Kelseyville >> When Tom Dixon, Rick McChann and Harry Lyons first got together as a musical trio, Dixon made a serious suggestion that they call themselves Tom, Dick and Harry, but McChann wasn’t so keen on going by the name Dick. Instead, they opted for Tom, Rick and Harry.
“Now Rick is having second thoughts,” Dixon said, laughing.
The trio is one of three bands performing on the Kelsey Creek stage at the Kelseyville Pear Festival on Main Street this Saturday. Their slot begins at 12:30 p.m. Though Dixon, McChann and Lyons have known each other and played together for half a dozen years, Saturday will be their first official performance as a trio. “This is our big debut,” Dixon said.
They play Christmas tunes yearly at the Christmas Open House at Andersen Ranch, also with Don Coffin and David Neft. It’s been their most consistent gig, Dixon explained with a laugh.
But just because Saturday is their first show officially as Tom, Rick and Harry doesn’t mean the men are getting all that worked up about it. Though they’ve been practicing on and off all summer for the festival, their performance is set to be relatively low-key. They’ll be playing a handful of soft jazz and blues standards, like San Francisco Bay Blues, At Last and All of Me. It’s going to be just the musicians and their instruments. “It’ll be pretty simple stuff without a lot of bells and whistles,” Dixon explained.
Although “simple” might not be the most apt descriptor, considering the music features four different languages. For their performance Saturday, Lyons will sing pieces of songs in Russian, Spanish, French and English. “I would say the focal point of this group is probably Harry,” Dixon said. “I’m just along for the ride.”
Dixon is indeed following the lead of his band mate. Before forming the trio, he was mostly a blues and rock guy. He used to play in a rock and roll band called Blind Spot and he’s part of the local band Deez Guize. He hadn’t explored much in the way of jazz music. But Lyons, who previously played jazz guitar with a group in Sonoma County, taught Dixon the ropes. “I picked up a lot of stuff from him,” Dixon said. “It’s fun for me going from rock and blues and folk to playing jazz.”
With a Masters in music from San Jose State, McChann also has some strong musical chops. He’s a stand up bass player who performs with the Ukiah Symphony and he also headed a county-wide string program, even teaching Dixon’s son to play the cello. “He’s the one certifiable musician,” Dixon said.
If Dixon is anything, it’s humble, about his music and the trio. “We’re just sort of the old guys. I’m the young guy and I’m 64,” he said. “We’re just good friends. We don’t play around a lot. We just have a deep appreciation for music. We like to play.”
Before Tom, Rick and Harry take the stage, the Hip Replacements will perform first on the Kelsey Creek stage, beginning at 11 a.m. They’re filling in for the Kelseyville High School Jazz Band, who were slated to perform before the Valley fire broke out.
For the past decade, the Hip Replacements have been playing the blues, but they don’t like to stick to one style. They play traditional blues in the vein of BB King and they also perform a more rocking variety, such as that of Stevie Ray Vaughn.
They’re a well-known local band that has been on the scene for a while, so this won’t be their first year at the Pear Festival. The group played last year and though they weren’t expecting to perform again this time around (the festival organizers like to switch it up from year to year) they were happy to step in.
They’ll be performing tried and true classic “toe tapping” songs like Stand by Me but they’ll be holding with the Pear Festival vibe. “It’s a little tamer because it’s more for the family,” said guitarist and vocalist Jim Williams.
The Hip Replacements is comprised of Williams, Jon Hopkins on bass, Mojo Larry Platz on guitar, pianist Tom Aiken, drummer Steve Dubois and Tyrone Riviera on saxophone. Unfortunately, Riviera may not be at the event, as he lost his home and all his belongings in the Valley Fire. His performances have been on hold in the days since the blaze. “He hasn’t been able to play yet, but he’s looking forward to it,” said Williams.
The fire and those affected by it aren’t far from anyone’s minds and things are sure to remain that way for a long time to come. The topic will surely be prevalent at the Pear Festival. “Hopefully everyone will come and support the fire victims,” Williams said. “I think that’s kind of the theme for everything, to help the people who got burned out and are evacuated.”
Tom, Rick and Harry have the Valley fire on their minds as well. “We’re very supportive of local music and saddened by those musicians in the county that are having to deal with the tragedy of the fire,” Dixon said. “Maybe a little music can brighten people up and take their minds off it for a few minutes.”
The final performance on the Kelsey Creek stage will be by Beatz Werkin’, a rock band that has been together for only two years. But in the last 24 months or so, their popularity has steadily increased. Nearly every weekend they perform at various venues around the county, such as the Riviera Hills Restaurant and Lounge in Kelseyville and the Boathouse Bar and Restaurant in Nice. They go on at 2 p.m. at the Pear Festival.
The band’s lead guitarist, Jerry Shepherd, attributes their success to their interpretations of various songs, which sometimes aren’t even originally rock tunes. They like to put twists on everything, from country to reggae to even some numbers from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. “We’re a classic rock band that likes to interpret the songs in our own way. We’ll take a song that’s typically kind of a ballad and turn it into something different,” he said. “There’s a certain magic to making a song your own as opposed to trying to cover it the way a record sounds exactly.”
And that means a lot of medleys, which are Shepherd’s favorite. The band will begin with a rocked-out country song and take that into an Aerosmith song and so on and so forth. “It’s like three songs in one, that’s the fun part about it,” said Shepherd.
Beatz Werkin’ is a four man band. There’s Shepherd on lead guitar and vocals, Tim Karlyle on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Gilmar on bass and vocals and Steve Thoma on drums. The band formed almost seamlessly. As active musicians in the Lake County music scene, they all knew one another before becoming a band, at least in passing. “It just kind of came together,” Shepherd said. “We just knew several of the same musicians. We just got together a couple times to see how it meshed. Before you know it, we were out together playing gigs.”
Shepherd is heavily influenced by progressive 70s bands: Yes, Humble Pie and Jethro Tull. And then there’s his father, who played in his own band when Shepherd was young. The other musicians have varying influences. Thoma, for example, looks to the Grateful Dead. But even with so many influences, the four musicians never had trouble meshing, much to their own surprise. It’s perhaps why they’re able to tackle and interpret so many genres.
Not only is this Beatz Werkin’s second year as a band, it’s also their second year performing at the Pear Festival. “They moved us from the smaller stage to the bigger stage and gave us the prime time slot,” Shepherd said. “So it’s kind of a bit of a promotion for us.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
