The kitchen light in Lech Wierzynski’s house hadn’t worked in eight years. But suddenly, the moment the California Honeydrops finished recording the title track of their recent A River’s Invitation, it snapped on.
“It lit up and you couldn’t turn it off with the switch,” multi-instrumental and vocalist Wierzynski says. “We had to pull the bulb out of the ceiling. Pretty weird.”
The Honeydrops’ impromptu version of Percy Mayfield’s “A River’s Invitation” has the same effect on audiences. The tune manifests organically, beginning with Coltrane-like improvisation from Johnny Bones’ tenor sax. Unaware that someone hit the record button, the rest of the band falls into a groove so tight it made the album and gave it a name.
The group headlines The West End Celebration this weekend. The Sand City festival started boasting standout acts like Los Lobos, Soft White Sixties, Jackie Greene and Mother Hips – for free – years ago. But this year will be the first time some music fans realize its depth now that First City Festival is no longer competing for attention on the same weekend.
Since the Honeydrops’ earliest incarnation, which featured Wierzynski and drummer Ben Malament busking in a BART station, spontaneity has been a driving force. About a week after the Honeydrops light up Sand City, they’ll perform two days in one of the most spontaneous climates on the planet, Burning Man. This year marks Wierzynski’s first trip to the vast Nevada desert expanse, and he’s gathering some junker guitars and trumpets – which he may bring them out for a song or two during their 4pm Saturday performance – he’s willing to sacrifice to the Black Rock dust.
The all-encompassing, interactive synthesis of art, culture and metacognition that is Burning Man forms a fitting setting for the Honeydrops. So does the art-rich West End (see story, p. 29), without the heat, dust or cost. And the Honeydrops are only one of the 20 music acts performing Saturday and Sunday. (Bluesman Chris Cain does a lively kickoff show Friday for $20.) Here appears a guide to 2015 West End Celebration’s free music offerings:
Saturday Main Stage
Edge of the West (11:45am)
Sounds like: Phish, Great American Taxi
Key note: Frontman Jim Lewin describes the band as “a manifestation of the old West pushed out towards the edge of California’s coast until it’s launched into a new dimension.”
Ry Bradley (1:15pm)
Sounds like: Waylon Jennings, Rolling Stones
Key note: Last year, the singer-songwriter opened for big-time country act Florida-Georgia Line.
Red Beans & Rice (2:30pm)
Sounds like: Dr. John, Asleep at the Wheel
Key note: A highlight of their nearly 25-year existence was the 2003 Monterey Jazz Festival. “We got a standing ovation and sold 115 CDs in 20 minutes,” recounts frontman/founder Gil Rubio.
Saturday Reel to Real Stage (times TBD)
Lillie Lemon
Sounds like: MGMT, Passion Pit
Key note: On Sept. 12, her synth-pop duo, featuring multi-instrumental talent Erica Wobbles, heads on tour, from Phoenix, Arizona to Franklin, Tennessee.
Valley Soul
Sounds like: Monsters and Men, Fleetwood Mac
Key note: Singer Kristen Gradwohl riffs on the dynamic of the band: “We are a true family and there’s a lot of honesty between us,” she says. “We really try to motivate each other and open up with one another.”
SLACK
Sounds like: Ween, Weezer
Key note: From SLACK’s “Love You with the Lights On (baby).” “Every day I pinch myself it’s hard to believe/ The angel I am talking to is the same from my dreams.”
The Pip Squeeks
Sounds like: The Sonics, The Kinks
Key note: The ’60s garage rock trio raised enough money to fund the production of 100 CD copies of their debut Rise of Sun of Scerp by jamming on the sidewalk in front of Vinyl Revolution in P.G.
Sunday Main Stage
Music kicks off 10am with KPIG’s “Please Stand By” live, featuring Rushad Eggleston, Jackie Bristow, The Cerny Brothers and Mike Beck.
Jackie Bristow (noon)
Sounds like: Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones
Key note: The New Zealand native began writing songs at 15, inspired by love and heartache.
The Cerny Brothers Band (1pm)
Sounds like: Avett Brothers, Bon Iver
Key note: The brothers recently released Sleeping Giant, produced by Jerry Streeter and Ryan Hadlock, who’ve worked with everyone from Brandi Carlile to The Lumineers.
Fire in The Hamptons (2pm)
Sounds like: New Order, Chvrches
Key note: The L.A. electro-pop group’s “Awkward” has shown up all over television, from “Jersey Shore” to USPS ads.
Mike Beck (3:30pm)
Sounds like: Steve Earle, Merle Haggard
Key note: The P.G. native has partnered with the nonprofit Joyful Horse Project, who enlist veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq to help groom the horses and keep them company.
WEST END CELEBRATION music: 7pm Friday. 11am-5:30pm Saturday, noon-5:30pm Sunday. Aug. 21-23. Venues include 1725 Contra Costa, Sand City; Ortiz Avenue, Sand City. $20/Fri; free/Sat-Sun. www.westendcelebration.com
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