The County Crows is Marin's own local string band built by the talented employees of Marin County. The band started playing together nine years ago and hasn’t stopped since!
The group can be found at local venues throughout the County covering classic favorites from The Deadheads to Bob Dylan. These local artists dedicate their days to keeping Marin working, and their evenings to keeping Marin jamming!
You can check out a live performance, here!
1. You guys are musicians, but also county employees. What kind of work do you do?
Well, we have folks from throughout the county in the County Crows. We have a building inspector, a lawyer, an account, a computer technician, an administrative specialist from the Planning Department, folks from Public Works, Health and Human Services and the County Counsel departments. Plus a couple Traffic Engineers, members of the Cultural Services staff, a Flood Control Engineer, and Capital Projects staff.
2. How long have you been playing music together? How did you get started?
The County Crows were started 9 years ago when Steve Morse and John Wilson met at a work Christmas party. They played a few songs that night, and have been getting together once a week for a jam session ever since!
3. Do you play original songs, or covers?
At this point we play all covers with the exception of, “Lonesome Riders” which was written by our own Pat Echols.
4. Marin has quite a history in terms of music and rock'n'roll - are there any local artists you look up to?
We have a strong contingency of Greatful Dead fans, but we also love The Band, Bob Dylan and the New Riders.
6. If someone wants to go out for an evening and listen to some live music, where in Marin would you recommend?
The best venues for local music in Marin County are The Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, Peri’s and the 19 Broadway Night Club in Fairfafx, and the Hopmonk Tavern in Novato.
7. You guys could live anywhere - why Marin?
Natural beauty, culture, nice folks.
8. Marin citizens have long been supportive of the arts and culture. What does that mean to you as musicians?
Artists are appreciated in Marin – there’s a lot of community support here.
9. In your opinion, is that commitment as strong as it's been, or do you think there's room for improvement?
Life moves so quickly these days and people are so busy that we sometimes forget to take the time to slow down and smell the roses, or dance to the music.
