Batavia bands to reunite Saturday at Kiss the Sky

You can probably call these guys Batavia's "house band." After all, lead guitarist Jim Freedlund and his pals have been providing blues and rock music to area residents for nearly five decades.

Gross National Product will be at it again in a reunion night of music at 8 p.m. Saturday at Kiss the Sky music shop in Batavia.

In an interesting twist, a band that Gross National Product looked up to in the mid-1960s will also play a set.

The Revengemen, with musicians from the Batavia High School Class of 1966, will make an appearance.

"These guys were the 'cool guys' and they were heavily into the Rolling Stones' stuff," said Freedlund, a 1969 graduate whose band was made up of Batavia classmen from a few years later. "We watched them and started doing the same thing and then our band evolved from there."

It is the Class of 1966 reunion weekend, so it made sense for the guys with Gross National Product to contact the Revengemen months ago and see if they wanted to participate in the Kiss the Sky event.

John Albright, drummer, and Ron Smith, lead guitarist for Revengemen, were the first to say they would attend, but it wasn't until later that they were able to commit the entire band to a set.

"They are as excited about doing it, as we are about having them do it," Freedlund said. "It should be a fun night."

These bands played at area high schools and community festivals, making their marks as garage bands that had plenty of talent - and followers.

All of the music isn't necessarily from the late 1960s, but a lot of it is, and this is a trip down that memory lane for the musicians and their friends from Batavia High School in that era.

A strong fellow:

Speaking of a former Batavia High School student from that late 1960s era, TNT sportscaster Craig Sager's fight against leukemia should inspire everyone.

So, here's an idea: The city should send Craig a "Batavia Strong" T-shirt while he is recovering from another bone marrow transplant.

Sager graduated from Batavia High School in 1969.

For peanut lovers:

St. Charles and other area Kiwanis will become peanut vendors next week as the organization's major Peanut Days fundraiser takes place.

From Sept. 22 to 24, you may spot the men and women of Kiwanis with their orange vests asking for donations for a bag of peanuts, as well as a new giveaway this year - chocolate bars.

Can't beat that. The Kiwanis say the chocolate bars were made in a plant with no exposure to peanuts, so those with peanut allergies can still donate and get something sweet out of the deal.

Those looking to support our U.S. troops can purchase a box of peanuts for $45 and donate it to the Fox Valley Troop Support organization. The boxes also are good for homes and offices full of people who, well, really like peanuts.

For those wanting to order a box, contact Tony Savarese at (630) 460-0978.

This old house:

It took a couple of years, but we finally dined at The Patten House, one of the first homes built in Geneva in the 1850s.

Since St. Charles resident Nancy Luyten acquired the property and converted it to a fine dining establishment in 2014, the eye-catching house at 124 S. Second St. has probably been the closest thing to New Orleans those in the Tri-Cities area can find.

Not so much from the standpoint of the building architecture, but from what is happening inside the kitchen at Patten House.

Whitefish amandine. That's what I had, and it was delicious. I'm generally not exposed to Cajun-style food, but when you visit Patten House, you know the majority of the menu has that extra bite to it.

And the place was packed on a recent Saturday night, so we now know that this type of menu appeals to plenty of folks.

Honor community servant:

Know a tremendous community servant who deserves recognition for those efforts?

TriCity Family Services is accepting nominations for its 2016 William D. Barth Award, which annually honors a person who has helped make this area a better place to live through selfless devotion to a cause or causes, or interaction with the agency.

Forms for electronic submission or printing are available on the agency's website at tricityfamilyservices.org, with information about sending by the Monday, Sept. 19 deadline.

dheun@sbcglobal.net