Flint Hill brings country to Maine

As the popular bottle club band Flint Hill provides the spark, hundreds of country music lovers set the dance floor on fire at Happy Acres in Alton.

“We figure if people want to just sit and listen to music they can do that at home. So if it’s not a danceable song, we won’t do it,” says Flint Hill’s Frank Dow backstage at a recent Saturday night gig in Alton.

Wearing a slightly weathered cowboy hat and a wiry dark beard, the likable Dow passionately discusses Flint Hill’s dedication to its weekend performances.

“If you’re going to do it, you gotta do it right,” says the 49-year-old singer and guitarist from Carmel.

Flint Hill, which consists of Dow, Sherrie Cheeseman of Pittsfield, Blaine Winchester of Bucksport and Tommy Harris of Old Town, was formed about five years ago due in part to some of the band members’ commitment to their profession.

Dow explains that he, Cheeseman and Winchester were fired from their previous band because they were too serious about their work. Thus, they decided to strike up their own group and after eventually hooking up with Harris, Flint Hill was born.

“We wanted to be the best Saturday night bar band in the area,” says Dow.

Judging by Flint Hill’s schedule, which includes bookings for every weekend from now until New Year’s Eve, the band has indeed made its mark on the local music scene.

On stage, Flint Hill mostly covers the hits of current country music stars such as Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson and Vince Gill.

“We try to keep current with what’s on the radio and pick and choose from that,” says 45-year-old Harris, the group’s bass guitarist.

“We are probably one of the first bands to do that just because of the explosion of country music,” adds Winchester, Flint Hill’s 29-year-old drummer.

Occasionally Flint Hill also performs some classic country tunes such as Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” and George Hamilton IV’s “Abilene.” Dow says the band sometimes gets requests for a few of the oldies and that’s not a problem for musicians who have several years of experience in bands.

“If somebody wants to hear something that’s not on the set list, chances are one of us knows it,” Dow says.

Although Dow and Cheeseman handle most of the group’s vocals, Winchester and Harris also take the lead every once in a while. Flint Hill’s combined talent vocally is especially evident on the group’s harmonies.

Cheeseman, the group’s only female, plays a particularly important role on the microphone for Flint Hill. Her strong vocals enable Flint Hill to cover a much wider range of country music that includes favorites from female standouts such as Shania Twain.

Like some of the other members of Flint Hill, Cheeseman has a background in rock ‘n’ roll music. The 32-year-old songstress, who also plays the guitar, fiddle and mandolin, grew up listening to rockers such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd but has enjoyed the transition to country music.

“It just seemed to click,” says Cheeseman.

“What we’re playing for country now is what we played for rock ‘n’ roll 10 or 15 years ago,” Dow adds.

In addition to belting out covers of country hits, Flint Hill does occasionally keep people kicking up their heels with original material like the upbeat “Let’s Get This Honky Tonk Hoppin’,” penned by Cheeseman.

The members of Flint Hill say it is the music that keeps them on the road every weekend traveling to a different club in a different town.

“I can play to an empty room. As long as it sounds good I’m having fun,” says Dow.

“I love it, I thrive on it. I’ve often said I’d do it even if I didn’t make money at it because I love it so much,” Cheeseman adds before heading back onto the stage at Happy Acres to perform another set of toe-tapping, boot-scootin’ country music.