Nathan Towne, an Orcutt-Santa Maria area native and professional performing musician, plays just about everywhere across the Central Coast. He’s played coffee shops, restaurants, bars, wineries, tasting events, food festivals, farmers’ markets, and private parties. Starting to see a pattern?
Towne, who I must admit in full disclosure, is a friend, goes where the food is, which is part of what makes him so fun to follow and listen to. He will perform live in the front room of The Market in Santa Maria on June 11 in the evening, pairing the food, wine, and beer there with some fresh licks and flowing harmony. Towne performed for the first time at The Market in late May and is excited to return.
“The Market is cool; they’re doing great food there,” he said. “I’ve only had the risotto so far, it was nothing like I’ve had before … it was this grainy, lemony, saucy, delicious grub!”
Towne is what you might call a picky eater when it comes to choosing where he performs. The food has to be good, because great music comes from a well-fed performer, he explained.
And there’s no telling where you might find good food and an audience.
“The places that I really like to play at serve the good food all the time,” he said. “But house parties, they are catered, or it’s homemade, and you can always go back for more.”
Many variables come together to make a perfect venue for live guitar music, Towne explained, and it’s not limited to the taste and flavor served up. He brings an acoustic guitar, a nylon-string guitar, and an electric to most gigs, and can take full advantage of an acoustic space with several instruments and genres of music.
The Market also made an acoustic and visual impression during his last visit, Towne said, which influences the performance and audience as well.
“The Market has this nice, dark, woody kind of feel to it,” he said. “Plus, it’s got this kind of sunroom area, and that’s cool because when the sun goes down it gets this orange tone over the whole restaurant, and color really affects the way you play.”
Performing for an audience of well fed listeners in a stimulating environment is a musician’s dream and makes for a full tip jar at the end of the night. Certain styles that Towne is proficient in, like jazz for instance, are especially pleasing to those who have enjoyed a glass of wine or beer, he explained.
“As a performer, zero alcohol is the best way to go, but as an audience member?” Towne said. “Just as long as you don’t overdo it, I mean, it’s great. And with jazz, wine and alcohol, I mean, they’ve always been a big part of that.”
Whether the audience is warm in the belly and receptive to jazz, or full of beer and ready to rock out, Towne has hundreds of songs in his repertoire to please pretty much every musical taste bud. He doesn’t mind taking requests, and plenty of his tip money pays for more fuel to keep on rocking, picking, and strumming for hours each night.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 11-18, 2015.
