I hadn’t seen my friend Jack Ingram play in a long long time. Too long. He was in town last night so I went to see him. I even took my friend Jennifer, the sound girl, because she had never seen him before. She’s a metalhead and only learning to appreciate Texas country and I think she kind of got into it a little before the night was through. She did look at me oddly as I sang along with “Barbie Doll.”
I’ve written about Jack before. I just went and re-read it and it says most of the things I was going to say here. I did get to talk to Jack a little bit last night. I hadn’t talked to him face to face in a couple of years at least. I think the interview when he brought his little girl Ava to the studio with him was the very last and that was just before he had his first number one country hit nationally. I didn’t think I would have to re-introduce myself to him last night, but it had been a long time, so I approaced with some trepidation. The couple in front of me asked me to take their picture with Jack. I took the camera. And then Jack saw me and his face really did light up and he was genuinely happy to see me. That made me very happy.
Since I have written about Jack and what a class act he is, let me add what a class organization he has. His managers George and Sarah are the best. His guitar tech Kyle is one of those sweet kind people that I enjoy whenever I’m around him. Drew, his tour manager, was with the Lost Trailers when I first met him and thought what a great guy he was. He moved on to taking care of things with Jack and just goes above and beyond “nice.” And he’s from Comanche County, Texas, so I feel a kinship with him. And then there is Pete Coatney, Jack’s drummer. He’s been Jack’s drummer FOREVER. I don’t know any other artist that has had a band member as long as Jack and Pete have worked together. Pete is an extraordinary man that just BLESSES anyone that knows him. He and Mark do the drum thing together sometimes (which means they get on the phone and say things like, “Yeah, man, it has a ping ping that is just a bit tinny without being clangy.” They have a language all their own.) If the values and qualities and goodness of Jack, George, Sarah, Kyle, Drew, and Pete can spread through Nashville (and I know how the music business corrupts, but these folks are uncorruptible), then there is nothing but good things in store for Music City and for us.
