This past Saturday afternoon, we headed back out to Cook’s Corner, the biker bar out in Silverado Canyon on the South East edge of Orange County, CA. It was time for the third installment of the OC Music Festival Presents: Winter Jams. A beautiful day it was. Sun was shining, it was 80 degrees with a nice cool breeze blowing through the canyon and there was some great music on the horizon. The line-up was stacked heavy with GrooveSession, Robert Jon & The Wreck and Strawberry Moon.
You may not be familiar with two of those (I’d never seen either Strawberry or Robert Jon) but it seems that GrooveSession is very quickly becoming a household name out on the left coast. I left later that day having one new favorite band and another that I look forward to seeing again.
Robert Jon & The Wreck came out of the chute early at just past noon to get the early crowd movin’ and groovin’ to their Southern Rock sound. Blending the vibe of a Lynyrd Skynyrd rock with the Southern blues jams of the Allman Brothers, RJ&W took us all on a whisky drinkin’, foot stomping musical journey of original music including a very tasty cover of the Allman Brothers “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” to kick off set two. They wrapped shortly after 2pm and from the reaction of the crowd, many who’d never seen them, they’ve gained a pile of new fans. I understand they’re embarking on a tour of Europe real soon.
Filling in the gaps between the outside stage sets, folks wandered into the bar to see Strawberry Moon on the bar stage. Relative newcomers to the SoCal jamband scene, they’ve got a few recognizable faces in the band. Robert Fisher (Gospel Swamp Blues Band) on bass, Jim Janus (Grampas Grass) on drums, Tanya Peterson on vocals and band founder and guitar shredder, John DeMaria laying in town on the top end. Mixing originals with familiar jam/classic rock tunes, Strawberry Moon has a great sound and I look forward to seeing where they take their original music. Tasty stuff.
At 3 pm, everyone, and I mean everyone including the other two bands, were standing outside waiting for the power trio funk-a-love GrooveSession to push that love button and send everyone into at groovin’ whirlwind. Not much to say about GrooveSession other than if you’ve never, you must. If you have, you know. If you don’t…you’ll never get it. They’ve go something special that comes out through them. The brothers Sanchez (Ronnie and Manny) along side Sarven Manguiat have never disappointed since the first time I saw them at the 2009 OC Music Festival. Last Saturday, they rocked the main stage from 3pm until just after 6pm with NO BREAK! Three hours of musical love and no one was complaining.
Next Saturday is the wrap up of the Winter Jams at Cook’s Corner with Grampas Grass, Hempstring Orchestra and Dudes of Life, a tribute to Phish. It’s a great place to spend the afternoon and listen to good music. Great food, cheap drinks and time in the sun…what more could you ask for. See you next weekend at Cooks!
