 Main St., Willimantic, with music continuing until 11:30 p.m.
Scheduled performers at the reunion concert are the Jake Kulak Band at noon, the Adam Ezra Group at 1 p.m., David Foster's Shaboo All Stars, with special guests James Montgomery, John Cafferty, Kal David with Lauri Bono, Jeff Pitchell, Bob Leinbach, The Beehive Queen Christine Ohlman and the Uptown Horns from the Rolling Stones. Anderson is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.; at 8 p.m., Elvin Bishop and the Big Fun Band take the stage. All performances are subject to change.
No outside food or drink allowed; food trucks and beverages will be available for sale. For more information and tickets, go to https://rb.gy/bqnkmy
The next stop for Anderson and the Floor Models is the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, with shows at 7:30 p.m. June 13-14.
Joining Anderson at the Kate is Christine Ohlman, the Beehive Queen. Ohlman refers to Anderson as her musical big brother.
“Since the earliest days of my garage band, The Wrongh Black, Big Al has been with me,” she said. It's a wonderful full-circle moment every time we're on a stage together.”
Anderson is well known around Connecticut as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Many remember him as the frontman for the band The Wildweeds, which had success with the song Anderson wrote, “No Good To Cry.” Between 1971 and the early 1990s, he was the lead guitarist in the band NRBQ, also releasing several solo albums.
When asked how it was to always be remembered with the Wildweeds, Anderson said, “I hear it a lot but it's nice to know my fans remember me and still appreciate me for my time with the Wildweeds and NRBQ.”
Anderson is listed as one of the top 100 guitar players of the 20th century by Musician Magazine. His music career started while he listened to WWVA radio in Wheeling, West Virginia late at night. He would take in all styles of music from Hank Williams to Elvis to Little Richard, paving the way for what would be a giant footprint in music, according to his biography, bigalanderson.com
Anderson is famous for telling people, “…My junior year in high school were the worst three years of my life.” He got his real education visiting the Black clubs in the north end of Hartford, he said.
“There was a camaraderie, a brotherhood, among all the musicians, Black or white, it didn't matter. If the music was good, you were in,” he said.
Anderson's first band, The Sixpacks, became The Wildweeds, recording a regional hit “No Good To Cry” that went on to chart nationally. Anderson caught the attention of NRBQ and spent over 20 years playing with them. During that time he continued to write songs, according to his biography.
After more than two decades of hard touring, hard living and encyclopedic musical knowledge, Anderson said he was ready to change his already prodigious song writing talent into a full-time venture. Two years before he left NRBQ, he wrote a song with Carlene Carter, “Every Little Thing” that she took to top five all over the world, according to his website.
In the 1990s, Anderson shifted his focus to country music, writing hit songs for such artists as Carlene Carter, Vince Gill, and Trisha Yearwood, as well as Tim McGraw's number 1 hit “The Cowboy in Me” and several album cuts. Anderson has also released six solo albums, according to his biography.
As a writer, his songs have been recorded by a diverse mix of nearly 900 artists including Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers, Jimmy Buffet and Sheryl Crow. His songs have been recorded by so many stars of all genres that he has been heard by many without even knowing he wrote the song, his biography said.
“With the change to writing songs as a career, Anderson has emerged as one of Nashville's most soughtafter talents,” according to his biography. “He has an impressive number of irresistibly catchy, originally gritty hits for people like The Mavericks (”All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down”), Trisha Yearwood (”Powerful Thing”), LeAnn Rimes (”Big Deal”), Diamond Rio (”Unbelievable”), Carlene Carter (”Every Little Thing”) and Hal Ketchum (”Fall In Love Again”).”
When asked about the difference between writing and playing Anderson said, “I can do my work sitting on the couch, no long rehearsals, no six hour drives to a gig, and no more loading in and out of clubs. It is a nice difference.”
More information on Anderson can be found at: https://bigalanderson.com
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center is located at 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475. Go to www.katharinehepburntheater.org/ or call 860-510-0473.