Coup d’ Bop is so worth seeing that South Coast Gig decided to give the band’s story another run. View the video at http://www.youtube.com/
user/southcoastgig
See South Coast Gig’s Calendar and the end of the story for the latest performance dates.
When the owner of Wanda’s Food & Beverage House in Coos Bay, Wanda Weathers, decided she wanted to start featuring jazz and blues at her venue, she found the perfect fit with a new band in town, Coup d’ Bop.
“I have been headed in this direction for quite some time, and Coup d’ Bop filled the void that the Bigfoot Blues Band left,” Weathers said. “They dominated the stage for 13 years. I am very excited about this band, and their music.”
While this particular band is new for band members Tom Beckstrom, Michael Anderson and Greg Aldridge, working together is not new, and neither is their love for the genre of music.
Beckstrom, the drummer, Anderson on bass, guitar and vocals and Aldridge, singer and keyboard guru, have been performing together since 2006 — just not jazz.
Beckstrom said he began playing with Aldridge in 2003-04 after listening to the Greg Aldridge Trio — Aldridge, Alan Tarpinian on drums and Michael Hatgis on bass — perform jazz/blues at The Mill Casino. He began filling in occasionally for Tarpinian, and took his place after the drummer moved to Portland. At the time, the trio loved the jazz and blues they were performing.
After the remodel at The Mill, which included the construction of Warehouse 101, Anderson was added to the mix, but it didn’t take long for the jazz enthusiasts to realize they were no longer playing the type of music wanted at the casino.
“In ‘06 when we added Michael, we thought it would be rock and blues,” Aldridge said. “We played one set of jazz and saw the writing on the wall. We had to conform and play Top 40 funk and rock to keep the gig.”
Their casino stint lasted two years until this summer when they were replaced with other bands. Beckstrom said he got the idea to return to playing jazz after a talk with Weathers about what type of music she wanted to offer at her venue.
“For all of us, this is where it’s at,” Beckstrom said.
The other band members agreed.
“Jazz. It’s a different animal,” described Anderson, who’s played a variety of music since age 14 including blues, R&B, country and rock ’n’ roll. “It requires restraint, thoughtfulness and scholarship.
“In 2001, I wanted to (finally) learn how to play jazz more-or-less correctly, so I took lessons from Mike Denny, an instructor at the University of Oregon,” Anderson said. “Learning jazz is a lifelong project. You can do that until you die.”
The three of them laughed at a recent performance at Wanda’s, thinking about famous musicians, such as Buddy Rich, who performed pretty much until he passed away.
They agreed jazz is a good discipline to practice.
“It helps everything else,” said Anderson, who also is in an R&B and old school funk/swing group, the Streamliners that perform at The Bistro in Eugene with Hatgis, and plays with Paul Biondi and Friends at the Traveler’s Cove in Old Town Florence on Sundays. “It helps your rock playing. It helps your country playing.”
Anderson played with a country band in Eugene for six years.
“All the time practicing, learning how to do this stuff,” he said.
“The magic comes when you’re working together with other people,” said Beckstrom, a drum instructor at Southwestern Oregon Community College, who also is in the Dale Inskeep Band that performs at the High Tide Café in Charleston on Thursday nights. Beckstrom has performed with at least 50 bands and musicians in his lifetime, including the legendary Gene Krupa during a drumming clinic when Beckstrom was in eighth grade.
Aldridge, a former school teacher, vice principal and principal, now the executive director of development of the Coquille Economic Development Corporation, has been playing music professionally since his first gig at 13 on rhythm guitar.
“I’ve never relied on music as my sole source of income,” Aldridge said. “I always maintained a day job…”
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area gave Aldridge opportunities to play with some great musicians.
“I’ve gotten to play with some famous people over the years,” he said. “…Neal Schon of Santana/Journey/Bad English, Slash of Guns and Roses and Buddy Miles Buddy Miles Express/Band of Gypsies with Jimi Hendrix have all sat in with my bands.”
Aldridge began studying jazz piano in S.F. with Mark Levine in 1989.
“Mark is a national figure in jazz,” Aldridge said. “He’s published several books one of which I’m credited with editing, and has played with everyone from Cal Tjader and Joe Henderson to Tito Puente, James Moody and Dizzy Gillespie. Studying with him permanently changed my playing for the better.”
Weathers is happy to have them playing at her venue. She describes Coup d’ Bop as “trend setters,” and says with the band Wanda’s can now offer a kicked-back atmosphere with the soothing sound of jazz.
Coup d’ Bop will perform at Wanda’s on Friday and Saturday nights 7-10 p.m. the first and third weekends of the month. The next performances will be Oct. 16-17, Nov. 6-7 and 20-21 and Dec. 4-5 and 18.
“Coos Bay has always been good to Wanda’s and we would like to invite everyone that enjoys this high caliber of music to stop on in and listen to jazz on the boulevard,” Weathers said.
Recent scheduled Coup d’ Bop performance dates at Wanda’s:
• Feb 12 2010 7:30P
• Feb 19 2010 7:30P
• Feb 20 2010 8:00P
• Feb 26 2010 7:30P
• Feb 27 2010 8:00P
• Mar 19 2010 7:30P
• Mar 20 2010 8:00P
• Mar 26 2010 7:30P
• Mar 27 2010 8:00P
• Apr 9 2010 7:30P
• Apr 10 2010 8:00P
• Apr 16 2010 7:30P
• Apr 17 2010 8:00P
‘Jazz on the boulevard’
Gig Photo by Susan Chambers
By Jo Rafferty
Gig Editor
Coup d’ Bop is so worth seeing that South Coast Gig decided to give the band’s story another run. View the video at http://www.youtube.com/
user/southcoastgig
See South Coast Gig’s Calendar and the end of the story for the latest performance dates.
When the owner of Wanda’s Food & Beverage House in Coos Bay, Wanda Weathers, decided she wanted to start featuring jazz and blues at her venue, she found the perfect fit with a new band in town, Coup d’ Bop.
“I have been headed in this direction for quite some time, and Coup d’ Bop filled the void that the Bigfoot Blues Band left,” Weathers said. “They dominated the stage for 13 years. I am very excited about this band, and their music.”
While this particular band is new for band members Tom Beckstrom, Michael Anderson and Greg Aldridge, working together is not new, and neither is their love for the genre of music.
Beckstrom, the drummer, Anderson on bass, guitar and vocals and Aldridge, singer and keyboard guru, have been performing together since 2006 — just not jazz.
Beckstrom said he began playing with Aldridge in 2003-04 after listening to the Greg Aldridge Trio — Aldridge, Alan Tarpinian on drums and Michael Hatgis on bass — perform jazz/blues at The Mill Casino. He began filling in occasionally for Tarpinian, and took his place after the drummer moved to Portland. At the time, the trio loved the jazz and blues they were performing.
After the remodel at The Mill, which included the construction of Warehouse 101, Anderson was added to the mix, but it didn’t take long for the jazz enthusiasts to realize they were no longer playing the type of music wanted at the casino.
“In ‘06 when we added Michael, we thought it would be rock and blues,” Aldridge said. “We played one set of jazz and saw the writing on the wall. We had to conform and play Top 40 funk and rock to keep the gig.”
Their casino stint lasted two years until this summer when they were replaced with other bands. Beckstrom said he got the idea to return to playing jazz after a talk with Weathers about what type of music she wanted to offer at her venue.
“For all of us, this is where it’s at,” Beckstrom said.
The other band members agreed.
“Jazz. It’s a different animal,” described Anderson, who’s played a variety of music since age 14 including blues, R&B, country and rock ’n’ roll. “It requires restraint, thoughtfulness and scholarship.
“In 2001, I wanted to (finally) learn how to play jazz more-or-less correctly, so I took lessons from Mike Denny, an instructor at the University of Oregon,” Anderson said. “Learning jazz is a lifelong project. You can do that until you die.”
The three of them laughed at a recent performance at Wanda’s, thinking about famous musicians, such as Buddy Rich, who performed pretty much until he passed away.
They agreed jazz is a good discipline to practice.
“It helps everything else,” said Anderson, who also is in an R&B and old school funk/swing group, the Streamliners that perform at The Bistro in Eugene with Hatgis, and plays with Paul Biondi and Friends at the Traveler’s Cove in Old Town Florence on Sundays. “It helps your rock playing. It helps your country playing.”
Anderson played with a country band in Eugene for six years.
“All the time practicing, learning how to do this stuff,” he said.
“The magic comes when you’re working together with other people,” said Beckstrom, a drum instructor at Southwestern Oregon Community College, who also is in the Dale Inskeep Band that performs at the High Tide Café in Charleston on Thursday nights. Beckstrom has performed with at least 50 bands and musicians in his lifetime, including the legendary Gene Krupa during a drumming clinic when Beckstrom was in eighth grade.
Aldridge, a former school teacher, vice principal and principal, now the executive director of development of the Coquille Economic Development Corporation, has been playing music professionally since his first gig at 13 on rhythm guitar.
“I’ve never relied on music as my sole source of income,” Aldridge said. “I always maintained a day job…”
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area gave Aldridge opportunities to play with some great musicians.
“I’ve gotten to play with some famous people over the years,” he said. “…Neal Schon of Santana/Journey/Bad English, Slash of Guns and Roses and Buddy Miles Buddy Miles Express/Band of Gypsies with Jimi Hendrix have all sat in with my bands.”
Aldridge began studying jazz piano in S.F. with Mark Levine in 1989.
“Mark is a national figure in jazz,” Aldridge said. “He’s published several books one of which I’m credited with editing, and has played with everyone from Cal Tjader and Joe Henderson to Tito Puente, James Moody and Dizzy Gillespie. Studying with him permanently changed my playing for the better.”
Weathers is happy to have them playing at her venue. She describes Coup d’ Bop as “trend setters,” and says with the band Wanda’s can now offer a kicked-back atmosphere with the soothing sound of jazz.
Coup d’ Bop will perform at Wanda’s on Friday and Saturday nights 7-10 p.m. the first and third weekends of the month. The next performances will be Oct. 16-17, Nov. 6-7 and 20-21 and Dec. 4-5 and 18.
“Coos Bay has always been good to Wanda’s and we would like to invite everyone that enjoys this high caliber of music to stop on in and listen to jazz on the boulevard,” Weathers said.
Recent scheduled Coup d’ Bop performance dates at Wanda’s:
• Feb 12 2010 7:30P
• Feb 19 2010 7:30P
• Feb 20 2010 8:00P
• Feb 26 2010 7:30P
• Feb 27 2010 8:00P
• Mar 19 2010 7:30P
• Mar 20 2010 8:00P
• Mar 26 2010 7:30P
• Mar 27 2010 8:00P
• Apr 9 2010 7:30P
• Apr 10 2010 8:00P
• Apr 16 2010 7:30P
• Apr 17 2010 8:00P