SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres owner Peter Seidler, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to bring a long-elusive World Series championship to San Diego, died on Tuesday, the team announced. He was 63.

A cause of death wasn’t disclosed. Seidler, a third-generation member of the O’Malley family that used to own the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, was a two-time cancer survivor. The team announced in mid-September that Seidler had an unspecified medical procedure in August and wouldn’t be back at the ballpark the rest of the year.

The Padres planned to open Petco Park on Tuesday afternoon for fans who wished to gather to pay respects.

“Today, our love and prayers encircle Peter’s family as they grieve the loss of an extraordinary husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner said in a statement. “Peter was a kind and generous man who was devoted to his wife, children and extended family. He also consistently exhibited heartfelt compassion for others, especially those less fortunate.

“His impact on the city of San Diego and the baseball world will be felt for generations,” Greupner said. “His generous spirit is now firmly embedded in the fabric of the Padres. Although he was our Chairman and owner, Peter was at his core a Padres fan. He will be dearly missed.”

Seidler was part of a group that purchased the Padres in 2012, and he bought out Ron Fowler’s majority stake in November 2020. Seidler also bought Rawlings Sporting Goods Company Inc. in conjunction with MLB in 2018.

It was with Seidler’s blessing that the Padres boosted their payroll to about $258 million on opening day, third-highest in the majors, after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series the previous fall. The Padres underwhelmed most of the season despite having a star-studded lineup and missed the playoffs.

Seidler shrugged off questions about whether the Padres’ big spending on players like Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts was sustainable and mentioned how badly he wanted a championship parade for a city that has never had one.

“Do I believe our parade is going to be on land or on water or on both?” he said. “Putting a great and winning team on the field in San Diego year after year is sustainable.”

Seidler scoffed at the notion that San Diego was a small market. He viewed it as a unique city where the Padres were the only major pro sports franchise after the Chargers left for Los Angeles in 2017. Fans packed Petco Park last year, where the Padres set a franchise attendance record of 3,232,310 in 79 games, including 59 sellouts. The Padres were the home team in two games against San Francisco in Mexico City.

“I am deeply saddened by the news of Peter’s passing,” Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement from Arlington, Texas, where Major League Baseball owners are holding league meetings this week. “Peter grew up in a baseball family, and his love of the game was evident throughout his life. He was passionate about owning the Padres and bringing the fans of San Diego a team in which they could always take pride.”

Machado was a personal favorite of Seidler, and the slugger received a new $350 million, 11-year deal last spring training despite saying he would opt out of the original $300 million deal he signed in 2019.

The Padres gave Bogaerts a $280 million, 11-year deal last December. In 2021, the Padres signed Fernando Tatis Jr. to a $340 million, 14-year deal. They traded for young star Juan Soto at the deadline in 2022.

Seidler’s death comes at a critical time for the franchise. The Padres are closing in on hiring a manager to replace Bob Melvin, who left for San Francisco last month after clashing with general manager A.J. Preller. The Padres also are debating whether to keep or trade Soto, who is under control for just one more season.

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Peter Owen Shea Sr., whose family construction firm helped build Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge, U.S. freeways and tens of thousands of homes in 11 states, has died. He was 88.

The last survivor of three engineers who built a multibillion-dollar construction and homebuilding business in their grandfather’s name passed away Monday at his home in Newport Beach after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, the Orange County Register reported.

Shea had served as vice president of Walnut-based J.F. Shea, the successor to a plumbing and heavy construction empire founded in 1881 by his grandfather, John Francis Shea, in Portland, Oregon. 

The original company helped erect the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, Hoover Dam and the Interstate Highway System.

In 1961, Shea joined his cousin John Shea and older brother Edmund Shea Jr. as co-owner of the newly dissolved and reincorporated J.F. Shea. He later served as president of J.F. Shea Construction.

J.F. Shea soon expanded into homebuilding, commercial real estate development and venture capital investing. 

Its Shea Homes, founded in 1968, built more than 123,000 homes in 11 states, according to the company. Builder Magazine ranked it as the nation’s 27th biggest home builder last year, with 3,428 homes sold and $2.98 billion in revenue.

Shea Properties, based in Aliso Viejo, now owns and manages 10,000 apartments and 6 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space in California, Colorado, and Washington, according to its website.

In 2015, Forbes estimated the Shea family fortune at $2.5 billion.

Shea was born on May 29, 1935, in Los Angeles. His father, Edmund Sr., had just overseen construction on the piers for the Golden Gate Bridge. He attended Loyola High School, earned a degree in business at UC Berkeley and an engineering degree at USC.

He grew up around construction sites, and held a life-long love of khaki pants, a buttoned-down blue shirt and muddy boots, according to the company.

He served on the Association of General Contractors board and the board for the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine.

“Peter was a very kind, smart, and humble man,” Shea Homes President and CEO Bert Selva told the Register. “He was also very quiet, but when he did share his thoughts, it was always incredibly valuable insight that was spot on.”

Peter Shea outlived his two founding partners. Edmund Shea died at his San Marino home in 2010 at age 80. John, of Pasadena, served as J.F. Shea’s CEO, then as board chair until he died at age 96 in October last year. 

Shea’s son, Peter O. Shea Jr., succeeded John as company CEO.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughters Sarah and Catherine Shea Johnson; son Peter Jr.; sister Mary Elizabeth Callaghan; brother Henry; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Nov. 11 at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach.

— Dana Bartholomew

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Peter Owen Shea Sr., the last survivor of three engineers who built the construction and homebuilding company J.F. Shea Co., died Monday, Oct. 23, at his Newport Beach home after a “fierce and courageous fight” against Parkinson’s disease. He was 88. (Photo courtesy of J.F. Shea Co.)

Peter Owen Shea Sr., the last survivor of three engineers who built a multibillion-dollar construction and homebuilding business in their grandfather’s name, died Monday, Oct. 23, at his Newport Beach home after a “fierce and courageous fight” against Parkinson’s disease. He was 88.

Shea had served as vice president of Walnut-based J.F. Shea Co., the successor to a plumbing and heavy construction firm his grandfather, John Francis Shea, founded in 1881 in Portland, Oregon.

A company statement said Shea was most comfortable in khaki pants, a buttoned-down blue shirt and muddy boots, which he used to walk construction sites.

“While Peter was a man of few words, he enjoyed connecting with people and deeply valued gathering with family and his loyal community of golfing, bridge-playing, or neighborhood friends,” the company said.

The original company was a leader in the construction industry that worked on the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Hoover Dam and the Interstate Highway System.

In 1961, Shea joined his cousin John Shea and older brother Edmund Shea Jr. as co-owner of the newly dissolved and reincorporated J.F. Shea Co. Shea later served as president of the conglomerate’s heavy construction subsidiary, J.F. Shea Construction, focusing on tunneling and large infrastructure projects.

In the following years, J.F. Shea Co. branched out into homebuilding, commercial real estate development and venture capital investing.

Founded in 1968, Shea Homes built more than 123,000 homes in 11 states, according to the company. Builder Magazine’s latest ranking listed the Los Angeles County company as the nation’s 27th biggest homebuilder in 2022, with 3,428 homes sold and $2.98 billion in total revenue.

The family’s commercial real estate arm, Shea Properties of Aliso Viejo, owns and operates about 10,000 apartments and 6 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space in California, Colorado, and Washington, the company’s website said.

In 2015, Forbes magazine estimated the Shea family’s combined fortune was $2.5 billion.

Peter Shea outlived his two founding partners. Edmund died at his San Marino home in August 2010 at age 80. John, a Pasadena resident, served as J.F. Shea’s chief executive officer, and then as board chair until he died at age 96 in October 2022.

Shea’s son, Peter O. Shea Jr., succeeded John as company CEO.

Born May 29, 1935, in Los Angeles, Shea was the fourth of five children. His father, Edmund Sr., supervised the construction work on the piers for the Golden Gate Bridge before the family moved to Los Angeles shortly before Shea’s birth.

Shea attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles, then earned a degree in business at UC Berkeley and an engineering degree from the University of Southern California.

He grew up around the family business’s construction sites, spending his summers on dam and tunnel projects, working as a driller’s assistant and miner on several tunnel projects.

J.F. Shea tunneling jobs included work on underground stations and Berkeley Hills tunnels for the Bay Area’s BART system, according to the company. The firm also did tunnel work for the Washington D.C. Metro.

Shea served on various construction industry and community organizations, including the Association of General Contractors board and the board for the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine.

“Peter was a very kind, smart, and humble man,” said Shea Homes President and CEO Bert Selva. “He was also very quiet, but when he did share his thoughts, it was always incredibly valuable insight that was spot on. He was a great man and we will really miss him.”

Shea is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughters Sarah and Catherine Shea Johnson; son Peter Jr.; sister Mary Elizabeth Callaghan; brother Henry; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 11 at Our Lady Queen of Angeles Church in Newport Beach.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Loyola High School of Los Angeles.

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Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

The star of the Peter Gabriel show wanted to make one thing clear upfront:

Peter Gabriel was not in the house.

Instead, he/it said we were watching an avatar — and one that wasn’t nearly as visually impressive as the real deal.

“My avatar is 20 years older, 20 years heavier and completely bald,” the alleged avatar said. “The real Peter Gabriel is lying horizontal on a Caribbean beach and totally indistinguishable from a Greek god.”

If that was indeed the case then Bay Area fans should count themselves lucky that the “real Peter Gabriel” never showed up on Wednesday night to Chase Center in San Francisco, because the show they ended up receiving with nothing less than stellar.

At this point in the story, given the advances in AI and how virtual reality has already been utilized in the “live” entertainment business, it’s probably best that I clarify that Gabriel was just joking and, indeed, was very much there, in the flesh, at Chase.

It had to be him. Because what other classic rock star is still putting on such widely entertaining and challenging shows some 55 years into his career?

At 8:05 p.m. — just 5 minutes after the advertised start time — Gabriel took the stage to perform his first Bay Area show since a co-headlining date with Sting at the SAP Center in San Jose in 2016. He’d offer up a terrific two-set show that offered up 22 songs, split evenly between new and older material.

The 11 songs from his forthcoming release, “i/o,” managed to stand tall next to the classics, showing that the 73-year-old Englishman remains as inspired and creative as ever. Yet, the older material didn’t feel dated in the slightest — even as it brought back waves of nostalgia for fans — as Gabriel and his terrific nine-piece band managed to revitalize these older tunes in ways that still felt true to the original recordings.

Although Gabriel first took the stage alone, and delivered the bit about the avatar, he was soon joined by bassist Tony Levin.

“We go back to the days of taking our dinosaurs out for a walk and when we had full heads of hair,” Gabriel said as he introduced his longtime collaborator.

Not long after that, the rest of the band joined in and they gathered in a campfire setting — complete with a full moon glowing on the video screen in back — for a low-key yet mesmerizing opening segment that began with “Washing of the Water” (from 1992’s “Us”) and continued with “Growing Up” (from 2002’s “Up”).

As “Growing Up” came to a close, the 10 musicians stood up and took their spots in a more-traditional band setting and waded right into the new material, delivering three consecutive “i/o” cuts — “Panopticom,” “Four Kinds of Horses” and the title cut — which only served to further fuel the fan anticipation surrounding the eventual release of Gabriel’s 10th solo studio album.

The big crowd in attendance, which spent the first part of the concert in attentive but fairly subdued fashion (corresponding to the vibe of the music), finally let loose when Gabriel and company launched into the first real hit of the evening — a powerful version of the “Us” single “Digging in the Dirt.”

From there, Gabriel immediately backpedaled to the new material and delivered the two most memorable “i/o” cuts of the night — a stunningly beautiful take on “Playing for Time” followed by a joyous run through “Olive Tree.” The star of the show closed the first set in fan-friendly fashion, with everybody on their feet and dancing along to a ruckus version of “Sledgehammer.”

Following a short break, the troupe opened the second set with another “Up” song, “Darkness,” before heading right back into “i/o” land for two more winners — “Love Can Heal” and “Road to Joy.”

A version of  the moving, inspirational ballad “Don’t Give Up” — with band member Ayanna Witter-Johnson elegantly handling the Kate Bush lines — really struck a note with the crowd members, some of whom sang along with the type of hushed restraint that one doesn’t often see at a major rock show.

Gabriel’s voice was in peak form throughout the night, towering over what many of his contemporaries have to offer after decades of wear and tear on the road. And his band matched his level for two sets, with each of the nine players getting a chance to really shine in front of the large crowd.

Together, they were able to deliver versions of such classics as “Big Time” and “Red Rain” that sounded every bit as strong as what Gabriel was dishing out to fans back during his commercial heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

It was an impressive evening for, well, whoever that was onstage at Chase Center. Here’s hoping that this avatar/”the real Peter Gabriel” doesn’t wait seven years before performing in the Bay Area again.

Setlist
1. “Washing of the Water”
2. “Growing Up”
3. “Panopticom”
4. “Four Kinds of Horses”
5. “i/o”
6. “Digging in the Dirt”
7. “Playing for Time”
8. “Olive Tree”
9. “This Is Home”
10. “Sledgehammer”
Set 2
11. “Darkness”
12. “Love Can Heal”
13. “Road to Joy”
14. “Don’t Give Up”
15. “The Court”
16. “Red Rain”
17. “And Still”
18. “Big Time”
19. “Live and Let Live”
20. “Solsbury Hill”
Encore
21. “In Your Eyes”
Encore 2
22. “Biko”

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

• Peter Gabriel performs in the “i/o The Tour” at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Peter Gabriel’s tour continues Oct. 13 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

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Benicia resident Peter Bray rose to some notoriety after one of his songs, “Laid Off American Man,” was featured in a Herb Caen column. Bray wrote the song in 1994 after being fired from Bechtel.

BENICIA >> 20 years ago, Peter Bray left the corporate world with a song in his heart. It brought him a ton of fame.

Yes, the longtime Benician wrote and recorded a song after being fired from Bechtel. It was titled “American Man Fired”. He sent a cassette copy to legendary San Francisco Chronicle gossip columnist Herb Caen, who reprinted the lyrics and called Bray “my hero today.”

“He gave me the top six inches of it,” said Bray, a cheerful handyman and regular of the Benicia poetry group.

there is more Within a week, Bray said he received a postcard from well-known folksinger Pete Seeger in upstate New York that read, “I’ve just read Herb Caen. How can I get a copy of your song?” I thought, “How cool!”

Two weeks later, Bray received another message in the mail from Seeger asking for a second copy.

“I was like, ‘Okay, he liked it, he sends it to Arlo Guthrie, Arlo records it and I’m free at home! I’m rich and fat and famous!” “

Alas, “It didn’t happen,” giggled Bray. “It’s fun, but I fix toilets.”

Bray, 71, still enjoys poetry and songwriting. He’s been at it for more than 40 years, filling scraps of paper – and later notebooks – with rhymes about his children and other things that piqued his interest. He still performs at open mics, where he uses humor to connect with listeners.

“If you can get the whole room to shut up and go quiet because you’re ‘really speaking in a low voice and bring it up’, you can get the whole gathering of 30 people to move with you ‘ Bray said. who has self-published three volumes of poetry since 1972. “And they slide in something funny and make the same 30 people laugh, that’s just a kick in the butt!”

A native of Walnut Creek, Bray earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. He worked in the defense industry for a number of years designing missiles before becoming a freelance designer and graphic artist. Eventually he got a job at Bechtel in San Francisco, where he was a graphics manager. After 10 years he was fired during a major downscaling.

“So I wrote Laid Off American Man,” said Bray, who has been involved with poetry since the early ’70s. The song begins like this: “I make windows, I make floors, I make hallways, I make doors, I do everything I can, I’m a fired American!”

“I had a cassette, I had a cover and I sent it to Herb Caen,” Bray said. “And about a week later I called one of my designers (at Bechtel) after I was gone and said, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ He said, ‘PR’s on alert.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about ?” He said: ‘You didn’t see Herb Caen this morning? You better.” So I went down to Raley’s and got the Chronicle, opened it up and it put all my lyrics in it.”

The last verses read: “I was the executive vice president of BD, with a mission statement and a cell phone, a company watch and a company loan, I was a vice president in charge of BD. Now I’m a gardener in the promised land, all my tools are in a one man van, now I make windows, I make floors, I make hallways, I make doors, do everything I can, I’m a laid-off American !”

Not everything Bray writes or performs is funny. “Weeping at Starbucks” conveys his pain in the hours after his daughter’s death from Crohn’s disease in February 2012. Here we go: “After house coffee and apple sales and ten thousand messages of condolence via email, cell phone, cards and letters, it boils down to this to cry at Starbucks while the soft chatter and overheard music compete.

What drives his creativity? “It’s therapeutic for me and it’s self-sustaining,” Bray said. “And maybe… it’ll be helpful to someone else.”

Contact Tony Burchyns at 707-553-6831.

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Peter Stewart, 82 years old, died September 6, 2020. Peter was born and raised in San Francisco and was a proud member of the Lincoln High School graduating class of 1955. Peter and his wife JoAnne married in 1960 and started their family in Sonoma County, California. After a long career in the printing industry, Peter and JoAnne moved to Teton Valley in 1997. They made many close friendships and got very active in the valley community, enjoying skiing, golf and volunteering.

Peter preceded his wife in death, leaving behind a sister, three children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. The family is planning a memorial event for spring or summer 2021.

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Shortly after the San Francisco 49ers decided to move from No. 12 to No. 3 in the NFL Draft, a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the team was still committed to Jimmy Garoppolo as the team’s starter. Obviously, everyone was still thinking the team would pick a quarterback, with former Alabama star Mac Jones being the most frequently mentioned name.

Although the 49ers said Garoppolo was still part of their future plans, there has been a lot of speculation that the team could potentially get him into a deal. Garoppolo’s former team, the New England Patriots, were quite successful.

That is still the case. In Peter King’s “Football Morning in America” ​​column on Monday, where he talks about possible surprises, he says he would not be surprised if the team made Garoppolo more available than before.

“I won’t be surprised if the Niners make Jimmy Garoppolo more available than before. In other words, instead of trying to make a first choice for him, you might consider taking a two for him, ”King wrote. “I wonder if the Patriots would hand out the 46th election on the draft or their second-round player in 2022 for their old friend.”

NFL Network’s Mike Giardi reported earlier this month that San Francisco said the 49ers are looking for a return to the first round for any team looking to acquire Garoppolo. Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk came in and said this was probably too much.

“That is obviously too much,” wrote Florio. “If it becomes known that they want a top-notch, it likely means they will need less about the negotiation process.

“The separate challenge arises from Garoppolo’s compensation,” wrote Florio. “He’s going to make $ 25 million in 2021. Would anyone really pay him that much this year because he missed 23 games in three seasons?”

At the same time, Florio noticed that the 49ers have an incentive to move Garoppolo.

Whatever the case, it’s hard to imagine the 49ers holding Garoppolo at $ 25 million for 2021 unless the guy they pick in 3rd place is utterly incapable and incapable of being right on the gates of the starting job to ascend. ” Said Garoppolo. “However, if they can get substantial compensation for the balance of his contract before the warehouse opens, that is a risk they would likely take.”

Less than a week after the deal, General Manager John Lynch spoke about Garoppolo’s future in San Francisco.

“We went into the possession and said, ‘Hey, things are looking good. We want to take this step, but we don’t want to say goodbye to Jimmy either. I think Jimmy we’ve shown we can do it.” a super bowl with him. We can play at a high level and we don’t think those two things should be mutually exclusive, “he said. “The opportunity to act and possibly find a man who can be a big part of our future and to keep Jimmy, who we are very keen on and for whom some positive things happen this off-season, is kind of a plan, too that we came to.

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“We’re very excited. It was a stated goal that we need to strengthen the quarterback position this year and I think we gave ourselves the opportunity to make that happen.”

Kevin Flaherty of 247Sports contributed to this story.

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BENICIA >> It has been 20 years since Peter Bray left the corporate world with a song in his heart. It earned him a brush of fame.

Yes, longtime Benizier wrote and recorded a song after being fired from Bechtel. It was titled “Laid Off American Man”. He sent a tape copy to the San Francisco Chronicle’s legendary gossip columnist Herb Caen, who reprinted the texts and called Bray “my hero today.”

“He gave me the top six inches of it,” said Bray, a cheerful craftsman and regular with the Benicia poetry group.

There is more. Within a week, Bray said he had received a postcard from popular New York state folk singer Pete Seeger and said, “I was just reading Herb Caen. How do I get a copy of your song? “I thought,” How cool! “

Two weeks later, Bray received another message in the mail from Seeger asking for a second copy.

“I thought,” OK, he liked it, he’ll send it to Arlo Guthrie, Arlo will record it, and I’m home free! I am rich and fat and famous! “”

Unfortunately, “It didn’t happen,” chuckled Bray. “It’s great fun, but I fix toilets.”

71-year-old Bray still enjoys poetry and songwriting. He’s been around for more than 40 years, filling scraps of paper – and later notebooks – with rhymes about his children and other things that caught his interest. He still performs with open microphones, where he interacts with the audience with humor.

“If you can silence the whole room and get quiet by speaking really softly and bringing it up, you can get the whole collection of 30 people to move with you,” said Bray. Who has published three volumes of poetry since 1972? “And if you slide something funny into it and make the same 30 people laugh, it’s just a kick in the butt!”

Originally from Walnut Creek, Bray earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1966. He worked in the defense industry for several years, designing missiles, before becoming a freelance designer and graphic illustrator. He eventually got a job at Bechtel in San Francisco, where he was a graphics manager. After 10 years he was fired during a major downscaling.

“So I wrote Laid Off American Man,” said Bray, who has been into poetry since the early 1970s. The song starts like this: “I make windows, I make floors, I make hallways, I make doors, I do everything I can, I” Ma Laid Off American Man! ”

“I had a tape, I had a cover, and I sent it to Herb Caen,” said Bray. “And about a week later I called one of my designers (at Bechtel) after I left and said,” Hey, how are you? “He said, ‘PR is on the alert.” I said, “What are you talking about?” He said, “You didn’t see Herb Caen this morning? You’d better. “So I went to Raley and got the chronicle, opened it and he put all of my lyrics in.”

The final verses read, “I was vice president for BD, with a mission statement and a cell phone, a company watch, and a company loan. I was vice president for BD. Now I’m a gardener in the promised land, all of my tools are in a one man van, now I make windows, I make floors, I make hallways, I make doors, do everything I can, I’m Laid Off American Man! ”

Not everything Bray writes or performs is funny. “Crying at Starbucks” conveys his pain in the hours following his daughter’s death from Crohn’s disease in February 2012. It begins: “After selling coffee and apples in the house and ten thousand condolences via email, cell phone, cards and letters, it It all comes down to crying over Starbucks while the quiet chatter and the overheard music compete with each other. “

What drives his creativity? “It’s therapeutic to me and it’s entertaining itself,” said Bray. “And maybe … it’s helpful to someone else.”

Contact Tony Burchyns at 707-553-6831.

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