One of our very favorite pop/rock bands over the past decade is a group called Venice. They put on one of the best live performances we've ever been fortunate enough to enjoy. Mark Lennon is one of the lead vocalists of Venice. He's also one of the most in-demand studio vocalists in Los Angeles and has worked with musicians like David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt and Phil Collins, to name just a few.

Singer-songwriter John Vester has written and co-written some of our favorite Venice songs and often appears with the band. He also has released his own solo album and has a new one coming out very soon. John's lyrics have a way of reaching deeply into your heart and soul. His songs are just being discovered by the music community and are starting to appear on albums by artists like Chris Daniels, Juice Newton, Sunny Wilkinson, and Pauline Wilson.

John Yoakum has worked with both Venice and John Vester. John played English horn on the 1997 Venice album Born And Raised. He has also played saxophone, horn, oboe, flute and clarinet for a large variety of artists such as Placido Domingo, Julian Lennon, Andrea Marcovicci, Michael Nesmith, Parachute Express, Sandi Patty, Linda Ronstadt, Alvaro Torres and Ian Whitcomb.

This house concert filled up more than a month in advance and we had a good size crowd here, including lots of Venice fans who came from good distances. Mark Lennon surprised everyone with a new hair color, but had the same smooth voice as he sang a selection of Venice and John Vester tunes. John Vester accompanied Mark on guitar and sang many of his own songs including selections from his upcoming album, some favorites from his first CD, and even a couple of brand new tunes that were very well received!

John Yoakum's oboe, flute, clarinet and pennywhistle added a great deal of extra texture to the evening.

To learn more about John Vester, and to purchase his CD, visit John's Web site at http://www.johnvester.com.

To learn more about Mark Lennon's group VENICE, whose rich 4-part harmonies and energy-driven performances put them among our very favorite bands of all time, visit the Venice Central website.