A very Happy Monday morning to you all. For me, it was a glorious weekend because June starts my music month with the first of the Land Trust Three Caves concert series and two weeks later the 5th Annual Microwave Dave Day.
Saturday night was one for the “Bucket List”. It is no secret I love music and I have blessed to have had the opportunity to combined my love for music with my love for photography. Sometimes I am just a spectator but most of the time I the adoring fan. As the Chair for the Three Caves concert series (https://www.landtrustnal.org/concerts/) I have been very fortunate to be able to book and bring exceptional bands to the city and share that experience. Saturday evening I was not only an adoring fan but I was able to host not just any band, but the legendary band Mothers Finest. I have been a fan of theirs for more years than I would like to admit. While I was attending college at the University of South Florida in Tampa Fl., I listened to them for the very first time in 1974. The Performing Arts Center (PAC) was a very popular college venue where I paid $5 to get in. Since that first encounter, Mothers Finest has gone on to stardom and has been a part of my life long musical journey. Of course this time around, I had to pay a little more to get to see them but fortunately for me, it was out of someone else’s wallet.
Mothers Finest defies all age parameters with 4 of the original members still running hard and they appear to have found the fountain of youth. I am not going to divulge their ages but needless to say they do not appear to be embracing any thoughts of senior citizenship or retirement anytime soon. Watching their high-energy show you instantly realize that they do not ring the doorbell but rather kick the door in. with both feet.
With the new boys on the block, BlueWood Productions running light and sound the caves come alive as the sun sets and the sound rocks you to the core. Combine that with a band that brings it all and leaves no prisoners left behind, you are left with one very memorable and exhaustive musical experience. Historic Three Caves has to be one of the most unique nature locations in Huntsville and when you transform it with music and lights it becomes the most unique Music Venue in the state.
Four of the original Band members that I met in 1974 in Tampa are still with
Mothers Finest; lead singers Joyce “Baby Jean” Murdock and Glen “Doc” Murdock, guitarist Gary “Moses MO” Moore and Jerry “Wyzard” Seay. I had an opportunity to talk with Mo, Joyce and Glen before sound check and talk about the first time we met, like after all these years they should remember this young blonde surfer kid from all the throngs of young kids dancing to their music at PAC! Once I mentioned PAC, Doc chimed in that he knew the spot all too well, had met “god” there, and acted like he remembered. After all these years it was a good laugh but really so much more. It was all about memories, reconnecting and making new friends.
It was a real joy and honor to have them as part of the legacy of the Three Caves concert series. And Ms. Baby Jean, well she still has the smile that melts your heart and lights up the night.
This concert, their show …. That’s one for the ages and one more check off of the bucket list.
Last but definitely not least I need to thank the Land Trust staff for all their hard work in making me look so good as the “poster child” for the Concert series. I’m the one that gets all the applause and the accolades for the beauty and the success of the event but they are the unsung hero’s that make the concert work so flawlessly. Hundreds of hours go into prepping the caves and putting all the logistics in place and without them the show would definitely would NOT go on.
Enjoy!