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The summer concert season in downtown Pleasanton is closing in style with upbeat hits courtesy of The RPM Band, five longtime friends whose musical connection forged more than 40 years has grown even stronger during their resurgence the past decade.
And they can’t wait to get the audience rocking and grooving Friday evening at Lions Wayside Park.
“We love seeing people having a good time and forgetting about their daily worries. Our setlist has two requirements — you either need to be able to dance to the tune or sing along with it,” said Steve Block, vocalist, bass guitarist and emcee of RPM.
“The music we play brings back memories for many people and seeing them smile and sing along makes everyone in the band happy. Life is short, so why not spend it having fun,” the Danville resident told me in an interview this month.
Co-sponsored by the Pleasanton Weekly for our 25th Anniversary Party, this Friday’s Concert in the Park will be the second year in a row playing Pleasanton’s summer series for the band that formed in 1979 in the South Bay, where Block and co-founder Bill Pickering grew up.
“We joke that someday we will make it big, and a song we wrote in the early ’80s at the ripe age of 21 (‘My Life Flies By’) will be the tune that does it,” Block said.
The group’s heyday was 1981 to 1983 when they signed with California Talent Associates and played upward of 250 concerts in Northern California and Nevada during that span.
“We have always been a ‘South Bay band’, even back in the early ’80s when we started. We played the occasional gig up 680 like the Monte Vista HS prom in 1983 (go Mustangs!) or the Los Cerros Jr. High ‘end of year’ dance that same year,” Block said.
As 1984 arrived, RPM transitioned into a prolonged hiatus as “marriage, kids, jobs and everyday life took over”, according to their website.
The guys stayed close and performed the occasional charity event or one-off local reunion show, but it wasn’t until 2013 that RPM decided to reunite and play a regular schedule again.
These days they book eight to 10 concerts per year for logistical reasons.
San Jose native Block now lives in Danville. Pickering (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Mark Hanson (vocals and keyboards) both reside in the South Bay, John Silva (guitar, vocals) is in Escalon and Bob Moya (drums, vocals) lives in the Seattle area.
“We were all friends in high school, so the inspiration is still there as we have come a long way with so many memories. We still enjoy each other’s company, and we laugh all the time,” Block told me.
RPM has had a busy spring and summer so far, including multiple corporate gigs, Music in the Park in Danville in June, Concerts on the Plaza in Mountain View earlier this month and a show at Fortino Winery in Gilroy last week.
“I will say since we have reunited to play live on a regular basis, we have really focused on fun, danceable songs with strong vocal harmonies,” Block said. “We have two members (Mark and Bill) who play keyboards, so that gives us the opportunity to play many songs that other bands in the area can’t tackle.”
“We do a disco medley that has become a band fave. You realize that it’s a ‘guilty pleasure’ for many people dancing, and they even know all the words of the KC and The Sunshine Band songs,” he added. “Another recent fave has been ‘A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles. When we hit that first chord, everyone smiles and shakes their head (regardless of age) like ‘I know this song.'”
Block said the band was excited to get on the bill for the Pleasanton Downtown Association’s Concerts in the Park for the first time in 2024, calling it a bucket list gig in the region for them. Now they’re thrilled to be the closing act in their second year here.
“We have been following the renovation of the park, and we can’t wait to play on the new stage. The reception last year was phenomenal and we loved playing in the downtown area (we even got pizza at Gay Nineties before the show),” Block said. “2025 will be even bigger and better as we will be using all of our stage gear including our light trusses, lasers, fog and so much more!”
RPM’s Concert in the Park is set to run from 7-8:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 29) in Lions Wayside Park at 4401 First St. in downtown Pleasanton. Weekly leadership, staff, freelancers and volunteers will be on hand starting at 6 p.m. to greet readers as part of our 25th anniversary celebration.
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the associate publisher and editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
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