cover story | summer entertainment

Celebrate summer
Get out the picnic baskets and old football blankets, it's time to spend an evening in the park listening to live music, a signature American summer moment. Here's a look at local treasures and opportunities for entertainment in our own backyards.

claremont
Reno Jones
IS ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC

By LUANNE J. HUNT

"Blues is an energetic and emotional experience and that's how we treat it," K.O. Skinsnes said. "Everyone in the band is in it for the music, and whether we play for 10 people or 10,000, we always have the time of our lives."

That philosophy has helped Reno Jones become one of the Southland's most requested acts at fairs, festivals and city concerts. The band will perform July 21 during the Monday night concert series in Claremont.

Skinsnes gets a rush thinking about how far the group has come.

"Before Reno Jones, I was in a '70s cover band, which I got unjustly thrown out of," Skinsnes said. "So I started Reno Jones out of spite, and it really took off. We decided we wanted to stay away from clubs and do more unique gigs. We're definitely in it for the adventure."

Since 1997, Reno Jones has been performing its diverse mix of cover tunes and original material at The Starlight Bowl, Los Angeles County Fair and the Inland Blues Festival, as well as other venues.

The band has opened for Ray Charles, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and The Four Tops. It also won the top prize at the Monterey Blues Festival's Battle of the Blues Bands in 2002 and 2003. Notably, the band performed four concerts in 2003 at the California Institution for Women in Chino. Getting into the facility wasn't easy. It took nearly nine months to get clearance to entertain at the prison.

To mark the concerts, Reno Jones recorded one of the performances and released it on CD. "Live From Inside" features a variety of original and cover tunes, including "Baby, I Love You," "Route 66," "Standin' On Shaky Ground" and "Since You've Been Gone."

"It was amazing at the prison," said Skinsnes, who plays trumpet. "The ladies were screaming, and we felt like the Beatles at Shea Stadium. They were so loud we couldn't even hear ourselves play. These are the kind of gigs we love to do."

Reno Jones also is featured in the documentary film "Channeling Herzog," directed and edited by Sundance Film Festival award winner Harry Knapp ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye"). And the nine-member group recently released its own documentary, "10 Years — Live!" It celebrates a decade-long career, and includes footage from some of the band's most memorable shows.

pomona

IN STEP WITH MUSICAL TRADITION

By LUANNE J. HUNT

THE Pomona Concert Band's rich musical tradition continues with its annual summer concert series, featuring a song repertoire designed to appeal to audiences of all ages.

"Most of the music we do is of a lighter nature," said band director Linda W. Taylor, a retired music teacher who taught in the Baldwin Park Unified School district for 30 years.

The lineup for the band's nine- week series, now in its 61st year, will include show tunes, songs from movies and marches.

"People seem to like the marches — 'Stars and Stripes Forever' best of all," Taylor said. "They're real toe-tappers."

The Pomona Concert Band, which started with 20 members and has since grown to more than 70, was organized in 1947 under the direction of its longtime leader, G. Stanton Selby. The bandshell at Ganesha Park, where the band performs, is named in his honor.

Selby, who died in 2004, had an ability to put together crowd-pleasing shows and his formula still works.

The first half of each concert is typically a straight band performance with a guest artist or band soloist. The second half features upbeat music from Broadway shows or movies. Tributes to renowned composers, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein and Cole Porter, also are trademarks.

Before each song, an emcee provides a brief history of the piece, including information about its composer.

"We have always believed it's important to keep our audiences educated," said Taylor, a tuba player who joined the Pomona Concert Band in 1968 and became its director in 2006. "The songs have much more meaning to them when they know a little about the history."

Besides its summer concerts, the Pomona Concert Band performs at the opening of the Pomona Little League season as well as during graduation ceremonies at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.

Taylor credits the band's longevity to the dedication and commitment of its members — which, she said, were inspired by Selby.

"My main goal with the band is to keep it going for as long as possible and keep the tradition alive," she said. "There's still a lot of people who don't even know we exist, and we want to find ways to make them sit up and take notice. The band is a real labor of love, and we want as many lives to be touched by it as possible."

The Pomona Concert Band
G. Stanton Selby Bandshell,
Ganesha Park, 1575 N. White Ave., Pomona; 8 p.m. Thursdays, July 3 to Aug. 28; free admission; www.pomonaconcertband.com

redlands

A BOWL FULL OF
entertainment

By CATHERINE GARCIA

The goal of Grace Stewart Mullen, who started the Redlands Community Music Association in 1923, was to bring professional-caliber, classically oriented performers to the city. Since then, 4 million people have attended festival performances.

This year's lineup runs the gamut, from the Lula Washington Dance Theatre to the Redlands Symphony Orchestra presenting "Symphonic Diversions." Audiences also will follow the yellow brick road to "The Wizard of Oz."

"The musical is always a favorite program for the community, and we are always excited to announce what the musical will be," said program director Marsha Gebara. "'The Wizard of Oz' is a magical story that will enchant audiences of all ages." An original adaptation of the popular musical will be produced and directed July 24-26 by Wayne Scott of Redlands' LifeHouse Theater. On Aug. 12, Redlands-based jazz group Hip Pocket will make its Bowl debut, fulfilling a dream.

"When I lived on Olive Avenue, we would go outside and listen to the music, and say, 'Someday, we'll play there,'" recalled tenor saxophonist Loren Weisbrod.

"It's an honor we take very seriously." Hip Pocket is one of the first local jazz bands to play at the Bowl.

"They are world-class and highly respected," Gebara said. "They are very, very fine musicians."

Another act new to the Redlands Bowl stage is the Glenn Miller Orchestra, coming July 29.

"We're thrilled to have this '40s music, classic art form," Gebara said.