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Available now: Sign up here<\/a> for the best food, drink and entertainment coverage in Stanislaus County. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Uniquely<\/b> is a Modesto Bee series<\/a> that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Central Valley so special.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n They\u2019re brothers. Get that straight.<\/p>\n Because each of the three members of iconic Modesto trio Home Grown, interviewed individually, were quick to point out that they are more than simply friends and bandmates.<\/p>\n Asked if they were \u201cclose friends,\u201d lead singer Bruce Johnson responded decisively, \u201dBrothers.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Lingg, who plays guitar, lapsteal guitar, harmonica and sings, concurred: \u201cHonestly, we\u2019re like brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n And Patrick Durr, who plays guitar, ukulele and sings in the trio said,<\/u> \u201cWe call ourselves musical brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n After 53 years of brotherhood and music, the members of Home Grown have decided it\u2019s time to say farewell to public performances.<\/p>\n They will do so to a sold-out State Theatre audience on Sunday, March 29.<\/p>\n People are eager to be there.<\/p>\n Tickets went \u201cFast!,\u201d State Theatre General Manager Gabriela Guerrini said in an email interview. \u201c(Home Grown\u2019s) fans were ready once tickets went on sale.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of those fans might remember the trio from its first gigs in 1973 at the old Vintage Restaurant in downtown Modesto, when they got together for what was planned as a single summer to play a little music.<\/p>\n That single summer turned into more than five decades of performances, music, harmonies, travels, original songs, albums and \u2014 get it straight \u2014 brotherhood.<\/p>\n They called themselves Home Grown from the beginning.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed a name, wanted something local and something kind of earthy, and it fit the area,\u201d said Durr, 77.<\/p>\n Johnson, 73, said Durr and Lingg came up with the name, \u201cand I agreed completely because we were basically, all three of us, were from Modesto, and so we\u2019re locally grown, Home Grown.\u201d<\/p>\n Saying that so many bands of the time had \u201csilly names,\u201d Home Grown sounded \u201cunassuming,\u201d said Linng, 76. \u201cHome Grown just seemed natural. It just felt good.\u201d<\/p>\n All three were members in other Modesto bands before, including a couple in which Durr and Lingg played together.<\/p>\n Lingg said he came home from college that first summer and he and Durr talked about playing again.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout the same day almost, I met Bruce Johnson and we shared the same love of the same bands, the same songs …,\u201d he said. Hence, the trio was born.<\/p>\n The first song they sang together was \u201cPeaceful Easy Feeling\u201d by the Eagles, Lingg said. Their voices sounded good together \u201cand it just clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n Home Grown played its debut show at the Vintage, a steakhouse that opened in 1973 and closed in the 1980s, according to a 2019 story in The Bee.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Vintage Restaurant was part of why we existed,\u201d said Lingg, a Downey High School graduate. \u201cPeople said it was really popular and had a little stage where a trio could play.\u201d<\/p>\n After that summer they were enjoying their connection and decided to keep it going. Home Grown hit what was called the \u201csteakhouse circuit,\u201d Durr said, entertaining restaurant patrons.<\/p>\n Their cover songs include those from classic bands such as the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash and other popular artists and groups known for harmonies. They also penned original songs to add to their playlists.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, if you can put in an original song with a bunch of covers, that\u2019s success,\u201d Durr, a Modesto High graduate, said.<\/p>\n He said the band\u2019s genre could be classified as Americana, \u201cbut, really, what we\u2019ve always enjoyed is a variety of genres and eras … big band, folk, early rock \u2019n\u2019 roll.\u201d<\/p>\n The trio began getting calls from other steakhouses, including up and down the Bay Area peninsula.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you start playing in an area, different owners will come in to check out the competition and different owners would come over ask \u2018would you like to play for me?\u2019,\u201c said Johnson, a Davis High School grad who also plays maracas, cow bell and tambourine.<\/p>\n People of a certain age might recall other places in Modesto that Home Grown played in its early decades \u2014 Bookies, Tree Frog Tavern and Cask & Cleaver among them.<\/p>\n They also began to play at weddings and other events \u2014 some of which were particularly notable.<\/p>\n In 1976, they were contacted by promoter Bill Barr, according to Lingg, who wanted Home Grown as the opening act at that year\u2019s Mountain Aire Festival at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp.<\/p>\n (Modesto-based Barr produced the early years of Mountain Aire before they were taken over by Bill Graham Presents).<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the first time we played before a really large audience,\u201d Lingg said, around 10,000 to 12,000 people.<\/p>\n On the bill that year were Poco, Pure Prairie League and Seals and Crofts.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a big deal,\u201d Durr said. \u201cIt was a great audience.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t Home Grown\u2019s only \u201cbig deal,\u201d though.<\/p>\n The trio represented Modesto twice in Kurume, its sister city in Japan. And they performed the National Anthem a cappella for the Oakland As and the San Francisco Giants at their stadiums.<\/p>\n The A\u2019s wanted the band to lip sync to a recording at the Oakland Coliseum, but that was a no-go for the members, who insisted on doing it live.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t get it wrong,\u201d Johnson said. They also sang live at Candlestick Park before Giants games.<\/p>\n Johnson said each time performing the anthem was \u201csuch an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n But when asked which of their major performances was his personal favorite, Johnson said it was in Japan.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably the biggest thrill was playing in Japan a couple of times,\u201d he said, adding that he \u201cfell in love with the Japanese people, and they love American music. It was just so exciting and an honor to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Japan was Lingg\u2019s favorite, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to say, Japan was a chance of a lifetime,\u201d he said. They treat musicians and entertainers like royalty. They respect what work you put into your craft and your art.\u201d<\/p>\n For Durr, it was a toss up between Mountain Aire and the National Anthem performances. He called each of the latter \u201ca pretty nervous time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn the big ballparks, you sing a note, and it\u2019s coming back louder than you\u2019re singing, only it\u2019s delayed, so you have yourself yelling in your own ear. So you really have to focus,\u201d Durr said.<\/p>\n There were other highlights in their career over the years, including winning grand prize with its original song \u201cYou Can Fly\u201d as the soundtrack for a national City Video competition sponsored by the Arts & Entertainment Network. They rewrote the lyrics so they were about Modesto. The video was shown on A&E.<\/p>\n Home Grown was the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Modesto Area Music Association (affectionately known as MAMA).<\/p>\n There\u2019s information about its history, original recordings, photos and more on the group\u2019s website, homegrowntrio.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many other memories include \u2014 but are in no way limited to \u2014 performing with Elvin Bishop at Modesto\u2019s National Guard Armory, playing at Mancini Bowl in Modesto\u2019s Graceada Park, for chamber of commerce events, nonprofit events, at Modesto Centre Plaza, at the State Theatre, for large craft fairs in the Mother Lode and at ski resorts.<\/p>\n Another significant performance was at the Gallo Center for the Arts in 2007 before the downtown venue had even opened its doors.<\/p>\n Home Grown was among the first local artists to play prior to the Gallo Center opening, notably headlining a concert in its larger Mary Stuart Rogers Theater.<\/p>\nThe offers started coming<\/h2>\n
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They have their favorites<\/h2>\n