Crew of One

On a warm summer evening in June, Kerry Getz sang backup on an outdoor stage in Los Angeles with some of the most accomplished musicians in the world. Their names — Hal Blaine, Don Randi and Chuck Berghofer — may not have been familiar to the average listener, but their songs were: The legendary session players, part of the house band known as the Wrecking Crew, played on dozens of hits by the Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and other 1960s legends.

Getz, a longtime Newport Beach resident, had no No. 1 hits on her résumé, but she got the Wrecking Crew gig through a personal connection: Her friend, Shawn Bryant, had recently supervised the music for a documentary on the band, and he arranged a live performance to follow the film’s premiere. The show needed an extra female singer, so Getz — who was in kindergarten when the Wrecking Crew dominated AM radio — laid down vocals on “Be My Baby,” “These Boots are Made for Walkin’” and “California Dreamin’.”

The show didn’t pay any money, but Getz, who supports herself entirely as a performer, was willing to sing with her role models for free — once, at least.

“The opportunity to play with these guys was just too good to pass up,” she said.

Getz got home that night about 1 a.m., rested up for a day, then got back to work. In the coming weeks, she had to sing with the Wrecking Crew — with pay this time — for another of her friend’s documentaries; she had to prepare for her annual appearance at the Sawdust Art Festival in Laguna Beach; her next album was due out later in the year. In the life of an independent musician, it was a typical summer.

Seven years ago, the OC Weekly proclaimed Getz the “minstrel” of Orange County. Her life hasn’t strayed from that path since. The singer-songwriter has released four albums on her own label, World In Motion Records; she’s shared bills with Dar Williams, Richard Thompson and other well-known artists; for the last few years, she’s coordinated acts for the annual International Music Products Assn. convention in Anaheim, which brings hundreds of music industry professionals together.