• What: Three Together, in concert.
• When: 7 p.m. March 25.
• Where: Washington State School for the Blind’s Emil Fries Auditorium, 2214 E. 13th St., Vancouver.
• Cost: $15.
• Information: 360-696-6321, ext. 120, or http://fortvancouverlions.org.
Three Together has performed at Fort Vancouver Lions benefit concerts for the past four years.
So when the local Lions Club approached band member Doug Smith about headlining the concert for the fifth straight year, he jumped at the chance.
“This has become kind of an annual thing,” he said.
It was an easy decision for concert organizers as well.
“He’s a phenomenal guitarist,” said Roy Pulliam, benefit concert chairman for the Fort Vancouver Lions Club. “He’s just so talented. As soon as he gets up on stage and starts playing, you realize how talented he is.”
• What: Three Together, in concert.
• When: 7 p.m. March 25.
• Where: Washington State School for the Blind's Emil Fries Auditorium, 2214 E. 13th St., Vancouver.
• Cost: $15.
• Information: 360-696-6321, ext. 120, or <a href="http://fortvancouverlions.org">http://fortvancouverlions.org</a>.
Three Together — Don Mitchell, Smith and Smith’s wife, Judy Koch Smith — will share the stage March 25 at the Washington State School for the Blind’s Emil Fries Auditorium in Vancouver. Portland folk group Rite of Spring will open the show.
Smith said that Three Together draws influences from the likes of Simon and Garfunkel; Crosby, Stills and Nash; and Peter, Paul and Mary.
“It’s music we grew up with. We’re heavy on three-part harmony,” he said.
Adding to the mix is that Smith is a finger-style guitarist, which means he plays the parts of the lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist and bassist all at once, without a pick.
Smith, who has performed in Clark County since the mid-1990s, won a Grammy award for best pop instrumental album in 2005 for his CD “Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar.” He followed that by winning the Winfield International Fingerstyle Competition in 2006. His music later appeared in the 2007 film “August Rush.”
Fans will hear plenty of original material throughout the set. Smith recently released “Guitar Hymnal,” a collection of hymns.
“I love old-fashioned hymns, so I tried to do a couple of different genres,” he said.
He said he expects to perform at least one track from the album.
Three Together also plays covers, for which Smith mines unlikely sources. One favorite is Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
“You don’t usually hear ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ done on an acoustic guitar at a folk concert,” he said.
The concert is about more than just Smith. All three band members are entertaining, Pulliam said.
He cited Mitchell, whom he calls “the comedian of the group,” as a light-hearted and fun songwriter. Mitchell, for instance, performs a song about a Little League baseball player who gets stuck playing right field, falls asleep during the game and ultimately makes the game-winning catch.
“That’s just perfect for him,” Pulliam said.
Koch Smith is an instructor at the Washington State School for the Blind, and Mitchell is the director of instructional operations at the School of Piano Technology for the Blind. So the annual concert has a personal appeal for the trio.
“It’s just a great cause, and the Lions do so much for the school,” Smith said.
The concert will benefit Fort Vancouver Lions charities, including Lions Clark County Hearing and Lions Clark County Sight. The charities provide eyeglasses, hearing aids, examinations and surgeries for Clark County citizens on welfare and those without insurance.
“Right now, we’ve been deluged with requests,” Pulliam said. “A lot of people are out of work, so they’ve lost insurance.”
Smith’s willingness to headline the concert year after year is a win for the charities and for fans, Pulliam said.
“It’s really a gift, what he has with his ability to play. The second he starts playing any song, and you watch his fingers and his talent, it’s just amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
