LETTER: Thanks for letting us entertain you

To the editor:

I am writing in regards to Johnson Park in which Midlife Crisis Band played Wednesday, July 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. I am Grace DeJohn, the leader of the band, and wanted to tell everyone how pleased we were to represent Liverpool.

I have been wanting to play at Johnson Park for years going back to when the Liverpool Is the Place Summer Concert Series was under the supervision of the late, great Mike Casale. He passed away in 2014, just as we were getting on the schedule to play. It never happened. Somehow this was on my bucket list to play here. Living in Liverpool for almost 20 years and working for Liverpool Transportation, I drove past this fine amphitheater only to wish I could play there. It is a neat stage to play on, and the waiting seemed unbearable.

Until one day I met Russ Tarby, who is now the program director for Liverpool’s summer concert series. He was very kind to give me his time and listen to me tell him we were a classic rock band, and we were very good for a four-piece band.

To my surprise the man with the hat booked our band for July 2018. Well, the day we pulled up with all our gear, the rain didn’t seem to want to let up, and with sadness we had to cancel. No one would come out in the rain, I thought, and I went away very upset. Russ offered to hire my band to play the following year which was July 24, 2019, and we accepted. When Wednesday came, the weather was impeccable, the nicest summer day a band would want. Russ introduced Midlife Crisis band to the pretty packed audience, and we rocked it with all we had. I was so nervous as I knew a lot of people there, some new and some old.

We played with John Spillett (sax), Jerry Moore (flute), John DeJohn on drums, Mike Manns on bass, Dave Tarolli on guitar and myself on keyboards and lead vocals. My sisters, Bonnie and Cindy, sang back-up. Jarod DeJohn from “Clean Sound” did a superb job on the sound, and is one of the best sound men in Syracuse. What made this night magic was the excitement of finally fulfilling my bucket list, and Russ Tarby made that happen by believing we were a good band. He gave us a shot at entertaining the Johnson Park audience, which he works so hard to do. No one knows how hard it is to put a schedule together, try to keep everyone happy and serve the community with music. Thank you, Russ Tarby, from the bottom of my heart for letting my band entertain you and Liverpool. So when you see the man with the hat, thank him for his hard work!