Peggy Day stole my poor heart away

MUSIC CORNER Peggy Day stole my poor heart away By Robert Feuer COFFEE CATZ IN Sebastopol has the look of a French salon. High Victorian windows, gentled by white net curtains, allow the last light of day toplay upon comfortable sofas and chairs. In one of several impressionistic oil paintings, flowered drapes, oddly similar to the ones in the room, are parted to reveal a balcony overlooking a sailboat on a placid lake. A tapestry of a mother with babe in arms adorns a pink wall leading to a blue sky ceiling on which winged cherubs chase each other through stars and clouds. In a far corner a wicker basket holds toys and floppy dolls, seemingly waiting for a friend. Onstage, Peggy Day and the Gypsy Knights stand in front of a window revealing a train, a remnant of a time when the building housed a private rail car collection. On a wall aside the stage there is a picture of a Lana Turner — blonde, suspiciously eyeing the audience. Day calls her band’s music “original gypsy rock.” She handles most of the vocals, with a soaring voice reminiscent of Grace Slick or Sandy Denny. Her golden hair hangs almost to the Martin guitar (with a hole in its side) she holds. She is dressed in black. Blouse, ankle-length skirt and boots, with gold beads framing her neck. Day’s songs are all originals. “There’s a message in these songs, about treating people the way you want to be treated,” she says. The masterful guitar work of Garth O’Brien fills the spaces between her words. The foundation consists of Skeer on fretless 5-string -bass, Baba Shibambo on congas, wearing a shirt with a picture of Marcus Garvey, and Fred Araiza on an Knighthood: Редду Day up a tree with her band , the Gypsy Knights. electronic V-drum. Day, born in Redding but raised on a ranch in Sacramento, would visit her landlord and next-door-neighbor, Senator Alan Cranston, where she met celebrities like Sammy Davis, Jr., and Lome Greene who liked to brush her hair. As a teenager her family moved to Feather Falls, a logging town in the Sierras, and she traveled 35 miles each way on a school bus. Day taught herself piano, writing her first song at age six. At 17, she married a logger, Jimmy Day, which is how she acquired the name of a character in a Bob Dylan song. In her early 20s she began singing in a rock band in Feather Falls and performing solo with a guitar. Moving to the river 21 years ago, she has worked as a makeup artist/stylist for television, film and print, while producing four children who have in turn produced five of their own. Day lives below a steep road overlooking Monte Rio, where if a car rolled out of its parking space it’d land on her roof. She uses a lift with pulleys to get her equipment to the road. Day’s career has introduced her to several luminaries in San Francisco’s musical history. She worked one year for rock promoter Chet Helms and played at one of his birthday parties. They hung out together on his visits to the river. She has jammed with Country Joe McDonald and played at Wavy Gravy’s Hog Farm in Laytonville. Vince Welnick, former Grateful Dead keyboardist, liked her music and played two sets of her songs with her at Monte Rio’s Highland Dell ten years ago. Four days before he died, Welnick called and discussed playing with her again. Day’s career took a sharp turn upon meeting her current guitarist, O’Brien, at a talent contest at Guerneville’s Club Fab eight years ago. Since then she says, “it all kind of evolved.” Skeer came aboard two years ago while the current drummers are recent additions. “Gypsy rock,” Day says, tossing her long, blonde hair over her shoulder, “contains Middle Eastern, Latin, rock and blues rhythms. My ancestors are gypsies, it’s my heritage.” “Being a musician means sanity because I can’t live without it,” says Day. “When I’m onstage I feel like one with the universe. I sometimes leave my body.” At a recent skate park benefit in Guerneville, she felt glad to garner the appreciation of all ages. “Small kids liked it, and my mom too.” “It’s not about the money. As a musician you work real hard and they want to pay you $15 per person. The bars can’t really afford us.” Day says fundraisers and wineries pay well, most money coming from CD sales and merchandise. Day hopes a new CD, “It’s About Love,” produced by Dirt Road Studios in Guerneville, will be her ticket to more live engagements. “Tom Waits tgld me my music could have a huge following and he’ll send the CD to his publicist,” she says. With that kind of backing what more could one ask for? “My goal is to have ‘Weird AF Yankovic do my songs,” Day says, tossing her hair over the other shoulder. Peggy Day and the Gypsy Knights will appear at KGGV’s Strawberry Festival on June 7. For more information go to peggvdav.com. И