I met Steve in 2009 through friends I'd made at California Coast Music Camp (CCMC). I first heard him play and sing “Finally Got It Right” at a CCMC retreat in Aptos, CA, in February 2009. I was blown away. A couple of months later CCMC put on a dance at Ashkenaz in Berkeley, CA, that involved throwing ensembles together comprised of CCMC students and teachers, and I got to play in various ensembles that night. Bob Hahn was there and after hearing me play various styles of music mentioned that he and Steve were looking for a bassist so we exchanged contact info. Nothing happened for another couple months. Then a few months later I caught Steve and Bob doing a show at a little coffee house in Menlo Park, CA, near my home, and we arranged for me to travel to the East Bay for an audition. The audition went well and soon I was traveling all over the Bay Area to play shows with Steve, Bob, and Julie Baker as we presented Steve and Bob's songs. Two of our most frequent venues were First Street Cafe in Benicia, CA, and the Davenport Road House in Davenport, CA.
Additionally, early in my tenure with Steve and Bob, I joined them on a mini tour to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Bellingham, WA, Tacomo, WA, Seattle, WA, and Bainbridge Island, WA, five shows in five nights. In all my years playing in bands, this was the first and only tour I ever experienced. It was a gas, and it cemented our relationship.
I played shows with Steve, Bob, Julie and other friends of the band for about 2 ½ years, at which point I left to focus more time on my songwriting and on the other two bands I was in at the time, Along For The Ride and Herd of Cats. I love Steve's music and was honored to play in his band. It was a great run!
The show represented on this page was at the new Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA, on February 18, 2010. It was the first set of the night as we opened for City Folk. These tracks were recorded direct to stereo from the sound board. I mixed and mastered them in December 2023 and this is the first that they've been made public.
Steve Meckfessel - Guitar, Lead Vocals
Bob Hahn – Harmonica
Paul Fifield - Electric Bass
Julie Baker Chouteau – Backing Vocals
Keith Greeninger - Guitar (As Long As He's Gone, Heartland, Under Beautiful Skies)
Roger Feuer - Guitar (As Long As He's Gone, Heartland)