It’s Russell Mark, truly the Clark Kent/Superman of music!

by Maddalena

Whether he shows up as one quarter of Dry September, one half of The Nextdoors or one third of The Title Trackers, a show produced by Russell Mark will never disappoint. We got all three at the Wild Parrot Brewery in Pasadena on January 15.

He was joined by his usual bevy of musically talented cohorts, which includes his cello playing superstar wife, Mika Larson and his partners in musical Title Tracker crime, Andy Hill and Dave Tokaji. The show opened with Serious Girl by Dave Tokaji’s elusive Dry September band that includes Russell on guitar, Andy on keyboards and the steadfast, Matt Brannan, on bass. Still my favorite DS number. To meet Dave's music, go to my BTB piece right here!

A Band of Merry Music Makers…

Next up were headliners, The Nextdoors, a Russell/Mika duo newly created during lockdown, with songs from their Linda Vista album, starting with Awaken (my favorite ND song). I introduced that album here on BTB, check it out. The Nextdoors began with the premise of writing songs taken directly from that wacky Next Door website where you find out all sorts of things about your neighbors you prefer not to know. That concept gave way to their Linda Vista album, but they kept their hand in musical comedy with numbers like Why the Hell Would I Answer My Door, a hilarious number about that 21st Century crippling fear of answering your front door.

Then they played Honest Mechanic Gone Bad, a dramatic number about an overcharging grease monkey made greedy by a move to a new location. The Nextdoors also introduced us to a few newcomers for a song or two that night, like Victoria Gaston on vocals, Marcelo Bucater on percussion, Jonathan Berry on electric guitar and Will Kermisch on acoustic guitar. Long time friend, Sterling Powers, joined them on vocals for the finale. Lovely additions all!

Neighbor’s Day Officially Declared in Pasadena..

The capper of the night had to be the actual mayor of Pasadena, Victor Gordo’s appearance. The Nextdoors were featured on the front page of the Pasadena Weekly the week before the show. They then went on a hilarious mission of bothering the mayor to declare January 15, Neighbor’s Day in Pasadena. It was seen on Instagram by one of his staffers and the mayor did just that. It was a wonderful testament to the spirit of Mayor Gordo that he came out on the Wild Parrot stage, complete with a pin and an award certificate, and declared Neighbor’s Day an official thing! All our public servants should have that great a sense of humor.

The night wraps up with a rare Title Trackers appearance doing Full Moon Fever, the Tom Petty homage from their Lost Title Tracks album. The Wild Parrot Brewery is a great little neighborhood place to see live music accompanied by a terrific craft beer collection. I recommend the Mr. Mayor beer, renamed for his honor that night.

What a fantastic night of music and neighborly camaraderie it was. Check out The Nextdoors at www.nextdoorsmusic.com. Get on the mailing list so you don’t miss the next show. This is music straight from the heart and the funny bone too!