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<\/a>Rathburn is an El Cerrito resident and has been playing professionally since he figured out he could make a living doing what he loves. Rathburn grew up in Michigan, but followed his brother to San Diego after he realized having to sleep in a van (like he did when he traveled doing certain gigs) is a lot easier to do in a California winter! In 1986, he married his wife Mair, a San Diego native and fellow musician, and he\u2019s never looked back to the Big Blue state.<\/p>\n
Every other Thursday, Rathburn brings his guitar, Jeff Stasny brings percussion accoutrements, and they join a guest singer-songwriter to bring the house down. Over the last 12 years, Rathburn has hosted guests from across the county to across the country. He\u2019s worked with local artists just breaking out, and big names like David Wilcox and Nathan McEuen, son of John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to bring in the artists and put them on stage outside of their comfort zone, to have a musical interchange,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Through Rathburn\u2019s connections with The Folk Alliance and the music industry from three decades of work, he is approached on a regular basis with requests to play at the Monkey. Rathburn has two main requirements for his guests \u2014 they have to be able to play music aside from their own (regularly he will play some of the artists\u2019 songs and they\u2019ll play some of his, along with covers), and they have to be able to improvise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be able to take what comes \u2014 to play in the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rathburn acknowledges that on the Folkey Monkey stage, anything can happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cMagic can happen, and sometimes a train wreck can happen,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n
Each guest gets to pick their own theme. Music nights have ranged from Pete Seeger to Tom Petty to Jimi Hendrix. Upcoming shows include tributes to Paul Simon, Karen Carpenter and John Denver. The \u201cfolk\u201d in Folkey Monkey doesn\u2019t necessarily refer to folk music, but to an acoustic style. Think unplugged. Think old-school jamming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are heartening back to the hootenanny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The other important component of the Monkey evenings is the audience. Numbers can range from 50 to 200, but it\u2019s always people who care about the music.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a dream I had from the beginning. I always knew there was an audience out there; I just couldn\u2019t figure out how to find them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The family-style Monkey crowd has gathered and followed Rathburn through several locations. The \u201cmonkey\u201d in the name actually comes from the first venue, the Hot Monkey Love Caf\u00e9, which had monkeys everywhere in the d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n
The music night has finally found a permanent home, though, in the Vision Center for Spiritual Living. The Center\u2019s newest location at 4780 Mission Gorge Place boasts a concert sound system, theatrical lighting, high ceiling and even comfortable chairs.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always an intermission and opportunity for the audience to interact with the artists. Rathburn points out that it\u2019s a concert together<\/em>. Him, Stasny, the guest and the audience all doing what they do.<\/p>\n \u201cI call these my \u2018soul gigs\u2019 \u2014 they feed the soul,\u201d Rathburn said. \u201cI\u2019ve made people happy, and they\u2019ve made me happy.\u201d<\/p>\n The next Folkey Monkey night features guest artist Kodachrome with the theme \u201cThe Paul Simon Tribute.\u201d It is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit folkeymonkey.com, like them on Facebook or call 619-871-1563.<\/p>\n