Uncle Buffet at the No Name Bar 42311

Posted in Bay Area Music, Eugene Huggins, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2011 by joetatesblog

Joe Tate has hooked up with a couple of singers who do the Jimmy Buffett songbook. Chris Wilson, who often plays the No Name Bar with Eugene Huggins, plays bass and sings with Don Trujillo who handles the chords on guitar.

This meet-up was arranged by Lonnie Walter who plays here every Saturday with Joe Tate. Excluding Tate, they have a regular Jimmy Buffet show that they perform around the Bay Area working with other artists.

Uncle Buffett: Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate, Don Trujillo and Chris Wilson

Anyway, they have a good sound which generates a lot of sing along action from the bar.

Joe Tate opens with Scotch And Soda followed by Blueberry Hill. The next bite is Jimmy Buffett’s Changes In Latitude and Margaritaville, perhaps his best known and loved songs.

Don Trujillo and Chris Wilson

Extra tips soon guaranteed hearing Margaritaville again in the second set. Don Trujillo and Chris Wilson delivered some nice harmony on  Cheesburgers In Paradise and Son Of a Son. Tate came back with Minnie The moocher and Little Egypt just to give things a little balance.

Some of the JB songs have hand clapping breaks in which everyone keeps time while Don does some kind of Caribbean rap that was profound and unintelligible at the same time.

Chris Wilson sings up a storm on Wait In Vain and we hear Trujillo leave the JB format on Mercury Blues, the K.C. Douglas/Robert Geddins hit from 1949, a year when Mercurys were all the rage.

Four hands clapping: Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate

Tate finishes out the set with Satisfaction in an attempt to, sort of like, not fit in.

The second set featured more of JB’s big hits including Music for Money, Pencil Thin Mustache and  Volcano. Trujillo also sang Brown Eyed Girl with vocal assists from Tate and Wilson. Tate also came back with good old Down Home Girl and Poison Ivy, both Leiber/Stoller songs from the fifties.

It was a very pleasant evening with a friendly mixture of tourists and locals.

Joe Tate plays the No Name Bar every Saturday. For more information go to

http://localmusicvibe.com/band/joe-tate

To see Joe Tate’s Ukulele Baby Songbook go to

http://ukulelebaby.org/

The misspelled poster

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The Ukulele Friends Ohana at Area 51 41511

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, ukulele music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 20, 2011 by joetatesblog

The UFOs meet every Friday at a secret location usually referred to as Area 51. It is, of course, a private party and privacy must be respected. However, Night Beat has obtained permission to tell about the kanikapila, which is a music party involving ukulele playing and singing with emphasis on Hawaiian music. It’s also a pot luck dinner which is taken after about a dozen songs have been played.

There’s usually about 20 singer players participating and it makes a wondrous sound with all the voices. There are also several skilled hula dancers who jump right in whenever the right songs are played.

Squadron 1: Kimo B., Rick Creelman, SQL Del Medina, Susan Rogan and Sandy Bailey

Squadron Leader (SQL) Del Medina refers to each player as a pilot and the group frequently undertakes away missions for various other parties and club appearances.

Tonight the first set features many of the traditional Hawaiian songs plus a few of what is called hapa haole songs. These are songs which may be of or about Hawaii, but don’t spring directly from Hawaiian tradition.

Bu, Val and Amy harmonize

Anyway, SQL Medina calls out the songs which the pilots find in their flight manuals which have the chords and words for about 200 songs.

First off is Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight which recounts the last hours the fearless lady on her tragic flight. Then some Elvis tunes like Blue Hawaii and Can’t Help Falling In Love. Just to make sure, Blue Hawaiian Moonlight finishes the King’s set.

Several hulas are then played including Hanalei Moon and Koke’e written by Bob Nelson and Dennis Kamakahi respectively. There are also a bunch of Hawaiian songs with moving rhythms. In A Canoe and Manuela Boy come to mind. Theres also My Little Grass Shack, which never fails to generate excietment.

Pilots Chris Burns, Maggie Catfish and Tom Barr

After dinner volunteer pilots take the stage in groups of one to four and give their renditions of special songs they have prepared for the night. These usually follow a theme.

The theme tonight was songs about mothers and this created some humorous offerings as well as poignant ballads and even a couple hymns. For instance Little Egypt was humorous and Farther Along was poignant.

There were many more songs culminating in Ahi Wela/Lover Of Mine/Aloha ‘Oe, a beautiful mashup of Hawaiian treasures. Alohas were exchanged and everyone left. They would all meet again the next day at the Sleeping Lady Cafe where they play every Saturday at 2PM.

From the UFO archives: hula fun

to learn more about the UFOs, go to

http://www.rubbaslippa.com/

or to see them on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSxGpcPMYMA

the Ukulele Baby Songbook is at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

For booking contact Del Medina at

del@themedinas.com

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Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club 41111

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2011 by joetatesblog

The House Band: Donny Kountz, Joe Tate and Willie Riser

After some interminable chit chat and milling around, the house band starts at 7 and, after about 45 minutes, Joe Tate opens up the stage for others to sit in. On this occasion, there were many fine players in attendance including the wonderful Lisa Kindred who really rocked the house with her rendition of Let The Good Times Roll.

The band starts the evening with Blue Monday as usual. Then, after Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino is absent the rest of the set. Then there’s some Creedence Clearwater, Chuck Berry, the Coasters and finally Tate sings something called Roosevelt Blues which tells the rather poignant story of Franklin Roosevelts life. We will be hearing more of this song, written by McKinley Peebles, after the Presidents death.

Let The Good Times Roll: R Lisa Kindred

First up to sing is, of course, Miss Lisa Kindred who, as mentioned, starts the house rockin on that first number. Then she gives out her feminized version of the much recorded Lee Dorsey classic which she calls Get out Of My Life Sweet Thang. This is over the top but nothing prepares us for what she sings later. The most sublime voicing for House Of The Rising Sun was showered down upon us in an unmitigated feast of harmony.

Next up is John “Coyote” Egan with his guitar students, Marco Ugolini and Robert Hobart. Coyote, as he is known, plays a bright and vibrant form of original blues. One of his songs that stands out is Rolling Into Texas. He carries the vocal and segues into some scorching guitar. His students imitate and sometimes upstage him at this game. It’s all in fun, even though Coyote sometimes feigns annoyance.

Marco Ugolini, Andy Mendell, Coyote and Willie Riser

There was also a harmonica section, with Diver Dave and Scott Sherman, that hangs out at the edge of the dance floor. They take turns on solos whenever they get the high sign from whoever is leading. They worked intermittently with all of the performers, helping out here and there with solos and train rhythms where needed.

Scott Sherman, Robert Hobart, Marco Ugolini and Andy Mendell

There was more good stuff to come with Anthony Lincoln providing vocals with his partner Gary Berger on piano. It’s just an old upright with a microphone jammed in the back but it sounds good as long as the guitar players don’t get carried away with their volume knobs.

Anthony Lincoln

Anyway, this duo is joined by Joe Tate on guitar, Ron Rosano on Drums and willie Riser on Bass. With Tate assisting on vocals, Lincoln burns through some good R&B numbers, like Mustang Sally, Shotgun with Lincoln on sax, Hit The Road Jack and Spooky just to mention a few.

In the middle of the set, Suzie Q takes the stage and gives out her rendition of Love Potion #9. She is the sweetheart of the waterfront and everybody loves her.

The last set is played by the one and only Craig Caffall who has his own popular band and plays flawless guitar blues. Willie Riser takes a break here while Tate takes over bass.

Caffall leads off with some basic funk then moves on to Rot Orbison’s Born On The Bayou. He delivers it up in Creedence Clearwater style then follows with The Thrill Is Gone, the Rick Darnell/Roy Hawkins tune that has been recorded by so many.

Donny Kountz, Craig Caffall, Willie Riser and John "Oz" Gordon.

Willie Riser returned to the stage and Caffall belted out a few more tunes including Before You Accuse Me, a song many don’t realize was written by Bo Diddley. In any event, this version sounded as good as Clapton.

The house band finishes the night with Tate’s rendition of Minnie The Moocher. The Hidee Hidee Ho’s are returned from the audience in one last spasm of musical exuberance.

But wait! Gabe Navarre suddenly shows up and we squeeze one more song out of him. What it was, nobody knows.

The Craig Caffall Band plays the Seahorse Restaurant this Friday night. Here’s the listing

http://www.localmusicvibe.com/event/craig-caffall

Joe Tate plays the No Name Bar in Sausalito every Saturday evening at 6. To learn more go to

http://xrl.in/4y57 or    http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

Joe Tate’s Ukulele Baby Songbook is here

http://ukulelebaby.org/

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The Gaters at Saylor’s and No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2011 by joetatesblog

Maggie catfish and Joe Tate, best known as members of the Redlegs in their roles in the Movie, Last Free Ride, have been doing some gigs together as The Gaters. The name derives from having come from the Gates, an area along the Sausalito waterfront where Liberty Ships were built in WWII. The Gates had become a haven for artists and musicians, along with many other bohemian types who constructed makeshift houseboats on these Sausalito mudflats.

The Redlegs fit right in with all this and spent many years raising hell at all the local parties. They played a form of rock n’ roll that thumbed its nose at the world but was at the same time a joyous celebration of the local community. It all seemed hip enough during the late sixties before the area was rebuilt into an upscale houseboat marina.

These days Maggie and Joe are content playing conventional rock, old standards, hawaiian and just a few of the old Redlegs numbers that are still craved by a few diehard fans.  They delivered all this at Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar last Friday.

The Gaters: Joe Tate and Maggie Catfish at Saylor's

Not surprisingly, there were a few people there from the old days. There was also a large contingent of folks who came to hear the Hawaiian music. They weren’t disappointed. Maggie Catfish lived in the Islands for many years and has absorbed the culture and music of Hawaii. Likewise, Joe Tate sailed to the Islands in 1977 but didn’t study the music until much later. He now plays with the Ukulele Friends Ohana which specializes in the Hawaiian.

The first set was mostly Hawaiian but gradually gave over to standards and old Coasters songs. Later, some of the old Redlegs songs came out like Nasty Little Boy and Old Matt. There were a some good sit in performances too. Tom Barr played harmonica on many of the blues numbers and Skip Dossett sang some Elvis songs. Joe Tate’s rendition of  Whiter Shade Of Pale is noteworthy because it uses a harmonica to play the Hammond organ solo made famous by Procol Harem.

The Gaters at the No Name bar

The next night they are at the No Name Bar where they usually appear with percussionist Lonnie Walter,  who couldn’t make it tonight. Tom Barr came though and he assisted on blues. There were more Redlegs fans tonight than Hawaiian aficionados so, rock n’ roll prevailed. There was also an extra helping of RedLegs songs including Sailor’s Love Song, Love won’t Change and the ubiquitous Nasty Little Boy.

There was also plenty of New Orleans sounds like Rockin Pneumonia and some Fats Domino tunes. Joe also sang a new song called Roosevelt Blues which tells a story of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. This song tells it like it is, a must hear for all Americans.

Joe Tate had some DVD movies of the Last Free Ride he was selling. These are always available here on Saturday during his performance. He also sells the Ukulele Baby Songbook which has a bunch of songs arranged for ukulele. This is also available online at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

To learn more about the Redlegs go to

http://www.theredlegs.com/

To learn more about Joe Tate

http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

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No Name Bar and Presidio Yacht Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags , , , , , , , on April 4, 2011 by joetatesblog

It was a bar hopping evening starting at the No Name Bar in Sausalito at 6PM. Joe Tate plays here every week at this time along with Lonnie Walter and one other of his rotating guests. This week, Jerome Phillips rounds out the trio with his very experienced keyboard playing. Joe Tate performs his usual New Orleans swamp blues along with a couple new numbers like Little Egypt, the famous Leiber and Stoller song best known for its Coasters recording.

Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jerome Phillips

They also let loose with some good old Chuck Berry stuff like Nadine which Jerome sings to good effect. Jerome also performs some nice instrumentals here and there while Tate scurries around with the tip jar.

They were selling  some DVDs of The Last Free Ride, a movie which chronicles the houseboat wars which took place here in the 70s. Tate also sells the Ukulele baby Songbook which come with a CD of him performing all the songs in the book. It is available at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

They finish up the night with Cab Calloway’s Minnie The Moocher and finally Chuck Berry’s Rock and Roll Music.

The next bar hop was to the Presidio Yacht Club where The Tickets, fronted by Debra Clawson, were playing. This joint is located in one of the most beautiful spots on earth on the edge of Horseshoe Cove at the foot of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. Viewing the bridge and San Francisco is like looking at a post card come to life. If you haven’t been here you should check it out. For information go to

http://www.presidioyachtclub.org/

Anyway, The Tickets do a lot of the popular covers from the Rolling Stones and other great rock groups. They also do some very nice originals with clever chord progressions and diatonic melodies. Very reminiscent of the 60s. This is exactly the kind of music that Bill Graham wanted to get rid of. Happily, in spite of his best efforts, this stuff keeps coming back.

The Tickets at the Presidio Yacht Club

There was a good crowd and The Tickets kept the dance floor full with such tunes as Born To Be Wild, the Steppenwolf classic that idolizes biker chic. Sung by Peter Herbert, who doesn’t appear to be the biker type, the song brings back memories of when Steppenwolf used to play at the Ark in Sausalito.

Debra Clawson comes back with a ballad or two that showcases her one of a kind voice.

The next bar hop was back to the No Name Bar where Wendy DeWitt was making some very fine music with her excellent band. With Kirk Harwood on drums, Jan Martinelli on bass, and Steve Freund on guitar, this group is a force to be reckoned with.

 

Kirk Harwood, Steve Freund, Jan Martinelli and Wendy DeWitt

Freund’s mastery of the guitar is beyond words. But his powerful vocals leave little doubt that he is the real deal. Combined with the Queen Of Boogie Woogie’s over the top piano, it’s easy to see why Harwood and Martinelli get excited. Kirk Harwood in particular keeps bouncing up and down with every cymbal crash. He just can’t sit still.

Anyway, this was real fun evening and hearing these folks was the perfect ending.

To learn more about Wendy DeWitt go to

http://www.wendydewitt.com/

To learn more about Steve Freund go to

http://www.stevefreund.com/

To learn more about The Tickets go to

http://www.myspace.com/theticketsband

To learn More about Joe Tate go to

http://xrl.in/4y57

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Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club 032811

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2011 by joetatesblog

Another fun night of jamming at the Sausalito Cruising Club was had with at least 25 musicians who came to sit in. Every one got a chance to play though. How this was done follows.

After a 40 minute set by the house band, Donny Kountz, Wille Riser and Joe Tate, the first jammers were brought up in organized groups. Starting with John “Coyote” Egan, who brought some of his students and other cohorts, the music was well arranged in spite of the “jam session” thing.

L-R Robert Hobart,Travis Yee, Andy, Don Nguyen and Coyote

Coyote is backed by Travis Yee on guitar, Robert Hobart on guitar, Don Nguyen on bass and Andy on drums.

Coyote has a bunch of original bluesy songs that all these guys know, so it’s good for them to all come up together. Coyote lays down a nice Albert King kind of blues but his student Travis is a smokin’ hot youngster and Coyote uses him to good advantage.

Next up was another rehearsed group playing under the leadership of Gary Berger. Anthony Lincoln was an exciting singer and he doubled on saxophone.

L-R Bonnie Hofkin, Ron Lando, Mike Adams, Don Nguyen, Anthony Lincoln, Ken Markowitz and Gary Berger

In addition, this lineup had Ron Lando on guitar, Mike Adams on drums, Don Nguyen on bass and of course Gary Berger on piano. Bonnie Hofkin and Ken Markowitz assisted on harmonica and guitar as was needed.

This group had a lot of torque and this made people dance. They did a few familiar rock and blues numbers while changing the lineup here and there. There was some pressure to get more of the waiting players up but this played out peacefully with only minor hurt feelings.

"Little Mike" Adams

“Little” Mike Adams drifted from group to group all night which only makes sense because there was a shortage of drummers. There were plenty of guitars though which made it easy on Joe Tate who only had to manage all the others who wanted to play.

Another interesting group on this night was the “Freewheelers.” Fronted by Ilene Vossen, who rocks out on cello, she is backed by Buzz Vossen on bass and Bonnie Hofkin on harmonica.

With house drummer Donny Kountz and guitarist Gabe Navarre, they have a solid beat and got it on right away with stuff like Route 66. Ilene delivers some really nice solos on what is usually thought of as a classical instrument.

 

The Free Wheelers with Gabe Navarre, Bonnie Hofkin, Donny Kountz, Ilene Vossen and Buzz Vossen

What matter though, the sound was new and different and we need some of this stuff just for comic relief from all the serious themes that are carried by the blues.

Anthony Lincoln and Linda Seabright

Throughout much the evening there was some wailing sax coming from the corner of the stage where Anthony Lincoln was hanging with his ax.

There were also some harmonicas working the edge of the room including Scott Sherman and Tom Barr in addition to Hofkin who worked the stage. They had their own amplifiers set up so they would chime in whenever asked. Tate had all three harmonicas blowing at once sometimes. This might have been in poor taste but it was fun.

There was also a performance by “Daylight Again,” a tight harmony trio consisting of Sana Hoffer, David Kemp and Gloria Lopez.

They really lit up the Cruising Club with Ooh Baby Baby, from Crosby Stills and Nash. This was paired up with Have Mercy, a song made famous by Loretta Lynn. They were backed by house band members Donny Kountz on drums and Willie Riser on Bass.

Daylight Again L-R Gloria Lopez, David Kemp and Sana Hoffer

Sana Hoffer also sang solo on Better Off With The Blues, the Delbert McClinton swamp blues hit.

All the jammers made it a great evening and thanks is given here to others who played and sang including Suzie Olsen vocals,Ron Rosano drums, Charlie on guitar and Paul Bohan guitar.

The next Blue Monday Jam session will be on April 11 starting at 7 PM. Bring you instrument and enjoy the buffet dinner for just $5.

For more information about the Sausalito Cruising Club

http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

For more information about Joe Tate go to

http://xrl.in/4y57

To see the Joe Tate’s “Ukulele Baby Songbook” go to

http://ukulelebaby.org/

Here’s the Redlegs playing FBS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS1ZOiyK06o

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Wendy DeWitt, Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , on March 28, 2011 by joetatesblog

Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter play here every Saturday from 6-8:30, usually with a guest artist. This week it’s Wendy DeWitt, the queen of boogie woogie piano. Also sitting in this week was harmonica man, Tom Barr.

Joe started the evening with singing Slipping And Sliding, the Little Richard hit of the 50s. Then some New Orleans stuff like Rockin Pneumonia, the perennial favorite from Professor  Longhair.

 

Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Wendy DeWitt

Wendy and Joe take turns belting out some of the good old favorites that rock and boogie. These duties are shared two songs at a time, he plays two then she plays two.

Wendy’s piano skills are amazing. Just when everyone’s jaw drops as she burns through some really hot passage, she engages the audience and gets their participation.

Lonnie Walter carries the beat on the bongos and does some showy gestures with his hands .This always gets laughs and cheers. Lonnie has his own band called Lonnie’s Eggs. They appear regularly at the Saloon in North Beach.

This worked well until some of the other local singers showed up. Tate can’t resist bringing them up to the Stage. First there was Lauralee Brown and then Donna Dacuti both of whom sang a couple of very nice songs.

Lauralee Brown

Lauralee Brown sang Moondance which was a nice break from Tate’s blues oriented theme music. This was followed by Vine Street Betty.

Donna Dacuti did Georgia while DeWitt and Tate read from her arrangement. This was ok but she really killed them with her rendition of Built For Comfort, the Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon number. Sometimes these sit-in things pay off.

Tom Barr sat in on harmonica and added some nice riffs to a lot of the blues stuff. He also assisted on background vocals with Lonnie Walter.

Tate finished the evening with Minnie The Moocher, Cab Calloway’s story song about a poor delusional woman who doesn’t have anything but a heart of gold. Tate plays the ukulele on this song for good effect. The quick decay of the plunka plunka ukulele voice actually drives the rhythm.

This song probably goes on a little too long because he prattles on about Minnie and then thanks the No Name, the bartender, every member of the band and what ever else comes to mind. The audience chimes right in with the hi de hi de hoes until the end.

Tom Barr, Lonnie Walter and Joe Tate

To learn more about Wendy DeWitt go to

http://www.wendydewitt.com/

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

http://xrl.in/4y57

Lonnie’s Eggs on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lonnies-Eggs/259655605911

See Joe Tate on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/user/joebtate?feature=mhum

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The Medicine Ball Band at the Sausalito Seahorse 3/24/2011

Posted in Uncategorized on March 27, 2011 by joetatesblog

The Medicine Ball Band must be one of the best-kept secrets in the Bay Area music scene. Their excellent music far exceeds the notoriety they have been accorded.

Led by guitarist David Sturdevant, who moved here from upstate New York 38 years ago, MBB delivers a versatile repertoire with everything from swing standards to R&B with a distinct New Orleans flavor. If you ask, they will even play Dixieland.

The Medicine Ball Band L-R John Stafford, Ylonda Nickell, Joe Kennedy, John Hunt, Bob Scott and David Sturdevent

Founded in 1971 by Sturdevant, the group started by playing in the street for tips at Union Square in San Francisco. Along with Sturdevant was a pair of banjos played by Dave Marty and Abe Van Der Meulen. The late Amanda Hughes started singing with them later as they moved on to clubs. Their first bass player was Randy Jackson, the world famous producer and arranger who is now a judge on American Idol. Herb Caen used to sit in with them on drums.

John Hunt delivers "Blue Skies"

Tonight the band is a very tight ensemble with Joe Kennedy on keyboards, Bob Scott on drums, John Hunt on trombone, Ylonda Nickell on alto saxophone and John Stafford doubling on clarinet and tenor saxophone. David Sturdevant covers guitar, vocals and doubles on chromatic and blues harmonica. Three of these members are pals from the early days of MBB; David Sturdevent, John Hunt and John Stafford.

Starting with John Hunt’s rendition of Blue Skies, David Sturdevent then sings Nobody Loves You. John Stafford sings Jump Jive and wails on clarinet. Then there was other stuff like Bye Bye Blackbird and Stomping at The Savoy. Ann Hunt also assists on vocals.Her rendition of Orange Colored Sky was especially nice. She also sang a beautiful duet with her husband John on Baby It’s Cold Outside. Bob Scott also did some vocals including Gershwin’s Lady Be Good and Jesse Fuller’s San Francisco Bay Blues.

Ann Hunt assisting on vocals

The drummer, Bob Scott, played for many years on the road with Ray Charles as well as Willie Nelson. More recently he has appeared with Dan Hicks. Bob Scott is substituting for the regular drummer, Larry Vann, who, for some reason, couldn’t make it tonight.

Joining in the fun

The second set started with Careless Love followed by Sturdevant singing It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) with a brilliant solo by John Stafford. Nickell played an instrumental version of Misty in true lounge lizard style. Hunt adds a trombone solo at the bridge and Sturdevant does a chorus on the chromatic harmonica. Very good listening, indeed. Nickell leaves the stage and wanders through the audience playing her sax for a little extra amusement.

There were many more fine vintage songs and the night ended on Duke Ellington’s Don’t Get Around Much Anymore. This was sung by John Hunt but it was an instrumental tour de force, with all the horns wailing New Orleans style. What’s not to like?

There is also very fine food at the Seahorse featuring all the favorite Italian dishes. There’s a full bar and a large dance floor.

The Medicine Ball Band regularly appears at the Sausalito Cruising Club, Taste Of Rome, Cafe Trieste, No Name Bar and many other popular Bay Area venues.

Seahorse info

http://seahorserestaurant.net/

Medicine Ball Band info

http://www.medicineballband.com/

 

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The Average Dyke Band at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags , , on March 25, 2011 by joetatesblog

Every once in a while you encounter a band that is dripping with happiness. I don’t mean in a forced smile kind of Hollywood phony thing but people who exude the stuff. That’s the Average Dyke Band. And that goes for their audience too. They are all having so much fun, dancing and prancing and loving each other. A feeling of merriment pervades.

What can be said about this Motown-Rhythm and Blues machine on the stage though? They start rockin’ the house right away, churning through Heat Wave, I Heard it Through The Grapevine, What’d I Say and Chain Of Fools.

The Average Dyke Band and friends

Everyone headed for the dance floor and stayed there for most of the set. These girls can dance too. It looks as if many of these couples have practiced a lot and their moves are graceful and coordinated.

The Average Dyke Band consists of Stephanie Teel on guitar and vocals, Carrie Gerendasy on bass and vocals, Robin Roth on drums, Rosa Koire on saxophone and Sheri Kline on keyboards.

Carrie Gerendasy and Stephanie Teel

They have been together for about six years except for Stephanie Teel, who joined the band last december. According to Ms. Gerendasy, they have been employed “mostly at prides and stuff” plus many private parties.

Stephanie has her own “Stephanie Teel Band” and they regularly appear at the Sausalito Cruising Club and the Sausalito Seahorse. Stephanie often shows up at the Monday night jam sessions and shows the big boys how to handle a guitar. This woman always gets it on.

Rosa Koire

Anyway, after the break, they came back with something like Rockin, Rockin, Rockin, which must be an original song. Nobody knew the title but it had a great sax solo played by Rosa Koire and, of course, the dance floor was full again.

Teel had a great vocal on Runaway, the Del Shannon classic. The organ solo, played by Sheri Kline was magnificent.

Then it was somebody’s birthday and they cranked out the Beatles I Know it’s Your Birthday or whatever the title is. Then they just kept gettin’ down with Motown, funk, soul and some more good old rock n’ roll.

It was a really fun evening here hopefully there will be other chances to hear these folks.

The Average Dyke Band will be back at the Sausalito Cruising Club on April 4 and May 2. They will also play at THE LAST DAY SALOON in Santa Rosa on Friday, April 22. Corner of 5th and Davis
Doors at 8 pm Show at 8:30-12:30.

L-R Carrie Gerendasy, Robin Roth, Stephanie Teel and Rosa Koire Front; Sheri Kline

To learn More about the Average Dyke Band go to

http://www.averagedykeband.com/

To learn more about Stephanie Teel go to

http://www.afm6.org/ArtistProfile_StephanieTeel.htm

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Mari Mack at Saylor’s Restaurant

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags , , , on March 25, 2011 by joetatesblog

Mari Mack has been doing a few fundraisers for the Plant Studios on Monday nights here at Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar. Artsboretum is her organization that is dedicated to this task. In addition, Artsboretum’s mission is to “preserve and celebrate our rich legacy and cultivate the arts to plant the seeds of change.” One half of the proceeds from these performances go to Artsboretum.

Mari Mack, Pat Duffy and Billy Duffy

Aside from that, one can get a very nice meal here at Saylor’s and enjoy the music during these March Monday performances. Also there will be music here on Friday and Saturdays until May.

Tonight Mari Mack is accompanied by Pat Duffy on Bass and Billy Duffy on guitar. The latter two being apparently related seems to aid in the cohesion of their music.

It was enchanting to hear Mari sing Reconsider Baby by Lowell Fulsom, a song that has been covered by many of the greats including Eric Clapton. Another song that really stood out was People Get Ready, Curtis Mayfield’s masterpiece made famous by the Impressions back in 1965. Mari also gave us some renditions of her original songs which can only be described as sweet. When she sang Steve Winwood’s Can’t Find my way home, the place quietened down as the diners laid down their utensils and turned their heads toward the trio. Most enjoyable!

For More information about Mari Mack go to

http://www.livinlikekings.com/

For More information about Artsboretum go to

http://www.artsboretum.org/

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