Songwriters in the Round: Kevn Kinney, Angie Aparo, Chuck Mead
There is nothing like synchronicity to put you in a good mood. Before I rang in 2014, I had already decided that one of my resolutions would be to make more time to attend musical performances. As a musician, I spend a good deal of my time playing music. However, I feel my busy lifestyle has become too much of an excuse as to why I don’t support enough shows. I decided that it was time to practice what I preach.
It seems that right when I decided that, my first performance of the New Year was attended by Elizabeth Tate who wrote a kind review of my show on this blog. The very next day, I had a lovely conversation with THE Molly and she invited me to be part of the team. The puzzle pieces were falling into place…
To solidify my efforts even further, I entered a contest on the Cox Capital Theater’s Facebook page and won free tickets to their musical extravaganza including seasoned singer/songwriters Kevn Kinney, Angie Aparo, and Chuck Mead. I had exactly one thought in this moment, “YES!”
So due to this fortunate sequence of events, Friday night found me walking in downtown Macon through the mist and the fog to happily meet my fate as a listener of these three musical masterminds. One of my favorite things about seeing a show at the Cox is that whatever your mood may be, they offer accommodations. I quickly claimed a spot behind the sound booth and curled into a big comfy chair fit for a living room. Let the music begin…
The stage was set for all three performers: three chairs, two acoustic guitars, and one electric guitar. The musicians made their entrance and greeted the crowd as old friends. I took an immediate liking to the trio as they joked with the audience and offered to dedicate a song to every person there. I was laughing and smiling before a single note was sung.
Kevin Kinney, lead singer and guitarist of Drivin N Cryin, was first up. I was immediately struck with how comfortable and authentic he was on stage. He started to play a song, stopped before the first lyric to tune his guitar and used every second to interact playfully with the audience. As he began to sing, I closed my eyes to soak up the sonic experience to its fullest. I could visualize Kinney as a traveling storyteller. His music is equal parts rock and country but contains an element that is hard to pin as anything but pure Kevn.
Angie Aparo was second in the round. His set list throughout the night ranged from Elton John to Alice in Chains, thus giving me a difficult job boxing him into any one genre. His voice was booming and he exuded confidence in every move. Though he brought new light to the selection of covers he performed, perhaps my favorite of his set was the heartfelt ballad, “Cry”. I remembered this song as being a “Faith Hill song” that I heard on the radio when I was a child but Aparo was the sole songwriter and original performer. No exaggeration, when he belted out this labor of love, tears filled my eyes at the beauty of his performance.
Third in the round was Chuck Mead. Mead was the perfect balance to Kinney and Aparo. Rocking the only electric guitar on stage, he stood up and addressed the audience with warmth, “It’s so good to meet all of you!” His style was reminiscent of old rockabilly artists. My toes were tapping, my head was bobbing, and like the great tunes of Buddy Holly the songs were short and sweet, leaving you wanting more. But what made my jaw hit the floor and filled the room with laughter were his clever one-liners such as “Too lazy to work, too nervous to steal” and “She got the ring and I got the finger”. At one point during the night, introduced his next song by saying, “So I guess it’s time for a good murder song…” He was witty, energetic, and let it rip on guitar.
I think it goes without saying that my night was well spent and I walked away a fan. It was a highly enjoyable show with seriously talented and seriously entertaining guys. The passion was pouring off the stage as they played together and fought for the last strum. Their attitude towards the audience can be perfectly summed up by Chuck Mead’s exit greeting. “Thank you and YOU and YOU…” as he pointed to as many clapping hands and smiling faces as he could. Well done guys. Well done…
Louise
