Interesting facts about the band members.

Here’s some trivia about Beadhead.  Guitarist John DiFalco is Board Chair of the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce; Bassist, Bill Piland, has been inducted into the Oregon Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Shannon is a first grade teacher; Steve Karakas is the president of the Portland Advertising Federation; Jay Lundell is a PhD at Intel and has been inducted into the Cascade Blues Hall of Fame; Shakara teaches art literacy and creates murals.  Five of the six members of Beadhead also play and sing in the Holy Trinity choir.  Can you name them?

Steve Karakas, Shannon, John DiFalco, Jay Lundell, Shakara, Bill Piland

Beadhead Summer Schedule

Here’s a preview of our public gigs for the summer.

June 4.  The Tillicum

July 9.  The Tillicum

July 15-16.  Coyotes

July 26.  Hillsboro Tuesday Marketplace

August 26.  The Tillicum

Shakara and Shannon rockin' it last summer.

Beadhead “Auditions” at the Tillicum

Seems like we just did this last February, but with new owners we’re back to earning their trust. Please come out and show your support on Saturday, Feb. 19. Music starts at 8:30

Looking back on Beadhead’s 2010

Beadhead ushered in 2010 at the stroke of midnight at Bleachers Bar & Grill.  Beadhead played its first gig at Bleachers in the fall of 2003.  Owner Terry McGowan has been a great friend to the band and we continue to play three or four gigs a year there–the highlights being the “Buffett Bash” and the “Halfway to Buffett Bash”.  Check one of those out sometime for a heavy emphasis on the “Tropical” part of Beadhead’s Tropical Rock style…In February we had an “audition” at The Tillicum.  We reached out to our fans to support us–and support us you did.  It was a great turnout and we began what we thought was a regular rotation–until the ownership folded in June and left us with a few vacancies on our schedule that summer…Early in the year drummer and vocalist, Bob Hawkins, left the band to pursue other musical interests–really.  We were very fortunate to replace him with Cascade Blues Hall of Fame inductee, Jay Lundell.  Jay and Steve go way back to their first band in 1967.  Jay brings an incredibly tight style as well as contributions to the bands vocal efforts as well…Jay’s first official gig with Beadhead was at a new venue, Cactus Jack’s, in Raleigh Hills for their Cinco de Mayo celebration…The summer was busy as we swung back into our regular rotation at the place you voted as your favorite–Coyotes…Summer brings opportunities to play outdoors and we had our fair share.  In June we played a private event at the Reserve Golf Club…July had us at a spacious farm setting in Scholls for an outdoor wedding reception…August we played for an unusual “8.9.10″ party on a Monday night…We played Hillsboro’s Tuesday Marketplace for the third year in a row to a large, enthusiastic crowd…In late August, Beadhead played at an outdoor setting on a beautiful day in White Salmon, WA for a fundraiser for “The Friends of Jack”.  It was a great event for a great cause and we look to be back in 2011 for the 2nd Annual…In the Fall Beadhead was busy back at Coyotes and Bleachers…a special gig in October at Nike was very cool.  A fundraiser for Beaverton’s Care to Share.  We were the “warm up the crowd” act in the Tiger Wood’s center for Australia’s Human Nature.  An incredible production.  The Nike folks know how to put on a show.  We’re excited to be asked back to another one of their events in March…In December we were back at Bleachers and in a nod to “the show must go on”, Shakara did the whole gig just four days after knee surgery…We want to thank all of our fans for supporting us this year as well as in the past…special thanks to a couple of musicians who have filled in for us when we needed them–bass legend John Mazzocco and drummer Tony Benach stepped in helped us groove throughout the year…We’re looking forward to a fun 2011.  Special “Beach Party” at Coyotes in January (it’s not too late to get in shape for the Bikini Contest)…another “audition” for new owners at The Tillicum (we’ll need you to turn out strong)..another event for Nike in March...Halfway to Buffett at Bleachers in March too…You can keep track of our schedule at www.beadheadrocks.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter…Thank you.  Beadhead:  Steve Karakas, John DiFalco, Bill Piland, Jay Lundell, Shakara, Shannon.

Bleachers gig on Dec. 3 features two new songs

We’re adding a few new danceable songs to the Beadhead repertoire.  Tom Petty’s “I Need to Know” and the Romantics’ “What I Like About You.”  Adding another Tom Petty song makes for six tunes by the artist, but still just a fraction of our Jimmy Buffett catalog of songs.  Can you name the other five Petty tunes we do? Also, we’re bringing back some Loggins and Messina tunes “Vahevela” and “Angry Eyes”.  Drummer Jay Lundell sings lead vocals on two of the four latest additions to the set list.

Free backstage passes to Coyotes gig Nov. 12 & 13

Get your party on at Coyotes Friday and Saturday, Nov. 12 & 13.  Party with the band.  See you there.  Check out some pix from the recent Buffett Bash at Bleachers. Lots of fun.  See you at Coyotes.

Opportunity to Get Your Motown Down and Support a Worthy Cause

Beadhead will play for the Beaverton Care to Share fundraiser Friday, October 1 at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike campus.  The event features a big time Las Vegas act, Human Nature, which is a Smokey Robinson tribute group.  The concert is in the Stanford Theatre.  Beadhead will provide the music during the pre-show food and cocktail party.  To find out more and to purchase tickets, go to http://tinyurl.com/255ggsp.

Beadhead Returns to Coyotes

The band is back at Coyotes in Hillsboro for a weekend of music.  Coyotes is one of our favorite places–and it’s one of yours based on a recent Beadhead poll.  After a summer full of outdoor and private events, we’re looking to getting back to our Coyotes groove.  We’ll be back to Coyotes in November and December and a regular schedule after that.

Getting ready for some music.

Beadhead plays Hillsboro’s Tuesday Marketplace on Aug. 24–5:30 to 8:30. Gonna be a great day. We’re out in White Salmon, WA for a fundraiser on Saturday the 28th from noon until 3:00. On Sunday Jay, John and Steve back up Amelia at Open Mic at Coyotes. Her first real gig. She’s going to sing one song at the Tuesday Marketplace.

Rehearsal update

First time for the whole unit to practice in a long time–Steve’ birthday bash rehearsal. We’ve brought back some songs from the past including: Hotel California, Reelin’ in the Years, No Matter What, Rock and Roll. Look for a new Journey song “Don’t Stop Believin’”. We’ve got a few others on the list too. We should have quite a few new ones for you by the time we’re at Hillsboro Tuesday Marketplace and Coyotes.