The 26th gathering of the Community Music Hangout met on Saturday August 19th, 2023. It was special to earn CMH milestones in back-to-back weeks. Last week we did the quarter century with #25 and this time we notched up the half year mark with #26. Onward toward #100! Meeting #26 took place under the marine layer, with hints of sun halo peeking through from time to time. All in all, conditions were just fine. It was a quiet start to the day, and for a while it was just Rikki and I hanging out. I was still buzzing from playing a really memorable show in Sausalito the night before and was relishing the chance to play music yet again. Before long, we saw Susie and River wave as they rode by. Shortly thereafter, we saw David and Orion to round out the family. We got some smiles and singing from Orion as a special treat! Then we met Adam and his adorable dog. Adam helpfully invited all of his neighborhood friends to the Sunset Night Market on September 15th, when the CMH will be meeting from 5-7 at 20th and Irving! Hope to see you all there. And then, something special finally happened: we had a full rhythm section at the Hangout! We’ve seen Kyle on bass a number of times and we’ve seen Zach on drums a number of times, but #26 was the first time we had them both together. Having a rhythm section together for the first time took the hangout to new heights. It was great! And then Charles showed up to play jazz piano. Suddenly we were a jazz combo, where moments before we sounded like a rock band. It’s a fun challenge to jump between the genres; it keeps things interesting. It’s even more challenging when the chart I’m trying to read is in a different key…!
Later on, we had Ben jump in on drums for a few numbers. One minute he was biking by, and the next he was in the middle of a musical moment. That’s what the Hangout’s all about. Then, Stan played “September” by Earth Wind and Fire while I did my best to work out a sax part. And Millen joined in on guitar! It was great to see all of you new faces and we hope to see you again soon.
We continued reeling off songs until around 3:15. We finished with a ripping version of “Champagne Supernova”. It was, once again, a fabulous day of fun around the piano. It was a real treat to have a rhythm section together for the first time. We sounded like a real band! And it’s always fun to point out that we’re just some folks who met around the piano and became musical friends. You could be the next addition to the Community Music Hangout milieu. We’ll see you next on Sunday August 27th at a slightly altered time: 11:30 until at least 2 on JFK at Stow Lake Drive