By Esther Sanchez
In a heartwarming and unexpected collision of athleticism and artistry, a group of spirited retirees have transformed their shared passion for pickleball into a vibrant musical ensemble known as Saint Andrew’s Fire. After founding members met on the court, these talented individuals took a leap from sports to stage, uniting their love for rock, pop, country, and blues music. With each performance, they not only cover beloved tunes from across the decades but also inspire others to celebrate the joy of music at any age. Join us as we explore the lively journey of Saint Andrew’s Fire, where every strum, beat, and harmonious note bursts with the energy and enthusiasm of life’s later chapters.
I spoke with band member Paul Peck. A snowbird who splits his time between Washington State and the Coachella Valley where he joins his bandmates as a keyboardist, guitarist, occasional harmonica player, sound engineer and general backbone of the group.
CVW: Besides yourself, tell me about your fellow bandmates.
Peck: Ted Robinson is on lead vocals. He is originally from Texas and has been a full time Mission Hills resident in Rancho Mirage for a while now. Tom Kendrick is on lead guitar and vocals. Tom moved to the Del Webb community in Rancho Mirage from Santa Rosa in 2019. Jennie Snyder is on bass guitar and vocals. Jennie grew up in the suburbs of LA and moved to the Coachella Valley in 2001. Drummer, Kelly Hildenbrand is a native of the Coachella Valley where he has been a fixture in many bands for the past 40+ years.
CVW: How did you all meet and start playing together?
Peck: “The origin of our band, and much of our fan base, is really centered around the pickleball community of Mission Hills and Del Webb. I first met Tom while playing pickleball about five or six years ago. A mutual friend—a pickleball pro who plays guitar—asked if we would like to get together and jam a bit. We met just once for a short jam session and then only saw each other a few times a year on the pickleball court. “Two years ago, my wife had a get-together with her pickleball foursome and their husbands. We had dinner out and decided to return to our house, where the pickleball pro and I jammed a bit on guitar. Ted, who is also a pickleball player and the husband of one of the wives, started to sing along. I was so impressed with Ted’s vocals that I decided on the spot that we needed to put a band together to feature his great voice.”
Peck continues: At 70 years old, Ted had never sung in a band but was a great sport and willing to give it a try (he does have two sons in bands and has done a lot of karaoke). I recalled my jam session with Tom and texted him to see if he would be interested in forming a new band. Fortunately, the answer was yes! Needing a drummer and bass player, I started asking friends if they knew anyone who might be interested. The captain of my pickleball team said her brother played drums in several bands in the valley, and Kelly was added to the mix. Still in need of a bassist, I turned to Bandmix, which is sort of a dating site for connecting musicians, where I found Jennie, who was willing to give it a try. Everything seemed to click at our first practice, and Saint Andrew’s Fire was born. Ted came up with the band name based on the street we practiced on, which is Saint Andrews Drive.”
Peck continues: “We had just a couple of practices that first year, 2023, and then in late April, I left for the season back to Washington State. We came up with about 45 songs to work on individually during the summer and then got together again in December 2023 when I returned to the desert. About a month later, we were ready for our first gig, which was a pickleball birthday party at Mission Hills in mid-January 2024. We were fortunate to have a longtime musical collaborator of mine, Clarence Cal, join us on sax for that first gig. Cal has traveled down from Seattle for about half of our gigs since then and really adds a nice new dimension to the band.”
CVW: “Tell me about your first gig.”
Peck: “Our first gig was a 60th birthday party at the Mission Hills pickleball courts in January 2024. It was a bit crazy putting it together. Our drummer, Kelly, had a previous commitment, so a friend and former bandmate of mine agreed to fly in from Connecticut to fill in for him. Unfortunately, there was a big storm and his flight was canceled. I spent the night before the gig programming my drum machine for the 40+ songs on the setlist, and Clarence Cal, an outstanding saxophonist, flew in from Seattle to join the band for the show. The performance went great, and the support from all our friends at Mission Hills really set the band on a positive trajectory.”
CVW: “Being a musician and promoter myself I find it incredibly fascinating that you typically get impressive numbers of people attending your shows, despite the fact that you guys aren’t on any social media platforms. How do you obtain and promote your events?”
Peck: “We really get our gigs through word of mouth. The pickleball community and our friends have been fantastic about spreading the word about our music, and they have been great at supporting us at different venues. Our first gig at Mission Hills CC had over 80 reservations placed in the first four hours after the event was announced. The club was wonderful about expanding the venue to accommodate dinner and provide a great space for the 200 members who showed up to support the band. We will be playing there again on January 19th and are excited to get back in front of the Mission Hills members who have been so supportive. We do have a rudimentary website, and if you Google “Saint Andrews Fire – The Band,” you will be directed to it.”
CVW: “Seeing as how you guys are a bit more mature than a lot of the bands performing around the valley these days, is this something you saw yourselves doing at this point in your lives?”
Peck: “I think that everyone except for Ted definitely saw themselves doing this for as long as they possibly could. Most of us started playing in bands in junior high or high school and have continued on and off for the past 50 years. Ted is a pretty incredible story in my book. To be willing to try this for the first time at (a very young) 70+ years old is really something special. He has an amazing range, and I am so glad to be part of the story in getting him out there to showcase his talent. What’s most important to everyone in the band is that we enjoy what we are doing. The band members have truly become friends, and there are no egos getting in the way of having fun or being willing to try almost anything someone in the band wants to do. Our setlist is very eclectic and does a great job of showcasing the musical tastes of everyone in the band—a bit of country, pop, rock, and blues. Most impressive to me is the willingness of everyone to pitch in and do their share of the hard work of setting up and breaking down after gigs. No divas—just great attitudes. I have always run sound for the bands I’m in, which usually means a lot of extra work for me. But this group has been the best I have ever played with in terms of helping with all of that.”
CVW: “What do you think the future has in store for Saint Andrew’s Fire?”
Peck: “At our age, we take it a day at a time, but my hope is that we can keep this group together for a long time. It’s not easy finding five or six musicians that you can truly enjoy getting together with, especially when you’re only together for five months out of the year. This group is absolutely fantastic in that respect—great people who come to practice prepared and ready to have fun! We will probably continue to look for two to three gigs a month at venues that are easy for our friends and fans to access and enjoy. Compared to some pretty successful groups still going strong, like The Rolling Stones, we’re just a bunch of kids having fun with our music.”
You can feel the burn of Saint Andrew’s Fire live in the flesh on Thurs, Jan 19th at Plan B Live entertainment and cocktails with acoustic duo Desert Moons as their opening act.
