In Home Concert Series - A Temecula Valley Treasure

Last post I told you a little about The Musicians Workshop in Temecula, founded by my good friends Jon & Jane Laskin. These folks do a world of good for young people in our area b y exposing kids to a variety of musical expressions from instrumental to vocal to dance. It's a 501-C3 organization which means they rely on grants and contributions to fund their acquisition of instruments, music and sound equipment, maintenance of the 10,000 piece Chuck Niles Jazz Collections, and pay rent on a facility to teach, record and play.

We are in the midst of a three year fundraising effort called 'The Grand Program' wherein donors who contribute $1,000 (The Grand, Get it?) in each of the years will receive a gold record for their home as well as one on display in the studio to commemorate their largesse. As the programs grows, they have also been blessed by corporate sponsors for events and supplies that has made life a little easier for Jon and Jane, and a lot richer for their students.

One of my favorite Musicians Workshop events has been their 'In-Home Concert Series'. Held for the past seven years, the fundraising series is typically held in an estate home in the Wine Country or up in the groves - a home where 75 to 100 people can comfortably sit in your living room and enjoy an intimate concert experience with a great musician. Local wineries often donate enough wine to get everybody sloshy and in a musical mood, restaurants usually chip in enough finger foods, appetizers and mini-deserts to keep you happy, and the camaraderie and great music is a nice bonus to a fine evening.
 
Most of the musicians are not 'big famous names' today but are fine musicians in their own right, and many were big names back when. Our most recent Valentines Day concert featured Maria Muldaur. You may remember Maria from her big 70's hit, 'Midnight at the Oasis' among others. She has remained active in the industry for the past 35 years and has replaced her folk/rock offerings with a hearty, gritty and often naughty blues repertoire. Sharing a glass of wine with this legend as she belts out Bessi Smith and Mother Maybelle classics is an evening not to be forgotten. 
   
Next month we'll sit down with Tom Rush. Still touring & recording  today, Tom is best known for his work with Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. If the weather is good, we'll be under the stars on a huge deck overlooking the Bear Creek golf course enjoying Toms' mellow baritone. Later this year it'll be an evening with  It's a Beautiful Day. You probably remember them best for their big hit 'White Bird', but they've been playing together now for 30+ years and have the chops to prove it.
 
The concert series has brought a varied and eclectic selection of music to town. We've rocked out with Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express, been assaulted by Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks,  sang along with Canadian Folk Singer Valdy, enjoyed the Celtic melodies of Scarlet Rivera and Irish Harp & Pipe legend Eric Rigler, who did the theme music to Braveheart. We've been serenaded by Cybill Shepherd (yeah, that one. She's got some jazz pipes on her), jazzed up by Paul Horn, partied with Canadian rockers Powder Blue and explored the vast range of Alex Ligertwood. If you don't know him, Alex is a Scottish lad who first gained fame with Jeff Beck in the early 70's, went on to play with the Average White Band, and then was the voice of Santana and co-wrote many hits with Carlos over 15 years and eight albums starting in 1979.
  
All this entertainment in your living room, a snootfull of wine and snacking goodies will only set you back $45. Not a bad deal if I do say so myself (and I do). But tickets are limited by the size of the venue. Some homes will only hold 50 or 60 people, some up to 100 or so and, as you might imagine, they are a hot ticket item. While they could easily charge more and hold one of these sold-out shows every month, they only do three a year and make each one special. If you plan on visiting the Temecula area for our climate, our wine tasting or our casino's, make sure you check their website to see if there's going to be a show while you're here. If there is, be sure and tell them Gino sent you - they'll probably give you my tickets since that will save quite a bit on the old wine budget.
You can find out more by visiting http://www.musiciansworkshop.org/InHomeConcertSeries.html

Gene Wunderlich - Selling Southwest California Homes including Temecula, Murrieta and the Southern California