Events
Events
Sunday, June 7th - Inn at Occidental Sunset Concert Series: The Illeagles
This Sunday, June 7th, Sponsored by Bananas! The Inn at Occidental is proud to welcome back our Sunset Concert Series for 2026. Join us on select Sunday evenings as live music fills the courtyard and the sun sets over West Sonoma County. The Inn At Occidental outdoor bar will be pouring local wines, craft beers, and seasonal spritzes, with a rotating lineup of local food offerings available each night. Please join us for great music, great food and wine, and relaxed summer evenings in the redwoods.The Show This Sunday: The musicians of Bay Area tribute band ILLEAGLES believe audiences want to be engaged, energized, and singing along from the very first note. Judging by their string of sold-out performances, they deliver exactly that. Formed when six accomplished musicians united over a shared love of the music of the Eagles, ILLEAGLES set out to faithfully capture the magic of one of the most iconic bands in rock history. Through countless hours of rehearsal and attention to detail, they have mastered the soaring guitars, rich harmonies, and timeless sound that made the Eagles legendary. From high-energy classics like “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Heartache Tonight” to beloved ballads like “Desperado” and “Best of My Love,” ILLEAGLES brings these songs to life with both precision and passion. The result is a show where audiences quickly find themselves singing along from the very first chorus to the final encore. Buy Tickets
Make Music Day - String Together at Bananas at Large - 6/20/26
Bananas is excited to participate in Make Music Day, a National effort to encourage making music in our communities! Do you play guitar? One of the best and easiest ways to improve the sound of your guitar is putting on a fresh set of strings! Come to the store closest to you on Make Music Day, June 20th, at 2PM and attend a free string-changing demonstration at 2pm! The first 12 participants will receive a free set of acoustic guitar strings from Elixir Strings! All are welcome, from complete newbies who have never changed their strings, to more experienced players looking for a few tips from a pro guitar tech. RSVP for San Rafael - 2pm RSVP for Santa Rosa - 2pm
Sponsored by Bananas: The Next Sunset Concert Series! Benefit Concert in Occidental June 22nd 🎶
🎶 Sponsored by Bananas: Get ready Occidental! Another benefit concert is coming your way, this Sunday, June 22nd! 🎶 The Inn at Occidental is pleased to welcome Sgt Splendor (featuring Eric McFadden & Kate Vargas w/ Angeline Saris and Paulo Baldi) to their 2025 Sunset Concert Series. Before joining forces, the duo behind Sgt. Splendor were already formidable solo artists, Kate Vargas chalking up acclaim at outlets like NPR, HuffPost, American Songwriter, Rolling Stone and Vice (including praise from the “Dean of American Rock Critics” Robert Christgau); and Eric McFadden amassing an impressive resume including stints on guitar with George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Anders Osbourne, Karl Denson, Stockholm Syndrome, and Eric Burdon & The Animals, plus a slew of solo albums, and session work with everyone from Jackson Browne to The Clash’s Joe Strummer. See you Sunday Sonoma County! ✨ Tickets Available Online $25 / $30 Day of Show Purchase Tickets here!
Sponsored by Bananas: Celebrate Occidental! Benefit Concert June 8 🎶
Get ready, Occidental! The Inn at Occidental is thrilled to kick off their 2nd annual Sunset Concert Series with a special Benefit Concert for the Occidental Community Council on June 8!
Earth Day Event : String Recycling Event - Past Event
Recycle your old strings & get a new set for FREE! Did you know that musical instrument strings are not recycled through municipal recycling programs? It is estimated that more than 1.5 million lbs. of instrument string metal could be put into landfill every year. D’Addario has teamed up with the global recycling organization TerraCycle to create Playback, a safe and independent way to recycle and upcycle instrument strings. Your contribution of used guitar, bass, or ukulele strings qualifies you for a FREE set of D’Addario NYXL electric guitar or Nickel Bronze Acoustic guitar strings. Limited quantities available, so first come - first served! Restring service available at San Rafael store only - $30 and up. Consult with our in-house repair tech on your instrument needs and questions No purchase necessary!Click here for more information about the D'Addario Playback Program San Rafael : Monday, April 22, 2019 from 2:00pm - 6:00pm Bananas at Large1654 2nd StreetSan Rafael, CA 94901 Santa Rosa : Monday, April 22, 2019 from 2:00pm - 5:00pm Bananas at Large531 College Ave.Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Facebook Event! San Rafael Facebook Event! Santa Rosa
Greg Koch Clinic - 11/30/17
Fishman Presents: Greg Koch Acoustic & Electric Guitar Products Clinic Thursday, November 30th from 4-6pm Bananas At Large531 College AveSanta Rosa, CA 95404 Fishman signature artist and clinician Greg Koch will host a clinic covering Fishman acoustic amplification products and Fluence Multi-Voice pickups for electric guitar. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the Gristleman’s unparalleled guitar playing and unique brand of humor. WHO IS GREG KOCH? An unsung guitar hero from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he grew up just a few miles from the Waukesha birthplace of the late, great guitarist-inventor Les Paul, Greg Koch has established himself within six-string circles as a masterful technician, accomplished clinician (for Fender) and general bad-ass guit-picker. No less than guitar virtuoso Steve Vai noted Koch’s six-string prowess and promptly signed him to his Favored Nations label in 2001. Tom Wheeler from Guitar Player magazine hailed him as “fiendishly talented” while other critics have called him everything from “a twisted guitar genius” to “the best kept secret in the guitar firmament.” On From The Attic, his 12th release overall as a leader and third for Germany’s ZYX/Peppercake label, the veteran guitar virtuoso joins bassist Tom Good and drummer Del Bennett for an eclectic, hard-hitting program full of incendiary licks and audacious fretboard tricks. Recorded remarkably quickly (“We did the ten tracks in roughly 11 hours,” Koch explains) in the attic of guitarist-engineer Chris Hanson’s Victorian home on Milwaukee’s East Side, these rockin’, bluesy originals are imbued with Koch’s trademark searing licks and typically clever lyrics. From the blistering, Magic Sam-inspired boogie “Leg Up Foot Out” to the urgent blues inflected “Nova Scotia Cold,” from the elegant fingerstyle instrumental ballad “Sleep Tight” to the wild chicken-picking romp “Picked On,” Koch and his crew wail with uncanny tightness and authority. “Trouble” is a growling funk-blues number written about Koch’s first encounter with his wife-to-be (“Her middle name was trouble, her last name is mine”) while “Agree To Disagree” addresses the guitarist’s ongoing conflict with the staunch point’s of view of loved ones. “Here We Go Again” is a rich, R&B flavored ballad featuring some lyrical, legato guitar work by Koch and the aggressively funky “Happy Versus Right” recalls classic Red Hot Chili Peppers slamming down a thick groove. Koch flaunts some wicked wahwah-inflected slide guitar licks on the mellow “Twice the Man” and they close out the collection with the anthemic, classic rock jam “You’ll Rock and Like It,” which sounds like an encounter between Jeff Beck and AC/DC.” “The whole gist of this record is kind of where I started from in my career,” says Koch of From The Attic. “It’s basically tunes with cool guitar things. And I find that if you can have nice little blasts within the confines of a short tune, it’s much more digestible.” And though Koch may be consciously trying to simplify his six-string onslaught on this trio recording, his natural fretboard fusillades ultimately come to the fore. In its 2001 feature story, Guitar Player magazine described Koch’s inherently pyrotechnic approach this way: “An impossible stream of riffs jumps off of Koch’s fretboard like clowns spilling out of a VW bug – and when you’re convinced that there can be no more, out pops another one.” Born in Milwaukee in 1966, Koch got his earliest musical influences from his older brother and later became infatuated with Jimi Hendrix, who remains a profound influence to this day. After studying jazz guitar for four years at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Koch won 1st Prize in the 1989 Bluesbreaker Guitar Showdown judged by legendary bluesman Buddy Guy. Shortly after, he formed Greg Koch and the Tone Controls, which became one of the more popular acts of the region. The band went on to win five Wisconsin Area Music Awards for Blues Artist of the Year (‘93, ‘95 through ‘98), and Koch personally took in seven WAMA awards as Guitarist of the Year (‘92, ‘94 through ‘99). Koch soon found himself as a clinician for Fender, the world’s largest and most prestigious guitar and amplifier manufacturer. Bringing together world-class chops and a humorous ability to articulate sounds and techniques with a genuine devotion to all things guitar, Koch has developed an exceptionally effective approach to conducting guitar clinics. Greg’s relationship with music publishing giant, the Hal Leonard Corporation, has also resulted in a string of top-selling guitar method books, including “Guitar Clues: Operation Pentatonic,” “Lead Licks,” “Rhythm Riffs” and Koch’s popular Hal Leonard instructional DVDs – two on the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan (approved by Jimmie Vaughan), one on Lynyrd Skynyrd, another celebrating revered blues stylists like Albert King, Albert Collins, Elmore James and Guitar Slim and one on his own twisted take on guitar called “Guitar Gristle” – have revolutionized video guitar instruction with a combination of humor, effective instruction and inspiring musical performances into a package that can only be described as “edu-tainment.” In his self-penned liner notes to his 2001 recording, The Grip, Koch described his guitaristic approach as “Chet Hendrix meeting the Kings (BB, Albert and Freddie) at the first annual Zeppelin-Holdsworth Coffee Guzzlers Hoedown.” He would subsequently showcase his over-the-top chops and wicked sense of humor on 2003’s Radio Free Gristle, 2004’s 13 x 12, 2005’s 4 Days In the South and 2007’s Live on WMSE, which showcases his fiery fretboard work in the company of bassist Roscoe Beck (longtime sideman to guitarists Robben Ford and Eric Johnson), drummer Tom Brechtlein (a former member of Ford’s Blueline band and a frequent collaborator with Chick Corea) and the charismatic Austin-based soul singer Malford Milligan (formerly the frontman for Storyville and Double Trouble). Last year’s Nation Sack had Koch teaming with Milligan and his current rhythm tandem of Good and Bennett for a collection of Koch originals (including some co-penned with Milligan) along with a cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” Koch continues to channel all the right people on his most recent collection of blues, funk and R&B, including Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Albert Collins, Jeff Beck and Roy Buchanan with touches of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Danny Gatton and Richie Blackmore thrown in for good measure. And he filters all those killer influences through his own slightly bent prism that is tinted with grunge, gristle and good clean fun. Thursday, November 30th from 4-6pm Bananas At Large531 College AveSanta Rosa, CA 95404 RSVP on Facebook!
Taylor Road Show - 9/14/17
Guitar talk and demos with Taylor factory staff from El Cajon, California Experience the new Academy Series & GS Mini Bass Test-drive Taylor's latest guitar models Consult with Taylor's experts to find the perfect guitar Special Road Show pricing on Taylor models Free TaylorWare gear and Anti-Rust Elixir (while supplies last) Thursday, September 14 at 6:30pm Bananas at Large531 College Ave.Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Facebook Event! RSVP Online! Shop all Taylor guitars here.
