Lakeport >> When favorite local band LC Diamonds took to the Library Park stage last year for the 2014 Summer Concert Series, the county came out to hear their vintage rock covers — or at least a good portion of it. Over 1,000 people crammed onto the park’s grassy lawn to dance the evening away. It was the concert series biggest crowd ever. And if last year was any indication, Library Park better be prepared for a lot of action tonight. For the fourth year running, LC Diamonds hit the stage for the 2015 Summer Concert Series.
Shaun Hornby, lead vocals and guitar, attributes the group’s popularity not to skill with a guitar or drum set, but to their occupations. Hornby owns Hornby’s Furniture Restoration, fellow lead vocalist and guitarist Dave Hagberg is a high school teacher, drummer Richard Knoll worked for a number of years as the City of Lakeport city planner and Director of Redevelopment, Mark Buehnerkemper, backing vocals and keyboard, works as an optometrist and bass guitarist Dale Billester is a locksmith. Nearly everyone in the area knows someone in the band.
But the crowd at Library Park last year can’t just be chalked up to the men about town. LC Diamonds’ fun, danceable set list likely has much to do with their popularity as well. They define their style as vintage rock, covering music from the ‘50s to the ‘80s and they’re heavily influenced by the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley.
While Hornby grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, he favors music from earlier decades. “I’ve always preferred to play the ‘50s and ‘60s stuff because everybody knows Twist and Shout by the Beatles and Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman,” he said. “I think people can associate those sort of songs with all ages.”
LC Diamonds are celebrating 10 years together. The group began as a jam session between Hornby and Hagberg and progressed from there, as is the story behind many a band. They joined up with a few other musicians and played around the county for fun. They never expected to become as popular as they have.
They play roughly 20 to 30 shows a year, mostly in the summertime and they very rarely travel outside of Lake County. “We don’t want it to be bigger than that,” Hornby said. “This is busy enough.”
Hornby has experience overscheduling. He grew up in England, where he was introduced to the music world by his father, a member of the Cavilers, who opened for the likes of the Beatles and the Stones. Hornby caught the music bug and played for years with a band four to five nights a week. By the time he moved to Lake County with his wife, he’d become burnt out on performing. He set his guitar down for five years before meeting Hagberg and the rest of the LC Diamonds members. They were enough to pull him back into the music scene. “They’re such a great bunch of guys and it kind of steamrolled from that,” Hornby explained.
Unlike many Lake County musicians, the band members devote most of their playing time to the LC Diamonds. While Hagberg and Billester each have a small side project, the vintage rock group is it for Hornby, Knoll and Buehnerkemper. But their responsibilities keep them plenty occupied. “Because we are so busy with our own business and other things going on … we try and do only gigs in the county.”
They have a routine down when it comes to rehearsing and performing: they prepare in the winter and play in the summer. As such, they could be described as an outdoors band, but that’s more by circumstance than choice. Booking summer performances means they play everything from public events to private parties to weddings, most of which are held outside. LC Diamonds hope to see the audience on their feet tonight. “That’s what it’s all about, people enjoying music that they know and having a good time,” Hornby said.
The show begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Library Park.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
Cutline:
Contributed photo
During the 2014 Summer Concert Series the community filled Library Park in Lakeport for the LC Diamonds show. The band performs tonight at 6:30
