The Capital Sun Rays
@
Hotel Utah
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Let the Sun Shine In! The Capital Sun Rays Hotel Utah August 21, 1999 |
SPF 6. No, SPF 15. Better yet, SPF 30. No wait, SPF 40 is best. Nope, it's gotta be SPF 152.5 or forget it!!!! Could we all just calm down and take a deep, cleansing breath here? Yes, the Sun, like anything else in excessive doses, is bad for you - but remember people, if we didn't have a little sunlight - our daily dose of Vitamin D (a life sustaining element, I might add).well, we'd up and perish or in the least, be really "bummed." (It is a well known and documented fact that our good friends up Alaska way, get pretty testy during their long, dark, ray-free winters). But, I'm certainly not advocating slathering on the baby oil, jumping on your reflective foil towel and throwing caution (and that lovely wrinkle-free complexion of yours) to the wind - I'm just saying, exercise a little restraint, common sense and yes, apply the SPF of your choice liberally and thrive. So, summing up today's Sun Lesson No. 1 - when surrounded by Ultraviolet rays, exercise moderation. Now, Sun Lesson No. 2 - when surrounded by "Capital Sun Rays" - exercise no moderation, tan your soul to a golden brown and bask in the non-carcinogenic, no-SPF-required rays of some of the most melodic folk/gospel/bluegrass-inspired music you'll ever have the sensory pleasure to experience. In other words, SOAK IT UP!
What, or rather, Who are The Capital Sun Rays, you ask? Well, read on and let me enlighten you..Yes, newly transplanted to beautiful San Francisco, CA from equally pretty Toledo, OH (the "land of glass and strip malls," to quote founding CSR member Jeremy Lindsay), The Capital Sun Rays, a stellar pair of singer/songwriters, have arrived to shine a whole lot of lovely light on the San Francisco music scene. I met Jeremy Lindsay and Michelle McGrath - the "power" duo behind the band - through my friend and West Virginia transplant, Jeff Westbrook, mandolin player and tenor extraordinaire of local bluegrass favorite, Stringbean. The brief but compelling story: way back in the freezing Summer of '99, a good number of us were eating Indian food at a mutual friend's pad. Suffering spice overload, I sacheted to the kitchen for a glass of wine to extinguish my on-fire esophagus. There, I caught sound of a woman's angelic wail emanating from the cd player -- it was so lovely and compelling, I was *actually* distracted from my search for another glass of merlot (and...as most people know, it takes a Natural Disaster to interrupt this gal's wine quest). To understate it, I was transfixed. Mentally calculating my woeful checkbook balance to see if a trip to Amoeba was in the cards to pick up said cd, I grabbed Jeff, who'd sauntered into the kitchen in search of beer, and asked for the skinny on the big, beautiful voice wafting from the stereo. Jeff, Goddess bless him, quietly informed me I'd been eating garlic nann with the corporal being attached to the heavenly voice all night. That would be one Michelle McGrath, Capital Sun Ray. Okay, I had arrived a little late and I was really hungry.....but, clearly, there had been no excuse for not introducing myself to everyone in the room - Miss Manners would not have approved. So, personal admonishments aside, I thanked Jeffy, grabbed a bottle - no time to waste pouring - headed out to the living room and promptly plopped myself down next to Michelle to gush verbal all over her (it was that female, sisterhood, singer, "wish-I-could-sing-that-way" reverence sort of thing). Well, Michelle is not only blessed with a set of pipes that could make a Buckingham palace guard weep openly, she's blessed with a winning personality as well. Turns out Jeremy - aforementioned frontman and owner of the band's sexy Dylan-esqe twang was at the hindi food-fest as well. Adding to my confusion (uh, where had I been?), I was informed that Jeff, too, sits in with the 'Rays on occasion - lending his stylin' mandolin and brilliant tenor. Momentarily pondering the detrimental effects of alcohol on brain function, and if I should leave and come back in again, I decided I'd wasted enough time already, chalked the whole misunderstanding up to temporarily-induced hunger dementia and gently begged for my very own Capital Sun Rays cd (aptly monikered, "It Was All Shining" [1999, the CSRs]). Wish granted, I've been basking in the harmonious and lyrical light of The Capital Sun Ray experience ever since.
Now, a couple months later, I've gotten to know both Jeremy and Michelle better-- through experiencing their always wonderful shows and over the occasional beer, burrito, and Sunday brunch. Both have warm and inviting dispositions - of the dry, witty and well, sunny variety; one can recognize these traits translated in the Cap' Sun Rays own hand-crafted brand of achingly-honest and reality-infused lyrical poetry. Complex, funny and wise, Jeremy and Michelle, long-time friends and music partners, appear to have rubbed off on each other (after seven years working the dream together, it's no surprise). As a mature musical team (comparisons to Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons are inevitable and well-deserved) they weave familiar and unforgettable stories of love, heartbreak, friendship, and the age old battle between man and woman -- trading wisdom-infused verses and heart-aching harmonies throughout.
So, on this particular August evening at the always hospitable Hotel Utah, I sat down with a glass of the fine "house red," (read: cheapest) and settled in for a relaxing, joyful listen. Michelle's accomplished guitar strumming and ranging voice-at once a plaintive lilt, next a melancholic wail, Jeremy's both languid and conversational folky croon, and Jeff's sweet mandolin and evocative tenor combined to make not only beautiful sounds, but to convey emotionally charged, attention grabbing tales, as well. Jeremy and Michelle highlighted their strengths as singer/songwriters with their duet of the cd's title track, "It Was All Shining." The song evokes the nostalgic melancholy experienced by two lovers' parting and their quest to remember the good over the bad - "Well, it wasn't everlasting, but for a while we were blasting, some kind of dazzling shine. It was all shining, suffer me my whinin,' but it was all shinin' then, I'm a tell it 'till I'm blue, what else is left for me to do, then to tell all of you it was all shinin' then."
In their short time here, The Capital Sun Rays have acquired a loyal fan base, as demonstrated by the calls for encores after their impressive 45-minute set. They still maintain devoted fans nationwide, as well - the result of their long-time collaboration and countless Midwest tours (they've appeared with the likes of Jill Sobule, Wayne Hancock, Over the Rhine, and our own Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys). Local shows are almost always chock-full of guest appearances by accomplished Bay Area/West Coast musicians (Peter Grant-Dobro master, Jimbo Trout, and Stringbean, just to name a few).
In an increasingly angst-filled S.F., its not surprising to see people wholeheartedly embrace a calming, beautiful thing when they hear/see/feel it. The Capital Sun Rays soothe my soul and they will yours, too. Next time they play around these parts is October 22 at Bitterroot, 3122-16th Street, 8-ish pm, (415) 626-5523."
And starting Monday, October 25, and continuing onward, the Capital Sun Rays will play and host each "Monday Night Singer/Songwriter Showcase," 8:00 p.m., at the International Center Theater, 50 Oak Street, SF, (415) 626-0255.
P.S. Feel free to check out The Capital Sun Rays website - linked early on in this article - for all sorts of fascinatin' fun facts on Jeremy, Michelle, booking, getting your very own copy of their fabulous cd, lyrics, etc.!
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