Written by Eddie Ferranti – May 16, 2020
It is so nice when you get to plant a musical seed and watch it grow into a beautiful thing . That is exactly what happened for me recently when sweet Jen Grove invited me to her Facebook Live streaming gig. The “seed” for this show stemmed from Houston Music Review sponsoring Houston blues guru John Egan last September in Austin, Texas. He put on his “hippie hat” and had a great first time experience-especially when he hooked up with fellow Houstonite Brian Kalinec. Brian is a talented musician who is a well connected member of the SWRFA staff. He had some openings with his room gigs and Egan “eagerly” accepted his invitation to jam. I was fortunate to see that bad boy up close and personal at SWRFA. The quick chemistry was cool as both sensed each other’s moves very nicely. As soon as I returned to H-Town I notified Jen that this gig needed to happen. HAPPEN it did.
Having the music scene shut down because of COVID-19 has had more of an effect on me than I thought. It was so evident when the BLUES fueled show played out before this tiny group of lucky individuals. The absolute chilly good feelings soared thru my body as the song swap unfolded making me want to jump out of my skin with delight. Egan brought a set list of blues bombers such as “Peaceful Mind”, “The Mississippi Ran Backwards”, Send Me An Angel”, “Lonesome Sound”, “Something New”, “Black Veil”, and scorching “Blues Don’t Die”. Kalinec’s heartfelt and telling lyrics were so on display with “I Don’t Know”, “What’s Left Over”, “Sunlight and You”, “Nowhere At All”, and very appropriate for this event “The Beauty Of It All”. The two pros did not get to rehearse at all, but you sure could not tell that from the in sync gig they produced with amps set nicely. Both men expressed to me the desire to dive into other artist’s music to expand their personal horizons. The ease that Kalinec dusted off his bad ass electric guitar skills and jammed behind Egan’s distinctive blues sound was the bomb. Likewise the manner that Egan brought stunningly bold bottom to Kalinec’s thought provoking tunes was spooky neato. The show did well having between 25-40 people online supporting the highly promoted outing by JG. She was working the whole time! The smiles on the faces of each performer said volumes as they let it rip effortlessly. Talk about a show ending way too fast!
Needless to say the music scene has changed. Live streaming of shows to help musicians fills a void if done in a professional sounding manner. Grove’s attention to detail and quality equipment has that going for it big time. She has been a constant platform for musicians from all over to ply their trade in the comfy confines of her home. When in normal setting her potluck portion is something to look forward to in itself. What she let happen here should not only be applauded, but enhanced and done again. Hopefully these two talented guitar junkies will be bringing this gig to the “road” around Houston! Let’s hope this musical seed grows into a powerful tree of fun…………..SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC PEOPLE!