the

peach

“ If it doesn’t speak to me, you won’t feel it.”

Amy O’Kane, aka The Peach, is a lovely young woman,

reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in charm and grace, who has an online Etsy shop that could outfit an entire noonday picnic, including the guests–if you could magically bring to life the personas of her gorgeous reworked vintage items. There would be glorious cupcakes baked with love by Amy’s newest business venture ‘Amy Bakes Cupcakes,’ crowned with handmade tiny pink Vespa toppers, and all the girls would be wearing darling vintage dresses, such as the Scooter Rides to the Dancehall Vintage Mod Dress covered classically with the Peach Pie Perfect Apron and iconically accessorized with the oh-so-feminine Kelly Likes to Drive Fast Muscle Cars Clutch to house that tube of fire-engine-red lipstick. Each of The Peach’s items has a personality of its own that she conjures up and is inspired by, which makes her handmade and restored items that much more irresistably charming. “I love to share stories,” Amy says to me in her soft voice speaking of those that purchase her items, “and the emotions that I connect to them. For instance, I embellished a children’s vintage pink sweater that I called Hannah’s Favorite Sweater and I imagined I created it for a perfect toddler daughter named Hannah.” The Peach has sold nearly 2,200 items from her bustling Etsy shop, and when I ask her what she loves about creating, she answers simply and assuredly: “I love making [vintage] things exciting again. I love textures and patterns,” she shrugs and smiles, “I do what I do.” l

Visit Amy’s Etsy page at www.thepeach.etsy.com

A Musician’s Musician

Songwriter, performer and TV host

Merrell Fankhauser has enough life

experience to fi ll three biographies.

by Heidi Laurenzano

Wipe Out.Merrell Fankhauser’s life in the music business has been anything but a

A choppy start as a teenager in Pismo Beach could have beached his career for good. Merrell Fankhauser claims that a Del-Fi record producer tricked him into selling the original version of “Wipe Out” for $1. But that song—and countless others he’s written since 1962, coupled with a resilient spirit—have garnered him respected status in the music business. How respected? For one, he’s played many times with Willie Nelson. “Two years ago, he sat there at my kitchen table, ate a ham sandwich and smoked a doobie,” Fankhauser said. Other musicians Fankhauser has played with over the years include the late Nicky Hopkins of The Jeff Beck Group (piano player on John Lennon’s “Imagine”), Bill McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jeff Cotton of Captain Beefheart, Jimmie

Vaughn (Steve Ray’s brother) of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, and Ed Cassidy of Spirit, just to name a few. Between 1962 and 1995, Fankhauser formed several bands, including The Impacts, The Exiles, Fapardokly, HMS Bounty, Mu and the Fankhauser-Cassidy Blues Band. The down-to-earth, animated 64-year-old has written, produced or contributed to 40 albums to date. They contain elements of surf rock, folk, psychedelia, blues and country. These days, the master of self promotion mostly sticks to surf rock, folk and country. Many books document Fankhauser’s contributions to music. “Unknown Legends of Rock’n’Roll” by Richie Unter-berger refers to Fankhauser as “the artist most highly esteemed by collectors of rare records.” Sealed copies of his self-titled 1967 Fapardokly album can reportedly fetch $1,000. Fankhauser’s newest recording, “Move to Higher Ground,” accurately refl ects his values and songwriting abil-ity. Played on more than 300 stations across the U.S., to date it holds the number one spot on 12 of them. Locally, KPIG, KCPR and KGUR play it. He’s sold 6,000 copies of the single, raising $17,000 for Midwest fl ood relief. The man with the trademark long hair and wide grin wrote the infectious ditty this past summer after watching news coverage of fl ooding in Iowa and fi res in the West. “I wrote the song in 15 minutes,” he said. “I fi nd that if you wait two weeks to fi nish a song, it loses its freshness.” Lately, Fankhauser has been riding a big wave of success in Europe. Labels carrying his music there cover the map—several in Germany, Italy, the U.K. and Brazil, two in France, and one each in Spain, Sweden and Greece. A tribute album to Fankhauser by German artist Golly McCry releases early this year. The master of self-promotion also plays live with the Steve Miller Band on occasion, garnering a respectable $1,500 per hour.

Throw in living in the remote jungles of Maui for 14 years, a UFO sighting, a keen interest in lost-culture exploration à la Indiana Jones, two marriages, the birth of two sons, briefl y dying from a heartattack, and a Bud-dhist monkhood, and it becomes clear that Fankhauser never stays down for long.

The Arroyo Grande resident’s two children, Tim, 39, and Maui Joe, 24, and one granddaughter live in Oregon. He’s grateful to have been able to pay the bills all his life doing what he loves. He’s also grateful for his health. “Everyone else is dying. I’m still alive and doing stuff.” l

But there’s more to Fankhauser than music ...

In San Luis Obispo County, Channel 2 broadcasts Fankhauser’s TV show, “Tiki Lounge,” Sundays at 7:30 p.m. In

northern Santa Barbara County, the show appears on Channel 25 Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m., Thursdays at 11 a.m.,

Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. Seven stations in Los Angeles and one each in Michigan

andHawaii also carry the show.

Art meets life and inspires determination as two women create an epic documentary about the first woman to challenge the legendary surf of Maverick’s, and triumph.

by Phillip Townsend

Winter Story

The sea has been the theme of many great stories. For centuries, people have been drawn across its great expanses to face its challenges and admire its force. In the same way, its tides have drawn Sally Lundburg, Elizabeth Pepin, and Sarah Gerhardt together to tell a simply beautiful story about the complexities of life: One Winter Story.

Envisioned by Lundburg and created by Lundburg and Pepin, One Winter Story is a touching independent surf documentary that dives into the life of chemist, wife, mother, and big wave surfer Sara Gerhardt. Gerhardt was born on the Central Coast in California and grew up in Pismo, Morro Bay, and other cities in San Luis Obispo County.

At a young age, she and her mother were almost completely abandoned by her father after her mother was limited to a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy. A courageous and selfless young Gerhardt took care of her mother from grade school to college. One Winter Story follows Gerhardt as she turned to surfing—and eventually to God—to overcome these waves crashing in her life. In the process, Gerhardt eventually conquered some of the sea’s most legendary surf.

Initially, Lundburg intended to create a 15-minute short about Gerhardt’s renown as the first woman to surf Maverick’s—a legendary big wave surf location off Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, California. “After meeting with [Sarah] for the first time,” Lundburg says, “I realized that there was much more to this story.” Thus, a 15-minute short became an inspirational, hour-long documentary about tragedy, victory, redemption, and growth with all the styling and presentation of an unique and beautiful surf documentary.

Before Sally Lundburg was at the helm of any film project, however, she was inspired by her parents George and Kaye Lundburg. Born in California, Lundburg grew up in Hawaii.

Lundburg’s father was a resource-conscious, self-sufficient handyman. Her family was almost entirely self-sustaining, using solar panels—built by her father—a wood stove, and other alternative resources. Schooling was provided by her mother. Lundburg now employs the same creativity and determination to produce her films and artwork.

Lundburg’s dad was also a writer, inspiring her passion for storytelling. She considered a career in journalism, but discovered photography. By her early 20s, Lundburg became more devoted to this new passion, even to the point of building a darkroom in her mother’s house.

In 1995, Lundburg moved to San Francisco to attend the Art Institute of California-San Francisco. For the next four years, she focused on mixed media painting and photography, taking several courses from Larry Jordan, a well-known experimental filmmaker and artist. “The course that really rocked my world was The Poetic Documentary,” says Lundburg. “I learned that telling a story on film can take many visual paths.”

Upon graduating with her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1999, Lundburg began writing monthly articles that explored the lives and stories of the female surfers in the Bay Area for Withitgirl.com. From this inspiration, she created her first documentary called On Any Given Day. It was a poetic documentary about a Pacifica artist and longboarder named Elizabeth Pepin. The ten-minute short was a stepping stone in Lundburg’s creative future. She created her company Frank Films and joined forces with Pepin for One Winter Story.

Elizabeth Pepin has always been fascinated by films and photography. As a child, she collected old photographs from thrift stores and watched home movies on her grandfather’s Super 8 projector. She learned from her grandfather how to shoot on his Super 8 camera and how to edit on his modest editing stand. At about the age of ten, she was already wielding her very own point-and-shoot camera.

Being a Bay Area native and the daughter of a mother that would take the kids on coastal camping trips, Pepin became familiar with the beach and the ocean. “I’ve been going to the beach my whole life,” she recalls.

Much like Lundburg, fate directed Pepin from the field of journalism to documentary filmmaking. “I had no intention of becoming a filmmaker,” says Pepin, “but after getting laid off as assistant editor of a wire service … I tried different jobs.”

She discovered that KQED, the local PBS station, was producing a documentary on the Fillmore neighborhood. Coincidentally, Pepin had been researching the Fillmore District for years for the purpose of writing a book about the historic neighborhood. “I took a chance, called up the producer, … and I was hired,” Pepin says. She realized that documentary filmmaking is the perfect combination of all of her passions: writing, research, visual arts, and music.

Working at KQED, Pepin became accustomed to the resources available to an established TV station, and when Lundburg asked her to join the project, Pepin says it was scary. With One Winter Story, however, they had complete creative control, an exciting prospect for artistic minds.

Despite enduringequipment failure, difficult film locations, harsh weather, life-threatening surf conditions, and a gross lack of funding, Lundburg and Pepin still managed to create a masterpiece. It wouldn’t have been possible, though, without their determination or the support and generosity of friends and family.

After completion, One Winter Story was shown in a variety of film festivals and played in Hawaii, California, and New York. It was also shown, as a tribute to Gerhardt, at La Perla del Mar Chapel on the Central Coast in California’s Shell Beach, just north of Pismo, where Gerhardt grew up. Lundburg and Pepin worked together on one more documentary, Working with Water, before pursuing separate endeavors.

Lundburg, along with Frank Films, is now located in Hawaii, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She continues her painting and photography, as well as creating documentaries to celebrate and inspire the communities of Hawaii. Lundburg shares, “Do it because you love it and it drives you. Find people that inspire you and seek them out to give you feedback.”

Pepin, still in the Bay Area, created her own production company, Potrero Industries, named for Potrero Hill in San Francisco, where she and her husband live. She completed her book, “Harlem of the West: The San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era.” It is now a museum exhibit at the San Francisco Jazz Heritage Center through March 2009 and will then tour the country for a few years.

Pepin offers this inspiration: “If I believed everything every critic has said to me about my work I would have put away my camera a long time ago. But it didn’t really matter what they thought. … At the end of the day, I know that to quit either filmmaking or photography would be like cutting off a limb. That’s how much it’s a part of me.”

Sarah Gerhardt and husband Mike Gerhardt have a son and a daughter. She teaches chemistry at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. She also volunteers for local youth outreaches, as well as Ride a Wave, which enables special-needs children to experience surfing. l One Winter Story is available on DVD through www.frankfilms.net. You can also learn more about these inspiring women at their websites: www.sarahgerhardt.com, www.sallylundburg.com, www.frankfilms.net, and www.costavista.net.

The thrill of the bargain hunt. Local finds from antique shows and consignment and antique stores on the Central Coast. 1 Assortment of rings about $5 each • Curio located in the Creamery on Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo. 2 Set of 4 Napkins $10, Plate $9, Glass $9 • The Nest located at the corner of Palm and Chorro Street, San Luis Obispo. 3 Black top $1, Vintage skirt $7, Metal and bead necklace $7 • Curio. 4 Locally crafted fabric cuffs $20 and earrings $10 • The Nest. 5 Summer Purse $7 • Curio. 6 Pearl bracelet $20 • “Remnants of the Past” antique show, Nipomo. 7 Sea foam green shell-shaped bowl $10 • “Three Speckled Hens” antique show, Templeton.

8 Fabric Remnants, $5.00 • “Remnants of the Past” antique show. 9 Vintage Shell Mirror $19 • The Nest.

Summer Inspirations

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