Music is the focus at reopened Wayside Roadhouse in Russell.
By Tom Graser, Watertown Daily Times, March 31, 2023 (Original Article)
George M. Dodds plays guitar and harmonica with his friends and anyone who shows up at the Wayside Tavern starting at 1 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Photos: Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
RUSSELL, NY — Getting Dr. George M . Dodds to start playing music doesn’t take much. Ask him about his harmonica collection, and he breaks into a blues riff. Have him pose for a picture with his guitar, and he busts out a Hank Williams tune.
Folks who want to catch the retired doctor in his musical element need only stop at the Wayside Roadhouse at the intersection of County Routes 24 and 17, Thursday through Friday at 1 p.m., where Dr. Dodds will be playing with any of his musical friends who show up.
Dr. Dodds bought the Wayside in 2020.
While driving home from his job with St. Lawrence Health, a friend texted him a photo of the Wayside. He said he had been looking for a place for his friends to play music. “I thought maybe I would get my own place,” he said. Dr. Dodds stopped to look at the property before going home.
The Wayside opened for business on Dec. 22.
“We did a soft opening,” Dr. Dodds said.
Dr. Dodds said the Wayside Roadhouse needed a lot of sprucing up and a little maintenance. He had to replace the septic and water systems, but everything behind the bar worked, and a working sound system was in place. The front door leads into an open room with tall tables on the left and the performance space on the right, with room for dancing in between. Behind the tables, up one step, are a pool table, shuffleboard table, and an internet jukebox.
There is no TV.
“If people want to watch TV, they can do it at home,” he said with a laugh.
The music is a casual affair that starts at 1 p.m. and continues as long as the musicians are up for it. Friday is Mocking Bird Friday because that’s the day a band he plays in, The Mocking Birds, gets together to rehearse/perform. The Mocking Birds consist of Dr. Dodds, Barb Heller, Camilla Ammirati, and Don Woodcock. They play a couple of times a year and are getting ready for a show on April 23 at Picken’s Hall in Heuvelton.
Saturday is Solo Saturday, he said, where anyone who wants to play can plug in and do their thing. “The other three days, it is whoever I can’t get to show up,” he said.
Dr. Dodds plays a Martin acoustic/electric guitar and harmonica. When he started playing around 1976, he was harmonica only for a band called the New Ranchmen that played around the Edwards area. One day a guitar player didn’t show up. A bandmate handed him a guitar and encouraged him to do his best. He has played both instruments ever since.
"Business at the Wayside has been slow, Dr. Dodds said, “but it is slow for everybody this time of year.”
On a recent Saturday afternoon, while Dr. Dodds was playing with Ron Kirkpatrick and his son Josh, about 20 people were enjoying the music and playing pool.
He expects it will pick up soon as people start to open up the three-season camps in the area.
“Their are horse trails and hiking trails all through Whippoorwill Corners Forest,” he said of state land that nearly surrounds his property.
He said the Wayside has a place in the hearts of people in the Russell, Edwards area. “There is something about this place. There are a lot of memories,” he said. “Everywhere I go, when I tell people I own the Wayside, I get a Wayside story.”
The Wayside was three beers on tap, a full bar, and features New York State wines. The artwork around the bar is mainly from New York artists and features large, framed posters from Catherine LaPointe Vollmer of Lionheart Graphics in Potsdam.
Now that the bar and the music are running smoothly, Dr. Dodds has turned his attention to improving the menu and developing his online presence. That is when he is not behind the mic, playing music with his friends, and having fun.
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