Johnny Cash Moves to Fenton

Bill Forness, who makes a living as the lead of the One More Round Johnny Cash Tribute Band, is now making his home in Fenton.

"I like the town a lot, Forness said.

Forness and the band entertained about 200 people Friday at , Fenton, at a dinner and concert event called Chicken and Cash. The chicken dinner was catered by Jilly's Cafe and Steakhouse.

Forness performed a variety of Cash's songs, both familiar and obscure, including a variety of numbers, including Jackson and Juke Box Blues with Brittney Scheffer, who doubled as June Carter Cash for the show.

One More Round's regular June Carter Cash tribute singer, Tara Schmittgens, also is a Fenton resident.

Growing up in Belleville, IL, Forness said he was always exposed to "old county (music)." In fact, he said his mother, June, was named after June Carter Cash. And, Forness said he learned to sing and play old country with his grandfather and his friends.

"My grandfather was an old porch picker, "he said. "A lot of that stuff (old country music) is just in my blood."

Forness said he started playing acoustic guitar in earnest about six years ago, performing a variety of different types of music, including some Johnny Cash tunes.

"And people always wanted more Johnny Cash songs." he said. "People really identify with him. We try to keep (the music)  as true to the footprint as possible."

Forness' baritone voice also helps as he sings the Johnny Cash material.

The spark that eventually grew to become the Johnny Cash tribute band occurred at Houlihan's in Chesterfield, where Forness was performing. He said a man walked up to him and asked if he was gong to play Ring of Fire, one of Cash's big hits. Forness told him the song was on the playlist and when the band started to play it, the man who originally had approached him proposed to his girlfriend on the spot.

"He told me that he always wanted to work Ring of Fire into his proposal and that I was the closest he could ever get to Johnny Cash," Forness said.

One More Round has managed to keep busy travelling Missouri with the Johnny Cash Tribute show. One of the highlights may have been have been a show at Lumiere Place Casino last Sept. 12, which would have been Cash's 80th birthday, where the 560-seat venue was sold out.

Future performances include a Father's Day show at the old Gaslight Theater in Gaslight Square in St. Louis on Father's Day June 16. The band also has plans to record a Johnny Cash Christmas album and tentatively is scheduled to perform before and during halftime of Super Bowl Sunday 2013 at Passing Lane Motors.

For information about upcoming performances and more about Forness and One More Round, visit the band's website at www.jcashtribute.com.