NORDLAND — After three decades of playing classic rock and country, Chantilly Lace is at the end of the road.
The band, whose lineup these days features singer Chuck Darland, bassist Dave Schaumburg Sr., drummer Junior and guitarist Chris Stevens, will give one last public concert at Fort Flagler State Park this Saturday night after the State Parks’ Centennial 2013 ShellFest.
Admission to the 7 p.m. show on the park’s Battery Bankhead stage will be $8 for adults and free for children 13 and younger.
Tables and chairs are set up for the outdoor concert, and music lovers are welcome to bring picnic suppers to the park at 10541 Flagler Road.
“I’m really having a hard time thinking about not playing anymore,” Schaumburg said this week.
But “we are just wore out.”
Schaumburg and Darland suffer from health problems, so they decided to make this their last summer of playing and traveling.
Long history
Chantilly Lace’s long history on the North Olympic Peninsula includes a pair of “Peny” awards bestowed by Peninsula Daily News music columnist John Nelson: one for favorite longtime band and one for best repertoire.
Nelson said he presented those awards in 2003 and added that Chantilly Lace helped inspire him to start writing his column back in September 2002.
Nelson and the band share the “KLMA” — Keep Live Music Alive — mantra.
Chantilly Lace’s set list includes its namesake song, released by the Big Bopper in summer 1958, along with a whole lot of classics by the likes of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, the Beatles and the Righteous Brothers.
The group has played all manner of events, including the National Street Rod Association car show at the Clark County Events Center in June.
“That was a highlight of my career,” Schaumburg said.
It’s never been about the money for Chantilly Lace, he added.
The band has played many a benefit for nonprofits such as the Port Angeles Food Bank.
And the musicians have all kept day jobs: Schaumburg worked at Napa Auto Parts before his worsening diabetes forced him to retire.
Stevens, who succeeded longtime guitarist Dave “Doc” Bailey, is a teacher at Greywolf Elementary School in Sequim.
Community support
In August 2006, Schaumburg marveled at how Chantilly Lace fans came out in support of his family when a fire damaged their home.
“I was well-known in town because of the band,” he recalled.
People took up collections to help his family recover.
“I never expected what I got from the community,” he said.
For Schaumburg, another joy of playing the oldies comes in packing the house.
“There’s nothing better than to fill up even a small joint,” he said.
Chantilly Lace played Fort Flagler last summer — and “has always gotten people up and dancing; it’s a good workout,” said Mike Zimmerman, park area manager.
The band will wrap up around 9 p.m. Saturday, he estimated.
The final song? It will more than likely be the “Mickey Mouse Club” theme:
“Now it’s time to say goodbye/
“To all our company . . .
“See you real soon . . .
“Why? Because we like you.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
