Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
BARRY COURTER: Lisa, you might not have heard of Ethan Gruska, but you know his grandfather. You likely also know some of his dad's work. His grandfather is John Williams, the film composer. His dad is Jay Gruska, TV and film composer. In addition to scoring the TV show "thirtysomething," he did "The World's Oldest Living Bridesmaid." Kinda gives new meaning to "going through Dad's record collection," doesn't it?
LISA DENTON: It's an impressive pedigree to be sure. Grandad alone is responsible for some of the most recognizable film scores in history, including "Jaws," the Star Wars series, "Schindler's List" and the first three Harry Potter films. Not to mention a project even closer to my heart, some of the incidental music for "Gilligan's Island."
I mention this because there's a line in one of Ethan Gruska's songs that asks: "If childhood defines you, can it ever be behind you?"
I spent much of my childhood on "a three-hour tour, a three-hour tour," so I was listening to Williams' music before I even realized it. And now I'm happy to be listening to Gruska's.
BARRY: I can't listen to the Gilligan theme song anymore without thinking of Steve Harvey's bit about Sister Odell. You can watch it at https://youtu.be/3Th8pLri0VU. Go ahead. I'll wait ...
LISA: That's good stuff. Sister Odell was doing mashups before mashups were a thing.
BARRY: It's hilarious. Gruska is opening for Ray LaMontagne, who is great, on Friday at the Tivoli. Gruska was half of the Belle Brigade with his sister Barbara for awhile, but recorded his first solo record this year. He has a really nice, soothing sound.
LISA: And Straight No Chaser will be at the Tivoli on Wednesday. They've been here twice before, but they promise they never do the same show twice. This is their Speakeasy Tour, which includes their versions of songs by Eurythmics, Fitz and The Tantrums, Bruno Mars, Bonnie Tyler, Sam Cooke and Beyoncé. You know, if they try to do Beyoncé's dance moves, that's a whole other show.
Oh, and they say they'll do some of the holiday songs people know and love. I think most people learned about the a cappella group from their mashup of "Twelve Days of Christmas." Very entertaining.
BARRY: And, now that we somehow both miraculousy (I say that because we are so young) have grandkids, we are back in the Disney on Ice game. The "Frozen" edition skates into McKenzie Arena this weekend for seven shows.
These shows are a lot of fun, especially with a young'n in tow.
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Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.