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| Photo by BEN RUEHLMANN Jimmie Haha, lead singer of the band wailed during the concert on Saturday. |
Out of Annapolis, Md, Jimmie's Chicken Shack has been around for 10 years, with members coming and going. Jimmie is the only original member remaining. "All we did is played," he said. "That is what is important to all of us." They named themselves after a blues place in Harlem. At the time, there were three Jimmies in the band. Kevin joked that if he could rename the band, he would choose "Big Boned."
Ten years later, the band has played in 49 states, Germany and now Virginia Wesleyan. They have opened for bands such as 311, Run DMC, Live, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Everclear. The current members of the band have only been playing together for a year, but Jimmie loved touring in Hawaii the best. He explained that they were right on the white sand beach overlooking the water.
"So I joined right in time for the big gym tour," Kevin commented with a smile. They have two CDs out right now, the first "Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope," which was released in 1997, and "Bring Your Own Stereo," which came out in 1999. There are many artists that influence Jimmie's Chicken Shack. "All bands that start with the letter B," Jimmie said is his theory. Bob Marley, The Bangles, Black Sabbath, The Beatles and Bob Dylan are a few that influence them.
Sitting there writing away in my notebook, I wondered if this is what the guys normally do before going on stage. The catering services at Wesleyan provided them with tons of food, of which I was offered none. They had their usual of Smart Start cereal and various chips, as well as beef stew, with which they were amazed. "We never get anything as good as beef stew," said Kevin.
Casey explained that they are very mellow and relaxed before they perform. The band usually just eats, sleeps and takes it easy while they wait to go on. Touring takes a lot of time away from the guys. They told me that with 10 hours traveling, eight hours waiting and an hour and a half of playing, they are pretty exhausted. Kevin looked like he was about to fall asleep during the interview. After hearing the figures, I had to comment. "It's all about the rock though, right?" When they heard that, they all seemed to perk up and asked me to quote myself. "Rocking is the most important part," Derrick reiterated. "It's what the fans want to hear."
The members of Jimmie's Chicken Shack are fans of bands themselves. The last concert that Jimmie attended was Brad. Kevin recently saw Stone Temple Pilots last and said they were great. Casey's last concert was Sage Francis, and Derrick couldn't remember if it was In Living Color or Sevendust. I figured since everyone was so laid-back and comfortable, maybe I should get that way, too. I started to ask random questions. When asked what super power they would like to have, Jimmie knew right away. He said he would like to disappear. Casey would like to be able to fly. Derrick wants to have claws that come out of his hands like Wolverine from X Men. Kevin had to think for a minute.
"I would like to be able to look at someone and make them have bowel distress," he said. By this time the opening band, Bail Out, was on stage. The guys were not watching them perform. I asked if they get nervous before the show. It is apparent that they do not because they were laughing and joking without an ounce of nervousness in their bones. Kevin said that he gets anxious on the ride to the venue, but once he is there, it dies.
It is finally time for the guys to take the stage. I start to leave as they are going downstairs to get ready and one of their stage hands, Marc Awesome from the band Jepetto talks to me. "I want you to say that Marc Awesome says that Virginia Wesleyan is awesome." After the show is over and the hype is gone, the guys of Jimmie's Chicken Shack will go back to being regular guys. They will go back to Md. and Jimmie has some bathroom pipes that need fixing. Casey has a date with his girlfriend and Derrick's dog Mack needs some attention. He is a shepherd/lab mix. Kevin, the tired one, is going to catch up on his sleep so they can all rock again at the next show.
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Photo by BEN RUEHLMANN
Guitarist Casey comes in on the chorus to rouse the crowd. He also freestyle raps during some of the songs. |
With an estimated number of 200 attendees (give or take 50 people), Wesleyan's first big concert with Jimmie's Chicken Shack and Bail Out has gone off without a major hitch. I only noticed trivial problems. The most notable problem you could say was a broken guitar string, which was fixed promptly and efficiently by the stage crew. Obviously the crew has experience with this sort of "in concert" problem. The same could be said now for Wesleyan security, who did a remarkable job on what turned out to be a completely manageable crowd.
First things first. The music was great, fans were appreciative and the pre-event planning was well worth the time and energy everyone put in. Wesleyan's first major musical event in the newly opened Batten Center went off with not so much as a broken guitar string (well, OK, one broken string that was replaced quickly). The event was a test of the services and security of Wesleyan and the planning allowed for a smooth concert by two great bands. The audience inside the gym was something you could expect to see at Spring Fling or Lively In The Ivy, but nothing you would have expected for such a large, highly anticipated event. I was slightly embarrassed for the bands, to have been told to expect an audience of 2,000 or more and end up performing for perhaps 200. Well, the 200 of us enjoyed ourselves at least.
Bail Out's performance rocked as did Jimmie's Chicken Shack, but I don't think some of the audience fully appreciated it. We did have some people attend from off-campus (though some were just scary), but it seemed that the majority of the crowd left before Jimmie's Chicken Shack was done with their set, thereby missing some of the best music of the evening. Nonetheless, Bail Out pretty much kept to their familiar selections while Jimmie's Chicken Shack played everything from their early music to their latest, while saving their most recent and probably most well-known song, "Do Right," for the "first" of their last songs of the evening.
There were a few classic moments. Jimmie Haha asking to borrow an audience member's visor for a certain song and receiving it, no questions asked Or maybe you were one of the students who got convinced to "jump" because one of your friends got into the music so heavily. Anyway you cut it, the memories were there- too bad more people weren't.
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