PREVIEW
Nashville Hurricane
Friday, Feb. 1 – Dinner at 6:30 pm., show at 8 p.m.
Morinville Community Cultural Centre
9502 – 100 Ave.
Tickets: Adults $60, seniors $50, call 780-939-7888 or visit www.ticketpro.ca
Not many people can say a heart attack resulted in a healthier lifestyle, fresh inspiration, more gigs and a new fiancée.
Talk to Chase Padgett, the creative mastermind behind 6 Guitars and Nashville Hurricane, and there have been several sharp turns and steep slopes in his life.
Once strictly based in Portland, Ore., the one-man tour-de-force now lives in Edmonton with his fiancée, Christina Garies, when not touring.
He will be performing the darkly whimsical Nashville Hurricane as a dinner theatre show at Morinville Community Cultural Centre on Friday, Feb. 1.
So how did things change so dramatically from a heart attack to living in a new country?
“I had a rough breakup. I was drinking and partying all the time,” said Padgett, who is refreshingly candid.
During that period, he was booked to perform on a Caribbean cruise ship.
“They wanted a comic and music variety show, and I wasn’t completely comfortable doing it. I also got sick on ship. All that combined with my emotional baggage and I had a heart attack,” Padgett explained.
“They got me stable on the ship and when we arrived in port at Cozumel, I stayed in a Mexican hospital for three or four days and then recuperated in Arizona with some relatives.”
The health crisis was a shock, but it forced Padgett to re-examine his self-destructive behaviour.
“I replaced eating bad food all the time with eating bad food only some of the time and I’m into weightlifting – deadlifts, squats, bench presses. Since I don’t have a regular working schedule, going to the gym every day gives structure to my day, to what could be an unstructured day.”
Although Padgett’s life underwent a massive revision, fans of Nashville Hurricane will be glad to know child-guitar prodigy Henry Waltrip, his trashy southern mother, slimy manager and elderly black musician-mentor are still the same characters they know and love.
“The man’s (Henry) story is done and locked in, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The material connects to the universal human experience and what it means to be an evolved human being.”
Padgett describes his heart attack as a “blessing” that renewed his inspiration and heightened his determination to create new touring shows.
One new show, Voodoo Bayou Blues, a Jekyll and Hyde type comedy set in New Orleans will debut at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in August. It’s about a young musician who turns to the voodoo arts to increase his musicality. But in the trade-off, a very dark spirit invades his body.
Padgett is also hosting a one-of-a-kind reality show at the Edmonton Fringe. In partnership with his fiancée, Christina, the comedian is hosting Chase Padgett Gets Married. The couple first met and became engaged at the summer festival.
“I’m getting married at the Fringe and it’s an open wedding. All you have to do is buy a ticket – no gifts. It will be set up as a cabaret and it’s on Aug. 23.”
In closing, Padgett said, “It’s been a roller-coaster year, but I got the message and I’m applying it. I’ve shaped up. I’m living right. I’ve taken responsibility and I appreciate the gifts that were given to me. Sometimes you have to go through the hard stuff to become the person you’re supposed to be.”
