Shorty's Series Still Going Strong

Since its inception, Patch has covered the Shorty’s concert series, its coordinator , as well as some of the acts that have graced the small stage in the corner of one of Tucker’s best pizza joints.

Every Wednesday evening, beginning around 8 p.m., local musicians bring free music to the family-friending establishment. They offer discounted, large cheese pizzas, and the tables are packed. The attentive staff works quickly to re-cover the few tables in white butcher paper in between parties; the chefs stay busy building pizzas and moving them in and out of the wood fire grill; and the bands keep the music coming.

Around the same time Patch introduced the series to Tucker residents who were unaware of this community treat, a story ran about local musician and his band Turtle Folk. As with most musicians, Vogtner engages in side projects, one of which is the Rusty Pickups.

Three members comprise the Rusty Pickups. Vogtner, Turtle Folk band mate Jamie Shanks and Matt Lewis, who Vogtner played with previously in a group called Remedial Blend.

The Rusty Pickups recently played the Shorty’s series for the first time with Jones on drums – the first performance by the acoustic group to feature a drummer. Appropriately, both the group and the concert series are nearing their one-year anniversaries.

Of the Rusty Pickups, Vogtner says: “We've been doing our thing as an acoustic project for almost a year. It basically started when Jamie moved to Atlanta last summer [2010], and he and I decided we'd get some acoustic gigs between Turtle Folk shows. It was a good opportunity for us to learn some new songs and keep our chops fresh. A few months later we were hanging out with Matt at Smith's Olde Bar and talked him into joining us as a three-piece.”

Listening to the trio and Jones on stage at Shorty’s, one could assume the drummer had always been part of the group. This is not the case, in fact, but Jones has played with Vogtner before.

“Turtle Folk had a gig at Moonshadow Tavern about two years ago,” says Vogtner, “and Sean, our drummer, got sick the day of the show and couldn't make the gig. We tried to do the set without a drummer but it immediately didn't feel right. About halfway through our second or third song, a guy came up to me and said he was a drummer with a couple bands in town and was willing to fill in if we wanted him to.  We pulled him up, and he picked up every song like he had a couple of rehearsals with us under his belt. His name was Richie Jones.”

“That was a blast indeed! Glad I could help you guys out,” responded Jones.

Jones notes that the series is going strong – “It's busier than ever, coming up on a year now” – and he continues to feature some of Tucker’s, and the metro area’s, most interesting and engaging artists.

In fact, another local artist once featured on Patch will be returning to the series tonight (August 10). will again bring her “rhythm, soul and groove review back to the Shorty's concert series stage. Her voice is sure to give you some spine tingles and plenty o’ goose bumps. So get there early if you want a table, and get your mid-week fix of some of the finest artists around,” announces Jones.

Head down to Shorty’s to celebrate the near-one-year anniversary of what is sure to become one of the finest musical traditions in town. The series is free, open to all ages and smoke-free.