Nightlife / Music

Sterling band looks for stage time in Nashville

By David Burke | Wednesday, August 08, 2007 | () comments

The Cal Stage Band is setting the stage for a career in Nashville.

The Sterling, Ill.-based country act has a schedule that includes dates in Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota and Georgia over the next few months. In June, the band performed at Country USA in Oshkosh, Wis., on a bill that included Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley.

“It’s a process of taking one step at a time,” band leader Cal Stage said. “We’re finally at the point where it’s make-it-or-break-it time.”

The band plays Saturday night in LeClaire, Iowa, as the western half of the Tugfest entertainment.

Stage began the band 11 years ago, and guitarists John Thayer and Richard Johnson have been with the group for eight years. Bass player Dennis Gilpatrick joined up five years ago, and the newest member — drummer Jamie Christian from Coal Valley, Ill. — was added about six months ago.

The band has been on the road “pretty much full-time,” Stage said, playing clubs all across the country and promoting a CD.

“That’s doing real well for us,” he said. “I’ve sold quite a few from the trunk.”

A new single, “Takin’ the Cornfields Home,” has received good response so far. It’s from an upcoming album, “Life of the Party,” that he hopes to have completed by April.

Part of the band’s travels include a visit to Nashville every six to eight weeks to perform in nightclubs on “songwriters nights.” Those usually are attended by record label executives in Nashville on the hunt for the next big star, he said.

“We try and get our name out there as much as possible,” he said. “Without living down there, it’s very easy for those people to forget about you.”

Performance is key for his group, he said.

“We focus on the show first. We put on a show. We try to keep the crowd entertained,” he said. “We have strong three- and four-part harmony, and that separates us from most of the groups out there.”

The Cal Stage Band combines new and traditional country with Southern rock.

“(We) play more like a rockabilly style that relates to more people out there,” Stage said. “We seem to make a lot of people happy, and that’s what’s important for us right now.”

Stage, 32, says he knows what it’ll take to succeed in Nashville.

“It’s a combination of a really good song and getting it out there in front of someone who can get us to that next level,” he said.

And he thinks that can happen.

“I’m real confident in the songs we’re doing right now,” he said.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

TUGFEST

leclaire, iowa

Today

6-11 p.m.: Carnival; bingo

Friday, Aug. 10

4 p.m.: Carnival, food and craft vendors, beer and wine garden

5 p.m.: Community tailgate party, LeClaire Baptist Church, 1326 Wisconsin St.

6 p.m.: Grand parade, Iowa Drive to 2nd Street

7 p.m.: Bingo; Sheltered Reality, north stage

8 p.m.: Minus Six, north stage

9:30 p.m.: Fireworks

10 p.m.: Hap Hazard

Saturday, Aug. 11

7 a.m.: Pancake Breakfast, Civic Center

8 a.m.: 5K run/walk, Slagle’s Food Pride

10 a.m.: Carnival, food and craft vendors, beer and wine garden; mayoral tug, north end; amateur rib cookoff (until 3 p.m.)

11 a.m.: Childrens tug, north end

Noon: Team photos, bingo

1 p.m.: Tug begins

3 p.m.: Awards ceremony

4 p.m.: Karaoke

8 p.m.: Cal Stage Band; Late Nite Blues Brothers with Shades of Blue

QUIZIT: Test your knowledge about the Tugfest by taking our weekly quiz at qctimes.com/

multimedia.

portbyron, ill.

Today

5-9 p.m.: Carnival, docks

Friday, Aug. 10

3 p.m.: Vendors, arts and crafts

3:30 p.m.: Kids barrel painting

4 p.m.: Carnival, docks

5:30 p.m.: Danceworks, stage

6 p.m.: Queen pageant, stage

8 p.m.: The Siyg, library

8 p.m.: Caught in the Act, stage

9:30 p.m.: Fireworks

10 p.m.: Caught in the Act, stage

10 p.m.: The Siyg, library

Saturday, Aug. 11

7-11 a.m.: Pancake breakfast, fire station

9 a.m.: Vendors, arts and crafts

10 a.m.: Kids games, library

11 a.m.: Kids tug of war, library

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Bike show, South Main Street

Noon: Carnival, docks

1-3 p.m.: Tug of war

3 p.m.: Western Illinois tumbling, stage

4-7 p.m.: Erra Band, stage

4 p.m.: Awards, stage

4:30 p.m.: Prince and princess pageant

5-7:30 p.m.: Karaoke, pavilion

8 p.m.: That ’70s Band, stage

On the Web

LeClaire: tugfest.com

Port Byron: tugfest.org