Muir Station Jazz band

As promised, I will give a preview today of the live music and talented performers that will join us tomorrow at the beaver festival!

Bringing its unique brand of Urban Bluegrass to California and Nevada since 1986, The Alhambra Valley Band is as good as it gets. Lynn Quinones is an award winning song writer who told me this year she was working on a piece about the mother beaver! When I cajoled her into bringing the group to play last year she cautiously said, I don’t know how the whole group feels about the beavers. How surprised were we to find out that her bass player is married to a Martinez Early Childhood Center teacher who happens to be an avid beaver supporter! In fact, the teacher didn’t even know where her husband was playing that day and was surprised to see him at the festival! Lynn’s original song, “Willow Pass Road” is the soundtrak for the video letter to the mayor posted in the frame.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=8B0TV1qy0ws]

With over 30 years exerperience, Jeff Campbell has played for the queen, the Cheiftans, and the odd beer comercial. He keeps busy with a demanding schedule of wedding, processions and funeral appearances. He might have done it all, but I bet he’s never done a gig like this before! When I spoke to Jeff he told me he had brought his son out to see our beavers last year and was excited about being part of our festival. You might have heard him on our Cafe Spot on KGO this week. Jeff will lead the children’s procession to honor the return of beavers to Scotland after 400 years. He’s generously donating his time, so think about whether your next four weddings or funerals need a piper!

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=tLNoiWbq6Lg]

A utopia of Flutes! Flutopia is the creative produce of gifted musician Tracy Durden, a long time Martinez resident and friend to the arts. Her musical strains will be familiar to visitors of the Farmer’s Market, where she somtimes graces the city streets with her talents. Tracy is an accomplished flute instructor and Flutopia often plays at weddings and gatherings. Tracy and I went to Alhambra High School together, and regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to discover that we were in a “Shakespeare” reading group. For at least 37 weeks we gathered in each other’s rooms to read through the plays together. (I of course was industriously researching quotes to use at a later date in a ground breaking beaver-blog. I don’t have any idea what those other nerds were doing there!) I remember at one point in her life Tracy had the letters to spell her name on her bedroom wall. Times being what they are the “C” and the “Y” fell off and her room was left with the unusual promient letters spelling “TRA”. Friends asked about this, and I mark it as the first obscurely witty thing I ever said, when I replied airily “Oh she believes in TRA for TRA’s sake”.

Looking for some toe-tapping music that makes you want to wiggle up to the one you love? The Muir Station Jazz band will fit the bill. The Muir Station Jazz Band is named after the passenger train station that was once located at the eastern end of the AT&SF train trestle located near the historic John Muir Home in Martinez, California. In 1877 the Central Pacific Railway built a rail line through the property that Naturalist and founder of The Sierra Club, John Muir (1838-1914), received from a land grant. In exchange for the rail line going through his property he requested that a station be built by the trestle to ship his crops and other goods around the country. The station was removed when the California Zepher passenger service was discontinued by AT&SF and today there is no evidence today that it ever existed. In rememberence of that bygone era band we named the band after the long gone and forgotten train station. Larry promises me that he will end with the favorite tune, “Down by the riverside” because we beaver friends will need to “study war no more”.
[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=xbJ-OGX_lrQ]

Yesterday was a wonderous beaver-phile day. The Close to Home group was 25 of the smartest kindest environmental-friendly faces you could hope to meet. They asked intelligent questions, pulled out their binoculars to watch phoebe’s or song sparrows, and offered knowing praise for a long and sucessful civic fight. At one point an admirer asked “Wow, after such a big fight to keep the beavers, the successes you have had must be very heady!” Which made me giggle and say “Yes, very head-y against the wall-y”….

Igor Skaredoff showed them a fine day of Martinez Watershed wonders, including a visit to the Muir Gravesight. Worth A Dam tshirts were sold, donations were made, addresses were exchanged and our tenacity was praised. We were also given a portion of Igors fee for the eco-tour event. We were very uplifted by their everyone’s cheerful good will.

Then it was off to The Bone Room where a pleisticine beaver skull had my name on it. The shop owners were friendly and appreciative of our glowing-eyed wonder and beaver tshirts. In fact, I’m pretty sure I sold four others to beaver fans who would love a large toothed beauty of their own.

That night we went to Erawan downtown to hear the Muir Station Jazz Band who has graciously agreed to play at the beaver festival. They will be our closing band and even though there isn’t electricity in the park, I don’t think volume will be a problem for this banjo, clarinet, horn and bass group. They were working very hard to keep things soft for the restaurant! During one particularly lively dance number we noticed some avid beaver supporters in the conga line and urged them to give the members plenty of beaver encouragement. (They might not need it. They really wanted our shirts.)

Then finally a visit to the dam site, where visitors from the day’s eco-tourism had driven home and come back with the entire family for the full showing. The beavers did not dissappoint. There was a quintet of castor displays (mom, dad, three yearlings). No sign of our newbies. Great beaver vocalizations and a lot of shining children’s faces, especially the little girl who came down in her pj’s.

And to top it all off when I got up this morning there was an appreciative email from Felicity Bradshaw, an Australian zoologist with a specialty in marsupials. She has been particularly interested in drawing attention to the plight of the Honey Possum, a uniquely austrialian pollen-eating mammal that relies on endangered habitat. She recently published a lovely children’s book on the creatures, complete with a DVD of rare footage in the cover sleeve. Here’s the video of her and her husbands work:

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y1CjINN38Jc]

Felicity writes: I am bowled over by your magnificent web-site – in particular its energy and involvement that connects people with a special animal that needs help. Bravo!

All in all a beaver-benevolent day. Thanks to all who made it possible, and thanks beavers for letting us keep an eye on you!