Every year Jerry and I have a few events that mark the year. For the last five years Jerry has played at the B. R. Cohn Winery fall charity event. This year and last year he backed up Lara Johnston, an up and coming singer. Lara's dad Tom is the lead singer in the Doobie Brothers. Lara has a great voice for R&B/soul. She packs quite a punch for a girl of 17. The day was beautiful and the band kicked butt. They burst out of the gate full force and took the audience by surprise. You can see last year's B. R. Cohn gig on youtube if you search for Lara Johnston. I am sure that the video of this year's show will be edited and posted fairly soon.
The backing vocals were phenomenal. Tony Lindsey, Amber Morris and Annie Stocking came up with some unique arrangements on classic songs. Bryant Mills on drums drove the band like a freight train. He never disappoints with his funky grooves and impeccable time. Terry Miller is always the time machine on bass. Mike Mani did a fantastic job of channeling Aretha Franklin on piano. Many people forget that Aretha was a dynamic pianist and Mike did a great job of keeping to the same style on the Aretha cover tunes. Marc Russo and Mic Gillette made up the horn section. What can I say about these two perfect musicians? They both have storied careers and yet found it in their hearts to donate their time to a little girl they have known since she was a baby. Finally Jerry. Jerry is the one who pulled all these musicians together. Last year he played musical director for the band and made Lara's first gig a smashing success. This year topped everything. Lara's rendition of "Drowning in my own Tears" brought the crowd to a fever pitch.
It was a glorious day full of love and laughter.
3 comments:
Hi Guys, it's me Elisa. My sisters name is Lara, cool. I like your blog, it is like mine, only mine is white. You guys rule. I feel cool, because I get to read your blog. I would it if you guys would have dinner with us some time. What are some good days for you, Any day of the week is good for us, except Wednsday, cause I have guitar, unless we had dinner before guitar. But sunday would be good cause then we could hang out. Whad'ya think?
Did she allow photographers this time? :)
I have learned not to ask permission. There were dozens of photographers. If you still lived in the Bay Area I would have put you on my guest list this year. Live and learn.
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