In 2008 I became a member of a few wine clubs in Sonoma and Napa. It gave us a good excuse to get up there once a month from the city. One of those wineries was Gundlach-Bundschu; a nice, little unpretentious place in Sonoma where my friends got engaged. The great thing about Gundlach is that they have a small amphitheatre where they host concerts during the summer. The only show we attended was in July of that year. It was Maria Taylor with Johnathan Rice.
I was a fan of Maria Taylor’s 11:11 album (not to be confused with Rodrigo y Gabreila‘s album of the same name), but I had never heard of Johnathan Rice. We were going to the show more for the atmosphere than the actual music. So I have to say I was pretty shocked when Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley joined Johnathan onstage to perform most of the set. I was ecstatic, being a huge Jenny Lewis fan, but most of my friends didn’t even know who she was. I think that’s about to change.
Jenny and Johnny are not only boyfriend and girlfriend, as they were back then, they are now officially in a band together. Their new album, I’m Having Fun Now, is now streaming on NPR and I have a feeling it’s going to make Jenny and Johnny household names.
Catch them opening for Pavement at the (newly moved) Ogden Theater show on Sept. 9th.
