A husband-and-wife team has been rocking the bay waters every Friday and Saturday night for 19 years. Aboard the Bahia Belle paddleboat that cruises guests between the Catamaran and Bahia resorts, Michael and Lisa Laughbaum have kept the party going with their renditions of popular and classic songs. On a Friday night on the calm bay waters, Michael strums his electric guitar amid stands and gadgetry and dons a cowboy hat. All Lisa needs is a microphone. She lets the words to the famous Beatles song “Let it Be” roll right off like a natural singer. Together, they’re known as B Natural. “We really enjoy the boat because it’s a mix of locals and tourists. It’s also nice for our friends. We always have a place for them to come down,” Michael said. And when Lisa doesn’t perform, Michael calls up some of those friends as backup. Mark Cutkomp on drums, Joe Godfrey on bass and Michael are the Nude Blues – Michael’s other band. They have filled in occasionally for the last seven years. But for the most part it’s B Natural’s show. The duo has performed nearly every Friday and Saturday night from 8:30 p.m. till past midnight for the past 19 years cruising off the docks of Mission Bay’s Bahia resort. Jamming from one side of the stage to the other, the duo covers classic rock hits and other popular music that the audience likes to hear. They produce their own music, but they prefer to take requests when playing the Bahia Belle. “The best part is that you can totally depend on each other,” Lisa said. “You don’t have to worry about egos.” The duo met in junior college sometime during the late ’80s. Both wanted to study music. When it came time to transfer to universities, Michael wanted to go to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and she wanted to go to San Diego State University. “I took her to one show down there on the UCSD campus, and that hooked her. So she came to UCSD with me,” Michael said. Lisa said the school’s music program drew her there. “The UCSD music program was really cutting-edge stuff at the time, except for the vocal department,” Lisa said. They’ve been making music together ever since. After dating for about five years, they married and shortly after started playing the Bahia Belle regularly. They started a family and have a son, Ian, who is now 12 years old. And when it came time to choose a name for their band, they relied on an old trick. They took a music dictionary and wrote down several music terms that would sound like a good name for a band. “We crossed out all the ones that were already taken, and we looked at the last one, and it was B Natural. We kind of just looked at each other,” Lisa said. “I mean, it’s a nice name but it’s no Eurythmics,” referring to an ’80s British duo. When not playing the Bahia Belle, the Laughbaums run their children’s music and video production company, Laughing Tree Productions. The two also have experience in live theatre production and make DVDs for parents who want to professionally film a play their child is starring in. But one of their goals is to teach a mass audience of children about music. The two hope to launch a Sesame Street-tyoe children’s music television show on KPBS. They’ve filmed a pilot, which Michael said was fun to make but expensive. They are currently seeking investors to launch a season of 13 episodes. “It’s for children. They can learn about music and not even realize they’re learning,” Michael said. But until their show takes off, they’ll still be playing the Bahia Belle on the weekends. “It’s a great opportunity for a musician, and I’m grateful. The management is great and we’re happy to be there because it’s such a fun club,” Michael said. But whether it’s good people, great music or just the incredible feeling of listening to live music on the water, one thing is for sure. B Natural on the Bahia Belle is B-eautiful.
