Doobie Brother Pat Simmons’ wife, Cristine Sommer-Simmons, has authored a large format hardcover book documenting the history of women motorcyclists. Fully entitled The American Motorcycle Girls: 1900 to 1950 - A Photographic History of Early Women Motorcyclists, the book will be released on June 10th, and is available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Cris Sommer Simmons, something of an American motorcycle pioneer herself, has been collecting photographs of women motorcyclists for nearly thirty years. A long time rider, often on a Harley-Davidson, she has scoured photo collections across the country and spent hundreds of hours researching the contents of the photographs. This book is the best of her veritable treasure trove. ‘Charming’ is the best word to describe each and every shot. Equally, one might say ‘informative’ or even ‘evocative’ but in truth this is a hugely significant work that seeks to charm and inject the reader with nostalgia for a surely bygone era.

• Download the official press release here (PDF), for a small preview of the book.
• Pre-Order it on Amazon.com now!

In addition to producing award winning wines at B.R. Cohn, Bruce Cohn has managed The Doobie Brothers for over 39 years. The Collectors Series began with the 2002 vintage and will continue through the 2006 vintage.

The 2006 Collector Series is the fifth and last limited production set and is produced from a special blend of premium Bordeaux varietals with exceptional rich flavors of black cherry and plum. Aging with premium French oak adds to a smooth, long finish.

The 2006 Doobie Red Series contains:

• “Cycles”
• “Brotherhood”
• “Sibling Rivalry”

This wine was produced in memory of Keith Knudsen, long time drummer for The Doobie Brothers since 1974.

A portion of the proceeds for this wine are donated to various Veteran Organization

• Order now at BRCohn.com

The Doobie Brothers and their fans are now celebrating the triumphant return of drummer Michael Hossack, who was sidelined by an injury in a taxi cab accident in the summer of 2008, forcing him to sit out for half a year worth of shows.

In between tour dates, the band is currently in the studio working on their upcoming full-length album, which marks the return of the longtime Doobie Brothers producer Ted Templeman. 15 songs have been written for this release.

We’ll keep you posted with updates regarding the album and tour as information becomes available!

The long-awaited DVD of the Doobie Brothers’ 2005 appearance at the B.R. Cohn Winery with an astonishing list of guests is finally available. Order it here!

More information:

B.R. Cohn Charity Events Proudly Present a BENEFIT CONCERT for the People of the Gulf Coast, the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Concert was held October 2005 at the B.R. Cohn Winery. The proceeds from the concert and DVD sales are being donated to Habitat for Humanity.

Featuring Performances by:

• The Doobie Brothers
• Loggins & Messina
• Little Feat
• Taj Mahal
• The Turtles
• Lisa Loeb
• Joe Satriani
• Norton Buffalo

While supplies last - Order it here!

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to take a moment to send out our best wishes for a very Happy Holiday Season, to all our Friends and Family. Here’s hoping you and your loved ones are all warm, healthy and happy during this season of giving. It has been a crazy, challenging year for all of us, but it looks like 2009 will be a new year full of hope and promise.

We are so thankful for the gift of soon having Mike Hossack back on the bandstand and on the bus with us. His unanticipated absence during the summer, fall, and now winter months, has been hard for the band, and Mike as well. We will be glad to be past this chapter in our lives, and are looking forward to seeing many of you next year. Mike and the band want to thank all of you for your love and support during his convalescence.

We are almost finished with a new Doobie Brothers album. The first one in almost a decade! Can you believe it? So far we have cut 13 songs, and possibly there are still more to come. We are once again working with our longtime friend and collaborator, Ted Templeman, in the producer’s chair. Ross Hogarth, Phil Kaffel, and Dave Russell have been doing the engineering duties. We are feeling really good about the direction, and performance of the songs. It’s been a lot of work, but so much fun, and as always the creative process is just amazing. To hear ideas that have been floating around in your head for so long finally brought to life in the studio, with the help of your friends, is a feeling that’s hard to describe. Sort of like Christmas and graduation day… hmm… we don’t know… Anyway it’s gonna be great to have some new songs to play next summer. There’s no title yet, we’ll let you know.

Like we said, mainly we want to tell you all how much we appreciate your continued support, and to wish you the best of everything as we move forward into the new year. We hold our families and friends close to our hearts, we try to reach out to those less fortunate, and we give thanks for all the blessings that have come our way. Those are the things we value in our own lives, and we hope you won’t mind if we pass this on. As we move through life, we have come to realize the small moments of happiness we experience in our lives through simple acts of love and sharing, are the best life has to offer. A child’s eyes on Christmas Day, a kiss under the mistletoe, angels in the snow… The memories of this wonderful time of year and those we love. Bless you all and Happy Holidays.

Love,
Pat Simmons

- The Doobie Brothers

Brand new classic rock? Yes, and here’s the story…

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Doobies guitarist John McFee and long time Doobies drummer, the late, great Keith Knudsen formed a band with Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist and fellow Southern Pacific bandmate Stu Cook. Diehard fans have been aware for years that a post-Southern Pacific project existed, although the songs they wrote and recorded have never been released - until now!

Sonic Past Music (the same label that recently released some of John’s work with his pre-Doobies band Clover) is proud to announce the October 21 release of Jackdawg.

This is earthy, creative, truly innovative rock at its finest - the music itself was the only goal here, which is perhaps why it has taken so long for these recordings to become available to the listening public. You can hear the fun in the music, and almost all the material was written by the three members together. The only “outside” songs are Jackdawg’s swampy rendition of Roky Erickson’s haunting Cold Night For Alligators and Van Morrison’s classic Wild Night. Even these two songs are close to home for the lads, as Stu produced Roky’s original version of Alligators and John played on Van’s original hit version of Wild Night. Check it out - the songs and the playing epitomize what a contrast a REAL band, who actually write, play, and sing on their own recordings makes to so much of the plastic, pre-fab offerings of today.

Relevant Trivia

• Jackdawg was a project that naturally evolved out of the dissolution of country rock band Southern Pacific, whose core lineup included John, Keith, and Stu plus keyboardist Kurt Howell (who went on launch a career as a successful solo artist, producer, and songwriter.)
• Jackdawg features John McFee on lead vocals, in addition to guitar.
• John and Keith were both long time touring and recording members of legendary Japanese artist Eikichi Yazawa’s band during the years of the Jackdawg sessions.
• Van Morrison’s version of Wild Night was Doobie Brothers producer (also Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, and more) Ted Templeman’s first hit record as a producer - and John McFee played on the record.
• This release was remixed, restored and remastered by John McFee from the original source tracks.

Listen to clips of all the songs and purchase the album for immediate download now at SonicPastMusic.com!

Alternatively, if you would like this album on an actual, physical CD, go to CDBaby!

As many fans know, The Doobie Brothers‘ manager is Bruce Cohn, whose passion for winemaking has made his B.R. Cohn Winery a huge success with wine experts and enthusiasts worldwide. The Fall Music Festival hosted at the B.R. Cohn Winery has also been a long-standing success, featuring The Doobie Brothers as festival headliners and a musically diverse array of other legendary artists on the bill, all performing to raise money for a variety of charitable causes.

In keeping with this tradition, The B.R. Cohn Charity Events 22nd Annual Fall Music Festival (held this past Saturday and Sunday) was a huge success. We will be posting more details and pictures of the event shortly. Thank you to everyone that came and participated in this great charity event!

The event featured:

• The Doobie Brothers
• Kris Kristofferson
• Todd Rundgren
• The Turtles
• Robert Cray
• Dave Mason
• Lara Johnston
• Michael Finney (Comedian/Magician)

A Benefit for:

• Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance
• Valley of the Moon Boys & Girls Club
• Sonoma Valley Education Foundation
• National Veteran’s Foundation
• CommonBond Foundation

Doobie Brothers drummer Michael Hossack has been injured in a taxi cab accident while on tour with the band. He is currently in stable condition in the hospital, and will be missing some shows.

The Doobie Brothers are continuing their current tour with Doobie drummer Ed Toth keeping the beat for the band. All of our best wishes go out to Mike for a speedy recovery.

If you happen to be at a Doobies concert this summer and arrive early, you might be lucky enough to catch a familiar artist by the name of Pat Simmons opening the show. No, we don’t mean that Pat Simmons, but you’re close.

It’s actually Pat Simmons Jr. - he is singing a few tunes and accompanying himself on the guitar and harmonica. Just goes to show the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Or the grape from the vine? Here’s a picture from the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Calif. near San Jose where it all began.