 | | | Photo James Brian Fidelibus, James Brian Studios, Walnut Creek
(L-R), back row: Jonathan Bassil (bass/vocals), Tony Malfatti (keys/sax/vocals), Robbie Dunbar (lead guitar/vocals); front row: Larry Lynch (drums/lead vocalist), Lauren Alexander (lead vocalist) Photo provided
| | | | | | They may all have different day jobs to top-off their incomes, but the members of Larry Lynch and the Mob have shared, for years, the same passion for rock & roll; and they are well known in Moraga as the cornerstone of the town's 4th of July celebration.
Founder, lead vocalist and drummer Larry Lynch is a long time rocker. In the late seventies and early eighties he was in the Greg Kihn Band, where he was the drummer and a vocalist on their number one hit, "Jeopardy." He has toured with the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Lynch and lead guitarist Robbie Dunbar both had children in local schools. "I used to coach soccer for LMYA," recalls Lynch, who got to know many parents at the time.
Dunbar, who has been with the band since its founding in 1985, is a familiar face in Lamorinda; a music teacher who has brought the love of music into many homes. A talented musician, he started playing piano at the age of three and picked up the trumpet at eight. In the 1970s, he co-founded Beserkley Records with the royalties his band, Earth Quake, made from a song that was featured in the Steve McQueen movie The Getaway. Dunbar says he loves teaching children and adults alike a vast choice of instruments including guitar, piano, sax, trumpet and electric bass.
Lynch and Dunbar compose some of their own music, but in public venues such as the 4th of July event in Moraga they play crowd favorites from the past 50 years up to contemporary rock.
Vocalist Lauren Alexander has been with the band for 15 years, and when she is not on stage with the Mob, she is a nurse practitioner. "We play as a group only on the week-end and we know our engagements a long time in advance," says Lynch, "that allows Lauren to plan her work accordingly." Tony Malfatti, a12-year band member, is the sax and keyboard player. A construction worker and handyman by day, he too loves music and says he couldn't live without it. The newest member of the Mob, bass player Jonathan Bassil, paints homes when he does not play music.
"Music is what keeps us sane," says Dunbar, "It is the glue that holds us together as members of the human family."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA