J Cash Lives

J Cash Lives, I Guess Things Happen that Way... Ba-doo-ba-doo!!!

When I perform, especially as J Cash Lives, my Johnny Cash Tribute show, I love getting people from the audience to join me on stage. I understand that people come to a performance to have fun and one way for the audience to have fun is having one of them up on stage. I try to find a few ways where someone who isn't usually in the limelight can easily have a part in J Cash Lives in such a way that he or she will have a positive and memorable experience. Here I had someone back me with the Ba-doo-ba-doos!

Ter Scott sings "I Walk the Line" as J Cash Lives.

I mentioned before how Johnny Cash's voice really had a pretty fair range even though he chose to stay in the keys of E and F. (Usually played E with a capo on the first fret). Here in this performance I borrow a dollar from someone in the crowd and put it in the strings and explain to the audience how Johnny would do so (he used paper too when he didn't have a buck, which was pretty often when he started out) to create the sound of a snare drum because at first he only had the two musicians Luther Perkins on guitar and Marshall Grant on the stand up bass.

Here though, Johnny modulates in keys with all the verses which at the time was pretty clever in song arranging. Here is my rendition...

By the way, most of the time I stand in performing but this setting was to be an "intimate" setting with me, my guitar and the audience as if I were Johnny in his Henderson home.

J Cash Tribute has two women from audience for Daddy Sang Bass

Image may contain: 5 people, including Ter Scott, people smiling, people standing and guitar

Here are a few videos were taken by a guest at the VFW in Cloquet MN at a recent performance. I'm wondering if I should do the "Johnny Cash look-a-like" character for certain occasions only and since this is just a "tribute" that I should dress the part (without the wig and makeup) and tell the story in narration and song as Ter Scott. I still have some considerations and tweaking to do as I continue doing these shows. I certainly invite your thoughts on that!

Johnny Cash was sometimes known as "One note Johnny" because he sang songs that stayed within a mid-range and people remember his voice as the strong baritone voice which was said by Jack Clemmons to be able to pierce through all the instruments in the recording studio in such a way that he probably could have done fine without amplification. I believe that most people could probably hear his last recordings and if they didn't know it as Johnny (because his voice was "lighter" and had less of a bass timbre) may not know it is him.

Here I'm singing with two beautiful guests from the audience who take June's part in Daddy Sang Bass:

As a Johnny Cash Tribute artist, I certainly want to emulate him in as many ways as possible but his voice is a tough one to master. Sure, impersonators can mimic "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" pretty close but to do a whole song in the voice of this great country icon (at least in my humble opinion) is near impossible. Plus, over Johnny's career you'll find that his early stuff like "Hey Porter" and "Cry, Cry, Cry" he was more in his tenor range and in his mid-career ("Folsom Prison Blues, 1969) he establishes that "gravelly" bass voice ("Daddy Sing Bass") which will forever be his trademark. For me, I put reverb on the microphone and sing in my baritone voice. Sometimes I am where his voice was but mostly I enjoy the songs and add a bit of narration in how he lived and performed in a way to entertain the audience in hopes that J Cash Lives!

J Cash Lives Show Appreciated by Most

As an entertainer, I strive to do my very best. Creating, promoting and doing all the hours of practicing and then performing is a lot of work and can be very tiring. When it is all done, I am pretty much exhausted and highly critical of myself because I know of so many areas where I could have done better.

Fortunately, at my most recent J Cash Lives event held at the VFW in Cloquet, Minnesota, several people in the audience took pictures (and even video which was posted on Facebook). After watching the videos I realized that yes, I can always do better (and I will tweak things for my next performance) but that actually the performance turned out pretty well!

In my performances, I really like to interact with the audience in a way which really gets them involved, either while in their seats or with me up on stage. Being on stage can be scary for anyone who usually isn't in the limelight but doing so makes for great fun. Following is a testimonial by someone who attended with her husband.

I am so appreciative of Jim for volunteering. Some audiences aren't as "ready" to participate, especially this early in the show and Jim "helped" me out! (He also was the guy who volunteered his dollar bill for me to use in the strings when I played "Walk the Line" and I wonder if he noticed anything different about it when I returned it).

She "volunteered" to be in the "June" Singers group and her husband Jim was the only one brave enough to be one of the Ba-doo-ba-doo Boys!

Here is Debbie's take on the show, along with a picture of her singing with Deborah Weckert in the "June" Singers and her husband Jim.

What a great time we had with you at the VFW on Friday night. You are a fabulous entertainer. If you ever need a June let me know. I'd be interested in being your backup singer.

You have no idea but Jim has never done anything like that. He did it to help you out. I didn't know he had such a good voice. The audience loved it.

I loved singing too with Deb & you.

You made SO many people happy.

The man at our table was an army veteran. He went blind a year ago from agent orange & diabetes. They were both teachers in Cloquet. He had a great time. He was keeping track of the numbers for you & holding up his fingers up each time the water was high and rising. You sang his favorite song too. He said he was going to go home and tell his kids he met Jim Badoo ba do.

I loved the informative narrative about his/your life. If I had FB I'd post this. So feel free if you wish

So many people took videos & pictures. I hope some were posted.

Deb always looks like an angel on stage.

I loved the flag part and the thanks to the vets. Everything was outstanding.

Thanks again, Deb & Jim

Thank you, Deb (and Jim) for attending and especially for your kind words about the performance. I really needed that message of encouragement because sometimes I'm too close to the project and highly critical of trying to do well. I am so glad that my efforts translated well to you and the audience around you. I hope you'll consider attending again in the future and see me more animated and with different material.

J Cash Lives!