Jones doesn't play possumThough hitting the lower notes was a hit and miss proposition for the 78-year-old Jones, he did take the stage shortly after 9 p.m. and performed until 10:30.
By Mark Anderson, Editor
Kiowa County Signal
Posted May 03, 2010 @ 12:35 PM
Greensburg, KS —
Country music legend George Jones performed for nearly 90 minutes before a crowd of approximately 1,200 fans Saturday night at Greensburg’s Airport. Though the hair and voice have thinned since Jones’ first hit song more than five decades ago, he retains a loyal following, with dozens of women near the foot of the stage yelling “We love you George!” throughout the concert.
Spirit of Greensburg Treasurer Steve Kirk told The Signal Monday morning he didn’t yet have preliminary numbers on total tickets sold or whether the event made money for the Twilight Theatre, and wasn’t sure how much information he’d later be able to disclose on the event’s outcome. Kirk had told the Signal two weeks ago that around 1,250 tickets would need to be sold for the event to break even. Any proceeds that might remain after expenses are paid is earmarked for the rebuilding of the Twilight Theatre.
Laubhan pays band with hot checkBy Mark Anderson, Editor
Kiowa County Signal
Posted May 18, 2010 @ 04:30 PM
Greensburg, KS —
The Signal was able to confirm late Tuesday afternoon the validity of a rumor that concert promoter Landon Laubhan paid country performer Jason Savory with a hot check not long after Savory and his band had finished performing as the warm up act for George Jones the night of May 1 in Greensburg.
Savory told The Signal by phone Tuesday during a break from a recording session in Tulsa that Laubhan had agreed to pay Savory and his band $1,000 for their appearance, and that when he asked Laubhan for payment after having packed to return to Oklahoma (Savory calls Ripley, OK home, near Stillwater) Laubhan repeatedly put him off.
“He told me he needed two separate signatures on the check and he kept going back to a trailer near the front gate,” Savory said. “Finally, after about 45 minutes he told me, ‘I can’t find one of the other guys, so I’ll write you a (personal) check myself. They can pay me back later.’”
Even at that, Laubhan wrote the check for only $850, deducting $150 for six tickets that he said should have been charged for Savory’s parents (from Ripley), his in-laws and aunt and uncle. When Savory balked at the deduction, Laubhan said, “My hands are tied. That’s their (Savory understood “they” to be the Spirit of Greensburg Committee) decision.”
“Now that I think about it, I think he just said that so he could knock $150 off what was owed me,” Savory said.
After learning last Friday from his bank that Laubhan’s check had bounced, Savory sent the promoter an email, notifying him of the default. He was finally able to talk to Laubhan Monday afternoon.
“He (Laubhan) told me Monday that he was sorry the check bounced, and that he had a meeting with them (Spirit of Greensburg) Wednesday night and that they still owed him money, and once they paid him he could make good on the bad check," Savory said.
Savory also said he’d spoken to Mayor Bob Dixson Monday about the matter, Dixson telling him he wasn’t aware of the Spirit of Greensburg owing anyone connected with the concert any money. Dixson did tell The Signal Monday that while his committee was responsible to make sure George Jones was properly compensated for his appearance, it was up to Laubhan to take care of Savory and his band.
Savory, meanwhile, had to take money out of his own pocket—a total of $800—to pay each of his four band members $200 apiece for the trip to Greensburg. “I went in the hole on this deal, believe me,” he said Tuesday afternoon.
Savory said he plans on calling Laubhan again Thursday morning to ask about getting his $850 wired to him following the promoter’s Wednesday meeting with the Spirit of Greensburg Committee.
Asked what his next move might be if Laubhan doesn’t make good on the bad check soon, Savory quickly responded, “I’ll probably just whup his ass. I’m not very big, but I’m bigger than he is.”
― kkvgz, Sunday, 30 May 2010 15:02 (fourteen years ago) link