Fountain Express

Jazz, Celtic, Bluegrass Upcoming at Fountain General Store

Fountain General Store, the eclectic music emporium in "the peak of Pitt County," presents consecutive nights of jazz, Celtic, and bluegrass on Feb. 2-4.

Jump-starting the weekend's entertainment will be Greenville jazz guitarist Steve Creech's return to Fountain with his quintet on Thursday for a night of standards and ballads featuring vocalist Jerry Jolley.

Creech grew up on a farm near Kenly in Johnston County. He has been playing music since he was 6 and a member of his family quartet. He grew up in Kinston, where in high school he began playing professionally in bands, peforming original compositions as well as covers.

While a student at Wake Forest University in the late 1950s, he led the vocal quartet Steve Creech and the Creatures, for whom he did the musical arrangements, sang baritone, and accompanied on guitar. He also performed widely with Jimmy Briggs, the Kinston vocalist who later recorded on Capitol Records, and he played guitar with the Southerners, a combo and big band from Winston-Salem, NC.

After graduation, Creech continued to perform with various groups in eastern and central North Carolina while obtaining master's degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest and UNC-CH, where he also earned his PhD.

Creech worked professionally in counseling and administration in mental health services for more than 30 years, first at John Umstead Hospital in Butner, NC and for 23 years as Area Director of the Pitt County Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Area Program in Greenville.

Since retiring in 1997, Creech has maintained a busy performance schedule throughout the region, appearing with a variety of the area's most talented jazz performers. For his Fountain show, he will be featuring the vocalist Jerry Jolley, bassist Keith Dobbins, drummer Larry Seigler, and keyboardist Larry Jones. "Steve has also promised a special guest or two," said Alex Albright, Fountain General Store proprietor. (One we know of: Tamalyn Torrecilla.) Albright added, "We're looking for a full house."

Jerry Jolley is a graduate of Mars Hill College and New Orleans Baptist Seminary. He was Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC, and Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church, Greenville, NC, before assuming that position at Lakeside Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, where he now lives. Jolley, whose voice has been compared to that of Robert Goulet, has been a featured soloist with the symphony orchestras of New Orleans, Greensboro, Macon, Ga., Columbus, Ga., and Greenville, SC.

The Steve Creech Quintet's show on February 2 begins at 7:30; general admission is $5; reserved seats are $7.

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On Friday night, Jennifer Licko returns to Fountain for an evening of Celtic and Irish ballads and folk songs. Licko, a native of eastern North Carolina, has lived for many years in Scotland and Ireland. She has recently returned to her home, however, and maintains a busy performance schedule throughout the southeast. She has released 5 CDs, including a beach music collection.

"Jennifer has a beautiful voice," said Albright, "and she sounds great in this old building. It makes you feel like you're in a Gothic cathedral."

Hear Jennifer sing "An Irish Lullaby." Here's a link to four of her CDs we have in stock, and here's a high-resolution photo of Jennifer. General admission for Jennifer Licko's February 3 concert is $3; reserved seats are $5.

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On Saturday night, the Mac and Tammy McRoy Band presents a concert of bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music. The McRoys, who live in Aurora, formerly fronted New Gospel Grass. Their new band includes Chuck Williams, a hold-over from that band who lives in Belhaven and plays 3-finger Earl Scruggs style banjo, and, from New Bern, the father-son duo Don Batten on mandolin and his son Brian, on dobro.

Mac and Tammy released a CD titled Lost in the Pines with the New Gospel Grass, and we can let you hear a couple of McRoy numbers from that disk: the title song (3.5 MB) and "Sing Me to Sleep" (2.6 MB).

The Mac and Tammy McCroy Band's February 4 concert begins at 7:30. General admission is $5; reserved seats are $7.

R.A. Fountain, General Store and Internet Café, is located in downtown Fountain, at the intersection of US 258 and NC 222. Its family atmosphere does not permit smoking; alcohol is not served.

For further information, phone 252-749-3228 or visit our home page.

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Valentine's Soap
Our local soapmaker, Lou Ann Haddock of Falkland, has produced a special line of Valentine's soaps in six new scents: Forever Diamonds, Chocolate Fantasy, Jungle Love, Peppermint Dream, Long-stem Roses, Toast to Cupid, and Gentleman's Choice. Haddock's Belle Mist soaps are made in her home using a variation of an old-fashioned soap-cooking method that's chemical-free.

Her regular line of soaps -- Green Tea, Strawberry, Honeysuckle Rose, Cranberry Relish, to name a few -- includes one that is also scent-free. All are available at Fountain General Store, for $2.99 per 3.5 oz bar.

Haddock's soaps complement our seasonal selections created by Ayden's Shirley Clenny: candles, boxes, Valentine's cards, photographs, and assemblages.

Winter hours at R.A. Fountain
Thursday & Friday 5-10
Saturday noon-10
Sunday 1-5
or by appointment, by calling 252-749-7974.

Live music Thursday - Sunday. Friday and Saturday nights are booked into July, with entertainers coming to Fountain from Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington DC, New York, Manitoba, and England, as well as all parts of North Carolina. For details, visit our "upcoming events" page.