LA GRANGE — The Fayette County Country Music Club will host their monthly opry show on Monday, April 20, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in La Grange. The show starts at 7 p.m., and the doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $8.
Entertainers this month will be the oprys great band consisting of John Dujka, Craig Schmidt, Mark Lehmann, Duane Wavra, Jimmy Rohde and the king of sound Chip Wied.
Hailing from the farming community of East Bernard, Dujak started piano lessons at a young age, like many kids, but also was inspired to play the accordion by his grandpa Herman Brossmann of St. John. He played his first paying gig in 1977 and showed much promise as a pianist and organist throughout grade school. Dujka eventually graduated from the University of Houston with a master’s degree in piano in the spring of 1990 and joined the music department at Blinn College-Brenham that fall, where he teaches piano, music theory, and the history of pop & rock music. During his tenure, he has also developed a reputation for his top-notch performances of many styles of music. He has been a member of the Brenham Bluebonnet Opry band since its founding in 1998 and joined the Fayette County Country Music Show Band in 2012. Dujka can be found playing keyboards with bands across the state and has performed with his brother Mark as the Dujka Brothers for nearly 40 years, receiving numerous awards for their polka recordings.
Schmidt is a rice farmer and cattle rancher from Speaks. Playing music has been a hobby of his since he was 13, when he played bass guitar. At 19, he started playing the steel guitar and never looked back.
He fills in for many bands throughout this area.
Lehmann is from La Grange and started playing drums in a local dance band in 1975. Since then, he has worked with several area dance bands playing either drums, guitar, bass, or fid dle. Over the years he has had the pleasure of working with so many really great local musicians, especially the members of The Fayette County Country Music Opry House Band. Lehmann said, 'Everyone in the house band, John Craig, Jimmy, Duane, and Chip, are top-notch musicians. I am fortunate to be on stage with them.'
Wavra grew up in Columbus, and now lives in the Frelsburg area. His father and two brothers played in dance bands. His earliest memories are of going to the dances where they played and wishing he could get up onstage and play too. In 1981, when he was 11 years old, he started playing bass in his brother's band. Eventually he was playing trombone, trumpet, sax and clarinet. When he was in high school, Bob Wills and Ray Price really got him into country music. Then Wavra got some Johnny Bush recordings and that was it. That driv- ing 4/4 Shuffle was where it was at and he became a Bush fanatic. In 1991, a dream came true when he was asked to join Johnny Bush and the Bandoleros.
He worked with Bush for nine years and was fortunate enough to record with him.
Rohde has been the drummer of the opry since the opry started. At the age of 5, he was playing with pots and pans, and his parents bought him a drum set, and the rest is history. He also now has a three-piece band called The Bandits, which plays in this area for special events.
And Wied, the king of the sound, has over 25 years of experience in sound and lighting and he has had the opportunity to work with artists such as the Bellamy Bros, Steve Wariner, T Graham Brown and most recently Shenandoah. Wied works regularly at the Kenney Store and he is involved with festivals and events throughout Central Texas. He has been part of the opry since day one and truly enjoys being involved each month. He thanks Patsy and all the ladies who put this together and made it possible for everyone to come out and enjoy great music.
