PORT ANGELES — The bandleader is ready to do his 290th gig of this year. On Night No. 1 at a brand-new venue.
This New Year’s Eve, Steve Grandinetti will dish out four sets of funk, rhythm and blues, reggae, Latin jazz and rock ‘n’ roll at The Loom, a nightclub upstairs at 118½ E. Front St.
That’s beside Studio Bob, the art space where performances have been held for years. But The Loom is taking things a step farther, adding a kitchen, a beer and wine bar and a variety of entertainments.
Monday night’s party with Grandinetti and his band will introduce The Loom, with doors opening at 8 p.m. and revelry continuing till 2 a.m. The $7 cover charge for the event, sponsored by Arts Northwest, includes champagne and party favors at midnight, while Cafe New Day of Port Angeles will lay out treats to make sure nobody goes hungry.
Grandinetti, who is well-known to Port Townsend audiences, said he’s ready to pull out the stops for his year-end gig. He’s bringing Neal John Richter and John Sanders with him for a panoply of dance-friendly music; he estimates they will dish out about 50 songs during the night.
“We’re going to play some old-school R & B and funk like James Brown and Stevie Wonder, some blues by T-Bone Walker, some Bob Marley . . . and good, old rock ‘n’ roll,” from the Grateful Dead to Buddy Holly,” promised Grandinetti.
He grew up in New York but doesn’t consider himself from that place.
“When I was 17 I moved to New Orleans . . . that’s where I became me,” Grandinetti said.
Steeped in the culture of Dr. John, the Neville Brothers and the Meters, he learned to play multiple instruments: guitars, harmonica, keyboards, organ — and he’s still madly in love with that Crescent City sound.
“I’ve played with the Nevilles; being on stage with them, it just gets into your soul,” he added.
Once The Loom is christened Monday night, the venue will open for regular business some time in January.
It’s a venture begun by seven Port Angeles partners: Studio Bob owner Bob Stokes, artist Cindy Elstrom, Bill Calhoun and his wife Sam, Dano and Diane Charron and Sarah Tucker, producer of musical and theatrical events on the adjacent Allé Stage.
Plans for The Loom include live performances, DJ’d music, food and drink, with events held on Thursday nights to begin with.
“We’re going to see what kind of public reaction we get,” said Calhoun. “It’s definitely going to evolve over time.”
Stokes, for his part, said he’s wanted to have a venue such as this at Studio Bob for years now.
“We finally all got together,” he said of the partners.
To find out more about New Year’s Eve at The Loom, visit the venue’s Facebook page, phone Stokes at 415-990-0457 or email Tucker at Sarah@TuckerArt.com.
