Sneak Peak Into Whale Rock Music & Arts 2018 With Luke Udsen

A little over a year ago we got an email from a guy named Luke to play at a festival called Whale Rock Music & Arts Festival. We weren’t very familiar with the festival as it was the first year under its new name (formerly Beaverstock,) we hadn’t met Luke before, but we pretty quickly agreed to play the festival. Soon after, Luke offered to shoot some live performance videos for us, so he and his three person video crew drove up to Ben Lomond from Paso Robles on a weekday and shot some videos on our parent’s back deck, and the videos turned out great. Check them out. (You And Me, Bad Luck Thing Called Love) A few months later we spent three days at Castoro Cellars in Templeton during Whale Rock and had a blast. We played two sets at the festival, we were treated really well by everyone, and we met a bunch of good people.

In the last year we’ve made several stops back at Castoro Cellars including playing a couple of shows at their tasting room, and each time we come we’re treated like family. We even shot a few more videos. (Whiskey Song, Rebels (Tom Petty) We’re really excited to be returning to Whale Rock this year (September 15 & 16) and we’d love to let more people know about the fine work they’re doing down in Templeton at Castoro Cellars during these two days at Whale Rock. We had the pleasure of talking with that guy I was telling you about, Luke Udsen just days before the sixth Whale Rock Music Festival. Here’s our conversation.

Kellen Coffis: Thanks for joining us, Luke, how’s it going?

Luke Udsen: It’s going great, man! Getting everything ready for the fun to come.

KC: What’s your involvement with this festival, Luke? Should we call you the CEO? General Manager? Producer? Editor-in-chief? What is it you say you do there at the Whale Rock headquarters.

LU: I definitely wear a lot of hats, but primarily I would say I’m the promoter. I handle all of the booking for Whale Rock and most of the marketing, promoting, etc. It’s definitely a group effort but that’s sort of my realm in a nutshell. 

KC: Interesting. So help me out here. I’m familiar with many different genres of music and rock like hard rock, alternative rock, folk rock, even yacht rock, but I’ve never heard of whale rock. Can you tell me what whale rock is and do all of these bands at the festival only play whale rock? I’m a big yacht rock fan. I’d imagine yacht rock and whale rock go together well.

LU: Oh for sure, that’s written into every band’s contract. Whale sounds, long, short, subtle, must be incorporated in some way throughout the set. In all seriousness, Whale Rock is the name of the vineyard the festival takes place in and the name comes from the petrified whale bones we find all throughout the vineyard.

KC: Okay. That makes sense. So the festival takes place on a winery. Castoro Cellars, right? Will you be serving some of this wine at the festival? Or do you just keep it for yourself?

LU: Oh, we serve plenty of wine at the festival, but if you want the really good stuff, you gotta find me and I’ll pour it from my bota bag.

KC:Great. I love wine from a bag. That’s the best stuff. So I know this is a music festival and that it’s on a winery, but what if I hate music and don’t drink wine? Got anything for me to do there?

LU:Oh yeah. We’ve got all kinds of stuff, for instance, craft beer, cider, kombucha (it’s all the rage these days), yoga, arts & crafts, silent disco, even a tea garden this year! If you’re a kid you’re in even more luck with free face painting, a musical petting zoo and natural fallen oak playground.

KC: Looks like you’ve done your homework. But what if I don’t like music, can’t, draw, don’t have kids, am allergic to fur, am more of a cross fitter than a yogi, and only drink coors light. Got anything for me now, wise guy?

LU: Absolutely. We’ve got an exit, unless you’re into BBQ, then we’ve got you covered.

KC: Well, I do love BBQ. Okay, I’m back in. Let’s talk music now. Looks like you’ve had a pretty wide range of bands come through the vineyard over the years. How’s the lineup looking this year?

LU: Yeah for sure we’ve had so many amazing artists over the years and this year is no different. There are touring bands coming from all over the country playing all kinds of music and most importantly they all play really good music. Good music that people can easily connect with. At least that’s the goal.

KC:That sounds great. I love good music. It’s my favorite. I’m also really into five piece bands rock bands. You know like, two guitars, bass, drums, keys, and maybe one’s with brothers. Got anything like that?

LU: Bummer, I didn’t book any of those this year. I did book this band called the Mountain Men. They shred

KC: Yeah, I think I know those guys.

LU :Yeah, their drummer, Sam is a real hard ass dude.

KC: Never mind. Must be a different band.  So you’ve got some great national touring acts but can I give you a tip? There’s a ton of great bands in the San Luis Obispo area. You ever think to have any of them at Whale Rock?

LU: For sure, we’ve actually got a nice mix of those suckers: Miss Leo & Her Bluegrass Boys, Nicole Stromose, B & The Hive, Mannequins By Day, Samba Loca, Arthur Watership, and Jade Jackson. 

KC: Good call. And again I think a five piece rock band from a beach town could really pull this whole festival together. Just a thought. This sounds like a great festival though and you’re starting to sell me on this, but I’m not quite sold. Is there anything else you can tell me to suede me into coming? I mean you seem like a nice guy and all but I don’t really know if I want to give you money to buy more of those hats you seem to wear so many of.

LU: Well, you my friend are in luck! Just by attending Whale Rock you are directly benefiting the Templeton High School music program. You buy a hat, a kid gets a trumpet or something along those lines…maybe a clarinet. Its totally worth it, even if you bought a ticket and decided to stay home and crossfit with your bros instead.

KC: Yeah, I’ve gotta get my pump on so we’ll see if I make it, but that’s good to know. I know there’s been a name change with the festival but by my count, 2018 makes this the sixth year of the festival. Is that correct?

LU: Yes sir, number six it is, kinda crazy for us. Seems like only yesterday she was born and finding her way. Now she’s all grown up.

KC: While we’re on the topic of being born yesterday and finding her way. I understand you’ve had some rather important changes to your life since Whale Rock number five.

LU: Indeed I have! My wife and I welcomed our daughter Ella into our lives in April, and she has been the boss ever since. She was actually at Whale Rock last year but was probably only the size of a kidney bean.

KC: Congratulations. Will Ella be making an appearance at the festival? Any bands she’s looking forward to seeing?

LU: Oh yeah, she’ll be there for sure. She’s super into all kinds of music but she definitely likes that band that sings “You And Me” and “Bad Luck.” I’m spacing on their name, but she loves their stuff.

KC: Sounds like a bright kid. I think we’ll get along really well. Alright, so this is what I’m hearing: There’s good live music, a variety of alcohols, dancing, exercising, animals, food, and were raising money for a high-school music program. Sounds like you’ve covered it all. Well done. Anything I’m missing? Any last messages you’d like to tell the people.

LU: There are two types of people. Those who Whale Rock and those who sit at home and watch everyone’s instagram stories….who do you want to be? I’ll take the whale any day.

KC: And remind me where and when this is happening, and if tickets are still available.

LU: It all goes down in the Whale Rock Vineyard at Castoro Cellars Winery September 15th & 16th and tickets are currently still available at www.whalerockmusicfestival.com

KC: Sounds like a good time. I think I’ll go. Why don’t you throw me on the guest list and I’ll see you there on September 15th.

LU: You got it!

Redwood Mountain Faire 2018

According to our records, we have spent six of the last seven years at the same place during the first weekend of June. On June 2nd it’ll become seven for eight as we return to the Redwood Mountain Faire in Felton at Roaring Camp. This festival has seemingly become a staple in our calendar, and whether we’re on stage under our own name, or backing friends like Henry Chadwick, the Redwood Mountain Faire is a weekend we look forward to every year so we were very excited to be asked to headline Saturday June 2nd this year.

Last year we wrote about our history with the faire going back to its original site at Highlands Park in the 90’s (http://www.coffisbrothers.com/redwood-mountain-faire-2017/) so this year I thought I’d share some of our most memorable experiences at the Redwood Mountain Faire from this last decade.

Redwood Mountain Faire, 2017. Photo by Steve Kuehl.

In 2011 we had just recorded our first album, and with only a handful of gigs under our belts we were pretty damn excited that we were going to be playing the Redwood Mountain Faire that Summer. I hesitate in even bringing up this story for fear that it will happen again, but for a proper and accurate history of the Coffis Brothers at the RMF, the storm year needs to be included. You know those Summer days in Santa Cruz when it’s cloudy and cold and just dumps rain incessantly all day? Of course you don’t! That never happens! Anyway, I’m sure you can predict how this story ends. If you can’t, here’s how it ended. It rained all day and we played outside in the rain. It goes without saying that 2011 wasn’t our most enjoyable experience at the faire but the years that followed have more than made up for the storm of 2011.

In 2012 and 2013 we were back at the faire on sunny Saturday’s playing on the Meadow Stage. Over those two years we got to enjoy sets from friend’s bands including the Brothers Comatose and Wooster as well as discover bands we didn’t know at the time but would eventually share the stage with like The Soft White Sixties.

In 2014 we played as My Stupid Brother, led by Henry Chadwick. A couple days earlier, under the Coffis Brothers title, we were in San Luis Obispo opening for Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real who would be headlining the faire on that Saturday. We ran into Lukas that day and he asked us to sing some backups for him on an Al Green tune. We didn’t really know what we were doing but our nerves were calmed after receiving some kind words from Lukas’ bass player as we walked on stage saying, “the singing is less important. It’s all about the backup dancing.” We surely did not nail that aspect, but nonetheless we had a great time.

In 2015 we spent that Saturday driving back from Portland so we could close out the Creekside Stage on Sunday. Somewhere along that drive Kyle got violently sick and spent most of that Sunday morning with his head near a toilet bowl. Kyle was a trooper though and played the whole set like a champ. We never could identify exactly what caused the illness but the leading suspect was a less than ideal Round Table Pizza in Yreka, California and their ranch dressing.

2016 was our one year away from the RMF but we were back on the bill in 2017. As memorable as our Meadow Stage set was on Saturday (for not exactly all the right reasons,) getting to play in an impromptu set with our friend, Taylor Rae, where we traded songs back and forth on an acoustic guitar on Sunday was certainly a highlight of that weekend for us.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been involved with the RMF for so many years now. We feel really lucky to be involved in an event like this in the town where we grew up. We are very excited for this year’s faire and we feel honored to have been asked to close out the Meadow Stage on Saturday June 2nd. We want to thank all the good people who help make this weekend happen every year, as well as the the San Lorenzo Valley community as a whole for being such a supportive audience to us for these last eight years. We can’t wait to see you all Saturday at Roaring Camp.

https://www.redwoodmountainfaire.com/

https://www.redwoodmountainfaire.com/tickets/

RMF 2016. Photo by Michael Pegram

Redwood Mountain Faire 2014 with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.

Redwood Mountain Faire 2013

Redwood Mountain Faire 2012.

The Month Of May

When one month is coming to an end and a new month is starting, I like to click on that right arrow on my Google calendar and see what we’ve got going on during that upcoming month. Sometimes that click is not as climactic as I would hope, but most of the time it’s as thrilling as it sounds. Going from April to May of 2018 was one of those “thrilling” clicks.

We’re kicking off the month on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe for two shows that includes a Cinco de Mayo Birthday celebration. We’ve got three nights in a row in one of our favorite college towns, a quick trip to wine country, a beer festival, a Palooza, a hometown hoe-down/show-down/throw-down/Moe’s-down? (“Moe’s-down” is pretty good, right?) and, well I can’t think of anything clever for our May 12th show at the Sweetwater Music Hall with David Luning, but it’s the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley so it speaks for itself. Let’s talk more about that one.

On Saturday May 12th we will be returning to the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley. The first time we played at Sweetwater was in June of 2015 where we got to open for The Dirty Knobs who feature Mike Campbell. I don’t think we need to go into why that was exciting for us. Over the next few years we returned a couple times but most notably in April, 2017 when we were back for two nights in a row opening for another one of our heroes, Jackie Greene during his six night run there. Along with those three shows, we also were recently involved in a tribute show to Glen Campbell that featured, Tim Bluhm. On May 12th we will be sharing the bill with North Bay artist, David Luning. For you Santa Cruz piggies, you may be familiar with David as he is regularly played on KPIG. If you aren’t familiar then you can check him out here. https://www.davidluning.com/

Tickets for May 12th are on sale now.  https://www.sweetwatermusichall.com/event/1665736-coffis-brothers-mountain-mill-valley/

Sweetwater Music Hall June, 2015.

We would be remiss if we didn’t show a little extra love to our show on Friday May 18th at Moe’s Alley. Moe’s has become a special venue for us and we always get a little extra excited to play in Santa Cruz. The Sextones from Reno will be joining us for the night. Grab your tickets and see you at Moe’s Alley on the 18th. http://www.moesalley.com/artist.php?id=2728&artist=THE_COFFIS_BROTHERS_+_The_Sextones

May Shows:

May 4th- Alibi Ale Works, Truckee

May 5th- Crystal Bay Casino, Red Room (After party show for Hot Buttered Rum + Kyle Hollingsworth Band)

May 12th- Livermore Valley Craft Beer Festival

May 12th- Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley with David Luning

May 17th- Blue Note, Napa

May 18th- Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, The Sextones open

May 24th- Frog & Peach Pub, San Luis Obispo

May 25th- Sweet Spring, Los Osos

May 26th- Firestone Walker Taproom