Friday, Jul. 18, 2008
'Let the good times roll'
Blue Cheese Band entertained Saturday
Corey Pride / cpride@losbanosenterprise.com
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ReprintThere was something a little different at the Ted Falasco Arts Center Saturday night.
Instead of the high society type musical performance that usually takes place at the venue, a crowd that's used to listening to harps and Broadway show-tunes was treated to the grittiness of the blues.
With audio that sometimes rivaled what you will hear in a night club, the Blue Cheese Band performed a two-hour set of modern and traditional songs.
The band is lead by Los Baños native Dennis "Spike" Calvino. He introduced himself after playing a couple up tempo numbers to begin the evening.
"I'm a home boy," Calvino said. "I thought I'd come back and show I learned a little something in them classes."
Calvino started playing the guitar in seventh grade. He now puts that skill to use as one of three guitarists in the Blue Cheese Band. He also handles lead singer duties.
The Blue Cheese Band was formed in 2005 as a trio. Saturday night the group had eight members on stage playing what Calvino refers to as "blues in its essence."
The band performed songs such as "Why get up" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds, "Down Home Blues" and "Everyday I got the Blues."
Calvino tried to accommodate the audience, half way through the performance asking spectators if the music was too loud and even jumping off stage at one point to adjust the sound system to minimize feedback. The latter move drew applause from the audience.
Calvino admitted to feeling a little strange about playing the blues music at the church turned Arts Center. He attended the facility for spiritual guidance as a boy.
"If Monsignor could see me now," he said.
The other members of the band were less talkative, but received their own bit of attention as nearly all of them -- from the harmonica player to the saxophonist -- performed solos.
The performance was the second of the day for the Blue Cheese Band. The group played at the Central Valley Motorcycle Rally at the Los Baños Fairgrounds hours earlier.
Arts Council member Colleen Menefee said she was pleased with the event.
"It's always good to see local people," she said. "We need to do something different than we normally do."
Enterprise reporter Corey Pride can be reached at 388-6563 or at cpride@losbanosenterprise.com.