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The GATERS at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, No Name Bar, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags americana, Bay area music, Joe Tate, music in sausalito, No Name bar, san francisco music, Sausalito After Dark on October 20, 2011 by joetatesblog

The GATERS, with Sandy Bailey, Maggie Catfish, Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter have been playing the early Saturday evening music set for quite a while and they are booked through till October 29 in this time slot. The name derives from locale’ rather than a type of reptile.

The Gates is a section of the waterfront where liberty ships were built in WWII. Gate 3, which is near Mollie Stones Market, was the center of the ways where most of the final assembly and launches took place. Most of the houseboats are located around Gate 5 and 6.

Te GATERS: Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate, Maggie Catfish and Sandy Bailey

It was in this area that The Redlegs, a 70s rock band, once flourished. Catfish and Tate were members of The Redlegs and are now content just to be GATERS. They have teamed up with Lonnie Walter, who grew up at the Gates and Sandy Bailey who lived in Sausalito back in the day.

Bongos Lonnie Walter, Guitar Joe Tate

The group has departed from the usual guitar, bass and drums rhythm section and instead use bongos, ukulele and bass ukulele. This provides an intimate sound that is easy on the ears.

The ukulele bass, played by Bailey, has the same tonal range as a regular bass but with faster attack and decay, the rising and falling volume of each note. This adds to the percussive effect of the bongos. The ukulele played by Catfish also adds another strong rhythm element. Taken all together with Tate’s guitar and the three part harmony, it’s a very compelling sound.

Background vocals from Maggie Catfish and Sandy Bailey

On many songs, Tate sings old favorites in a strong baritone voice while Bailey and Catfish lay down harmonic background lines. Then, effortlessly they segue into three parts. Fats Domino’s music is well represented along with The Coasters and Tate has a version of Cab Calloway’s Minnie The Moocher that brings the house down. Another favorite at the No Name Bar is Bailey’s rendition of On Bridgeway, a send up of George Benson’ On Broadway.

Margo St. James, Kayla Kahn and friends

There were some notables in attendance including Margo St. James, Kayla Kahn and Larry Moyer. There are those who say these folks used to live at the No Name Bar. Nowadays, James lives up north and only visits occasionally while Kahn can often be spotted at Bridgeway Gym. Moyer, ever the artist, spends most of his time in a floating studio anchored offshore from Gate 5. One of Sausalito’s most respected artists, his paintings grace city hall and are in high demand. He still cranks them out on regular basis, seldom bothering to come ashore.

Larry Moyer with Showtime and Tate

Night Beat digresses though. Lonnie Walter takes a couple of amazing solos and demonstrates why Tate calls him Showtime. There’s a tune called Nasty Little Boy, Tate’s biographical account of not behaving well, in which Walter blazes away on the bongos while simultaneously doing all these dance-like motions with his arms.

After some New Orleans stuff like Rockin’ Pneumonia, the genre shifts to Hawaiian and doggone if it doesn’t feel like the Islands. This starts with the well known Hanalei Moon, Bob Nelson’s hapa haole classic.

Tate has his own hapa haole song called Pahala. It’s quite beautiful and it is about a small town in Hawaii where he had attended a Hawaiian music workshop. Apparently some of it rubbed off on him. Maggie Catfish tops off this section with Moon Of Manakoora, a Hollywood created song first sung by Dorothy Lamour for the movie, Hurricane.

Catfish doubles on ukulele bass

There’s also a lot of trading instruments between these players. They call it musical instruments.

Bailey usually has the bass. But then he hands it to Catfish and starts playing ukulele.

Tate sometimes gets out a uke too. But this one has eight strings and sounds like a harpsichord. When this happens, Catfish plays guitar. They do Troubled Times in this configuration, a lament about losing a job, having a house foreclosed and going to jail. It does ring a bell.

To learn more about the GATERS go to http://www.localmusicvibe.com/artist/the-gaters

To learn more about Joe Tate go to http://fwd4.me/02ts

To learn more about the No Name Bar go to http://localmusicvibe.com/venue/no-name-bar

This a video slide show of one of our songs about sailing away in the Richmond.

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Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Eugene Huggins, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags Bay area music, eugene huggins, fun finder, guitar blues, harmonica blues, Joe Tate, music in sausalito, Night Beat, Redlegs, san francisco music, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito Cruising Club, Sausalito music on August 22, 2011 by joetatesblog

Blue Monday was fortunate this August 8, to have a visiting Band from the East Bay. Juke Joint plays classic R&B, with guitar, bass, drums and a little horn section of trumpet and sax. The house band, led by Joe Tate with Jeff Costello, Willie riser and Donny Kountz, warmed the place up before introducing Juke Joint.

Juke Joint: L-R Cayce Carnahan, Barbara Speed, David Bailey, Ted Stewart, Roger Bergen and John Bergen

Starting off with Otis Redding’s Can’t Turn You Loose, all the little horn parts are laid down over driving bass and drums under the expert control of Ted Stewart. Dave Baileys vocals sound very authentic in his own belt em’ out style.

Ted Stewart

Although these folks all now live in the East Bay, Ted Stewart has a long history here in Sausalito. After playing many years with the Redlegs, drummer Stewart formed Contraband which was later renamed Sugar Daddy.

Even further back in time, Ted Stewart and Joe Tate played with Salvation, a San Francisco 60s rock band that played numerous dates at both the Fillmore Auditorium and the Avalon Ballroom opening for Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and the Doors among others..

Stewart has enjoyed a career in jazz since moving to the East Bay. He is still perfectly at home with R&B. Just listening, you’d think he never played anything else.

David Bailey

Next up is knock On Wood, the Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper hit that has been covered by everyone from Otis Redding to David Bowie.

David Bailey really nails this one. Bailey does most of the vocals and plays the harmonica here and there where needed.

Juke Joint burns through Can’t Get Next To You, I feel Good and High Flyin’ Baby before kindly relinquishing the stage to other musicains. Learn more about Juke Joint at http://jukejointband.com/

Next up was Coyote And Crew with, among others, Gary Schevenstuhl who also brought his own band, who played a little later.

Ron Rosano, Harry Gold, Willie Riser and Bonnie Hofkin

There was also a visit by Oakland bluesman, Harry Gold, who sings in a high tenor, pitch perfect voice while wailing the blues on guitar. It is really a pleasure to hear him.

Ken Markowitz

Longtime Sausalito Cruising Club member, Ken Markowitz, was up next with Chris Pruess, both on guitar. Markowitz is sort of like a Dean Martin with a guitar, singing in a faux inebriated voice while looking super cool. They were joined by Willie Riser and Ted Stewart. Very amusing.

In the final jam, Eugene Huggins accompanied Kathy Holly on harmonica while she sang Crazy, Willie Nelson’s signature song that was such as smash for Patsy Cline.

Jeff Costello, Eugene Huggins, Jake Baker. Kathy Holly and Willie Riser

Holly has a great interpretation of it. With her jazz tinged voice, she presents subtle textures with a roboto timing. Jeff Costello confidently laid down the chord progression while Huggins’ soulful harmonica created shivers. Holly also produces Cabaret Night, a monthly show featuring many singers and always a great variety of music. Check out Holly’s site at http://kathyholly.com/

The Blue Monday schedule is supposed to be every other Monday. However, certain chaotic functions have altered that to almost every Monday this year. To see upcoming Blue Monday Jams, go to Joe Tate’s Local Music Vibe profile at http://localmusicvibe.com/band/joe-tate

To learn more about the Sausalito Cruising Club go to http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

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Cabaret Night at the Sausalito Cruising Club 063011

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark with tags Bay area music, fun finder, Joe Tate, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito Cruising Club on July 18, 2011 by joetatesblog

Every month or so, the Sausalito Cruising Club hosts Cabaret Night, produced by Kathy Holly, who brings together a wonderful retinue of singers and musicians to perform cabaret style entertainment. Tonight the theme is “Back To The Roaring 20s” with Kathy Holly et al in costume.

Roaring 20s Chorus; L-R Valeriana, Kat Fitzgerald, Connie Ducey, Debra Mugnani, Marilyn Cooney, Kathy Holly and Dorothy Donell

For the Sausalito Cruising Club, which usually hosts pop and blues bands, this is a bit of comic relief. These gals deliver some really fine music though. With their sweet voices and the expert backing with David Miotke on piano and Chris Amberger on bass, the music touches the senses in ways seldom heard nowadays.

Connie Ducey, David Miotke and Chris Amberger

The ladies take turns doing a couple songs each, starting with Connie Ducey who lays down More Than You’ll Ever Know and My Baby Just Cares For Me, the Walter Donaldson/Gus Kahn song written for the Ziegfeld comedy, Whopeee, Staring Eddie Cantor.

Kat Fitzgerald takes the stage and gives out Wild About Harry,a song written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show Shuffle Along. The interaction between her and the piano is sweet syncopation that quickens the pulse. The response is manifested by the folks on the dance floor.

Kat Fitzgerald

Some of the other solos included Kathy Holly singing Hard Hearted Hanna,the much recorded tune written by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow, and Charles Bates. Her energy is overflowing and infects everyone listening.

The grand finale, shown above, was Anything Goes, from the Cole Porter musical of the same name.

The Cabaret Night will return to the SCC on September 22.

To learn more about Kathy Holly and the Cabaret Nights go to

http://www.kathyholly.com/

To learn more about the Sausalito Cruising Club go to

http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

Just down the street at the No Name Bar, Joe Tate and Friends hold forth every Saturday evening at 6. Tonight, Tate is joined by Miles Ceralde, a very talented young guitarist who adds just the right touches to Tate’s vocals and rhythm guitar.

Joe Tate and Miles Ceralde What is that chord?

Both are backed by Lonnie Walter on bongos, giving the music a coffeehouse flavor. Although Tate throws in a few protest songs, it’s not the folksinging style of the sixties, but rather a mix of sophisticated standards and regular old blues and pop. Tate sings a few songs of local interest too, like Sausalito Girl, his own composition about the artist women of Sausalito. You might also hear him sing Dock Of The Bay, the famous Otis Redding song written when the soul/bluesman visited here shortly before his death.

Gabe Navarre and Miles Ceralde

Sitting in tonight is Gabe Navarre, a local guy who could play Hendrix licks when he was a teenager. Now he has developed a wonderful singing voice that is powerful and distinct. When he sings Randy Newman’s Guilty, the walls shudder from his deep baritone setting everything in motion.

Occasionally, Gabe appears here with Tate for the entire gig. They are scheduled to play here August 27. If you haven’t heard him, this is the opportunity.

To learn more about the No Name Bar go to

http://localmusicvibe.com/venue/no-name-bar

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

http://fwd4.me/02ts

Please check out Joe Tate’s Ukulele Baby Songbook

http://ukulelebaby.org/

Contact Joe Tate for parties and stuff at

joebtate@gmail.com

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Michael Skinner’s Final Touch Band 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, Curtis Lawson, guitar blues, Joe Tate, music in sausalito, Night Beat, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito Cruising Club, Sausalito music, waterfront on June 29, 2011 by joetatesblog

The Final Touch Band comes to the Sausalito Cruising Club as part of the legacy from the Blue Monday jam sessions that were led by Billy Dunn and Michael Skinner here some years back. Although The Final Touch Band predated the jam sessions, it was some time before FTB would be playing their spectacular brand of rhythm and blues at the Sausalito Cruising Club. Joining FTB tonight are guitarist Steve Gannon and bassist Larry James, both members of the old SCC jam band. Although The first Sessions featured Pat Wilder on guitar, Gannon became the regular for several years.

The Final Touch Band; L-R Steve Gannon, Michael Skinner, Larry James and Richard Younger

The Final Touch Band is the brainchild of Michael Skinner, a talented drummer/singer who grew up in Richmond, CA where as a youngster he played and sang with the Spiritual Corinthians. He learned music from his late brother Melvin and his uncle both of whom were members of the Spiritual Corinthians. He graduated from Harry Ells High School in 1984. “Charisma” was his first band.

Michael Skinner at work

Soon he would be playing with Beverly Stovall at the Serenader Club in Oakland, CA where he met up with Billy Dunn and later Curtis Lawson. This was his core group leading up to the formation of the FTB, which at first was with Leonard Hawkins, Dale Whitmore and Larry James on guitar. Tonight, Richard Younger is subbing for Hawkins on keyboards. He’s a funny guy all laughing and joking. The way he moves around the keyboard, he looks like Ray Charles.

Michael Skinner’s rendition of Mustang Sally is something to behold. With his powerful gospel trained voice, he lends incredible power to this Wilson Pickett classic. The ending, which Michael arranged, is like no other and is an apt demonstration of this band’s power. All their songs have great endings.

Larry James wails with Steve Gannon L and Richard Younger R

Bassist Larry James, who doubles on guitar, can really belt out some oldies but goodies too. His version of Shake rattle and Roll segues into shout, the Isley Brother smash from yesteryear.

Steve Gannon sings the blues

Steve Gannon delivers up some good blues with Howlin’ Wolf’s, Baby, How Long. This man can play some guitar too, and in a most pleasing way. His playing can be searing and laid back at the same time. Sort of like sweet and sour, it’s delicious.

Gannon, who grew up in London, came to Oakland in 1985 after the end of a ten year marriage. When he was invited to Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, he played with Beverly Stovall and Sonny Rhodes who took him on tour of Canada with his band.

Steve wound up playing in the house band at Eli’s three nights a week. There was an after-hours club called Deluxe Inn where he finally met Michael Skinner sometime in the 80s. Later he hooked up with Billy Dunn in Curtis Lawson’s band where he shared guitar duties with the late Drake Levin.

Joe Tate medleys with Michael Skinner

There was one other little surprise for the night; Joe Tate showed up and sang a couple of old favorites like Blueberry Hill and High Heeled Sneakers, which is done in a medley of songs traded back and forth between Tate and Skinner. It went sort of like this; Tate sang a verse of High Heeled Sneakers then Skinner sang a verse of Big Boss Man. Bits of several songs were strung together with alternating singers in a sort of faux competition. Amusing.

The Final Touch Band will return to the Sausalito Cruising Club on Friday July 1 at 8:00 PM

To contact the Final Touch Band go to

http://www.gigleader.com/band/michael-skinner-and-final-touch

To learn more about the Sausalito Cruising Club go to

http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

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Sausalito Cruising Club, No Name bar, Taste of Rome and Seahorse

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags acoustic blues, Bay area music, blues, guitar blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Sausalito, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito music, Ukulele music, waterfront on May 16, 2011 by joetatesblog

The Blue Monday Jam Session at the Sausalito Cruising Club on April 25 had over 22 participants, all of whom came to the stage and played. The house band, consisting of Joe Tate, Donny Kountz and Willie Riser, played the first set of lively blues, mostly covers of oldies but goodies.

There was a surprise visit by two members of the Average Dyke Band and they performed several exciting dance tunes. This refers to Staphanie Teel and Carrie Gesendasy who appear here every other Monday and thus alternating with the Blue Monday Jam Session.

Phil Berkowitz, Donny Kountz, Stephanie Teel and Carrie Gesendasy jam out!

There were also many other excellent players taking the stage this night including John “Coyote” Egan with several of his students, who are all proficient guitarists. The Cruising Club also welcomed harmonica wiz, Phil Berkowitz who joined with Teel and Gesendasy as well as Gary Berger and Anthony Lincoln who wails on the sax and vocalizes some good old Motown songs.

On Saturday April 30, Jerome Phillips and Lonnie Walter joined joe Tate at the No Name Bar. Joe Tate sang a couple things that brought the house down including Roosevelt Blues, which seems to clarify some things about American History.

Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jerome Phillips at the No Name Bar

Jerome Phillips is an incredibly skilled musician who segues seamlessly between Gershwin, Leadbelly or The Beatles. This makes it easy for Tate to move around between the many genres he likes to dabble in.

By the way, you can see Joe Tate sing Roosevelt Blues at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6F7nYzcqJ8

In other news, Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar ended it’s music program on April 31st. Eugene Huggins and Chris Goddard played the final show there. Their many years of playing at Saylor’s Landing every Sunday night had become an institution of the Sausalito social scene.. This came to and end when Sean Saylor moved his operation to it’s present location at the former Guernica Restaurant.

Chris Goddard and Eugene Huggins with David Kemp and Sean Saylor sitting in

The wonderful times had at both these locations will be long remembered by many.

There is a happening scene at the Taste of Rome Restaurant at 1000 Bridgeway featuring music from 7-10 on friday and saturday nights. On May 6th, Joe Tate, Wendy DeWitt, Lonnie Walter and Kirk Harwood were holding forth as “The Taters.” The gig was supposed to be played with Joe and Cole Tate who call themselves The Taters but, Cole was away on important business.

Wendy really stirred the audience with her virtuoso piano. While Joe is belting out some old favorite, Wendy has his back and drives it home with lots of torque, so to speak.

Kirk Harwood, Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Wendy DeWitt at Taste of Rome

Lonnie Walter plays bongos while Kirk Harwood has a pair of congos and other handheld percussion instruments. With the piano and guitar it all creates a very nice sound for a small place where a full band may get to be a little too much.

The high point of the evening may have been when a troupe of Girl Scouts sat in one section all singing the responses to Minnie The Moocher. This of course is the Hi de hi de hi de ho song made famous by Cab Calloway which energizes audiences everywhere.

Joe Tate and Miles Ceralde at the No Name Bar

The next day, May 7, Miles Ceralde played with Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar in what is, perhaps, a prelude of things to come. Miles is just twenty and getting him to play here involved doing some research on the law and convincing the owners that this is legal. Under the rules, none of the other musicians are allowed to drink. That was easy for Joe, whose booze career ended long ago, though Lonnie Walter was a little chagrinned

Ceralde really showed what he was made of, burning up the fretboard with youthful riffs that were decidedly of the jazz and blues flavor. It’s refreshing to see a youngster with so much going on. Miles Ceralde will be back at the No Name Bar with Joe Tate on June 25.

The next week Sandy “Ukulele” Bailey joined Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar for a show that was quite different than the usual. Bailey sings and plays ukulele and bass, switching instruments between songs as needed. Joe Tate is an ukulele nut too and tonight he shares some of the bass duties when Bailey plays ukulele.

Joe Tate and Sandy Bailey at the No Name Bar

They performed many Hawaiian songs interspersed with Americana of the blues and jazz persuasion. With Ukulele Bailey’s sweet smooth voice and Tate’s characteristic growl, the harmony achieved between them is remarkable, especially on the Hawaiian songs, some of which they deliver in the Hawaiian language.

Bailey tore the place up with his rendition of On Bridgeway, a paraody of On Broadway, the smash hit by George Benson. The song even refers to the No Name Bar itself. When Ukulele Bailey returns June 18, you’ll want to come just to hear this song.

A little later this same night, The Tickets played at the Sausalito Seahorse Restaurant which is located on Harbor Drive near Gate 5 Road. The Tickets sound great in this room which has pretty nice acoustics. Debra Clawson, who fronts the group, has an unusual voice which lends itself well to the blues and pop music that make up The Tickets repertoire.

The Tickets at Sausalito Seahorse Restaurant

This restaurant has good food and a nice atmosphere except for the lighting which is overdone. There’s all these weird computer driven LED spots along with colored lights on the stage which make the performers look like zombies. A lot of fun can be had here in spite of these small distractions.

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

See the Ukulele Baby Songbook at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

The No Name Bar flyer Joe Tate and Ukulele Bailey

Here’s another video of Joe Tate playing the ukulele and singing Don’t Think Twice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik8zVBZLJtk

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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 Bay area music, guitar blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Redlegs, Sausalito After Dark 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 Bay area music, fun finder, guitar blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, music in sausalito, Night Beat, Ukulele music 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 acoustic blues, Bay area music, guitar blues, harmonica blues, Joe Tate, Last Free Ride, Lisa Kindred, music in sausalito, Night Beat, No Name bar, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito Cruising Club 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 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://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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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.