VOCAL Oct, 2016 Showcase.
VOCAL songwriter showcase Oct. 2016
Tonight two performers took the stage to showcase their original songs. First up was Glenda Creamer, longtime VOCAL member, to be followed by Bill Wellons, as the featured act.
To keep in the Halloween spirit, Glenda started off her set with some of her holiday appropriate material.
First up was “Love’s Not Supposed to Hurt” a co-written song about a battered woman who needs makeup to hide the scars of abuse. Next up was “Fortune Teller” co-written with Jerry Tarver in which the singer is looking for love and is hoping to get a positive outlook from the seer she consulted. Switching to bible inspired material, Glenda did “The Wilderness’ in which Jesus comes out fo the woods to confront the devil who is trying to tempt him. “Lazarus” tells the story of Jesus raising him from the grave ending with the line “Lazarus come out”. Switching back to Halloween, “I’m A Witch, Today” depicts a woman who is in a bad mood and should be tied to a dunking stool for punishment. Next up was “Ghost House’ which was a pictorial song about all the ghostly and other worldly actions that take place in a haunted house complete with ghostly moaning. To close ot her set, Glenda performed “Moonshine Sky” about Marvin the bootlegger who’s doing great until he is ratted out to the “revenuers” and shot dead in a confrontation.
Bill Wellons is a longtime VOCAL member who seldom performs at the showcase, so it was a rare treat to have him appear at this one. His choice of instrument is the electronic keyboard which he manipulates with great skill. Opening song was and instrumental “Walk Like a Duck” with featured some quack sounding licks through out the piece. “Do You Remember” had an air of nostalgia to it as he asked “where did the time go?” looking back at the past. “My Best Pal” is definitely an audience pleaser as he sings about his dog and how much he stays loyal to it through the years despite some unseemly moments. A medley of sunshine related songs was followed by “We Gave It Our Best Shot” a break up song that came about when “things we knew were certain turned to lies” . “Memories of Distant Days” kept alive the nostalgia theme “looking back, I’ll always remember your smile” he sings. “Mere Humans” looks askew at the human race for never seeming to learn from its mistakes while things in nature do. “Melody On May” was a very pretty instrumental piece that was well received by the audience, Taking a poke at the slow pace of political response, “Holding On” was series of vignettes depicting people in various stages of bad times trying to get some help from their politicians with no results. “It’s Just Another Lonely Night” is how the singer feels after nothing seems to be going his way. To close ot his set Bill chose to do a satiric song “Big Top” about today’s political candidates and how the whole process of the election has turned into a circus, the idea of which was well received by the audience. This then turned into a request for an encore and Bill obliged by doing “Home With You”, a salute to servicemen and women, and the story of a G.I. returning from duty overseas who can’t wait to get back home to Oklahoma.
Overall, it was good night to be present at the showcase and hear these two fine singer/songwriters present some of their best material.
