DATE: Thursday, July 10, 1997               TAG: 9707090152

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 08   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: FRANKLIN                          LENGTH:   73 lines

WOODEN NICKLE BAND IS ALL OVER THE MAP WITH MUSIC

Wooden Nickel Band - Wooden Nickel Band - Wooden Nickel Band.

These guys are all over the place - arguably the busiest group of country musicians around.

Tonight they will provide the entertainment for We Be Jammin' Thursdays!, the biweekly downtown Franklin to-do.

Wooden Nickel plays just about every kind of country music - Top-40, new country, line dance, classics, bluegrass, and a blend of oldies and Southern rock.

The musicians, who come from Chesapeake, Windsor and Suffolk, have impressive backgrounds.

When he was 18 years old Dennis Klotz, bass guitarist and a vocalist, played rock - the variety known these days as classic rock. He and his buddies have been the opening act for, among others, Tracy Lawrence, and the now defunct Pirates of the Mississippi.

Wooden Nickel has its own Tracy. Lead guitarist Tracy Holland also began playing professionally in his teen years, joining his father's band on the honky tonk scene when he was 19.

Following his discharge from the country he rocked back and forth with such area groups as Stampeed, Denim & Lace, Silverado.

He has worked with Exile, Mel McDaniel, Ricky Lynn Gregg, David Ball - and, Willie.

In the past 18 years drummer/percussionist Jeff Bess has done it all - country, rock, symphony, jazz, heavy metal.

He has performed with the Virginia All-City Band, Badd Funn, Hired Guns and others.

Randy Alexander has also played a variety of music - country, bluegrass, Hawaiian classics, big band, and folk. The fiddler/vocalist also sang barbershop harmony.

He played in France - the Busch Gardens version - and, in Hawaii where he performed for and/or with Dolly Parton, Charlie Pride, Jerry Lewis, Burt Lancaster, Bill Bixby and Don Adams.

Alexander's most unforgettable moment, was playing backup with Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band.

Michael Munden, the pedal steel guitarist, has toured the United States and Canada, and has shared the stage with Lee Greenwood, Kathy Mattea, Tanya Tucker and Sawyer Brown.

Nat Chavis, the lead singer who also plays acoustic guitar, has performed with Faron Young, Billy ``Crash'' Craddock, Pirates of the Mississippi, Charley Louvin and Tracy Lawrence.

He writes gospel music and recently released a recorded-in-Nashville album, ``Since You've Been Gone.''

Wooden Nickel, like most local bands, concentrates on cover songs but, unlike many local bands, also has a list of original pieces that are part of their performance.

And, these two should be mentioned: Steve Bryant, the sound technician, has worked shows for Johnny PayCheck and Merle Haggard. The lighting technician is Frank Roberts, who also specializes in pyrotechnics and special effects. With a name like that - you know he knows what he is doing. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

The Wooden Nickel Band's members come from Chesapeake, Windsor and

Suffolk, have impressive backgrounds.

Graphic

ABOUT THE EVENT

WHAT: The Wooden Nickel Band.

WHEN: 5:30-9 p.m. tonight.

WHERE: Behind the Be-Lo Shopping Center, at the intersection of

South Main and South streets, at the bulkhead.

ACTIVITIES: There is a clown for the children. Food and beverages

are available.

COST: Free.

FOR INFORMATION: Call 562-8511.