The free show started off with the eerie folk/jug band sounds of ‘Little Lost Boys,” twanging banjos and scraping washboards, accompanying haunting voices and either a guitar or a ukulele. The Arlene Francis Theatre, once the North Bay Film and Art Collective, hosted a free show with Sage Recordings, a new group in Sonoma County planning on being a network for musical artists. “Like a Facebook on a mouth-to-mouth level,” said Cameron Wayland, co-founder of Sage Recordings.
Wayland comes from Los Angeles, one of a number of cities around California that is attractive to up-and-coming artists. “People get to a certain point, then they have to move to a city,” he said. Wayland’s plan for Sage Recordings is to “promote people who are making amazing music in the area without [them] having to move to the city to do it.”
Sage Recordings put together a show to bring people and musical artists together. Four local bands played. “Little Lost Boys,” a female duo consisting of Celeste Turconi and Laina Torres, followed by “Mystery Invention,” a three-piece rock ‘n’ roll outfit who lead into “Santiago,” an indie-punk band. “The Crux,” a Sonoma County band who seems to play every weekend, rounded out the evening with their blend of folk, punk and gypsy, among other musical influences.
Sage recorded the whole night and plans to do shows every three months. “We are trying to match artists with producers and engineers, in a range where people can afford to do music as blue collar work,” Wayland said.
Josh Stithem, lead singer of the Crux and a long-time organizer of events in Sonoma County, including the Hootenanny, said what Sage is doing is “really awesome and really brave.” Right now in the music industry, Stithem said, no one knows which way is up concerning the technology. “There are so many good artists here, you could totally do it [record artists],” he said.
Stithem rattled off many bands that have come and gone in the Sonoma County music scene. “I would kill to have a recording of [them],” he said. Plus, recording helps artists, he added. Getting to hear songs can give artists ideas about what needs to change to improve them.
Currently, Sage Recordings is moving from project to project. They consulted for a studio in Sebastopol and are now working with the Arlene Francis Theatre. “We mostly help people get up on their feet,” Wayland said. Having a studio isn’t the best monetary idea when people can record at home. Plus, the music industry is in an interesting time and is always changing, he said.
On Oct. 27 Wayland and Sage Recordings will be at another show at the Arlene Francis Theatre. The show will go from 4 p.m. until midnight and cost $7. Pre-sale tickets for $5 are at the Last Record Store.