Tiburon Wine Festival, Blake's on Telegraph

When I was a kid, my brother and I agreed that if we had to choose which way to die by hot heat or super cold that it was fast and hot but being a City Boy who delivered newspapers early in the foggy cold mornings of San Francisco I have my comfort level set at Fog City Cool! I can't stand it when it's hot but "Barn Burner" are the words that came to mind as I made it through the scorching heat of last Thursday and Friday. Checking with our weather watchers Saturday was pegged to be Cooler. I had my Cool San Francisco fingers crossed hoping so!

With longtime friend, John Markland, running around setting the Sound System, Carrie Jahde setting up her Set Drums and Mark Briseno, with his Lovely wife Cindy, setting up his Timbales, the timing was almost syncronized as Keyboardist Al Conde, Bassist Jim Allen pulled up as Diane and I arrived to the Tiburon Wine Festival. My good friend Conguero Paul Sonnabend arrives in excellent time to set up his four Drums and mic system and BAUTISTA is set for the show. The air was crisp and positive and I knew this day was in need of some serious upbeat music.

The view of The City, Angel Island and the Sailboats on Bay was crystal clear, the Sun was on the warm side of perfect and the brightness made for an exciting setting. The downtown intersection of Tiburon was a hustle and bustle of people out on the street and inside the Tiburon Wine Festival and BAUTISTA breaks out into "Easy Life" and plays an hour set. We look at each other and Oh Yeah they like it! Diane and I took 15 minutes to check out the incredible food and wine.

The second set was so hooked up starting with "In my Life" into the Instrumentals of "Sudden Samba" and "Golden Hours" that has a Percussion Groove/Solo part of the tune and this group of every nationality from African-Americans, European-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latin-American all so sophisticated in their Summer clothes and being their Hip stylish selves danced forming a circle in the middle then they took turns dancing in the middle shaking their stuff. It was so much fun! Those BAUTISTA beats bring out the Jungle in all these modern Hipsters!

Next up is an incredible show with the brief return of long time BAUTISTA Keyboardist David Dykstra, joining Bassman Jim Allen and me to power up the BAUTISTA Rythym Section and the BAUTISTA Percussion Section charged with Eric Engstrom on Set Drums, Conguero Paul Sonnabend and Timbalero/Hand Percussionist when we play our first date at Blake's on Telegraph on Friday, May 30. With opener Band Los Valenberg.

So let's make a date to meet at Blake's on Telegraph on Friday, May 30 at 8:30 and make like we're on a South Pacific Island and forget about it!

See you soon!

Norman Bautista

BAUTISTA

www.BautistaBand.com