Alan Klein

Alan is, arguably, the "founder" of Vintage Fare.  Invited to do a solo gig at the Lido Bar & Grill , Alan asked the proprietors if he could bring along a couple friends to help out.

The Lido management said "Sure," and Alan asked Dave, Cynthia and Wes if they were interested.

The four of us had a lot of good times in Rubber Soul, so we agreed, and Vintage Fare was born - too soon to even choose a name for the band.

Alan's been performing as a guitarist/vocalist since the sixties, starting out in Kansas playing coffee shops and pubs.

Alan has an uncanny knack for pulling an arrangement out of songs nobody would have guessed could be done acoustically.  His acoustic arrangement of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is impressive.

Alan's a darned good songwriter, too, and this summer plans to record a CD of his original works.  Naturally, Vintage Fare members will contribute whatever he wants.

Cynthia Peterson

Cynthia is a natural vocalist with a number of "voices."

At Rubber Soul's first gig, a private affair, a woman approached Cynthia during a break.

"What kind of vocal training have you had?" she asked.

Somewhat abashedly, Cynthia replied,"None."

The woman then said, "Good!, don't! I'm a professional voice trainer, and I'm here to tell you that any kind of coaching could only mess up what God's given you."

We learned, later, that this generous, candid woman was one of the most sought-out voice trainers in California.

Cynthia's vocals start in her heart, and make their way through voices crowds can't believe.

Dave Lyman

Like Alan, Dave's been performing since God's dog was a pup.  He and Alan are also core members of another talented group, The Harmony Brothers.

Next-door neighbor to Cynthia and Wes, Dave was responsible for getting the four of us together in Rubber Soul.

Dave brings unique guitar and vocal talents to our party. Like Alan, Dave can do both great harmonies, and great lead vocals.  Both Alan's and Dave's vocal and guitar styles are unique, and amazingly complimentary.

Wes Peterson

Wes is Vintage Fare's "sound engineer" and sometime harmonica player.

Wes enjoys "filling in" Vintage Fare's sound with gentle chording, counterparts, riffs, and the occasional harp solo.

He prefers to say he "plays at" harp, rather than actually claiming to play the thing - and mostly drives a soldering iron to keep everything in shape.

Wes started "learning" harmonica in the back seat of a '57 Cadillac Fleetwood.  It was '63, and the family was on a cross-country road trip. He'd previously played saxophone, but a schoolyard incident smashed both his upper front teeth and the vibrations of the sax mouthpiece became intolerably painful. (Lousy dentist.)

His mom made him take piano lessons for a couple years.  They didn't take. Probably out of desperation, Mom gave Wes his first harp to fool with on that road trip - a Hohner Marine Band in the key of C. 

That was the beginning of the end. Wes soon began buying harps in different keys so he could play along with his favorite recordings.  He soon learned that all harmonicas are not created equally, and now owns a collection of a hundred or more. (Wes, here: Thank God harmonicas are inexpensive.)

For those curious, Wes has written a bit about harps here.