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November, 2021 | VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 11
BACK TO THE GARDEN
BY BART MENDOZA © MUSICSCENESD // MUSICSCENESD.COM
NOVEMBER 2021
Richie Furay Farewell One of the area’s top cover bands, Back to the Garden, was invited to back Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Richie Furay at his farewell tour performance, which took place at Drew University in Madison New Jersey on November 14. Best known for his work with The Buffalo Springfield and Poco, Furay discovered the band, featuring guitarists Marc Intravaia and Jim Soldi, bassist Rick Nash, keyboardist Sharon Whyte and drummer Larry Grano when they backed him at a local event. “My friend and guitar student, Mark Branning, donated generously to Richie’s upcoming documentary and was rewarded with a private house concert at his home in Scripps Ranch,” Intravaia explained. “Mark asked Richie and his manager David Stone if we could back him up. Also, and very importantly, our musician friend TJ Klay, who has collaborated with Richie on other projects, assured him that we could play and would show up prepared.” Furay was initially reluctant to use Back to The Garden. “He was very hesitant,” Intravaia confirmed. “But his manager and the host convinced him. He loved the band and I received a call from his manager the next morning.” Unfortunately, Whyte didn’t make the trip. “The only dark cloud about all of this is that he has his own keyboard player,” said Intravaia. “He loved our whole band including Sharon but he has his own guy on keys who I believe is his musical Director.” With the band in San Diego and Furay on the East Coast how much rehearsal was involved? “Richie sent us links to his current versions of his songs,” Intravaia continued. “We charted them and then got together for one rehearsal with the four of us here in San Diego. Then we ran through some of the set the day of the show.” The
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band had their work cut out for them, though it was a true labor of love. “The set was 17 songs and consisted of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Souther Hillman Furay, and Richie Furay Band tunes,” Intravaia said. “We are all excited to (have) played with Richie and his great band. Richie still sings as well as he did 50 years ago. The man has taken care of himself. The venue looked amazing and the acoustics were excellent.” Itravaia has backed the likes of America, Kenny Loggins, Juice Newton and BJ Thomas, but he considers this performance to be extra special. “I have been a huge fan of (Furay’s) since I first heard the 45 (single) of “On the Way Home,” he recalled. “My sisters played it for me when I was 11 or 12 and I instantly loved it and his voice. My favorite Buffalo Springfield record was Last Time Around, and three songs of Richie’s were my favorites; “Kind Woman,” “It’s So Hard To Wait” and “In The Hour Of Not Quite Rain.” When Poco debuted, I bought the first @LocalUmbrellaMedia
couple of records and spent part of the 1970’s with my band Listen trying to rewrite his songs,” Intravaia joked. It’s a hard choice when it comes to what song he looked forward to playing the most. “Kind Woman” has a special place in my heart, but there’s a song of his called “Someday” that he recorded with Keb Mo and it’s a real barn burner,” he said. Intravaia is happy to have performed with a musical hero, but he hit the ground running on his return. The band will be busy through the holiday season and beyond. On December 3, Back to the Garden will play a Sounds of Laurel Canyon concert in Ramona. “It’s a story concert narrated by Robert Hughes (former owner of KPRI) and will feature guests Calman Hart and Lauren Leigh.. Meanwhile on Dec. 10 and 11 the band will perform at Carol’s by Candlelight, backing country singers Jamie O’Neal and Mark Wills, as well as Carol’s founder Steve Vaus. www.carolsbycandlelight.com/ about-the-stars
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