|
May 29, 2003
At Carlsbad High, Chris James wasn't anywhere close to being
named his school's "Most Athletic," although he was a member
of the Lancers track and field team, specializing in the 440
sprint.
But even a background in track couldn't properly prepare
James for the first time – or the second, third and all
subsequent times – he got a close look at a sight unique to
long-distance running.
"It's a little strange to see guys running by with bloody
nipples," said James, a guitar player for local modern
rockers 34Below.
Just as they've done for the past half-dozen years, 34Below
will be performing for more than 20,000 runners and hundreds
of spectators at Sunday's sixth annual Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll
Marathon.
34Below (formerly known as Liquid Groove) has had the
distinct honor of being the second-to-last band to play on
the course. The band will again perform at the 25.5 mile
mark on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot base this year. The
Mar Dels and Atomic Groove will share stage time at the
race's 26.2 mile end at MCRD.
It seems to musicians like James who perform during the
marathon, the further from the starting line, the stranger
the sights become.
"I've seen nipples bleeding, bellybuttons bleeding, people's
feet coming out of their shoes raw and red," James said.
"It's pretty remarkable. We've seen a lot of crazy people
running through there. Friends of ours have run by, too. One
time, our accountant ran by. Most people look pretty tired
by the time they get to us."
Musicians playing on stages earlier along the race route
have reported memorable visual moments as well.
Ric Lee, drummer for Zydeco/blues group the Bayou Brothers,
gets a bit of a different perspective. The Bayou Brothers
have played on the route's eighth stage, the 5.5 mile mark,
at Broadway and First Avenue downtown the last four years.
"We see everybody running pretty much in a good mood and
fresh," Lee said. "You can feel the excitement. We play a
lot of recognizable songs and some of the folks seem to like
it. We try to talk to the people a lot, give them
motivational stuff. We see a lot of our friends, and that's
always special. One year, we saw the fella that ran the
whole thing backward. He was going along at a pretty good
clip."
Lee said his band typically arrives at 6:30 a.m. and gets to
pack up a little after 9 a.m. – "until the last runners come
around," he noted.
After playing a local gig until the wee hours the Sunday of
the race, 34Below arrived at MCRD at 5 a.m. to set up,
playing until about 3 p.m. Five hours later, 34 Below was on
stage as the opening act for the race's 2002 headline
performer, Sugar Ray, at the Coors Amphitheatre in Chula
Vista.
Said 34Below singer Steve Ybarra of his band's busiest day:
"We've opened for Vertical Horizon, Lit and the Calling, but
opening for Sugar Ray at Coors, that was a pretty big one,
definitely high up on the totem pole. That was an amazing,
long day."
Kari Logan, coordinator of the marathon's entertainment for
Elite Racing Inc., says there's been an upswing in response
every year from bands interested in playing. Some bands
don't get paid, Logan said; others earn a small stipend.
Still others ask that any money that was to be paid them
instead be diverted to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The
race is the biggest single-day fund-raiser for the charity.
More than 300 groups, offering anything from surf music to
reggae, from jazz to country, submitted CDs over the past
year in hopes of securing a spot along the race route.
Bands from all over the country – from Wisconsin, Arizona,
Tennessee, Nevada, from Northern California and Los Angeles
– they want to play at the marathon, hoping to get some
exposure in San Diego," Logan said
Say Ybarra: "The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is just a great
vehicle for bands. We actually secured a really cool gig
from that. A lot of good things have come out of it for us."
But it's not just the performance perks that interest
Ybarra, who's been known to get into the race by shouting
words of encouragement on the microphone and jumping off
stage and jogging along for at least a few steps.
"I feel like everybody has a goal in life, a calling,
whether it's to run a marathon, accomplish another task or
overcome an obstacle," said Ybarra, who played tennis at
both Carlsbad High and Palomar College. "Some people
wouldn't fathom running that much. For others, this is their
apex. This marathon could be a highlight of their life; or
maybe there are a thousand reasons behind it. Whatever, I
think it's cool."
— Karen
Pearlman
|
