“A Walk in Coronado,” the self-described “shiny new tune” by the writing-performing duo of TavenierFleer may just be the pop music cure for this year’s May Gray blues. The song’s sun-drenched video has broad appeal and could easily pull promotional double-duty for Coronado tourism in the coming weeks and months.
Filmed in rich, glowing hues, and flowing with harmonies, this highly-accessible track will have you whistling and clapping along. Its catchy hooks will linger long after the song ends. Upbeat and guitar-driven, it captures the uniquely SoCal groove. It simply looks and sounds like summer.
In addition to co-writing and performing the music, David Fleer served as the video’s Director, and Anthony Tavernier stepped in as Grip. Fleer’s wife, Rita Pertzborn, shot and produced the entire work. She was the inspiration for “A Walk in Coronado,” according to Fleer. The song “was written when my wife worked at ESET – upstairs in the bank building on Orange Ave. I picked her up for lunch and we walked around town and on the beach – a perfect day!” Fleer and Pertzborn both run a San Diego-based digital film company, Mint Cinema.
While Tavernier and Fleer met just recently, their warm and brotherly bond is clear. They riff on- and off-mic, alternately finishing each other’s sentences and exchanging friendly jokes. They just get each other – personally and musically, and even when it comes to golf.
Tavernier is a seasoned golf (and yoga) instructor whose teaching style struck a chord with Fleer, standing nearby one day at a driving range. Fleer was impressed with how clearly Tavernier communicated game-changing advice to a student, so “I asked him for a flash lesson.” The two began talking and discovered a shared passion for writing and performing music.
Tavernier considers this moment of connection as “providential – I followed my heart and I tripped over my soulmate.” TavernierFleer’s foray into the professional music industry could be seen in much the same way. They love writing pop songs. As Tavernier reflected, “I’m attached to being a songwriter. There are not a lot of jobs you can do in the world that turn that on.” He recalls how he first taught himself to play the guitar by listening to The Beatles in 1963 on AM Radio as a young boy in Canada. He’s since learned to play nearly any tune by ear, and has developed a deep appreciation for structure and genre. He and Fleer each played in a variety of bands over the years.
A Wisconsin native, Fleer is the son of a U.S. Army Air Corps service-member who played saxophone with the USO in London during the Second World War. Fleer became a musician early on and enjoyed some commercial success, rubbing shoulders with the likes of the Violent Femmes and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Eventually, both musicians chose different career paths, despite never losing sight of their dream work. Taking stock of years of making responsible choices over the past few decades, Fleer shared that “we have enough free time that we can do this now.”
Recorded at the Pacific Beat Recording studio in Pacific Beach, the track features Fleer and Tavernier on vocals and guitar, along with Kevin Freeby on bass, Korie Horn on drums, and Brad Steinwehe on trumpet. It is available on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, and iTunes. Their follow-up song, “Nothin’ on Me,” is also available, and its accompanying video is set for release in two weeks.
