If you’re having a tough time deciding between a night of rock and roll or wine tasting, worry no more. Gilroy’s 9 lives is combining both of them into a new series called “Rock N’ Wine.” It will feature a 90 minute wine tasting event at 7pm, hosted by local wineries, followed by two live rock bands at 9pm.
“The goal for each one is to have three different wineries host the wine tasting. People can hang out with some light background music,” 9 Lives owner Jorge Briones says.
For the Saturday’s kick-off event, they have Solis Winery, Sarah’s Vineyard and Fortino Winery hosting the wine tasting. All of these wineries are local to Gilroy and all of them already have a relationship with 9 Lives. Briones is hoping to get more out-of-town wineries to participate in the future and expose Gilroy to some new and interesting wines.
At 9pm, Hollister-based rock band Big Wood takes the stage with a sound that pulls heavily from the larger than life hair-metal bands from the 80s—thick power chords and lush vocal harmonies. Big Wood are preparing to release their debut record later this year. They are working with legendary rock producer Mack, who has worked with Queen, ELO, Extreme, Van Halen and Meatloaf—all bands that have influenced Big Wood over the years. Headlining the show will be Blue Fuse, a cover band that normally plays top 40, but will lean more in the classic rock vein for this show.
Here is a clip at 9 Lives of Montrose, who Big Wood opened for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYJ4ne-cIiA
Briones wants to do the Rock N’ Wine event every 6-8 weeks, but he doesn’t feel committed to sticking to rock and roll bands exclusively.
“We may have blues or jazz or something else,” He says. “We have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I just want to be known as a venue that plays good music.”
.9 Lives Brings Wine and Rock to Gilroy
