Time to play

Hamilton, Ohio – One thing leads to another.

Yes, that’s a song title and lyric by ‘80s new wave rockers The Fixx, but it’s also kind of the origin story for Five O’clock Friday, the band set to play Season Launch: Fun & Games Friday, August 15, at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.

Seems a Mason-area logistics firm - Intelligrated – needed some tunes for its 2005 company picnic. A few guys in the office played instruments and formed The Intelligroove to entertain their colleagues.

Meanwhile, half a world away, Wayne Adkins deployed to Iraq with the U.S. Army First Infantry. The Tennessee native had been living in Cincinnati since 1989, but when he returned home, decided life was too short not to pursue some things he always wanted to try.

By then the picnic had been a hit and the band wanted to expand its opportunities to play.

They placed a Craigslist ad. Adkins answered, auditioned with a couple tunes from a list of 15 or so songs provided by the band and booked the job as the lead singer that same night.

Fast forward through one name change, several personnel moves and almost 20 years, and Five O’clock Friday is ready to live up to the kick-off-the-weekend vibes implied in their name at the annual Fitton Center open house event.

The current lineup – which has been together six or seven years now – features Adkins on vocals, Charlie Moreno on bass, Ty Coffey on drums, Jason Peter on keyboard, Bill Gallagher on guitar and Stephanie Coffey on guitar and vocals.

“We’re at a place now where I’m the weak link,” Adkins said with a chuckle. “We’ve become a really versatile cover band. Each time we’ve added a piece, something opened up for us.”

Season Launch marks the band’s Fitton Center debut. Adkins said guests should come prepared for just about anything.

“We’re kind of all over the place musically,” Adkins said. “I find that helps. We play some stuff from the late ‘50s and early ‘60s up through the 2020s. Some country. Some pop. Some rock. Male vocals. Female vocals. We do a little bit of everything.

“People are not just one thing. You see a guy wearing an AC/DC t-shirt to work every day, you might be surprised to learn he also likes The Indigo Girls or jazz or something else. We try to surprise people and people surprise us with their reactions to the music. That’s the fun part, the give and take with the audience.”

Season Launch: Fun & Games runs from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, August 15. Five O’Clock Friday takes the stage at 5:30 p.m. on the Riverview Terrace.

Season Launch also features the gallery-opening celebration for the Play Time art exhibition, with a chance to meet the artists from 6 to 8 p.m. Also at 6, the Golden Tappers senior-citizen dance troupe performs in the Fitton Family Theater.

The studio classrooms offer live art demonstrations in drawing, painting, pottery, printmaking and mosaics. Guests may make crafts with the Community Engagement team in the Creation Station

Season Launch: Fun & Games is FREE and open to the public. All are welcome.

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture