Category: Obituaries

Joyce Clark, a key early volunteer who helped bring bluegrass music to the South Bay and Santa Cruz and brought new supporters to the fledgling band Sidesaddle, died on January 30, 2018. She was 75 years old.

Joyce and her husband Dick Clark were among the founders of the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society and helped organize concerts, campouts, meetings, and bluegrass bowling fundraisers, and helped host popular social gatherings at the Society camp at bluegrass festivals throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The couple traveled nationally to support Sidesaddle, Northern California bluegrass and the SCBS. They were regular volunteers at the SCBS membership and information booth.

Joyce Clark was at the core of the SCBS, the glue of its fellowship and the heart of its activities. Her warmth, kindness, cheerfulness and general good humor were felt by everyone who knew her. Her smile, good heart, laugh, and gentle wit enlivened every occasion. For many new bluegrass fans of that era, their first and fondest memories of the bluegrass community were of Joyce welcoming them to the music and to the SCBS camp at festivals. She never met a stranger, and was always wickedly funny, warm and understanding. She became everyone’s confidant and showed unconditional love. Her personality influenced the developing cultural of the early bluegrass society and guided those who took charge of the organization long after she moved away.

Dick & Joyce Clark received Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Northern California Bluegrass Awards.

The couple loved the all-women South Bay bluegrass band Sidesaddle and were fixtures at almost all early performances. They were two of the organizers of the Sidesaddle Fan Club, and Joyce was the band’s den mother.

After retirement, “DicknJoyce” moved from their longtime home in Santa Clara to Mountain Ranch, where they have lived for almost two decades. There, they began volunteering at the California Bluegrass Association’s Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley. Joyce will be remembered by VIP visitors to that event from across the country as the smiling lady, embodying hospitality, at the festival’s backstage gate.

She was born Joyce Brown in Riverbank, CA. She is survived by her husband, son Richard and his wife Sophia, and daughter Laura. Her grandchildren are Josh and TC. Her grandchild is Little Josh. Her daughter Candice predeceased her.

— Craig Nelson & Michael Hall (Thanks to Barb Scott, Richard & Sophia Clark)

Local musician Robert Zeien passed away Tuesday, January 30 after a year-long battle with cancer. He was guitarist and lead vocalist for the Stoney Mountain Ramblers, playing with them for 16 years and over 285 gigs. He was 53 years old.

Robert and the Stoney Mountain Ramblers have been fixtures at NCBS events over the years – including the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival,  the Brookdale Bluegrass Festivals, Bluegrass on Broadway and the inaugural Foggy Mountain Bluegrass Festival. SMR made numerous appearances on KKUP Radio’s Monday Night Bluegrass, and Robert is composer of a bluegrass KKUP station identification jingle.

In the months since receiving his diagnosis, Robert continued cheerfully living life to its fullest with family and friends. He rallied to play one last gig at the Summit House five days before he passed away.

Robert was a dedicated father, husband and band-member. Always kind, gentle, soft-spoken and humble, and always up for picking “one more.” His energy, good humor and love of music will be missed.

Information

— Gary Anwyl, Scott Dailey, & Bill Hamburgen

Bluegrass lost two good friends and two leaders today — Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine publisher Pete Kuykendall of Broad Run, VA, and Delbert Doty of Hollister, CA, the longtime president of the San Benito County Historical Society. While neither was a NCBS member, both contributed to the success of the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival.

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Pete Kuykendall was a bluegrass musician, songwriter, promoter, DJ, and journalist, who brought essential business skills to bluegrass music at an early time when professionalism was lacking and the development of the music was in doubt. He took over the newsletter of a small non-profit organization in the Washington, DC area and developed it into the national bluegrass magazine of record. He also co-founded the International Bluegrass Music Association and brought the concept of Leadership Bluegrass to the IBMA.

When the NCBS’ fledgling GOF Festival caught Pete’s attention as a source of new west coast bluegrass energy, he and his wife Kitsy Kuykendall came all the way to California as a fully-paid vendor (turning down our offer of a free BU booth) to lend support — and credibility — to the new event. Kitsy saw The Waybacks on the GOF stage and booked them for a slot at the IBMA convention, the band’s first appearance at the national level.

Peter V. Kuykendall was 79 years old.  Under the name Pete Roberts, he performed as an early member of the Country Gentlemen, and wrote numerous bluegrass songs, some of which were included in the soundtrack for the movie “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”

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Delbert Doty played a significant role in building out the historical village at the San Benito County Historical Park, the new home of the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival. His last major project was the new stage, which has been named in his honor by the SBCHS. He helped with the negotiations that brought the bluegrass festival to the park in 2016.

Delbert Leon Doty’s Celebration Of Life will be held on Friday, September 1 at 2:00pm at the historical park, 8300 Airline Highway, Tres Pinos.

Former Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society (NCBS/SCBS) board member Barry Hazle has died. He was 69 years old. He was known for his friendly, booming voice and a laid back attitude that masked a strong volunteer drive in support of bluegrass and related acoustic music.

After his retirement from the City of Sunnyvale Public Safety Department and our board of directors, he and his wife Maline moved to Redding, where he organized The Oaksongs Society For The Preservation Of Way Cool Music and for a time managed bluegrass performers Marley’s Ghost and James King.

He was also a bluegrass radio host on North State Public Radio, where he first helped produce the Good Old Fashioned Folk  Music Show and then moved to his own program, The Shasta Serenade, which featured bluegrass and Americana music.

Barry and Maline were also longtime volunteers at the Strawberry Music Festival.