Opening Day at the Wine-Ree! The Moody Blues May 27, 2011

Photo by Craig Miller

Welcome home everybody! The clouds burned off, the sun shone and the temp got into the low 70s. The band showed up, catering is delicious as always, and the summer family is starting to settle in. Craig already relocated the first little snake of 2011. Snakes are part of the charm of our place, and we always get excited when we find one. They are always treated with respect and kindness. Our steward Craig Miller is the official snake handler of the Mountain Winery.





Men at Work: Mark Hogue, Joe Battle, Ron Bergman & Peter Donovan





It was great to work with the Moody Blues crew . The drivers were all in a sunny disposition even after the drive up the hill, and I had a good time taking them all to town for the afternoon. Jeff gave me a copy of his cd, yes, in rock ‘n’ roll even truck drivers make records, and there were a couple of pretty good songs on it too. Tony & I worked for Karen “KC” Colvin, who was kind enough to give us a signed picture of the band for Dolores, our awesome “Dry Cleaner to the Stars”. Dolores’ shop, Riverside Cleaners is becoming a gallery of photos of just a few of the rock stars whose wardrobe she cleans for us every week. And she is just about the sweetest lady you could ever hope to meet!



"Dad" looks over Joe's shoulder as he runs his first show at the Mountain Winery



Michael  works one more gig at the Wine-Ree

We were lucky to squeeze one more work day out of everybody's kid brother, Michael Roberts. We're so glad to get to see him before his deployment overseas. He went out to Shoreline for a few hours to see everyone there too. Came back with a little sunburn from hanging on the hospitality deck. Stay safe Michael, we love you!

As it is every year, the Mountain Winery was THE place to be. Ron even left his computer at the office and spent some time relaxing in the sun, watching other guys work! By showtime Lee & Jenn had arrived and Jodi and Michelle were here too. The owners came down, Dean Markley came up. The house was full. I didn’t see an empty seat.. The Moody Blues sounded as great as ever, playing music that took me back to high school. Nights in White Satin was the theme to practically every prom of the '70s, Mark Hogue says even the '80's!



Mark had a Bill Graham moment



Slightly Surreal Moment in Rock ‘n’ Roll: I got a facebook message from a friend with the Doobies to say hello to everyone in the Moodys, and they were happy to say hello back. Mark said, "I love that band!"