Back Porch band comes home to Prince William Fair

By Rena Malai, Special to the News & Messenger
Published: August 15, 2008

The Prince William County fair has all the attributes that make a fair so nostalgic, right down to the Ferris wheel and the slightly bored looking barn animals getting hesitant pats from children and adults alike.

But nostalgia is one of the components that made the Back Porch band form out of eight former Osbourn High School students over 30 years after their graduation day.

Band members "Smiley" Martin, Gary Griffith, Brenton Wine, Eddie Rosebury, Tim Nelson, Bobby Martin, Jim Lillie and Randy Hinkle describe their sound as a mix of blues and Jimmy Buffett, with a little bluegrass sprinkled in for good measure.

"We're all from Manassas," Griffith said. "We got together in 2001 after a high school reunion brought most of us back together … since then, we've been playing at parties and events, mostly in the Lake Anna area."

The Back Porch band is aptly named. The guys are all relaxed and friendly, and give that feeling of leisure that comes with sitting on a back porch on a hazy summer evening. But, on second glance, there are some obvious hints of serious music devotion.

In one corner there is Nelson carefully tuning his bass guitar, in another there is Lillie in front of his congas, taping his fingers like an Olympic gymnast, and walking back and forth is Griffith with other band members, performing sound checks, adjusting microphones and greeting friends in the audience.

"This is our first time playing at the PWC fair," Griffith said. "Eddie's dad, who has passed away, was one of the founding members for the PWC fair. So we thought it would be nice to play here."

Tucked away in an impromptu barn set up between a funnel cake stand and the cow and goat shed, the Back Porch band opened up to just a scattering of people that quickly grew into a nice-sized crowd as the music picked up and drifted over to most of the fairgrounds.

"It's a fun sound," said five-year-old Beth Mills.