Thank you to everyone who made October Lost Diners so special! Click on October 2011 Photo Memories to see pictures of the spectacular evening! Also, click on the Videos tab to see music videos of Bobby Mason and Friends!
Check Out the List of Special Guests that are going to be at Lost Diners on October 30!
CHEF, PETER O'BRIAN
Peter was educated at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and apprenticed under Dean Fearing at The Mansion on Turtle Creek inDallas, Texas. He served as the Executive Chef in Cornerstone, Colorado (a private resort) as well as in Lajitas, Texas and Moab, Utah.
Peter and his wife previously owned a French-style fine dining establishment in Austin and he was named as one of the best Chefs in Austin. His restaurant was named as one of the top Ten Restaurants in Austin five years in a row.
CHEF, REBECCA RATHER
Rebecca needs no introduction in Albany, but just in case you need a jolt, Rebecca, also known as The Pastry Queen, has written foursuccessful cookbooks and operated Rather Sweet Restaurant in Fredericksburg for more than ten years.
She is currently catering with Nicole Davenport and is heavily involved in the creation of a new restaurant concept they are working on to be named Sugar and Smoke.
CHEF, NICOLE DAVENPORT
Nicole is best known for slow smoking meats stateside and abroad. As a young girl she began by baking sourdough breads, smoking freshcabrito, beef, and lamb for roundups on her family ranch in Pecos County, Texas.
She is the TLC BBQ Pitmasters 2010 champion and won first place in the World Champion Wagyu Brisket and Steak Cookoff. She is the "Smoke" in the Sugar and Smoke restaurant concept she is currently working on with Rebecca Rather.
SINGER/GUITARIST, BOBBY MASON
Bobby currently resides in Colorado and began playing the guitar at the age of seven. He recorded his first record in 1963 with The Illusions,a surf hit called “Jezabel”. In 1967 he joined The Happy Medium, playing at such Los Angeles music scene venues as PJ’s, Whiskey A-Go-Go and Gazzarri’s. They performed with The Beach Boys, The Grassroots and The Fifth Dimension. In 1969, Bobby moved to Aspen, Colorado and a year later he joined the legendary group, Black Pearl, as one of the lead singers and the lead guitarist. After Black Pearl, he collaborated with Bob Carpenter, now keyboardist for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Together they formed Homebrew. In the 1970’s Bobby worked with a number of groups, including Three Dog Night, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and John Denver. Homebrew was renamed Starwood by their new manager, Jerry Weintraub. Their next record was produced by Bruce Bodnick at the famous (and sometimes infamous) Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado; the home of many of that era’s greatest hits. They toured extensively with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Santana, Journey and Eddie Money, playing such places as The Cow Palace in San Francisco, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. By 1977, Bobby formed his own band, the Bobby Mason Band where he was regularly joined by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Dan Fogelberg, New Grass Revival, various members of The Eagles, Dave Mason, and John Denver.
In 1982, his career expanded and Bobby began doing commercials in New York City for Saatchi & Saatchi, for such clients as Jeep, Duncan Hines, Budweiser and Kodak. In 1983, Bobby became ‘the voice of Jeep’. Bobby has played with many, many other artists including; Kenny Loggins, Buddy Miles, John Oates and Bo Diddley. Bobby has had a long and distinguished career and is listed in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Anthology
SINGER/SONGWRITER, J.D. MARTIN
JD Martin is an award winning songwriter of 5 Number One and 10 Top Ten hit singles. After 20 years of writing for other artists in Nashville and Los Angeles, he released his first solo CD, One Heart, an inspired collection of original songs featuring his soulful voice and a musical style ranging somewhere between the best of Marc Cohen and Michael McDonald.
By 1994, JD had established himself as one of Nashville's top songwriters. As a staff writer with MCA Music and later with Warner/Chappell Music, he co-wrote such hits as "Love Will Find It's Way To You" by Reba McEntire; "Nobody But You" and "Just As Long As I Have You," both performed by Don Williams; "Everyday" by the Oak Ridge Boys; "I'll Never Stop Loving You" and "Between Two Fires" by Gary Morris; and "You and Only You" by John Berry.
In addition to dozens of others J D has written for B J Thomas, Anne Murray, John Conlee, Ronnie Milsap, Peter Cetera and Kathy Mathea. J. D Currently lives in Colorado.
GUITARIST, LESTER PRICE
Lester Price is a well-known Colorado guitarist who has played with Bobby Mason on many occasions.
PHOTOGRAPHER, JAMES EVANS
Our "Special Guest" this month is photographer, James Evans, recently featured on Western Perspective, a PBS Permian documentary. James lives in Marathon and has been photographing the Big Bend for more than twenty years. In that time he has opened Evans Gallery in Marathon and published two books, "Big Bend Pictures" and most recently, "Crazy from the Heat."
His work is regularly featured in Texas Monthly (nine pages in the March issue) and has also been seen in many other publications both in the United States and the U.K. His work is in the photography collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas.