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musicians workshop 2
Last post I told you a
little about The
Musicians Workshop
in Temecula, founded by my good friends Jon & Jane Laskin.
These folks do a
world of good for young people in our area b y exposing kids to a
variety of
musical expressions from instrumental to vocal to dance. It's a 501-C3
organization which means they rely on grants and contributions to fund
their
acquisition of instruments, music and sound equipment, maintenance of
the
10,000 piece Chuck Niles Jazz Collections, and pay
rent on a facility to
teach, record and play.
We are in the midst of a three year fundraising effort called 'The
Grand
Program' wherein donors who contribute $1,000 (The Grand, Get it?) in
each of
the years will receive a gold record for their home as well as one on
display
in the studio to commemorate their largesse. As the programs grows,
they have
also been blessed by corporate sponsors for events and supplies that
has made
life a little easier for Jon and Jane, and a lot richer for their
students.
One of my favorite Musicians Workshop events has been
their 'In-Home
Concert Series'.
Held for the past seven years, the fundraising series is typically held
in an
estate home in the Wine Country or up in the groves - a home where 75
to 100
people can comfortably sit in your living room and enjoy an intimate
concert
experience with a great musician. Local wineries often donate enough
wine to
get everybody sloshy and in a musical mood, restaurants usually chip in
enough
finger foods, appetizers and mini-deserts to keep you happy, and the
camaraderie
and great music is a nice bonus to a fine evening.
Most of the musicians are not 'big famous names' today but are fine
musicians
in their own right, and many were big names back when. Our most recent
Valentines
Day concert featured Maria
Muldaur. You may remember Maria from her big
70's hit, 'Midnight at the Oasis' among others.
She has remained active in the industry for the past 35 years and has
replaced
her folk/rock offerings with a hearty, gritty and often naughty blues
repertoire. Sharing a glass of wine with this legend as she belts out Bessi
Smith and Mother Maybelle classics is an
evening not to be
forgotten.
Next month we'll sit down with Tom
Rush. Still touring &
recording today, Tom is best known for his work with Joni
Mitchell,
Jackson Browne and James Taylor. If the weather is
good, we'll be under
the stars on a huge deck overlooking the Bear Creek golf course
enjoying Toms'
mellow baritone. Later this year it'll be an evening with It's a
Beautiful Day. You probably remember them best for their big
hit 'White
Bird', but they've been playing together now for 30+ years
and have the
chops to prove it.
The concert series has brought a varied and eclectic selection of music
to town.
We've rocked out with Brian
Auger and the Oblivion Express, been
assaulted by Dan
Hicks and his Hot Licks, sang along with Canadian
Folk Singer Valdy, enjoyed the
Celtic melodies of Scarlet
Rivera
and Irish Harp & Pipe legend Eric Rigler, who
did the theme music to
Braveheart. We've been serenaded by Cybill Shepherd
(yeah, that one.
She's got some jazz pipes on her), jazzed up by Paul Horn,
partied
with Canadian rockers Powder Blue
and explored the vast range of Alex
Ligertwood. If you don't know him, Alex is a Scottish lad who
first gained
fame with Jeff Beck in the early 70's, went on to
play with the Average
White Band, and then was the voice of Santana
and co-wrote many hits
with Carlos over 15 years and eight albums starting in 1979.
All this entertainment in your living room, a snootfull of wine and
snacking
goodies will only set you back $45. Not a bad deal if I do say so
myself (and I
do). But tickets are limited by the size of the venue. Some homes will
only
hold 50 or 60 people, some up to 100 or so and, as you might imagine,
they are
a hot ticket item. While they could easily charge more and hold one of
these
sold-out shows every month, they only do three a year and make each one
special. If you plan on visiting
the Temecula area for our climate, our wine
tasting or our casino's, make sure you check their website
to see if there's going
to be a show while you're here. If there is, be sure and tell them Gino
sent
you - they'll probably give you my tickets since that will save quite a
bit on
the old wine budget.
You can find out more by visiting http://www.musiciansworkshop.org/InHomeConcertSeries.html
Gene Wunderlich - Selling Southwest
California Homes including Temecula, Murrieta and
the Southern California
