I TIMES
PAGE 29
Blues By The Bay
The Bodega Bay Fishermen ’s Festival
By Robert Feuer
The Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival
has been celebrating the opening of salmon
fishing season for 36 years.
Last year, the festival honored the commu¬
nity’s fishing families, suffering under a to¬
tal ban on commercial salmon fishing. Over
2,000 fishermen and other workers in the
industry lost their jobs. With the ban still
in place for 2009, this year’s event focused
on hope for the future with the theme, “We
Will Be Back.”
The opener of the two-day event, Satur¬
day April 4, was perfectly clear and sunny,
the air still, mudflats exposed by a very low
tide. Against a backdrop of boats, kites,
seabirds, and people walking on water, a
varied lineup of local musicians provided
respite from the harsh realities facing the
fishing community.
The Tomales High School Rock Band,
who has been studying Jimi Hendrix this
year, began with a selection of his songs
as a bright red Italian helicopter hovered
overhead providing some unnecessary per¬
cussion. The Tomales High Pan Band fol¬
lowed, including five members using tuned
steel oil drums, creating bright Calypso
stylizations.
The 7 Zins, led by Val Fuentes on drums
and lead vocals, carved a path through a
variety of jazz-rock-funk classics. Fuentes,
who along with percussionist Mike Prich¬
ard currently performs with a revived ver¬
sion of the 1960s psychedelic band It’s a
Beautiful Day, was the original drummer
for that group. Between sets he recalled that
seminal period when “If you were in a San
Francisco band in those days you could do
no wrong.” Playing with the 7 Zins affords
him the opportunity to do the vocalizing he
was unable to do back then, Fuentes said.
Prichard recalled his youth in Long Island
with a streetcomer doo wop group that
“performed concerts for neighborhood kids
in garages.” Ron Hawkins, on saxophone,
carried many of the band’s melodies, high¬
lighted by a sweet solo that drew a partial
standing O.
The Rhythm Drivers delivered a smash¬
ing set of old-school blues from the likes
of Slim Harpo, Junior Wells, and Howlin’
Wolf. Brad Wilson (whose brother Kim
has taken down many awards as leader of
the band the Fabulous Thunderbirds) led
on harmonica and vocals. Often working
within a “slow- walkin’ slow talkin’ groove,”
he tossed leads back and forth with the very
sharp guitarist, Johnny “Tsunami” Cipressi.
Drummer Steve DuBois and bassist Chris
Marshall filled out the lineup. Look for these
guys at such premiere Russian River venues
as the Pink Elephant, the Bullpen and the
Forestville Club.
As the music floated by, people wandered
through the backstage area set aside for the
Wooden Boat Challenge. Armed only with
plywood, nails, screws and duct tape, limited
to three hours and hand tools only, about a
dozen groups of four worked feverishly to
construct a seaworthy vessel. In order to take
one of the prizes, the boats had to navigate a
short course in the harbor. Many of them did,
without taking on too much water.
Of particular note was the work of the
Wasabi Rockets who constructed a model
of a weather buoy that drifted away for a
two-week period in March. Their intention
was to temporarily replace the old one, now
being restored. The bright yellow buoy, re¬
plete with plastic propellers, an old bell, and
a well- worn Coast Guard nautical flag won
the “Spiffy Skiffy” award.
The day was brought to a melodic close, a
waning sun reflecting off the peaceful bay,
by the Trevor Kinsel Trio with some dulcet
tones on saxophone and flute, backed by
congas and a standup bass.
Honorable mention goes to Peter, the all¬
day sound guy whose energetic handling of
the board and equipment brought it all to¬
gether. In appearance and style he brought
to mind the machinations of Frank Morgan
playing the Wizard of Oz.
Faces of California Fishing, a group pro¬
moting the real stories and people behind
California’s fishing communities, had a
booth at the festival. Their representative,
Lori French, spoke about the departure of lo¬
cal fishermen. Many have left to pursue the
short salmon season in Washington, while
some have embarked on the two-week voy¬
age to Alaskan waters, she said. “Mostly the
hard-core fishermen are left.”
Sixteen vessels took part in Sunday’s fishing
boat parade, down from an estimated 70 at
its historic peak. But the spirit and determi¬
nation inherent in one of the world’s oldest
professions is still alive in the words,
“We Will Be Back.”
