Cody Reunion Show

This was the scene at 12th & Porter in Nashville, Tennessee, last Sunday, the 22nd of July. The band on the stage is Cody, the creatively name group that I fronted back in the late '80s and early '90s. From left to right: Gene Ford (lead & rhythm guitar, background vocals), David Ecrement (keyboards), Steve Grossman (drums, background vocals), me, Danny O'Lannerghty (bass, background vocals), Mark Chesshir (lead & rhythm guitar, background vocals). I wrote most of the songs in our repertoire, but we also did some successful co-writing. I say that I fronted the band, but I was never very good at that. To be quite honest, I was a rather boring performer.

But we made some great music and had a good time making it. We most often appeared in Nashville (Douglas Corner and Cock-eyed Camel) and Asheville (45 Cherry, Downtown After Five and Bele Chere), but we also had gigs in Greenville, South Carolina, and Lexington, Kentucky.

We had our good moments. Probably most notable were the release of our cassette Cody and the radio success of our song "Thunder and Lightning." But we were all hitting our early 30s. I moved from Nashville back to Asheville. Several of the group were marrying (not each other--we weren't Fleetwood Mac) and having kids. Cody dissolved amicably, probably in late 1992.

Flash forward to 2012. Sometime in the spring, Mark had the idea of putting together a reunion. I said I was interested if the other guys were. Mark called back within a couple of hours and said it was set up. We set the date and eventually rented 12th & Porter for the event. We began thinking about songs and inviting friends.

On Saturday the 21st, Leesa and I headed for Nashville. The band was set to meet at Gene Ford Music in Brentwood that afternoon at 1:00 for a rehearsal. I didn't know what to expect, but the guys had done their homework, and the run-through was amazing. We were happy and having fun.The good feeling continued through the next day and all the way through and beyond the actual reunion gig. On Sunday we set up and did soundcheck.

We opended the doors at 6:00, and our friends started showing up, many of whom traveled quite a few miles (from east Tennessee and western North Carolina), many of whom were old fans and friends, many of whom were friends of individual band members who knew nothing of the rest of the band. They listened and responded and cheered us on.

I felt good on stage that evening. I felt more expressive. Not boring--or not so much. We didn't play flawlessly, but we played like we meant it and with joy and energy.

It was an amazing event for me, and I'm still a little high when thinking about it.

The set list:
"Dizzy from the Distance"
"Counting the Days"
"Genesis Road"
"Thunder and Lightning"
"I'll Be Here"
"Rain on the River"
"None But the Lonely Heart"
"The Street I Live On"
"One Desire"
"The Jaws of Modern Romance"
"She's a Wild One"
"Homecoming"
"Best I've Ever Seen"

For our encore, we were joined by great guitarist Phil Keaggy, whom we had run into at Brentwood's Local Taco on Saturday evening after our rehearsal. He did a wonderful job with us on "I Came for the Gold" and "Angeline."

I hope we'll reunite again next year!