This Close! Keepers of Local Music-Making
By Julie Horner
Many a band has formed over a craft brew, and This Close! is one of them. The guys remember meeting each other at Boulder Creek Brewing Company where guitarist Pete Catizone brewed for ten years before moving to Faultline Brewing in Sunnyvale in 2003, and then over to Steel Bonnet Brewing in Scotts Valley. Peter and rhythm guitarist Rob Jenkins have been making music together for a long time, since the late 90s. They were the creative force behind the popular Santa Cruz band Something Else, which played all over the Bay Area and opened for acts like Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, The North Mississippi Allstars, Zigaboo Modeliste, ALO, and Dan Bern to name a few.
Keeping the band together over the years became challenging with young families, so once the kids were grown, Rob and Peter re-launched in late 2024 as a duo. Rob said, “The minute we decided we were going to go duo and that was it, let’s just do it ourselves, we ran into Jim, a longtime friend, who plays the congas and perfectly rounded it out.” Jim Anderson has played percussion in several Santa Cruz Mountain bands including Redwood Boogie Band with keyboardist Steve Hunt, Ragged Heroes with guitarist Victor Manning, and Acoustic Shadows with singer-songwriter Erik Rozite. Jim said, “The unique thing is having percussion…rather than having a full trap drum set and bass,” which can send the sound level meter into the red and have patrons scrambling for their earplugs.
With Rob on acoustic rhythm guitar, Peter playing electric lead guitar, Jim keeping the groove with his hand drums, and all three on vocals, the band plays a mix of originals and a nice selection of tasty covers, which consist mostly of Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd songs, with a smattering of other covers that you won’t normally hear in your local bar but will recognize such as Donavan’s Sunshine Superman, The Animals Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, NRBQ’s A Little Bit of Bad, and Dr Hook’s Cover of the Rolling Stone. Some of their go-to Pink Floyd songs are Mother, Time, and their 17-minute rendition of Us and Them > Any Colour You Like > Brain Damage > Eclipse; basically all of side two of Dark Side of the Moon with the exception of Money. Dead songs in the repertoire include Scarlet Begonias, Casidy, Black Throated Wind, Fire on the Mountain, and many others. Honoring friend and fellow musician Erik Rozite, who passed away in late April, 2025, the band has also added Erik’s original composition, My Dog, from the Dirt Rakers final album Americana Seed Co., to the setlist. Jim said, “I think it was his best song ever. Quite the sing along.”
This is Santa Cruz Mountains music from classic rock to “redwood originals,” perfect rockin’ homegrown sounds for sippin’ your frosty pint! Catch the band at Steel Bonnet Brewing Company in Scotts Valley on Friday, September 5th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm; Saturday, October 4th from 6: 00 to 8:00 at The Sawmill Restaurant and Ale House in Boulder Creek; and the band will perform the entire Dark Side of the Moon album by Pink Floyd at Joe’s Bar in Boulder Creek on November 21st at 8:00 pm with Zayante session musician Steve Hunt sitting in on keys.
Listen to This Close! and check out the gig calendar: myrobotarmy.info/this-close
Follow This Close! on social: FB: @ThisClose
Book the band: thisclose.scm@gmail.com
Julie Horner is Co-Founder and Editor for the San Lorenzo Valley Post. Julie lives and works in Boulder Creek and is an active participant in the county's vibrant music scene. She loves the outdoors and is the go-to expert on Santa Cruz Mountains hiking trails.
