By Julianne Homokay
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
If you attended Lake Arrowhead Vocal Academy’s Broadway Review at the Tudor House back in May, you most likely remember a Patsy Cline sound-alike crooning out two of Cline’s most famous tunes during the course of the show. That sound-alike’s name is Brandi Erin Douglas of Crestline, and she and two other mountain residents have launched a tribute band in honor of one of the most enduring female singers in the history of country music.
“I’ve been obsessed with Patsy Cline since I was about four years old,” said Douglas, in a drawl reminiscent of her grandparents who hailed from the Ozark mountains of Missouri. “I’d go up to people and tell them all about Patsy whether they wanted to hear it or not!” she laughed.
She has also been perfecting Cline’s every vocal turn, flip, growl and inflection for as long as she can remember, and she can sing any Cline tune from memory. Her second appearance here on the mountain singing Cline’s music was as a guest with the band Green Mountain Breakdown at the Market at Lake Gregory on July 12. “When I walked in, I thought you all were playing a recording of Patsy!” said a woman in the audience that day.
After Douglas sat in with the band, two of the members who are also mountain residents expressed an interest in helping her get a tribute band off the ground, and since then, Ron Barnett of Valley of Enchantment, and Julianne Homokay, also of Valley of Enchantment (and a reporter at this newspaper), have been serving as the band’s co-musical directors. Barnett is also on keyboards and vocals; Homokay is on rhythm guitar, mandolin and vocals. “Brandi…sounds authentically like Patsy Cline,” said Barnett. “She is a must-see for any classic country fan.”
Sweet Dreams: a Patsy Cline Tribute in performance
The band, prospectively called “Sweet Dreams: a Patsy Cline Tribute” had its soft opening as part of the Music in the Garden cabaret series at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glendale, where Barnett is the organist and Director of Music and Sacred Arts. “St. Mark’s was the perfect venue for a soft open, a beautiful evening in a beautiful garden with friendly folk,” said Barnett.
Joining Douglas, Barnett and Homokay in the band were Los Angeles musicians Bill Bonk on bass, Don Ian on lead guitar and “Rosy” Rosenquist on drums.
“Sweet Dreams: a Patsy Cline Tribute” hopes to be making its debut on the mountain in the very near future. “This band is my dream come true,” said Douglas.
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