the hum / By Bob Doran

Viva La Juerga

Diego’s Umbrella’s party, plus CM-3, Orgone and an exotic Saturday

(June 4, 2009)  Looking for something cool to do in San Francisco on a Friday night, we somehow ended up at The Rickshaw Stop, where bicycles hung from the ceiling and a band called Diego’s Umbrella was on stage. I’d heard about the S.F. band’s cross-genre mash-up; they’d played their “Mexicali Gypsy Pirate Rock” in Humboldt a few times, but I’d never caught their act.

They were a motley crew, some dressed in Mariachi gear, others in German lederhosen and bandanas. The music was as described … and the crowd was dancing up a storm.

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Founded in Santa Cruz in 2001, where initial members were going to UCSC, guitarist Tyson Maulhardt recalls, “At first it was sort of a West Coast reggae/surf vibe — you know, that Jack Johnsony-Sumblimey kind of feel, but tinged with electronic beats with samples a la DJ Shadow. That and flamenco guitar adding a bit of Buena Vista Social Club.”

Acoustic guitarist Vaughn Lindstrom studied flamenco (he also plays trombone); Maulhardt was more in the Cuban jazz/Marc Ribot vein. Since relocating to S.F. they’ve lost and added members. At this point they have Jason Kleinberg switching between violin and accordion (adding klez/gypsy-ish elements), a third guitarist, Ben Leon and a wild rhythm section with Kevin Blair on upright and electric bass and John Willhoite on drums. The sum total makes for a great party band. They have a song that pretty much describes their mission: “Viva La Juerga.”

“Juerga is an old Spanish-gypsy term that basically just means an impromptu party with dancers and music and good times,” Maulhardt explains. And that’s pretty much what the band is all about. Ready to party with D. Umbrella? They play this Thursday, June 4, at Humboldt Brews. Be prepared to dance.

Coming Friday to the Wave in Blue Lake: Critical Measures Trio, a band out of Petaluma with local ties. “It’s kind of a homecoming for us,” says CM-3 guitarist/vocalist Todd Bugbee. You might remember the band name from years ago: It was a local hip hop crew that included Bicasso, a rapper who’s gone on to greater fame. This is not that group. Bugbee was living here at the time and played in a few bands: The Orbitones and HSU’s P.M. Jazz Band among them. He was friends with the Critical Measures guys. Later, basically because he liked the name, he adopted it (with permission) when he put together a funk-jam outfit down Sonoma way with bassist Joe Nemzer, another musician with Humboldt roots.

“We’re pretty organic. It is what it is: three guys jamming it out,” Bugbee explained. “We recorded one of our first jams and put it up on MySpace; before we knew it people were asking us to play.”

Todd Fed-Xed a CM-3 demo disc with a few songs (his day job is with Fed-X). Sounds pretty tight — but also loose. Most of the tunes are instrumental; maybe that’s why “The Fade,” the one with lyrics, stands out. It came together casually says Bugbee. “We had this four chord jam and needed lyrics.” He jotted down a line: “I remember when I was 19, I brought a shotgun to a crime scene, since that day I could never live that down.” The band played off that, turning it into a study on fading memory and regret and, no, it’s not a true story. At least so he claims.

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