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NORTH BAY BOH E MI A N | SEP T E M BE R 7–1 3, 20 1 1 | BO H E M I AN.COM
34 Wed, Sept 7 8:45–9:45am; 5:45–6:45pm Jazzercise 10am–12:15pm Scottish Country Dance Youth & Family 7–10pm Singles & Pairs Square Dance Club Thur, Sept 8 8:45–9:45am; 5:45–6:45pm Jazzercise 7:15–8:45pm Circle ‘n Squares Square Dance Club 8:45–10pm New Dancer Class, Plus Dancing Fri, Sept 9 7:30–11pm
8:45–9:45am Jazzercise SOCK HOP PARTY–East Coast Swing lesson and Ballroom, Latin & Swing Dance hosted by California Ballroom
Sat, Sept 10 8–9am; 9:15–10:15am Jazzercise 10:30am–1:30pmScottish Dance 7–11pm Circle’n Squares Hoedown Sun,Sept 11 8:30–9:30am Jazzercise 1:30–3:30pm VINTAGE DANCE with Gary Thomas 5–9:30pm DJ Steve Luther Country Western Lessons & Dancing $10 Mon, Sept 12 8:45–9:45am; 5:45–6:45pm Jazzercise 7–10pm Scottish Country Dancing Tues, Sept 13 8:45–9:45am; 5:45–6:40pm Jazzercise 7:30–9pm African and World Music Dance
Santa Rosa’s Social Hall since 1922 1400 W. College Avenue • Santa Rosa, CA 707.539.5507 • www.monroe-hall.com
ROYAL FLUSH We admit it: playing poker with Willie would be damn cool.
In the Mouth Band of Horses take nothing for granted BY LEILANI CLARK
O
ne perk of being an up-and-coming rock star is that you usually still feel a sense of awe at the surreal adventures that pop up on the road. Bill Reynolds, bass player for Band of Horses, whose album Infinite Arms was nominated for a Best Alternative Album Grammy in 2010, is in that enviable position. When asked about performing onstage with Willie Nelson, he not only praises the man’s talents, he also tells of a wild poker night at the country legend’s Hawaiian outpost. “We played with him in Maui,” says North Carolina–bred Reynolds, on the phone from his home in Ojai, Calif. “It was totally bizarre. I just remember having many, many Mai Tais and showing up at this house at midnight, and it just being the weirdest, wildest
vibe. He was fucking ruling at poker. There were people just kicking ass. We didn’t even step up to the table. It was basically him and Woody Harrelson ruling everybody.” Those sorts of nights are made possible by excelling at one’s craft. Band of Horses’ first album, 2006’s Everything All the Time, offered the spectacularly melancholy “The Funeral,” featured in a Ford commercial, on Gossip Girl and more than one skateboard video. Recent material has a rootsy vibe more closely reflecting the Southern disposition of current band members, including Reynolds, who joined Band of Horses almost five years ago after meeting primary songwriter Ben Bridwell at a North Carolina recording studio. “Ben was making a record, and I was in the same studio producing the album Emotionalism by the Avett Brothers,” Reynolds recalls. Bridwell has remarked that this incarnation of the band is a “true creative and personal collective,” and Reynolds agrees. “Thankfully, we’re not bringing shitty ideas to the table. We all realize it’s his voice that we love to back up,” he says. “We were able to collaborate a whole lot more on Infinite Arms, and this new one that we’re working on now. He likes our taste and the stuff that we bring to the table, which is flattering.” The next step for the band is to build on their momentum by writing and recording new songs. “We basically locked ourselves in this studio outside of El Paso, in the middle of nowhere. It’s different from what we’ve normally done,” says Reynolds, enthusiasm bursting through a laid-back drawl. “I just got the mixes today, so I’m excited about it. We’re going to try to make this one a little faster. You know, the last one, we used strings and loud, Phil Specter–recording techniques, just went kinda widescreen crazy with it. This one will be a little bit more rock-y.” Ah, yes, the sweet, blessed life of a rock star. Band of Horses plays Friday, Sept. 9, at the Uptown Theatre. 1350 Third St., Napa. 8pm $37. 707.259.0123.