Runaway Train Band in the News

Runaway Train Band Rocks Mt. Festival Rodeo Dance

Runaway Train Band played to a packed house of about 200 people at this year's Mountain Festival Rodeo Dance at Cattleman's Bar and Grill. The bar's patrons were treated to an evening of great food, killer drink specials and one of the band's best performances of the year. A special thanks goes out to our buddies from Bakersfield Teddy Spanke and Chuck Seaton for sitting in with us and helping us rock the house down.

We made a lot of new friends while we were in Tehachapi and we look forward to coming back to town soon.

Runaway Train Band Performs for over 6,000 People at Fourth of July Picnic

Pokey singing to a record crowd of 6,400 people at the Fourth of July Picnic

This year's Second Annual Agua Dulce Air Park Fourth of July Picnic and Fireworks Extravaganza drew a record crowd of approximately 6,400 people making it the biggest and best fireworks show the Air Park has sponsored to date. The event's patrons were treated to an afternoon and evening of great food, music, dancing and a spectacular fireworks show choreographed to several of today's popular patriotic songs. An added bonus to this year's event was the newly finished swimming pool that helped keep those in attendance, especially the kids, cool and refreshed.

The Runaway Train Band was the headlining act at this year's picnic and entertained the record crowd both before and after the spectacular fireworks exhibition. The band's performance was well received by the event's patrons who gave fiddler Teri Villani and the band a standing ovation for their smokin' rendition of the "Orange Blossom Special". Other bands entertaining the crowd that day included the Agua Dulce Allstars and Caught Red Handed.

Thunder on the Lot Raises $200,000 for A V Children's Charities

Runaway Train Band performing at the 10th annual Thunder on the Lot

The Runaway Train Band was one of the featured acts on the main stage at the 10th annual Thunder on the Lot. The annual event was held at Desert Sands Park in Palmdale on June 13th. The band's high-noon performance was well received by the mixed crowd of approximately 20,000 classic car and motorcycle enthusiests.

The year's event showcased hundreds of classic cars and over a thousand motorcycles. The event is expected to have raised over $200,000 for local children's charities of the Antelope Valley.

Raffle tickets were sold for $100 each which entitled the bearer to a chance at winning several prizes including two Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a custom Honda couple. Other prizes up for grabs were a home spa, a Mexican cruise, carpeting and a drum set.

Local charities benefiting from the annual event included the Antelope Valley Christian School scholarships, the Antelope Valley High School Education Foundation, Antelope Valley Special Olympics, A.V. Saddle-Up Therapeutic Riding, the Children's Center of Antelope Valley's Healthy Homes, High Desert Children's Dental Clinic, Lancaster Kiwanis youth scholarships, Leaders in Future Entrepreneurship, the Lions Camp at Teresita Pines, Mobility Opportunities Via Education, Royal Family Kids Camp, Valley Oasis Shelter, Visions of Hope, and South Antelope Valley Emergency Services.

This is the sixth year Pokey and the band have donated their services for the children of the Antelope Valley. For more information check out the official Thunder on the Lot web site.

Children's Foundation for Dental Health Benefit

Steve Arklin jamming with Pokey

The Runaway Train Band recently performed at the Sand Canyon home of Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar for a benefit for the Children's Foundation for Dental Health, a non-profit organization. The annual event was held on May 29th and raised approximately $30,000 dollars to benefit the needy children of the Santa Clarita Valley who can not afford proper and preventative dental care.

The 200 philanthropic patrons who attended the $250 per plate benefit were treated to appetizers, a BBQ dinner, deserts, and a martini bar. All the food, drinks, and table decorations were generously donated by local organizations and businesses of the Santa Clarita Valley.

As the sun went down, the patrons danced by the light of the full moon to the rockin' country sounds of John "Pokey" Spear and the Runaway Train Band. Joining the band on harmonica was local philanthropist, Steve Arklin, one of the founders of the Children's Foundation for Dental Health.

The Foundation for Children's Dental Health was created in 1993 and is the area's first program to provide free dental care, emergency services and education to low-income children and families residing in the Santa Clarita Valley. Over the last few years, more than 40,000 children who have received treatment from local dentists and the USC Mobile Dental Clinic through the generous sponsorship of the foundation.

The proceeds from the benefit will enable the foundation to sponsor a second Santa Clarita Valley clinic before the end of this year. The most recent clinic was held in Newhall last January and treated about 115 children. The cost for each mobile clinic is approximately $33,000 which yields about $115,000 in dental services from USC.

For more information on the Foundation for Children's Dental Health please call (661) 254-7048. You may also reach them via e-mail at fcdh@comcast.net.

Antelope Valley Transit Authority Dedicates Multi-Million Dollar Facility

Runaway Train Band recenly performed at the dedication ceremony for the Antelope Valley Transit Authority's new multi-million dollar facility on May 28th. There were several county and city officials in attendance including Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts, Lancaster Vice Mayor Henry Hearns, and Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford.

The cost of the $21 million facility was funded in part by several state and federal agencies. Some of the contributions include $3.5 million from the Federal Transit Authority. $5.5 million from the Metropolitan Transit Authority, $1.6 milliion from Proposition C, $7.6 million from a federal grant and $2.8 milliion from the cities of Lancaster, Palmdale and the County of Los Angeles.

The band's performance was well received by the crowd of approximately 150 people even though the event was plagued by wind gusts of up to 30 mph. Click on the links below to see some QuickTime movies of the band's performance.

Clip one (3.2 MB)      Clip two (2.4 MB)      Clip three (2.6 MB)      Clip four (1.3 MB)