The Reel, Friday, July 20, 8:30p.m.

Also appearing in the July 20 edition of the Sonoma Index Tribune

The Sidemen

The Reel, Friday, July 20, 8:30p.m.

Veteran horn player Peter Welker, a North Bay fixture for many years, is bringing his band The Sidemen to The Reel Friday, July 20 for an 8:30 p.m. show. The Sidemen have been wowing crowds for a little over a year now, and this promises to be a pretty magical musical event.

Welker, a Petaluma resident, will have his personally selected band perform two sets Friday night. Their first set will be “ ...a bit mellow, not too rockin’. The second set, we’re gonna cut loose.”  

During his tenure as sideman-to-the-stars, Welker has played behind Santana, Malo, Jerry Garcia, Tom Waits, and Narada Michael Walden, to name but a few.  The new band is called The Sidemen because they have all played behind some pretty well-known acts.

A listing of some of the players includes Sonoma resident Cliff Hugo, who played with Supertramp, plays bass in the band.  Steve Carter, from the George Benson band, plays keys.  Morris Azevedo, from the Berklee College of Music, handles the guitar duties. Steve Steinberg was the sax player for many years for Natalie Cole. Todd Tribble (Michael McDonald) will sit behind the drum kit, having punched out earlier in the day from his job as leader of the SWAT team in Vallejo. Johnnie Bamont delivered the musical news with Huey Lewis.

In a very unusual move, Welker and the band decided not to be fronted by a vocalist. After rehearsing for a week or two, they realized that they “ …have our own sound, and don’t need a vocalist.”

Welker was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, to parents who were professional musicians.  He began playing at a very early age. By 1959 he was playing in the Catskill resort area of New York state, entertaining people waiting to laugh at the jokes of Jackie Mason, Shecky Greene, Myron Cohen, and a young Woody Allen.

Welker heard a million jokes during those years, and he apparently still remember them all. During our conversation, he told no fewer than seven knee slappers.

But his talent lies in his musical mind and is expressed with his horn. Welker, a vibrant 77 year old cat, is known to sit in a local coffee house and write musical scores that will be turned into full blown arranged pieces that eening at practice. “Twenty hours a week, that’s what I try to spend writing,” Welker said. 

Their song list for the night will be primarily originals, but there will be a few recognizable covers. Perhaps a David Sanborn song, or maybe one by Tom Scott and the LA Express. “It’s challenging stuff. But these are all hand-picked players, and they are A1 musicians.”

In 1962, Welker came out West on a Greyhound bus. On Friday night, he will drive just a few miles East. He will be sure to pack that musical magic into his horn case before he leaves Petaluma.