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If you're a Hudson Valley musician, George Fletcher is your pal. .
..whether you know it or not. George is the editor and publisher of
Rhythm and News
magazine, and it's fair to say that he knows
more about Who's Who on the regional music scene than anyone I've met
since returning to the area a year ago. It's his business to know.
That's what he does. Or, at the least, knowing about and reporting on
Hudson Valley music happenings is his primary job. But it's
also fair to say that George wears many hats.
When Fletcher and his wife/business partner, Lisa Fairbanks, first
met, both were working musicians. In short order, however, the
magazine and the associated
website pulled them in another direction altogether. They were
suddenly business owners, successful entrepreneurs. There were
suddenly interviews to conduct, demo tapes to listen to, stories to
write, stories to edit, advertising spaces to sell, and deadlines to
meet. Then there was distribution, a miles-to-go-before-I-sleep
operation that covers hundreds of square miles. George and Lisa built
something of a tiger; and, for five years now, they've been holding
onto that tiger's tale with all their might. But that is only one of
George Fletcher's windblown hats.
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Three nights each week, in three far-flung locations, George, along
with buddy/bass player, Rick Mullen, hosts the famous
"Sorta-Mostly-Unplugged Open Mic." On Wednesday nights they're at
the Hogwash BBQ & Grill in Mamaroneck. Thursdays you can find them at
the Excaliber in Poughkeepsie. And every Sunday night, George and
Rick are providing a platform for budding area musicians at
McGillicuddy's in New Paltz. If up-and-coming musicians don't realize
what a friend they have in George Fletcher, they need to move to
another part of the country. Any other part of the country. They'd
soon figure it out.
But this article isn't about those hats. It's about "once a musician,
always a musician;" a deep seated reality I know something about. The
performance sirens have been calling to George ever since he put his
editor/publisher hat on. Oh, he's played out from time to time, but
holding on to the tiger's tail is no easy matter. Still, all work and
no play can, well, you know...dull is as dull does.
Ellie and I recently dropped in at the Caffe Aurora, Lou Strippoli's
delightful contribution to the revitalization of the historic River
District in Poughkeepsie. There was a fund raising effort underway. The
Phi Theta Kappa Chapter of DCCC were collecting toys and donations to make
Christmas a little brighter for the children of the women currently being
sheltered at the Grace Smith House. On the bill, along with
singer/songwriter, Helen Avakian and acoustic guitar wizard, Brian
Gallaway, was a group called "George Fletcher & the Handsome Men."
The performer hat might have collected a little dust over the years,
but it fits Fletcher to tee. George, open mic pal, Rick Mullen, and
drummer, Steve DiGiovanni, were joined by WPDH's "Standby" Stan
Beinstein on blues harp, and the sound was cool and tight. George's
rock & roll guitar style is both crisp and subtle. He doesn't
overpower you, so much as he seduces you with clever riffs that might
remind you of something...but you're just never quite sure of
what. Even the covers like Ain't No Sunshine and Johnny B.
Goode had been freshly rearranged so that you never have that
done-to-death feeling that one sometimes gets. And, like his guitar
playing, George's vocals are clear and clean. But it's the original
material that interested me most. Better Man is an unabashed
love song written for Lisa. And Angeline is a
toe-tapper that
stays with you for days. George also debuted a delightful new song
called I Ain't the Worst that You Could Find. This
particular
hat, the songwriter's hat, has a wonderful cut to it. It is blocked
in a way that distinguishes it from any of the many other songwriters
I follow.
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Brian Gallaway |
Helen Avakian |
Steve DiGiovanni |
Stan Beinstein |
I'm not exactly sure how George Fletcher manages all of his hats, but
the black circles under his eyes are an obvious clue. Having said
that, I know enough about Life, the Universe, and Everything to know
that you can't have it all, and you can't do it all.
Some things, regardless of how precious, must sometimes be left on the
shelf for a while. I suspect George's skill as a musician will never
have so much rust on it that he can't drag it out, polish it up, and
treat audiences to a great show, and I hope he'll always make some
time for that. But, there are lots of good musicians around. It is,
in my humble opinion, Fletcher's skill as a songwriter that sets him
apart. Here we get to bypass the editor, the publisher, the
interviewer, the salesman, the delivery man, and everybody's open mic
pal. Here, and perhaps nowhere else, we get a glimpse of the heart
and the soul of man who loves music more than he loves life itself.
Here is where we meet the real George Fletcher. And George
Fletcher is well worth knowing.
Kevin Robinson
is a freelance writer/photographer, and
the author of three "Stick Foster" hardback mystery novels.
A former syndicated columnist for
the Detroit Free Press, his byline has appeared over 100 times in
national and regional periodicals. Kevin is a partner at
No Bull Productions,
and his PR credits include promotion and
booking work for several of Kansas City's top blues bands. Kevin can
be reached at nobull@NoBullProductions.com.
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Ellie Apuzzo owns and operates
Ellie's Consider It Done.
She provides
"on-site oversight for absentee owners" here in the Florida
Keys; and so far, this lifelong New Yorker just can't seem to
get into "Keys time!" Ellie can be reached at
ellie@elliesconsideritdone.com.
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