Owned by Peter Escobar, the Casa Escobar location in Malibu was a great family owned Mexican restaurant that had bands play in late evenings but also gave me a weekly opportunity to play early dinner sets most Friday nights.
When I first moved to Ojai, I played at a restaurant called Casa DeLago. During one of my sets there, a kind woman told me she liked my performance and wanted me to play at her retirement party. I was really happy to hear that she enjoyed what I did and thankfully accepted playing at her party. At her event, which was hosted at her house in Ojai, I made a great impression simply by showing up on time and singing the songs everyone knew. After the event I was so grateful to her because she told me I was worth far more than the booking price I gave her. She was so impressed by my set that she gave the owner of Casa Escobar, Kathy, my contact information.
Kathy reached out to me after hearing the recommendation and invited me to play at a Sunday brunch for Casa Escobar. That event worked and I became their regular Friday night dinner musician for almost two years. A lot of the audience enjoyed when I played songs by the artists who were originally hanging out in that area like Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Jame Taylor, Tom Petty and more.
Several familys and kids came out regularly and the kids would dance to CCR and make pictures of fake money for my tip jar. I used one drawing for the cover of our recording, "Shine Shine Shine".
I was told, Neil Young had owned the bar in this location years before and I was told by another patron he had seen Tom Petty play in the exact same corner I was sitting many years prior. You can tell there was history in this large wood restaurant right at the peir on Hwy1 in Malibu.
I was so grateful to Kathy for the opportunity to play in this venue. An Arkansas native landing a house gig in Malibu for a while, how cool! It felt like a full circle moment for me.
It also meant a lot to me that Kathy requested that I help pay tribute to her father, the namesake for the restaurant Peter Escobar, after his passing.
The location has changed owners since the pandemic but I will always be appreciative of the friends made, the staff, and the time I was able to play there. Thanks Kathy!
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