REVEREND E: Erik was weaned on a steady stream of the great Jazz artists of the 1930’s to the 1950’s mixed in with a healthy dose of protest Folk music. When he reached the ripe old age of 10 and went to work in the newspaper business, his first purchase with his earnings was a state of the art 3 band Panasonic National Transistor Radio. His trusty radio never left his side for many years and was always tuned into KYA and his favorite DJ’s Big Tom Donahue, Russ The Moose Syracuse, Emperor Gene Nelson and Tom Cambell (sponsored by Steven Matthew David TV and Stereo, Top of the Hill Daly City). As he matriculated into his wild and crazy teenage years in 1968, Erik needed a new radio station, one that was as revolutionary as he was becoming, and since Big Tom Donahue was his favorite DJ it made sense for him to migrate with Tom in 1968 to Tom’s new gig at KSAN where the music and the news were unfiltered by corporate greed and “The Man”.

The day Erik graduated from Berkeley High School at the ripe old age of 17, he moved out of his parent’s house and into a pad with his best friend David “Stei” which quickly earned the moniker of 501 A-Go-Go and from which music could be heard blasting for blocks around 24/7. Before they were old enough to vote Erik and Stei had amassed a vinyl and CD collection in the thousands, and purchasing 50 albums at a time from Leopold’s Records on Telegraph became a regular occurrence. The stereo equipment was state of the art as well. Erik and his electronics whiz friend Steve built a massive set of speakers that powered many a large outdoor gathering, and which Steve still owns. These babies are to date the finest speakers I have ever heard and I have owned many of the best over the years. The Nakamichi Dragon cranked out one mixed cassette tape after the other. Stei and E started working for BGP and were able to attend all of the best concerts of the day. Stei went on to become a DJ, first in Deep Springs and then in Quincy where his “Farmer Dave Show” was the hit of the town for many years. We reveled in being the first to discover new songs and albums before anyone else had heard them. Like you remember your first kiss, Erik remembers the days that Billy Cobham’s Spectrum, Loggins and Messina’s Full Sail, Santana’s Caravanserai and Tower of Power’s Tower of Power were released and he brought them home to share with Stei.

Reverend E wants to share with you the tunes he has assiduously curated over the past 60 years. His tastes are broad based and his playlist is off the hook! Come join him on a magic carpet ride!

You can contact Reverend E at RevEKstei@gmail.com

 

REVEREND E’s GREATEST HITS

• FIRST ALBUM: Supremes, I hear a Symphony released 2/18/1966. I wore that baby out and I am still in love with Dianna Ross!
• FIRST CONCERT: Purple Earthquake, Jefferson School Auditorium Berkeley, 6/9/1967. Yes it was way too loud!
• FIRST BGP CONCERT: Day on the Green 6/8/1974 featuring The Beach Boys and The Grateful Dead along with Commander Cody and New Riders of the Purple Sage. You have not lived until you have experienced 50,000 women in Bikini’s dancing to California Girls!
• FAVORITE CONCERT: Hands down and no close competitor, The Who at Civic Auditorium 12/12/1971. Considered by many aficionados to be the greatest concert of them all, the Who burned the place down and left it in smoldering ashes.
• FAVORITE TUNE: My Girl, The Temptations, 12/21/1964. The greatest lead singer (David Ruffin) of them all on the greatest song ever written, the Bass lead in gives me chills every time I hear it. This was of course the music for the father daughter dance at my daughter’s wedding.
• FAVORITE ALBUM: Kind of Blue, Miles Davis 8/17/1959. Miles, Coltrane and Cannonball at the height of their powers, it does not get any better!!!
• FAVORITE BAND: Santana, his breadth of work and longevity alone put him in the Pantheon, there is no better way to start your day than by blasting Everything Is Coming Our Way! Walk with me into the Sun!
• FAVORITE GUITAR PLAYER: Duane Almond, Blue Skies forever!
• FAVORITE SONG WRITER: Bob Dylan, and forget about anyone else!
• FAVORITE VOCALIST: Man this is a tossup, is it Aretha (Don’t Play That Song For Me or David Ruffin (I Could Never Love Another) too hard to call.
• FIRST SLOW DANCE: Tower of Power, Sparkling in the Sand in 1971, and I took full advantage of all 9 minutes! Thank you Deborah!
• FAVORITE MOMENT: Gill Scott-Heron, Greek Theater, Berkeley Jazz Festival, 5/23/1975. Gil blew the place down with “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. A seminal moment in rock history. I think all 8,000 people in the crowd felt they had personally brought Nixon to his knees and ended the war in Vietnam. Who will step up as the Gil Scott for 2026?

Leon Mayeri, a lifelong resident of Berkeley, CA, attended his first concert on July 31, 1964, at the Oakland Auditorium. The Beach Boys headlined, and by the time they took to the stage, it was way past Leon’s bedtime. The sound technology wasn’t very robust in those days . . . but the music was fabulous, and Leon has fond memories of watching the Beach Boys and hearing their outstanding vocal harmonies that evening.

Leon’s second concert was the matinee show on August 31, 1965 at the Cow Palace in Brisbane, California, featuring The Beatles. It was a decibel-driven afternoon, and the screaming Beatles fans drowned out the sound of the fabulous four, but it was memorable nevertheless. His third show was at the Berkeley Community Theatre on January 31, 1967, featuring the Mamas and the Papas, and it was nothing short of magnificent.

Leon worked at Husteads Towing, in downtown Berkeley, as a teenager, and during his high school and college days, he also had the good fortune of working security for concert promoter Bill Graham Presents, at a time when live music in the Bay Area was reaching pinnacle levels of performance quality not seen in other metropolitan areas.

Leon was also under the spell of the excellent array of radio stations in the Bay Area, including KSAN, KJAZ, and KITS Live-105 alternative rock. In 1977, Leon visited the studios of KSAN in San Francisco, a free-form rock and roll station that curated the sound of classic and modern rock to the Bay Area like no other station could. Ben Fong Torres was the DJ that afternoon, and he left a lasting impression — making up playlists on the fly, from a vinyl library.

Today, Leon continues his fine-art consulting business in Berkeley, while occassionally traveling the world, and catching up with various concert tours along the way.

Michael Warnick is a Southern California native, born in the early 1970s and raised as a true Gen Xer in Simi Valley, California. A product of the 1980s in every sense, Michael grew up immersed in heavy metal and big-hair bands, sporting a mullet, flannel shirts, bandanas or headbands, and leather necklaces—earning him nicknames like “’80s Mike” and “Mullet Mike.”

From an early age, Michael was drawn to adventure and independence. As a teenager, he spent weeks traveling with friends to places like Lake Tahoe, Mammoth, and Lake Havasu, and later developed a lifelong passion for outdoor pursuits such as multi-day canoe trips down the Colorado River, backcountry skiing, and attending countless concerts by bands like Metallica, Van Halen, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Queensrÿche, Soundgarden, and more.

Michael became a young father at 19 and raised his son while attending Chico State, where he graduated in 1998 with a degree in Instructional Technology. After college, he moved to Mission Beach, San Diego, living just steps from the iconic boardwalk and Belmont Park roller coaster—a short but unforgettable chapter before heading north to Carlsbad, where he launched his career in graphic design and web development.

Over the past 25 years, Michael has built a successful career working with agencies and eventually founding his own company, Warnick Design. After many years living throughout San Diego’s North County, including Carlsbad and Oceanside, he returned to San Diego proper, where he met his future wife. Together, they spent several years living in high-rise buildings around the city before settling into a home in North Park.

Michael’s love of music has continued to evolve, and today he enjoys a wide range of genres, often attending country concerts with his wife and friends. His passion for adventure travel remains strong, with favorite experiences including an early-winter Alaska cruise, an African safari through Kenya and Tanzania, a journey through Patagonia in Chile and Argentina, Montana backcountry ski and horseback riding trips, Baja dirt bike adventures, and ski trips throughout North America.

Michael now lives in Encinitas, California, with his wife and young son, still embracing creativity, adventure, and the spirit of exploration that has defined his life from the very beginning.

Yaoh, Stei’s trusty best friend, was born under a crossfire hurricane and hated every person, dog, cat, and car he ever met, except Stei. Stei rescued Yaoh from a bunch of teenage miscreants who had adopted him as their group dog. As urban legend has it, Yaoh lapped up some LSD laced vomit and went off on a trip he never fully recovered from. He chased cars, bit tires, barked angrily at guests and anyone else who entered his sphere, hated any type of water with a passion and generally made enemies with anyone and everyone, but he loved Stei and Stei loved him. Stei coaxed Yaoh’s affections with 5 gallon mostly empty tubs of Baskin Robbins Ice Cream (Yaoh’s favorite was mint chocolate chip) and he could frequently be found running around with a 5 gallon tub stuck on his head. This shortly led to Yaoh following Stei home and promptly moving in. Besides Stei and Mint Chip Ice Cream there was one other thing Yaoh loved and that was music, and it is a good thing, as Stei always had music blasting at ear splitting volumes 24/7. One of Stei’s favorite passions was to put on Alvin Lee’s iconic guitar solo on Going Home, crank the stereo up to 10 and stick his head in front of the speaker while playing a mean air guitar. It is no wonder Yaoh was deaf at the end. In honor of his love for Stei and his love for great music we present Yaoh with these Golden Headphones. Yaoh, a truly cranky curmudgeon but with sophisticated musical taste! Likely he is listening now in doggie heaven!