LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — Here's something a lot of great musicians know. You have to adapt your act to your crowd. Perhaps no one understands that better than the woman I just visited in Lebanon.
"Check! Check!" Diane Hibbs-Lamog said, testing a mic. "Hello! Let's do this!"
It was right around a gig, I got to talk to Hibbs-Lamog about her Nashville story.
"We had no idea what it was going to be like," she remembered about her move here 32 years ago.
It was 1994. After the earthquake, she left her home in Los Angeles for middle Tennessee.
"It was a small town," Hibbs-Lamog nodded. "It was country music. You could see Vince Gill walking down the street and say, 'hey Vinnie! How's it going?'"
For decades, she performed gigs all around the area, often playing with husband Gabe. There have been so many unexpected adventures.
"I'll sing for anybody, anybody who'll listen!" Hibbs-Lamog laughed.
About that. The stage was set. The show was about to start. The crowd came running in.
Dogs ran down a ramp into the backyard as Hibbs-Lamog began a song.
"Dogs enjoy music!" she laughed. "It's been proven!"
This was Diane's Dog House, a pet boarding service in Lebanon.
"I've been doing the daycare boarding for ten years now," Hibbs-Lamog said.
The way she sees it , the dogs could feel some stress being away from their people. She calls the performances a bit of pet therapy.
"It kinda was born because we're always trying to come up with things that will be enrichment for the dogs," Hibbs-Lamog explained. "One day I got to thinking, 'why don't I sing to them?'"
So, what do the dogs like to listen to? Hibbs-Lamog said inside, the dogs like smooth jazz. While they're out, they like disco. Yeah, they like disco. Sister Sledge, Donna Summer disco.
"They love the feel of a good, upbeat song," Hibbs-Lamog smiled. "I love to see them happy."
When Hibbs-Lamog moved here back in 1994, she didn't foresee playing disco for dogs, but that's been part of this 32-year adventure. In one way, it's not so different from any other gig.
"Bringing joy, that's what it's all about," she said.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Austin Pollack brings us an update on a remarkable young man facing great odds, and his family has one simple request: pray for Cole. I believe in the power of prayer and hope you'll join me in lifting up Cole and his family.
- Carrie Sharp
