Page 68 - Sonoma County Gazette July 2017

The song “Hot Rod Lincoln,” a rockabilly hit in 1955 for Charlie Ryan about a San Pedro
Auditions
Now - Aug 31 ~ Join the Pacific Empire Chorus - Can you hum any of these? Somewhere Over the Rainbow, As Time Goes By. ‘yes’ ?then you are a candidate for the Pacific Empire Chorus. Stop by for a visit at 7p - Every Wed, First Pres- byterian Church, 939 B Street, Petaluma, pacificempire.org/
By Date
Jun 28 ~ Open Mic in Forestville –What tension do you perceive needs attention? donation. 7-10p, 6530 Covey Rd. face- book.com/events/721397061365253
Jun 30 ~ Batacha Quintet - Derived from Sonoma County’s premier Latin Band $12, 8- 10p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, 707-874- 9392, occidentalcenterforthearts.org/, info@occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Jul 2 ~ Gypsy Kisses - All-American Songbook Concert Backhome in the USA - No cover, 5p Redwood Cafe, 8240 Old Redwood Highway, Cotati, 707-795- 7868, eurotenor.wix.com/due-zighi-baci, zighi@sonic.net
Jul 2 ~ Michael Hantman Sings Smooth Rock on his 12 string guitar. No Cover , Sbragia Winery, Dry Creek Rd, Geyser- ville, sbragia.com/, michaelbhantman@ gmail.com
Tuesdays in July - Michael Hantman Sings Smooth Rock at the Blue Heron 6-8p. No Cover 2500 Steelhead Blvd., Duncans Mills, blueheronrestaurant. com/, michaelbhantman@gmail.com
Jul 5 ~ Sing-A-Story Opera: The Magic Flute - A professional opera singer en- gages children in classic opera story, unveiling props and costumes. Free, 11- 12p, Sonoma Valley Regional Library, 755 West Napa Street, Sonoma, 707-996- 5217, sonomalibrary.org/locations/so- noma-valley-regional-library
Jul 6 ~ 1st Thursday - Petaluma Celtic Music Session Seisiun-seekers can hear or play “comhaltas ceoltoiri” level tra- ditional music in our area. Free 7-9p, Aqus Cafe, 189 H St., Petaluma, 707-778- 6060, aqus.com/event/celtic-music-ses- sion/2017-04-06/
Jul 7 ~ First Friday Karaoke - 7:30p - 11p; Youth welcome till 9 pm. $5 youth 7-17 free with adult, 7:30p - 11:00p, Coleman Hall, Gualala Arts Center, 46501 Old State Hwy, Gualala, 707-884-1138, gua- lalaarts.org/2017/07/friday-night-kara- oke/, info@gualalaarts.org
Jul 7 ~ Wild Jane - Jazz Vocalist It’s Too Darn Hot! John Simon, Tom Shader, & Geoff Whyte 7- 10p, Main Street Bistro, 16280 Main St., Guerneville, wildjanes. com/gigs/
Jul 8 ~ Fanna-Fi-Allah Sufi Qawwali Concert - traditional music of Pakistan and India,recognized as the preeminent qawwali group outside of Pakistan. , $20 - 7p Center for Spiritual Living, 2075 Oc- cidental Rd, SR, 707-527-8372,
- Flamenco guitarist/composer/educator Juanito Pascual performs SOLO. $18 Ad- vance/$20 at the Door., 8:00p Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, Occidental, 707-874-9392, occiden- talcenterforthearts.org
Hot Rod Lincoln
hot rod race, was taken to #9 on the Billboard charts in 1972 by the band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, under the sheer force of co- founder Bill Kirchen’s sizzling guitarwork.
Jul 8 ~ Juanito Pascual: Flamenco Guitar!
Kirchen, born in 1948, later propelled the song into the 21st Century and beyond by creating an elongated version on which
he succinctly reproduces the guitar styles of many American heroes. Kirchen, in a recent phone interview, says this developed spontaneously 10-15 years
Jul 8 ~ Larry Vuckovich’s All Star Quartet
ago, starting as a stage joke.
Rolling Stone magazine called it
“epic,” and now Kirchen calls
this version his trademark and
features it in every show. “People want to hear it,” he says. “I need to play it.”
Jul 9 ~ Green Music Center 3rd Annual Bluegrass Festival. A star-studded event featuring a who’s-who in blue- grass music Tickets starting at $25, 2:00pWeill Hall and Lawn at the Green Music Center, 1801 E Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, tickets.sonoma.edu/gmc/Online/ default.asp
- Grammy-winning, Laurie Lewis joins with Tom Rozum and the masterful musicians of The Right Hands. $25 Ad- vance/$30 at the door. Reservations ad- vised. 4p Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, Occidental, 874- 9392, occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Jul 10 & 24 ~ Bluegrass Jam - 7pm, Sebas- topol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave, Hwy 12, Sebastopol, 707-829-9052, Peter, se- bastopolgrange.org/
Jul 12 ~ Petaluma Open Jazz Jam - spon- taneous takes on classic and lesser- known jazz standards, chosen on- the-spot by that night’s participants. Free, 7 - 9pm, Aqus Cafe, 189 H St., Petaluma, 707-778-6060, aqus.com/ event/the-aqus-jazz-project-open-jazz- jam-2017-04-12/2017-04-12/
Jul 12 ~ Moonlighters Big Band Outdoor Concert - Swing-era pieces for 37 years and counting! Free, 6p - 8p, Rohnert Park
On July 26, at Sebastopol’s Peacetown Summer Concert Series in Ives Park, Kirchen, who embraces rock ‘n’ roll, bluegrass, Texas Western swing, and California honkytonk, will swap songs with three-time Grammy nominee Jimmie Dale Gilmore, whom Kirchen describes as “having been at the ground oor of the whole Austin roots music/alt-country scene.” Kirchen’s wife, Louise, will add harmonies.
- classic rare standards, contemporary jazz. $20 general 7:30p Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High St, Sebas- topol, 707-829-4797, brownpapertickets. com/event/2949968, info@sebarts.org
Kirchen, now living in Austin, Texas, grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a college town, though he describes himself as a “townie.” While in high school he discovered folk music. Rescuing his mom’s old banjo from the attic he hitchhiked to 1964’s Newport Folk Festival, meeting the world’s greatest folk and blues players. “I was so green then,” he says.
He met George Frayne while Kirchen’s band played the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and they co-founded Commander Cody in 1967. The band moved to California, and rented a house in Emeryville. Kirchen describes hiring a drive- away car and drilling holes in the oorboard to attach a trailer to transport his records and two motorcycles.
Jul 9 ~ Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
During this time, the band backed up ‘50s rockabilly star Gene Vincent (Be- Bop-a-Lula) at the Oakland Coliseum and Berkeley’s notorious Longbranch Saloon, just before Vincent’s death in 1971. Of Vincent, Kirchen says “He could sing like a bird.”
Post-Commander Cody, Kirchen moved to Glen Ellen, forming the Moonlighters, which included Norton Bu alo. For their rst gig they backed up Lily Tomlin in 1976 at San Francisco’s Boarding House. A 1983 album release was produced by Nick Lowe in London.
Kirchen played behind Link Wray in the mid-70s, now describing Wray as “super-friendly. He wore sunglasses 24 hours a day.” Playing behind Bo Diddley at a one-o gig, Diddley told Kirchen’s band “Nobody play that Bo Diddley beat but me.”
Guitar Player magazine has named Kirchen a “Titan of the Telecaster” and a Grammy nomination came his way in 2001 for “Poultry in Motion” in the country instrumental category.
He has been part of several college shows on the history of electric guitar
in popular music, plus one at the Smithsonian Institution called “Electri ed, Ampli ed, and Dei ed.” Kirchen remains an integral part of the rise of electric guitar to its dominant role in modern music history.
billkirchen.com; peacetown.org/conserts-series
68 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 7/17
Complete listing of summer concerts pages 70-71
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