November 22, 1998, Luna Park Grille, Arlington, VA
All images (c)1998 by Christopher Russell
The cause was indisputably decent. A little girl from a family of modest means is striken with leukemia and needs treatment; local musicians line up to do what our modern healthcare system will not do. And so on this date, a benefit free-for-all gig was pulled off, thanks to Luna Park owner Eric Ploeg and wiz-bang organizer Sara Landymore. Hostess
Melinda Root performed the duties of emcee, raffle mistress, and general crowd-control. That, and she sang, too. More on that in a sec... Sara Landymore dished up her Wammie-winning sound board skills. My camera was not on hand to capture opening performer Pete Brown, but it was cranked up in time to capture Honky Tonk Confidential members Geff King, Diana Quinn, and Mike Woods. Burch Rivers made a rare appearance, borrowing HTC's rhythym section and Sara Landymore's harmonies. Here is HTC's Bobby Martin in the driver's seat of his pedal steel guitar, and rock-steady
Rob Howe on drums. Diana Quinn's other band-- The Towering Bouffants-- appeared without dreamgirl garb... or "unbouffed," if you prefer. They are, in front from left to right, Jane Quinn, Melinda Root, and Diana. Terry MacDonald performed solo as well as with the capable backup of the boys from HTC. That's Larry Tapper on harmonica. Yours truly was allowed to make a bit of noise at the end, and in fact, it was fun... I'm joined by Diana Quinn, Matt Holsen, and Melinda Root for a playful rendition of Stand by Me.
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