Play ball! Play music! Singer-songwriter Joe Rathburn, who performed at El Cajon’s Rancho San Diego Library on Jan. 3, played roughly 81 times at the Tin Fish Gaslamp off of Tony Gwynn Drive near Petco Park during the Padres’ baseball season.
Play ball! Play music! Singer-songwriter Joe Rathburn, who performed at El Cajon’s Rancho San Diego Library on Jan. 3, played roughly 81 times at the Tin Fish Gaslamp off of Tony Gwynn Drive near Petco Park during the Padres’ baseball season.
Rathburn has even written an opening day song and devoted one of his cd’s, “The Baseball Songs,” to a baseball theme. But the new year brought this Flint, Michigan native, now a San Diego resident, to participate in the County of San Diego Libraries’ Rancho San Diego branch as a part of the Acoustic Showcase program. Rathburn concentrated not on his baseball songs but songs rooted in the area like “Ol’ Pine Valley” and the “24/7 Motel.”
His musical roots also go back to Flint and his early works are noted in a movie called “Peter C. Cavanaugh’s Local DJ-The Story of Flint Rock N’ Roll” and includes a reference to Skyhook, a band that Rathburn was a part of. Back in the day Rathburn and Skyhook opened for a band named KISS, as well as other well-known performers such as Chuck Berry.
“Some people call it heavy mental because it requires thought that is above the average pop song” said Rathburn. Rathburn could be considered in the genre of “lyrics driven” singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
His “24/7 Motel” song is loosely based on the old Fabulous 7 Motel and the retro signage seen by anyone flying by on Highway 8 on their way east or west. The sounds he uses in that song include knocking on his guitar like a knock made on a motel room door —“knock knock – housekeeping.”
A fan of Rathburn’s, Chula Vista resident, Dennis Driscoll said, “Joe has been one of my favorite musicians for years. A wonderful writer.”
Considering many acoustic performers are lyric-driven Driscoll’s appreciation of Rathburn’s lyrics is apropos. Rathburn’s humor extended to encouraging the audience with “If you happen to have a beer stein to swing – swing it.” He bills himself as a “purveyor of positive” and puts himself in the folk, rock, American blues and more genres.
Veronica Estrada, a Librarian I, at the Rancho San Diego branch, said, “The Acoustic Showcase is not just a part of this location we have 33 locations.”
Visit www.sdcl.org for a full schedule. Rathburn was the Free First Tuesday Event for 2017 at the Rancho San Diego site.
Rathburn’s “Folkey Monkey Showcase” has included guest performers like former San Diego Padre now musician Tim Flannery and John Foltz.
While Rathburn’s lyrics in the “24/7 Motel” include “Rest by the hour, day or week” a listener will most likely rest longer than an hour with his music.
