Huey Lewis and The News

I live in Marin County. To other people I say San Francisco....it is just easier. I had a roomate in college that was under the impression that Mill Valley was a farm town. Mill Valley. Well,he was from Beverly Hills,so maybe to him Dubai is a farm country. Marin County is home to many stars. It isn't l.a. where my friends kids get bullied by Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson's son....but it does have it's share of celebs....of course,many of them are old rockers,really old rockers. When we moved into our house somebody told us that Janis Joplin had hung out at our house. On our first party,when adults were hitting the walls literally,I began to believe that maybe Janis's spirit hadn't left...either that or the evils of teaching take its toll. Turns out Joplin lived in Larkspur....but her drummer, Dave Getz,is our neighbor. I taught his daughter.he seemed ok.

This has become an actor haven. Fucking Sean Penn lives around here. I love him as an actor,partially because I see what a reclusive miscreant he can be. His wife, Robin,came into a bagel store where I frequent. She seemed ok.

I saw Jerry Garcia once. Bonnie Raitt was having coffee. No better sighting has taken place than George Lucas who is a local,who has a fairly modest home up from us,and loves Marin because he can blend in. The trick to living in expensive paradise that we pretend to afford is that if any mega-celeb walks by you can fall apart privately,but you aint some housewife from Toledo who falls apart at the mention of sylvester stallone when he is mentioned at universal studios. She was next to me,and she was like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally....but see,I was raised in Marin,so I can be "a chiller".

so george lucas walks into our local mexican restaurant,and is waiting for a table. It's Marin,so we all pretend he isn't important,and he likes it that way. Nobody steps up and says "I am your father, George" or " Wow,George...I think the dialogue in part 2 is wildly overated". He is just waiting for a table, MIles says "Wow,I wonder how he became a filmmaker. " and I,breaking the cardinal rule, said "why don't you ask him?"....and he bounded off...'don't mention jar-jar" I say.

I keep my head focused on the appetizer platter saying to Erika "I mean,he's a kid. He's not asking for some rare script to be autographed,or a picture to be taken"...and I expect him to come back several seconds later...and he doesn't come back...I look up from the taquitos to see my savvy ten year old chatting with George Lucas...then he comes back.

"What did he say"

"Well,he did short movies when he was young...and he went to film school at usc...(insert George info here)."

Hey,I don't care how bad his dialogue is...and how many nerdy jabba the hut fanatics he has spawned....George Lucas is allright with me.

Now, another Marin County dynasty is an alumni of my high school. Hugh Craig. You weren't alive in Marin County or the 80's and not exposed to Hugh and his tam high alumni friends. Huey Lewis and the News. I loved them...I once saw them at the OAKLAND COLISEUM. THe

crowd was nuts. They booed the opening act...a mexican based accordian rock band....The lead singer said "Oh,you don't know real music"...and considering the band was Los Lobos,one of the great longstanding bands,he was actually right. HUeY CAME DOWN IN A HUGE CABLE CAR TO THE STRAINS OF HEART OF ROCK AND ROLL. SF's premier cable car bell ringer came played a bell solo to heart of rock and roll. It was amazing.

But Los Lobos has become the worlds most respected band of musicians and Huey...well I haven't seen him in years. Occasionally he would come into where I got coffee in the morning,looking like he was still living that rockstar life without really having much fire behind him. Huey and he News played our county fair two years ago. Gone the way of kc and the sunshine band and Peter Frampton.(Ok,for the storytelling element I will ignore the fact that Los Lobos has played there too)...Fame is fleeting.

but wealth can still be made. Huey and the news play corporate gigs for like Apple at 150,000 dollars a pop. They can play at the bankruptcy parties.

now lets finish up by playing the PANDORA game. Pandora is internet radio that you type in an artist and then it creates a radio station based on the characteristics of your artist. I just typed in Huey Lewis...and this is who I have heard while writing this piece

huey lewis

reo speedwagon(keep on loving you.eeeeeeek)

Huey Lewis

zz top(what?)

Kenny Loggins(footloose...see blog called bloggins and messina)

winwood

phil collins

billy joel

huey

men at work(I"m sure they are playing at a county fair in australia somewhere)

journey(I saw the lead singer drunk one day at the cantina...now bought by carlos santana...whose father was a mariachi there)

j geils.

GOD,HUEY WAS A LOSER!!!!!!!!!!