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Thursday, June 24, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
Powder River Music Review presents two concerts
Barefoot & Bonafi de plays Saturday; D’Club L’Evéque performs Sunday
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
BAKER CITY — Two evenings
of live music are coming to Geiser-
Pollman Park this weekend as part
of the Powder River Music Review
concert series.
The fi rst features Barefoot &
Bonafi de, which is the duo of Lon-
nie Shurtleff and Marilyn Shol-
lenberger. The music starts at 4
p.m. Saturday, June 26. The second
concert, at 4 p.m. Sunday, is solo
artist John Woodard playing as
D’Club L’Evéque.
The concerts are free. Raffl e
tickets ($5 each or 15 fo $20) are
sold at each event to help support
the concert series.
Barefoot & Bonafi de
Shurtleff and Shollenberger
have played as a duo for about
two years.
But each has quite the history
of music.
Shurtleff started more than 60
years ago, when he played in a
band as a high schooler in Baker
City.
Known as The Eclectic Cowboy,
Shurtleff has played around the
region.
Shollenberger vividly remem-
bers when she was 8 and friends
gave her family a piano.
“I was just infatuated with the
piano,” she said.
She learned to play by ear with
the help of her dad, who taught
her notes by playing his fi ddle.
“Everyone has a passion. Mine
is music,” she said.
She owned Marilyn’s Music
Plus in Baker City from 1997 to
2013, and said many local bands
grew out of the store’s informal
jam sessions that welcomed a
variety of musicians.
But her story of music wouldn’t
be complete without a reference
to her dad — her fi rst music
teacher.
John Woodard plays as
D’Club L’Evéque
Lonnie Shurtleff and Marilyn Shollenberger are ‘Barefoot & Bonafi de’
“I played for 56 years with my
dad,” she said.
She holds one of his fi nal re-
quests close to her heart.
“He said ‘whatever you do, don’t
let the music die.’ Lonnie and I
took that as our motto,” she said.
When the coronavirus pandem-
ic shut down music venues, the
duo took to Facebook to play live
every Monday at 5 p.m.
But they look forward to play-
ing for a live audience.
“There’s something about play-
ing to a live audience. It feeds
you,” she said. “It’s so exciting to
have a group of people who like
what you’re doing. It’s a joyful
experience.”
D’Club L’Evéque
Woodard’s musical background
dates to his childhood.
“At 10 I played the violin. I
played for years. I was no good, but
I did get music training,” he said
with a smile.
He grew up in Billings, Montana.
As a teenager he was a member of
several bands, starting with The
Rocky Mountain Frog Stompers.
“That morphed into a real band
— The Henchmen,” he said.
But it was his senior year, in Mis-
soula, Montana, when he consid-
ered himself part of a real band.
They called themselves The Can-
terbury Tails (after The Canterbury
Tales and inspired by the unique
spelling of The Beatles).
“We were playing a lot of English
rock ‘n’ roll,” he said. “We’d wear
suits and ties like The Beatles.”
His performing days took to the
backburner when he moved to Ju-
neau, Alaska, and started a 20-year
career as a sailor on the Alaska
Marine Highway.
“I didn’t have time to be in a
band, but I’d still play at home,” he
said.
After retiring, he moved to Baker
City.
“I knew I wanted to be in a band,
so I went into Marilyn’s Music,” he
said.
He made musical connections
during the jam sessions, and over
the years he’s been a member of
several bands.
First was The Black Lighning
Riders, then The Flying Saucers.
He played as a trio with Debbie
Friedman and Gene Nelson for
several years, and then was asked
to join a Beatles tribute band called
The Fab Faux.
“Then The Fab Faux broke up,”
he said.
He and Friedman played as a
duet, then Chris Johnson joined
and the trio became Bruno Dunes.
They played together for more
than 11 years, performing around
Eastern Oregon.
After that trio dissolved, Wood-
ard formed Valley Stream for a few
years, and now he’s back to a solo
act.
As for his stage name, that dates
to his college days.
“I had some friends in a band,
and they’d ask me to sit in,” he said.
The band’s name was D’Club
L’Peach.
“That name stuck with me for
years,” he said.
As a solo artist, he considered a
version of that band name — and
was inspired by a cheese from
France he found at The Cheese
Fairy in Baker City. It was called
Pont L’Evéque.
He combined the band name
with the cheese and came up with
D’Club L’Evéque.
He’s looking forward to Sunday’s
concert.
“I’m just happy to play again,
and play for live crowds,” he said.
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