A REVIVAL...With Gino Matteo...

...And SO much more!

More accurate in saying,

 'Twas a Revival AND A Reunion!
We'll get back to that

There's this drummer - Clayton Cameron. 

I was told that I HAVE to go see him, in that he's

a great drummer, and he brings people in. Not just

people coming to see some great jazz, mind you, but

he'll have top notch players with him. I just started to

describe Clayton's background, dropping names

like Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Sammy Davis Jr.,

Frank Sinatra and whatnot, but then deleted

it, feeling you'd be better served if you just

clicked HERE to get to his

website and bio.

Gino is like this, in a sense.

Gino is a phenomenal guitarist with a tastefull ear.

And a real feel for what he plays.

Every time I see Gino play - I get blown away!

I was introduced to Gino through another musician

who ALSO tends to blow me away when I see

him play - Quinton Hufferd.

Q, to most.

I really couldn't say now
just how many times I've gone to
see Gino play. But many OF those times
he'll have a special guest or two. Gino grew up
in East LA, and while hovering only around the age
of 30, he's been playing and touring for some 15 years.
He knows some people. He'll bring 'em on stage. Gino
will treat you with the music of someone else,
when he could easily be staying
 at the forefront.

NO help needed to provide
soulful, moving entertainment, but he stays humble.

He had some
fan-tas-tic talent on stage this night.
This was at The Hip Kitty - in Claremont, California.
May 10th, 2013.

The band to open this night
 was The Firethornes. This is the band
that Jade Bennett (now Matteo) played with
some 2 years ago. It was a NICE reunion, and just 
as when you see her now'days...

She POURS it out!
Some covers... some originals...
With everything stellar! Especially,
I think, this night.

The Firethornes played a nice long set,
then Gino took the mic, and announced they'd
be back shortly, with several SPECIAL guests. Gino 
came back in a bit with his oldest friend and 
regular drummer, Trevor Monks. 

Always good to see Trevor,
and this night - well, as soon as it hit Midnight - we were toasting his birthday...

...in addition to a great night
that had us all pumped
full of energy.

James Breker has been
playing bass with Gino for a
couple of years now, and is a wonderful addition.
James and Trevor provide more than the driving beat,
though they truly are responsible FOR this. Listen a
little bit closer. There're some complex rhythms
going on. More than you'd expect.

On keys,
Drake Munkihaid Shining. Real name? 
Don't know (doubt it), but with Drake, there IS a
sense of humor along with great support
and the occasional leads. 

Jade came up for 
a buncha backing vocals, 
and Joey Delgado was also there this night.
BUT - while he was introduced as a special guest,
he didn't just pop up for a few tunes. This night he was
more like a second guitarist with the band.

But Joey?
The Delgado Brothers
are an East LA band with some thirty-five 
years of playing. Between Los Lobos, Tierra, or
the Delgado Brothers, if you're from East LA... some
of these guys PROBABLY played at your first wedding.
(I'm sorry, but that joke does not get old - and I 
heard it FROM (one of) Los Lobos). 

What can I say?
Joey's another guitarist who
just blows me away EVERY time!
Soul, funk, SIZZLING and HEARTFELT runs
along the fret board, while quietly fading into the
background when others take the lead. I was there one 
night in Riverside when Joey sat in for a few numbers. 
At one point as he was playing,  if you caught a glance 
at Gino, he was there with his elbow propped on the 
neck of his guitar in awe of what he was seeing and 
hearing. Jason Ricci, on harp that night - same 
thing. His arms were at his side, barely able 
to take in the feeling that was flying from 
those notes and bends and
GAWD knows what else!

THIS
is what you get
when you're fortunate enough
to see Joey play. And in this case, it went
on through most of the night. But again with Joey,
what you get onstage or off, is another
humble, friendly man. 

So - 
just as Joey served 
as mentor and influence to Gino,
the next guest brought up served as 
such to Joey - Danny Diaz. 

Danny served as example 
to Joey some 40 years ago. And is quite 
possibly the man responsible for Joey's sound today. 

Well, in part anyway. 
I don't know this, mind you. 
But there's something there. Not a copying 
of notes or favorite riffs or anything like that. 
More... feeling that exists when the notes are hit. 
Feeling that seems apparent when you get that 
combination of seeing AND hearing. 

Especially when you get to see all three; 

Gino, Joey, and Danny - together 
on one stage.

And Danny... he's just SO 
expressive when he plays. 

There's a face 
that goes with the hitting of certain notes...

...and the bending of others. 

One thing is certain - both Gino 
and Joey were CLEARLY having just as much 
fun as the folk in the audience. 

They even stopped playing 
to take photos and video of Danny 
while HE played. 

 

Sorry, but that's just 
pretty damn cool.

Okay. 
One more feature of the evening. 
One more generation to include. Chase Walker. 
At the time of this performance, Chase is a mere fourteen
 years old. He's done (and is doing) quite well as a performer. He was even at one of the last gigs I was raving about - 
The 2nd Annual High Desert Music Festival and 
Barbecue Showdown. He was on just a couple of 
acts before the groups I was helping 
to MC around.

Chase is another player 
who FEELS what he's playing. 
He's got some riffs, that's for sure, 
but the improvisation is flowing as well. 
And it's not like he's relying on the same solo 
or two that he picked up from Gino. Gino? Yeah. 
Chase was one of Gino's students for a time, and 
continues to shine. 

I think we all look forward 
to seeing him grow as a player, but really, 
there's so much there right now. Just LOOK at 
that smile on a proud teacher's face.

So - 
Danny influenced Joey, 
who influenced Gino, who taught Chase. 
We got to see, quite literally (in a figurative kind of way) FOUR generations set-ting-that-stage-on-fire! A fire 
kindled by passion. And exuding of feeling.

  

So - once again -
I find myself drawn to doing a writeup...

...on something that's already happened. So you can't
really be moved to go see what I just described.

But you
CAN be so inspired to
go see Gino ANY time he plays 

at ANY venue. Same thing with Jade.
Any time you catch notice of her playing,
make some time on your calendar! And chances are,
where Gino's playing, Jade will be backing, and
where Jade is laying out passion
in full-voice, Gino...

...Will probably

be right behind her as well.

Thank you all!

Oh, and Mike, is this last photo one of yours? 
I think so.

Gino Matteo just got Q'd (and then some)!

Finally. A new post. A lot has happened - and I have lots to talk about. A recent interview with Shirley Jones and Marty Ingals - and the re-opening of their new park - which I attended. Some changes to Twain. Tommy Womack and some Government Cheese in the near future...


So - the latest live act to blow me away?
 

(((photo by Mike Ingram)))

I got a message from a friend about a new "residency" of sorts. A weekly gig at a Redlands watering hole, The Vault. The gig was to be called The Hometown Getdown featuring Gino Matteo. The name? Well, that's easy enought. Gino Matteo moved from East LA to Redlands recently. It's now his hometown. Every Sunday night at The Vault? A getdown.

(((photo by Mike Ingram)))

Near 30 years old, Gino's been fronting one band or another for some 15 years. Most recently, Gino Matteo and the Family Funk. Do the math real quick and you'll know that for quite some time, he's been playing with people well over his age. Over the years, Matteo played with - and/or opened for - some fantastic artists, played for thousands (and thousands) of people, and picked up a LOT of valuable experience.

He had lost touch with something though, and started to re-examine why he might be playing. He wanted to get back to playing...because it's fun. He wanted to play with some folks who, closer to his own age, he might be hanging out with anyway. He broke down the Family Funk...and started from scratch. He brought in James Breker on bass, and Trevor Monks on drums. He'd known both of these guys for quite some time - one of whom since adolescence. These three jammed...got tight...then Gino made one more call. That call was to Q. That is, Quinton Hufferd. 

(((photo by Mike Ingram)))

Originally from San Diego, Q is becoming (has become?) a name in the Inland Empire and Southern California. Q was a founding member of the 5th Street Jazz combo (which still plays - sans Q - in the alley next to Augie's Coffee Shop in Redlands). He was also one of the original members of Big Papa and the TCB. Without Q, they will definitely still be a band worth seeing. BUT- without Q - they will definitely be less interesting. Q is with a couple of other area bands (The Griff Hamlin Band, Yardsale), and also teaches blues piano online. Q is also the friend who alerted me to this gig.

(((note~ I really DON'T mean to slam Big Papa and the TCB with that statement. It's really meant to be more of a compliment to Q. I recently (mid-march 2013) tried to explain my statement to Chris Thayer (Big Papa). He stopped me. Seems to have understood. Big Papa and the TCB is still QUITE a wonderful band - and as stated earlier - WELL worth seeing. DF)))


But back to Gino. It's his name out front.

(((photo by Mike Ingram)))

The man knows his fretboard! And...he in no way relies on any familiar tropes. Each attack is an exploration. Whether exploring sound effects, playing out Amazing Grace with Harmonics (at the end of THIS video), or flying up, down...then up the neck again...you want to watch as well as listen. He CAN shred when he wants to...but doesn't rely soley ON it. Too many people pick up this ability - then do nothing but. Thankfully this isn't the case with Gino. There's just as much variety in style as there is in music.


But there IS a constant.


Soul. 


Not - say - the kind of thing ya get from James Brown or Aretha or somebody. More like...ohhhh...The Allman Brothers. Not the Ramblin' Man kinda thing, mind you. Think more in the lines of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Think of some of the offshoots in the Allman Brothers family tree. Derek Trucks...Gov't Mule....there you go. Think Soulshine. Now throw in a bit of Tom Waits, Joe Cocker, a bit of New Orleans with a taste of a Southern black gospel church (chuch). 


Oh yeah! How about the slowwwww, building instrumentals. The kind with the gradual intensity to knock you outta your socks. Think Stevie Ray...think Stan Kenton's band doing a Dave Barduhn arrangement of My Funny Valentine. Take this all a step further when Jade steps up for vocals.

(((photo by Mike Ingram)))

Now...when you see this band, it's a treat to stay to the end. Not that they've been going off of a set list all night - Gino calls them out AS they're starting - but at the end of the night, it gets really fun. Start with ANY tune...soon it drifts into Suzie Q...then Billie Jean...then, while trading licks with Q, some Christmas tune...all with the same funk-driven backbeat. 


They've promised to be an every Sunday thing - 7-11pm - at The Vault - in Redlands. BUT - I'd catch 'em while you can. These guys are a touring band. Mostly along the coast...up to the Bay area and back. Gino just happens to live in Redlands now. 


Which is good, 'cause I just couldn't see myself driving to East LA every Sunday night. 


Much less making it out.


Come back to this page soon. I'm sure I'll be editing, adding photos and more.