TONY SPINNER: BACK IN TOWN

Tony Spinner was 14 and had just seen the movie "Woodstock" when he uttered the words most parents dread.

"When I saw Hendrix, that's what did it," he recalled. "I said, Dad, I need a guitar."

Nearly two decades later, the Cape Girardeau native has just released his second album and is the kind of guitar player -- innovative and fast -- who draws a crowd.

The Tony Spinner Band performs Friday and Saturday night at Broussard's in downtown Cape Girardeau. Spinner comes to town supporting a new CD, "My '64," and leading a new band.

Spinner's parents encouraged his musical interest. He picked up a love of rhythm and blues from his father Louis, who with his wife Irene still lives in Cape Girardeau.

"My dad listened to Ray Charles," Spinner said. "That kind of music speaks to me."

After getting his guitar, Spinner took lessons from Allan Palermo at Keys Music for two or three months. " I didn't know barre chords," he said. "He really helped me a lot."

Spinner took it from there.

Growing up, Spinner played in a band called White River and another called Spider Wolf with Tom Koontz, who still has his own local band. But, he says, "There wasn't much of a music scene."

He left Cape Girardeau in 1982 and later joined an Arkansas band called White River Monster. That band tried hard but ultimately failed to land a major studio recording contract.

Spinner's first album, "Saturn Blues," came out in 1994 on the small Shrapnel label, just as guitar hero Pat Travers asked him to come out on the road.

That was the kind of gig with big-name people rock 'n' roll dreams are made of.

But there was no chance to promote the album.

He also played on the tribute albums "Hats Off to Stevie Ray" and "Here's to the King," honoring guitar legends Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King.

Spinner most recently played with a Memphis R&B outfit called The Famous Unknowns, a band that frequently appeared on Beale Street. He left with bassist Jerry Bone and they teamed with drummer Alan Hill to form the new Tony Spinner Band.

The Tony Spinner Band plays half originals and half covers, with the latter emphasizing Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Vaughan.

With the just-released new album, "My '64," Spinner plans to tour and promote, though he knows that Blues Bureau isn't the major label that would get him a video and real support.

The business part of music can be irksome for those whose primary interest is the musicianship.

"The people they are selling to are not musicians. It's frustrating for people like myself that aren't into pop music," he said.

He understands how the music business now works, though, and the importance of videos as marketing tools. "The average person doesn't think that deeply about it. They look at it instead of listen to it," he said.

"I used to hate Janet Jackson, but I've seen her video enough now that I like it. It's just repetition."

Returning to Cape Girardeau used to be an uncomfortable experience for Spinner, who now lives in Jonesboro, Ark. Coming home brought back memories of being a long-haired outcast at Central High School, where he was neither athlete nor good student.

"I had a hard time in school like everybody I guess," he said. "All I could think about was music. Usually I was sleeping in school because I'd been up all night playing."

That feeling about Cape Girardeau has changed with age. "When I go to Cape now I enjoy it," he said.

He's impressed with the vitality of the city's live music scene, and especially with Broussard's, which has live music three nights a week, often bringing in touring bands.

"You don't see enough of that anymore," he said. "It's too easy for people to rent a video or turn on the TV."

Spinner has a life he enjoys. He lives on a farm with his wife Sonya, five cats, a dog, four cows and one horse. His wife owns a company that rebuilds engines.

Becoming a star doesn't motivate him. "If I can make a living, that's a blessing," he says. "I don't care to be Elvis. Life' so short, I just want to try to have fun and make a living at having fun.