SNEAKY PETE KLEINOW

Though Sneaky Pete’s name may not be a current “household word” his work is well known to almost every American alive today!  Part of Mr. Kleinow’s body of work in the film industry’s visual effects includes; “Gumby”, “Davey & Goliath”, “The Pillsbury Dough Boy”, “The Chuck Wagon”, “Terminator 2”, and many more!!!

As a session player on his Fender pedal steel guitar the list of artists he has recorded with is nothing short of amazing! These artists include: THE BYRDS, JOAN BAEZ, SKIP BATTIN, THE BEE GEES, BARBIE BENTON, LYNN BLESSING, BOOKER T. JONES, BOOKER T. and the M.G.s, DENNY BROOKS, DEBBIE BOONE, PAT BOONE, JOHN BRADDON, BONNIE BRAMLETT, DELANEY BRAMLETT, BREWER and SHIPPLEY, JACKSON BROWNE, BRIAN CADD, CHEROKEE, GENE CLARK, JOE COCKER, LEONARD COHEN, COLD STEEL, RITA COOLIDGE, CROWBAR, SPENCER DAVIS, SANDY DENNY, DILLARD and CLARK, DOUG DILLARD, MICHAEL DINNER, THE DILLARDS, DION and the BELMONTS, ROGER DOLLARHIDE, ELLIOT DOZIER, THE EAGLES, MARC ELLINGTON, DON EVERLY, MIMI FARINA and TON JANS, RICHARD FARINA and MIMI, FINNIGAN and WOOD, FLEETWOOD MAC, FLO and EDDIE, GALE FORCE, LOWELL GEORGE, BOB GIBSON, JON GIBSON, JANE GETZ (MOTHER HEN), GLENDA GRIFFITH, GOLDEN PALOMINOS, GRAPES OF WRATH, THE HAGERS, HENRY GROSS, LARRY GROCE, CHICO HAMILTON, THE HARLOTS, LEE HAZELWOOD, HEDGE & DONNA, DON HENLY, BARBARA HILL & CHRIS E. BOB , "CATFISH" HODGE, HOWDY MOON, ROSIE GAINES, GERMAINE JACKSON, BILLY JOEL, OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN, CASEY KELLY, TOM JONES, KALAPANA, JOHN CALE, BARBARA KEITH, AL KOOPER, THE KNACK, GLADYS KNIGHT, JOHNNY LEE, JOHN LENNON, THE LEMON HEADS, LORI LIEBERMAN, GORDON LIGHTFOOT, MARK LINDSAY, LITTLE FEAT, LITTLE RICHARD,TRINI LOPEZ, LTD, MANDY MARTIN, DAVE MASON, BARRY McGUIRE, MEDICINE, BILL MEDLEY, TERRY MELCHER, STEVE MILLER, MILLINGTON, JONI MITCHELL, DANIEL MOORE, MARTIN MULL, GRAHAM NASH, RANDY NEWMAN, HARRY NILSSON, KENNY NOLAN, DANNY O'KEEFE, DAVID OLNEY, YOKO ONO, ROBERT PALMER,WAYNE PARKER, PAUL PARRISH, GRAM PARSONS, PEACHES & HERB, SHAWN PHILLIPS, PHIL'S HARMONIC ORCHESTRA, RAY & GINO,THE RAVE UPS, HELEN REDDY, JIM RINGER, ED REEVES, MINNIE RIPERTON, KENNY ROGERS, THE ROLLING STONES, LINDA RONSTADT, LEON RUSSELL, DOUG SAHM, NEIL SEDAKA,SEEMON & MARIJKE, CARLY SIMON, SILVERADO, BOBBY SOLO, JOEL SONNIER, JIMMY SPHEERIS, SLY and the FAMILY STONE,DAVID SOUL, POTTER-ST. CLOUD, RINGO STARR, JAMES LEE STANLEY, SUITE STEEL, MIKE STEWART, RON STONE, JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT, BERNIE TAUPIN, TRIBUTE TO GRAM PARSONS, THE VENTURES, BOBBY VINTON, JIMMY WEB, MENTOR WILLIAMS, PAUL WILLIAMS, BOBBY WOMACK, STEVIE WONDER and FRANK ZAPPA.

Sneaky Pete was also a founding member of The Flying Burrito Brothers!   Their 1969 visionary LP “The Gilded Palace of Sin”, has profoundly affected the current musical landscape.   Though hardly recognized in their own time The Flying Burrito Brothers laid the foundation for the Country with a Rock & Roll attitude movement that still thrives today! Sneaky Pete performed at The Cosmic American Music Festival in 2003 & again in 2004.   It could be said that the C.A.M.F. was inspired by his work and other artists like him.   We feel it’s high time to recognize Mr. Kleinow for the remarkable contributions he has made to us all! For more detailed information on Sneaky Pete Kleinow’s career resume please visit: www.sneakypetekleinow.com

Photos by Kathleen Domino

            Michael O'Dorn

Michael O'Dorn is the resident Travis instructor at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society in Nashville for the last 12 years. He has two CDs out. One called Hand Picked, and the other is called Tennessee Sunshine, which will be available at the GramFest.

Michael O'Dorn is an author and songwriter with Mel Bay Publications. His music can be found in Mel Bay's Master Anthology of Fingerstyle Guitar Solos, Vol. II, and in a Mel Bay book called Remembering Marcel (a book celebrating the life and music of French fingerstyle guitarist Marcel Dadi). In 2002 Michael's music was published in the international Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine.

Mr. O’Dorn, a master of Fingerstyle guitar, performs, composes, and teaches guitar music internationally. Michael is a Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) songwriter. He excelled in music composition and lyric writing at UCLA. Michael is a member of the Country Music Association (CMA), the Academy of Country Music (ACM), the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS), and the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists (AFG).

Michael's mastery of the guitar styles of Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Marcel Dadi, and, of course, his own style has him in demand to perform several times a year for the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society in Nashville, Tennessee, and for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show in California and Tennessee. He has taught Merle Travis style guitar at these events and for the National Guitar Summer Workshop (NGSW) at the University of Redlands in California. Michael has performed numerous concerts in France, California, and Tennessee and has opened for country performer Joe Diffie, and for Jeff Cook of the group Alabama. He has recorded on several of Jody Reynolds' (Endless Sleep) albums. Michael frequently donates his time to perform for hospitals, benefits, and telethons for groups such as the United Way.

Michael is endorsed by D'Aquisto Strings, Jim Triggs Guitars, B. C. Rich Guitars, R. C. Allen Guitars, and Traveler Guitars. He is an Artist Representative for Standel Amplifiers and is endorsed by Ultrasound Amplifiers as well as Fred Kelly Thumbpicks.

For more information on Michael O’Dorn you can also visit his web site at: www.michaelodorn.com

            ANDREW BEACOCK

                               TOM FREUND

A sought-out standup bassist, Tom Freund, has been added to the Cosmic American Music Festival/Gram Fest Venue and will be playing Saturday, September 30th at 11:45 pm to 12:15 am; in addition to the Sneaky Pete Benefit - Sunday October 1st from 1:45 pm to 2:30 pm.

After concluding a summer tour with longtime collaborator Ben Harper and his band the Innocent Criminals, critically hailed singer/songwriter Tom Freund is hard at work on the follow up to his 5th independent album, Sweet Affection, released in July 2005. The 30-date summer run provided Tom and Ben the opportunity to rekindle songs from their 1992 Pleasure and Pain album. The pleasure of that experience has led to the two working together on new music and planning more tour dates in 2006.

LA Weekly recently commented, “While Ben Harper found success with his folkie soul, Tom Freund has looked more to the Tom Waits School of the raspy sing-talk, and after two solid albums on his own Surf Road Records, his Copper Moon is set to get him the recognition he deserves.”

The sought-out standup bassist, talented, versatile Freund plays most of the stringed instruments as well as piano on his albums. He also receives support from some terrific musicians. Matt Johnson (Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright) and Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Blind Boys Of Alabama) share drum duties and X’s D.J. Bonebrake plays the vibes. The Wallflowers’ Ben Peeler provides some astounding electric and acoustic lap steel playing, while renowned producer/arranger Jerry Yester (Tom Waits) contributes string arrangements. On his debut record, North American Long Weekend Tom scored guest appearances by legendary jazz organist Jimmy Smith and studio virtuoso Jon Brion.

Tom writes all his own material and his songs continue to be featured on such prime time TV shows as Las Vegas and One Tree Hill as well as such films as American Standard, Me and Will and 12 Bucks. Steven Spielberg’s SHOAH Foundation also used three of Tom’s compositions for their Giving Voice video. In 2001, he won a Telly Award for the music behind a National Public Service Announcement concerning child abuse. He continues to tour North America and Europe playing with his band or doing solo shows. Please visit: www.tomfreund.com
 

          THE BRENNAN BROTHERS BAND

                                                        Original and Traditional American Roots Music 

The Brennan Brothers sing and play in the tradition of the great brother duets of the 20^th Century, such as, the Monroe Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, the Stanley Brothers and Jim & Jesse McReynolds.  Their music draws influences from folk, bluegrass, country-western, rock & roll, gospel and the blues.  Patrick Brennan sings lead vocals, and plays rhythm guitar, harmonica and finger-style guitar in the Mississippi blues tradition.  Sean Brennan sings lead and harmony vocals, plays mandolin, guitar and banjo, and writes the Brennans’ original tunes.

The Brennan Brothers have been making music together for over 15 years and have been regular performers at the Gram Fest since 1999.  Having grown up in a small town on the fringes of Appalachia, they went their separate ways for a time and were eventually reunited after discovering their shared musical interests.  They currently reside in the West; Patrick in Arizona and Sean in Northern California.  Patrick’s proximity to the Mexican border has exposed him Norteno and Tex-Mex influences which often surface in subtle ways in the Brennans’ music.  Early influences in Sean’s life, such as piano playing and choral singing, have not adversely affected his ability or inclination to play and sing in an old-fashioned, traditional style.  As children of the ‘60s, the brothers have seen many musical styles come and go, and have crafted their own style of simple and honest playing and singing.

For this year’s Gram Fest, the Brothers will be joined by Bill Hubbard on fiddle and Dave McAnelly on dobro and lap steel.  Approximately half of their set will be songs written or co-written by Gram Parsons, rounded out with some classic country-western tunes and a few surprises
Contact:
Sean Brennan                                   Patrick Brennan
(925) 875-1903                                   (520) 409-6845
forniagrass@hotmail.com              zonablues@hotmail.com

          Diane and Ron

Diane Dee was born and raised in Montreal, Canada.   She's been singing since childhood, first for family and friends, then in school concerts and variety shows.  Picked up the guitar at age 14, inspired by such artists as Karen Carpenter, Barbara Streisand, then later Pat Benatar, Ann Wilson, Fleetwood Mac, to name a few.   Diane played in bands for 10 years or more, as lead singer, including a few months at OM Universal Studio, in Montreal, doing some originals with a band called Nightworks, then moved to sunny California in 1987.   Lost touch with the music scene (for a minute...) then met Ron in Hemet, Ca in '99.   They've been together ever since.

Ron Rougier was born in Lynn, Mass., moved to California at age 3.   Ron started playing music at age 12, first on guitar, then switching to bass, influenced by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac and others.   Has been playing in bands since age 14, and in his 40 year career, Ron,s done it all! He's performed large venue concerts, including three tours to Japan with country artist R.B. Stone, to clubs, and Fairs, and numerous studio recordings with various artists.   Then he met Diane, and it was "love at first sight"!!

Diane and Ron have been performing together for 6 years, first as a duo called "Full Circle", playing soft rock and accoustic music from the 60's, 70's and 80's, then in a band called Diatribe, and play regularly with a band called Shine doing country and light rock.   They've been writing songs and working on their new album for the past year, and will be releasing it at Gramfest!   They are a harmony based duo using accoustic guitars and backing tracks, recorded by them, including a few guest performers on guitar, keybords, and sax, bringing you a unique style of original Americana music.