Weekends Only Plays Columbia
(North Carolina, Population: 900)



(Click for a larger image.)

Appearing at the 2003 Scuppernong River Festival!

The place...Columbia, North Carolina, on the banks of the Scuppernong River.

The date...Saturday, October 11, 2003.

The event...Weekends Only plays with T.R.I.B.U.T.E.S. at the annual Scuppernong River Festival.

OK, so it's a bit pretentious. But maybe you've heard the saying, "Talent skips a generation." In the case of my family, it didn't skip a generation. It just skipped me. My older and younger brothers are very talented musicians, playing a variety of instruments in several different musical groups over the years. Coincidentally, they both have basically settled on the bass guitar as their primary instrument of choice. I also have a younger sister and she, too, has a lot of musical talent. So, did I get a raw deal in the musical talents department? It seems likely that the real problem is that I (1) have a tin ear, and (2) lack the self-discipline to master an instrument.

But, back to the story. So my brother, Riis, came down with the band, Weekends Only, to play at the Scuppernong River Festival in Columbia, North Carolina. He has played with the band for several years and it is an extremely talented and versatile group. In addition to doing great covers of their favorite songs from the 60's and 70's, they play back-up to several "tributes" artists. They were in Columbia to provide back-up for the group, T.R.I.B.U.T.E.S., another collection of very talented performers.

The band took the stage around 2:15 PM and knocked out several of their own covers before the T.R.I.B.U.T.E.S. artists joined them. The band was tight and obviously enjoyed what they were doing. (Since there are two Ph.D.s and a stockbroker in the group, you can probably guess that they don't play because they need the money.) The band's covers were great, but, frankly, I was more impressed by the back-up work they did. It's one thing for a band to do well on the three or four sets of material they've selected themselves and practiced regularly. It's another thing to switch from Buddy Holly to Patsy Cline to Neil Diamond without missing a beat. A quick glance at the music to refresh their memories and they were as tight as they were when playing solo. Very impressive!!


Gordon Heyworth
(rhythm guitar) and
Riis Unterzuber
(bass guitar)

(Click for a larger image.)

Gary Weaver
(drums)

(Click for a larger image.)

Mike Olson
(lead guitar) and
George Yacus
(keyboards and
sound)

(Click for a larger image.)

Stephenie Winslow
from T.R.I.B.U.T.E.S.
with (l. to r.)
Gary, Mike,
and George

(Click for a larger image.)

Ronnie Sabol as
Bobby Darrin,
with (l. to r.)
Mike and George

(Click for a larger image.)

Buddy Holly
jams with Riis

(Click for a larger image.)

The King
(Click for a larger image.)

Riis tuning
between sets

(Click for a larger image.)

The band played until nearly 5:30 PM for an enthusiastic crowd. The T.R.I.B.U.T.E.S. artists were all great, particularly Ronnie Sabol, but you just can't beat The King. He worked the crowd like a pro and did a great job with his choreography, singing, and patter. Again, Weekends Only made it all possible by providing that musical thrill you just can't get from canned back-up music. I highly recommend that you check out the band, the tribute artists, or both! They are based in Virginia Beach and you can check out their website, which has additional photographs and information about the band and its members, here.

And, oh yeah, he's MY brother, so I can at least bask in reflected talent....

Drop me a note if you want to discuss the band. If you want to visit the Weekends Only website yourself, go here.

Return to Unterzuber.com Home Page