On a sunny Saturday afternoon a while back a friend and I decided to take a drive down the coast to Big Sur. We slid into the River Inn parking lot and down to the riverside behind the restaurant. Post stroll along the fast-moving Big Sur River I climbed up the stairs to the back deck of the restaurant and requested a table for lunch.
Although I shouldn’t have been surprised, I came upon my friend Rick Chelew as he was setting his guitar down for a break from performing. After our conversation I went back to retrieve my friend and her dog and when we returned to our assigned table, there was a flyer with the announcement of a concert.
“Songs of Hope and Celebration: Kimball Hurd, Rick Chelew, and Lee Garland Together in Concert.” Friday at the Center for Spiritual Awakening Concert Hall, 522 Central Ave., Pacific Grove. I thought, nice. Three people I’ve known or known of for a long time, Chelew being the central figure here. All of who are seasoned professional musicians.
Hurd, lead singer, principal songwriter, guitar and mandolin for this trio, came to California from Martha’s Vineyard and eventually joined with Keith Greeninger and Roger Feurer in the celebrated trio City Folk. They were kind of the Central Coast version of Crosby Stills and Nash, and even were recognized by David Crosby himself, quoted as saying, “Wow! These guys can really sing!”
They toured America and Hurd’s distinctive tenor, immaculate finger-picking and soul-probing songs became known throughout the land. He joined with one of our area’s beloved singer/songwriters Alisa Fineman, both in love and in music, and they’ve been appearing at locations locally as well as being regulars at the Kate Wolf Festival and appearing at Strawberry, South-by-Southwest and Kerville festivals.
Who doesn’t know Chelew? Monterey Peninsula native with a musical history to include his solid bass playing and musicianship with The Cachagua Playboys, Andrea’s Fault, Heartstrings, and the Cuneo Jazz Band. You can catch him playing guitar and singing solo at various places while enjoying a meal. For a time back in the day he left the area to work as a record producer in Los Angeles and London, collaborating with legendary artists Dave Van Ronk, Pentangle, Bert Jansch, and T-Bone Burnett. It’s always a joy to hear him perform.
Garland, keyboardist and vocalist who I remember from bygone days at Monterey High School, hightailed it to Los Angeles in the 1980s and displayed his talents on such hallowed Hollywood stages as the Troubadour and the Whisky A Go Go. His path led him to realize early on that music was a way for him to both give and receive joy. To that end, he recorded two solo guitar albums, “Leeward” and “Hummingbird.” He regularly appeared at Esalen Institute in the band North Star. He served as director and educator with Breakthrough Men’s Community and currently teaches The Simpatico Communication Method. And he’s written a guidebook to effective communication, co-authoring “Hear Here.”
“Over four years ago, just before the pandemic hit, Kimball called me and Lee and said, ‘Let’s get together and play some music,’” Chelew said. “I think he wanted a place to get together, and it was all about these two things, just to work on music and sing harmonies, only for the joy of playing together. He wanted more of that in his life. And since we’ve all been in men’s groups, and different sorts of things, it was a chance for us to get together, really hang out as three guys. Like at a cafe or something. We found out we really, really loved it and we’ve mostly focused on Kimball’s songs.”
It took us a minute to figure out how to describe the music they play. It’s folk but not really folk. It’s more than one style, with a mix of original tunes from all three artists but primarily by Hurd, a cover of a lesser known George Gershwin tune, “I Was Doing Alright,” and also their version of the songs, “Walk Away Renee” (The Left Banke), and “The Tide is High” (best know version by Blondie). Despite playing at the Spiritual Center, Chelew said that “the stuff we’re doing is in no way religious, not that there’s anything wrong with that.” In the end he confirmed it was best just to say it’s Americana music, which in effect means nothing other than the music stems from a wide range of American roots music.
“I’ve never worked with a band for years just to play music and then bring it out to the world,” he said. “Usually you start playing and then start to play clubs wherever you are, and then get better. We’ve been in this cocoon of friendship of shared musical love. We love each other. It’s a musical support system. We kept it under wraps. Even our significant others haven’t heard us. It’s been just for us. At a certain point we said, ’It’s time to give this out, give it to the community.’ And so here we are.”
The Center for Spiritual Awakening has been offering up its space for outside performers to come and perform, taking a portion of the ticket proceeds to support its ongoing mission. The artists take their cut and everyone is happy. Chelew said the space is really beautiful with a great sound system, holding up to 130 people. As an aside, I’ve been hearing about numerous smaller performing spaces popping up around the area, which is really encouraging for those who would like to produce shows outside of the usual options of bars and restaurants. Friday night’s show has a $25 ticket, available in advance at www.centerforspiritualawakening.org/songsofhopeconcert.html. There’s a wine and cheese reception included, beginning at 6 p.m. Concert doors open at 7 p.m. and the music begins at 7:30 p.m.
“I really think that anyone who comes is going to leave feeling great, that it was an evening well spent,” Chelew said. “And hopefully feeling better about themselves and their connection to the community.”
Being that it’s St. Patrick’s Day Sunday, I also want to add that MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza Company, 467 Alvarado St., Monterey, has replaced the usual jazz music with music from the Celtic music band Heartstrings, of which Chelew is a member. This band has been bringing their fresh and unique sound to traditional acoustic string music from all over the world for over 20 years. For the Irish holiday they’ll focus primarily on Celtic songs. The band’s members are Chelew on bass, Paulette Lynch on hammered dulcimer, Laura Burian on violin, Marj Ingram Viales on guitar, and Mike Osgood on mandolin. There’s no cover, but come hungry and thirsty.
While we’re stopping in at MidiCi, don’t miss the great jazz music this Thursday, 6-9 p.m., with the smoking hot vocals brought to you by Miranda Perl and really tasty jazz licks by guitarist Adam Astrup.
Another St. Patrick’s Day event is a fundraiser for Whalefest Monterey, to be held Sunday at The Family Farm, 5720 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. There’s a 2:30 p.m. reception with refreshments and BYO beverages. The entertainment starts at 3 p.m. featuring the Green Marine Mammal Jam Serenade starring John Ryan’s Ballads and Arias of Humpback, Fin and Blue Whales and their Baleen & Toothed Companions. They will be accompanied by Nicholas Fettis & his “Orca” star. Additional talent by pianist Michael Martinez, and Kobun Truelove with his Didgeridoos in the Scale of C & D. Donations appreciated, please RSVP to [email protected]
Friday night at the Carmel Links Club in the Carmel Plaza, no cover, the rock band MEEZ831 performs and celebrates the birthday of its guitarist/vocalist Jason Slate, 7:30-10:30 p.m. One of our area’s tightest rock & roll bands that delivers original music and great dance covers. You can expect to hear melodic and groovy, at times progressive sounds, with styles ranging from classic rock to alternative, in general a grungy power pop. Besides Slate, the band is vocalist/bassist Robbie Melendez, keyboardist/vocalist Donnie Dickman, and drummer/vocalist Michael Kobrinski.
There are a few cool shows at the Golden State Theatre in downtown Monterey this week. Just a quick rundown here and you can go to www.goldenstatetheatre.com for more details and to buy tickets. Friday night is the return of Yächtley Crëw, a wild bunch of serious musicians who perform hit songs known as either soft or yacht rock from the late ’70s to early ’80s while doing wild and crazy stuff onstage, dressed in the yacht captain best. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., tickets are $25 – $40 plus service fees.
Saturday is Oingo Boingo Former Members with special guest The Untouchables. This all-star band is another returning band who will deliver a non-stop set that includes all the Bonigo hits that keep the fans moving and coming back for more. Dead Man’s Party, Just Another Day, Little Girls, Stay, Only A Lad, No Spill Blood, just to name a few! Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m.,
And Wednesday is Killer Queen – Tribute to Queen featuring Patrick Myers as Freddie Mercury. No introduction needed. Doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., tickets $30-$65 plus fees.
