Wednesday, April 25, 2001
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Wednesday, April 25, 2001 |
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Teens heat up the local music scene By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
If you've been to any of the local fairs and festivals in the past few years, you most likely have seen and heard Allen Goodman and his band. Goodman is a Starr's Mill senior who plays a mix of good old-fashioned rock-and-roll and country music on the piano. He and his band have played at Brooks Day, the Kiwanis Fair in Fayetteville, and, his biggest performance to date, opening for legendary Grand Old Opry star Jim Ed Brown at the Ocean Opry in Panama City, Fla. The Allen Goodman Band has two gigs this weekend and Amber Tucker, a junior at McIntosh High School who has sung with the band on several occasions, will be performing with them again. Tucker's father, Darwin Conort, is the lead guitarist for the Allen Goodman Band. He is also who led Tucker to a possible career in music. "I would go with him when he performed with his previous band, The Stillstone Brothers, and eventually would sing a song or two with them." Since then, Tucker has performed a lot more, singing at Shadows, where she works, at Hapeville Days, and now occasionally with the Allen Goodman Band. The band also features Lance Bowen, a coach at Whitewater Middle School who sings and plays bass, and Kim Bowen, who plays drums. At the heart of it all is Goodman, who was taught by his grandfather to play the piano in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis and Old Country Gold Saturday Night. He has even been described as "an old-time piano player in a young man's body." Goodman has a fine appreciation for all types of music and knows how to work a crowd. The band plays a myriad of material, everything from "Rocky Top" to "Brick House." While Goodman is a little bit rock-and-roll, Tucker is a little bit country. She is an avid country music fan and began singing along with the songs of the Dixie Chicks. As she has grown as a singer, she has developed her own sound. She mainly sings cover songs of contemporary country music, but is working with her father on writing some originals. When not singing, Tucker is a solid student at McIntosh and editor of the yearbook. She is already looking at colleges and planning to major in pre-med. This weekend, the Allen Goodman Band, featuring Amber Tucker, will perform Friday at Chattahoochee, a country music club in Newnan that has played host to acts like Confederate Railroad and Hank Williams III, and Saturday at Y-Knot Sports Bar in Peachtree City. Chattahoochee is a blossoming venue for showcasing local talent. Both acts will perform May 12 at the Brooks Day Festival. Tucker will be performing at Shadows with her father on Friday and Saturday evenings beginning in May. |
