The Red Hot and Salty Story Behind Red Hot and the Saltines … and Their Upcoming Gigs

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OWN VOICE. From the Red Hot Saltines.

What is the story behind Red Hot and the Saltines you ask? Who is Red Hot anyway?  What is a Saltine?  Behind every band name there is a silly story and RHS is no exception.

 

It all started sometime in 2015.  Jeanene Bacchi and Todd Jones were both members of a modern country rock band, Two Week Streak.

 

In September 2016, Jeanene and Todd decided to form a duet and learn a couple of songs to perform at a private party.  At that time, Jeanene’s hair was “flaming” red and Todd had some “salt and pepper” on top.  That’s when they decided to jokingly name the duet Red Hot and Salty.

 

On September 24, 2016, Red Hot and Salty perform for the first time as a duet!  

 

Red Hot and Salty performed only handful of times throughout the years in addition to continuing to play in Two Week Streak.  By this time Jeanene’s hair was no longer red, but Todd’s hair got way saltier 😊

 

 

 

 

 

November 2020 after months of dealing with the pandemic, Jeanene heard that the Beach Hut Deli in San Mateo was looking for unplugged acoustic entertainment.  Jeanene pitched the idea to Todd to revive Red Hot and Salty!  Todd and Jeanene brainstormed on a ton of songs they had always wanted to perform.  The songs began to form a genre of classic rock from the 70’s to the 90’s.  Stuff that not a lot of other bands play, some were favorites from Two Week Streak, but mostly were songs people “our age” grew up knowing and singing along with…songs that get stuck in your ear!!

 

 

November 15, 2020, Red Hot and Salty perform at the Beach Hut Deli for the first time:

Jeanene and Todd

 

The Beach Hut was so much fun and the crowd really loved Red Hot and Salty, so Jeanene and Todd played a couple more times as a duet until Todd’s good friend Andy Heller (drummer extraordinaire) offered to play drums.  

Andy Heller

 

Andy has a bit of salt going on himself and so as soon as there was more than one salty, we became Red Hot and the Saltines!!

 

Andy also plays in other bands including Labor of Loud (LOL) and an Irish Rock band with the super talented bass player, John McManus.  So, Andy suggested we bring in John as the next Saltine.  

 

Both John and Andy added so much talent to the Saltines and great ideas for awesome songs that fit within our classic rock/pop genre.  

 

John McManus

 

Throughout 2021, Red Hot and the Saltines continued to play at the Beach Hut Deli along with other venues including American Legion (both Half Moon Bay and San Mateo), Chit Chat Café in Pacifica, Winters in Pacifica, Freewheel Brewing Company in Redwood City, The Pioneer Saloon in Woodside, Los Altos First Fridays, Marvin Gardens in Belmont and various private parties.

 

In the meantime, Jeanene became the band “booker” for the Beach Hut Deli, bringing in up to 20 different bands playing every Saturday and Sunday throughout 2021.  One of the solo artists playing at the Beach Hut is acoustic live looping artist Rick Sanders.  Rick quickly becomes a great friend of the Saltines and his similar genre/style made him a natural fit to be our next Saltine and our rockin’ lead guitar player.  

Rick joined the band in October 2021 and with him came a slew of awesome 80’s classic rock/pop, adding more danceable songs to our mixture of easy listening!

 

 

While playing the Los Altos First Fridays in December 2021, an audience member who heard the Saltines play came up and introduced himself, not realizing he knew Rick many years prior.  Turns out, he’s a super talented keyboard player!!  So, in January 2022 the Saltines welcomed David Gilmour to the band (no, not Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour).

Rick Sanders

 

So, that’s the story of how we became Red Hot and the Saltines.  A great group of musicians and more importantly, friends who really enjoy playing together and entertaining audiences.  We’ll keep adding to our story and we hope if you’ve read all the way to the end, that you’ll become part of our story as well!

 

Who is Red Hot?  No one really is and yet we all are!  We are all Red Hot and we are all Saltines!!  No, it doesn’t make any sense, but does the Goo Goo Dolls?

 

The Saltines include:

Jeanene Bacchi: Vocals

Todd Jones: Vocals and Guitar

Andy Heller: Vocals and Drums

John McManus: Vocals and Bass

Rick Sanders: Vocals and Lead Guitar

David Gilmour: Keyboards

 

Here’s what’s coming next:

  • Friday, January 28th from 6-9:30pm: Marvin Gardens, 1160 Old County Rd, Belmont

Marvin Gardens has a huge backyard/patio venue with plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the music along with some awesome food, drinks and fun!!

  • Friday, February 4th from 6-9pm: Los Altos First Friday (101 Plaza N, Los Altos)

In February, we will be playing in front of the State of Mind Pizzeria!!  Come join us along with 18 other bands playing simultaneously around town

  • Friday, February 11th from 7-9pm: Freewheel Brewing Company (3736 Florence Street, Redwood City)

Freewheel Brewing company has live music every Friday and Saturday in the Manor Plaza which is a great open patio in front of the Brewery!  Plenty of seating, lots of open air, great food and great brews!!

  • Friday, March 4th from 6-9pm: Los Altos First Friday (TBD)

Keep this date open because we hope to return to Los Altos First Fridays.  We’ll confirm the location in a future email

  • Friday, March 11th from 9-Midnight: Pioneer Saloon, 2925 Woodside Rd, Woodside

We are super excited to be returning to the Pioneer Saloon in March.  Keep in mind, this is an indoor gig and is subject to change based on the state of COVID in March.  Fingers crossed that we get through these next couple of months healthy and able to spend time together with not only the Saltines, but all of your loved ones!!!

We are planning on some other great gigs in 2022 and will sent updates once these dates are finalized.

You can find out more about these gigs on the Red Hot and the Saltines Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/redhotandthesaltines/

Or you can visit our venues at the following links:

Freewheel Brewing: http://freewheelbrewing.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/freewheelbrewing

Los Altos First Friday: https://losaltosfirstfriday.org/

Marvin Gardens: https://www.marvingardensrestaurantandbeer.com/

The Pioneer Saloon: http://www.pioneer-saloon.com/

HMB American Legion: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanLegionPost474/

Coastside Buzz
Author: Coastside Buzz

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