Jenny Morgan

Revolution?'s regular Tuesday night performers J. Goodin and Jenny Morgan are a study in contrasts.

Goodin sits at a table as his leg bounces up and down as if springs were attached to his heels. He?fs dressed in a flannel shirt, jeans and sneakers and puffs away at a cigarette between sips of beer.

Morgan, on the other hand, gracefully circles the bar?fs outside patio with a glass of wine, plays with her son and chats with some of the regulars.

The two have shared Tuesday nights at the downtown Bryan live music joint for more than a year, and their devoted fans continue to show up and support them.

"?It seems a lot of other places, people go to socialize,?" said Morgan, 27. "Here, the people come to listen to music.?"

Goodin, 32, said having an audience that is into the music makes a big difference to the performers, and the ?"eclectic clientele?" at Revolution fits the bill perfectly.

?"These are all the people in College Station you want to find but can?'t find,?" he said through a voice that has become coarse through years of smoking and drinking. ?"If they?'re out on this night, they?'re out to see the music.?"

The pair met six or seven years ago when Morgan saw Goodin playing at The Crooked Path, which is now The Library in Northgate. They started chatting, found they have similar musical tastes and became friends.

Around the same time, Morgan learned to play the guitar and dabbled in songwriting, writing a song for her brother?'s birthday. When her friends and family heard it, they encouraged her to sing during open-mic night at 3rd Floor Cantina.

?"I was really nervous and about to cry,?" she remembered.

Adding to the pressure was the fact that open-mic organizers wanted her to play more songs, even though she was prepared to play only one.

After fighting through her only song, she apologized to the audience and darted off stage.

Goodin didn?'t let that become Morgan?fs last show. He motivated her to keep writing and performing. Thanks to his words of encouragement, Morgan wasn?'t totally disheartened by her rough outing. Her calling to write and perform music was too loud to ignore.

?"I don?'t ever intend to quit [playing music], even if I?fm only playing once a week,?" she said.

Morgan is much more polished on stage these days. During a recent gig, she strummed her guitar while her melodic voice held each note perfectly. Any remnants of her initial stage fright disappeared long ago.

Goodin, a former member of Reckless Panhandlers, doesn?'t venture outside the area too often. He?'s content with his current schedule because of the independence, both musically and socially, it offers.

?"I?'m happy to get paid enough for my bills and my gas to the next gig,?" he said.

Revolution is just one stop on the weekly J Goodin tour of Bryan and College Station. He also plays regular shows at Time Square, The Hook and The Groove.

Goodin?'s coarse voice transforms when he?'s on stage. There?'s no hint of the raspiness he has during normal conversations.

He said his musical influences range from Tool to Tom Waits.

?"These were the artists I liked when I was young,?" Goodin said. ?"I spent a lot of time on the road as a child, so the stereo was my best friend.?"

As their show last week went deeper into the night, the inside area of Revolution became more crowded.

Goodin and Morgan traded off sets, combining cover songs and originals but always sounding unique.

People in the audience sang along to many of the songs as their heads swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the music.

Just like the pair predicted, the Revolution audience was there to listen.

?"There?'s a different kind of energy when they?'re listening,?" Goodin said. ?"When they?'re not, it?'s like they?fre sucking the energy out instead of you giving it.?" - Bryan Eagle