The Forgotten performs at the Kentucky Blues Society's Teen Jam 15 at WhaBahs. Photo by Kim Mason April 11, 2011

Every great musician had to start somewhere. In Bowling Green that somewhere has become WhaBahs Steakhouse. Every Monday night the restaurant hosts the Kentucky Blues Society’s Teen Jam. So we headed out to WhaBahs to catch them for ourselves and witness why Mondays are becoming very popular on a night that would typically be otherwise slow. On this particular evening the weather was dishing out a steady, heavy rain but still the house was impressive. Promoter and Kentucky Blues Society founder Kenny Lee noted that ever since the weekly event has taken place WhaBahs is getting a big crowd. He continued to state the Sundays (when Blues Jam is on) and Mondays now have the largest head counts of the week. The reasons for the Monday night crowds quickly became apparent as the musicians took the stage.

There really aren’t many venues like WhaBahs for teenagers to socialize, enjoy music, and dance in. There’s also plenty of items on the menu that the kids can snack on. So it’s kind of nice to see the place transform into a teen club one night a week. In that sense, perhaps WhaBahs has the right idea here. They provide a safe place, off the streets, for youth to have fun in, and who can argue with that? Another reason it gets crowded is that friends and family love to see them on stage. So there are plenty of cameras in use and plenty of high fives from friends after each set. And for some, like on this night, it’s the first time they ever have gotten on a stage to perform in front of an audience. The talent is there for some of these kids and it’s essential to get over the stage jitters early on. They can do that here, where the audience is always receptive, without a lot of pressure.

First up was a girl and her guitar, Savannah Hanson. She did a fine job singing three tunes, including “Red High Heels” by Kellie Pickler and “Stuck Like Glue” by Sugarland. Most of the acts do two or three songs depending on how many want to play and how many others there are to perform on a given night. If there is time left over they can come back on after everyone’s had their turn and play another. This format assures that there will be plenty of variety, and indeed there was tonight. The Sunday Blues Jams are restricted to blues music, but Teen Jam welcomes all genres. Kenny explained,  “The mission of the Blues Society is not to be an exclusive organization on the blues but an inclusive organization so we bring people to the blues.”

Next up was a power trio named La Garage, who performed a set of instrumentals. Covering the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Audioslave, there was no shortage of energy. On the band’s Facebook page it says they are looking for a singer who can sing like Chris Cornell to pick up the vocals. Tall order there, but who knows? Maybe the next Chris Cornell will walk in one of these Monday nights, and that’s what it’s all about. Kenny Lee expressed the thought that “Whatever future contributors [to music] this state and this area has I feel is going to come out of this teen deal”. Some of these teens are quite talented, so there’s no reason it can’t happen. If you want to see how good check out La Garage at www.facebook.com/pages/La-Garage/115516141856008.

Punk-style music was well represented by several bands: Teen Result (www.facebook.com/pages/Teen-Result/196795430331565), Modern Day Elite and KIC (short for Keep It Coming). The audience was very receptive to this as the genre gets people moving. So they didn’t need much urging from these bands to get up near the stage and start jumping around. Flashbacks of Ramones were dancing in my head during Modern Day Elite, while Teen Result moved it forward with some Blink 182. KIC, which has a handfull of originals, will be featured in an upcoming gig at the Muse in Nashville on May 29th.   Lead singer, Colton Fulcher told us about his style, saying “I’ve always loved Green Day. Next to the Beatles, they are my biggest influence. Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is my influence for stage presence the energy he puts into playing live is what I try to imitate.”  Find KIC at www.facebook.com/pages/KIC/177159619000716

And then there were the rockers, The Forgotten (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Forgotten/188571934515859). Playing with only two members, guitarist Sven Dugandzija and drummer Kendrick Brent, still sounded pretty good. They list their local influences as Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent, and Government Cheese on Facebook. Another thing that the Teen Jam allows these bands to do is to play shorthanded. After all, Monday is a school night, so if someone can’t make it, no big deal, they will adjust. And let’s face it, band members, especially at these young ages, move around quite often. No problem. At Teen Jam they can improvise while they’re between members and possibly find new members as these two found each other. Sven’s dad told us that one issue bands like The Forgotten run into is how much time band members are willing to practice. They practice twice a week and some kids have too much going on to commit to that.  

As mentioned earlier, sometimes these young performers are making their first stage appearance ever. And the nerves sometimes show, and sometimes they don’t. We heard that was the case when Alana Lawless came up and sang a few songs while accompanying herself on keyboard. Here again was that variety I keep talking about. She did a nice job up there and was cool under pressure. Bet she was glad to get that behind her. Zach Smith was the teenage host for the night, and that was good to see too. The whole thing is run by the teens with their parents supplying some support behind the scenes. Zach usually plays himself but his arm was in a cast.  He did however take the stage at the end to jam with members of The Forgotten.

Some don’t have a band yet but play their instrument anyway solo or have opportunity to jam with others. At first I asked myself why, but in talking to people the answer became apparent. A lot of kids looking to play in a band meet up with bands here. Jeff Harper, father of one of the members of La Garage, said his son couldn’t find band mates of the same musical level until he met some at the Teen Jams.   And some kids are very young (one or two looked like 5 or 6 to me) and aren’t ready for a band yet. But they get to play a little on stage. So on many levels this is a great opportunity for the young musicians. They gain experience, meet other musicians, get to play in front of friends and family, form bands, and hopefully pick up some new fans along the way. 

I also learned that some of these kids are students of well-known local professional musicians. Ed Huzyack, the bassist for La Garage, is a student of Dave Allen of the Rewinders and the Tyrone Dunn Experiment. Dave said he usually doesn’t teach but saw a video of Ed online that Ed’s mother sent him “fearlessly playing bass on stage by himself”. Guitarist Ben Huzyack studies with Bobby Baldwin of Skip Bond & the Fugitives and Wigglestik fame. This explains the talent level of some of these pre-teen and teenage performers. Before Teen Jam started (this was the 15th week running and took place on April 11th) some of the teens played at the Sunday Night adult jams and some of them were also mentored by other area musicians and teachers such as Johnny Thompson of the Scottsville Conservatory or Webb Hendrix of Royal Music. So Teen Jam is continuing this rich tradition of presenting local, homegrown talent.

All this does take some money to put on, and there are local sponsors who believe in what’s going on here. WDNS (D93) FM Radio, Great Escape Records & Comics, Kentucky Music, SonRhea Foundation, Sports Cuts, and 3 parents are the current proud sponsors of these weekly events. Great Escape and Kentucky Music provide gift certificates that are given away to the musicians at the show. Individual sponsorships run for 3 months. If you’d like to help keep this going by sponsoring or making contributions you should contact Kenny Lee at the Kentucky Blues Society for more info. The web site is www.kentuckyblues.com.

South Central Kentucky has a long and proud history of producing some top-notch music professionals. I can’t think of a better way to keep it focused on the future than Teen Jam. You can see it for yourself every Monday from 6 – 9 PM at WhaBahs Steakhouse www.whabah.com.