Summer Sage Road is Kathryn Kay (lead singer); Roger Taylor (guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals); Jim Stone (banjo, vocals); Craig Hern (bass, guitar, vocals); Jim Blakemore (mandolin, guitar, vocals); and Belita Mullinax (fiddle, vocals). This acoustic 6-member group performs a mix of folk, bluegrass, old time, country, and more. They have played mostly in San Diego County. The original duet performed for a tsunami benefit concert for Japan, the yearly Ojai Day festival, the Poway Farmer’s market, the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, Winona Farms Market, and numerous other locations around Southern California. Kathryn Kay has been singing longer than she's been talking. Throughout her youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kathryn participated in several choral and jazz ensembles. She attended Augsburg College where she sang and toured with the Augsburg College Choir. After many years of interest in folk, Americana, old time country, blues, and bluegrass, Kathryn joined Summer Sage Road as lead vocalist in 2015. Roger is originally from New York. He attended The High School of Music and Art, is a graduate of Parsons School of Design; later received his B.A. from San Diego State University. Roger has performed as solo artist and songwriter, and played with other bands. He build a recording studio in 1976, and recently re-mastered a record, The Best of Baba Ram Jet, Songs by Roger E. Taylor. Jim Stone grew up in San Diego. As a classroom teacher, Jim used banjo, guitar, and singing to enrich instruction and improve his students’ memories and motivation. Jim is the author of Animated-Literacy, an arts based reading, writing, and language program that uses movement, singing, drawing, and storytelling to develop early literacy skills. In recent years, Jim’s banjo playing has added fun and excitement to more than 500 Animated-Literacy workshops that he has presented in 28 states and 9 provinces and territories in Canada. Jim Blakemore is a native San Diegan who has been playing music since 1969 and is a multi-instrumentalist. He has performed with the San Diego Junior Theatre Orchestra on five musicals and has played with several Bluegrass bands including performing on stage at the 2013 Summergrass Bluegrass festival. He is a Master Cabinetmaker and an accomplished luthier, playing many of his own hand made instruments. Craig Hern is a native to California. He plays bass and electric/acoustic guitar. He has performed solo and in groups over the years. Music has been one of his hobbies. Belita Mullinax is originally from West Virginia, where she grew up on Old Time Music. Her love of playing fiddle has kept her playing the last 20 years. The best times for her are the knee to knee, heads down, no talking -jams that go on for hours.
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Roger E. Taylor / Blog
Summer Sage Road bio
Summer Sage Road is Kathryn Kay (lead singer); Roger Taylor (guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals); Jim Stone (banjo, vocals); Craig Hern (bass, guitar, vocals); Jim Blakemore (mandolin, guitar, vocals); and Belita Mullinax (fiddle, vocals). This acoustic 6-member group performs a mix of folk, bluegrass, old time, country, and more. They have played mostly in San Diego County. The original duet performed for a tsunami benefit concert for Japan, the yearly Ojai Day festival, the Poway Farmer’s market, the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, Winona Farms Market, and numerous other locations around Southern California. Kathryn Kay has been singing longer than she's been talking. Throughout her youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kathryn participated in several choral and jazz ensembles. She attended Augsburg College where she sang and toured with the Augsburg College Choir. After many years of interest in folk, Americana, old time country, blues, and bluegrass, Kathryn joined Summer Sage Road as lead vocalist in 2015. Roger is originally from New York. He attended The High School of Music and Art, is a graduate of Parsons School of Design; later received his B.A. from San Diego State University. Roger has performed as solo artist and songwriter, and played with other bands. He build a recording studio in 1976, and recently re-mastered a record, The Best of Baba Ram Jet, Songs by Roger E. Taylor. Jim Stone grew up in San Diego. As a classroom teacher, Jim used banjo, guitar, and singing to enrich instruction and improve his students’ memories and motivation. Jim is the author of Animated-Literacy, an arts based reading, writing, and language program that uses movement, singing, drawing, and storytelling to develop early literacy skills. In recent years, Jim’s banjo playing has added fun and excitement to more than 500 Animated-Literacy workshops that he has presented in 28 states and 9 provinces and territories in Canada. Jim Blakemore is a native San Diegan who has been playing music since 1969 and is a multi-instrumentalist. He has performed with the San Diego Junior Theatre Orchestra on five musicals and has played with several Bluegrass bands including performing on stage at the 2013 Summergrass Bluegrass festival. He is a Master Cabinetmaker and an accomplished luthier, playing many of his own hand made instruments. Craig Hern is a native to California. He plays bass and electric/acoustic guitar. He has performed solo and in groups over the years. Music has been one of his hobbies. Belita Mullinax is originally from West Virginia, where she grew up on Old Time Music. Her love of playing fiddle has kept her playing the last 20 years. The best times for her are the knee to knee, heads down, no talking -jams that go on for hours.
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I'm guilty of sharing performances...
Maybe an agent would be helpful. I am remiss. Though we I (we) hardly play regular gigs, it's still reasonable to keep friends and fans informed. Looks like I neglected to mention I have transformed; my 4-year music partner and I have morphed, and we are part of a band. We call ourselves Summer Sage Road. So I failed to tell you we played another gig on September 10, 2014 at the old people's home, The Remington Club. My father would have been proud. It was the place he last lived before he died. And after this gig we also played the Fiber Arts Fiesta at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista. This was back on October 12. Now coming up, next week, we're back to Julian. We are playing the Julian Station, which was formerly called Wynola Farms Market Place. It will be our fourth time playing there. And most exciting news to share is we are recording next Saturday, November 22. I am looking forward to it!
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RxR Band to play second time for assisted living residents
This 6/24/2014 Tuesday evening, 6:30 pm, we'll play short one hour lobby concert for the senior residents at The Remington Club, Assisted Living unit, in Rancho Bernardo, California. They were happy audience last time and it will be nice to entertain them again. It's a small lobby and should be fun.
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Remington Club charity performance...
I am bad. I did not post nor announce this past weekend's small performance at the Remington Club Assisted Living Facility in Rancho Bernardo, California. We played on Saturday, March 22, 2014. Here I am bragging. We did indeed perform there on Saturday. It was a full house, which was a complete surprise. The folks are mostly old and frail. Some were very frail and infirm. Uniquely I placed my father in the Remington Club after my mother passed in November of 1995. My father lasted nine months there. It was a shock to be without my mother after 62 years of marriage. I wanted him close to my home and it was perfect. My only regrets are that I should have moved him into our own home. We did not have enough space with my family of four living in 1680 square feet. Somehow I still regret not allowing him to move into my home. It would have been tight. I elected to place him in the nearby home for aged. He also was rather handicapped from a stroke that occurred in 1987. This weekend was nostalgic. There were a lot of frail and very old people to listen to our music. Remarkably, many of the people were responsive and very appreciative. It was a great experience. I know I was able to give these old people something pleasurable. Today I was told we did great and we were invited back.
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RxR Fall 2013 Performances
RxR Fall Schedule 9/3/13, performance 7 PM, Roundtable Pizza 1161 E Washington Ave, North County Bluegrass and Folk Club, Escondido, CA; 9/21/13 friends performances and jams, 1-8 PM, Julian Music Festival, Menghini Winery, Julian, CA; 10/12/13 performance 12 PM, Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum, Fiber Arts Fiesta, Vista, CA; 10/27/13 performance 8 AM, American Diabetes Association step-out walk, DeAnza Cove, San Diego, CA 11/30/13 performance, 1 PM, Julian Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Julian, CA
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Time to learn with some of the best in the USA
I'm off to music camp, workshops, scholarship. This will be great! Bringing my mountain bike too. www.familyfiddlecamp.com
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Restaurant / bar music
RxR played last Saturday night at Chris' Ono Grinds Cafe and Grill. Fun! Chris is great guy, modest and restaurant offers delicious food. Yelp gave it great reviews! The experience was good, only wish there were more people. Somehow, not sure why, there were not a lot of diners. The environment was very acceptable and we hardly needed amplification. I love it when the sound quality is naturally live. So two hours of music came and went. Our eclectic blend of traditional, old time, bluegrass, folk and classic covers still feels like a nice package.
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Busker man
So we'll head to play in Balboa Park tomorrow. We are now Buskers. At this juncture in my life, this is an amazing thing. Street musicians. Last week was notable and had it's moments of enduring infamy. We initially set up at the most obscure location. The Park offers a lottery for 10 musicians and 10 different sites. We got the last number. We set up under a huge willow tree, which in truth, provided shade and a unique audio quality. After the first hour, it was clear there were little to few people who walked by. I estimate there may have been 4 people or couples during the first hour. This in effect was a practice session for me and Rick. Sometime near late morning, an old woman walked by with her dog on a leash. The dog was clearly old and disabled. I think the dog had one eye. As we played and sang, the woman slowed to allow her dog to smell the lamp post that was 20 feet from us. The dog unceremoniously lifted it's hind leg then peed on the lamp post. Rick and I continued to strum and sing. After the song, we simultaneously turned to each other. "Did you see that dog?" Rick said. "Uh huh. We had a Kodak moment," I replied.
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Playing for Cat Lovers on Nov. 17, 2012
OK. You love cats. Me? Well... I don't own any. Once, a few years back (don't ask about years), I had two cats: Molly and Fanny. I lived in a brownstone on 2nd Avenue in New York. Not sure how I acquired Molly and Fanny. I do recall getting really mad at Molly on several occasions. She took to peeing in my drawer. I would wear a sweater only to learn it stinked from cat pee. Well... I still like cats. When I moved to California, I had cats on a few occasions. These days, I am catless. Or perhaps... catatonic?
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Hooray Friday
Doesn't everyone in the world love Fridays?
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