I’m still getting to know John, but every time we cross paths, the one thing that strikes me is how willing and open minded he is to team up and do something creative. Its one thing to say that about a new musician that’s hungry for a chance to earn a few bucks and start making a name for themselves, but its quite another to see that out of a guy who’s been on stage his whole adult life,  touring and opening for the likes of Travis Tritt, Jo Dee Messina, Los Lobos, Sawyer Brown, Dylan Scott, and .38 Special!  But after lunch today, its clear why…John Sanders loves the music.

As the middle child of 5 growing up in Shawnee and Lenexa, KS, the passion began in the 2nd grade, learning guitar from his dad and drums from his brother.  He grew up listening to and playing everything from country and blues to rock ‘n’ roll. But by the time he graduated from KU, instead of joining a band, he got married and got a job…drafting for a local engineering firm.  However, the music could only be silenced for so long, so it struck a chord when his wife handed him an ad from a local band needing a lead guitarist and encouraged him to try out.  For the next several years he drew straight lines and right angles by day and bent the strings with “Secret Identity” by night. 

A job change eventually brought that season to an end, but when he shifted gears to become a detective in the 90’s, it freed up some time to get back on stage. The problem was that his buddies couldn’t agree on a band name.  In passing, one of them lamented that they had a real hung jury…and it stuck.  “Hung Jury” graced the stage of numerous local frat houses and college bars for the next few years. Through the 90’s and 2000’s, one band led to another, the music got better, and the crowd’s got bigger.  John played with “The Ridin’ High Band”, “The Radio Flyers”, which became “Broken Wagon” (thanks to a stern letter from the well-known wagon company), and eventually “The Rusty Laffoon Band,” the popular country group that opened for many of the biggest names in country and produced their own EP, “Stand Up”…all while John kept his day job and raised a family.

Insert Covid.  Eject live music.

Today, John is leveraging his days on the road, in the studio, and on the stage toward his current endeavor, “Outlaw Redemption”… a southern rock band with a focus on musical quality and creative arrangements.  Not only does John play and sing, but he explores other artistic angles through writing, arranging, and producing.  And because he loves the music, he makes time to perform solo shows on the weekends…which is exactly what I’m looking forward to on Saturday, June 18th in the back of my truck by the water at the Peculiar City Lake. 

I hope you can make it. We’ll save you a seat by the fire pit.

I think there is, but before we go there, let’s assess the damage of a typical date night for mom & dad, consisting of a restaurant dinner in some neighboring town or city, followed by a drive to some social activity where you may or may not know anyone…

• Set the kids up w/ some pizza: $10 to $20
• Dinner for 2 w/ drinks and tip: $30 to $60
• Movie/concert/entertainment or maybe just coffee/drinks/dessert: $20 to $50
• Babysitter for 3 to 4 hours: $30 to $50

TOTAL: $90 to $180. OUCH! That can’t be right. Check my math.

Here’s an alternative… Concert and dinner in a Peculiar park. Ditch the babysitter, bring the kids, enjoy the outdoors, and hang out with your friends.  For the same price, I’d rather do that anyway, but let’s do a little cost comparison, just for grins:

• Babysitter – $0 (Bring your kids and let ’em run around in the park)
• Bring your own dinner & drinks  for the whole family, no tips – $10 to $30
• Enjoy a concert and show your support to the local music scene with a donation  – $10 to $20

TOTAL: $20 to $50. Ahhh. That’s more like it. Date night, here we come.

So I threw an old picnic table in the bed of my truck, put all the fix’ins in the toolbox, and wheeled it right into our special corner of creation. It worked so well, I couldn’t believe I’d never seen it done before. So the brainstorming began…How else could I use the back of this old truck as a portable, pop-up picnic? Could I use it for camping? Tailgating? Parades? Hayrides?

But it needed to be more than a picnic table. It needed to be easier to get into. It needed more room. It needed a floor…and backrests. The design ideas kept flowing. As I built and tested prototypes over the next few years, new applications surfaced as well…it became a table, a sun deck, a play area, a fishing platform…until it hit me. This thing I’d been developing could become a stage! One that finds its sweet spot at the intersection of my love for trucks, the outdoors, and live music. And so, Tailgate Gigs began, along with the mission to bring the gift of live music to people and places it’s never been.

I don’t think that building a stage in the back of my truck was my idea. I’m not a professional musician, performer, or speaker. I’m not an event coordinator, venue owner, or promoter. I’m just a guy who likes trucks and the outdoors. It seems to me that someone else planted the seed in my mind that eventually sprouted into the mobile stage known today as Tailgate Gigs. So I attribute any good that comes from this little endeavor to the Creator of all creativity…and I can’t wait to see what He does next.