Music On His Mind

With a repertoire of more than 4,000 songs, pianist Gil Rosas could probably play forever and perhaps even a bit longer. But generally, Rosas holds it down to three hours when he entertains weekly at the Pierpont Inn, a Ventura landmark since 1891.

Rosas can be found in the bar that overlooks the beach. As he plays, people eat, chat or sing along, but mostly they listen.

“I play acoustical piano, and I have all my life,” Rosas said. “I am a person who entertains. I want to be listened to--I don’t play background music. I call myself a lounge artist--I don’t like the term lounge lizard.

“I may be called upon to play anything from Bach to a song from the ‘60s. I like songs that have strong melodies, are singable and will be around for a while.”

Rosas, who has two CDs of mellow music for sale at his gigs, reaches his audience on a personal level and banters with the crowd between songs. And yes, he does take requests, but probably nothing by Marilyn Manson.

“I’ve always enjoyed playing solo,” Rosas said. “That way there’s more spontaneity between myself and my audience. If I ask people where they’re from, that might suggest a song. Everything I play is in my head. Sometimes, I’ll do a medley of songs that lasts 35 to 40 minutes, then tie it all together, maybe songs about trains or Irish songs or songs about states. This way, I get a chance to be in tune with the audience, and I never play the same thing the same way twice.”

Growing up in Santa Barbara, Rosas used to watch a cousin play piano and learned the instrument by ear before ever taking a lesson. Later, he took piano at UC Santa Barbara. He has played in numerous bands, for Spanish dancers and ballet, as well as on live television.

Rosas, who has lived in Ventura for the past 19 years, played for a decade at the original Port Royal in Oxnard and has had the Pierpont Inn gig for the past five years. He also plays the organ at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ventura on Sundays.

“Music is my whole occupation--this is how I make my living, even though you never know what’s going to happen from night to night. It’s very satisfying to play for people and have them feel good and then go home happy.”

DETAILS

Gil Rosas at the Pierpont Inn, 550 Sanjon Road, Ventura, Thursdays 6 p.m. and Fridays 8 p.m. COST: Free. CALL: 653-6144.

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If swing is your thing, then the fourth annual Monsters of Swing Weekend in Ventura is the place to show off those new threads, those shiny new shoes and all those fancy new steps. And “Monster” is no exaggeration.

What began as a dance contest at Nicholby’s three years ago has outgrown that cozy venue into a three-day festival featuring bands and dance contests every night and lessons every day at a variety of downtown venues.

The Ventura Theatre will host the musical part of the wingding with the Jive Aces kicking things off Friday. Two of the Bay Area’s best will play on Saturday--Indigo Swing and Lee Press-On & the Nails. The Sunday finale will feature Steve Lucky & the Rumba Bums.

Dancers from nearly every state and several foreign countries will be on hand, most observing a strict dress code--looking as if they fell out of a ‘40s gangster movie. More than 500 hoofers have signed up for the daytime lessons, which will fill not only the cavernous theater, but also the Bombay Bar & Grill, Nicholby’s and the Masonic Temple. Maybe next year they’ll just block off Main Street.

Swing dancing began in Harlem at the Savoy Theatre in the late ‘20s, growing out of ragtime and the Charleston. A further refinement, the Lindy Hop, was named after famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. A few years later, as Benny Goodman began to gain popularity, swing dancing was introduced to the white population. Although it was sent to the back burner with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll, swing music never really went away, and these days, it’s bigger than ever.

If you’re one of the few left on the planet that can’t swing dance, that’s not a problem, according to Lee Press-On himself.

“It’s not that hard,” he said. “If you know your right from your left and can count to four, you can swing dance.”

DETAILS

Monsters of Swing Weekend at the Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St. Jive Aces, Friday, 9 p.m. COST: $15. Indigo Swing and Lee Press-On & the Nails, Saturday, 9 p.m. COST: $20. Steve Lucky & the Rumba Bums, Sunday, 9 p.m. $15. CALL: 643-3166.

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Steve Miller, a.k.a. the Space Cowboy, the Gangster of Love and the Joker, will bring those aliases along with plenty of familiar songs when he makes an appearance at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks on Thursday night.

Miller learned to play guitar as a youngster from one of the best--family friend Les Paul. Miller expected to teach comparative literature when he got out of college, but he headed to Chicago instead. After hanging out with Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy, Miller--now an accomplished blues guitar player--moved to the Bay Area in the ‘60s.

Touring relentlessly and writing catchy songs that, unfortunately, were getting little airplay, Miller and his bandmates were barely making ends meet for years. When he went home for a brief breather in 1973, Miller looked in his mailbox and found a check for $380,000 mixed in with the junk mail. The check had been there for six weeks, royalties for the song “The Joker.” Miller took a year off, wrote “Fly Like An Eagle,” bought a house and has continued to write an endless string of hit songs.

He has sold well over 10 million albums in a career that has spanned more than three decades.

Miller doesn’t tour nearly as much these days, but expect all the hits, such as “Abracadabra,” “Livin’ In the U.S.A.,” “Jetliner” and those other songs that live long and prosper on classic rock radio.

DETAILS

Steve Miller Band at the Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, Thursday, 8 p.m. COST: $49, $39 or $29. CALL: 805-449- 2787.