Local all-star orchestra pays tribute to iconic director David Lynch at Great American
Veteran bandleader and keyboard/trumpet player Marc Capelle brings his Red Room Orchestra to the Great American Music Hall Wednesday to pay tribute to the group's inspiration, the late television and film auteur David Lynch.
Capelle still occasionally sets backsides in motion as the leader of local all-star R&B revue Marc & the Casuals, in recent years the busy keyboard/trumpet player has focused his attention on another far more ambitious project: the Red Room Orchestra. The ensemble was initially formed to perform the music featured in "Twin Peaks," the surreal '90s television show by iconic director Lynch that saw a revival with "Twin Peaks: The Return" on Showtime in 2019.
Lynch's unique cinematic creations have always put music in the spotlight, from the singing Lady in the Radiator from the director's 1977 debut Eraserhead and the bizarre visage of Dean Stockwell lip synching to the Roy Orbison hit "In Dreams" in his Oscar-nominated breakthrough Blue Velvet through his use of both '50s and modern rock in Wild at Heart and Lost Highway during the '90s. Lynch made music a cornerstone of "Twin Peaks" and its 1992 cinematic prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, collaborating with his longtime composer Angelo Badalamenti on original songs like the hit "Mysteries of Love" sung by Julee Cruise -- who would release a full album of Lynch/Badalamenti tunes and appeared in both the series and film. Sadly, both Cruise and Badalamenti passed away in 2022. The film world was gripped with grief after the beloved director died on January 15 following a long battle with emphysema at age 78.
In the summer of 2017 after an initial more stripped-down performance in the Chapel bar with a smaller ensemble, Capelle gathered a high-powered group of San Francisco musicians including Dirty Ghosts guitarist Allyson Baker, Persephone's Bees guitarist Tom Ayers, drummer Todd Roper (Chuck Prophet, Cake), percussionist Larry Mullins (aka Toby Dammit, who has played with Iggy Pop, the Residents, Swans and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), bassist Peter Straus (the Dwarves), singers Karina Denike (Dancehall Crashers, NOFX, the Cottontails), violinist/vocalist Dina Maccabee and saxophonist Tom Griesser (New Morty Show, Brass Monkey, the Cottontails) to play the music of "Twin Peaks" and more Lynch-related offerings at the music venue, taking the stage with an expanded group that was christened the Red Room Orchestra in front of a packed house for a transporting night of atmospheric music.
The positive reception of that show would lead the group to partner with SF Sketchfest in 2018 for the first time to perform soundtrack-related music at the Chapel. The first night -- scheduled to coincide with a tribute to "Twin Peaks" featuring cast members from the original show held at the Castro earlier in the day -- featured onstage appearances by many actors from the series including Sherilyn Fenn -- who helped judge an Audrey Horne dance contest -- and actual song performances by "Twin Peaks: The Return" star and local product Chrysta Bell (who brought down the house with her rendition of the Jimmy Scott song "Sycamore Trees" from the original series), James Marshall and Ray Wise, who stepped into his Leland Palmer character to sing "Mairzy Doats."
Since then, the group has presented additional nights of music paying tribute to the creative musical curation of director Wes Anderson -- playing the songs used for his films Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and more with a variety of special guests -- the soundtrack to the Cohen Brothers' cult favorite The Big Lebowski and the music from Paul Thomas Anderson's breakout film, the '70s porn industry period piece Boogie Nights. For the 20th anniversary edition of SF Sketchfest, the ensemble paid tribute to the iconic punk film Repo Man with a bracing evening of hardcore classics that included appearances by director Alex Cox as well as major soundtrack contributor Tito Larriva and Circle Jerks bassist and cast member Zander Schloss. Last year, the group celebrated two films with tribute nights to the 1987 comedy cult classic vampire flick The Lost Boys (complete with an appearance by guest saxophonist Tim Cappello, who performed a show-stopping cover of the Call's "I Still Believe") and the 1971 Hal Ashby comedy Harold and Maude in addition to a special evening of music and scene readings with Special Agent Dale Cooper himself, Kyle McLachlan.
While this year's SF Sketchfest was the first in years not to feature one of the group's soundtrack or "Twin Peaks" tributes -- the group is instead played a special show spotlighting the music of legendary Canadian sketch comedy show "The Kids in the Hall." However, the SF Sketchfest has partnered with Noise Pop to bring the RRO back to the Great American to celebrate the life of David Lynch. The group including special appearances by regular guests Petra Haden and Beth Lisick, singer/actress Rebekah Del Rio (who delivered the powerful Spanish-language version of Roy Orbison's "Crying" in Mullholland Drive and appeared in "Twin Peaks: The Return"), SF songwriter Kelley Stoltz and horn players Scott Larson and Ben Goldberg will perform songs from the director's work alongside a few of Lynch's personal favorite tunes in what is sure to be a heartfelt and emotional tribute to the visionary director. The show will also serve as a benefit for "Twin Peaks" actor Carel Struycken ("The Giant" in the series), who lost his home in the Eaton Fire. San Francisco club institution DJ Omar (Popscene, Leisure) plays records prior to the live performance.
SF Sketchfest and Noise Pop present The Red Room Orchestra: A Tribute to David Lynch
Wednesday, Feb. 19, 7 p.m. $44-$74.50
Great American Music Hall
