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Thursday, November 24, 2011 The Bakersfield Californian
Eye Street
Inside Movie reviews of “The Muppets,” “Hugo” and “Arthur Christmas,” C5.
Lifestyles editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | Email, jself@bakersfield.com
How ’bout a big plate of honky-tonk at Palace? BY JENNIFER SELF Californian lifestyles editor jself@bakersfield.com
S
inger/guitarist Chuck Mead, who’s become something of a honky-tonk hero on his many stops at Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace over the years, hasn’t nailed down what he’ll be playing when he sits in with the Buckaroos Friday and Saturday, but he can guarantee a few things: Several of his favorite Buck songs will be on the set list, and he’ll be ordering a steak — the Don Rich Special, to be exact — before the show. Oh, and people will get off their bottoms and move their feet. Because they always do when Mead is in the house. “They’re not afraid to dance in Bakersfield,” the performer said over the phone from his Nashville home Monday. And Mead would know. He’s played Bakersfield many times over the past 15-odd years, including a stop in 2009 to promote his first solo album, “Journeyman’s
Wager,” a great collection of barn-burners minted in the tradition of country music’s honkytonk and rockabilly glory days. Just give a listen to “Out on the Natchez Trail” and “She Got the Ring (I Got the Finger).” But it was as frontman for retro hillbilly act BR549 that Mead COURTESY OF CHUCK MEAD really lit a fire under Bakersfield Chuck Mead hopes audiences. The you’ll dance at the Palace this weekend. raucous shows the band regularly played at the Crystal Palace starting in the mid-1990s still live in the memory of local fans, myself included. I’ve seen
Chuck Mead and the Buckaroos When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday Where: Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, 2620 Buck Owens Blvd. Admission: $5
dozens of memorable concerts at the Palace, but none as exhilarating as those shows. The raw energy that came off that stage when the boys blazed through favorites like “Cherokee Boogie” and “Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)” got every boot scootin’ and toe tappin.’ And the semi-local-connection the band mentioned at every show never failed to stoke the crowd’s enthusiasm: Overall-clad multi-instrumentalist Donny Herron kicked around Bakersfield for years, elevating the quality of the music scene with his prodigious gifts as a player. “I think that was another reason it felt Please see MEAD / C4
The Lowdown with Matt Munoz
Rhythm and blues: good for the soul T
here’s a scene from the 1991 film “The Commitments,” where the character of Jimmy Rabbitte tries to explain the allure of ’60s soul music to his bandmates. “Soul is the music people understand,” he said. “It’s honest.” Those lines ring true for Foster Campbell and Friends, Bakersfield’s purveyors of “highoctane rhythm and blues.” Performing classics from Wilson Pickett and Joe Cocker, to the Temptations and James Brown and beyond, this horn-heavy show band has been bringing down the house at high-profile locals event since bursting on the scene six years ago. Now this funky family of musicians is about to take the stage for a huge gig: opening for legendary bluesman B.B. King Saturday at the Fox. “It’s very exciting for all of us, that’s for sure,” said lead vocalist and guitarist Foster Campbell. “A lot of anticipation and eagerness.” The group was assembled as a favor to Village Fest organizer Rick Peace, who had approached Campbell about forming a group to perform at the annual beer, wine and food festival. The response to their debut was overwhelming. “Rick asked us what the name would be and I just told him plainly, ‘Foster Campbell and Friends.’ We had such a good time, we decided to keep going and one thing led to another.” Since then, the mammoth 15-piece band has been entertaining crowds at the Bakersfield Jazz Festival, The Marketplace, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace and even organized their own party cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. Joining Campbell in the huge lineup are: Tanner Byrom, drums; Chuck Seaton, guitar; Brett Seaton, bass; Chris
Camille Gavin CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
International Christmas comes to town
O
ne woman’s thirst for knowledge about other cultures combined with a penchant for collecting is at the heart of a unique holiday celebration in downtown Bakersfield called Christmas Around the World. “I think I have been getting ready for this all my life,” said Sherrie Lewis, chief organizer of the event, which opens Friday on the second floor of the old Brock’s building, now known as Timeless FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN Furnishings. “I remem- Representing Russia is the St. ber wishing I Basil’s Cathedral gingerbread could buy house at the 2011 Christmas Around the World exhibit. one of the (international) dolls they sold at gas stations but I only got 25 cents for baby-sitting — and now just look! I’ve got a whole wall-full,” she said, indicating multiple shelves packed with dolls in colorful native costumes. Dolls are only part of the collection, however. There are hundreds of Nativity scenes from as many as 40 countries, along with nutcrackers of every size, and 135 Christmas trees decorated with ornaments that reflect each country’s traditions. One of the newest displays this year was created by members of the local Filipino Club, who happened to be putting the finishing touches on it the day I got a preview of the event. Lanie Martinez, who was born in a rural area of the Philippines, said the stilt house that forms the centerpiece is called a nipa hut. “You don’t see them anymore in Manila,” she said, “but they still use them in Mindanao and other places.” Nipa, she said, is a native plant whose fibers are used to make the thatch-roofed house, which is constructed out of bamboo. The lighted, star-shaped ornaments on the tree next to the hut are called Please see GAVIN / C2
Camille Gavin’s “Arts Alive” column appears on Thursday. Write to her via e-mail at gavinarts@aol.com
Santa and Me
JACLYN BOROWSKI / THE CALIFORNIAN
The band Foster Campbell and Friends poses during rehearsals on Monday night. They will be opening for B.B. King at the Fox on Saturday.
Neufeld, keyboards; Mac McClanahan, tenor sax; Dennis Wilson, alto sax; Dave Sands, baritone sax; John Hollins, trumpet; and back-up singers Geri Campbell, Amerie Seaton, Karrie Sands, Tracy Peoples, Tracey Levens and Leslea Rousch. “These are a great bunch of cats to play with,” said
McClanahan, who handles the horn arrangements for the group. “The term we like to use to describe most of the players in this band is ‘seasoned.’” In preparation for this weekend, Campbell said the band has been stepping up the normal rehearsal routine. “We try to make rehearsals accessible for everyone to
Matt Munoz is editor of Bakotopia.com, a sister website of The Californian that devotes itself to promoting Bakersfield’s art scene. Matt’s column appears every Thursday in Eye Street.
attend, including families. It’s not really as much work as it probably is for other bands. We’re a pretty early group, so we start about 6 p.m. and end by 8:30 p.m., with a barbecue mixed in. Amazingly it comes together pretty well most of the time. I’m so thankful for texting. It can be a lot like herding cats.” When he’s not testifying to the healing power of music onstage, Campbell works as a Please see LOWDOWN / C4
Sitting on Santa’s lap can be a joyous experience in a young life. Or it can be sheer terror. Either way, we’d love a photo of you or a family member meeting the jolly old elf. Tell us the identities, from left to right, of everyone in the photo, the year it was taken if you know it, and a short memory (100 words, max) of the event. Include your name and a phone number (which will not be published). Email is preferred (write “Santa” in the subject line). Send the photo and information to msorto@bakersfield.com. Photos may be dropped off at The Californian, 1707 Eye St., or mailed to The Californian, c/o Marisol Sorto, PO Bin 440, Bakersfield 93302. Photos will not be returned. All material is due by 5 p.m. Dec. 14.