After Thots

I've been chastised a bit for not mentioning myself, or for their being any pictures of me in the posts thus far. Let me say a bit about that -- I'm Taya Levine, someone who came to know Jennie McKnight and Andrea Weatherhead when they were living in Washington, D.C. almost 30 years ago. I was introduced to their music back then and have been a big fan and supporter ever since.

Imagine being a groupie of a band, and having the band say to you "hey, how'd you like to go on the road with us?" That's pretty much what this week has been like for me. I was asked to take on the "Road Manager" role and was responsible for a lot of the tour logistics -- booking gigs, accommodations, the van, etc. -- and during the week, I drove the van, and tried to take care of things that would free up the group to focus on their music and their performing. I've posted this blog, and have video'd many of the songs they've performed and taken tons of pictures. The pictures will be posted on web albums that can be viewed by everyone and I've created a Fair Weatherheads You Tube channel to which I will upload all of the videos once I have access to a higher speed internet connection -- look for a final update within the week.

I can honestly say it has been my honor to accompany them, play a supporting role and make a contribution to the dream becoming a reality. I've said to them that I know this is Andrea's 50th, but I will be forever grateful for the association of this week with my 50th as well (I turn 50 in September) -- it has been one of the most satisfying and enriching weeks of my life and a huge gift beyond the telling. I could gush on and on, but what I'll do instead is share with you what I shared with the band, and their Starry Plough audience, as they began their second set of music.

I thought about how to let others in on the experience, how to render it fully, without going through the countless stories that could be told. I decided to adopt an approach used by this amazing tool I'm working with now to share info about this tour, the internet. I created a list of keywords for the week, 50 of them, in honor of Andrea's birthday. Here is the week, in 50 keywords (and if you wonder about what any of them mean, you need only to ask one of the Fair Weatherheads!):

Brilliance
Joy
Humility
Fearlessness
Celebration
Mo's Clam Chowder
Break it down!
Laughter
Shared history
More coffee!
Loving
Tolerance
Let's do this song!
Playfulness
Collaboration
Rock Star - in multiple flavors
I can see better without the light
Margaritaville
Nurturing
Cabin Rock
Excellence
Great Dancers
Agreements -- daily
It's a mobile home
MVP
Delicious
Slow down please!
Bates Motel
Work harder!
Scenery
6 am band meeting
Risk taking
Toast
Cat butt face
Creativity
Hydrate!
800 exquisitely designed square feet
Fierce
Can you play for our wedding?
Satisfaction
Harmonies
Fat and buttery
Humor
Respect
Patience
Goosebumps
9 gig tour to Kansas City
Surprises
Awe
Gratitude

And as I said to them...I bow to you. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this amazing experience. I have the deepest respect and admiration for all of you - I'd do it all again any time!

The Big Finish

San Francisco, a little bit of home for everyone, was the next to the last stop on this one week journey.

Saturday evening, Dan Purtell (the band's drummer) and his wife Ashley hosted a dinner party at their home in Bernal Heights. They have a spectacular view of the City, and Ashley made a killer meal of fish tacos. Another long time band mate who could not make the tour, Missy (whose last name escapes me, sorry Missy!) and her family joined in on the fun and she brought some fresh harmonies and new takes on some of the songs the band had been performing. After dinner, the group practiced some tunes she would perform with them the next day.


The transition to the ending of this experience began with our dispersal to different accommodations -- Dan was back home, Jim returned to his, Jennie to her sister's, Andrea and Diane to a hotel and Taya to a friend's apartment in the City. The next morning was a great one for sleeping in for all -- and the group reconvened at their next performance location.

Sunday, the final gig, at the Starry Plough in Berkeley. A veritable institution in the land of all things liberal and revolutionary. The interior decor is all Che Guevara and Barack Obama and flags bearing the Starry Plough -- a reference to the Star and Plough emblem adopted by Irish revolutionaries of yore. It was a perfect place to end the tour for a variety of reasons -- they had their own PA system so we didn't have to haul ours in, there was a sound mixer hired by Dan to make the band sound damn near perfect, and it is a venue many of the band members had played in 30 years ago so the nostalgia factor was alive and well.

It was a fantastic final gig....the sound was impeccable, the vocals amazing and many friends and family came to enjoy and support the Fair Weatherheads at their last stop on the Motel California Tour.

After the final load out, Jim (the bass player) had made reservations at a Chinese restaurant recommended by his Chinese Art expert wife, Britta, that was just down the road off of Shattuck. The six of us had what can safely be described as the most phenomenal Chinese meal any of us had ever had -- at the Great China restaurant. Jim turned the ordering over to our server who, prompted by a request for Peking Duck as a starter, brought dish after dish of the most tasty concoctions ever. We managed to devour most of it, sending the leftovers home to Britta as a token of our appreciation for the suggestion.

As has been our nightly custom, the band discussed the gig, what they liked about it and what was the "MVP" song of the night -- the one where they totally nailed it. It was decided that without a doubt, Rockin' in the Free World was the song of the week. Andrea, the birthday girl and conceiver of this entire experience concluded that she did not have a single complaint about the week! The tour could not have concluded on a better note (pun intended!).

Rockin' the 'burg

Mendo in the morning....misty, cool....killer danish and great coffee before we made the onward journey south. Fortunately, the route was not as daunting to the inner ear as the day before.

Diane had not yet experienced a redwood tree, let alone a grove, and so we made a stop along the side of the road at the Navarro Redwoods for her to be introduced to these majestic giants. The Coastal Redwoods, tallest trees in the world. The gang decided to take it all in by having a lie-down so as to gaze up at their full height.

When we arrived in Healdsburg, there was the mandatory wine tasting experience to be had. We went to Williamson Winery, and had a delightful paired tasting wherein with each varietal being poured we were given a food sample to highlight the way in which the wine can and does complement different flavors. Each one more delectable than its predecessor, we tasted 6 different wines and even bought a little to take with us. We also grabbed some yummy lunch and took it back to Taya's house and sat in the backyard refueling a bit. Between the wine and the food, the next thing that happened was a little chill time!

The band played for a house party at Taya's, what was initially conceived as a casual gathering with perhaps an acoustic jam. But no, the full on PA system was set up and the band totally rocked the back yard!! A happy and grateful crowd cheered, sang along and even moved their feet a bit to the amazing amazing sounds. It was a pretty darn perfect night.




Saturday morning it was Farmers' Market time. After the gig the night before, it was a slightly unfriendly morning for this group but rally they did. The Market gig was from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. With a mellow, smooth sounding start, they enthralled the market goers, young and old alike. By their third set they were rockin' the Market!





A yummy breakfast was had by all, courtesy of Mateo Granados' inspired Yucatan cuisine. The sun broke through in time for the last set as well...a great morning!




Off to San Francisco and house party at Dan's!!!

The Long and Winding Road

Today was another travel day – the longest yet. After a Ship Ashore breakfast, we hit the road for Mendocino. The intended drive time was 4.5 hours but the trip ended up being a bit longer than that.

It was probably one of the most scenic days of travel so far…the transition from southern Oregon to the Northern California coast was nothing short of spectacular. Rivers, redwoods, coastline, fog, sun..it was a beautiful drive. And, it was a problematic drive for those of us with sensitivity to car sickness. The route to the coast from the more inland Hwy 101 was 22 miles of curves, curves and more curves. Juliette glides more like a boat on rolling seas than she does a car on those roads. We made several stops to allow for some inner stabilization – it was really unpleasant for those affected….and we made it out of there without any major incidents. On a funny note, when we were stopped on the side of the road at one point for about 15-20 minutes, since Juliette has onboard wi-fi, everyone broke out their laptops and started cruising the net. It was pretty funny to think we were in the mountains of Humboldt County, in the middle of not much at all, and everyone was online!!! There's something either very groovy or terribly wrong with this picture! We live in strange and unimaginable times....

Mendocino could not be more quaint. Our accommodations for the night were a home owned by Kate and Pat Flanagan, right on the main street only a couple of blocks from our venue, Frankie’s. We were fortunate yet again to have press coverage in both the Mendocino Beacon and the Ft. Bragg Advocate!

Frankie’s is an ice cream and pizza place built into an older home. To call it small would be an understatement. Initially it appeared that this might need to be an all acoustic gig but no….our intrepid sound engineer saw the way toward the full PA setup and miraculously, it all fit! We were fed by them a couple of their amazing pizzas (jalapeno, roasted peppers and goat cheese on one and pesto, mushroom and onion on the other…yum!) and they comp’d us our first drinks. Thanks Frankie’s!

Our vertigo victim managed to rally and the night was a fantastic couple of sets, played straight through. There was a small but highly appreciative crowd that filled the space with lots of positive energy and even some sing-along voices. We were told by the proprietors that a number of musicians had turned up to listen which was quite cool.

Among the audience was Jennie's mother in law, Judy Mayhan, a legendary song writer and recording artist from years gone by. Judy recorded two albums for Columbia records back in the day -- it was great to have her there singing along!

Frankie’s closed at 9:00, the earliest night we’ve had yet! A couple of friends of Andrea and Diane's who had flown in from Seattle to catch the show (yes, I'm not kidding) joined in on the fun and we all came back to the house and had a thoroughly satisfying couple of hours of laughing and reviewing the night. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Thanks again to SA for taking a chance on an unknown group and a big shout out to Angie with the Blushing Roulettes for her help in setting all this up.

Tomorrow, Healdsburg!

They Could Have Danced All Night!

The Ship Ashore was where it was at on Wednesday night....

Our day began with yet another scrumptious breakfast around the Weatherhead table. We set a goal of hitting the road by 11:00 am and we didn't do too bad, by 11:30 we were off to points south. We had to drop Leslie off at a coffee house in town where she would await a shuttle to take her to the Eugene airport. Unfortunately, she had to say good bye to the Tour and return to her work and family life. We were all reallllllly bummed she had to leave us (and gave her no end of shit for doing so, by the way!) and that her voice would no longer grace the Fair Weatherheads stage.

Another 4 hour drive south and we arrived at our next destination and venue...the Ship Ashore! It was a great moment when we discovered that the Fair Weatherheads made the marquee!!! It gave me goosebumps I gotta tell ya. We all squealed with delight in our own way, and hopped out to take a quick pic.









We continued on through the trailer park to the back of the property where the hotel and lounge are situated on the water. The lounge is attached to the bar, and there was even a stage! Marlene, the woman who runs the bar and books the bands, told us that there were already people who had made reservations for the band's show! Who'd a thunk it? The media didn't hurt -- there were two articles about the band coming. A quick meal, and it was on.




There was a healthy crowd at the start of the show, and they were into it. A couple got up to dance on the very first number! And the trend continued for the entire night.
The crowd was friendly, and very supportive.....it couldn't have been a better night. Thanks to everyone at the Ship Ashore for their warm hospitality!

Thursday...Mendocino!

Who are the Fair Weatherheads?

Andrea Weatherhead owns and is the creative force behind a business that designs and implements interactive learning experiences in the form of museum exhibits. Andrea plays guitar, engineers sound and is just plain a creative force to contend with!

Diane Andolsek is the Project Director for the Gates Foundation’s new headquarters’ visitor center. Andrea and Diane make their home in Seattle. Diane plays guitar and rips some kickin' vocals both lead and harmony.

Jennie McKnight is a psychotherapist and runs clinical services programs for women in abusive circumstances in Toronto, Canada. Jennie plays guitar and sings lead vocals with depth and soul.

Leslie Moulton recently relocated to Los Angeles and is a senior VP of an environmental consulting firm. Leslie is the harmonizer par extraordinaire in the group. She's written a few songs the band plays as well.

Jim Ferrell is a professor of chemical and systems biology at Stanford University Medical School. Jim is the solid, super talented bass guitar player in this band. He's a lead guitarist in other groups and a guy you'd want in your band if you had one!

Dan Purtell is a lawyer representing labor union and immigration clients working out of San Francisco. Dan always says that he is, and prefers to be in the back. What he does from that location is awesome. He's the drummer and a vocalist.

They gather and someone mentions a song, or they listen to a tune on an iPod and then, they just play it! It’s a joy to watch Dan’s smile as he gets his groove on with the drums, and Jim’s delight when the group is willing to take on a song he’s been wanting to play. Andrea, Jennie and Leslie have the most beautiful harmonies to be found anywhere and Diane can kick a hard rock tune like no body’s business.

It’s worth noting that while they’ve enjoyed playing music together for over 30 years, they don’t share a repertoire of songs. They haven’t played in this configuration….ever. So this tour is quite a feat on many levels. Not the least of which is their ability to create multiple set lists to entertain and satisfy audiences in a range of venues.

Caught the news lately?

If you can believe it, the Fair Weatherheads have had some awesome media coverage this week! Check out these postings online, and there are a few print articles that will be scanned in and shared in a future post (read: when we get to a scanner!).

Online:

www.coastalgrooves.com -- publicizing the band's appearance at the Ship Ashore in Smith River.

Press Democrat -- a posting by Ann Carranza, the blogger for all things Healdsburg

Print:

Siuslaw News -- an article about their hometown girl, Andrea Weatherhead, making it big! ;o)

Curry Pilot -- Article about the band's tour and its appearance at the Ship Ashore

Ft. Bragg Advocate and Mendocino Beacon -- Article about the band's appearance at Frankie's

Not bad, eh? I mean, if you're gonna be on tour, people gotta know you're gonna be there!