Big Bear Today March 2019

Page 2—March 2019
From the Publisher
Duke & Peggy make
beautiful music on
electric cello, guitar
uke Michaels got a call from his
new bride and cellist extraordinaire
Peggy Baldwin one day nearly 20 Dyears ago.
“Have you ever heard of ELO?” she
asked. Of course Michaels, a singer and
songwriter in his own right, had. In fact
the British group led by Jeff Lynne was
one of his favorites. “I just got a call to
audition for them,” she replied.
“I told her, `I don’t care if they ask
you to do it for free, take the gig!” he
laughed during this late February interview.
And I concur: I’d write for free for
Jeff Lynne if I could land the job!
Not that Baldwin hadn’t heard the
many ELO hits, “Livin Thing,” “Do Ya,”
“Evil Woman,” many more. “I always
knew the band as Electric Light Orchestra,”
she said. “When I started looking at
the material I knew all the songs.”
Peggy got the gig and played with
ELO, Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne
or whatever you want to call what’s always
been my favorite band these days,
on the 2001 Zoom album and tour that
only ended up going a few dates (check
out YouTube videos). And she didn’t have
to work for free either.
“Jeff paid awesome money,” Baldwin
said. “And he paid us out of his own
pocket when the tour was canceled for the
remaining dates. I ended up getting almost
half of what I was going to get anyway. It
was truly the highlight of my career. Jeff
is an amazing, humble man, incredible musician.”
When he saw Peg’s Yamaha electric
cello Lynne went and bought two, one
for himself.
Baldwin plays hers the first three Saturdays
of each month with Michaels at
Barnstorm Restaurant at the airport (story
page 9). When she’s not gigging down the
hill, that is. Like at the Motown Grammys
that will be on television in April with
names like Smokey Robinson, Stevie
Wonder and more. “Diana Ross is 75 and
showed up at rehearsal with no makeup
and still looked incredible,” she said.
She and Duke were making music together
long before they were married.
Michaels hired her to play cello on his
1998 album Snack on This with his band
Plato’s Lunchbox. “There were four or
five songs on the album I’d written that
needed synthesized cello,” he said. “I told
a friend `Find me a cellist.’ ”
The friend knew just the one. Peggy
won principle chair with Fresno Philharmonic
after graduating with honors from
USC and earned recognition for her orchestra
solos. She spent two years in a 40-
piece orchestra touring with famed composer
Yanni and she’s worked with Henry
Mancini, Dionne Warwick, Rod Stewart,
Adele and others.
Baldwin in turn wanted to work for
Michaels so much she got a speeding ticket
on the way to the CD release party in Santa
Monica. “(Duke) offered to pay the ticket
and I thought, `What a nice guy! Where
have you been all my life?’ ”
The pair recorded an EP of Duke’s
originals as their July 2001 wedding gift
and the honeymoon was supposed to be
the Zoom Tour, till it was canceled. Just
as well, because the September 11 attacks
happened shortly after. “We were supposed
to be in Philadelphia just before 9-
11 and then New York,” Michaels said.
Duke and Peggy have been teaming
ever since. He released two albums concurrently,
Welcome to DM Country and
Purple Sky Outlaw on his own label and
together they put out Peggy’s debut CD,
String of Whispers. Locally they’ve played
just about every venue, be it The Cave,
Performing Arts Center, aboard Miss Liberty,
Convention Center, many more.
If Peg is gone Duke is solo. He first
picked up the guitar in 1969, playing in a
guitar orchestra with a group of nuns and
other students, and hasn’t put it down.
Well, that’s not exactly true. He did find
time to get a BS degree in Chemical Engineering
from prestigious Rolla School of
Mines in Missouri. “But I never used it,”
Michaels said. “I went right into construction
and then music.”
Versatility is a strong suit. Rock,
country, Duke plays and writes it. Even
the banjo and flamenco, which he studied
for a few years when he was younger. For
a wedding in Minnesota this summer he’ll
tote along the harmonica. “They want Neil
Young’s `Heart of Gold’ which has a great
harmonica solo,” Michaels said.
A prolific songwriter, Michaels has
cranked them out since high school. “I’ve
probably written a couple hundred songs,”
he said. “There’s 60-70 songs on albums
alone, available on CD Baby and Amazon
and at our gigs.”
Duke and Peggy play a few of his
songs like “My Sweet Soul,” at the Barnstorm,
mixed in with a wide mix of covers.
“One night we had a couple that had
purchased all my CDs so we did 14-15
originals including new ones,” he said.
Making music in Big Bear!
Have a good one.
Marcus
ON THE COVER: (L-R) Bountiful snow—from the skies and the guns—at Big Bear Snow
Play has made for awesome inner tubing; Supergirl Snow Pro returns to Bear March 8-10
Volume 30, Number 9 March 2019
4
6
8
9
16
Publisher
Marcus G. Dietz
Associate Publisher
Sandra L. Dietz
Publishing Consultant
Bret Colson
Technical Consultant
Charles Dietz
Photography
Steve Dietz
John Daskam
Mark Gauger
In This Issue...
Big Bear Today
Longest Runs in SoCal, Tons of Snow too
It takes a ton of snow to blanket the longest inner tubing runs
in Southern California, and Big Bear Snow Play is up to the
challenge. It’s Lenko fan guns, with help form Mother Nature,
have turned the family favorite into a glacier with snow depths
dozens of feet high. Enough to build whoop-di-doos and
ensure tubing into April!
Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis Hosts Snow Pro
Top female snowboarders including four-time Olympian
Lindsey Jacobellis put on a great show for three days at Bear
that the public gets in on. Free concerts, festival village, and
the chance to ride with the world’s best make for the best
event of the season March 8-10. Check Resort Shorts too...
G Love, Common Kings, Tributes at Cave
March is hopping at The Cave with shows by G Love &
Special Sauce, reggae with Common Kings, Meat Loaf
Presents Bat and top tributes to Queen, Metallica, Aerosmith,
Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Doors. All before the Moonshine
Bandits and Los Lobos arrive in April!
Duke & Peggy `Marry’ Guitar, Cello
Husband and wife duet Duke Michaels and Peggy Baldwin
(story this page) pair guitar and electric cello to make amazing
music at Barnstorm Restaurant three Saturdays each month.
From Bach to horn notes played on strings the results have to
be heard to be believed.
Glow Bowling, Laser Maze Light Up Barn
After dark and 2 p.m. weekends the Bowling Barn lights up
with black lights and lasers. Hit the lanes for Glow Bowling as
the black lights and speakers are cranked up to create surreal
recreation. Then step into the Laser Maze and dodge or break
beams of light. Video games, great drink and grub too!
Over $3,000 in cash awaits top skiers at
23rd Victor Alvarez Race. See page 4
DEPARTMENTS
2
3
13
14
From the Publisher
Potpourri
New! Area Map/
Calendar of Events
The Almanac
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