Featured Stories
Back to the Garden: A Band of Love, Peace, Honor, and Rock ‘n’ Roll!
Back to the Garden: Marc Intravaia, Rick Nash, Larry Grano, Sharon Whyte, Jim Soldi. Photo by Dennis Andersen.
San Diego’s own homegrown rock ‘n’ roll band, Back to the Garden, is not a tribute band. They are a Living History Story Band. While nostalgia is an ingredient in the mix of what they bring to audiences, it is part of a greater whole. The whole is the full blossom of a golden age of rock music as it became a major force in 20th century culture.
The Baby Boom Generation has a past to draw from and the music is certainly part of the magic they bring. This band skillfully presents the music in a here-and-now context that is as urgent for today as it is for our future. Music indeed brings us to a universal garden that provides an engaging soundtrack for our lives. It is filled with a treasury of diverse genres and artists. The music remains in our hearts as a source of inspiration, energy, renewal, and redemption. Back to the Garden offers these gifts with a fierce authenticity for future generations. The excellence of their performance makes this necessary music as it transcends nostalgia and emerges into a universal celebration of life. Indeed, each time they take the stage something new is passed along to their audience. To experience their story-concerts is like hearing this classic music for the first time.
Over the last 25 years, this remarkable band of close-knit musician friends have provided an illuminating illustration of how the American heritage of music, rooted in the sound of the decades from the1960s and ’70s, have created solid ground for a community of celebration, love, and hope. A community has formed around them in this garden of musical love. Unlike today’s politicians, they have brought us together in an otherwise divided and fragmented world. This has been the influence and impact that these five talented musicians (and a storyteller) have created. The success of their story is a shining example of artistry and respect as they curate shows that send their audiences craving for more of what they give so well: songs and stories delivered from the heart.
Eve Selis
Back to the Garden formed at the turn of the 21st century while they were playing with local legend, singer-songwriter Eve Selis. Although they loved the music of past decades and could have recreated common requests like “Free Bird” or “Stairway to Heaven,” their talents drove them to dig through their collective memories for more. They pushed for a new way to honor the music that so many of their fans and friends requested. This is when they reached a crossroad between nostalgia and a true passion for the music that was still present to them. Back to the Garden became a story-based theatrical experience. Their story-concerts, including the upcoming California Dreaming show on January 4th at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, have become unique experiences. They have become living history. It’s a history they continue to live and create.
Jim Soldi & Sharon Whyte
The members of Back to the Garden include Sharon Whyte (keyboards), Marc Intravaia (guitar), Jim Soldi (guitar), Rick Nash (bass), and Larry Grano (drums and vocals). They are a band of seasoned San Diego session musicians who have been able to travel the world including playing BBC-backed festivals in Europe. Their reputation has been so strong in San Diego they have been hired to provide musical support for the likes of Johnny Cash, Kenny Loggins, Kim Carnes, and America. The band’s excellence allows them to explore a cross section of American popular music genres, including classic rock, folk-rock, country, soul, and jazz bringing, at times, a replication of well-loved hit songs and inspired interpretations of songs that have been known to bring the audience to their feet. As word has spread about them, they have attracted special guests to performances with artists like legendary guitarist Albert Lee (Emylou Harris/Everly Brothers), Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa’s touring band), and Buffalo Springfield/Poco co-founder Richie Furay, who hired them as his band for East Coast shows.
But beyond famous music associations, the band has endured and thrived as a live act in San Diego’s lively music scene because of the dynamics of their live performance and the creation of what has come to be known as a “Story Concert,” a term coined by the latest addition to the band. During a recent interview with the band and storyteller, veteran DJ and author Robert Hughes, they emphasized that this is not an imitation tribute band. According to the musicians, the band evolved from the desire to transcend from simply playing parties and clubs to honoring the music that has been planted deeply in their hearts. Accordingly, it started with a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute at the Center for Seaside Living in 2000, where their first show sold 400 tickets. The success of this show led them naturally into honoring the music of the Laurel Canyon era and soon they were doing themed shows revolving around iconic moments in music history like the 1969 iconic Woodstock Music and Arts Festival.
Rick Nash. Photo by Art Cohen.
The turning point came for BTTG raising the theatrical bar for the band when they invited local DJ and author Robert Hughes to join the show as a historian and storyteller to put the the shows into their historical context. As Jim Soldi described it, the idea of a narrator came about at times as the practical need to fill space while the band set up for upcoming songs. Jim explained the rationale behind bringing a storyteller to the story-concert, “We began to think it would be great to have some narration between songs. But nothing really gelled until Hughes came on board. Then everything exploded. The amount of knowledge he has, and he would research and come up with and the band didn’t know. It becomes an amazing teachable moment.” Sharon Whyte added, “Robert is also an author, so the way he tells the story is fascinating. People are always asking for more of them. It helps with the flow of the show and keeps it exiting and interesting. And he’s got that radio voice.” Hughes added, “When it comes to composing stories what I try to do, I know people come into the shows deeply emotionally related to the songs, so if I can tell them a little tidbit that lights up their hearts and makes them love the song even more, I feel like I’ve done my job.” When asked to name his role in the band, Hughes simply said, “I’m the storyteller.”
As for the distinction between imitation and inspiration, BTTG certainly provides music beyond the former, while their skills bring an abundance of the latter. The band is able to faithfully reproduce well-loved versions of classic songs like “Hotel California” and Joni Mitchell’s “California,” which is included in the upcoming Belly-Up show.
Marc Intravaia. Photo by Dennis Andersen.
According to Marc Intravaia, “One thing we bring to the music is authenticity. We don’t replicate the original recordings note for note, but we go for the spirit of the song. That creates a special connection with the audience.”
Guitarist Jim Soldi explained, “When we first started, we put the needle on the record and learned the song as it was recorded. But as we’ve grown as musicians, we put our own spin on many of them. These shows are about nostalgia when it comes to reliving good times from a long time ago.”
Hughes, the storyteller with the DJ voice and experience said, “In every show there are points where the essential expected points of the song get played in a different way so instead of the notes going from the memory to the fingers it goes from the memory through the heart to the fingers. When that happens, it brings the audience to their feet every time. They can feel the emotion. As guitarists Jim and Marc are emotional players. They can be precise a lot of the time, but when they let loose, it’s awesome to watch.”
Larry Grano
Larry Grano remembered one special revelation at a recent concert. “During our Laurel Canyon show in Poway, there’s a door that lets out to where the audience is seated during intermission, and there’s a stream of people. When I step out in that stream I feel like a bear during salmon spawning time. I overheard someone say, “I just saw a great documentary and really enjoyed it!” So, what Bob does coincides with what we do…”
Marc revealed, “After working with several musicians, we found the chemistry with the five of us, who I would gladly work with another 25 years of collaboration and joy.”
Jim added to Marc’s insight, “It also takes a sense of humor. We don’t take ourselves that seriously. It’s music for crying out loud; you gotta have fun with it. We enjoy playing together. It’s a joyous thing to be a part of, which makes it easy.”
Back to the Garden with frequent collaborator Lauren Leigh Stucky.
Sharon, the band’s keyboardist brought home the insight essential to the band’s 25 year run of successful story concerts. “Intent is the building block of the outcome. We all share the same intent that keeps us together and moving forward. Our intent is to honor the music and play what we love, and it feels good to play and if we can project that out to the audience, it becomes a good feeling experience for all of us including the audience. That’s how we stay together.”
Back to the Garden will be at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach on Sunday, January 4, 7pm.
