High Heat Baseball 2002 Soundtrack

[Jule Watkinson]

TheBaseball and Jazz series passed with no Knoxville, either. We have colorful and nationally relevant stories about both, but those omissions were less surprising. Same with some of his smaller projects, on Prohibition, etc. Knoxville connects with nearly everything, sometimes in extraordinary ways.

The above are less complaints than a bit of extra color for the local audience, things Knoxvillians might be interesting in knowing. But the series single biggest missed opportunity is skipping the extraordinary early story of Roy Acuff.

In fact, Acuff spent more than half of that 35 years in Knoxville, playing baseball, learning to play fiddle, learning to sing, getting into serious trouble, getting shot, going to jail, putting a band together, drawing giant crowds, becoming a phenomenon like known ever seen here, becoming Roy Acuff.

Burns shows him in a CHS basketball jersey. CHS was Central High School, in Fountain City, then suburban Knoxville, now within the city limits. Anyone watching the show would assume CHS was some Maynardville team.

A large band of as many as 14 pieces, the Crazy Tennesseans coalesced around 1935, was such a phenomenon it was evicted from the performance space on the roof of the swank Andrew Johnson Hotel, tired of dealing with the hundreds of non-paying customers. They then outgrew their next venue, an old boxing ring. When they arrived at the city-sponsored Market Hall on Market Square, theater owners complained bitterly to the mayor that the Acuff phenomenon was ruining business.

We are VERY excited to announce that we'll be hitting the road again this July! We had such an amazing time at the end of last summer when we first brought our latest batch of songs (from last summer's "Grand Salami Time") to the stage, that we immediately made plans to get back out for another jolt of adrenaline. Thanks to all of you who came out back in August/September - your massive enthusiasm is what keeps us raring to get back in the van and crank up the amps every night. Tickets are already on sale at all the venues below, so find a show near you or plan a road trip to see us in one of these fine cities!

We are managing a quick trek to some of our favorite places this mid-summer. We'll play throughout a Twins game, and return to the Turf and that big ol' barn in Iowa, plus some new (to the BBP) venues in Milwaukee and Chicago. Hope to see you out there!

Besides attending (and participating via performing the anthem, or pre-game busking, or singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game") a number of games (Mets, Twins, Cards, Phillies, Braves, Rays,Red Sox, etc. all in our sights), we'll be rocking out nightly in local clubs.

Strangely enough, this wasn't our first visit to Norway. No, we'd already rocked the Egersund Folk Festival a few summers ago, to a rather excellent reception as I recall. While baseball still may not be getting a toehold in the tundra, the BBP is. We were honored to return, this time heading all the way north into the Arctic, where we took part in the amazing Ice Station Vads fest, dodging reindeer and catching glances of the shifty green aurora borealis. The music was legendary - see Mark Ellen's rundown in the London Times here. We capped it off by doing two shows in one night in Oslo (by popular demand!) on the way home. Sure, it meant a couple nights without sleep, but we were up to the task. (Except Scott who looked about ready to pass out on the sweat- and beer-drenched Crossroad Club stage.) We met Norwegian ball fans, noted numerous Yankee caps, and left unburdoned of many a smart-looking BBP shirt. Norway, your fashion sense is impeccable! Huge thanks to our local pals Coastal Town for two blazing opening sets and the use of their amps, guitars and drums. Not to mention Sami singer and reindeer herder Elle Mrj Eira for joining us on stage during both sets. Thanks to Michle Noach who got the ball rolling, all the Norwegian fans, and those who traveled from afar, for joining us on this great adventure.

Our Florida trek has started off quite memorably. We watched the Red Sox trounce the Twins at Jet Blue Park (a/k/a Fenway South) with Max Bat pal and Grapefruit tour instigator Roy Cougle, his young Dutch minor league hopeful Ruar VerKerk and ex-Red Sox and A's lefty Lenny DiNardo. Lenny showed us his 2004 Series ring and we traded tales of baseball and guitars. Mike Napoli hit a shattered-bat homer over the Green Monster. That is power that defies physics.

Next day we set up for a busking set as fans streamed into the stadium. Then Linda threw out the first pitch at Hammond Park and NAILED it. The Twins recovered from last night's drubbing enough to spoil Yankee opening day starter Masahiro Tanaka's final tune-up. Happy to see him seemingly healthy though. We sang 'Take Me Out' at the 7th inning stretch right out on the field. Thanks to our most excellent host John Kuhn for a great day at the ball park. On to Yabo where we enjoyed excellent Italian cuisine before playing two full sets to an enthusiastic crowd. Guitar hero Steve drew rapturous applause with each solo. I think he was inspired by the amazing Maton guitars that Lenny brought down for our perusal. Thanks to Ryan at the club for treating us right and for all who came down to see us. A full-on day of baseball and music, and that's what we are here for.

Now it's on to Port St. Lucie across Florida on two-lane state highways. No gator sightings yet. Mike is trying to warm up his arm in the van for first pitch honors at the Mets/Cards game. Hope starters Carlos Martinez and Bartolo Colon will be watching.

We'll also be throwing out the first pitch when the Mets host the Cardinals at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie on April 1, 1:10 p.m. You haven't seen anything until you see the Baseball Project wind up and cut loose with a chin-high fastball.

But listen, Beatle people, it's 2015 and as soon as the Seahawks put those cheater Patriots in the dust of their Super-sized rear view mirror, it'll be almost time for pitchers and catchers to report. And with the new season looming it means the Baseball Project will shake off the cobwebs and sharpen our spikes.

Which means, first of all, a little trip to the Sunshine State, where most of us will enjoy our first ever Grapefruit League action. We'll be catching games, and maybe even providing some guerilla entertainment before, during or after. Keep your eyes and ears peeled (we are pleasing to both senses). More details on that later. What we can tell you most definitely, is that day games rule, and the night time is the right time to be with the band you love.

And as if that wasn't cool enough our good pal Chuck Prophet & HIS Mission Express (yeah, he actually owns them) are opening the St. Augustine show. "Willie Is Up At Bat," I'll tell you that much! Now if you come to the Orlando show don't feel slighted - we hope to have a debate between Alan Grayson and Jeb Bush as opening act there! What a mismatch - the brilliant and always right-on Grayson will mop the floor with poor Jeb, but that'd be pretty entertaining, right? And educational! Not sure what will kick things off in Tampa yet but if there isn't a Steinbrenner of some kind in the audience we'll be surprised (and maybe a little disappointed). And we are DEFINITELY putting Sweet Lou Piniella on the guest list for that one.

So what else? I'll tell you what: a RECORD. We teamed up with the Minus 5 (boy, that was easy - we didn't even have to change our socks) and our awesome label Yep Roc Records for a big ol' 12-inch mini-LP (is that a contradiction?) that captured both bands LIVE at SXSW last year. It's called RED-EYED IN AUSTIN and it's a raw and raunchy blazer, featuring not-so-secret weapon Josh Kantor all-the-way-from-Fenway on the organisms, squeeze box and piano forte. Look for our lil' baby on bleary-eyed colored vinyl way early in the morning on RECORD STORE DAY in April, at your favorite vinyl opiates dealer. Before it's gone gone gone like a Reggie Jackson moonshot. Or an ice cold bottle of Topo Chico.

But WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Everybody loves the Society for American Baseball Research, and the Baseball Project is no exception. That's why we are thrilled to announce that we are coming to the SABR convention in Chicago, where we'll be rattling the roof of the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House Hilton. Our show is on the opening night of the conference, June 25, and we'll donn our finest wool flannel replica uniforms (or maybe those White Sox unis with the shorts). We are really looking forward to this, especially getting surrounded after the show and pummeled by examples of inaccuracies in our lyrics. Or will we??? Maybe there AREN'T any inaccuracies in our lyrics. Come and find out for yourself!

More than words on a page or notes to a melody- William Davenport has had an intimate relationship with music that dates back to his childhood in Atlanta, GA. A soulful spirit with gospel roots, he scribes music reminiscent of mature love in its truest form. From his beginning days, William has been lauded as a true balladeer and music prodigy skilled in piano, guitar, violin, and organ. While in college pursuing a degree in Engineering, William appeared in and won several high-profile talent shows including the Embassy Records National Talent Search, and the opportunity to be a singer/songwriter for Neyos recording label, Compound Entertainment. More recently, William has continued to be recognized as an independent artist, including being spotlighted in the BET Music Matters campaign.

No stranger to the stage, William has shared a stage with legends such as India Arie, Will Downing, Boney James, Laura Izibor, Mary Mary, and Kirk Whalum. A powerful voice in his own right, William continues to pen musical stories that genuinely reflect the heart songs of everyday love and sensuality while carving a career in the industry with his unique sound and undeniable talent.

Soul Vibes GLOBAL is an entertainment group, displaying various forms & presentations of soul music by gifted artists. The platform is an art expression from people of all cultures & backgrounds, music performance, education, awareness & community.

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