Mr. Harada and I have been exploring watering holes in the South Bay and beyond for a long while now. It’s been just over a decade since our first merry toast, and we’ve been going strong ever since. As the years pass, we’ve become wiser, plumper and our tastes have developed.

Certain prohibitionists, pragmatists and/or doctors would argue that we search for more complex flavor profiles because years of drinking alcohol have stripped our sensitive taste buds down into taste-stumps, but those people are wrong. You see, the barfly’s journey is very much like that of a philosopher, and our taste buds have developed like the minds of Plato, Machiavelli and Tupac.

Keeping in line with our refined tastes, we recently visited a drinking establishment befitting our elevated standing. The Hedley Club at the Hotel De Anza is as cultured as it gets, and I’m not just talking about San Jose; The Hedley is a world-class joint. The De Anza opened its doors at the height of the Great Depression, in 1931. It was built by Carl Swenson, and rebuilt by his son Barry nearly 60 years later. The hotel opened during Prohibition, so it probably didn’t include The Hedley Club from the start, but I have a feeling the place was nonetheless as wet as a catfish during the rainy season.

Today, it’s a dimly lit oasis at the end of a luxurious hotel lobby. It has a Masonic spirit. It’s a place that the Scottish Rite members would find familiar. The bar is tucked against the port-side wall, and it features a selection of fine booze. Across the room is a stage, which usually features live jazz, which never gets any “boos.”

On the night that Mr. Harada and I visited, we started with Templeton Rye. It seems that this particular whiskey is poised to take over the market. Even though it’s been around since Al Capone made a name for himself, Templeton Rye is recently on everyone’s mind and in everyone’s gullet. I’m not sure if the stuff made it out this far West during the dry years, but I’m glad it’s being shipped today.

From there we did the responsible thing and sampled a variety of the Boulevard Smokestack Series beers. You know the old saying, “beer after liquor will make you stronger and quicker.” Well, if you haven’t heard that one before, it’s probably because I just made it up. It’s the truth, though, or at least it seems like it. The Smokestack Series features very bold brews. We enjoyed The Sixth Glass, a Belgian strong dark ale, and settled comfortably into the glow slowly pouring from the bar in a room otherwise locked into dusk.

The room began to fill with hotel guests and locals ready for a comfortable night out. In no time we had an accomplice who pulled up a seat and engaged us in jovial conversation about music and guitars (two of my favorite topics). A jazz band started up and when we turned around to watch, nearly every seat in the room was occupied by guests that looked like they knew their way around Monte Carlo and Hong Kong.

The Hedley is a place where you want to wear a suit and tie, even if you came in wearing jeans. It’s a very California type of place. It makes no apologies for its refined atmosphere, and it doesn’t care to judge, as long as you’re willing to have a good time.

Where should the Barfly go next? Leave your suggestions in the comments section.

Josh Perkins is the “JP” in San Jose’s JP and the Rhythm Chasers. The band’s repertoire focuses on music from around WWII, with an emphasis on the various incarnations of swing that existed during that time.

It’s a genre of music that requires considerable skill, not only because timing is of utmost importance and it requires a flawless knowledge of hundreds of chords and scale variations, it all has to be done with ease and a smile. The form comes from a time when you weren’t considered a musician if you couldn’t sight-read, and it was almost rude to look down at your fretboard instead of towards the audience.

Needless to say, things have changed and that type of showmanship has disappeared from the spotlight of American popular music. It’s difficult to find the buttery-smooth chord changes that seem to fall into each other, the bouncing guitar solos that can turn on a dime, and the gabardine suits and hair held firm with pomade. Times are different, and there is nothing wrong with that, but there is something very captivating, nostalgic, and uplifting about what JP and the Rhythm Chasers do.

Josh Perkins is a third-generation guitar luthier. He works with his father and brother at C.B. Perkins, an 89 year-old business his grandfather started in San Jose. He’s even about to release a reproduction of the old DeArmond Rhythm Chief pickup that was responsible for a large portion of the electric guitar sound from the swing era. That’s probably why Josh can reach back and grab hold of the music so easily. His brother, Eric, takes care of the bass duties, playing a 1940s Kay double-bass. David Phillips backs them up on slide guitar, David Nelson keeps the drums tight, and Kevin Deibert works the saxophone.

Their dedication to authenticity is proven in how they record their work. Imagine a track recorded with one microphone, one take, with the band standing around and playing live. That’s how JP and the Rhythm Chasers do it, and they do it with a 70-year-old RCA mic.

JP and the Rhythm Chasers, \”It\’ll Be Me.\”

To see them live is even better. While some swing acts like to add more modern influences to their performances, JP and the Rhythm Chasers focus on keeping the tunes as close to what people were playing in the 30s, 40s and 50s as possible.

As Josh says, ““My philosophy has always been: let’s sound like a band of that era. We’re not going to be a carbon copy of one particular band, but let’s play within that format, within that feel “

Sure, a little Western vibe can seep out of the slide guitar, and Josh has been know to sprinkle leads ala Django over certain tunes, but it all fits together like a well-tailored suit.

It’s a rare type of music these days. The atmosphere at the shows is lively, with energetic dancing near the stage, but it also allows for intimate conversation and an overall felling that these guys are here to entertain the crowd and not vice versa. It’s the type of music that makes people want to get dressed up and be cordial. JP puts it best, “We’re all things swing.”

JP and the Rhythm Chasers will be releasing their new album in a few months. They will perform live at the Hedley Club (hotel De Anza) Saturday, May 12^th.