It's Sunday Night, Time for Kogge
It
is Sunday night in Oxford. The town is quiet and the streets appear deserted.
Residents are relaxing in their homes and preparing for another week of work.
The students of Miami University are winding down from the weekend and preparing
for another week of class.
Well, not everybody - there are those who are just getting started.
Every Sunday around 10 p.m., 53-year-old John Kogge takes the stage at the Stadium Bar and Grill to play his guitar in a music genre somewhere between folk music, classic rock and bluegrass.
The people who stroll into the Stadium every Sunday night are a different type of crowd from what the bar usually encounters. Instead of the usual student crowd, the ages range from 20-year-olds to 50-year-olds. Some are students but most are residents, and they all have one thing in common: they love to watch Kogge play guitar and sing.
Kogge was born in Cleveland and like most people who find their way to Oxford, it was to attend Miami. He graduated in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in American Studies, but unless studying America was through playing music, he wasn't too interested.
He lived on a farm in Indiana for most of the '70s, and would frequently leave to travel across America.
In 1979, Kogge moved to Cincinnati where he worked at Frame and Save, a picture-framing retail store. When the store went out of business, he found himself back at his alma mater, Miami. He moved back to Oxford planning to work at the local Frame and Save, but instead he decided to buy it, "for better or worse."
The year was 1980 and Kogge was the proud new owner of Frame and Save. He was not yet involved in the music scene - but that was about to change.
Within the next few years, he united with keyboardist Laurie Traveline, bassist Vance Wissinger, guitarist Adrian Martin and violinist Doug Hamilton to form the John Kogge Band that has played together at Stadium every Sunday since 1986.
"We never practiced that much," said Kogge. "We weren't trying to be a band that 'makes it.' We were happy just to play."
John
Kogge and his band didn't start playing at Stadium; they began their musical
life together playing at a bar called Greeks, on the corner of Poplar and Church
Streets.
It was during the '70s however, that Kogge found his inspiration for playing his style of guitar, Bill Bartlett.
Bartlett and his band Star Struck were the local celebrities of Oxford at the time. They played at nearly every bar in town during the '70s and eventually went on to record the song, "Black Betty."
In recent years, Kogge and Bartlett have formed a friendship.
"I used to think of Bartlett as god-like," said Kogge. "And even now it's sometimes hard to believe we're friends."
A smile beamed across Kogge's face as he jumped up from his seat at Frame and Save, "Listen to this!"
He placed a CD in the stereo.
"This is from Bartlett's 60th birthday party," exclaimed Kogge. "I'm playing guitar with Bartlett, and doesn't he sound amazing!"
As the classic blues sound poured from the stereo, he beamed an even larger smile as he tapped his foot to the music, "Just amazing."
Kogge
hosted the birthday party for Bartlett, and nearly 150 people attended.
However, Kogge and his band have formed a style and reputation of their own. It is not uncommon during performances to have fans walk up to the stage and request a song.
"We tend to play to the crowd," said Kogge.
Stadium bartender Damon Ashley tries to work every Sunday just to watch Kogge. "Not only do I enjoy watching Kogge play," said Ashley, "But I really like the crowd too; it's real relaxed."
Miami senior Melanie Finan has been listening to Kogge play at Stadium since her freshman year.
"I heard about him through my older brother," said Finan. "After the first time I saw him play, I knew I would be back every Sunday."
Kogge and his band have no intentions of retiring soon either. In fact, Kogge is a newlywed with a baby on the way.
In June, Kogge and his band will be celebrating their seventeenth year playing at Stadium together.
"We will really enjoy playing," said Kogge. "And that's what it is all about."