Page 68 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2017

The Funky Fridays concerts on the lawn of the Sonoma Valley’s historic
Let The Music Rise
May 25 ~ 8th Annual Youth Film Festival by Local High School Students - from El Molino, Analy, Rancho Cotati, Mont- gomery, Windsor, and Casa Grande. $10 Adults / $5 Students, 7:00p3rd St. Cin- ema, 620 3rd St., Santa RosaJun 1 - Jun 4 ~ 12th Annual Mendocino
Jun 1, 2, 3, 4 ~ Mendocino Film Festival - Feature 65 films representing 23 coun- tries. $11 to $20, Various Mendocino lo- cations, including Festival Tent, Crown Hall, and Odd Fellows Hall, Festival Tent, 10701 Palette Dr., Mendocino., 707- 937-0171, mendocinofilmfestival.org/, info@mendocinofilmfestival.org
Jun 6, 13, 20, & 27~ Summer Nights on the Green Kid’s Movies Windsor Town GreenMovies start 15 minutes after sun- set Free, Windsor Town Green, 701 Mc- Clelland Dr. at Market St, 707-838-1260, townofwindsor.com/342/Summer- Nights-on-the-Green
Auditions
May 17 - Aug 31 ~ Join the Pacific Empire Chorus - Can you hum any of these? Somewhere Over the Rainbow, As Time Goes By, Let It Be, Signed, Sealed, Delivered, 7 p.m. Wednesday rehearsals at the First Presbyterian Church located at 939 B Street in Petaluma. more information go to www.pacificempire. org
By Date
May 26 & 27 ~ Live musis at Olivers in Windsor 9230 Old Redwood Hwy., Windsor, 707-687-2050 noon-6p
May 27 ~ Around the World with French Oak Gypsy Band - vocalist Stella Heath with French-American Gabe Pirard on guitar/vocals; Jimmy Inciardi on saxophone, James Foster on drums/ percussion and Josh Fossgreen on electric bass. Dancing encouraged! $15 in advance/$20 at the door, 8:00p Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, 707-874-9392, occidentalcenterforthearts.org/french- oak-gypsy-band/
May 27 ~ Jura Margulis - Russian Virtuoso in Concert -virtuoso pianist, powerful and uplifting. Inspires all ages. Free to students/Adults $25 to $40, 7:30p PetalumaHistoricalLibrary&Museum, 20 Fourth Street, Petaluma, 707-778-4398, brownpapertickets.com/event/2931267
Jun 10 ~ Taming Wild a Girl and her Mus- tang - Summerfield Cinema. The film and a Q&A with Elsa Sinclair - Wine, hors d’oeuvres before and after the film. 1:00p - 4:00p, Summerfield Cinema, 551 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa, sum- merfieldcinemas.com/events
Rialto Cinemas June Special Shows
Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol, 707-525-4840, rialtocinemas.com
Hood Mansion have raised money for that area’s
parks since 2013. They’re back for another round of shows this summer, having added a new 600 square- foot dance oor. One of
Jun 8 ~ Deconstructing the Beatles’: Rub- ber Soul- 1 & 7p
the summer’s high points promises to be the June 16 appearance of the Volker Strifler Band.
Jun 12 ~ Real Boy - Free 1 & 7p
June 14 ~ Michelangelo Love and Death
June 8 ~ Indie Lens Pop-Up: Real Boy 1pm 7pm
Jun 10 - National Theatre Live: Peter Pan: 10am
Exhibition 1 & 7p
Jun 15 ~National Theatre: Peter Pan: 7p June 21 ~ Met Opera Summer encores: Les
Stri er has played an important role in the Santa Rosa music scene for a long time.
Pecheurs de Perles - 1:30 & 6:30 June 22 ~ National Theatre Live: 7p Jun 28 ~ 2017 Macbeth 1:30 & 6:30p
Born in Heidelberg, Germany, he began his musical career in the late 1970s, playing mostly rock ‘n roll, at American military bases, which every German town had at the time.
Jun 29 ~ Michelangelo Love and Death 4p
Jun 1 ~ Petaluma Celtic Music Session -an authentic traditional pub seisiun Come to listen or play. “comhaltas ceoltoiri” level traditional music in our area. Free 7-9p, Aqus Cafe, 189 H St., Petaluma, 707- 778-6060, aqus.com/event/celtic-music- session/2017-04-06/
Jun3~CallDownAngel-Music&Poems - a journey through the spiritual desert of contemporary America, Free, 2- 4p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court, 707-328-3325, hoodoodog.blogspot.com/
Jun 3 ~ Gravenstein Mandolins -music from the Americas: Brazilian choros, Argentine tangos, Mexican marches, New England old-time fiddle tunes, Western Swing, $15 General / $10 Student, 7:30pSebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S High St., Sebastopol, sebarts. org/index.php/performing-arts/
That circuit didn’t support the blues music he was listening to, creating
a motivation to later move closer to its roots in the U.S. In his early 20’s in Germany, Stri er met and married an American girl from Sonoma County, and has spent most of his time here since.
In the late ‘90s, he backed classic bluesman Lowell Fulson at two or three European festivals, and joined the popular Ford Blues Band as their frontman when they needed a vocalist/guitarist. He played with them at the 2003 San Francisco Blues Festival, doing a Butter eld Blues Band tribute that included Nick Gravenites and Al Kooper. The Ford Blues Band is still intact, performing occasionally, says Stri er.
Stri er exudes a vibrant and e ervescent personality that’s re ected in the music on his most recent CD release, 2011’s “Let the Music Rise.” His focal point is blues, but he likes to explore, with an emphasis on rhythm leading him into di erent styles. “Blues is the most important thing I do,” he says, “but jazz comes into my music.” Sometimes a honky tonk or calypso sound appears, creating a sense of jubilation. “I can be more genuine when I play what really comes out,” he says. “Sometimes the magic works.”
Lately, he’s returning to more of a blues vein. “I hope we continue to keep the tradition alive, but also try to push the envelope, just to keep it vital.”
Stri er has released four albums. Ninety-percent of his songs are originals. “I try to make the lyrics mean something, without sounding preachy. I just stick to what I know and what feels right, but sometimes, when I rst bring these things out to the band, I get these blank stares.”
Jun 3 ~ Jayme Stone’s FolkLife-
Discussing the e ect of technology on recording, he appreciates the fact that parts can be recorded in di erent locations and mixed together, allowing him to record with guys he knows in Germany, but says, “There’s no better feel than recording the whole band at the same time. Technology makes stu possible, but you lose that interplay.”
banjoist, composer and instigator, 8p. Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, 707-874-9392, occidentalcenterforthearts.org/, info@ occidentalcenterforthearts.org
Stri er works hard at his music and takes it very seriously. “As an artist you have to be true to yourself,” he says. “If you intellectualize about it, you’re sterilizing your music. There’s some blood, sweat, and tears involved when you do it right.”
May 27 ~ The Beautiful Questions -
Jun 6 ,13,20,27 ~ Michael Hantman Sings Smooth Rock at the Blue Heron - 12 string guitar at the Blue Heron - 6-8p. No Cover 6-8p, Blue Heron Restaurant, 2500 Steelhead Blvd., Duncans Mills, blueheronrestaurant.com/, michaelbhantman@gmail.com
Jun 7 ~ Teen Open Mic at Aqus Café - Sign- up starts at 6:30. Music Starts at 7pm Free Aqus Cafe, 189 H St., Petaluma, 707- 778-6060, aqus.com/event/teen-open- mic/2017-04-05/, Music@aquscafe.com
reverbnation.com/volkerstrifler Full lineup atfunkyfridays.info/
68 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 6/17
Cloverdale Ale Company -”alternative country-infused rock”. No cover, 7:00p 10:00p, Cloverdale Ale Compnay, 131 E. First Street, Cloverdale, 707-894-9610, cloverdaleale.com/