Night Beat

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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 americana, Bay area music, blues, guitar blues, harmonica blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Redlegs 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://www.theredlegs.com/

To learn more about the Redlegs go to

To learn more about Joe Tate

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

No Name Bar and Presidio Yacht Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags Bay area music, boogie woogie piano, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, wendy DeWitt 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://www.presidioyachtclub.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

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://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

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 Bay area music, fun finder, guitar blues, harmonica blues, music in sausalito, No Name bar, Redlegs, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito Cruising Club, Sausalito music 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

For more information about Joe Tate go to

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

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

Here’s the Redlegs playing FBS

http://www.wendydewitt.com/

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 Bay area music, boogie woogie piano, Joe Tate, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Ukulele music 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

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

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

Lonnie’s Eggs on Facebook

See Joe Tate on You Tube

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

http://www.averagedykeband.com/

The Average Dyke Band at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags Bay area music, music in sausalito, Sausalito Cruising Club 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

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 acoustic blues, Bay area music, music in sausalito, Night Beat 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/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/21/BAN81HR1FE.DTL

Chris Goddard, Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags Bay area music, blues, boogie woogie piano, chris goddard, fun finder, fun on the bay, guitar blues, harmonica blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar on March 21, 2011 by joetatesblog

L-R Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Chris Goddard

Chris Goddard was substituting for Johnny Nitro, who was to have played the No Name Bar this 19th of March, 2011. Unfortunately, Johnny died just four weeks ago, shortly after booking to play here. Everyone was excited that he was coming.

Myron Mu, who owns the Saloon, where Nitro has played for many years, was here that night and he told us the news. Lonnie said “We’re gonna have to cancel Johnny’s date.” It was with sadness that we marked his passing but we tried to rock out for him just as we thought he would have wished.

Joe Tate and Chris Goddards crutches

Chris Goddard showed up on crutches himself, but still determined to entertain. It’s raining hard again tonight and the regulars are here along with a couple of Nitro’s friends

Joe Tate started off with Little Richards Slipping And Sliding then segued into a few New Orleans style tunes that were beautifully backed by Chris Goddard’s well versed guitar.

It’s a groovy sound, based not on having full band, but more like a coffee house thing with the bongos and guitars. It’s good listening mixed with some get up and dance numbers.

Chris Goddard also sang a few songs. Even though he’s not dancing around, he has still got it going on.

Tom Barr and Lonnie Walter

Tom Barr showed up with his harmonicas and hammered out some nice solos on many of the blues renditions.

Tom regularly plays with the UFOs in San Rafael at a secret location known as Area 51. Joe joins in the fun there too, playing stuff you never get to hear at the No Name Bar.

Tom and Lonnie did some nice backup vocals on some of Joe’s songs and at times sounded like an old fashioned gospel quartet.

At intermission Lonnie talked about Johnny Nitro and in between the sentences you could here the rain coming down hard. Lonnie let us all know how much it hurt him. They knew each other well and both had been living above the Saloon on Grant Ave.

Jane Koestel, who was also a friend of Johnny, was there, but declined to speak.

Joe Tate will be back next Saturday with Wendy DeWitt and Lonnie Walter. Wendy, who was playing with us when Myron told us about Nitro, is a terrific pianist who has the boogie woogie in her soul. Her and Joe have done this gig a few times and it always smokes. It starts at 6. Check it out. http://www.localmusicvibe.com/event/wendy-dewitt-joe-tate-and-lonnie-walter

Johhny Nitro's final booking

To Learn more about Johnny Nitro go to

or http://www.facebook.com/johnnynitrotribute

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

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

http://www.localmusicvibe.com/event/wendy-dewitt-joe-tate-and-lonnie-walter

For this weeks show go to

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

March 14 Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags Bay area music, blues, boogie woogie piano, fun finder, fun on the bay, guitar blues, harmonica blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Redlegs, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito Cruising Club, waterfront on March 16, 2011 by joetatesblog

Well whaddya know? Monday night was frittered away playin the blues and more. The house band, with Joe Tate, Willie Rizer and Donny Kountz did the opening set with “Blue Monday” and some other simple stuff to get the evening started.

Debra Clawson,Tom Barr, Joe Tate, Jeff Suits and Oz

We had a couple of surprise visits. First was Mike Adams who, as a young teenager, played drums occasionally with the Redlegs. Everyone was amazed at how good could he play when just a boy. Tonight, he took over the drums after Andy Mendell, who was the first jamer of the evening. Andy came up before the end of the set so Donny got some quick downtime. Suzie Olsen also assisted on vocals during the set.

As soon as Tate took a break, John “Coyote” Egan took up the guitar like a menacing weapon. The Flying V is just a little scary. At his request, Tate hung on to his old bat guitar and assisted with Coyote’s set.

Jamers: Mike adams, David Kemp, Coyote and Jim Presta

There were generous portions of wailing harmonica with Tom Barr, Scott Sherman and Diver Dave taking turns. Paul Seaward got in on the action too.

There was also some good horn action too. Ray DeFazio had his baritone sax and his friend, Bruce, played a really melodic trumpet. These guys came in real handy during “I Got A Woman.”

The second surprise was that four members of the Tickets showed up. Lead singer Debra Clawson dragged her crew down to the club after Monday Night rehearsal. Apparently they hadn’t had enough howling at the moon yet.

They had some new songs they had been working and we got to hear some of the stuff. Some of it was high energy rock with a kind of swing beat. Their drummer, Peter Herbert, has a certain touch that sets these rhythms off.

Some Tickets: Will Leidenthal,Peter Herbert, Debra Clawson and Oz.

Debra Clawson and guitarist Will Leidenthal do some really nice duets and of course she can belt of the blues like nobodies business. They were joined by their regular bassist, Jeff Suits and drop in guitarist, John “Oz” Gordon.

Jerome Phillips

Near the end we were treated to some excellent funk led by pianist, Jerome Phillips. It is always a pleasure to hear Jerome play. He has been playing at Seahorse on Monday nights and showing up here near the end. He also plays with Joe Tate at the No Name Bar and will be there with him on the 2nd and 30th of april. Joe Tate plays the No Name every Saturday with various other artists. You can check out his show there in the early evening, starting at 6 PM.

To Learn more about the happenings go to

Video is at

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

The New Rising Sons at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags americana, Bay area music, fun finder, guitar blues, Jesse Kinkaid, music in sausalito on March 14, 2011 by joetatesblog

The New Rising Sons genesis dates from 1964 when Ry Cooder , Taj Mahal and Jesse Kinkaid formed the Rising Sons in southern California. The group also included Gary Marker and Ed Cassidy. They were a popular band in the Los Angeles area and often played clubs along the Hollywood strip. They recorded an album with Columbia records but, because they didn’t have a hit single, it was never released. The LP was widely bootlegged and after some 35 years was finally released.

In 2007 Jesse Kinkaid and his new group became the house band at Mill Vally’s Sweetwater. With Jonathan Lovitt on guitar, Jake Baker on drums and Kurt Huget on bass, they were employed as the anchor band of the club. They decided to call themselves the New Rising Sons.

The current lineup includes Jesse Kincaid on guitar and fiddle, Mark Banning on guitar, Kim Carrigg on bass and Jake Baker on drums. Boudeeka O’Connor is the lead singer who also stars in the Summer Of Love Revue. In the Summer Of Love Revue she portrays both Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. She has an incredible vocal range and intensity which allows her to cover many genres. Mark Banning is also a phenomenal player with a seemingly endless repertoire.

Having fun with the New Rising Sons

The evening started off with Jake Baker singing Otis Redding’s “Dock Of The Bay” followed by Jesse Kincaid on Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Light Big City.” Mark Banning performed a rendition of the Bobby Troup classic, “Route 66,” after which Boudeeke came to the stage and delivered a number of beautiful renditions.

Starting with “Blue Bayou,” the wonderful Roy Orbison song. This was followed by Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and Janis Joplin’s “Piece Of My Heart.”

More classics followed, like “Long Cool Woman” sand by Jake Baker, “The Midnigt Hour,” “Brown Eyed Girl” and many more. Boudeeka came back with her “Chain Of Fools/Born On The Bayou” medley which filled up the dance floor.

The New Rising Sons L-R Jake Baker, Jesse Kincaid, Kim Carrigg, Boudeeka O'Connor and Mark Banning

Mark Banning

One of the best things to hear them perform is “Light My Fire,” the Doors smash hit. In their rendition all the complicated organ parts are played by Banning on the guitar. With some signal processing, it still doesn’t sound like Ray Manzarek but some whole new thing that is refreshing and nostalgic at the same time. It doesn’t sound quite like a guitar and certainly not an organ but something new and different to be appreciated.

Another great song performed by the New Rising Sons is “Stairway To Heaven,” Led Zeppelin’s iconic anthem one can often hear being played in music stores by beginners. These guys do the whole thing which is long and complicated. This is the only band I know which covers this song.

There were a couple of folks who sat in this evening too including Paul Seaward on Harmonica and Joe Tate who sang and played guitar on a couple of songs.

Paul Seaward assists on harmonica

Boudeeka is now engaged to be married and is moving away from the Bay Area. Her last dates with the New Rising Sons will be at the end of May. Time is running out to hear her sing in the area with the NRS so make a date soon to hear them.