I attended the most recent Singer/Songwriter Showcase at the Lancaster Dispensing Company (DipCo). The series is put together by Tony Kirchner, the drummer for Slimfit, a Lancaster County band. I got together with Tony recently at Quips Pub to talk about the series, which continues with a show on December 23.

FT: So you started out in music education; that’s what you went to school for?

TK: I started out playing drums in the fourth grade. A bunch of my buddies played drums and they were like, “Hey, are you going to play drums?” I said, “Yeah, alright.” And now thirty years later… (laughs)

FT: That’s cool. I’ve always thought of the drummer as the point guard of the band, the guy that makes sure things work during the playing of the song.

TK: I’ve always had that tempo, you know. Over the years I’ve become very comfortable with my role in life. I want to be the canvas that others could paint on. I was a catcher in high school and I liken it to that. If I could be that guy that others feel comfortable around and can help them do what they are trying to do, then I’m happy.

FT: But you went to school for music?

TK: I went to college for music, then about two years in I realized I didn’t want to teach. So I changed my coursework to focus on the business side. I have about half of a music education degree and then a business degree. But my mentor became band director at Lancaster Catholic and asked be to be part of the drum program there. So I started writing and arranging for that and for 16 years was in music education. But eventually I wanted to be up on the stage rocking out, playing.

FT: So what led you to start the Singer/Songwriter Series at Lancaster Dispensing Company?

TK: It began a few years ago with the Freedom Fest. I knew the owners of the Marion Court Room and they wanted to do a music event the weekend before July 4th. I asked them, “What do you know about producing a concert?” And they said, “Nothing.” I had been playing and had been a part of a few festivals. I had used production companies. I knew people to do the sound, people to do the staging. That became an annual thing. From there I became part of the LAUNCH Music Conference. They had contacts in other musical areas, but didn’t have anyone from that Americana/Power Pop area. So I brought my resources, brought my relationships in and helped develop that. Now I don’t want to sugarcoat that; they did the majority of the legwork. But I felt that my contributions were welcome in developing that. And I had a relationship with the Marion Court Room and with DipCo, which helped with venues for the conference. And that was the first time DipCo had programmed 4 or 5 artists in one show, rather than one artist for the whole show.

I approached the bar manager and said, “Hey! I could do this for you on a regular basis.” The staff likes it because they get to hear more acts, the audience seems to like the variety in a night and the performers seem to dig it because they don’t have to play 3 sets of music. That led to doing the first one and to the ones since.

FT: When did you do the first one?

TK: About two years ago. We try to do one every other month. That seems to be the right fit for now. And people are starting to look for it. What I’ve noticed is even though they may not know the names, people are showing up because they realize someone is filtering everything that’s out there and saying, “These are artists you may not recognize, but you’re going to be impressed with.”

FT: Do you always bring someone in from out of town?

TK: I started mostly locally. But there’s so much good stuff out there. I try to pull in one or two from out of town, along with a local anchor. And those local anchors are often ones that need an opportunity, so the artist gets more exposure and the venue gets to see some new performers. Or I like to take an artist that fronts a band but doesn’t typically play solo.

FT: I especially like the last set, where the artists play together.

TK: I thought, “How can we make this interesting and a little different?” And how do we get the performers to benefit from the meat of the night; so no one is stuck playing a 12 o’clock set, because invariably the bar empties out. So what I’ve done is shorten the sets, condensed everything and, in the last set, everyone picks two songs and it helps hold an audience. It’s kind of like “What’s going to happen here?” because it’s not too rehearsed.

FT: One last question: What are some of your favorite moments from the series so far?

TK: I’m often blown away by the female performers. The first was Dana Alexander when she played and, more recently, Sarah Blacker who played at the most recent one. Outside of that, it has to be those last sets. That gets me charged up and I really enjoy that. The first time it didn’t go so well, but I realized I had to get the artist in contact with each other and since then it’s been really good.

FT: Tony, thank you for your time. It’s been good talking to you.

TK: Yeah, me too.