| Creation City Los Angeles
In 1976 I moved to Hollywood, and my next door neighbor turned
out to be
Mel Wiggins, now a leading congero in the L.A. area. Mel was the perfect
songwriting partner for my music, and over the next ten years we composed
the bulk of my original repertoire. We also co-led a series of combos
which
played coffeeshops and small jazz clubs in Hollywood, culminating in a
14 month engagement at Shakey's Pizza on Sunset Boulevard (with a very
live audience of studio musicians, extended Hispanic American families,
street people, and film studio personnel). We also appeared for numerous
live broadcasts on KPFK-FM, and recorded the theme song for one of
their shows ("I am - are you?").
The two major versions of Creation City were both trios: the first
(1978-1981) featured Leigh Garner on flute ("Terry" and "Morocco"
clips);
the second (1986-7) featured David Gaines on saxophone ("Angel Blues",
"Ocean in the Middle of the World").
MEL WIGGINS (congas), a native of Boston, first came to Los Angeles
to get away from the Boston school riots. He has worked 'day gigs' as
a chef
and in construction while pursuing a music career that has led to his
becoming
a very 'in-demand' percussionist in Southern California. Groups he has
worked
with after I moved to Seattle include the reggae-rock group Oxymoron
and a guitar-led trio that plays Catalina Island every summer.
LEIGH GARNER, a native Angeleno, was a prize winning
classical flautist in her teens. She has been living and teaching flute
in the San Fernando Valley from the time we met until now. For ten
years she managed to combine her strong feminist views with being
music director for a fundamentalist church - she now fills the same post
for a Unitarian church.
DAVID GAINES (sax), also a native Angeleno, moved to Las Vegas
after participating
in these recordings, where he performed in casino and lounge bands.
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