PWFAA Brings Satisfaction to Crockett
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CROCKETT – An English nobleman once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try – sometimes – you get what you need.”
Such was the case in Crockett, on Thursday, June 15, as the Piney Woods Fine Arts Association featured a Rolling Stones tribute band known as “Satisfaction.”
Like knights in shining armor in a crossfire hurricane, Mick, Keith, Bill, Ron and Charlie rode into Houston County on a herd of “Wild Horses” to bring an “Emotional Rescue” to the oldest county in Texas.
Prior to the start of the show and before fans suffered their “19th Nervous Breakdown,” Mick (aka Chris LeGrand) discussed how he and his bandmates came together to pay homage to what some have claimed is the best rock ‘n’ roll band in history.
Le Grand, who bears a striking resemblance to Mick Jagger, said he was living in the Shreveport/Bossier City area of Louisiana when the band got its start.
“It’s a long strange journey, actually. It started in 2,000 when I founded the band back in Louisiana. I had been doing a lot of different types of music and I had seen quite a few Beatles tribute bands throughout the country, but I had never seen a Rolling Stones show.”
Fortunately, he explained, time was on his side.
“I did a little research on this thing called the Internet which was just starting to take off. I saw there wasn’t a Rolling Stones touring show, so, I knew there was an opportunity. I recruited some guys in that area and we put together a part-time show, working weekends,” Le Grand said.
“I had a career in electronic sales for 10 years, but in 2001, I got laid off after 9/11. I decided to take a run at it and put this thing on the road and I’ve never looked back,” he explained.
Over the 16 years of existence, the band received no sympathy from the devil as it has undergone numerous changes to the lineup. The main reasons, according to LeGrand, were because of work and family commitments.
“The cast of the show has changed over the years. We’ve probably had around over 30 guys who’ve been in and out of the band. The original cast was mostly guys from the East Texas area and northwest Louisiana. As we started touring, however, this thing called the Internet created a lot of recruiting opportunities,” LeGrand explained.
“In the old days, when you wanted a guitar player, you would go down to the record store and stick an ad on the bulletin board or put something in the music rags. If we lost a member we because of work, or other reasons, we would put an ad out on the internet,” he said.
Shifting gears as he looked over at a “Girl with Far Away Eyes,” LeGrand described what the crowd could expect during the band’s performance.
“Tonight is going to be a greatest hits package of what we can squeeze into a two-hour show. The Stones have over 400 songs in their repertoire and probably only 50 or 60 are really popular. Unfortunately, with so many hits, it’s hard to get in everyone’s favorite in that amount of time,” he said.
The set list for Thursday included “Start Me Up,” “Paint It Black,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Brown Sugar” and probably 20 other recognizable songs, LeGrand indicated.
“The majority of songs we play are probably from 1964 up until about 1981,” he said. “That’s pretty much the area we cover. It’s not that the Stones didn’t make some great music after that, but that’s the time period we concentrate on,” he said.
As far as the band, LeGrand said it was comprised of people from all over the U.S.
“We have Kevin Smith who plays the role of Keith (Richards). He’s from Nashville. There’s Dom Lonzo from Scranton, Penn. who plays Ron Wood. John Wade is from Myrtle Beach, S.C. is doing Bill Wyman and then there’s Ron Nelson from Detroit, Mich. playing Charlie Watts,” he said.
Just before the band took the stage, Keith Richards stumbled by to confirm that he was indeed still among the living.
“It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, mate, and I like it,” he said with a wink.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].