There are literally hundreds of wine clubs available up and down the Central Coast, but only one comes with a new album from a local band.
SipMusic Club came about when local singer/songwriter Randall Sena, owner of Certain Sparks Music in Lompoc, decided to slap the artwork for his debut solo album, A Form of Prayer, on a bottle of wine. But he did have some inspiration to begin with, he explained.
“I had a friend who released an album on a bottle of beer,” Sena said. “The beer label was the album art, and there was a download code on the bottle, and that was kind of an interesting idea. When I had my album coming out, we decided to release it with a bottle of wine.”
The inaugural event included the bottle of wine—a 2008 merlot from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard—along with a vinyl copy of Sena’s album and a performance.
Sena expanded the idea to other local artists, putting their new album covers on a distinct bottle of aged wine quarterly throughout the year. The upcoming event features Próxima Parada, a former New Times Music Awards winner, and the band’s new album Big Seven.
“Their album is amazing, it’s probably one of the albums I’m most excited about sharing with others,” Sena said.
Próxima Parada’s new CD will be paired with a cabernet rosé from Zotovich Cellars for the May 6 release.
Sena curates most of SipMusic Club, especially the music, he said. But he has welcomed suggestions for wine, seeking types that pair well with the albums he chooses.
“We thought it was a kind of fun summer release,” he said. “The wine and music pair up in that way. It feels like a summer album, and rosé definitely feels like a summer wine.”
The project has gained a following, so Sena takes the quality of both the music and wine seriously when curating the selection.
SipMusic Club also recently moved venues, from Sena’s Certain Sparks Music to the Lompoc Wine Factory. The new space is a larger, more engaging home for the club, he said.
Sena hopes to bridge the populations of winery goers and music fans in Lompoc and the surrounding areas, he said. But really, music and wine go hand in hand, and SipMusic Club just allows people to connect with new albums and wines created by locals, he said.
“There’s something that happens when you’ve had a glass of wine and you’re among friends, there’s a different vibe that’s created that works really well with music,” he said. “I think it just goes hand in hand with the creative impulse here on the Central Coast. You’ve got people making all kinds of things, whether it be wine or music, it’s an art form and it’s a labor of love for lots of wineries and musicians.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne hopes to put out an album so he can finally get on a bottle of wine. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 4, 2017.