Steve is a Pismo Beach resident, a singer-songwriter whose music is posted at Steve Key.com. He is also host of Songwriters At Play, held at several Central Coast venues.
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Friday Night Blues and a Saturday Goodbye
by Steve Key
Musicians hate double-bookings. You show up at the venue ready to set up and play, only to find out that another act has been booked on the same date. Usually, one act keeps the gig and the other goes home empty-handed. But on August 19, two bands celebrated a double-booking with a merger—Valerie Johnson's Voodoo Doodads shared the stage with Jimmy Townsend's California Blues Band for a free Friday evening blues jam at the Branch Street Deli in Arroyo Grande.
Jimmy and Val
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"It's the largest band on the Central Coast," screamed Jimmy, overstating it a bit. But it was a powerful combination, with multiple vocalists and instrumental soloists creating a wall of sound. Lorenzo Pace barked out a baritone sax line, then Joey Five & Dimes matched it with a blues harp break. Al B. Blue sent out some electric slide guitar from stage left, and there was Mike Gerber replying with electric riffs from stage right. Good thing the outdoor stage had plenty of room—the confab included nine musicians.
Branch Street Deli continues its free Friday shows through this month and into the fall. Blues fans will want to catch Billy Estrada's band, formerly known as Soul Reaction, newly re-christened "Spoonfed Lightning," set for September 16 and October 7. Preview their sound.
Shows are held every Friday 5:30-8:30pm at the deli, located at 203 East Branch Street in the Village of Arroyo Grande. Branch Street Deli.com
Mike Lopez
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Mike Lopez gave us a lot of free live music. He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist playing blues, country, folk and rock. He frequently played bass guitar in a jazz standards combo at The Madonna Inn. Last year, you could find him almost every week at Solvang venues like The Mandarin Touch and The Hadsten House. In '09, he gigged at The Cliffs in Shell Beach, the Rogue Wave Café in Cayucos, and did a cross-country tour, playing concerts in Texas, Maryland, and Chicago.
Santa Barbara native, part Chumash, he even had Hank Williams' song about the wooden Indian, "Kawliga," in his repertoire. Wish I could call Mike to see if he'd play that in the Hank Williams tribute show I'm hosting this month. But Mike died August 17 at age 57, from lung cancer.
A long-planned benefit concert on August 20 became a rock ‘n roll wake. Dozens of musicians gathered at the Maverick Saloon in Santa Ynez. Jeff Elliott served as music director, at one point covering Mike's song "Wild Side," playing trumpet with his right hand and electric piano with his left. A revolving rhythm section included members of Jeff Bridges' band, who had just returned from New York. Ventura's Teresa Russell kicked off the day-long jam as a one-woman band, using a loop station to create backing guitar and vocal harmonies, while she took some blistering solos on classic rocker anthems "Woodstock" and "Love Me Like a Man."
More about Mike Lopez
Elephant Seal on Banner by Mike Baird |
