Redwood Mountain Faire 2018

According to our records, we have spent six of the last seven years at the same place during the first weekend of June. On June 2nd it’ll become seven for eight as we return to the Redwood Mountain Faire in Felton at Roaring Camp. This festival has seemingly become a staple in our calendar, and whether we’re on stage under our own name, or backing friends like Henry Chadwick, the Redwood Mountain Faire is a weekend we look forward to every year so we were very excited to be asked to headline Saturday June 2nd this year.

Last year we wrote about our history with the faire going back to its original site at Highlands Park in the 90’s (http://www.coffisbrothers.com/redwood-mountain-faire-2017/) so this year I thought I’d share some of our most memorable experiences at the Redwood Mountain Faire from this last decade.

Redwood Mountain Faire, 2017. Photo by Steve Kuehl.

In 2011 we had just recorded our first album, and with only a handful of gigs under our belts we were pretty damn excited that we were going to be playing the Redwood Mountain Faire that Summer. I hesitate in even bringing up this story for fear that it will happen again, but for a proper and accurate history of the Coffis Brothers at the RMF, the storm year needs to be included. You know those Summer days in Santa Cruz when it’s cloudy and cold and just dumps rain incessantly all day? Of course you don’t! That never happens! Anyway, I’m sure you can predict how this story ends. If you can’t, here’s how it ended. It rained all day and we played outside in the rain. It goes without saying that 2011 wasn’t our most enjoyable experience at the faire but the years that followed have more than made up for the storm of 2011.

In 2012 and 2013 we were back at the faire on sunny Saturday’s playing on the Meadow Stage. Over those two years we got to enjoy sets from friend’s bands including the Brothers Comatose and Wooster as well as discover bands we didn’t know at the time but would eventually share the stage with like The Soft White Sixties.

In 2014 we played as My Stupid Brother, led by Henry Chadwick. A couple days earlier, under the Coffis Brothers title, we were in San Luis Obispo opening for Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real who would be headlining the faire on that Saturday. We ran into Lukas that day and he asked us to sing some backups for him on an Al Green tune. We didn’t really know what we were doing but our nerves were calmed after receiving some kind words from Lukas’ bass player as we walked on stage saying, “the singing is less important. It’s all about the backup dancing.” We surely did not nail that aspect, but nonetheless we had a great time.

In 2015 we spent that Saturday driving back from Portland so we could close out the Creekside Stage on Sunday. Somewhere along that drive Kyle got violently sick and spent most of that Sunday morning with his head near a toilet bowl. Kyle was a trooper though and played the whole set like a champ. We never could identify exactly what caused the illness but the leading suspect was a less than ideal Round Table Pizza in Yreka, California and their ranch dressing.

2016 was our one year away from the RMF but we were back on the bill in 2017. As memorable as our Meadow Stage set was on Saturday (for not exactly all the right reasons,) getting to play in an impromptu set with our friend, Taylor Rae, where we traded songs back and forth on an acoustic guitar on Sunday was certainly a highlight of that weekend for us.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been involved with the RMF for so many years now. We feel really lucky to be involved in an event like this in the town where we grew up. We are very excited for this year’s faire and we feel honored to have been asked to close out the Meadow Stage on Saturday June 2nd. We want to thank all the good people who help make this weekend happen every year, as well as the the San Lorenzo Valley community as a whole for being such a supportive audience to us for these last eight years. We can’t wait to see you all Saturday at Roaring Camp.

https://www.redwoodmountainfaire.com/

https://www.redwoodmountainfaire.com/tickets/

RMF 2016. Photo by Michael Pegram

Redwood Mountain Faire 2014 with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.

Redwood Mountain Faire 2013

Redwood Mountain Faire 2012.

The Month Of May

When one month is coming to an end and a new month is starting, I like to click on that right arrow on my Google calendar and see what we’ve got going on during that upcoming month. Sometimes that click is not as climactic as I would hope, but most of the time it’s as thrilling as it sounds. Going from April to May of 2018 was one of those “thrilling” clicks.

We’re kicking off the month on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe for two shows that includes a Cinco de Mayo Birthday celebration. We’ve got three nights in a row in one of our favorite college towns, a quick trip to wine country, a beer festival, a Palooza, a hometown hoe-down/show-down/throw-down/Moe’s-down? (“Moe’s-down” is pretty good, right?) and, well I can’t think of anything clever for our May 12th show at the Sweetwater Music Hall with David Luning, but it’s the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley so it speaks for itself. Let’s talk more about that one.

On Saturday May 12th we will be returning to the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley. The first time we played at Sweetwater was in June of 2015 where we got to open for The Dirty Knobs who feature Mike Campbell. I don’t think we need to go into why that was exciting for us. Over the next few years we returned a couple times but most notably in April, 2017 when we were back for two nights in a row opening for another one of our heroes, Jackie Greene during his six night run there. Along with those three shows, we also were recently involved in a tribute show to Glen Campbell that featured, Tim Bluhm. On May 12th we will be sharing the bill with North Bay artist, David Luning. For you Santa Cruz piggies, you may be familiar with David as he is regularly played on KPIG. If you aren’t familiar then you can check him out here. https://www.davidluning.com/

Tickets for May 12th are on sale now.  https://www.sweetwatermusichall.com/event/1665736-coffis-brothers-mountain-mill-valley/

Sweetwater Music Hall June, 2015.

We would be remiss if we didn’t show a little extra love to our show on Friday May 18th at Moe’s Alley. Moe’s has become a special venue for us and we always get a little extra excited to play in Santa Cruz. The Sextones from Reno will be joining us for the night. Grab your tickets and see you at Moe’s Alley on the 18th. http://www.moesalley.com/artist.php?id=2728&artist=THE_COFFIS_BROTHERS_+_The_Sextones

May Shows:

May 4th- Alibi Ale Works, Truckee

May 5th- Crystal Bay Casino, Red Room (After party show for Hot Buttered Rum + Kyle Hollingsworth Band)

May 12th- Livermore Valley Craft Beer Festival

May 12th- Sweetwater Music Hall, Mill Valley with David Luning

May 17th- Blue Note, Napa

May 18th- Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, The Sextones open

May 24th- Frog & Peach Pub, San Luis Obispo

May 25th- Sweet Spring, Los Osos

May 26th- Firestone Walker Taproom

Sailing Away On The Humble Sea

There are a lot of boxes you need to check if you’re going to be in a rock and roll band. You know, obvious things like having a great rhythm section, or owning a lot of denim. Maybe less obvious, but equally important, is to have some good friends who own a brewery. In 2017, after years of dehydration and who knows how many cases of Budweiser and Coors Light, we finally got to check off that box as Humble Sea Brewing Company opened their doors to their tap room on the West Side of Santa Cruz. We’ve been pretty vocal about our support for Humble Sea for a while now so we’re very excited to be playing their 1 Year Anniversary Party on Saturday March 17th.

We’re very excited for the Humble Sea team and their success this past year and we’ve had a lot of fun being a part, although small, of their journey. We played their first mini festival last June; in 2016 Humble Sea sold their beer to the public for the first time during our two night run at Don Quixote’s, and a year later they did a full on tap takeover at DQ’s where they served the Mountain Man Pale Ale, and the IPAin’t Leavin, which in my opinion are still some of the most most melodic beers they’ve ever made. But even beyond that, we’ve been lucky enough to be involved in Humble Sea for years. In 2014 we got to try some of the first incarnations of Humble Sea at owner and head brewer, Nick Pavlina’s Wedding; and a decade before that at San Lorenzo Valley High School and Junior High I don’t remember a day going by where owners Taylor and Frank weren’t talking about their dream of one day of serving hazy New England style IPA’s at their very own brewery. Alright, that last part isn’t totally true, we were mostly talking about basketball, but the point is these guys have been working their asses off and we’re really excited for all our friends at Humble Sea and are really looking forward to celebrating their first year open. Jamie took it upon himself to write a song for Humble Sea and we recently performed it in their barrel room, which is where we’ll be performing Saturday March 17th at 5:30pm. Have a listen and see ya Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2012484138974211/

When your friends are so good they write a song about your brewery on a whim. The Coffis Brothers and their band of mountainous men will be playing at our 1 Year Anniversary Parking Lot Party! this Saturday, March 17, from 5:30-7:30 on the barrel room.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Tickets are free and all are welcome.Party starts at 11am and goes until 10pm! Posted by Humble Sea Brewing Co. on Tuesday, March 13, 2018