All Shook Up: Keeping the Fabulous 50s Alive

By C.J.

There’s an ocean breeze, the surf is up and aroma’s of the beach surround You may think you’re in a dream. The melodies of tropical islands relax you and invigorate you at the same time as Carolee Burrows the bandleader smiles with a dozen of her friends.

Keeping the fabulous songs of the Fifties alive and vital with a fresh and new perspective using ukuleles, kazoos, and blended vocal arrangements, along with bandleader Burrows, Beth Zimmermann (keyboards & harp), Mickey Tomlinson (bass), Pete Campbell (percussion), Vince Comella (guitar), Bill Coombs, Kathleen Middleton, Cherie Fisher, Rudy Leon, Louise Kioski, Barbara Sonnenshine, Deana Rose, Pat Tracy, and Ciro Milazzo. Ciro hosts a Ukulele at the Mid-County Senior Center every Friday from 9:30 to 10:00 all are welcome.

Every performance will include a soft melody in memory of Judy Plicka (former lead ukulele). Judy died unexpectedly before the last rehearsal for an Airstream Club gig that the group participates in with great anticipation. Carolee softly shares “We’re all still extremely sad and miss her.”

There’s plenty of room for your beach chair and the audience is always ready to shift to accommodate more new friends. You need not sit around though because good-natured locals have a good stock of hula-hoops and one gracious musician abandons her ukulele and leads a hula dance for happy people of all ages.

Once you get up to move with the melodies you might want to stroll toward the ocean. There you’ll soon see Bill Lewis next to a sand sculpture clearly telling you that your dream is in Capitola. You recognize this as a great photo opportunity and mossy onto the sand to say hello. Bill Lewis is accustomed to the mesmerized state you’re in and welcomes you to the paradise known as Capitola Village!

Lewis is famous around town for his sand sculptures. Having spent a lot of his childhood building sand castles in front of the colorful Venetian motel his sand art actually became a destination for beach goers. One of his first sculpture creations was a rendition of the famous Screaming Hand logo found on skateboards now known around the surfing world. Designed by the popular Santa Cruz Artist It didn’t take long for request for other designs to come his way. Along with your photos of his work you can find him on Facebook.

As for the All Shook Up band they are on stage at the MCSC, Mid-County Senior Center at the now famous TNL, Tuesday Night Live stage. Happening from 4:30 – 7:00 every Tuesday, it’s now a dining tradition for seniors and friends. You can see the menu ahead of time in the MCSC newsletter, which is also online.

Having celebrated nine years with Tony Alonzo is the ambitious and charismatic activities director, TNL has become a destination for folks beyond the city. Tony invited Carolee and her band to be the entertainment and shares the success of his event with these great musicians. At that time, about 2008 the musicians were hosting a sock hop at the center that thrilled the crowds. Their music style was great match for the lively event. All Shook Up has continued to be on stage the 2nd and 4th Tuesday at the TNL gathering.

•••

The MCSC is located at 829 Bay Avenue, Capitola It is owned and operated by the seniors and opened to the public. Take a ride over and join the fun.