I'll never forget when local music historian Bart Mendoza told me about a local musician writing a hit song while sitting at the Der Weinerschnitzel we were across the street from, waiting at a red light.
Saturday, Dec. 1, has officially been declared Peaceful Easy Feeling Day in San Diego, as proclaimed by the Honorable Mayor Jerry Sanders. "Peaceful Easy Feeling," of course, is the Eagles' multiplatinum hit song that local Jack Tempchin wrote a key line to while sitting at the Der Wienerschnitzel in the Hillcrest/Mission Hills area more than 40 years ago.
Saturday celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Eagles releasing the song as a single, which would become one of the biggest hits in their catalog. This Saturday at the Der Wienerschnitzel, located at 101 West Washington Street, you can witness Jack Tempchin have a table dedicated to him between 2-4 p.m., with special 40-cent original chili dogs available just for the event.
I'm ecstatic about this and so excited our city is recognizing a talented and charitable human being. Jack is San Diego and has never left. He's an Encinitas resident, graduate of SDSU, booker of the legendary Backdoor at SDSU, hit songwriter and charitable performer, having played for Make-a-Wish San Diego, Feeding the Soul Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Museum of Making Music and the North County Humane Society, to name a few.
Look for Jack to have his pawn-shop-bought Stella acoustic guitar in tow, the same one he used to write the song all those years ago. Now personally, I've never been a big fan of the Eagles, but a few months ago, Jack made a special appearance at the Casbah for the Staring at the Sun local CD compilation, and I got chills watching him perform hit songs that he had written not just for the Eagles, but also for Glenn Frey, George Jones, Glen Campbell, Emmylou Harris, Tom Rush, Patty Loveless, Tanya Tucker, Johnny Rivers and Johnny Duncan.
Jack will also be performing at Java Joe's in Ocean Beach on Dec. 7, making an appearance this Sunday on the Local 94/9 that airs on FM94/9 at 9 p.m. and at 10 p.m. on the same night via KSON's Bluegrass Special Show, which is hosted by Wayne Rice. You can also pick up his latest disc, Live at Tales From the Tavern, and tell your own personal story of what the song "Peaceful Easy Feeling" meant to you at MyPeacefulEasyFeeling.com.
San Diego has some unique connections to rock & roll: Jim Morrison lived here, as did Rob Halford, Tom Waits and Frank Zappa. Brian Wilson was found roaming aimlessly, then busted as a vagrant in Balboa Park around 1978, and the Beach Boys shot their Pet Sounds album at San Diego Zoo's Children's Zoo. But Jack Tempchin wins by a knockout, because he's never left and he's proud to be called a San Diegan.
Tim Pyles hosts The Local 94/9, FTP show and the Coup d'Eat on FM94/9 on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. He also books local acts at the Casbah and hosts the weekly Anti-Monday League. Check out his website and follow him on Twitter @thelocalpyle. You can reach him directly here pyleste@yahoo.com
