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SoCal RustFest (LA area)
(April 5, 1997)

Your Host - Richie XFMR Man Rand


Pre-Fest Notice

The Fest Call was put out by Cinnamon Girl....

Just found out that Shakey's coming to California, so we're planning a Zuma South RustFest in his honor. And everyone's invited! The RustFest will be held on Saturday, April 5. Time, place and further details will be posted shortly. (It'll probably be held in the Orange County area.)

Looking forward to meeting many of you, seeing "old" friends from the Irvine show, and much more! And, yes, of course Shakey's bringing his guitar ... ;)

Best,
Cinnamon Girl

With a followup from Richie XFMR Man Hand....

The Rustfest is set for April 5, 1996. It will be held at my place. I will be sending out directions to the RSVP'd Rusties sometime next week. We are hoping to have equipment to play live electric music. Acoustic guitars will be welcome also. The festivities will start in the early afternoon, around 2:00 P.M., and we should probably figure that the electric portion of the fest should shut down around 10:00 P.M., or when the people at the door have badges! We've had a nice response already, but I'd like anyone who is concerned about not knowing anyone to feel that they are welcome. The Music is why we are here! Let's make this a special day for Shakey!

Hoping to see you all,

(*SR*)Richie (r.hand@genie.com)

Followed again with more details:
Well, it looks like the South Ontario Rustfest will hit double digit attendance, which is pretty good, considering we had trouble getting one going before the Irvine show last year. This is real progress.

My living room may be more crowded than OPL, however that will make it more intimate. I'm hoping the vibes will be there! If it gets too big, we may have to limit the music to acoustic only. Room is becoming a critical factor.

It is BYOB. In other words, bring your own drinks. I'm gonna try and make some So. Calif. style chili, and salsa. Beyond that, you're on your own. It's gonna be a long haul, and I don't have a lot of money, so if you got a favorite dish or something that you'd like to share, it would be aprreciated. I can't make banners, but I'm thinking of making a special poster for each of the participants.

I'll be sending out directions to my place, so if you don't get one, then get in touch with me so I can send it out by private e-mail.

(*SR*)Richie (r.hand@genie.com)


Fest Report

Well, fellow Rusties, I'm finally comin' up for air for the last time before I retire on this fine April day. It was a torrid weekend, but I'd do it again in a minute! What a great weekend! I spent a lot of time with some of the nicest people on the planet!

I would like to thank all who attended for being so polite and well behaved. The fest went very smoothly except for the quakes being created by the electric guitars. It seemed like everything was falling down. We had CD cases rattled off a shelf, and a glass jar knocked over by the festforce! After consuming copius amounts of liquid refreshment (for medicinal purposes only) I knocked over an expensive bottle of Tequila for which I will always be remiss.

Here's a list of the participants:

  1. Fontainbleau
  2. Runaround Babe
  3. Paul Gase
  4. John Reynolds
  5. Randy Davis
  6. Shakey
  7. Cinnamon Girl
  8. Rich Shearer
  9. A friend of my Wife
  10. Anthony Dragun
  11. Norm Brown
  12. Gary Mollica
  13. Dave Lechner
  14. Al Kennard
  15. Al's Friend Rebecca
  16. My wife Lou
  17. Me

At approximately noon on Saturday, Apr. 5, 1996, I found my wonderful friends from the Bay Area, Fontainbleau and Runaround Babe waiting for me at the Ontario airport. (That's the other Ontario.) We all smiled and sensed the impending joy! It was then quickly off to my humble abode, which was a short 10 minutes away.

Shortly thereafter, my cohort in Sacred Roots, Paul Gase arrived to help set up. He patched together a P.A. furnished by one of my co-disgruntled postal worker friends, John Reynolds. Paul got everything set pretty quick while Devon T.(Runaround Babe) and Ciaran(Fontainbleau) joined me in a quick trip to the store for supplies.

When we got back, no one else had arrived yet, so we chatted for a while and continued setting up. Very close to the appointed start time Randy Davis showed up. He brought a small amp and a nice guitar and quickly set up also. Shortly after we had set up, the guest of honor showed up. It was Shakey, and he had a friend with him: Cinnamon Girl.

I offered a choice of weapons to Jack (Shakey), and he chose the Les Paul. It was being run through an old silver face Super Reverb, and Shakey did it proud. No effects other than the built in reverb. Very nice sound. We ran the bass through the sound board, and for the most part, Paul and I traded off on bass while Shakey played either the Les Paul or Paul Gase's Gretsch. Paul G. has a new Fender Amp and he absolutely smoked it! Searing leads and great bass playing throughout! I fumbled and stumbled through lots of songs, at times not knowing what note I was playing on the bass. It's fun trying to play bass and sing at the same time, but 'ya gotta remember the words, Richie!

We could have opened a meat shop the way we butchered some of Neil's songs, but every once in a while, a gem would slip through. It was getting pretty intense as Rich Shearer and a friend of my wife showed up. I was told that there was someone outside who needed some assistance getting in, so I signaled to the guys to cut Like A Hurricane short. Well, I wound up going outside, and helping our newest Rustie participant, Anthony Dragun (aka Freakflag) in, with the assistance of Devon and Rick, I believe.

I came back in, and here's Shakey, Paul, John and company still goin' on Like A Hurricane! So I picked up the bass, settled into the groove, and even sang a verse before they gave up on this one. Things were starting to get really intense now! Paul signaled to Shakey that he wanted to do some dueling guitar tradeoffs, and Shakey quickly responded! It was remniscent of the Neil/Steven tradeoffs. Very nice back and forth action here, ladies and gentlemen.

We managed to get Ciaran to play bass for a while, and we had Randy playing and singing both lead and harmony. Yours truly tried to take a backup role for the most part, but ham that I am (and I am a ham), I did manage to wrest the mic a few times, and thrashed a couple of lead riffs once in a while. I almost thought I knew what I was doing a few times!   (;>

Norm Brown and Gary Mollica showed up fashionably late, but seemed to be enjoying what was going down. We took breaks every once in a while, and chatted. John Reynolds played drums for us, and we owe him a debt of gratitude for providing the sound system. We put him through the ring of fire, seeing that he probably knew one or two of the songs we played, but I doubt that anyone noticed. He is a most excellent drummer and really provided a solid foundation througout the day. He had to leave around 8:00 P.M., and we decided that this would be the time to turn to the acoustic side.

A slight reversal on the approach Neil generally took, but it works very well when the evening wears on and the neighbors are getting nervous. My friend Dave Lechner showed up about the time we started rolling into the wooden portion, and provided tasteful harmonica leads and fills. Shakey also provided some nice sounds, and we had at least one dual harm part.

Paul Gase provided a set list, and I'm amazed that we went through that many songs. I thought of a few that I wanted to do and we never got to them. It seemed we were never at a loss for something to play. Later that evening, I think we all succummed to the length of the sessions and finally started winding it down.

Al Kennard was the final Rustie to show, and I think we may have disappointed him in that we didn't play much after he arrived. We did have lots of interesting conversation and watched some cool Neil videos with him, though. Shakey finally had to take off, and bid us farewell. We had by this time lost Freak Flag (who seemed to really enjoy the fest), and Gary M. (A Friend Of Yours). Paul Gase had to take off also and said his goodbyes. Rick Shearer and Randy Davis had also bid us farewell, and so we were down to Al K., Dave L., Ciaran, Devon, Al's friend, Rebecca and me.

We went through the OPL video for Big Time and I showed Ciarn and Al where I saw Devon in the video. We discussed all the people we knew that were in the video and digressed into more musical discussion before Al and Rebecca finally left. The RustFest proper was over.

There was a mini-fest the next day when Ciaran, David L., and I played some stuff acoustically. We all decided to head to Hollywood later that evening since Devon and Ciaran hadn't seen too much since coming down from Palo Alto. We did the typical sightseeing thing to Universal Studios City Walk, and got a bite to eat before heading to Tower Records. We all picked up a few goodies there. I found CSNY, The Visual Documentary, which has the Islands In The Sun album cover artwork as the book cover. A beautiful shot of the boys in Hawaii.

We saw House Of Blues, The Whiskey, The Paladium, and some other famous sites on Sunset Blvd. before heading back home for more conversation and Neil videos. Finally, at about 2:00 A.M. this morning (Monday) Dave L. said his goodbyes and headed home. Ciaran & Devon spent the night with us again, and I took them to the airport this morning at about 8:00 A.M. where we exchanged hugs and handshakes and bid each other farewell until no later than this year's Bridge.

I would like to thank everyone who attended for making it such a special event. Freak Flag brought some excellent potato salad, and the others brought lots to drink. Rick Shearer brought some excellent Tamales, and I provided Chili and salsa. Cinnamon Girl brought sodas and prizes, and Shakey was tryin' to find a song we couldn't play to get one of them, although we gave everything back to her anyway.

Any of you participants, feel free to fill in the spaces. Being behind the scenes a lot of the time, I didn't catch everything that went on, but my general observation was that a good time was had by all. I felt pretty good about the way it turned out.

Eric Leighton called and sent his apologies, and we've had a few e-mails from some hopeful participants where they couldn't make it because of family commitments. I'm sure everyone understands. Hopefully there will be more West Coast fests hapenning. Let's hope it snowballs into the International Fest.

Well, I gotta crawl into bed. The excitement has been too much. Thanks to all you Rusties for making my weekend very special. I hope it was special for you guys. Let's do it again real soon!

(*SR*)Richie


The Paul*SR* Set List Report

Good morning all!! First, a BIG THANKS to Rich Hand for setting it up and having all of us obsessive NY fans over!!! I had a fantastic time.

To all whom I met: It was a pleasure and I can't wait to do this again. Here are the songs (that I remember) that were played (not in order):

  1. Out Of My Mind
  2. Mr. Soul
  3. The Loner
  4. Cinammon Girl
  5. DBTR
  6. CITS
  7. Helpless
  8. Tell Me Why
  9. Birds
  10. I Believe in You
  11. Out On the Weekend
  12. Old Man
  13. Alabama
  14. LA
  15. On The Beach
  16. Ambulance Blues
  17. Pardon My Heart (SHAKEY!!!!)
  18. Cortez
  19. Barstool Blues (ooooff!!)
  20. Stupid Girl (ooof!!)
  21. Long May You Run
  22. LAH
  23. Rapid Transit/Southern Pacific (Medley)
  24. Are There Any More Real Cowboys?
  25. Crime In the City
  26. Too Far Gone
  27. Ohio
  28. F#%!n' Up!
  29. Country Home
  30. Powderfinger
  31. Unknown Legend
  32. Big Time
  33. No Reply (BEATLES!!)
  34. Live To Ride
  35. Pushed It Over The End
  36. Berlin
  37. Interstate
  38. Road Of Plenty
WOW! That's a lot. No doubt I left out a few...

Paul*SR*


Cinnamon Girl's Report

What a party! I had a blast. The rustiness was simply amazing.

Shakey, Paul, Richie, Randy, Joe and Devon rocked the house from 2:30 to around 9 with one electric song right after another. How do they do that?! Heck, it even sounded good down the street and in front of the house! Paul's leads were outstanding and Shakey's harp solos were right on. The rhythm supplied by Richie, Randy and Devon were sweet. Add in the mean beat by Joe and, well, sign these guys up! They're GREAT!

I knew that Shakey was an excellent guitar player and knew more Neil songs than probably Neil himself, but little did I know how good he was until last Saturday. His playing simply blows me away. It was a lot of fun to watch one of them play a few notes of a song, the others get big grins on their faces and suddenly all start jamming like there was no tomorrow. Fantastic.

L.A. Dave showed up a little later and added another harmonica to the group. After 9 they played acoustic for at least two more hours. You never would've known these guys hadn't played together before. Awesome, to say the least. Paul's setlist was accurate, but I also remember Lady Wingshot and Campaigner being played.

Oh, and Richie's chili was OUTSTANDING! Hit the spot! Blessings heaped upon him and his extremely nice and patient wife, Lou, for allowing a bunch of Neil-nuts to invade their house. It was wonderful to meet some old and new Rustie friends. Richie had a sign-in sheet at the front door and I'm sure he'll be posting the official attendee list.

I'm a listener rather than a player, and I was in heaven. Yes, it was just that good. Thanks to everyone who made it a special day. Let's do it again, and soon!

Cinnamon Girl


Randy's Report

I sit here with sore fingers after my first experience at a RustFest. I first want to thank Richie for letting us come into his house and loosen the plaster. Being a lurker, no one knew who the hell I was, but that didn't stop them from welcoming me like an old friend.

We quickly got to the music, and that was the highlight (isn't it always?). These guys know their stuff! Thanks to Paul, Richie, and Shakey for letting me join in. I got to play acoustic rhythm, and throw in the odd harmony. There were too many magical moments to single out, but some extended jams on Down By The River and Cowgirl In The Sand stand out in my mind.

There is something about experiencing Neil's music from the inside, from the creative side that makes it that more special. I play some of his songs solo, but it's not the same as sharing it with fellow Rusties.

I had a blast, and I can't wait for the next time!!!


Proto-Rustie Rick's Report

Had a great time at Richie's hourse. Richie and Lou were great hosts and made a dynamite pot of chilli. Shakey, Richie, Paul, Jon and Randy were a great band. You wouldn't think they came together only on that night. I swear they rehearsed secretly for a few days. Fountainbleu joined in after a while for a few tunes as well.

Cinnamon Girl, Run Around Babe, Freak Flag and his friend, A Friend of Yours, R Hand family and friends, and myself were a great audience. (Did that from memory -- always a shakey (no pun) thing -- hope I didn't miss anyone or get one wrong).

I found a beer in the store that was appropriate for the occasion, so I brought a few. People swore it was a joke at first. It was called Young's RAMROD Ale. Thought I heard a few RamRod jokes...

Had to leave a little early. People were showing up as I left. Hope it went on for hours. Fun to meet all of you!

Rick. Proto-Rustie.


Richie's Epilogue

Well boys & girls, we had so much fun at the RustFest that we forgot to mic the amplifiers, and all we have on tape is drums, bass and Shakey.

To top it off, my wife, who was taking pictures, somehow found an old roll of film that was already exposed and put it in the camera. So we have a burned out roll of film showing a burned out apartment and a RustFest, simultaneously. It's so ugly!!!!! The frames don't even line up!

Cinnamon Girl, I hope your pix came out. Did anyone stealth tape the RustFest? Oh well, Neil does overdubs, so I guess we can too....

(*SR*)Richie


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