My wife Sandi and I were among the lucky throng to attend
the October 4th marriage of Jazz 88.3 Program Director Claudia Russell to our
good friend, music manager and record company mogul Scott Chatfield.
It took
place at the Silver Pines Lodge in beautiful Idyllwild. We hadn't been to
Idyllwild in 20 years, so the ceremony was our incentive to revisit that sleepy
mountain hamlet. We booked a cute cottage in the woods for two nights. The
owner even let us bring our dog, Zeppelin.
It rained
on the wedding day and Sandi and I were overjoyed. We love rain! Almost
everyone there was cool with it. Someone mentioned that rain on one's wedding
day was a good omen. Since the ceremony was outdoors, though, there was some
grumbling.
Prior to
the nuptials, music was provided by guitar legend Mike Kenneally and another
guy, both of them playing acoustic guitars. I'd never heard Mike play unplugged
before. The kid might have a future in music.
The couple
were married by Ted Herring, better known to blues fans as "T," the long-time
host of "Every Shade of Blue," on Jazz 88.3. Ted's an ordained Universal Life
Church of the Moon minister, so you knew it would be a very humorous ceremony.
As dogs
were invited to the ceremony, the ring bearer was a chihuahua! Honest!
After the
"I sure do's," we all moved inside the Silver Pines Lodge, a great place with
hardwood floors, log walls with stuffed moose heads, a giant fireplace, and all
the beer and wine I could drink.
The
entertainment was fantastic! Pianist Sue Palmer and her entire Motel Swing
Orchestra set up in the middle of the floor and played some of the greasiest
blues and soul music you could ever imagine, featuring hot solos by saxophonist
Johnny Viau, Palmer, and guitarist Steve Wilcox, as well as the trumpeter and
the woman singer-trombonist whose names I forget. That is one hot band!
Eventually,
the owner said we could let the dogs in, so there were a dozen or so critters
digging the free food scraps and, of course, the music. Zeppelin took it all in
stride, though, because she's stone deaf (unless you yell "wanna eat?").
As I
usually do at wedding parties, I drank enough beer to enable me to get up and
dance, bad back and all. During some frenzied butt-bumping with the bride
during "T-Bone Boogie," Claudia sent me sailing across the room where I managed
to stop just short of landing on an elderly gentleman sitting on a couch with a
plate of food in his hands. Ever the trooper, I apologized and scooted back
into the mosh pit as if nothing had happened...although by then I was noticing
a few of my lower vertebrae were screaming at me. Nice guy that I am, I refused
to press charges against the bride!
As the
party wore down, I convinced a couple other people to join us for a nightcap at
a local pizza joint. Only problem was that, in Idyllwild, they roll up the
streets at around 8:45 in the evening.
So Sandi,
myself, and Zeppelin walked back in the rain to our cabin, a mere block away,
and talked about the fantastic time we'd just had (Zeppelin said little, by the
way.)
I haven't
had a proper vacation in three years, but those two days in the mountains made
up for it.
Just one
question remains: Scott and Claudia, when is the next party?
Come to
think of it, November 3 is my birthday. Anybody want to throw me a birthday
party - in Idyllwild?
Happy
Thanksgiving, too!