Meet the First Family of Festivals
The whole family helps out at the festivals! (Back row, left to right): Corinne Grandstaff and hubby Richard Burleigh; daughter Kailee; Sarah Robby and her boyfriend Christopher Grandstaff. (Front row): Corinne’s daughter, Sarah Loughmiller with son, Miles; her husband Eli, with son Byron; their other son, Jackson, and Tabby Robby, daughter of Sarah Robby.
Story by Greg Kristapovich
He drove up alongside of me in the Columbia post office parking lot. A stranger in an older model Ford pickup. I was delivering the Sierra Mountain Times, and hanging festival posters that Saturday afternoon. In fact, I had a couple of posters hanging in the back window of my car. So, the stranger in the pickup says ‘Hi!’ to me, across his front seat. “Are you just hanging their posters, or do you do anybody’s?” he inquired. I asked the stranger about his gig. He said he promoted he puts on the Sonora Blues Festival. As I listened to him, I thought to myself, ‘this guy looks a lot like Jerry Garcia! Curly hair, a button nose, hippie-style headband. No, I’m no Jerry, I’m Richard Burleigh, of Fire on The Mountain Festivals. And so started a three-year professional relationship between the promoter and the poster boy. During this period, I’ve come to realize that this man, Richard Burleigh is, perhaps, the premier promoter in the Mother Lode! He not only brings us the Sonora Blues Festival, (August 9th), but also the Twain Harte Art and Wine Festival, the Twain Harte Oktoberfest, and the world-class Sonora Christmas Festival!
Born in Santa Monica, CA, in 1948, Richard was once part of the corporate culture. He was a shoe salesman at Leed’s, and a bank teller at Security Pacific Bank. “When I went to school, I dyed and sold shoes, especially for weddings. “I enjoyed it, actually. It was kind of mindless work, standing in one place all day, getting out your box of 25 bottles of color. It was kind of cool, being a chemist of sorts. I was about seventeen,” Richard recalled. When I went to work for the bank, I moved to the San Fernando Valley, because it was cheaper rent. However, he still had to deal with the awful commute to the bank in Century City, near Santa Monica.
Richard has some fond memories of Southern California. “It was really nice. You take Wilshire, or Sunset Boulevard down to the beach. You used to be able to park there overnight. It’s kinda cool to wake up at the beach in the morning! I had a hippie van. It was an old Econoline with turquoise and gold paisley curtains that went all the way around. It gave the van a homey feel, “Richard explained.
Richard moved to Twain Harte in 1975.
The following is an interview I recently conducted with Richard, along with his wife, Corinne Grandstaff. Richard shall be identified as “RB”, Corinne, at “CG,” and I shall be “GK.”
GK: Richard, when you go to Twain Harte, what did you do?
RB: I started doing my stained glass. When I was living in L.A., I was also making stained glass windows on the side. I had set up a little worktable in the living room, and made stained glass for people. Once in Twain Harte, I opened a store behind the Eproson House. I made the back bar windows, which are still there! They’re golden eagles. That was my first order up here! I also did the National Hotel. I did one set of windows in the mid-seventies; then another set in 1981. The owner, Steve Wiley, was slowly remodeling the place, and doing one room at a time. He was really dedicated to that place.”
GK: How long did you have your shop in TH?
RB: From ’75 to ’81. Then I moved to Soulsbyville, and opened up my shop in the garage. We started remodeling this place in ’86, while at the same time working on the Sonora Christmas Festival. I was still making stained glass windows, but there was just too much going on to be able to keep the shop going – and do the fairs and festivals. When I moved up here I did some craft shows at Murphys Oktoberfest. I had some little window hangings. I didn’t have very much, but then it was hippie days, you know. Everything was like, one of a kind. And the craft people were so cool!”
Richard Burleigh, The Mother Lode’s premier promoter! Photo by Greg Kristapovich.
GK: How did you develop an interest in stained glass?
RB: I was working at that bank, and it was pretty tedious work, and stressful. I saw an ad on a telephone pole that said ‘Learn stained glass at St. Augustine’s Glassworks in Santa Monica!’ So I learned there for a little while, restoring old church windows. Then I kept going, making windows for people. When I was working at the bank, I’d tell people I made stained glass windows. Century City is a pretty affluent area, so my customers were fairly well-to-do. Plus, I sold candles on the counter! The supervisor didn’t mind me doing that. Besides, you had to supplement that bank salary, it was so low. So, selling a five-dollar candle was a nice extra bonus during the week! Gas was only 25cents a gallon,”
GK: When did you meet Corinne?
RB: At the Strawberry Music Festival in 1986. Got married there in 1990. She was a staff photographer, for the festival, and I was working at the front gate. She came out to the front gate, taking pictures, and we started talking.
GK: Is it tough being the wife of a promoter, Corinne?
CG: It depends on what you’re talking about.
RB: Living with me isn’t that easy.
GK: Richard, what was your favorite decade?
RB: I think the80’s. I was in my 30’s, and it was a good era to be in. Things economically were doing pretty well. It was so much fun doing the festivals. The craft people, a lot of the old ones, who used to sell on Telegraph Hill in Berkeley were still around. They were on the road doing festivals so they’d come up and do our Sonora Christmas Festival, and the Twain Harte Art and Wine Festival. The stained glass shop was doing well. It was just a great time. Kailee (who, this year graduated from Sonora High), was born in ’89.
GK: What were some of the challenges in starting up a festival?
RB: I’d never promoted anything before, so we kind of winged it. We were hippie kids. I was only 25. We just wanted to have fun and sell stained glass windows. So, I started the Sonora Christmas Festival in 1975, with 25 booths. We got a good response that first year, and it grew from there. We became known for having really good quality craft people. It was fun music, too! We had old-time music, like Fiddlesticks, and an old-time string band, Seranaders, and the Mark Crum Band.
GK: Any special memories of those early festivals?
RB: Kate Wolf playing. Peter Rowan, Queen Zidaco. She played accordion and sang Louisiana Cajun music. She was really special. Tom Rigney – who plays Sonora, still! And the craft people were like family. It was always a joy to see them. The camaraderie! We tried to make the festivals as fun as possible, for everybody! And the public responded really well! The Christmas Festival as a hit right away, and it grew steadily.
GK: Do you have a “right-hand man”?
RB: Randy Saari. He’s been a great help. There’s been some great helpers over the years! My friend Rob, who’s a salesman; Scott, a plumber; and Randy! He’s a really nice guy to deal with until he gets burned out. Usually, I burn ‘em out after a few years. It’s hard work, but Randy’s really into it.
GK: Randy has described you, Richard, as the Bill Graham of the Mother Lode.
RB: That’s really nice of him! We always maintain our philosophy, which is to present a quality event. Good quality craft people; good music!
GK: Tell us about the Twain Harte Art and Wine Festival, July 26 and 27. Why will people enjoy coming to it?
RB: I think people would enjoy the old-time marketplace feeling.
CG: Quality things, hand-crafted by the artists – not sent over from China! And, you can actually meet the artists!
RB: That’s a biggie! And, we have people who plan their vacations around the Art and Wine Festival every year!
GK: Any unusual incidents at the festival?
CG: The rainstorm a few years back! We had lightening, thunder and rain! And a power outage! We had a party here with no power.
RB: The jugglers: didn’t they have torches? And we had candles everywhere. It was that big nine-state power outage. It was huge!
CG: The hardest part was we couldn’t grind our coffee!
RB: And when you’re working hard like that, you’ve got to have coffee in the morning!
CG: Now we have a camp grinder.
RB: Most of the time, a power outage would be a total disaster, but it happened just as the fair was closing on Saturday. Tom Rigney was still on stage, but he just played acoustically, and it worked out fine!
GK: So, Kailee, your daughter helps out at the festivals?
RB: Yes, she works the box office, and does face painting.
CG: Sarah, my older daughter has been involved with the festivals since she was twelve. My son Chris helps out a lot, but is more behind the scenes, like Sarah.
GK: Have things changed over the years?
RB: It’s gotten much more expensive to promote a show. There’s more competition, too. And, the economy has really hurt us.
CG: And, its hard to maintain the standards we set because of all the imports, and people lying about whether or not they make their own products.
RB: We’re having to be real selective about who we take; finding out for sure, if they make their work, or not. Manufactured, and imported goods have really come into craft festivals in general all over the country. We’re really picky. Some craft people have tried to bring in imports. We don’t allow that. Craft people are trying to survive. Right now, it’s pretty difficult with the cost of fuel.
GK: The Art and Wine Festival benefits the TH Volunteer Fire Department?
RB: Yes, and the TH Chamber of Commerce. It’s a big fundraiser for the Chamber!
GK: What came after the Christmas Festival and the Art and Wine Fest?
RB: We tried doing other festivals. Some worked out; some didn’t. Our Auburn Christmas Festival started in 1985. The Sonora Blues Festival in 1995.\
GK: What inspired you to do a blues festival?
RB: We were doing dance concerts, and I was on the board of the Aids Council. So, we did Blues for Aids. We did that for a few years. Then, we decided to pull off a big blues festival. It as in the winter, in March; when nothing much was going on – and people had cabin fever.
GK: Is blues your favorite genre:
RB: I like all kinds of music, but blues right now! We’re going to the California World Festival at the fairgrounds in Grass Valley. It’s music from all over the world! Africa, South America, Russia. It’s fun, because you get to hear music you don’t ordinarily hear; and the exotic instruments! And the singing in all those different languages! It’s pretty cool!
GK: What’s your favorite festival?
CG: The Oregon Country Fair!
RB: It’s a hippie festival outside of Eugene. It’s great! It’s like the old days! There’s like thirty stages! Parades all day! A huge kids’ area, with lots of plays! It’s also like a Rennaissance Faire, only hippie-style!
GK: Let’s talk about the artists performing at the upcoming Sonora Blues Festival, like the Rave UpsM
RB: The represent part of the English blues invasion into the U.S. They feature the music of the Yardbirds (Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page). They even play the instrumental, “Beck’s Bolero”! No band plays “Beck’s Bollero!” It’s a workout! There are a lot of English blues fans out there!
Magic Dick, (another headliner) was the harmonica player for the J. Geils Band! He’s a great harmonica player! He was with J. Geils for about fifteen years, and they had quite a few hits!
Guy Bud: He’s from San Luis Obispo, and is a Jimi Hendrix-style performer. A singer/songwriter. A great guitarist!
Tome Rigney: He was the violinist for Queen Ida Band. That’s how we met him in 1981. He’s been in some great bands! Tom Rigney and Flambeau is a real crowd pleaser! He has a big following in Northern California, and he’s cool!
MoFo Party Band: They called me in 1977, and wanted to play the blues festival. They were willing to play for free! I said to them: ‘With a name like that, how do you guys expect to get anywhere? Now, they are one of the best blues bands in Northern California! They’re breaking into Europe now, too! And because they played the Sonora Blues Festival, they got the San Francisco Blues Festival gig out of it! Which is pretty cool!
Café R & B: What can you say about them! A great lead singer in Roach! She’s awesone! And, they’re a great band! They’re going to bring their new album! They get multiple standing ovations! Every time they play, Roach just brings the house down!
The Electric Flag: There’s a legendary band! A blues-rock band with a horn section! They were the forerunner to Blood, Sweat and Tears. I got to see them at the Kaliedescope in Hollywood in 1968!
Tommy Castro: He’s a real crowd pleaser! They’ve added a horn player now, and it really rounds out the whole sound, and it’s great! Castro had the #1 album of 2007 with “Pain Killer” at the B.B. King Awards; and the award for top performer!
Joe Bonamassa: He was named blues guitar player of 2007, by Guitar Player Magazine! He’s played with B.B. King. He played the Sonora Opera Hall last September 19th, and got a lot of standing ovations that night!
GK: Richard, that’s quite an impressive line-up for the Sonora Blues Festival! Now tell me: what’s it really like being a big-time promoter?
RB: There’s too much time on paperwork! It’s amazing how much there is! Contracts! It’s not a glamorous life. It’s 99 percent paperwork and phone calls!
GK: Any really satisfying thing about a festival?
RB: Yeah. It’s like building a little city for a day! It’s really exciting seeing it work, after all those months and months or work! And then, you see, you’ve created this thing! It comes to life!
GK: Any parting thoughts, Richard?
RB: We always try to do a good job at what we do. ‘Cause we love what we do. You have to love it, ‘cause it’s hard! Please, come out and support your local artists and promoter! We work really hard to present great events like the Art and Wine Festival, and the Sonora Blues Festival! The public should come out and have a good time with the great music, and the great craft people!
Thank you, Richard Burleigh! I will see you at the festival!
Part of the “take down crew” and future Cal-trans workers: (left to right): Miles, Jackson and Byron Loughmiller.
