Crystal Cheatham — Indie from the start

The night was WILD! Sorry I haven’t reported on it sooner. So we show up to this gig and it’s the swankiest of swanks. Couches, tables, and bar stools are all angled to face the stage. Red light floods the restaurant and the Martini’s are on fire. I did a sound check with some little old ladies enjoying their salads and Happy Hour. But after a diet Pepsi I get up and I perform my 6 song set. Just me and my silly ol’ guitar. I was kind of unnerved cuz my style is sacred and the Twist… well… isn’t. But it worked out fine.
When I started the place was half full. By the time I was done there wasn’t a seat in the house. Family showed up out of nowhere. Cousin Julie made her rounds and then ascended the stage. All eyes were on her and the party was hard to keep up with from there.
I started the night out really smooth, but by the time it was over there were people dancing in front of the stage. I think my Aunt Jackie did a little dancing herself (haha).
At one point the drummer even fell off his stool. But he’s so good he managed to keep the rhythm and pump the crowd up more. By the end of the night the drummer had lost his shirt, the band was sweating bullets, Niko and BJ were doing oldy after oldy, and Jvonne was actually rapping…. GOODNESS what a night.

How did this all get started? Read the STORY of it all….

My cousin Julie is putting on this monthly gig at The Oliver Twist in Raleigh, NC. I’m a little foggy on how everything got started, but I think the story goes like this. Julie has always been a singer. A phenomenal one at that. And singers congregate to other singers. Ever notice that? Well Julie congregated to Brian McKnight and married him. They had two children. One day Brian goes to a concert and gets yanked on stage by the artist and ends up singing his heart out. Low and behold he gets a record deal and becomes the Brian McKnight we all know him to be today.
And what of Julie? Julie never missed out on the fame. She’s an international artist with fame in Europe and Japan. And how does all this tie in to me and the Oliver Twist?
Well Julie got to thinking about all the talent that surrounds her. I mean… tons of people can sing but performing is another thing all together. So Julie started this gig night once a month. She is the headliner of course, and in commemoration of how the whole fame thing got started, she invites undiscovered artists that she knows onto the stage to do a number with her.
Cool right?
Well I was invited to go sing in her wicked awesome show. I was the first on the stage and actually did a whole set of Crystal Cheatham diddies. It was fun… Plus side (there’s isn’t a down side) is I get to go back in October to perform again.