Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles
And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
A whole lotta shakin’ goin ‘ on — on stage and in the crowd.
“How’s polygamy working out for you?” I ask a man at InZane Brewery in Vista. He looks surprised, as if I’ve just deduced something that shouldn’t be common knowledge. We engage in a staring contest — until he looks down and realizes that I’m referring to what it says on his shirt: “I tried polygamy.” The bewildered look turns into a smile, then full-on laughter as he turns to show me the back of the shirt, with most of the space taken up by a bold logo for Polygamy Beer. His name is Bob, and while he doesn’t have multiple wives, he has tried multiple beers in his life, including the Utah-based brand that started our conversation.
He’s in the right place for beers, and visits InZane frequently. Tonight, he’s dropped in to hear Bob Long, aka Flint Long, who was introduced as “The best piano I’ve ever heard” by the MC just before he kicked things off with “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” — to unanimous audience approval. We’re not talking polite clapping here; it’s full-on participation, movements that seem involuntary, shoulder shaking, and singing that grows in volume when Long encourages the crowd during the refrain. And if Long is the best piano player the MC has ever heard — both Tina Turner and Ray Charles thought he was pretty damn good as well — his bandmates are no slouches either. Drummer John Hall breaks into a rousing solo at one point, as does bassist Jodie Hill, working an upright.
I end up talking to Hill more than the other players, bouncing nerdy bass stuff off her in the way that I do. She’s the type of pro who doesn’t need to spew out a resume to prove she’s qualified. Her playing does all the talking. I make it a point to avoid delving too deeply into the musicians’ backgrounds to prepare for writing this column. It keeps me open to conversational turns. Hill’s resume, which I read later, is impressive. But it’s the time she spent recording those K-Tel records I used to listen to that makes me nerdgasm. I leave her to work out the aches in her shoulders, a side effect from playing the physically demanding upright bass.
There’s a lot to explore in this brewery, and almost always something interesting to discover. I spend a disproportionate amount of time at the communal washing space, washing my hands and watching other people wash theirs. I’m not policing them; I’m just fascinated by the lack of a sink or any type of basin. It looks like a stone countertop, but the water flows toward the back, never flooding over and so never hitting the floor. I’m no physicist, so I decide that there is witchcraft afoot. I go to question the owners about the magic sink, and spot not one, not two, but three dogs behind the bar! A friendly German Shepherd named Marley pads over and accepts pets from me, followed by Sammy, an older terrier who solicits some affection while the larger dog defers to him. Ewa Zane, the co-owner of the brewery, tells me the third dog doesn’t really like people. He’s not aggressive, just sits like an ink spot on a pillow watching his human (and Ewa’s husband) Mike serve beers and chat with customers. We converse briefly, and he tells me he just wanted a place people could come and have fun, and to enjoy some brews and entertainment. He also says more parking in the area is a must, which I appreciate after having undertaken and completed a seemingly unending quest for a spot.
Couples and groups fill the tables, several enjoying fare from local eateries — InZane allows outside food to be brought in, as well as dogs and children. I see a woman dancing her way up to the bar area, looking behind her every other step. Her partner is a small child, matching the mambo-ing mommy’s steps tap for tap. I ask a woman named Jean and her friend Kim how they heard about the event, and they tell me they saw it on Facebook and plan to return on Sundays for dancing. The second set starts with a solo performance of Scott Joplin-type music. My exposure to Joplin is limited to the 1973 film The Sting, but the music I’m hearing definitely sounds like it’s from the same person who wrote “The Entertainer.” I don’t know what makes ragtime ragtime. Maybe the driving rhythm? But I know what a good time is. Even if the parking sucks.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles
And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles
And he got the crowd shaking at InZane Brewery
A whole lotta shakin’ goin ‘ on — on stage and in the crowd.
“How’s polygamy working out for you?” I ask a man at InZane Brewery in Vista. He looks surprised, as if I’ve just deduced something that shouldn’t be common knowledge. We engage in a staring contest — until he looks down and realizes that I’m referring to what it says on his shirt: “I tried polygamy.” The bewildered look turns into a smile, then full-on laughter as he turns to show me the back of the shirt, with most of the space taken up by a bold logo for Polygamy Beer. His name is Bob, and while he doesn’t have multiple wives, he has tried multiple beers in his life, including the Utah-based brand that started our conversation.
He’s in the right place for beers, and visits InZane frequently. Tonight, he’s dropped in to hear Bob Long, aka Flint Long, who was introduced as “The best piano I’ve ever heard” by the MC just before he kicked things off with “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” — to unanimous audience approval. We’re not talking polite clapping here; it’s full-on participation, movements that seem involuntary, shoulder shaking, and singing that grows in volume when Long encourages the crowd during the refrain. And if Long is the best piano player the MC has ever heard — both Tina Turner and Ray Charles thought he was pretty damn good as well — his bandmates are no slouches either. Drummer John Hall breaks into a rousing solo at one point, as does bassist Jodie Hill, working an upright.
I end up talking to Hill more than the other players, bouncing nerdy bass stuff off her in the way that I do. She’s the type of pro who doesn’t need to spew out a resume to prove she’s qualified. Her playing does all the talking. I make it a point to avoid delving too deeply into the musicians’ backgrounds to prepare for writing this column. It keeps me open to conversational turns. Hill’s resume, which I read later, is impressive. But it’s the time she spent recording those K-Tel records I used to listen to that makes me nerdgasm. I leave her to work out the aches in her shoulders, a side effect from playing the physically demanding upright bass.
There’s a lot to explore in this brewery, and almost always something interesting to discover. I spend a disproportionate amount of time at the communal washing space, washing my hands and watching other people wash theirs. I’m not policing them; I’m just fascinated by the lack of a sink or any type of basin. It looks like a stone countertop, but the water flows toward the back, never flooding over and so never hitting the floor. I’m no physicist, so I decide that there is witchcraft afoot. I go to question the owners about the magic sink, and spot not one, not two, but three dogs behind the bar! A friendly German Shepherd named Marley pads over and accepts pets from me, followed by Sammy, an older terrier who solicits some affection while the larger dog defers to him. Ewa Zane, the co-owner of the brewery, tells me the third dog doesn’t really like people. He’s not aggressive, just sits like an ink spot on a pillow watching his human (and Ewa’s husband) Mike serve beers and chat with customers. We converse briefly, and he tells me he just wanted a place people could come and have fun, and to enjoy some brews and entertainment. He also says more parking in the area is a must, which I appreciate after having undertaken and completed a seemingly unending quest for a spot.
Couples and groups fill the tables, several enjoying fare from local eateries — InZane allows outside food to be brought in, as well as dogs and children. I see a woman dancing her way up to the bar area, looking behind her every other step. Her partner is a small child, matching the mambo-ing mommy’s steps tap for tap. I ask a woman named Jean and her friend Kim how they heard about the event, and they tell me they saw it on Facebook and plan to return on Sundays for dancing. The second set starts with a solo performance of Scott Joplin-type music. My exposure to Joplin is limited to the 1973 film The Sting, but the music I’m hearing definitely sounds like it’s from the same person who wrote “The Entertainer.” I don’t know what makes ragtime ragtime. Maybe the driving rhythm? But I know what a good time is. Even if the parking sucks.
Comments