July 2022 Big Bear Today Magazine

Page 10—July 2022
Shows pay tribute to late Hank Kalvin
If you’ve lived in or visited Big Bear
in the past two decades, chances are you
came across Hank Kalvin, bassist for some
of the Valley’s top bands.
Many saw him at a variety of music
venues from early gigs at the Black Diamond
Tavern with Art Harriman, to his
long tenure as bassist with Skeleton Key
Band or the Bear Valley Crackerz at The
Pub. And, more recently as a duo in Silver
Moon with buddy Brad Riesau and as a
member of the Boswell Project.
Now some of those he made music
with will be paying touching tributes to
Kalvin, who recently passed away, playing
the music he loved during the last week
of July. Bring a folding chair to No Name
Pizza (1112 W. Big Bear Blvd.) on July 25
from 4-6 p.m.
Then on Sunday, July 31—Hank’s
birthday—a whole slate of Big Bear talent
that played with Kalvin will come together
on the outdoor stage at Wyatt’s from 2-5
p.m. The list includes Riesau, Art
Harriman, Tom Burton, Mark Bell, Jim
Ash, Randy and Terry Boswell and others.
From playing as a sideman or a full
fledged bandmate, Hank’s stable influence
was felt in every context. His willingness
to give anything a try, even if he’d never
experienced the music before, is what made
him the right guy for Silver Moon, the
name he gave the duo he performed with
for over 1,500 local shows, playing over
5,000 different songs in 18 years.
But Hank was much more than a
picker and grinner or just a buddy to all.
He started in his dad’s Santa Monica pawn
show as a boy learning people skills and
salesmanship. He took those skills with
him to open his own store, Southern
California’s most cherished and important
musical instrument store, Ace Music.
With friends and customers like John
Kay of Steppenwolf, blues legend Taj
Mahal, a young Linda Ronstadt, Stray Cat
Brian Setzer, The Rolling Stones and a
plethora of others, Kalvin developed a legendary
reputation. His sales staff and repair
department would fuel the L.A. music
scene for decades. When he closed up
shop in the early 1990s he’d been a lifeguard,
student at UCLA, tennis instructor,
an NRA range officer and gun safety instructor,
as well as a brakeman on the railroad
after retirement.
After being taken with Big Bear on a
motorcycle journey he made his move to
the high country. He quickly found childhood
friend Noel Blanc living here. “I met
Hank when he was 11 years old and I was
12,“ Noel recalled. “Through the decades
we’d run into each other around L.A. but
the greatest surprise was discovering that
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Big Bear Today
Late bassist Hank Kalvin, who played with many Big Bear bands in his lifetime
we’d both retired to Big Bear! Hank was a
true and treasured lifelong friend; I will
miss him forever.”
The last four years of his life found
Kalvin playing often with Randy and Terry
Boswell, becoming fixtures at Big Bear
Mountain Brewery where he first played
with Skeleton Key nearly 20 years earlier.
Owner Rick Snow’s seven-days-a-week
live music policy found him on stage often
with various artists.
“Musicians and patrons alike adored
Hank,” Snow said. “Not just for the musical
company he kept but because he loved
playing so much and was just a tremendous
guy.” Randy Boswell laughs at how
Hank “always loved having the last word,
playing the finial note of every song.”
Hank connected with many in town
on his daily walks around the Village, stopping
for a brief hello or a more extensive
ramble in more places of business than not,
spreading a kind word, listening to some
gossip, always festooned with a witty response,
some advice, opinion or a quick
laugh. Hank Kalvin is sorely missed by all
who knew him but his final note, that of a
compassionate and caring best friend to all
is truly his legacy.
—by Brad Riesau
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