Moonalice to play tomorrow; tune in live!

Moonalice recently released their latest album High 5, and will be playing tomorrow night, Nov. 3^rd, at the Prop 64 Awareness – Get Out and Vote – concert at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA, with guests like Steve DeAngelo of the nation’s largest licensed pot dispensary, Harborside in Oakland, CA.  The band was the brainchild of  T Bone Burnett, who, in 2007, wanted to create a band with a 60’s sound, so he gathered a group of seasoned musicians:  Roger McNamee, Pete Sears, Barry Sless, John Molo, and Big Steve Parish.  All of their concerts stream live in HD at www.moonalice.com, so even if you are not in California, you can still tune in to see this amazing show.

Roger McNamee, who recently played the Lockn’ Festival in Virginia with the Doobie Decibel System (DDS), and was formerly of Guff, The Engineers, Random Axes, and Flying Other Brothers talked about the new album.  "If you think of the political tone the country is dealing with right now, some of the roots of that tone were obvious when we were writing these songs. They reflect the struggle to make sense of things, and to stay on whatever path we're on in face of complications."

Pete Sears, of the original lineup of Jefferson Starship, as played with Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, Long John Baldry, Hot Tuna, DDS, Peter Rowan, Harvey Mandel, DNB, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Friends, Los Lobos, Dr. John, Steve Kimock and John Lee Hooker.  He chose to talk about the song “Summer Rain,” saying, “I wrote it recently, but it is actually about my trip to San Francisco in 1969 and falling in love with my wife, Jeannette.”

Sears chatted about the song “Unsung Heroes,” explaining, “It’s about our road crew…hardest working guys in show business.  They travel across the country in rain and snow, and somehow make it in time to set-up for the gig.  Very hard job, especially having to work with us spoiled musicians.” 

One might not be aware of the instantaneous origins of the song “Lady of the Highlands.”  Sears shared, “I wrote it in two days, sort of a mood, a feeling, a love song in a strange sort of way.  It’s about no particular incident or person. It has a Celtic feel, coming from Great Britain and having roots in the Celtic community; it just came out the way it did.”  

Sears continued on about the song “Paradise,” detailing, “It’s about growing old and trying to keep things in perspective and what’s important.  As corny as it sounds, like, love is important.  The chorus is ‘Pages turn, as we grow old, who can say how the story unfolds…’  Keep in mind it’s what’s important in life...keep an eye on those things as we go into the twilight years.  Sounds depressing, but it’s not really…it’s a blessing to still be around.”

Drummer and vocalist John Molo has played the John Fogerty, Bruce Hornsby & The Range, Phil Lesh and Friends, as well as The Other Ones.  ‘“High Five’ was written by my good friend Barry Sless. Fun song to play.  Inspired by Joe Morello and Dave Brubeck's original ‘Take 5.’  Barry wrote a great reincarnation of the theme,” Molo said.

Big Steve Parish is the band’s manager, story teller, road scholar and medicine man, a Grateful Dead family member and co-founder of the Jerry Garcia Band.  Moonalice may best be known for their take on the Jimmy Buffet, with their song, “It’s 4:20 Somewhere,” which is probably why Lorin Rowan and many other guests will be sitting in on the concert tomorrow.  Everyone attending the concert tomorrow will receive a rock poster by Alexandra Fischer, as well as many pro-pot posters.  The band strives to have an original art poster by a well-known artist at every one of their concerts, and be sure to check out www.moonaliceposter.com, as well as www.moonalice.com, www.facebook.com/moonalice, and www.twitter.com/moonalice.

Additionally, the band has their own radio station at www.moonalice.com/moonaliceradio, where you can find band members staring stories and playing a wide variety of their favorite music, ranging from classic rock and jam bands, to reggae, Americana, oldies, blues, and soul.  DJ Ben Fong-Torres is featured every weekend, along with Moongirl, 420 news, Big Steve Parish, DDS and www.thehash.org.       

As posters are a big part Moonalice, they recently posted a history of rock posters: