Lakeport >> The LC Diamonds are something of a Lake County staple, a treasure even. Their shows draw hundreds. When they played at Library Park in 2014 for the Summer Concert Series, roughly 1,000 people came out for the largest concert ever on the grassy lawn. Last year’s show was comparable in size.
The group’s popularity doesn’t come down to any one thing. It’s a combination of factors, from their danceable songs to their presence in the community. One thing that they work hard on is keeping the energy up from start to finish. Sometimes bands will take long seconds to switch between numbers as the buzzing crowd slowly fades. The LC Diamonds want to eliminate that gap. A technique they employ involves playing songs as a group, flowing seamlessly from one to the next.
They don’t only attribute their fame to their skill on stage, though. “All of us are local community oriented people and we all have lived here a long time,” said drummer Richard Knoll. “We’re business people and folks who have been in and out of the community for many years.”
Band members are Shaun Hornby, owner of Hornby’s Furniture Restoration, on lead vocals and guitar; high school teacher Dave Hagberg, also lead vocalist and guitarist; optometrist Mark Buehnerkemper on the keyboard and backing vocals; bassist Dave Billester, locksmith; and Knoll, former City of Lakeport city planner. As a result of their occupations, they know quite a few people who eagerly anticipate shows.
The LC Diamonds have been together for over a decade, having first began as a jam session between Hornby and Hagberg. While they still need to exchange words to ensure the beginning and end of a song are in synch, playing together for so many years means they’ve become skilled at predicting what a band mate is going to do next. Over time they’ve developed a sense of what does and doesn’t work in a song. “It’s a good thing,” Knoll said. “It just helps us all get better in terms of the musicianship and in terms of the overall performance.”
And even though they’ve been around the county for years, relying on a pretty solid set list, their fans never grow restless or bored. With a repertoire of 130-150 songs to pull from, they often mix up their sets, depending on the event. If it’s a fundraiser with dinner included, they scale back on the energy and pull out their slower, lower songs. They’ll crank up the amps later in the night, when attendees are ready to hit the dance floor.
The band keeps themselves plenty busy, performing 30-40 shows every summer. Winter is the time for regrouping, when the musicians take a step back from the spotlight to learn some new material to freshen up their sound. While their hectic summertime gigs may seem tiring, they don’t feel overworked. Really, their schedule is just about right.
Come tonight at Library Park, where the LC Diamonds will be closing out the 2016 Summer Concert Series, the band will be playing some new music. The songs aren’t necessarily in today’s Top 40 — the group could best be described as vintage rock — but the music is new to the band and Library Park. As for what the songs actually are, Knoll wouldn’t divulge that information. You’ll only find out if you attend the show.
No one in the LC Diamonds predicted just how popular they would become. When Knoll first joined with the group, he’d never been in a band before. He’d been interested in the drums since the third grade, banging on anything he could find, much to the exasperation of his father, but he hadn’t found a home in music until the Diamonds. “For me it’s been kind of a dream come true to play in a band and be part of a band that’s turned out to be popular,” he said. “You never really know when you go into something like this how it’s going to turn out.”
The LC Diamonds hit the gazebo at Library Park in Lakeport tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
