”
This is like a real good dream,
”
singer Dana Hutson said from the stage on a recent Friday night
at Santa Cruz’s Catalyst nightclub.
“This is like a real good dream,” singer Dana Hutson said from the stage on a recent Friday night at Santa Cruz’s Catalyst nightclub.
“You don’t know how many times I walked past this building in the early ’80s and said, “One day our band is going to play on that stage,” guitarist Molly Higbie told the sold-out audience with a grin on her face.
When a young woman named Dana Hutson first walked into the Aptos office where I worked nearly 20 years ago, I knew this was no ordinary receptionist. Her thousand-watt smile, wide eyes taking in everything around her, and her not-to-be-contained enthusiasm for life quickly won everyone over.
Sticking her long blonde hair up in a bun with only a pencil holding it in place and seeming to be wearing no make-up at a time when I wouldn’t be caught leaving the house without full foundation, powder, blush, eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick perfectly in place, I was amazed by her casual yet self-assured attitude.
As we became office friends, she mentioned that she was writing some songs. I’ll never forget the first night I went to see her perform on stage. All day at the office, she was climbing the walls. I had never seen her so nervous before. That night she was going to open as lead singer with a band called Pele Juju, an all-women’s ensemble of seven musicians who played a jazzy Afro-reggae grooving kind of music known as world beat music.
I really felt for her. My future husband and I brought flowers to her and she seemed thrilled to see that she had us as fans out there rooting for her. I will never forget the boundless energy and excitement she exuded as she hit that stage. It was a great show, better than many I have paid five times as much to see. During the ’90s, she and the other members of Pele Juju created a wide following for themselves.
There are some people who aren’t in your everyday life for long, but who remain in your heart and thoughts. Over the years, I have played Pele Juju’s music for many other people, and it has been part of the soundtrack of my life, an inspiration and a guide.
As long as we keep growing, we take on a little piece of each of those who have inspired us on this journey called life. Dana was a piece in the puzzle of my self-esteem and confidence, of my own nerve to express myself. After all, if Dana could express herself with her music, why couldn’t others do the same with their dreams?
Dana’s recent homecoming to the Catalyst stage came after seven years away from the band. As Dana rejoined Pele Juju, she walked out into the crowd, singing joyously, “Happy to be alive.” I could see the maturity that has grown in her after all these years. She gives more to others; she plays the star less but is no less the performer. She is more grateful for what she has in life.
Dana talked about turning 40 this year and said, “Don’t want to be like nobody but who you are; don’t try to be this ideal that’s all taped up and photo-shopped. If we could all think of ourselves as perfect just as we are, what a beautiful place this would be. I want to feel grateful for each line on my face. I don’t want to live in fear. It takes courage to let ourselves be free. Whatever I’m saying to you, I’m saying it to myself.”
I learned a lot from Dana: she showed me that you don’t need to hide your real face from the world. In spite of fear, she was willing to pursue her dream in whatever ways possible. She, and all the women of Pele Juju (Molly Higbie, Deb Lane, Brindle, Afia Walking Tree, Annie Steinhardt, Jayn Pettingill, and Shelley Doty) remind me once again of how much joy there is in doing what you love, in spite of how impractical it may seem in everyday life.
