Pianotastic ~ Beyond the Ordinary!

It was a fantastic way to begin the holiday “feels” on a chilly San Diego December night. There was a bit of “Hollywood” nostalgia and excitement as I drove past the marquee with red flashing stars and lights of the Oceanside Star Theater that read, Six String Society Presents, Pianotastic. The Star Theater is a registered historic landmark built in 1956.

Kenneth Rexrode is the brainchild (and scout leader) behind these amazing performances. He shared on his Facebook feed that his mother was a pianist, so he grew up with a tremendous love of music. Ken founded The Six String Society in 2014 and in his mother’s loving memory created the piano-based production of Pianotastic.

This is the third Rexrode Production of Pianotastic. One thing about Rexrode Productions is that the entertainment is always top-notch featuring what started out with local musicians has now grown nationally as well as international. I have been to many Six String Society shows, but this was my first Pianotastic and certainly won’t be my last. The goal is to take you on a magic carpet ride and soar beyond the ordinary! There is always a hometown feel to these shows with the musicians being very personable and accessible. Word has it that Ken intends to take his productions on the road in the future! Be sure to check out the website often to keep up to date on upcoming performances. WEBSITE: TheSixStringSociety.com

Sir Robert Parker

The stage was set as I entered the old timey Star Theater. We were greeted in the lobby by the smiling faces of volunteers who were committed to the success of the show and supporting the musician’s merch tables. This show, because of the theater setting, did not sell food or alcohol, but offered water and tasty treats for donations. It was refreshing attending a non-alcoholic show. The audience was deeply intent on listening, being very present and not talking over the show like in a club.

The stage was set with holiday decorations and the premise being that of co-host Robert Parker’s living room. Of course, there was a piano, keyboards, guitar, drum set, comfy couch, and coffee table. We, the audience, were voyeurs into the living room space where all the musical magic took place as if there was an invisible window we could look in and the musicians could interact with us as if we were also sitting in the living room.

The first visitor that arrived was surprised that Robert wasn’t home and no one else was there. She slinks around the living room tinkering with piano keys, looper, wah wah pedal, singing some notes, and wondering where everyone was. She decides to pick up her electric violin and slays some Christmas tunes full throttle. Jaime Shadowlight made quite an impression to kick off the show. I can see why she is known as the “Ninja Violinist.” She has mastered her craft, adding creative flare with her old soul spirit of youthful worldly artistry, setting the tone for the journey we are about to embark.

Co-Hosts Robert Parker and Whitney Shay entered “the living room” greeting our ninja guest and welcoming the audience to Robert’s holiday party where they are expecting more friends to join them. Robert sits down at his piano and begins to play. He spoke about re-imagining the world and played a new Bach arrangement which left everyone under his spell of hope and faith. Robert also plays bass and flute later in the show.

Matthew Taylor enters the room and makes a beeline for his drum kit. Whitney Shay comes to the fore and sings a stunning rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” with Robert on the piano. This heartfelt performance left everyone breathless. It was so touching reflecting Robert’s sensitivity and Whitney’s inner beauty. Her vocals were pitch perfect leaving everyone in awe.

Whitney Shay

A new guest arrives, and we are introduced to blues guitarist Nathan James who is just coming off from his European tour. Nathan and Whitney chatted about how he got Whitney into the blues some twelve years ago. James is a world traveling musician who has played with many other greats! They broke out with “Hit the Road Jack” adding a playful element to the mood.

Next enters the one, the only, Julia Othmer! She mesmerized every moment of her time on stage. She has a shapeshifting presence as she displayed not only her extraordinary keyboard & vocal talent, but her outrageousness to be unapologetically herself. I found her utterly spellbinding as she ushered us in to her unabashed eccentric world. She put out an invitation for everyone to have the courage to walk their own path. The journey she took us on was wild and free and I loved every minute of her one woman show! We heard an Ireland Christmas song, and one of her original songs “Never too Far,” then a beautiful song accompanied by Jamie Shadowlight called “The First day.” It was deeply touching. She proceeded to lighten everything up with her betrayal song, “Fricken Awesome” which she encouraged us to sing along. She finished her set with Purple Rain—Genius!!!

Before we moved on to the next guest there was a slight “interruption”. Ken came on stage to announce there was a surprise and we were to check under our seats for “the golden ticket”. Some lucky audience member got to watch a portion of the show from the stage on the comfy coach. What a fun and unexpected twist to the evening!

Julia Othmer

The next guest to hit the stage was someone who was much anticipated given the circular piano he innovated and plays. There are only six PianoArcs world. I had the pleasure to meet with both Brockett Parsons and the engineer that took Brockett’s vision and made it a reality, Dave Starkey aka the “MIDI King.” Dave serves up the best of the best, such as Elton John with his technological inventions. Dave was telling me before the show how he had a love for playing guitar since college but did not feel he was any good at it, so he pursued his engineering degree instead. He explained how the technology with these pianos creates a clean digital synthesized sound compared to other pianos which are difficult to get exactly right due to feedback issues, etc. BTW, the PianoArc Brockett played tonight was for sale. You can learn more about PianoArcs by going to pianoarc.com.

Brocket Parsons is a welcome addition to the Six String Society. He is known for being Lady Gaga’s keyboard player and the brainchild of the PianoArc. It was fun watching him perform as he lit up those keys with a kaleidoscope of colors that seemed to shoot from his fingertips and out through the keyboard. He began playing his single “Forever Chasing the Sun” which was a collaboration with producer/instrumentalist Danny Asadi. He continued highlighting the PianoArc with some jazzy hip hoppy soul rap sounds giving us all the fabulous display of the PianoArc’s versatility of soundscapes. Afterwards, he threw in a little Marvin Gaye and had everyone clapping and singing doo doo da dooing. Just for good measure he did a Keith Emerson tribute with Robert accompanying him on flute leading up to the 7-minute Radiohead inspired out of the world encore living up to the name Beyond the Ordinary Production.

Our final musical guest, Taryn Donath was ready to take the living room stage and was joined by Nathan James on guitar, and Matt Taylor on drums transporting us all to an old-time jazz club (without cigarettes) … they played a gamut of soul/jazz/blues songs. Taryn blew the roof off the theater sending her stardom to the heavens with her masterful playing. She is beyond accomplished having recently won the 2022 San Diego Blues Artist of the year! I’m sure everyone would agree it was such a privilege to be in the midst of such great talent! Her whole set felt like an encore. Check out her videos on her YouTube channel.

Taryn Donath

The grand finale featured all our musical guests on stage playing the intro to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Sir Robert was playing bass guitar for the first time on stage in 47 years! They jammed out featuring each artist leaving everyone in their happy place “feeling alright” as the show grew to a close.

Co-Hosts:

SIR ROBERT PARKER
He’s been a musician since he was seven years old. He is a classically trained pianist with four decades of experience canvasing a wide variety of genres from pop, country, jazz, R&B, and classics. His first R&R group, “The Sunday Social” was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, and Midwest Music Heritage Hall of Fame. Robert is available for concerts, private or corporate events, studio session work, film scoring, jingle compositions, industrial soundtracks, and private instructions (as schedule permits). Robert is also Vice President of Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation promoting the arts locally and abroad. The piano he plays is Oceanside’s first public painted piano. For more information, become a member or to donate please visit OCAF. This is something very dear to both Robert and Ken’s hearts! Website: RobertParkerPiano.com

WHITNEY SHAY
Five Time San Diego Music Award winner and Billboard #1 Blues Artist Whitney Shay. She was also awarded “Best of” from San Diego Citybeat Magazine. She tours throughout the U.S., South America and Europe making her mark on the world! Whitney’s latest release, “Stand Up” reached #1 on the Billboard’s Blues Charts and on the Roots Music Reports. Her tracks have been on numerous television shows as well. Whitney receives high praise in the industry as a talented soulful performer. She is very personable and a great co-host for this event. Check out her website to catch her upcoming shows. Website: WhitneyShay.com

Jamie Shadowlight

MUSICIANS:

Jamie Shadowlight began playing violin at age 5 and began playing piano which she was 8 years old. Her mother was a percussionist and dancer. Her father loved opera, so these were her influences growing up. Right out of high school she blew out of the box and into “the grateful dead” movement. She felt totally liberated from her structured, disciplined training, and felt free to explore her creative and innovative side. She later moved more into the jazz scene. The rest is history! Check out her YouTube Channel

Nathan James

Matthew Taylor on Drums
Matthew Taylor is a drummer and percussionist and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, and a Master of Music degree from Longy School of Music in Boston. He performs extensively traveling throughout the U.S. and Europe. He enjoys jazz and plays with many talented artists in San Diego as well as with the La Jolla Symphony Orchestra. He also instructs students of all levels privately in his San Diego studio. Check him out on his Facebook page.

Nathan James on Guitar
Nathan is a blues guitarist, singer, harmonica player and songwriter with accolades up the ying yang. He travels to many music festivals all over the world. He is a homeboy at heart having grown up in rural small-town Fallbrook in North County San Diego. Seems like he has the bast of both worlds. At the age of 19 Nathan joined the James Harman Band Blues Band, and the rest of his career took off from there. In 2007 he won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and keeps soaring. He plays with a long list of renowned artists and loves collaborating and creating original music. Check him out on LinkTree

Julia Othmar is truly a powerful singer/songwriter piano playing force to be reckoned with. She has performed with many greats that have influenced her music such as Emmylou Harris, Heart, Sarah McLachlan, John Waite and the likes! She was one of the “chosen few” in the 2021 Global Music Match representing the USA. She is inspired to raise social awareness on issues and has a knack for rallying people together to join important causes. Tracks from her album “Oasis Motel” have been featured on popular television shows. Some of her songs are played on the radio throughout the world. Her YouTube channel has mega-hits as well. She has also received many international songwriting awards. Check out Julia’s Website and be blown away by her amazing talent.

Matthew Taylor

Brockett Parsons is a world renown keyboard player and music producer, as well as being the brainchild of the PianoArc keyboard. He enjoys producing and playing in a variety of genres. His background includes rock, jazz, soul, classical, R&B, rap, hip hop and dance music. In 2009 he won MTV’s Making of the Band and shortly after began touring with Lady Gaga. He’s been on numerous television shows, the most watched being the Superbowl 51 Halftime show with Lady Gaga. He has performed and recorded with countless musicians and is destined for greatness as he puts his mark on the circular keyboard world and beyond. Brockett Parsons YouTube Channel

Taryn Donath, Pianist, Singer, Songwriter
San Diego Music Awards Winner in 2020/2022 and International Blues Challenger winner and is well known in San Diego and abroad for her hot soul, jazz, funk, and boogie style. Her keyboard playing is on steroids as she lays it all on the stage with a “bigger than life” personality and the talent to match. She can play anything from soul to swing and everything in between. She is also known as the Taryn Donath Duo playing with drummer Matthew Taylor, and Taryn Donath Trio with Six String Society’s awesome guitarist, Laura Chavez, as well with blues guitarist, Nathan James. Taryn’s Website: Tarynd.com

Brockett Parsons

A shout out to Sound Engineer, Patrick Scanlon for his awesome work dialing in the audio for tonight’s theater show. It sounded amazing! Thanks for your tireless work to ensure the success of another great Rexrode Production of Pianotastic at the historical Star Theater in Oceanside, California

I loved getting to know these artists in a more intimate setting and it is truly a pleasure to live in such a talented community such as North County San Diego. Thank you to everyone that made this such a tremendous success. Happy Holidays!