My husband and I waited by the wooden doors to the right of the Miller Theater stage.
I had an envelope with typed instructions to wear my 38 Special sticker that was enclosed in the envelope and be at the designated spot by 7:15 p.m. Aug. 27.
At 7:15 p.m., the house lights dimmed for the opening act to start its set. As the usher was telling me I was going to have to find my seat, the door opened almost on cue behind me, and I heard a voice ask “Are you Charmain?”
We were whisked back to the dressing rooms, and a few minutes later, we were chatting with Don Barnes, one of the founding members of the band and the voice behind songs such as “Hold On Loosely,” “If I’d Been The One” and “Caught Up In You.”
I’d been to meet and greets before. Usually, there’s a line of people. You have time for one hello, one photo opp and it’s onto the next person. Not this time, it was just us. More than one photo, and a chance to connect in person with someone I’d had a great phone conversation with a few weeks before.
I’d interviewed Don for the advance piece that ran Aug. 19.
In 30 years of journalism, I’ve interviewed a lot of performers for those advance stories. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. The email confirming the phone interview gives a time limit. In a lot of cases, artists have a block of interviews scheduled that, and it’s one phone call after the other for them. If one interview goes over the time limit, there’s a domino effect. By the end of the afternoon, they probably don’t even remember what they’ve said or who they’ve talked to.
The standard is 15 minutes. When I interviewed Weird Al Yankovic a few years ago, I got 10 minutes. I was surprised to see that I would have 20 minutes with Don Barnes. I knew I wouldn’t need that long, and I was sure we wouldn’t go over. Boy, was I wrong.
I try to start off interviews with something to break the ice, to cause the conversation to flow. I’d rather have people just talk freely than having to pull information out of them.
The day before my phone interview I was working out when my streaming service played “Hold On Loosely.” And that’s how I opened the conversation. He immediately started chatting about that song, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its release this year.
When talking to Don, I felt like I was talking with someone I knew and had known for a while. He laughed a lot, and so did I. That was nice. It made for a good profile of him and the band.
At one point, he said something to the effect of it was really nice to talk to someone who sounded like him. Meaning the whole Southern accent, which I don’t think that I have until I hear a recording of myself and then it’s like I told him, Southern falls out of my mouth. I can’t deny where I was born and raised.
Looking at the band’s upcoming schedule, I can see why he said that. 38 Special will be performing in New Jersey, Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota in the coming weeks, and they don’t have the same accents.
As we approached the time limit, I told him we needed to wrap it up. I only had 20 minutes. He asked how long we’d been talking and said not to worry about it. We kept talking. Before we hung up, Don said he wanted me to come to the concert and meet him. A few days later, I got an email from his promoter telling me again that Don had enjoyed our conversation and wanted to “say ‘hi.’”
That brought me to Friday night, where I met him, tried not to be a fangirl, took our photos, and he thanked me for coming and writing about the concert. I told him I planned to write a story about the concert, and he thanked me for that too. He told me how the night was going to be great.
“It’s fun. Every song takes it to another level. We sing, and they keep screaming. You’ll see. It takes everybody back to their youth. It takes me back to my youth,” he said.
And I did see. I felt like I went back to my early teens with those songs, but it was only yesterday right?
We got back to our seats to watch Shyanne sing covers of 80s songs such as “Dude Looks Like a Lady,” “Photograph,” “Alone” and “Living on A Prayer.” The group finished its set with what turned out to be a sing-along version of “Don’t Stop Believing.” The band was great, and people around me seemed to be enjoying the variety of 80s music.
Then, it was time for 38 Special to take the stage.
And it was like Don had told me earlier in the night and on the previous phone interview. It was a high-energy, non-stop concert. He and band members proved they were “Rockin’ Into the Night” from the start and played the songs that people loved including “Caught Up In You” and “Wild-Eyed Southern Boys.”
One song not original to 38 Special that made it onto the set list was Chicago’s “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” which was on Don’s solo album. When I interviewed him for the advance article, he said that he believed that song needed some kicking guitar sounds and that’s what he brought to his version.
While Don is the lead, 38 Special is not a one-man show. Jerry Riggs brings an incredible stage presence with his guitar playing. Not only is he a great musician, but he’s a consummate performer who is hard to stop watching. And just between us, his hair steals the show.
Gary Moffatt gave an electrifying, extended drum solo enhanced by the color-changing lights.
Bassist Barry Dunaway and keyboardist and vocalist Bobby Capps bring the full sound to the songs. Capps provided the key vocals on “Second Chance.”
Of course, the evening couldn’t end without the band playing “Hold On Loosely,” a song that is probably synonymous with 38 Special. It was the next to the last song on the night, and by then, people were out of their seats swaying in place. I saw one couple singing it to each other.
It was great to be back at the Miller Theater, and a day later, I’m still singing “Hold On Loosely.”
Charmain Z. Brackett, a product of Generation X, loves 80s music of most genre. It’s her go-to on her playlist. She’s also the features editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
