George Grove always looks forward to when the Kingston Trio performs in Las Vegas, as the group does this weekend at Suncoast.
Grove is not only a big fan of one of the world's most enduring musical acts, he has been a member of the trio for 26 years, and has been a resident of Henderson since 1996.
Founding member Bob Shane, 67, lives in Phoenix, and relative newcomer Bob Haworth, 55, (he joined the group in 1985) lives in Lakewood, Colo.
"In the early years (with the trio)," Grove said during a recent telephone interview from his home, "I lived in Virginia, then moved to Atlanta and then San Diego. All during that period we were playing in Vegas -- all up and down the Strip. We were at the Four Queens six or eight years."
Because of friendships he developed, Grove decided to make Las Vegas his home.
"Many fans of the Kingston Trio befriended me and I became well connected," the 54-year-old native of Hickory, N.C., said. "And I met a wonderful lady here, a schoolteacher." Grove and Cindy Pechman are engaged to be married.
Not only has he found love in Las Vegas, he also has found purpose -- serving on the board of directors of the Nevada School of the Arts.
"When you find yourself connected with a city, you want to start giving back," Grove said.
Between touring with the Kingston Trio and his other responsibilities, Grove has found time to further his education since moving to Las Vegas.
Grove, who has an undergraduate degree in music from Wake Forest University at Winston-Salem, N.C., received a master's degree in jazz composition this year from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
It isn't that Grove needs something to fall back on in case this gig with the Kingston Trio doesn't work out. The group has worked about as much as it has wanted since it was formed in 1957 by Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard.
"We work 26 to 42 weeks a year," Grove said. "We go out on extended weekends, primarily performing at performing arts centers around the country.
"A lot of people think of us in the past tense, then they hear a performance and they say, 'My God, that was incredible,' " he said.
"We sell out 98 percent of our shows. People are amazed, but we know what we do, and we do it well. And we love what we do."
The Shane-Reynolds-Guard version of the trio performed together until 1961, when Guard left and was replaced by John Stewart, who was with the group until it disbanded in 1967.
Shane revived the group as the New Kingston Trio in 1968, performing with Pat Horine and Jim Conner.
There have been 10 members of the group since its inception. Trying to identify them is like reading a corporate flow chart.
Grove's tenure began in 1976, the year the New Kingston Trio (which played only new songs) reverted back to the old Kingston Trio (which mixed old and new tunes).
"The trio has evolved in a circular fashion," Grove said.
Through the changes, the sound has remained the same.
"Bob has that whiskey-baritone voice that everyone associates with the trio," Grove said."What I brought to the mix was a great deal of musical and instrumental ability. I'm a pretty good banjo and guitar picker. Put the three of us together, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
Grove said Haworth joined the group in 1985, but three years later stepped aside to enable original member Nick Reynolds to return. During Reynolds' second go-around with the group, he was not in good health and Haworth often filled in for him, Grove noted.
"Nick stayed with the group until 1999, when he retired a second time" Grove said. "Bob has been with us since then."
It has been two years since the trio recorded its last CD, "By Special Request."
"We're planning on getting back into the studio soon," Grove said. "We've found a lot of (new) songs that sound as if they could have been written for us.
"But a lot of people who come to our shows purchase the CDs that contain the old stuff. They basically are replacement CDs. Sometimes a fan may lose their old records in a divorce."
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