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rockin’ down memory lane
interview with the Last Waltz Ensemble
by rick grant    rickgrant01@comcast.net

WHAT: Last Waltz Ensemble and the Bear Creek Art and Music Festival
WHERE: Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak
WHEN: Nov. 18th

      The Last Waltz Ensemble evolved from a group of Atlanta’s top musicians. They were producing Last Waltz tribute shows honoring Bob Dylan and The Band’s last concert together. Guitarist Kris Gloer organized these events using various players that he knew. The response was so enthusiastic, Kris decided to take the concept on tour and the Last Waltz Ensemble was born in 2004 as a permanent touring entity performing a three hour show.
      Kris is an experienced and successful musician having fronted many bands and making friends with a cadre of players that he could draw from. The idea for the Last Waltz was to have guest musicians play as a matter of routine. Guests could include anyone from Colonel Bruce Hampton to Efrem Townes of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Kris hatched this concept as a show with revolving guest artists. This infusion of guest artists makes the show new and interesting for the core members, even though the band is playing the same sets of tunes. In his early years, Kris literally grew up in the Great Southeast Music Hall getting to know the musicians coming through town.
      To get the skinny on this unique band, I called Kris on the road in Richmond, Virginia. He was excited about playing Bear Creek Art and Music Festival at the Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak. Of course, I was curious how this tribute show came about.
      “The idea for a tribute to the Last Waltz concert just came to me and no one was doing it. So, I produced the first show not knowing how it would be received. It exceeded my wildest dreams and the audience went wild. Then I produced a couple more shows to see if it had legs. That went exceedingly well also. So I knew I had a viable idea.
      “This show is a re-creation of the Last Waltz concert. With the encouragement of the first few shows under my belt, I figured that I could tour this show. Now we are in our 4th year. We have 40 songs in our repertoire to draw from. To keep it interesting, we invite guest artists to play with us who are familiar with the material.
      “This tour is as far as we have ventured. We’re in Richmond today and we’re scheduled to play in New Jersey. So far, we are averaging 6 to 8 gigs a month. Our venues include small theaters with 500 to 1000 seat capacity, large showcase clubs and outdoor events, like the Bear Creek Festival in your region.
      “We’re planning to record an album with four original songs in the same style as the show. But, we are focusing on putting on this tribute show and taking it as far from Atlanta as we can. The show itself is 3 hours long, performed in 2 acts.”
      Kris went on to say that the core players of the band are Mark Kramer on guitar and vocals, Kevin Rutschman on drums, Benji Shanks on lead slide guitar, Ted Pecchio on bass alternating with Scott Glazer on bass and vocals. The band alternates two keyboard players, Tony Giordano and Jason Fuller. The band’s guests are drawn from famous artists and friends of the band.

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