OEHS Teacher Taking a Shot at Country Music

Whiskey Romance is a racehorse.

It’s also a new country duo that pairs newly hired Oswego East High School foreign language teacher Tiffany Hall with Yorkville resident Tim Gleason, who is related to Hall’s boyfriend. 

The pair placed second Tuesday at the Texaco Country Showdown event after performing Friday at  in Yorkville. They also recently won the Ottawa’s Got Talent competition, although they’ve only been playing together since St. Patrick’s Day.

“I always knew she had a good voice but it probably wasn’t until three months ago we actually sang together harmonizing,” Gleason said.

They picked their group’s name, with a little help from friends and fans, from among four horses listed in a daily racing form.

Tuesday they performed Steel Magnolia’s “Keep on Loving You,” and “Let’s Get Gone,” an upbeat song Gleason wrote as a working stiff’s tell-off.

After teasing Hall, 23, about never having had a real job, Gleason explained to the audience at Starved Rock Lodge in Utica his thoughts behind the lyrics.

“This is one of those songs that makes you want to walk off, leave your job, tell your boss off at the end of the week, live in a shack, find someone you love and life would be cool if you did that,” he said.

Gleason also thought the tempo was important.

“If you have a good rhythm, and it’s upbeat, people will connect with it,” he said.

The three Country Showdown judges tallied one fewer points for Whiskey Romance than the winner, Craig Gerdes of Toluca. That means the pair will compete at the Illinois State Fair if, for some reason, Gerdes can’t make it.

A field of 32 entries was narrowed down through four preliminary rounds throughout the summer, according to Kim Miller, promotions director for contest organizer The Radio Group of Peru.

Now Whiskey Romance is looking to record a demo of original music. Gleason has a handful of duets he’s written in the past year and a few dozen others that could be adjusted for two.

“[Hall’s] going to start writing songs too,” Gleason said. “That’s what she tells me.”