Rockin’ the Runway
Following the abrupt close of the Rivermont, many felt this would be a prime time for someone to step in and fill the entertainment niche the Big E had vacated. Now, that seems to be happening. Without wasting much time, six investors, including owners from Life in the Big O, owners from The Owensboro Roca Bar and River City Pawn Shops, and Behavior Associates have stepped up to the plate by forming Yellow Banks Entertainment, a regional promotions company centered around, but not limited to, the City of Owensboro. They will take their first swing at live concert promotion on September 6th when they bring 80s hit machine, Loverboy to Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport to headline a full day of music.
Most will remember Loverboy from their string of 80’s slick rock hits that included “Turn Me Loose,” “Everybody’s Workin’ for the Weekend,” “Lovin’ Every Minute of It,” and the Top Gun and Footloose soundtrack hits “Almost Paradise” and “Heaven in Your Eyes.” These songs and others have become classic rock radio staples, and have ensured Loverboy has, at the very least, an illustrious career on the national casino flashback circuit and, considering the number of their hits, a yearly royalty statement that will keep their families out of the poor house.
Beginning in 1980 with their self-titled album, Loverboy, this Canadian group – with the aid of throngs of farm-stranded, Camaro-driving, testosterone-addled youths throughout the American Midwest – managed to produce four consecutive multi-platinum albums. In 1981, after the release of their followup, Get Lucky, and a subsequent tour with Journey, they won 5 Juno Awards (Canada’s equivalent of the Grammy) in a single year – a record that stands to this day. Their career total of eight Juno Awards is also a record for music groups. Even with the adjusted Mendoza Line of Canadian rock groups being what it is, this is still an impressive feat.
But the party had to end sometime. If there’s one thing I’ve learned by watching VH1’s Behind the Music over the years – besides how to properly snort lines of army ants (thanks Ozzy), crash expensive sports cars (thanks Vince Neil), and obliterate every last brain cell inside my skull (danke schoen, rock ‘n roll) – the stratospheric highs are usually followed by protracted dips into a deep, dark personal and professional abyss where the sticky morass of life seems impossible to navigate. But, eventually there comes a Eureka moment when one says to oneself, “you know, maybe it’s ok to eat the brown M&Ms once in a while. Maybe it’s ok to just let Nigel screw my girlfriend even though he’s my lead guitarist and best friend. Maybe slicing the engineer’s finger off with a box cutter wasn’t the best way to express my displeasure about the drum sound on Track #2.”
Breaking up in 1988 over “musical differences” (Yeah, right, boys. Try again.), Loverboy reformed in 1992 for a cancer benefit that included Bon Jovi and Byran Adams. They liked playing again so much, they decided to keep doing it. That led to a reunion tour, a couple of Greatest Hits records, and a record of new material in 1997 entitled Six.
The music was silenced briefly in 2000 with the tragic and sudden death at sea of their bass player, Scott Smith, but the past 7 years has seen a rebirth of the band, and, armed with a new bassist and their first new album of new material in a decade, Just Getting Started, which has been hailed by fans as possibly their best album since their debut, Loverboy are prepared to rock the night away on the runway.
Loverboy will be sharing the stage with Blackberry Smoke, an Atlanta-based southern rock band who will be coming off a tour with Z.Z. Top. In addition to Z.Z. Top, the band has shared the stage, and its unique blend of southern-style, home cooked rock and roll with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, Shooter Jennings, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and many others.
Other local and regional artists of all musical stripes will also perform including Natasha Neely, The Tunes Stones with Rodney Watts (who opened for Kenny Chesney during his recent Evansville, IN engagement), Flat Stanley, Shawn Brashear, Rukkus, and August Christopher with special guest Peyton Turner of VH1’s Rock of Love 2. Interestingly, this will be the second time this summer that someone from the Rock of Love 2 series has visited the Tri-State. Daisy Dela Hoya, also from the series, visited Woody’s Bar in Evansville in July. In addition to the musical entertainment, there will also be a charity biker poker run associated with this event. Call the number below for more details on that.
General admission and VIP tickets for this momentous concert event – perhaps the first of many like it – are on sale at Owensboro Roca Bar, all River City Pawn locations in Evansville, via internet at www.owensbororadio.com, or over the phone by calling 1-877 772 5425.
Comments (
