In the spring of 1973, when Michael Lingg, Patrick Durr and Bruce Johnson first started jamming together as young men in their 20s the goal, Lingg said, was simple: “Play a little music together over the summer.”
Now, more than five decades later, the trio known as Home Grown will say goodbye to the stage with a sold-out show March 29 at downtown Modesto’s historic State Theatre.
The farewell concert will mark the end of the group’s storied Central Valley careers, where the men – now all in their 70s – spent the last 53 years building a reputation and fanbase through their acoustic sound, tight harmonies and consistency.
Durr and Lingg first met in 1966 while playing in Modesto’s local music scene, even though they attended different high schools. Both already were playing in rock bands and connected through mutual friends.
By the late 1960s, while attending Modesto Junior College, they began playing together in bands they named American Dream and, later, Superband. After Lingg returned to Modesto from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1971, the two formed another group called Sundance and performed at local venues.
In 1973, Lingg met Johnson during a friend’s garage rehearsal. They bonded over their love of vocal harmonies and acoustic music, and brought Durr into the picture. Within a week, the trio would rehearse in Lingg’s living room for the first time.
Lingg recalls that the group started with no big expectations or long-term plans other than playing through that first summer.
“The first time the three of us sat in my living room and sang a couple of songs together from the first Eagles album, we said, ‘Wow, our voices really blend well together. This will be fun,’” Lingg said.
But that summer never really ended.
What began as a casual hobby quickly grew into something more consistent. The trio began performing at local venues, including the former Vintage Restaurant in downtown Modesto, starting with just a small set of songs and a simple setup.
“It was just lucky timing that the Vintage Restaurant had just opened downtown on 11th Street,” Lingg said of the once popular venue which was torn down in the late 1990s to make way for the parking garage at 11th and K streets. “Without that opportunity, I don’t know if Home Grown would have ever really gotten off the ground outside of my living room.”
They built their sound around acoustic instruments and vocal harmony, drawing inspiration from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Beatles, Eagles and Loggins & Messina.
“Back in 1973, I was listening to a lot of Poco and Loggins and Messina,” Johnson said. “Home Grown brings great acoustical music along with nice harmonies, whether playing some of our favorite Beatle songs or our own music.”
By the mid-1970s, Home Grown had expanded beyond Modesto, performing throughout the Bay Area and opening for artists such as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and blues great Elvin Bishop.
In 1976, they performed for a crowd of 12,000 at the popular foothills Mountain Aire Music Festival and released their first vinyl record. Durr remembers the time of growth as busy, but fun, drawing in new fans each performance.
“We decided early on to have fun each time we performed,” Durr said. “A large crowd like Mountain Aire added to the excitement, but we always had fun, regardless of the venue.”
Without a drummer or fancy production, the trio focused on being precise. Durr and Lingg played acoustic guitar, while Johnson handled hand percussion, and all three contributed vocals.Their performances relied on layered vocals, careful arrangements and a musical chemistry that they developed over time.
“‘An acoustic good time’ was a theme for awhile,” Lingg said. “We always have fun, and the audience seems to join us in that spirit.”
As the music industry shifted from vinyl, to cassette, to CD, to digital formats, Home Grown remained committed to its original style.
Over the years, the group became a known staple in the Central Valley. They performed at restaurants, community events, weddings, fairs and larger venues. They also performed the national anthem at Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants games and represented the Valley internationally with performances in Modesto’s sister city of Kurume, Japan.
In 2000, Home Grown was recognized as the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Modesto Area Music Association Awards (known as the MAMAs), recognizing their dedication and impact in the Central Valley.
Joe Swain, a longtime friend of the band and childhood neighbor of Bruce Johnson, has followed Home Grown’s journey from its earliest days.
Swain’s connection to the group goes back decades. Growing up next door to Johnson, he recalls a childhood shaped by music. Summer days often included Johnson singing at full volume in neighborhood parks.
“Bruce would have the albums bought and the songs memorized within a day or two of release,” Swain said. “He definitely had a God-given singing voice.”
Over the years, Swain watched the band grow from local venues into a staple of the region’s music scene, performing at countless events and becoming a familiar presence at weddings and community gatherings.
“They probably played at 100 weddings over the years,” Swain said. “When they’re at the concert in the State Theatre on the 29th, they’re going to ask whose wedding did I play at, you’re going to see 50 hands go up.”
For Swain, the evolution of the band – starting out with neighborhood performances and graduating to larger stages and even international audiences – is part of the legacy the band leaves behind.
Over more than 50 years, Lingg, now 76; Durr, 77; and Johnson, 73, have balanced music with their personal lives. They became husbands, fathers and grandfathers while maintaining the band alongside their responsibilities off stage.
Outside of music, each built a career in the community. Durr worked as a teacher at Modesto High School before retiring, Lingg has worked as a school counselor and Johnson owns and continues to run a window covering business.
Dyanne Durr, Patrick Durr’s ex-wife, recalled the demands of the band’s life on the road.
“A lot of people didn’t realize they weren’t just musicians, they had families and other jobs,” Dyanne Durr said. “They were recording, writing music, traveling all over, sometimes double-booked with two gigs in a day, and still performed with enthusiasm and joy.”
They were never, she said, a “downer band.” Members said they were able to stay together for their decades-long run because of their strong sense of connection.
Even after years of performing the same songs, Johnson said that positive energy remains a defining part of their presence on stage.
“Our group worked well because of our mutual love for harmonies and for each other,” Johnson said. “We all loved the same genre of music and performing together. We had strong chemistry and became like brothers.”
Now, after more than five decades, the group has decided to step away.
“We want to put on a good show while we can still put on a good show,” Patrick Durr said.
Because the group has always been precise about its music, instrumentation and vocals, they wanted their last show to maintain those standards.
“Time speeds up as we age, and now is the right time,” he said.
Their farewell concert is not just an ending. It is a reflection of everything that came before, Patrick Durr said, and the bond the three men formed through performance.
“While playing music there is a connection among the musicians,” he said. “This is especially true in an acoustic trio with two guitars, hand percussion and three vocals. We have to listen and connect with each song and for the entire performance. I will miss that musical, magical connection with Michael and Bruce.”
That connection is something each member carries differently as the group prepares to say goodbye.
“This final show? It’s a mix of gratitude, a little relief, and a whole lot of ‘let’s go out while we still recognize each other’ and to say ‘thank you’ one last time to everyone who followed us all those years,” Lingg added. “And honestly what a run it’s been.”
For Home Grown, the goal was never to make it last. It was simply to play music for a summer.
Somehow, that summer lasted 53 years.
Teisy Zavala-Cortez is a recent graduate of Stanislaus State and a spring intern with The Modesto Focus.