Fountain Express

[Fountain, NC] Local jazz legend Jimmy Aycock headlines the upcoming Labor Day weekend of live music at Fountain General Store in a concert presentation with the Steve Creech Sextet.

Aycock, the award-winning pianist and career educator from Fremont, was a big hit in his first Fountain appearance, also with the Creech sextet, and this will be a special show in honor of the holiday weekend. "They're working up a set of songs of labor and heat," said Alex Albright, Fountain General Store proprietor, "to commemorate the weekend and this hot summer's end."

Featured songs will include "16 Tons," "Ol' Man River," "It Might As Well Be Spring," "Summertime," and "John Henry," as well as original takes on such jazz standards as "Satin Doll," "How High the Moon," "Take the A Train," "My Funny Valentine," "Paper Moon," "Misty," and "All of Me."

"We're delighted to have Mr. Aycock back," said Albright. "He's another example of what outstanding talent we have living around here."

Creech, the jazz guitarist who grew up in Kenly and was raised on a Johnston County farm, is one of the leading jazz performers and promoters in the region. A long-time Greenville resident, Creech retired last year from a career as a director with Pitt County Mental Health. "Steve really keeps jazz alive in eastern North Carolina in a lot of different ways," said Albright. "We're grateful for all his work, and also for his talent."

Also performing with Aycock and Creech will be Dee Braxaton Pelligrino on violin and vocals; Keith Dobbins on bass; Randy Davis on drums, and featured vocalist Emery Davis.

Jimmy Aycock with the Steve Creech Sextet performs at 8 p.m. on September 1. General admission is $5; reserved seats are $8.

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The Triangle-based duo Cunningham Lane performs a Saturday night concert of original acoustic music that blends old-time, bluegrass, and traditional country music with contemporary picking. Abie Leonard plays guitar, banjo, and piano, and Gabe Nardin plays mandolin, guitars, and sings.

Cunningham Lane's September 2 concert begins at 8 p.m.; admission is $5; reserved seats are $7.

Fountain General Store will be closed on August 31. Regular 3- and 4-day weekends of live music will return after Labor Day.

Advanced seats are available for all shows at an additional charge. Prices are always posted on our up-coming events page. For further information, phone 252-749-3228.

R.A. Fountain, General Store and Internet Cafe, is located in historic downtown Fountain, at the intersection of US 258 and NC 222. Its family atmosphere is smoke- and alcohol-free.

Geocachers Find Fountain
Geocaching has brought at least 26 visitors to Fountain since May 29 in search of a little black box hidden behind Fountain General Store.

Geocaching is a scavenger-hunt type game in which the finding of a cache is the quest. Pronounced "cash," the hidden container generally is stocked with a log book and writing implement and whatever other items finders choose to leave behind.

Gecaching has two rules: If you take an item, leave something in its place, though nothing illegal or hamrful; you must write about your visit in the log book, contained in each cache.

The box in Fountain was placed by a geo-cacher known as "carolinadreamer." Most searchers have found the cache, which currently contains a log book, a Thunderbird lapel pin, an unopened Off! Deepwoods towelette, a light necklace, a Blue Angels lapel pin, a geometric-shaped lapel pin, a generic doubloon, and a Jeep travel bug, which has been exchanged at least once.

Items that have been taken include a golf ball, a light stick, a safety light, and a baseball l.e.d.

When taken from one cache, travel bugs and geocoins are subsequently placed in another cache and their journeys are tracked on the internet.

Caches use a 5-star rating system to identify difficulty of finding the box and the location's terrain. Fountain's cache is rated 2 stars for difficulty and 1.5 star for its terrain.

The description posted for Fountain General Store reads in part: "Welcome to the big city of Fountain. It might not be much now but back in the old days it was a bustling busy city. . . "

U.S caches are listed at www.geocache.com (registration is free), and their locations are identified by precise global position coordinates.

The coordinates used to identify Fountain General Store are N 35° 40.463 W 077° 38.384.

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Nancy and Tammy Dail and Country Roads Band Release Second CD
The Country Roads Band, eastern NC's premier country music show band, featuring Nancy and Tammy Dail, has just released its second CD, The Train Stops Here.

The Train Stops Here is titled after the original composition Tammy Dail's husband, James Waters, penned for the band. It also includes another tune by Waters, "This is the Best Time I've Ever Had."

Country Roads is led by Bowie Martin on pedal steel guitar. Also in the band are Glen Speight on bass guitar, Ronnie King on lead guitar, Ken Dawson on Drums, and John Akerman on piano.

In addition to the two original James Waters tunes, The Train Stops Here includes covers of classic country songs like "When I Think about Cheating" and "Always on My Mind" and some surprises, such as the beach music classic "39-21-40 Shape," and the rock anthem "Sweet Home Alabama."

Copies of The Train Stops Here are available for $12 at Fountain General Store and at Robbins Music in Wilson, and they are also available at Fountain General's secure e.store.

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George Higgs' Rainy Day Released
Local blues legend George Higgs has released his latest CD, Rainy Day, and copies are now available for $15 at Fountain General Store and via RAF's secure e.store. Recorded at George and Bettye Higgs' Tarboro home, the new disc includes 19 songs, including two numbers written by Bettye and three by George as well as Higgs' original interpretations of classic blues songs by Brownie McGhee, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Josh White.

Like Tarboro Blues, his first CD, the new record is produced by Tim Duffy and released on his Music Maker Relief Foundation label.

Bettye Higgs reports that her husband is doing much better, since suffering renal failure and several resultant small strokes this past spring. He was not in good shape for a long time, she says. He is on dialysis three times a week, but he is in good spirits and has started playing guitar and harmonica again.

"The doctor prescribed it," Mrs. Higgs says. "He said it was good for his hands and for his wind." She adds that George suffers no speech impediments or problems with his hands, and that he's anxious to get out again. "To hear him talk, you wouldn't know anything had happened."

Higgs has had to cancel several gigs, and Mrs. Higgs' surgery three weeks ago has also slowed the family somewhat. She is now back at home and is able to get around the house.

"We hope to get over to Fountain for Lightnin's show," Mrs. Higgs says. [Higgs' longtime playing partner Lightnin' Wells returns to Fountain General Store for a concert on September 23.] "We miss seeing the folks over there, but Myrtle [Wooten] calls and lets us know how everybody's doing."

Cards will reach George and Bettye Higgs at 199 Bogey Street, Tarboro, NC 27886.

Click to hear George perform "Diddy Wa Diddy" from this splendid new CD.

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Fingers for Brittany Cookbook Closeout
The fundraising cookbook Fingers for Brittany has been reduced from $12 to $8, with all proceeds still going to help with expenses for Brittany Apgar, the three-year-old Farmville girl who was born without fingers on her right hand.

Farmville Presbyterian Church published the cookbook to help the Apgars afford the series of surgeries Brittany has undergone to help with her condition, known as hypoplasia. Recipes were collected from throughout the Farmville community.

Fountain General Store has 6 cookbooks remaining. Donations for Brittany may also be sent to Farmville Presbyterian Church Crisis Fund, 4138 Grimmersburg St., Farmville, NC 27828.

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