Bob Zentz "Ramblin' at the Waterside" October 28, 2009 -- Tennesse Crabgrass

Home About Recordings Songbook Schedule Programs Friends Contact

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ramblin' at Waterside

with Bob Zentz

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tennessee Crabgrass

Hosted by Bob Zentz

October 28, 2009

The Listening Room at Dockmaster's inside Waterside

7:00 PM -- Admission free!

Tennessee Crabgrass began in 2007 when Jim and Jan Brewer moved from Elizabethtown, KY to Gloucester, VA, where they met fellow musicians Garry Monger and Rosalie Sanchez. Jim and Jan had performed in Kentucky as Crabgrass Express, and Garry and Rosalie had been performing locally in the Tidewater area as Tennessee Rose. The four struck up a friendship and common love of unadorned, simple, acoustic music that reached across the genres of bluegrass, folk, old-time (e.g., Carter Family), gospel, and even rockabilly. As they began to perform more frequently in the peninsula areas of Gloucester, Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk and Richmond, they began including a number of original songs amid their cover of classics and billed themselves as Tennessee Crabgrass – Garry, Jim and Jan are originally from Tennessee, and they define their sound as “crabgrass” because of its reach across musical boundaries.

Jim Brewer is a retired US Army cavalry officer who still works for Uncle Sam at Fort Eustis, VA. Jim writes a number of songs for Tennessee Crabgrass and he plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobro, and harmonica with the band.

Jan Brewer is Jim’s wife of 37 years, a retired Registered Nurse, active in Gloucester County politics, and plays the upright bass and the autoharp, combining with Rosalie to create full-bodied harmonies for the group.

Garry Monger, of Gloucester, is a retired Electrical Contractor and small business owner that played in several peninsula area bands over the past decade. He plays rhythm guitar and offers the group smooth, rich vocals.

Rosalie Sanchez, originally from Maryland, is a respected and much-in-demand chiropractor in Norfolk, but her love of acoustic music is manifested by her autoharp play and the layered vocals that she and Jan provide the group.

Tennessee Crabgrass music harkens back to a simpler time – the days of Old-time Radio, and their shows feature not only the radio-style song introductions and the music of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, but they even reproduce many of the much-loved and long-remember radio commercials for products such as Brylcreem™ or Old Spice.™ They “broadcast” from WPSD radio which stands for “we play something different,” performing old-school style in a tight semi-circle around a condenser microphone, where they love to engage the audience in sing-alongs, explaining the background of their songs as they appeal to the “eight-state audience listening at home.” The group enjoys entertaining at festivals, fairs, community gatherings, churches, and many other venues in the peninsula area and beyond, ranging as far as Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia.

They hope to see you soon at an old-time radio show somewhere down the music road.

Tennessee Crabgrass Official Website: http://www.ibluegrass.com/bg_bands2.cfm?b__i=2860

High-Res image

Back to "Ramblin' at the Waterside"

------------

Home About Recordings Songbook Schedule Programs Friends Contact

------------

BobZentz.com