Grind Heats Up Cold Night

by Dave Lieben

Those who braved the ice and cold to attend January's Monthly Grind were treated to an evening of excellent entertainment. The show was hosted by Diane Raab, who seemed to be wearing a different outfit each time she appeared on stage. She kept the show moving by telling corny jokes while the crew set up the stage.

The highlight of the evening for this writer was the brief set by Muskeg Sally. The band featured the beautiful harmonies of vocalists Christy Miller and Collette Taylor, with able backing by Chris Corrao on guitar and percussion, Shane Gibbs on drums, and the band's token oldster, George Miller on bass.

Next up was a brief skit by Rod Landis and Taylor McKenna. Landis played a sunglasses-wearing hepster visiting a nightclub with his "baby".

The most international act of the evening was undoubtedly Tina Strickling. Accompanying herself on guitar, she sang songs in Swedish, French and Spanish, as well as a couple in English. Her set was tan bueno.

Closing out the first set, as well as opening the second set, was the band Bob's Not Here. The band includes Dave Rubin on guitar and sax, Carolyn Minor on guitar, Cherry Rice on guitar and percussion, Bob Bloom on bass, and Craig Koch and Hilary Koch on percussion. Their set included a nice rendition of the 60s classic Walk Away, Renee.

Before the intermission, Monthly Grind producers Peggy Hovik, Maggie Freitag and Tom LeCompte presented departing producer Carolyn Minor with flowers. Minor, one of the Grind's original producers, is moving to Juneau.

The last band was The Rubber Band. While made up of youngsters, if you closed your eyes you'd think they were grizzled veterans. The band includes Winston Monticello on keyboard, Arne Tollfeldt on guitar, Austin (I think) Hays on drums and Nelson (I think) Hays on bass. Their set included Wipeout, Take Five and a nice version of the Smashmouth hit Walking on the Sun, featuring Dave Rubin and Heidi Hays on vocals. After their set, they accompanied a group of singers in a hilarious tribute to Carolyn Minor, sung to the tune of What a Wonderful World.

The audience then left to try to start their cars. The next Monthly Grind will be on Saturday, February 19.