Jay Goeppner and his wife, Britta Smith, have been living in Mount Prospect’s Triangle neighborhood for approximately 20 years, but until the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively few of their neighbors probably realized that Jay was a local rock ‘n roll legend. He performs with four different bands, one of which even bears his name.
During the summer of 2020, three of his four bands took a turn rehearsing on his driveway, to the delight of his neighbors who brought chairs and coolers to sit around and enjoy the music. They attracted several hundred music lovers each time.
A native of the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago, Goeppner moved to Mount Prospect to be closer to his “day job” as a baggage handler for American Airlines. In addition to paying the bills, that job has allowed him to travel the world and perform in 20 countries (including Liverpool, England during “International Beatles Week”) with his John Lennon tribute band – “Backdated.”
During normal times, “Backdated” performs as a classic rock band in bars and at festivals all over the Chicagoland area. They even served as the warm-up band for “Cheap Trick” at the Rosemont Theatre for one of the THE DRIVE radio station’s annual concert parties.
Goeppner joined “The Class of ’68 Band” about four years ago. It also performs at local festivals and clubs. “2 Jay Way” is a pop duo which was able to perform at outdoor venues during the summer of 2020 due to its small size. “The Jay Goeppner Band” focuses on original music. Goeppner is the lead vocalist/tambourine player with all of the bands.
“Music has always been my passion,” Goeppner said. “I discovered “The Beatles” at an early age thanks to my older siblings and have idolized John Lennon ever since.”
“The driveway concerts came about out of the sheer desire to perform in front of a live audience again and as a way to give back to the community,” he explained. “I thought why not have an outdoor rehearsal and open it up to the neighbors? It really was a spontaneous thing and we weren’t sure what kind of reception we would get but, as usual, the healing power of music won out! People with their children — and even dogs — in tow brought lawn chairs, coolers and blankets and parked themselves on our front lawn for a two-hour concert by “2 Jay Way,” which I also live streamed on Facebook.”
“The whole world was literally watching and the people loved it! They wanted to know when we were going to do it again and those watching it on live stream wanted to live in a community like ours. In total, I hosted four shows on our driveway with the last one featuring the “Class of “68 Band”. We billed it as an Oktoberfest and the neighbors chipped in for a keg. We passed out Bavarian pretzels and Gummi bears to the social-distanced crowd and some of us even served brats. I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, the musicians or the crowd.”
“Opening up our block brought us closer together as a community and gave us a release that we all so desperately needed. Although the bands didn’t charge for the concerts, the neighbors were extremely generous with their donations and tips. There’s a good chance that the driveway concerts will become an annual event.”
Photo credits: Mike Zarnek, Mike Zarnek Photography, Mount Prospect IL
