Kelseyville >> For Melissa Enyeart, music is in the blood. Her mother, Brenda Bayless, was a popular Lake County bass and rhythm guitar player and singer in the 1970s and ‘80s, with hits on the radio and TV. Her father was a drummer by the name of Richard Greenwood, who played with a number of different bands in the area.
Enyeart grew up watching her parents perform in venues all around the lake, and when she took up the microphone herself, she kept the tradition alive. “Everything that’s left standing that my mom had played and sang in, I have played in,” she said.
She’s been recognized as Brenda Bayless’s daughter on more than one occasion. Although Bayless requires the aid of an oxygen tank, she still joins her daughter on stage from time to time.
Like her parents before her, Enyeart has sung with quite a few local groups. Her past gigs include Scotty J and Company and the 14th century Renaissance group My Divas. Currently she’s involved in two groups: a 6-piece band called Raven and the Tattooed Cherries, a rockabilly duo with her husband, Tracy Enyeart.
And Enyeart’s daughter, Tiera Bright, makes three. The 16-year-old student is a member of the Lower Lake High School show choir. When she’s not busy leading her teenage life, Bright sometimes joins her mother for a show.
“She’s way better than I could hope to be,” Enyeart said.
Bright was the one to give the Tattooed Cherries their name. One day when Enyeart was trying to come up with something catchy, her daughter suggested it. Bright got the idea from a cherry necklace Enyeart had recently received as a gift, and the tattoos decorating her body.
The name fit perfectly with the duo’s 1950s vibes. They sing all the popular oldies — Sweet Dreams by Patsy Cline is one of Enyeart’s favorites — and they always dress up in ‘50s garb. “A blast from the past” wouldn’t be a bad way to describe them, but they also have some newer tunes thrown in for variety, like Bruno Mars’s Uptown Funk.
Enyeart has been a fan of oldies since she was just a girl. Growing up, she wanted to be just like Patsy Cline and Tommy Francis Dorsey. She favors those older singers for the romantic air their music evoked, and air that seems to be missing from popular songs today.
“It’s all about heart and putting on a good show,” Enyeart said. “The ‘50s, it was all about making love and being close to somebody. It wasn’t all this raunchy stuff that it is now. That’s what I like about it the most.”
It’s also a real treat to watch the older audience members perk up when they hear songs that remind them of their youth. Enyeart can see it when she sings a song that someone heard at their prom, or on their first date.
“There’s nothing more that I like than to see a little old lady that comes to life for a moment,” she said.
The Tattooed Cherries have been together for two years now, and though Melissa Enyeart had graced many a stage, the only performing experience Tracy Enyeart had was through karaoke. So when the duo first began, he was a little shy, and he had a habit of singing with his hands in his pockets. But then as he began to step up in front of larger crowds, he felt the rush most musicians experience. His timid nature faded away, and his confidence began to grow.
Melissa and Tracy Enyeart have played just about every bar in town, both as the Tattooed Cherries and part of the larger group, Raven. Last year, after only three months together, Raven won battle of the bands at Robinson Rancheria and Casino in Upper Lake.
The Tattooed Cherries are performing tonight at Richmond Park Bar and Grill in Kelseyville from 8 p.m. -12 a.m. Richmond Park Bar and Grill is located at 9435 Konocti Bay Rd.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
