Tres Gatos
by Glen Starkey
New Times
7/19/07
Rock Sisters Productions, a new music production company based in the Five Cities, is taking an active role in bringing live music back to O'Reilly's Bar and Grill in Grover Beach. They're presenting local rock-surf-blues-funk trio Tres Gatos on Friday, July 20, at the popular hangout near the beach. Tres Gatos covers rock favorites from the '60s to the present, in addition to their pop-culture-influenced original tunes, which they describe as "B52s mean AC/DC meets Dick Dale, while jamming with Rick James." Bass player and vocalist Jules Vern fronts the band with her pink Fender and her characteristic humor. O'Reilly's was formerly a mecca for live music on the Central Coast, but previous owners allowed the venue's live music permit to lapse and brought in strictly DJ music. New owners Jeff and Barbara Wynn faced opposition from area businesses when they sought to reinstate the venue's live music permit, but recently won a hard-fought battle. "I can't tell you how excited I am to have the opportunity to participate in brining live music back to O'Reilly's," says Leanne Phillips, one of the Rock Sisters, along with Nancy Dye and Melissa Wren. I'm head over hells in love with the new owners' vision for live music at O'Reilly's."