Jamestown, Ohio Ph: (937) 902-4857
statler brothers brothers quartet jamestown ohio
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Jamestown, Ohio Ph: (937) 902-4857
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Upcoming B&C Appearances
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TBA Paint Valley Jamboree Bainbridge, Ohio
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& Co. Yahoo Group!
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Special Dedication to one of the original 'brothers.'
Gary "Tuff" Sutton Sept. 26, 1938 - Sept. 21, 2005
It's very hard to say goodbye to someone who meant so much to me and my family. His music lives with me every day of my life. If not for him, my piano would have been forever silent. If not for him, The Brothers & Co. would have never been. It's going to be hard to move forward sometimes and his presence will be felt in everything we do.
There will never be another "Tuff" and "The Brothers & Co." will never be the same. He was my uncle and my friend. He taught me to play music and to ride a bicycle. It was like having another 'dad' around my entire life. My mom misses her baby brother. My dad misses his friend and brother-in-law. I miss my uncle "Tuff". We will all miss you.
Thank you for all you gave to us. Saturday nights will be a bit less full from here on but I know you'll still be there with us.
"Who's going to fill their shoes?" - George Jones
- Gery L. Deer
A funeral, a wedding, and laughter. By James Karns
You never know where life will take you when you’re a magician. I’ve been performing magic with my friend Gery Deer and his country band for some time now. Since it is a family band most of the members are relatives and I’ve become friends with all of them. I have been with Gery thru many ups and downs in life, but this particular Saturday was the strangest so far.
A few months ago Gery and his bride to be Barbara made the announcement they were going to be married. This was wonderful new to all of us as we had learned only weeks before that Gery's uncle and the lead guitarist Gary Sutton was battling cancer.
With wedding plans came the inevitable request to do both walk around and stage magic as part of the day’s festivities. This I would never turn down for a friend, so I began my ritual of deciding what I would be doing and how I wanted to present it.
As the big day drew near the new of Gary’s progressing illness became more serious. In fact, he was far worse than any of us had known. Mid-day Wednesday, four days before the wedding, Gery contacted me to let me know that his uncle had lost his battle and the services would be held on Saturday morning, the same day as the wedding. Because Tuff, as he was called, would never have wanted to be the cause of any change in plans, especially in such an important event in his favorite nephews life, it was decided that both ceremonies would proceed as planned. On top of this Tuff requested that the members of he band act as paw bearers. The request of someone I have grown to respect so much I could not refuse, so paw bearer I would be.
Saturday morning rolled around and I dressed in our traditional band outfits, which was also Tuff’s final request, I loaded my magic act into the back of the car, grabbed my magicians outfit and off I went to my first engagement of the day.
From nine thirty until noon the family and friends of Gary Sutton wished a final farewell to a man who had meant so much too so many. But as quickly as the last goodbyes were shared the gathered went to their vehicles and drove as directly as possible to the sight of the wedding originally scheduled for one in the afternoon, but now moved back an hour to allow for travel.
When I arrived, I unloaded and went to the most convenient location to the wedding/reception as possible, which in this case was a garage next door. There I changed outfits and set my props quickly for later in the day. I then went directly to the room in which the wedding was to be held and went into action.
As the guests began to arrive my mind was amazingly clear. I began by working the fidgeting children in their fancy cloths and I proceed to play to the parent and other adults that were waiting. As grateful as they were that I was taking their minds off what had just happened I was equally grateful I had something to concentrate on.
After an hour of entertaining the crowd the big event was underway and I had my first chance to sit down. The wedding went off beautifully lasting little more than half an hour. Then it was time for me to go to work again as the room in which the wedding was held doubled as the reception area, the guests were asked to step outside while it was being rearranged. So, out on the patio I went to continue with some of the bigger and more colorful illusions I kept hidden within my pockets. Soon the reception was underway and again I could take a load off. This time it included a meal.
Following a toast to the happy couple and cutting of the cake, it was time for the real entertainment to begin. As most of the crowd was very tired at this point I decided to make some last minute changes in my standard act going with my comedy material over the standard production stuff hoping to raise their spirits. After the first couple of bits in the routine I realized I had made the right choice as for the first time, in a very long day, people were beginning to laugh. Little at first, then more and more, until there were people bellowing with laughter. As my act drew to a close I began to realize what was going on. This was not the response of a regular crowd. These were the sounds of a group longing for something to take them off the emotional rollercoaster they were riding. All the major ones were there. Sadness, happiness, tears, joy, they were all there but one. And like a cork from a bottle of champagne, the laughter came out filling the empty void and made the day complete.
It was a day filled with the events of life we long for and dread, but it was a day I would have not missed for anything in the world. It was a chance to say goodbye to a great man and true friend. It was also the opportunity to see the union of two of my best friends as they turn a new page in life. As odd as it seemed from the beginning, it felt somehow the way it should have been.
Such great flow of emotions compressed into a few hours really helped to reset my perspective and move the healing process along much faster that I could have ever believed possible. I was more than happy to be there, sharing all the feelings at once, and helping make a normally unhappy day into one filled with wonder and magic. I am a much stronger performer for the experience and a better man as well.
From the Heart, Jim (Professor) Karns |
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