'Let There Be Rock'

Their rock ‘n’ roll heroes are aging.
For those who still perform, ticket prices are often exorbitant. And that’s before considering travel and concessions.
So a group of local friends decided to find a way to bring the music they love to Jay County and do so affordably.
Jay County Music Foundation, formed by Jeff Bailey, Rusty Inman and Doug Inman, plans to hold five concerts a year with tribute bands that emulate their favorite artists spanning rock ‘n’ roll from the 1950s through ’80s.
“Our goal isn’t to make money, it’s to bring bands to Jay County,” said Bailey.
The idea to grew out of Bailey’s 50th birthday party, which featured Kiss tribute band Mr. Speed.
“We all had a great time,” said Bailey. “After it was all said and done, we talked like, ‘We’ve got to do this again.’”
So this spring, Bailey and the Inmans decided to make it happen. They filed the group as a non-profit organization and began planning.
Now the first concert is set as Jay County Music Foundation will partner with Jay County High School student council to host Dirty Deeds, an AC/DC tribute band, at 10 p.m. Sept. 18 in the JCHS auditorium following the Patriots’ homecoming football game against Bluffton.
Student council chose the band — president Anne Vormohr said it was among the top three on almost everyone’s list when the group was presented with about 10 options — which lines up with Rusty Inman and Bailey’s musical tastes. They’re mostly fans of classic rock.
But Jay County Music Foundation also wants to serve fans from throughout the rock ‘n’ roll genre, including Elvis Presley, The Beatles and others from the 1950s and ’60s.
“We want to appeal to that generation as well,” said Bailey. “Hopefully we can have enough diversity that we can attract a lot of different people to our shows.”
And Doug Inman, the self-described “equipment manager” of the group, brings a different musical taste.
“Those guys are much more hard rock, almost heavy metal oriented,” he said. “I would rather hear, like, The Eagles.”
Jay County Music Foundation plans to host five concerts a year — one during the winter months, following by three in the summer and one during the fall. They hope to make use of not only the auditorium at JCHS but also the Hudson Family Park amphitheatre.
The group’s founders see an opportunity to fill a role not currently served by the variety of concerts offered at Arts Place, the Jay County Fair and other organizations.
And Rusty Inman looks forward to the tribute bands offering exciting, low-cost shows that aren’t necessarily available anymore with the original artists.
“Our rock ‘n’ roll heroes are dying and retiring,” he said. “Now you’re getting guys who are in their 30s and 40s that sound just like it, at a fraction of the cost, with more energy.”
Tickets for the Dirty Deeds concert at JCHS are $10 for general admission. VIP passes, which will include seats in the first three rows at center stage, access to sound check and meet and greet with the band and an autographed concert poster — are available for $20.
They are being sold online at http://www.jaycountymusic.com, on the Jay County Music Foundation Facebook page and from 3 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the JCHS main office.
The idea to partner with student council for the first concert came from Bailey, who was a member when he was in school in the early 1980s.
“That’s kind of near and dear to my heart,” he said. “We thought it would be great to team up with the high school for the first show because they have great facilities there, they could help us with ticket sales, we could share the profit. We just kind of felt like that would be a good show for us to do.”
Meanwhile, student council was deciding whether or not to have a homecoming dance this year, in part because of the cost involved — tickets were likely to be more than $20 — and the relatively early date. The concert provided an attractive alternative — an opportunity to introduce a new homecoming activity at a more reasonable price for students.
And both Jay County Music Foundation, whose members emphasized their focus is on family-oriented shows, and student council are hoping it will bring the youth and adults of the community together.
“I think and I hope it’ll be a great community and school turnout,” said Vormohr. “I think it’s a great idea and I think it sounds super fun. …
“I think it would be a cool thing to continue in the upcoming years.”
Jay County Music Foundation will use any profit, which it will split with student council, toward future concerts. It has also committed to donating to music education through programs such as MusicWorks at Arts Place and local school bands and choirs.
Bailey and the Inmans have not yet decided on which act they will target for their second show in early 2016. But tribute bands for Queen, Led Zeppelin, Journey, Metallica, REO Speedwagon, Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey and ZZ Top are all possibilities.
The goal, they said, is to draw fans from Jay County and beyond and to increase the quality of life by offering a new entertainment option.
“There’s something left there,” said Rusty Inman of the gap in the local entertainment landscape. “There was a need that wasn’t being met. We just thought that was a good opportunity.”