24 PASADENA WEEKLY | <strong>10.18.18</strong>
PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS •INTO THE NIGHT• BY BLISS BOWEN A Satisfied Man GRANT LANGSTON AT WINE & SONG WEDNESDAYXXX •NITELIFE• Thursday Oct. 18 through Wednesday Oct. 24 PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for Calendar submissions is noon. Wednesday of the week before the issue publishes. PASADENA, SOUTH PASADENA & ALTADENA 1881 Bar 1881 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena (626) 314-2077 facebook.com/1881bar Fridays—Live jazz Saturdays—Gypsie jazz Wednesdays—Reggae The Blue Guitar Arroyo Seco Golf Course 1055 Lohman Lane, South Pasadena (323) 769-3500 blueguitar.club Thursday—Mark Goldenberg w/Adam Levy and Frank Potenza The Boulevard Bar 3199 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena (626) 356-9304 blvdbar.com Fridays—Drag performances hosted by Tia Wanna every Friday Cabrera’s Mexican Cuisine 655 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena (626) 795-0230 cabreras.com Thursdays—Live jazz Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays—Karaoke Coffee Gallery Backstage 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena (626) 798-6236 coffeegallery.com Thursday—The Roadhouse Series presents a tribute to Gram Parsons Friday—Dan Krikorian Saturday—The Salty Suites Sunday—Nathan McEuen & Jesse Olema Der Wolfskopf 72 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena (626) 219-6054 derwolfskopf.com Fridays—“Night Court” features Deejay Kind Cromang spinning vinyl soul, funk, disco and boogie Edwin Mills by Equator 22 Mills Place, Pasadena (626) 564-8656 edwinmills.com Friday—Lynn Cardona Tuesday—Alejandra Arellano Trio Wednesday—The Riner Scivally Trio The Mixx 443 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena (626) 500-0021 themixxpasadena.com Thursday—Jazz Zone Saturday—Estaire Godinez Tuesday—John Marx Blues Jam El Portal Restaurant 695 E. Green St., Pasadena (626) 795-8553 elportalrestaurant.com Fridays—Mariachi México Saturdays—Alanniz Sundays—Mariachi Bella Ice House 24 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena (626) 577-1894 icehousecomedy.com –CONTINUED ON PAGE 26 PHOTO: Lee Celano Grant Langston has long been familiar to local audiences, thanks to roadhouse-style gigs with his Supermodels band at clubs like T. Boyle’s and songwriter nights such as the Wine & Song showcase he’s playing Wednesday. With at least 10 albums to his credit, he’s a prolific veteran of LA’s independent Americana scene. By day, the Alabama-raised musician cuts a very different figure as the CEO of online dating service eHarmony. It’s a detailattentive position that exercises his restless intelligence and often calls for him to hop a flight to Europe or Australia to promote the company. It also requires communication and organizational skills he’s long employed as a bandleader (although it’s unlikely you’ll find him donning a cowboy hat while gladhanding business partners). The question of how a married father of two manages to work a high-pressure job and still regularly carve out creative space for writing, recording and performing sparks a thoughtful conversation. “Music is like my left arm, or my leg,” he explains. “It is not an option, honestly, for me to stop playing music and continue being a happy, productive person in the rest of my life.” Having started singing harmony in church choir at age 6 and playing guitar at 10, he says he long ago realized that “the only thing that is really, absolutely essential is music.” He played in a rock band while studying political science at Auburn University, and continued paying dues in dive bar bands after moving to LA in 1988. These days, if he isn’t fronting his Supermodels he can be found playing in the Jolenes, a rollicking side project with fellow songwriters Dan Janisch and David Serby, or singing three-part harmony in Davey Meshell’s soul band the TransAtlantics. Earlier this year Langston released “Los Angeles Duets,” a relaxed, truthfully titled collection of 10 songs co-written and sung with friends from LA’s roots and songwriter communities, including Janisch and Serby, Claire Holley, Groovy Rednecks frontman Tex Troester, Brian Whelan, Emily Zuzik, and bassist/producer Ted Russell Kamp, with whom he wrote “The Road to Fame” (“You don’t pick music, it picks you/ And there’s ain’t another thing that I wanna do”). It’s another example of how strict scheduling and compartmentalization enable his commitment to music. “I’m touching bases with all the things that matter. I’m spending time with my son — we’re playing with trucks and that’s awesome, and that gives me a deep, deep satisfaction. I’m writing a song with Ted Kamp and that gives me a deep satisfaction. And I’m running this business, which is also satisfying to me in a lot of ways, and of course it makes the money that runs the rest of my life. I am not a guy that could exist without these two worlds.” n Wine & Song presents Grant Langston at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Arroyo Seco Golf Course, 1055 Lohman Lane, South Pasadena; $15. Los Tres are also on the bill. Wineandsong.com, grantlangston.com A Musician’s Musician BILL STAINES, SONGWRITER FOR HIT MAKERS, PLAYS CALTECH SATURDAY Bill Staines, a songwriter for major hit-makers, takes the stage at Caltech’s Beckman Institute Auditorium Saturday night in a Pasadena Folk Music Society show. While Staines isn’t really well-known hereabouts, many know his work, which includes songs recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, Jerry Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith, the Clancy Brothers and many others. Composer David Amram has referred to him as “a modern-day Stephen Foster. His music will be around 100 years from now.” Saturday night marks his first appearance at Caltech. Staines mixes traditional and contemporary songs with his own originals. His writing and performing are in the tradition of the great Woody Guthrie, earning the singing songwriter critical acclaim nationwide. Staines’ talent keeps him on the road for more than 175 shows a year, a testament to his ongoing durability. Visit acousticmusic.com/staines. — John Sollenberger Music starts at 8 p.m. Saturday in Caltech’s Beckman Institute Auditorium, 400 S. Wilson Ave., Pasadena. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for Caltech students and children. Call (626) 395-4652 or visit pasadenafolkmusicsociety.org. <strong>10.18.18</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 25