If you've lived in Richmond for any extended amount of time, and especially if you grew up here, you know about the Watermelon Festival in Carytown. As a kid it was one of my favorite times of the year. I had an insatiable appetite for the wonderfully delicious fruit. Best of all were the seeds. I had this notion that if I ate enough of the seeds one of them would grow into a watermelon plant and supply me with endless amounts of watermelon for the rest of my life. Well, that plan never played out, but I did get to hear the raucous rantings of a band that calls themselves Dogs New Clothes.

'Where is he going with this?' you might be asking yourself. To be honest, I'm not all that certain myself. This article is supposed to be about a songwriter showcase that I went to back in December, just before Christmas. Put on by an group that calls itself VOCAL or Virginia Organization of Composers and Lyricists, I couldn't help but think that maybe I was being thrown into some sort of old spy movie where cheesy acronyms abound and every fight scene is extremely over-stylized. But that was not to be. Instead I was in for a night of good music and lots of door prizes.

There were too many good performances for me to enumerate them individually, so I'll just mention a couple that really caught my interest. The third act was a two piece, father son combo in Don and Robbie Pinkleton. They really got the energy of the thing going with an electrified country song and lots of good stage banter. In a barroom setting it's always hard to get the patrons to really quiet down so that the music can compete with the dull roar of idle conversation, but it was obvious that the crowd liked these two as that roar dropped to slightly more than a whisper. We'll skip ahead now to the headliner band, The Taters. If you haven't heard of them then you're really missing out. They call themselves roots pop, which based on the music they play I take to mean light hearted music that's enjoyable listening.

The last act that I will mention is Norman Roscher. He's the lead singer for the band I referenced at the beginning, Dog's New Clothes, and he's an amazing entertainer. He ascended to the stage with a group of four backup singers whom he dubbed the Norman Tabernacle Choir. This was the highlight of the night for me. It's not that I didn't enjoy the other musicians, but Norman is not just a good musician. With the background he has in kids music it is no surprise that he is an excellent entertainer as well. Of all the acts, the crowd was most engaged with Norman. From avid listening to singing along with his song 'Humbug Christmas Time,' there was a palpable rapport between performer and audience. 'This,' I thought to myself, 'is what local music is all about: feeling an intense connection between musicians and music lovers.'

 

By Editing Department, Regional Editor and Author: Robin Marschak

Robin Marschak was born and raised in Richmond, but has only recently moved back after two years in California.  He loves all types of music from Jimmy Rodgers to Daft Punk to Tower of Power and all things in between.  He is currently a student at VCU and living in Oregon Hill.  Some of his favorite artists include Old Crow Medicine Show, Mark Campbell, and Steve Earl.  Other than listening to music and writing, Robin's hobbies include eating, sleeping, and an occasional guilt induced fit of exercise.  You can follow his adventures in local music on Twitter @robinmarschak, or hear some of the non-local music that he enjoys at either last.fm/user/beerdo231 or blip.fm/beerdo.

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