ROCKnVINO: A Pairing of Music & Wine

RNV 11: Jen Ledger | Ledger Lead Singer + Skillet Drummer

On this week's episode of Rock 'N Vino we're excited to welcome Skillet Drummer and front woman on her own brand new solo project Ledger, Jen Ledger! The multi-talented singer and vocalist joined Skillet back in 2008 when the band attended a church service in Ledger's current hometown of Kenosha, WI, and the rest was history! Along with handling vocal and drumming duties for the platinum-selling band, Ledger has also taken a step out on her own with her eponymously named side project. The band offered their immediate support when Ledger for brought up the potential, and even helped in the writing and producing of the album. Ledger's new EP is highlighted by it's first single "Not Dead Yet", written about her recent battles with anxiety and panic attacks. We'll talk touring, recording, and the future with Jen Ledger!  PLUS, coming up in October it's time again for the Monster Energy Aftershock Festival in Sacramento - we'll preview the line-up and all of this year's attractions and happenings at the festival. All that and more on this week's episode of Rock'N Vino!

RNV 10: Trey Busch | Sleight of Hand Cellars

The worlds of music and wine collide again on this week’s episode of Rock’N Vino as we’re joined by Sleight of Hand Cellars Winemaker Trey Busch!  If the reference sounds familiar, it should, the winery was named after a Pearl Jam song. A love of the band’s music brought Trey, a former Nordstrom employee, to the Pacific Northwest. When Trey was offered the chance to move his family to Walla Walla and get into the wine business he jumped at the opportunity immediately. His passion for winemaking and music led to him to partnering with Pearl Jam to develop the wines for the band’s recent string of “Home Shows” in Seattle, benefiting the Vitalogy Foundations efforts to help find a solution to the homelessness issue in King County. We’ll talk wine, we’ll talk music, and everything in between on this week’s Rock’N Vino.

RNV 09: Lzzy Hale | Halestorm

This week’s Rock’N Vino guest needs no introduction, but we’ll supply one anyways.  Lzzy Hale has fronted Halestorm for over 20 years, over that time the band has released four studio albums, headlined stages across the world, and even won a Grammy. The band recently released its latest studio album, Vicious, an album that lives up to its namesake. After initially getting in the studio to record the band wasn’t happy with the direction the material was going and decided to re-focus their creative energy and start over. The result is the band’s most confident, unpredictable, and ferocious performances to date. With stadium ready anthems like Uncomfortable, Do Not Disturb, and Black Vultures the album serves a rallying cry for individuality and self-empowerment.  Now the band is back out on the road headlining their biggest tour to date. Lzzy Hale joins Rock’N Vino as a special guest this week, we’ll talk about the creation of the album, getting back out on the road, and the early days of being ‘the girl in the band.” Don’t miss Halestorm along with In This Moment and New Year’s Day at the Warfield in San Francisco coming up this Thursday night, tickets available at AXS.com.

RNV 08: Shana Bull | Finding the Wine Country Experience with Digital Storyteller Shana Bull

On this week’s episode of RnV we dig deeper into the world of wine, music, and how to pair the two to come up with the perfect Wine Country experience. Shana Bull is a Sonoma County media maven, writing about wine and music for Sonoma Magazine as well as Sonoma County Tourism. She is also a social media and digital marketing expert, offering classes on social media marketing with a special focus on Instagram. Shana joins the show for a wide-ranging discussion on live music, wine country trends, and how to make the best use of social media to market yourself. Did you know one of the hottest shows in the North Bay is being headlined by none other than Vanilla Ice? Which wineries are setting the standard for live music in wine country? How do you construct the ultimate Wine Country experience? And what is exactly is Facetagram? Answers to all these questions, more or less, on this week’s episode of Rock’N Vino with guest Shana Bull!

RNV 07: David Ready Jr. | Murphy-Goode Winemaker + Brad Paisley + Bonnie Hunt

Rock'N Vino Episode 7 featuring Murphy Goode Winemaker Dave Ready plus Brad Paisley & Bonnie Hunt

 

Murphy Goode Winemaker Dave Ready Jr. is the quintessential Rock'N Vino guest - growing up in Minneapolis, his aspired to be not just a musician, but a rock star. Fronting his band on vocals, Ready found success recording and touring with an Allman Brothers-influenced sound. Also a Dead Head, Ready followed the Grateful Dead on tour for 179 shows. Ready moved to California to continue his musical pursuits and to 'be closer to Jerry'. While in California, Ready found a new passion, his father invited him up to Healdsburg to work crush at Murphy-Goode Winery and the rest was history. Ready to moved to Australia to continue his newfound winemaking passion before returning to California in the late 90's to become Assistant Winemaker at Murphy-Goode, and eventually Winemaker in 2001. Dave still plays drums and gets out to his share of concerts when he's not busy in the vineyards. Check out this week's episode, an insightful and entertaining discussion with Murphy-Goode Winemaker Dave Ready Jr.

 

Plus, an added bonus on this week's episode. RNV got a chance to sit down with country megastar Brad Paisley and acclaimed actress and comedienne Bonnie Hunt prior to their taking the stage at Sonoma State University's "Thicker Than Smoke" fundraising event, a benefit for north bay fire relief.

 

RNV 06: Gray Rollin | Linkin Park's Personal Chef & Owner of Belly Left Coast Kitchen

A full year has passed since the death of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington from suicide. Following his death, fans worldwide showed an outpouring of support and his band staged a tribute show in Los Angeles featuring a slate of guest artists. Bennington's death also refocused attention on mental health awareness and advocacy.

Bennington's passing came as a shock to Gray Rollin, the owner chef of Santa Rosa's Belly Left Coast Kitchen. Rollin, Linkin Park's longtime personal chef, had recently gotten off the road with the band following a U.K. tour, one he said the band considered one of the best of its career.

In an interview with Rock'N Vino earlier this week, Rollin talked about welcoming Bennington after the singer walked off stage after his final performance with Linkin Park at the Birmingham Arena.

"He gave me a big hug and told me he was excited about the future," Rollin said.

Rollin began his career as a touring chef to the biggest names in music, including Prince, Mötley Crüe, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Katy Perry. But he's spent most of his time—seven years—on the road with Linkin Park. His job was to understand the band members' preferences and not only feed them, but keep them healthy on tour. That's not easy when the band was switching hotels every night and eating at irregular times.

He was filling in at his restaurant the afternoon following Bennington's passing when his phone began to flood with texts and calls. Finally, he looked to see what was going on.

"I got a message that said, 'Did you see what happened to Chester?'," he recalled.

"'What do you mean what happened to Chester?'"

Stunned, Rollin left the restaurant to grapple with the stunning sadness.

On this episode of Rock'N Vino, you get an inside look at life on the road with Chester Bennington with someone who knew him well.

Linkin Park has yet to announce its next steps, as the members work on individual projects, including Mike Shinoda's recent solo album.

You can visit Belly Left Coast Kitchen in downtown Santa Rosa.

RNV 05: Bryce Dow-Williamson | SOMO Concerts

Bryce Dow-Williamson, promoter and booker with SOMO Concerts, and owner of Second Octave Media, works with a number of venues across the Bay Area, including SOMO, Petaluma’s Mystic Theatre and Berkeley’s Cornerstone. Dow-Williamson sits down with us on this episode of Rock’N Vino in a wide-ranging conversation about the SOMO concert space, the North Bay music scene and the challenges it faces, as well as what goes in to developing a thriving music scene.

RNV 04: BottleRock | Recap and Summer Fest Preview

On the heels of another massive BottleRock Napa Valley, Coco Sterzenbach and Mike DeWald recap the festival, from their favorite sets of the previous weekend to the most delectable festival food offerings and a complete rundown of  their time in Napa.

We’re also including portions of their interviews with some of the top wine and beverage purveyors at the fest: Dave Miner, founder of Miner Family Winery in Napa and Hendrick’s Gin National Brand Ambassador Mark Stoddard.

Miner has been involved with BottleRock Napa Valley since the early days of the festival and is now a major partner, sponsoring the Miner Family Stage. Dave Miner spoke about getting involved with the festival, his philosophy with wine, and the relationship between wine and music.

Sterzenbach spoke with Stoddard in front of the gin maker’s three-story mobile festival bar, featuring costumed characters helping supply the festival with Hendrick’s. Stoddard spoke about the history of gin, and shared the delicious recipes for some of the cocktails served at the festival.

Coco and Mike also run down some of the other big festivals coming through NorCal this summer, and offer up some festival tips so you can optimize your experience.

Stay tuned to future episodes of Rock’N Vino for fun and interesting conversations crossing the worlds of music, food, wine and art.

RNV 03: BottleRock | Festival Preview

BottleRock Napa Valley returns to the Napa Valley Expo Memorial Day Weekend for the fifth annual incarnation of what has quickly become one of Northern California’s preeminent music festivals.

This year’s BottleRock lineup boasts one of its strongest to date, featuring headlining sets from Muse, Bruno Mars and The Killers, along with a stacked undercard and the always unpredictable Culinary Stage, where the likes of Martha Stewart and five-star chefs like Marimoto are often upstaged by stars like Steph Curry, members of the Foo Fighters or Snoop Dogg.

The Rock’n Vino podcast, hosted by Coco Sterzenbach and Mike DeWald, sit down to talk all things BottleRock: the artists to see, how best to tackle the festival and some of the culinary highlights of this year’s festival, along with some other more common summer music festival topics. What are your music fest pet peeves? Everyone has something they can live without. Coco and Mike dish on their do’s and don’ts of festival season. BottleRock is completely sold out, but check out the podcast for some potential options to get you in to this year’s festival.

Rock’n Vino is a dive into the worlds of music and wine and how the two intersect. The duo routinely talks to musicians who make and drink wine, winemakers who make music, and all the culinary pairings and goodies that go along with it. On each episode, Coco and Mike talk to a guest mixing the worlds of food, drink and music for a fun and varied conversation.

RNV 02: Lida Galka | CO5 Music

In the second episode of Rock'N Vino Coco sits down with the awesome Lida Galka of CO5 Music.  Lida has worked with bands on promoting their music for years and tells us some of her favorite stories from her years on the road.  Not only do we talk music but we also talk about the ways in which wine (and sometimes whskey!) and music are increasingly going hand in hand in the way music and artists are promoted.