It was Friday night and Smiley’s in Bolinas was popping hard with the sounds of the Fairfax-based Tom Finch Group. I mean them guys was smoking, throwing off some funk-fusiony originals between California-cool takes on Led Zep and a “Not Fade Away” that you could hear all the way to the Phil Zone over yonder a-ways at Terrapin Crossroads. Got to talking with the bass player, Andius Jent, who played a ferocious, driving solo that went on for six glorious years. I’d have paid the $10 door just to hear “Ramble On” and the bass solo, the end. Punishing! Awesome! A great way to end the week, in a great saloon, in a great town, fully immersed in the glorious mythopoetic freakaliciousness of West Marin. Anyway, we got to talking and Jent says that Fairfax is basically the New Orleans of Marin County, music-wise. That seemed a stretch, given the stark demographic differences between the respective towns, but hey, we’re just talking. That bass solo was so freaking epic, I’ll give it up for Jent and figure on a Fairfax outing in coming days to check his claim. What the heck, it’s Mardi Gras season and nothing says One Love like a spiritualized second-line parade through the redwoods.
