The Citizen, 2002-04-10, Page 22Public Notice
As of March 1st 2002
Sparky's Place has changed ownership
& management.
We will now operate under the name of Andrea's!
In addition to our regular hours we will now
be offering fine dining Friday, Saturday &
Sunday Evenings until 9:00 pm
We hope to see you soon!
.1-1dra 's
Resta urant
90 Main St., Sea forth 527-1964
Regular Hours: Mon-Thurs 6am-7pm
Fri & Sat 6am-9pm Sundays 7am-9pm
Happy 60th Anniversary - April 11
Lorne & Addie Hunking
%A.A.
Love Marjorie. Tom & family; Art, Judy & family; Murray, Kathy & family
Morris and Shirley Giilck
April 12, 2002
Coapatulatiatto,
Love and best wishes from your
four daughters and their families
On the road again!!
From the band that brought you the heart-warming
Don Messer Tribute comes their all new show _
evaotties o s q
Western Swingin 5
and Country Singin
* OLD TIME AND FANCY SWING TUNES
by Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Champion Scott Woods
* GOLDEN OLDIE WESTERN SONGS
by talented singer Tom Leadbeater and the band
* FAVOURITE GUITAR INSTRUMENTALS
by East Coast Music Award Winner Bruce Timmins
APPEARING
Memorial Hall, Blyth
Tuesday, May 7 at 2 pm
for tickets call 1-877-862-5984
GOOD HUMOUR, NOSTALGIA AND WESTERN WARMTH
PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2002.
Youth pursues dream of being country music star
On the rise
Jordin Rutledge, a 17-year-old, who once lived in Auburn, is
currently working on a country and western CD. The teen, a
student at St. Anne's in Clinton, has been recording in
Toronto and Barrie and expects to travel to Nashville in May.
(Photo submitted )
ty to share his dream with someone
in the business. "I walked up and said
Citizen editor I want to be a country singer. I don't
know what it was, he must have seen
something in my face, but he gave
me his manager's phone number,"
says Rutledge.
When he contacted her, however,
her first words were less than encour-
aging. "She said, 'I have a hundred
thousand kids a day calling to say
they have what it takes.'" Add to that
comment the fact that Rutledge did-
n't have a demo and he began to feel
somewhat disheartened. Before the
conversation ended, however, she
had given him the phone number of a
producer in Barrie.
By Bonnie Gropp
If you want something badly
enough, the best thing is to just go for
it.
Jordin Rutledge, 17, formerly of
Auburn, now living in the Lucknow
area was nine when he began taking
vocal lessons and for as long as he
can remember he has wanted to be a
country and western singer.
Last year Rutledge attended the
Barn Dance and at that time told his
mother, Sharon Montgomery, that
within a year he intended to be on
that stage. Seeing his idol John
Landry, Rutledge took the opportuni-
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
After much thought and even more
discussion, North Huron council at
its April 2 meeting, okayed the
installation of new seats at. Blyth
Memorial Hall.
Council at an earlier meeting and
again at the Tuesday meeting read
letters included in their agenda pack-
ages from the Blyth Legion and its
Ladies Auxiliary opposing the
removal of the original seats.
Representatives of Blyth Festival
have requested permission to replace
the seats, which are known to be
uncomfortable and are believed to be
deterring audiences from attending
theatre productions, with ones they
obtained from the Shaw Festival.
In the most recent letter, Legion
President CrYstal Taylor listed the
points of opposition to the seats'
removal. They feel the seats are in
good condition and cushioned suffi-
ciently to sit for the length of time
required. Also, they believe the seats
complement the hall. Taylor wrote of
preserving the building's heritage as
well.
Clerk-Administrator John Stewart
explained the building's history to
council. He stated that it had been
erected as a monument to fallen war
-veterans, but that it was in danger of
being torn down, until a group of cit-
izens came forward with the idea of
using the building as a venue for a
summer theatre festival.
Making that call, Rutledge was
told once again that he should submit
a demo. He responded the way he
had before, saying that he simply did
not have the money it took to pro-
duce one of quality. "He said he
guessed he wasn't busy on Saturday
and told me to come to his studio. I
sang for him and he was fascinated,"
says Rutledge.
The producer cautioned the young
man, however, telling him the down-
side about the career path he was
choosing. "When you first start, I
thought there would be all this glitz
and glamour, but he explained that's
not the way it is. He told me all the
,bad things."
Undeterred Rutledge continued to
make contacts. He has four producers
currently interested in his work, and
is now in the process of making a CD
in Toronto and Barrie. He expects to
be in Nashville come May.
While he emphasises that he will
stay in school until he graduates the
project at this point has meant miss-
ing quite a bit of class time, His par-
ents, however have been generally
supportive, though he admits his
father David, has approached the
proje't with a little more caution.
There are also two managers over-
looking his interests.
His CD will feature 10 previously
unreleased songs, some written by
Rutledge. Most of the tunes are
uptempo country, performed in a
voice that Rutledge says he's told
"has a lot of bluegrass" in it.
And while a teen may seem too
ingenuous to carry the lyrical weight
of a mournful country tune, the
singer claims he has had inspiration
growing up in a house with four older
sisters. In fact, the name of the CD,
titled after one of his pieces is Take It
From Me, a message from a nice guy
to a nice girl who just got dumped.
"I've heard my sisters, what they talk
about. I thought Take It From Me was
perfect because it reflected exactly
who I am."
While many young people are also
more likely to be following the bop
of pop, the rebellion of grunge or the
when the seats were cushioned be
maintained in some way.
In an interview' after the meeting,
Councillor Jeff Howson said that he
was sure the decision was not one
made lightly by any of the council-
lors. "I know for me it took a lot of
hard thinking. People will be upset,
but they will get over it. I believe
that we didn't feel that by any means
this lessened the importance of the
building as a memorial.
angst of alternative, Rutledge says
country music is what he likes. "My
friends have asked me why country. I
don't know how to. explain it. I was
raised on that music and have lis-
tened to it my whole life, I guess. But
more than that country stars live by
who they are. They don't try to make
up a life."
His country music interest has led
him to new friendships too, including
one with Beverley Mahood from
Lace and Megan Morrison, a 13-
year-old sensation from Holstein,
whose new song How Many Frogs
Do I Have to Kiss? has been getting
air play on the radio.
It's something Rutledge hopes to
see happen for himself soon. He
anticipates a release date for his
album by next year and in the mean-
time is trying to promote himself and
get his name out. "I want people to
know who I am," he says.
And if that means singing for a
local organization's meeting?
"I'd do it. No matter how big I got,
I would always want to be true to
who I am."
One performance Rutledge did do
locally was on the Barn Dance stage
March 17 with Jake from Farmer's
Daughter, just as he had prophesied.
"It was one of my goals. All I can
say is believe in your dreams,
because dreams are so powerful."
While council empathized with the
Legion and Auxiliary's strong feel-
ings for the Hall, in the end they
agreed that the new seats would be
an improvement.
Cotincillor Murray Nesbitt made
the motion, which was seconded by
Councillor James Campbell, that the
seats be replaced on the condition
that they not be decreased in number
and that the nameplates which had
been part of a fundraising effort
Old Memorial Hall seats to go
*sea 'Wedding attrauettoattv%