Tri-County Sentry article July, 2021

By Chris Frost, Tri County Sentry

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Channel Islands-- The Channel Islands Concerts by the Sea series continued in a far out

way Saturday, July 17, as the Psychedelic Summer Band brought peace, love, and classic

Rock ‘n Roll to Peninsula Park.

The large crowd boarded their Magic Bus and followed the band back to the Woodstock

era. The event attracted many older residents but also attracted young kids who danced

the night away.

Band members handed out flowers and brought the crowd back to the "Flower Power"

era full of love.

The band, lead vocalist Colette Lovejoy, Jerry Breiner on guitar, keyboards, and vocals,

Chris Longo on bass and vocals, Brian Meegan on drums, percussion, and Brad

Strickland playing guitar and delivering vocals knocked out a rock-solid set that had

people crying for more at the end of the night.

Dierdre Frank made the trip down and enjoyed the evening.

"I'm an old hippie, and these are great memories," she said. "I like all the music."

"I'm here because friends of mine are playing here, and I live at the harbor," Rob Gray said. "This is just a stone's throw away, and it's a free concert. It's going to be killer. My favorite band is the Beatles." 

He was undecided about dancing.

"I may become compelled," he said. "If the beat is compelling,

what are you going to do. It's human nature."

He remains guarded about the Covid restrictions.

"We may be looking at that again at some point," he said.

"Enjoy it while you can."

Kathy Carey said her evening is all about the music.

"I'm getting out and enjoying the beautiful weather," she said.

"We're from New England, and we've only been

here for three years, so I'm enjoying everything about this."

Larry Simes wore his Twisted Nation t-shirt and said,

if you're a citizen, you're a member. 

He said he survived the 60s as a Navy sailor.

"Getting back to society afterward was pretty exciting," he said.

"My favorite group back then was Steeley Dan.

I had flowers on my VW which enraged some of the officers."

He was unsure about dancing. 

"Anything can happen," Simes said. 

Kris Rees came to the concert because her brother

and sister-in-law live at the harbor and come

to Peninsula Park often.

"I liked all the groovy clothes of the 70s," she said.

"I like the Beatles."

Rosemarie Okamoto said she loves music of all kinds.

"I love concerts, and I like being by the water," she said. "I loved any song by Creedence Clearwater Revival."

She lived in San Pedro during the 60s, and later in the decade, she moved to Orange County.

"It was the place to go," she said. "I lived in Hawaii for many years, and now I'm in Port Hueneme."

She, too, was unsure about dancing.

"I might, but I'm kind of old," she said. "I appreciate it when

any city or entity puts on something for everybody."

Jim Lemke had his peace glasses on and said he's a leftover

from the 60s.

"I used to play in rock bands during the 60s, and this is so cool

to come back and see this stuff," he said. 

Sandie Wolfe said her go-to music during the 1960s was Janis Joplin.

"I'm hoping to hear some Janis Joplin today," Wolfe said. 

Tanya Press, Beckie Covey, and Marlaina Recek were reunited for the

event, and they were rocking out with Bubula, which he said was

his Hawaiian name.

"For me, it's a lifetime event," Press said. "I've been wanting to meet

Recek for the longest time."

Bubula said his favorite 60's song was In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly.

"I'm a big fan of everything," he said. "This is my era. My best time in

the 60s was surfing Sunset Beach."

Press said the song "Green-Eyed Lady" was one of their favorites.

"Child of nature, friend of man," she said. 

After the concert, Breiner said he and Lovejoy had been performing together on and off since 1992.

"I remember when the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show, the

Chrome got me interested in playing music," he said.

"It's always been that way."

He said depending on the length of the set, they plan their music, and the

group has to pick and choose what they want to do. 

"We have nine hours of music, and we can never play it, so we have to

pick two hours each time we play," he said. "We pick the ones people dance

to, and after today's set, we're going to pull a few out for next Saturday

when we play in Alta Dena. It all has to be pretty much dance stuff

and things that people can sing along. It's a cosmic tribal experience."

Covid shut the band down,

and they didn't rehearse again until this past March.

"We always learned the songs by ourselves and got together to hone it,"  

Breiner said he started playing music in public when he was a nine-year-old.

"It's part of me," he said.

"I saw the Chrome on the Ed Sullivan Show at age 10.”

His parents supported his dreams.

"They bought me a guitar, bless their hearts," he said.

"It took a while to get a real guitar, but I had a kind-of guitar

for a while. I taught myself, and I taught myself piano.

I've been a musician all my life."

He doesn't have a favorite band from the '60s but said The Beatles are undeniable. 

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"It all came from them," he said. 

When the crowd engages at a show, he hits his groove.

"They're digging it," he said. "When they're digging it, then

it's easy. It's love. They didn't know who we are, but they

certainly do now. It happens every time we play. We have

all kinds of people interested in what we're doing."

He loves the 60s and admitted that turning down a trip to

upstate New York while attending camp to see a concert

(Woodstock) was the worst mistake of his life.

"It's part and parcel of who I am and the

same with Colette, who's the love of my life," Breiner said.

For more information about Psychedelic Summer,

visit www.psychedelicsummerband.com.