Everyone that knows Christy Alan describes her as vibrant, fun loving, and friendly; an open, vivacious person with a very direct and honest approach to life. Some will add that she can also be wide-eyed, shy and childlike at times. But whatever their perception, they all will agree on one thing: On stage, Christy Alan is a virtual live wire - an appealing, high-energy performer, who, accompanied by her two-piece band, lights up the weekend nights at Fannie's On The Beach.

As Jenny puts it, "At first I didn't believe that they would go over out here on the beach." She says that in the beginning, she was looking for a dance band - the real shag music, disco, oldies, and dance tunes, etc., but a friend who knew that she wanted to feature live music in her place, told her she should go to see this band that was playing over at Sam Fink's, a delicatessen down on Liberty Street in Savannah (now called the Mellow Mushroom). She had heard Roy and Martha Swindelle at H.P.'s at the Old DeSoto, and she had also heard Christy Alan down on River Street, but it took real powers of persuasion (Roy's) to convince her that this band could handle Fannie's. So much for those reservations. That was eight years ago. Since that time, The Christy Alan Band, has been instrumental in helping Jenny Orr shape an adventurous new venue into the sweet success that it now is, here, on Tybee.

"I can't imagine Fannie's without them!" Jenny shakes her head, and smiles. "The two have been synonymous, Fannie's and the Christy Alan Band. And you know, the same people that used to come and hear them at Sam Fink's, still come to hear them out here, weekend after weekend. They've really developed quite a following.

" It's a great little band that Roy Swindelle says, 'just happened'.

Christy Alan was born in Granville, North Carolina. Her family moved to Savannah in 1975.

"My parents were Pentecostal," she recalls, "They went to the Bacon Park Assembly of God Church, and they were all singers. Mom played piano and sang with the late Norma Weathers, sister of Doug Weathers of station WTOC in Savannah. I was always a singer - in the chorus at church, and at school."

"Oh, yea, I'm a proud product of the Chatham County Public School System," she laughs, "I started at Windsor Forest Elementary and graduated from Windsor Forest High School.

" Then Christy adds, " I played saxophone and violin, too. But eventually I sold my saxophone to buy an electric bass guitar, and then I ended up selling it, to buy an acoustic guitar. Around that time, I was singing with a keyboard player named David Duckworth. He played piano by ear and we worked together in a duo down on River Street. I had bought this acoustic guitar, so I started taking guitar lessons at Rody's Music in 1995. That's where I met Roy. He was teaching guitar at Rody's, and he started trying to teach me. But finally he told me to give it up-and just sing!"

Roy Swindelle started playing in bands when he was twelve years old. Originally, he was a drummer, but soon he picked up the guitar, and also learned a little harmonica. By the time he met Christy Alan, Roy had been traveling and playing for about sixteen years. For twelve of those sixteen years, Martha Peltier, a local singer and keyboard player, whom he married in 1980, played with him.

"Martha's mom was my English teacher at Saint Vincent's," says Roy.

Their duo, The Time Bandits, took them out four to six nights a week, playing, locally at places like Mary's Steak and Seafood, William's Seafood, and at Doc's Bar and the Old Desoto here on Tybee.

Shortly after Christy Alan met Roy at Rody's Music, she received a call from the owner of Sam Fink's, who was looking for 'a band'. Christy told her that she might have a guitar player and a keyboard player in mind, and then she called Roy. They both agreed that they'd 'better rehearse', but they took the gig. That's why Roy says that the band 'just happened' after that, and that there was no real plan or anything, but Christy describes it best.

"It was the neatest match-up, when Roy and Martha and I got together," she says. " Now if I have a song in my head, Martha will pick it up on the piano, and then Roy will take it on guitar, and maybe put together a customized drum track, and it develops from there. Then we'll put other stuff into it, and end up doing it. It all just sort of 'holds together by itself'.

Christy explains, "We've always had this great rapport, and it works well for us.

" In the beginning, it was Roy and Martha that decided Christy was going to be the 'front person' for the band. For a number of years, right out of high school, Christy had gained some name recognition as a successful DJ, working with Mike Miller and Bubba Hawkins on their #1 morning show on KIX961/2 FM radio. Christy says that she used to be pretty shy and reserved, and didn't feel comfortable standing out front in the band. But Roy and Martha insisted that she take that role, and also that the band carry her name, as well. Both of these responsibilities, Christy has taken very seriously.

"Once I realized that the front person carries the mood and often sets the tone of the band for the audience, I decided that I could do it," she says, "and that it was important that I try to do it right."

Throughout their performing experience, Roy and Martha will tell you that Christy has done just that, and as far as the band is concerned, the loyal listeners at Fannie's agree.

"It's funny, too, how even though folks hear us week after week - playing the same things over and over," Roy remarks, "we are missed when we play off of the island. We do play weddings and private parties, but it's really hard to leave (Fannie's), and play out anywhere else, especially during the summer months."

But occasionally, they do special events such as the Trade Center Grand Opening and at the Olympic Village in 1996, and they actually missed perhaps their 'biggest gig ever' for the National Convention of Emergency Room Nurses that was to have been in at Disney World in Orlando, Florida on Sept. 11th, 2001. Last month they opened for the Swinging Medallions on Friday, October 18th, and for Greg Allman and Friends on Saturday, October 19th, at the Great Ogeechee Sea Food Festival at Richmond Hill. A lot of Tybee folks come out those two days just to hear the Christy Alan Band.

During the coldest months, Christy and Martha have usually played at Fannie's as a duo because of the limited amount of space downstairs, and Roy plays solo at many of their other local haunts such as Mary's Steak House, and also on The Savannah River Queen and at Bell's on the River. Jenny says that lately, she has been trying to offer live music upstairs, year round, with overhead heaters and such, and as long as the weather permits, the entertainment will continue upstairs on the weekends.

Other locals have made musical offerings at Fannie's throughout the years, including Rick and Debbie Sheraton, Ce Ce and Company, Sold Out, and of course, Randy Hat Man Smith, who continues to play regularly every Sunday afternoon. There is usually no cover charge, with the exception of occasional guest artist performances. Recent guest artists have included performers like E.G. Kight, Claudia Nyguard and Jimmy Maddox, and Jill Knight. Fannie's is also famous for its year-round 'bashes', celebrating all major holidays and special events, including New Year's Eve, Saint Patrick's Day, July 4th, and Halloween. These are open to all, and feature the Christy Alan Band. Last New Year's Eve, Fannie's had requests by callers from sixteen states who wanted to make reservations to come to the party and hear The Christy Alan Band. "

One major misconception shared by some of the folks in Savannah is that the beach closes down for the winter. This is definitely not the case, and the locals prove it!" says Jenny. "The local folks keep us going throughout the winter. They enjoy the food and really come out for live music and are very supportive of most everything we do. They're wonderful."

Indeed, Jenny Orr recalls when she first opened Fannie's in 1992. (It was still called Bill's Grill, but the grill had been closed down for a couple of

years.) She ran the new place on a shoestring budget, selling hotdogs, hamburgers and draft beer, and then throughout 1993, Fannie's began to change. They were granted a liquor license, opened the bar, sporadically added a little live music during the summer, and became a full-scale restaurant, employing many island locals. One of Jenny's major objectives however, when she opened Fannie's, was to offer downtown Tybee a 'real beach restaurant, with a real dance band'. When she took the chance and hired the Christy Alan Band in the summer of 1994, Fannie's was well on its way to becoming such a place, except for the fact that they could have used a little more space.

That space came in stages. The upper room of the restaurant was opened in 1995, and then when the pier funding came through in 1996, and the Olympics Games were on the way, Jenny Orr hired an architect, mortgaged everything that she had, and built the deck. It was a do or die situation - but on Saint Patrick's Day in 1996, the deck was opened, the Christy Alan Band played, and the locals came out in force. Jenny recalls that around three hundred of them signed a petition to raise the noise level in the commercial district of downtown Tybee so as to allow the out-of-door music.

Christy Alan beams when she says, "The people were awesome! They always are, here. Tybee people really love live music! Indoors or out! And I believe that Jenny deserves credit among the front-runners for helping securing live music on Tybee."

In Jenny's opinion, it works on this island, only because the people come out to support it.

Consequently, that support is evident, and after four renovations and a lot of hard work, the transformation of Fannie's into a uniquely popular, eclectic restaurant venue is highly visible. Everyone agrees that they've come a long way - both Fannie's and The Christy Alan Band.

"We are the happiest band in the world," says Christy. "It has been wonderful to have had such a comfortable setting in which to play all these years. Roy and Martha were on the road for so long, and now, Martha is successful in her real estate business with Remax of Savannah, Roy enjoys playing out and teaching guitar at Rody's, and I do my local TV commercials. (She used to be the 'Riverside Toyota Girl'. Now, you can catch Christy on the Vinyl Lite of Savannah advertising spot.) Roy and Martha are two of the greatest and most talented people in the world. We have each been able to evolve as individuals and as performers at Fannie's, and we are happy here. We're not trying to 'go' anywhere - this is the perfect place for us. As long as the crowd enjoys us, and everyone supports us like they do, we'll be happy here."

Fannie's celebrated its tenth year in business this last summer with The Christy Alan Band, and as Jenny Orr puts it, "It's been a fun ride, and it continues. They've always had my best interest at heart."