Through his connections with bands, music lover and promoter Doug Reynolds brought some first-rate musicians to Carson City, and now they're coming to Carson Valley.
Reynolds, a nine-year Minden resident who has lived in Northern Nevada about 24 years with his wife Melinda Reynolds, a Minden Elementary School second-grade teacher, has booked performers who were in bands such as Paul McCartney and Wings, Huey Lewis and the News and Elton John at Comma Coffee in Carson City for two years and has always wanted to bring concerts closer to home.
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. the first Carson Valley "Comma Concert" - featuring acoustic guitar virtuoso Michael Gulezian - will be presented in front of 88 Cups Coffee Shop in Minden Village on the corner of Lucerne Street and Highway 395.
Gulezian has produced five CDs and has played with Shawn Colvin, The Dixie Chicks, Ramblin Jack Elliott, John Fahey, the David Grisman Quintet, Leo Kottke, Patty Larking, Adrian Legg, Kelly Joe Phelps, Leon Redbone, The Smothers Brothers, Tim Weisberg and Michael Hedges, among others. His music has been described by Jazz Times as, "uncommonly thoughtful and provocative ... the technical wizardry here is tremendous. ... sweeping story-like melodies, multi-dimensional epics, and heartland hymns."
The outdoor Minden Village location will hold approximately 120 people. Audience members should bring a chair if possible. Although the concert is free, Reynolds will ask for donations.
Reynolds is looking for a permanent venue for his concerts. The Comma Coffee location is great and performances have been sold-out lately, but in the summertime the upstairs of the 1870s building becomes uncomfortably hot.
"I'm looking for Comma Concert venues who want to have a concert come in to help their business," said Reynolds. "Comma Coffee has about 100 seats. Now we're at the point where those shows are selling out. We're looking around, preferably for a place that holds 85-100 people."
At age 11 while living in Alhambra, Calif., Reynolds took guitar lessons from David Lindley. After dabbling in performing for awhile, Reynolds chose not to pursue the limelight, but his teacher left an indelible impression on the young man. Lindley had canceled lessons to go on to bigger things, becoming the accompanist with Jackson Browne for many years and forming his own band El Rayo-X.
"He said he was going to New York to be a rock star," said Reynolds. "In the '70s I went to a concert with Jackson Browne and Linda Rondstadt and there he was."
Lindley now plays an electro-acoustic performance combining American folk, blues, and bluegrass traditions with elements from African, Arabic, Asian, Celtic, Malagasy, and Turkish musical sources. The musician, who plays instruments like the oud and the bouzouki, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at Comma Coffee, 312 S. Carson St. in Carson City. The cost is $25.50. Reynolds is looking for a place in Carson Valley for him to perform while he's in the area.
Of Lindley, Reynolds said, "In the music world he's known as the wizard of all things stringed."
Lindley was instrumental in getting Reynolds started in promoting.
"My old guitar teacher said, 'We're on the road, If we can drive 300, not 600 miles, and have a hotel room to stay in, you'd be surprised at how little musicians will charge."
Since then, musicians have been drawn to the smaller settings, charging about half of their normal fee, according to Reynolds.
Musicians started calling saying, 'Where can I play?'" said Reynolds. "You get to get back into the reason you got into the business to begin with - to entertain people - not the corporate business it's become.
"Some of these people are phenomenal top artists, but they're willing to play for a little crowd. There's nothing like seeing these people play 10 feet away - and talking back and forth with them."
Besides the Comma Concerts, Reynolds was responsible for a series of concerts held at the Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa in the summer of 2002 (called the Sierra Starlight Amphitheater), scheduling performances in Carson City at what once was called the Upstage Center Theater, booking musicians such as John Jorgenson (Elton John band) for last year's Summer Concert Series in Minden Park and bringing a Rolling Stones tribute band to Carson Valley Days. He is preparing for his third season with Comma Concerts.
Reynolds just arranged for Bruce Molsky to do some of his guitar, fiddle and banjo playing at the Shady Grove Coffee Company in Gardnerville. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6. Molsky tours extensively in the U.S. and Europe as a solo artist. He teaches his own intensive instrument workshop all over the U.S. and is an instructor at fiddle camps across the nation as well. For more information on Molsky, visit www.brucemolsky.com.
Currently Reynolds is getting calls from musicians asking if he has a place for them to play and he is having to turn them down. Some of the places he's considering are the CVIC Hall in Minden, Shady Grove Coffee House in Gardnerville and living room concerts in mansions, which he says is becoming popular.
"I'm trying to get Lindley and Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney and Wings guitarist) to play at the CVIC," said Reynolds.
Reynolds always emcees at the performances, asking for donations at the free concerts in order to pay the musicians, who usually charge about half of what they normally get, according to Reynolds.
His regular job is running his own company DR Design & Marketing Services, which pays the bills.
"I want to see these things. I want to see it happen," he said. "I'm continuing to meet new people, find new styles. This is just for the love of the music. I'm not trying to get big, I just like doing local productions. If some day I can make a couple bucks, that would be great."
For more information visit www.CommaConcerts.com or contact Doug Reynolds, 220-0995. Visit Michael Gulezian's Web site at www.timbrelinemusic.com.
n Jo Rafferty can be reached at jrafferty@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 210.
