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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 , , , , , , 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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Mal Sharpe’s Big Money In Jazz Band

Posted in Bay Area Music, KGO, Mal Sharpe, Night Beat, No Name Bar, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags , , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2011 by joetatesblog

Mal Sharpe is anAmerican television and radio personality who also leads a Dixieland jazz band in the Bay Area. According to Wikipedia, “In the early 1960s, Sharpe teamed with Jim Coyle to create a series of comic on-the-street interviews for San Francisco radio station KGO. Armed with a tape recorder, Coyle and Sharpe confronted pedestrians with unusual questions or strange behavior. In a 1964 interview with Newsweek magazine, Sharpe explained “We try to pose an almost plausible question, then proceed step by step into absurdity until the interviewee is seething.”

Big Money In Jazz: L-R Jeff Sanford, Leon Oakley, Bill Dekuiper, Mal Sharpe, Joe Mckinley and Carmen Consino

Mal Sharpe’s Big Money In Jazz Band has been playing at the No Name Bar in Sausalito, CA every Sunday afternoon since about 1990. Listening to them is an authentic trip down yesteryear. It’s like going back to the roaring twenties to a time before any of us were born (including Mal Sharpe) to an era of good times and no worries.

Mal Sharpe

Mal sings some songs you may never have heard of, but they really swing. He belts out Goin Back To Indiana, then gives it the trombone treatment as only he can do. With the clarinet, coronet and trombone weaving an intricate melodic web, it’s New Orleans in Sausalito. That Clarinet is played by Jeff Sanford who doubles on saxophone. Sharpe takes turns with Sanford on solos with equal time given to Leon Oakley on coronet.

Jeff Sanford

The sound is rounded out with a solid rhythm section consisting of Carmen Consino on drums and Joe Mckinley on Bass. Chords are laid down on guitar by Bill Dekuiper.

After a few songs they are all joined by Faith Winthrop on vocals for her rendition of Cheek To Cheek, the Irving Berlin classic. She sings with a well trained voice that is dripping with sweet inflections of the Jazz Age. Following this is Louis Armstrong’s Someday You’ll Be Sorry in which the full impact of the band and singer adds exponentially.

Winthrop, who grew up in Boston, came to Sausalito in 1955 where she lived for a while and during which time she sang at the hungry i in San Francisco.

Faith Winthrop and Carmen Cosino

After wandering to Los Angeles, New York and other points east, she returned here in 1965 and married. She was a featured singer at the Razz Room for many years and has lately been appearing here regularly with Mal Sharpe’s Big Money In Jazz Band. Here’s hoping she continues here for the foreseeable future.

There is a request for Basin Street Blues which is happily obliged by Sharpe who delivers the vocal.

Everybody solos including the guitar driven by Bill Dekuiper. This is Kenny Burrell redux with a strong taste of blues.

Leon Oakley

When the drums came in, it was in four bar segments, with Consino playing four bars solo and then four bars with the band  with maybe four reps.

Winthrop returned to the stage and sang Ain’t Misbehavin, the wonderful standard from Fats Waller. This song, written in 1929, is perfect for Dixieland with its drawled out melody and swing rhythm. A song called New Age Old age is next. This is a twelve bar blues that was written by Winthrop.

Bill Dekuiper and Joe Mckinley

Bill Dekuiper and Joe Mckinley

Winthrop continued on with Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams, written by Harry Barris, Ted Koehler, and Billy Moll but made famous by Louis Armstrong. This is an especially beautiful song and when her lovely voice gave way to the sax, it was music heaven, with new and inscrutable melodies filling the room.

Mal Sharpe took over for a few minutes with I Want A Little Girl, another song made famous by Louis Armstrong. Winthrop returned right away though with I’m Beginning To See The Light, a Duke Ellington song that was a hit for Ella Fitzgerald.

On this song, the coronet and and alto sax take fours. The rhythm section continues while Dekuiper and Oakley take turns at four bars each. It works up into a frenzy when they change it to two bars. They all come in climatically and then fall off as the voice comes back in. Dramatic!

At this point, Tao Jones, a regular performer at the No Name Bar, shows up and sings Just A Little While To Stay Here, a gospel favorite of unknown provenance.

Tao Jones belts out a couple

With a strong baritone voice, he leads the band into some new territory and it starts to rock. At least that’s what the audience was doing.

At The Jazz Band Ball, a fast tune by Louis armstrong, is played with hot instrumentals and drum breaks. The drum breaks aren’t just fours, but actual solos this time around.

Winthrop comes back and sings Georgia, with a false start and a key change. After changing from Eb to Bb, it comes off beautifully with a super solo on soprano sax as well as trombone.

L-R Jeff Sanford, BHill Dekuiper, Leon Oakley, Joe Mckinley, Mal Sharpe and Faith Winthrop

She gives us one more with A Hundred Years From Today, a song written by Victor Young, the lyrics by Ned Washington and Joe Young. The song was published in 1933. This song is about how we should enjoy life because what we do won’t matter in a hundred years, a contention that is losing favor these days.

Mal Sharpe ends the set singing The Song Has Ended, another by Irving Berlin but made famous by Ella Fitzgerald.

To learn More About Mal Sharpe go to http://www.keller.com/bass/bigmoney/

To learn more about Faith Winthrop go to http://www.faithwinthrop.com/bio.html

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

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Cabaret Night at the Sausalito Cruising Club 063011

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark with tags , , , , , , , , 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

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 Aragon Jazz Quartet, Blue Monday at Sausalito Cruising Club, Wendy DeWitt, Joe Tate and Jeromeo at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , on June 13, 2011 by joetatesblog

Michael Aragon has been playing Jazz at the No Name Bar in Sausalito every Friday night for the past 28 years. Probably the longest running jazz gig in the Bay Area.  Starting in 1983 with Dick Conte on piano and Chuck Sher on Bass, the group has evolved over many years.  Vince Wallace, a master of the tenor sax, joined the group between 1986 and 1991. During the 90s, Jackie King provided his incredible guitar. In this configuration, they cut an album with Willie Nelson.

Michael Aragon Jazz Quartet today: L-R Casey Filson, Rob Roth, Pierre Archain and Michael Aragon

Yolanda Nickel, a protege’ of Vince Wallace, also worked these Friday night sessions for many years.

Today the group consists of Casey Filson on piano, Rob Roth on saxophone, Pierre Archain on Bass and Michael Aragon on Drums. Progressive jazz is the main bag but, Aragon often has guest singers and other players who may perform old standards, R&B or blues. For Bay Area  jazz, this is as good as it gets.

Michael Aragon

Michael Aragon was born in the old town section of Sausalito where his parents owned a considerable amount of land. Sally Stanford often would baby sit with him when he was little. Aragon was spared the burden of wealth because his parents gave their entire fortune to charity.

He gained his love of music from the singing of his mother, who remarkably, had memorized the entire Bible. It was jazz that captivated him later on, though he dabbled in many other styles including some standup vocal work.

His playing is reminiscent of Elvin Jones, a figure he has always admired.

Rob Roth

Rob Roth came to California from Philadelphia in 1999 and started with Aragon in 2000.  He graduated from Temple University where he majored in Jazz Performance.

Rob turns in some smokin’ hot solos on stuff like Bailing Out or Bud Powell. Sounding like his hero, Dexter Gordon, Roth has complete control of the tenor saxophone. It is a pleasure to hear his renditions of the Antonio Carlos Jobim bossa novas.

Casey Filson has been doing the piano chores here for about three years. Living in the East Bay, he grew up in Richmond  and teaches at Saint Mary’s College High School in Berkeley.

Filson’s excellent playing gives the perfect framework for the Quartet’s extensive playlist. The piano is the department of chord progressions and they flow from his hands in an unbroken stream.

Pierre Archain plays a strong rhythmic bass style that insistently drives the music while meshing with the profusion of chords. He has held down the bass position here since the 1980s.

Pierre Archain

Archain was born in the south of France where he grew up in Montpellier and Toulouse as well as Nice. He came to New york in 1979 but ended up in San Francisco.

If you like jazz, you’ll love the Michael Aragon Jazz Quartet. They are at the No Name bar in Sausalito, CA every Friday night starting at 9 PM.

The No Name Bar has been here since 1958. The owners who opened it then couldn’t decide on a name. During the remodeling of the bar, they wrote various trial names on the wall. These can still be seen if one peeks behind the bar.

In addition to friday Jazz, the No Name Bar has music every night of the week. To see the schedule go to

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

The June 6, Blue Monday jam session at the Sausalito Cruising Club was powered by 19 jammers including Steve Gannon, a founder of the Monday night sessions at SCC. Led by pianist Billy Dunn, his R&B quartet with keyboard, bass, drums and guitar played by Gannon, held forth every Monday here for many years. Gannon, who recently overcame cancer, was warmly received by all the many folks here who knew him.

Steve Gannon and Shima Moore

There were many of the regular jammers in attendance along with some new people who were invited to the stage including Shima Moore. She joined Gannon and sang a few oldies including When Will I Be Loved, made famous originally  by the Everly Brothers and later by Linda Ronstadt.

The house band is now Joe Tate, Willie Riser and Donny Kountz on guitar, bass and drums respectively. They performed an opening set old R&B, New Orleans, and rock music.

Coyote and crew

Tate opened the stage for jammers at about 8:00 PM. First  up was John “Coyote” Egan and his guitar students. Numbering six in all, this took a huge chunk out of the waiting cue. They played really  well and the dance floor came alive.

Paul Bohan and Willie Riser

Slowly,  through various rotations, almost everyone got to play or sing including Daylight Again, a trio of singers who laid down some tight harmony on old standards and whatnot. Beautiful to listen to though.

Great performances were also turned in by Paul Bohan, Gabe Navarre and Miss Suzie Q.

Gannon and Tate performed the finale’ with Roosevelt Blues, a compelling sort of historical review of American presidents. You can see Joe Tate perform Roosevelt Blues at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6F7nYzcqJ8

To learn more about the Sausalito Cruising Club go to

http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

Kirk Harwood, Joe Tate and Wendy DeWitt

Joe Tate appears every Saturday evening at the No Name Bar in Sausalito with Various Artists. On June 4, he was joined by Miss Wendy DeWitt and Kirk Harwood who was substituting for Lonnie Walter.

DeWitt is an incredible performer, combining piano virtuosity with strong vocals covering the blues, standards and a healthy dose of boogie woogie .

Tate adds his own charm to the ensemble with a powerful baritone voice that is well matched to stuff like Minnie The Moocher, of Cab Calloway fame.

Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jeromeo

The following week, on June 11, Jeromeo shared the stage with Tate and the resurrected Lonnie Walter. Just as with DeWitt, Tate doesn’t have to work very hard with Jeromeo on account of having the bass lines and chord rhythms supplied by their excellent keyboard work.

To learn more about Wendy DeWitt go to http://www.wendydewitt.com/

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

The No Name Bar schedule is at http://localmusicvibe.com/venue/no-name-bar


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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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , 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 , , , , , , , , 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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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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