There is a song that Pablo Cruise performs titled, “Drums in the Night.” The chorus sings, “Can you hear the drums in the night?”

There is this “on fire” acoustic jam that George Gabriel (left) and David Jenkins (right) perform which is followed by a drum solo. At our last show in Northern California, drummer Steve Price produced the best live work that any of us have ever experienced. You need to understand that all of these musicians are part of that elite group of artists that can be generally categorized by saying, “they’re as good as they get.” They win awards. They’re respected by their peers. Fans are always blown away by their awesome performances. They react to each other with praise and admiration – and the other night was one of those magic moments for Steve Price. He came off the stage radiating. It was special.

I tell this story to set up the purpose of this article. The next day was a free day and (we) were in the Bay Area, San Francisco/Marin County. I decided to travel up to Mount Tamalpais for what is considered the best all-around view of San Francisco Bay and the surrounding communities and landscapes. A long and winding road of driving later (sorry Paul) I was atop the Bay. Quite a view… yes!

This is the photo that anyone driving up there can take.

I stood up there and thought about the song from the night before. Can you hear the drums in the night, I asked myself. On the surface, you can easily translate the lyric to mean can you feel the groove. In fact, when you hear this particular song you can’t possibly stop yourself from feeling the groove. Thus, you WILL hear those drums in the night and the musical journey that Cory Lerios takes you on with his vocal performance will take you away. Can you tell this is one of my favorites?

On another level though the lyrics ask me to answer the question, can you see what everyone else is missing? So I used this as a creative incentive to dig deeper into the art of photography and not be overwhelmed by the magnificence of the moment – or in my case being in picturesque San Francisco, the breath-taking vistas.

Here are a couple photos that I took that represent, again, the same photos that everyone is going to take when visiting the Bay Area.

These photos are fine.

Here is a panorama (billboard size) that I gook from one vantage point.

Here is a detail of this image to show you just how large the overall panorama actually is.

A detail of the freighter headed out to sea.

Now that we’ve exercised the norm. I watched photographers and tourists scurrying to “grab those end-of-day shots of the Bridge and the City. I was caught up in “that” too for a moment. Then I heard the drums in the night. The following two images exemplify the art of photography and tell a story. The first demonstrates what happens when you look to see what is going on around you.

The next one says, “San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge” with a heavy lean on poetic and creative artistic license.

I shall title this, “Silent Worship.”

Now can you hear the drums in the night?

The Powerhouse Pub is like a second home for Pablo Cruise. This intimate little venue provides a great location for the band to get up close and personal with their fans.

photo by Marc Blake

The pub is located in the quaint tourist area of Folsom, CA about 20 miles east of Sacramento just off the highway that leads you to Lake Tahoe. When Pablo Cruise is scheduled to perform there the multi-room split-level club becomes beyond saturated with elbow to elbow fans who are totally engaged in the show. The vibes are high-mood and all about a “party!”

Friday night’s performance was true to form and even seemed to exceed the expected. I think that when you are “there” it’s always additionally impressive than when you reflect back after being “there.” Uh… kind of gives meaning to the cliche, “you had to be there.”

photo by Marc Blake

Anyone who was listening to pop radio in the mid seventies knows this band (well). They had numerous top-ten hit songs including, “Love Will Find a Way” and “Whatcha Gonna Do (When She Says Good-Bye?” to name a few.

I’d like to introduce the band which is composed of three founding members and one additional performing artist who has accolades that rival anyone in the business.

The band got back together almost accidently when Pablo drummer Steve Price married a few years ago. His fiance had always been a “Pablo” fan so Steve surprised her by getting the band together to perform at their wedding reception as a personal wedding gift. Steve contacted fellow-founding members, Cory Lerios (Keyboard/Vocals) and David Jenkins (Guitar/Vocals) and popped the question (a second time – pun intended) as it related to marriage and weddings.

The former members agreed to accommodate the invitation of their buddy-pal-drummer and the band played the date. Unexpectedly, they had way more fun getting back together then anticipated and agreed to take “it” back out on the road.

The difference, now, is that the band is far more mature (no more thrashed hotel rooms) and musically so nicely seasoned that their work [together] is better than ever.

Please meet Cory Lerios.

photo by Marc Blake

Cory is a composer who has a body of work that is mind boggling. An award winning composer, Cory, for example, wrote the music for EVERY episode of Baywatch; the most watched television show in the history of television. Saying that, is akin to saying, see this thimble filled with salt water while trying to demonstrate the amount of water that fills the Pacific Ocean. I won’t even say it’s only the tip of the iceberg… except of course for the fact that I just did.

Cory is a dynamic personality. His witty and dry sense of humor are equally as entertaining in his personal life as they are on stage. It’s just plain fun to be with Cory. He makes traveling form venue to venue a chaotic kick. His attention to detail is pretty awesome too. I’m so meticulous about the things I do, especially when it comes to my clients that this is a major common ground for Cory and I. We’ve had many conversations on and off the road where we’ve engaged in a cooperative creative process which is makes me feel special when I consider the level of talent that this collaborator represents. In fact, it was Cory that brought me into Pablo’s family prefaced with a comment, “Hey Marc, you’re really a resourceful and creative person. Would you consider going on the road with our band and helping out?”

… of course David Jenkins.

photo by Marc Blake

Oh goodness! Dave. Okay let’s start with this. If you asked Dave what he’d like to being doing right now (and it could be anytime of the day, night or year) he’d likely answer something like this: “I’d like to be surfing off the coast of South America.” They he’d jump on his motorcycle and drive off like, well, something just shy of “Evel” Knievel. I’m not saying he’s crazy… you know, fun crazy. But I’m not saying he’s not crazy. I’m just not saying. Musically, he’s a master. His songwriting and guitar playing talent is remarkable. His signature guitar licks can send you into a dream with only a few notes played. He’s great. His voice “is” the Pablo Cruise voice that you’d expect to hear when listening to their hit songs. He’s politically passionate and don’t even strike up a conversation at an after concert late meal unless you are extremely ready to stand your ground. His 6 foot plus frame mindset opinions will waylay you for sure. Dave’s a really great person and has a youthful quality that he’ll carry with him always. He has also performed with so many major artists in the industry that coaxing him into an occasional session of story-telling is always enlightening and impressive.

… the heartbeat of Pablo’s groove, Steve Price.

photo by Marc Blake

I have watched this band perform on stage in a variety of venues a large number of times. Every time I do, inevitably, there is a moment that I am stopped in my tracks no matter how busy I am with photographs, video or lending a hand on or off stage during a show. In that moment, it’s the work, the performance of Steve Price that grabs me. Often, after a show, Steve will come up to me and I’ll offer a similar compliment to him in the nature of “wow” you were amazing tonight. He thanks me for noticing and then expresses how completely exhausted he is from the energy he put out for that show. The thing is that he puts out that much energy every time. Even at rehearsals he is going for the gold and in any competition would leave the entire field far behind his performance. Steve and I are talking about some endorsement deals and publicity efforts because as amazing as he his sitting on the saddle of his massive drum kit he is without a doubt the best (unknown) drummer in the world.

… and multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and performing artist George Gabriel.

photo by Marc Blake

George has talent in all areas of music and other areas of creative production. To enjoy any of the types of work that he produces is a blessing, true. But, to know George is a bigger blessing. He’s a very devoted man of God. His Christian faith and his contributions to the community of man and woman supersede his talent – which is a very hard act to follow or forward or whatever I should say to make my point.

George just released a new audio CD which can be found by going to his web site at: GabrielMusic.com. Have a look. He’s good (using the word with a multitude of meaning).

Audiences have grown from their original fan-based demographic to now include the children and (yes…I hesitate to admit) even grand-children of Pablo Cruise fans. Seeing an eleven year old digging the sounds at a concert in the park is heart warming. That’s a good thing and the band members feel really good to know that their hit songwriting has a timeless value to listeners that now span nearly four decades (ouch! Did I say that out loud?).

We’re off to Rancho Murietta in Northern California. Sound check is at three… so it’s time to hit the road. George is going to drive up with me so we can review his new solo CD release “Everyday Miracles.” Go find George Gabriel on facebook and watch the “Making of Everyday Miracles” video. He showed it to me last night before the show and it was very emotional. I think anything of sincere substance can have that effect on people. It does on me.