Going To The '80s Well.

Percival Sweetwater is back!

In his dubut guest blog, "Fresno, Then and Now," old man Percival compared Fresno's music scene to that of approximately 20 years ago. His words were enjoyed and digested by many. The blog caused a splash/minor stir in the LiveJournal community f_chip. (You should check out f_chip for local show postings and stuff.)

Anyway, all you musicians out there should pay close attention to what Percival has to say. He may be old, but he knows what he be talkin' about. I'm just kidding... About the old part, not the "he knows what he be talkin' about" part.

p.s. Before we get started here: What's up with this new text messaging show announcement phenomenon? Is this new thing or what? Do people just send out a mass text message to every number they have in their cell?

OK, let's get on with this. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Sweetwater...


Guest Blogger: Percival Sweetwater

I would like to thank Mitch on Speed for a second guest appearance on his increasingly popular web log. Please take a minute ... what I want to say will be quick so that we can discuss it below.

As Mr. Speed likes to point out at every opportunity, I’m old. In fact, I’m face to face with my 40th birthday, when life truly ends. And lately I’ve been very arrogant, flaunting the fact that I lived in the Eighties (like every other bozo my age did) as some kind of musical superiority when it comes to talking about new music.

I’ll decode that. Where you hear Interpol, I hear Joy Division. When you hear The Futureheads, I hear the first two records of The Jam. Bloc Party? Hmm, probably early Cure. A band from the U.K. called Hard-Fi sounds like a rockin’ Specials. Hell, Rancid sounds like the first Clash album, mi amigos.

Somewhere in the midst of listening to Hard-Fi it hit me in the face like a cold, wet trout: I’m not bitter that you young chumps are mining the intellectual property of Eighties bands. I’m mad that you aren’t ripping off of the right ones!

I can’t speak for all cool, young, hip Eighties kids (mind you, 95 percent of my high school friends were into Night Ranger, not the Violent Femmes). But those who were on the fringe of cool, at least the ones I knew, weren’t listening to Joy Division.

To my age-mates, I apologize immediately for the following list. These are the bands that I recall a lot of us listening to, meaning those people in my little circle of trust. Maybe it’ll inspire some people to check out influences other than the ones the NYC bands are suggesting.

Translator - a San Francisco band that was universally liked.

The Three O’Clock - Los Angeles band that amassed critical kudos. The guitarist dated a Bangle and co-wrote one of their hits, "Walking Down Your Street."

The English Beat. Seriously, I don’t think any modern band has copped them yet. That has to stop.

Public Image Ltd. - John Lydon, mates.

The Alarm. The first EP was awesome before they sold their corporate soul.

I’ll wrap it up quickly. Yes, there was U2 and R.E.M. Beyond that, there were XTC, Kate Bush, King Crimson, The Meat Puppets, Roman Holiday, Midnight Oil, Green On Red, Dream Syndicate, The Untouchables, Wall of Voodoo, Style Council (aka post-Jam crap), and Aztec Camera, to name a few.

Am I missing something, or are most of these bands unknown to today’s generation? I’m assuming yes, and I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t mind hearing them again. In other words, I wouldn’t mind hearing an unimaginative, lazy, thieving young band with an eye on commercial success rip off some of these bands. It’ll do my old heart good.

Interview: Rachael Olmstead.

Here' an interview I recently did with Fresno photopgrapher Rachael Olmstead. The reason I interviewed Rachael is because she has photographed several local bands here in town. Since the Q&A pretty much speaks for itself, let's get on with it, shall we?

Interviewed by Mitchell Peters.

Mitch on Speed: Before we get started, I want to tell everyone that you and your husband, Jason, are very cool people. I was at your house once, and I saw some Venus magazines laying around. In my book, that makes you cool. Anyway... What first got you interested in photography?

Rachael Olmstead: Funny that you mention coming to my house. I was just thinking the other day – with the holidays coming up and all – how many random people have been in and out of there for get togethers and after parties and what not.

I guess I've always been interested in the creative. I did a lot of drawing and painting growing up, and my dad was a hobbiest photographer. He bought me a Polaroid when I was pretty young. I always loved taking photos, though it wasn't something that was ever focused on until recently. I have always dabbled in different things – art, music, crafts – but never really enjoyed and wanted to pursue something as much as photography.

My current camera came around about six years ago, but it wasn’t until about two years ago when I started to think about taking photography more seriously.

Have you had any formal education in photography, or have you pretty much learned on your own?

Pretty much on my own. I took a beginning photo class at Pasadena City College right out of high school but, like all my other classes that semester, it was dropped half way through. The only thing I even sort of remember from then is dark room stuff, which I don’t even use now.

But there is so much more I want to learn. I like the idea of approaching it like a science. But when it really comes down to it, all I have on my side is the art. I really like the idea of pursuing it in the long run to grow in terms of what can be done technically and artistically.

OK, let's get to the good stuff. I know you're involved with many different photo projects, but let's stick to the music stuff. What was the first Fresno band you photographed?

I would have to say that I think one of the first Fresno bands I photographed was probably (live) Montecore or Gypsy Cab about two years ago. Photographing bands just sort of grew out of the fact that we were going to shows and my friends were playing and I had this camera and was sort of interested in photography and I thought it would be cool to document it for them as well as learn in the process.

In terms of "press" photos my first ones were last summer when Shannon Hunter and myself photographed No Cello for their press kits.

Do you prefer taking live shots of bands or stills? Why?

Tough question. If you would have asked me a year ago, I probably would have said live. But now I would have to say stills.

There are too many variables with live shots – mostly crappy lighting. So there is this fine dance between camera settings and film and positioning, and watching when the best time to shoot the band. Sometimes it just takes all the fun out of a show that I’d rather be watching or dancing! But the nice thing about live photos is the excitement of shooting stuff as it is happening. Catching random stage antics and the swoop of an arm across a guitar can be very rewarding.

Recently, I was very happy with some of the photos taken at the Fresno Famous QUIET! Thanksgiving benefit show. The lighting was perfect, and the music and crowd were both great.

Stills are fun because you get to work one on one with people, rather than just watching from a distance and waiting for a shot. You have much more control over the environment and, in terms of learning, you can see progression. I also like working with people in general. Many people don’t like having their photo taken. To be able to make them feel comfortable and provide something that will hopefully benefit them is also really rewarding.

As a music journalist, I've received many band press kits. Within those packages, there's usually a promo/publicity photo of the band. Many of them are cheesy. Is it a struggle not be totally cliché when photographing a band?

Luckily (or unluckily!) I have little to do with how the actual press kit actually comes out. I always find it interesting to see the photos that are used in press kits and reviews. It is not that hard to avoid cliché because really there are so many different things you can do with a band and a photo.

You had something on your blog a while back about advertising in magazines or something and, maybe I’m from the old school, but I still read music magazines. I read online stuff too, but magazines get you off of the computer, which we all need to do more. I like looking at press photos and ads. If something catches my eye in terms of an image I am more likely to follow up on a band. So I think having a good photo really is important in presenting a band.

I've heard that photographing bands by a railroad track and against a brick wall are a HUGE no no. What's your take on that?

The funny thing about that though is that bands will state that. And while I'm aware of it, you’d be surprised how often things like pop up during a shoot without being aware of it. For some of the Rademacher photos I took this spring in downtown Fresno, we ended up taking a few shots near some old railroad tracks without even really noticing that is what we are doing.

And just the other day, I was taking Sparklejet photos. Towards the end of the shoot, we ended up under these floodlights with this cool cement tile stuff. When I got the photos back, I realized they were in front of a brick wall and a chain link fence. So I think actively not pursuing those types of shots is important, but it is funny when they sort of happen on accident.

When approaching a band photo project, how do you decide where the setting will be? Do you try to match the photo with the style of music the band plays, or does it depend on the members' individual personalities? Does this question make sense?

The question does make sense. But I don’t really have an answer! It’s always hard to decide where to shoot. I usually let the band take the lead on where they’d like to do it because they usually have an idea of how they want to portray themselves. I also keep a mental catalogue of places and scenarios in case we can’t come up with something.

Can you give a couple specific examples of bands you've worked with and how you went about setting up the photo shoot and whatnot? Feel free to throw in a funny story or two, if you'd like.

Shoots really do just happen organically. I get asked, and we decide on a location and time and go from there. I usually try and think beforehand about positioning and lighting and all that. I like to talk with the band and figure out what they want and see if they have any ideas or preferences, and let them know I’m extremely flexible and casual with all of it. I also like to work progressively. You can only take a few shots in one spot, so I like the idea of moving around to give them different options.

No Cello was fun because Shannon Hunter and I shot it together. We just wandered around downtown with them. We started at Storyland, went for ice cream on the Fulton Mall, and ended up at Jimmy’s Emerald thrift.

My first Rademacher shoot was when it was just Mike M. He called me up last minute and asked if I could come over and shoot him and this old piano in the alley behind the Pearl building. Josh and Mehran were painting the mural and had some flood lights out there. I was really worried about the lighting because I wasn’t too comfortable with night shooting. We took a lot to be safe and got some pretty good shots. Brianna Johnson Smeds ended up using them to create the artwork for both the self-titled EP and the Ice Age EP.

With the most recent Rademacher lineup, we started out in Playland and ended at the Astro Lounge. Playland was fun. We got to talk to the train conductor. He even jumped in some of the photos. And it was fun to watch Brad shoot himself with water over and over in the face to get the fountain shot.

And one of my favorites from the recent Sparklejet shoot. It’s not one of the "best" technically or artistically but rather for what it captured. Toward the end of the shoot, we had just got on the elevator. I planned on taking a few photos while we were in there, and a group of office ladies got on complaining about the smell of the cleaning products they were using somewhere. It caught us all so off guard. I like seeing a rock band like them full of unapologetic giggles.

Has photographing a Fresno band led to any other cool projects? You know, through exposure and all that?

Yes and no. I went with Mike M. from Fresno Famous to shoot Built Like Alaska when he was interviewing them in Oakdale. And I think Sparklejet felt comfortable using me since they know me personally and know I have some experience. I volunteered recently to do a photo essay for Fresno Famous on the new hookah bar in Tower. I think you have to put yourself out there and pursue projects, and maybe something will present itself along the way.

So is band photography a hobby, or could you see yourself turning it into a little business?

Photography in general is my hobby. I just enjoy doing it. I was the main photographer at a friend’s wedding. I’d like to do more work like that. I also enjoy shooting life: friends, camping trips, shows, vacations and dance parties. I would like to do more "work," whether it’s shooting for bands or business. There are more things I’d like to learn technically before I’d ever consider offering my services on a more serious level. I take it one day/photo at a time.

Any advice you can give to young Fresno photographers who want to get into band photography?

Like anything, just get out there and try it. If you’re already around bands, then you’re set. Take your camera to shows. Don’t be afraid to think about composition at a show, but don’t be that person who is in the way of the people enjoying the band and shooting like crazy with too much flash.

In terms of doing stills or press shots, start out with people you know. Friends are much more fun to shoot and easier to make mistakes with.

OK, enough of the music stuff. Any future photo projects (music or non-music) we should be on the lookout for? Where can people buy your stuff, if they're interested?

Along with John Flores and Shannon Hunter, I have some photos up through the month of December at Cafe Fulton on the Fulton Mall. I always have prints for sale. I can be contacted via my Web site http://www.rachaelophotography.com or on MySpace.

I have a few ideas brewing in the back of my head for future stuff. Shannon Hunter and I would like to put together a show in the spring of various artists (photographers and not) for a yet-to-be-announced show. I will also be working with Brianna Johnson Smeds on a group project in the summer. And I would like to photograph more bands. In fact, doing this interview with you makes me think I need to look into doing a local bands photo show!

I feel that I still have a long way to go before I get to where I want to be. But I really think that each time I do a shoot or a project, I get better and better. I just want to keep building on that.

Fresno Record Stores.

I used to work at Fresno's Tower Records. It was only for about eight months or so. This was back in 2001. I remember it was 2001 because I went in and talked to the manager a couple days after September 11th happened. It was kinda awkward trying to pitch myself for a job during that time. I was like, "Yeah, that whole thing was really horrible. So... are you guys hiring???" I was compassionate about the whole thing but, at the same time, my ass needed a job. My mom was buggin' all the time saying, "Mitch, when are you going to get a job?!?!"

So, I took some intiative and got a job. At the time, Tower was the only place I wanted to work in Fresno. And one of the only establishments I was qualified for. (This was back when Tower was actually still cool, to a certain degree.) I'd walk in there once a week and ask the manager if they needed anyone. Textbook. I scored big in my Tower interview. Don't you love it when you do really well in a job interview and walk out with a super high sense of confidence? Of course you do; everyone does.

To this day, working at Tower has been one of my all-time favorite jobs. Mostly because I was surrounded by music. Another reason was because I had an excuse to flirt with cute female customers. It was sweet. But that almost cost me my job a few times. My supervisors would say, "Mitch, you need to stop talking to the customers so much." So I'd lower my head, kick the imaginary dust and say, "OK, so and so."

But it was fun talking to customers. I liked asking them what they listened to and stuff. If they liked stupid bands and whatnot, I'd secretly make fun of them in my head. (As most people know, people who work at Tower are music elitists. I guess I was one of them.) I loved peoples' response to: "So, what kinda music do you listen to?" They'd answer: "Um, everything but country!" I didn't love that answer, actually. In fact, I hated it. I guess they just weren't listening to the right country. Throw on some Waylon or somethin'.

It was also interesting to try and play the guessing game with people who heard a song on the radio and couldn't figure out who it was. I loved that challenge. When I actually figured it out, I'd get a deep sense of satisfaction (I'm serious).

One of the best things about working there was the fact that I met some really cool people. (You guys know who you are.) Through certain people that worked there, I was exposed to many many many new and cool bands. Tower was where I first discovered Ladytron. Every so often I'd hear this song come over the loud speaker. It turned out to be Ladytron's "He Took Her To a Movie" from their album 604. Man, I love that song. That's just one example of many.

There's so much to say about working at Tower. Unfortunately, I can't tell every story. But I have to say this before I forget. Many of you know that Tower has a porn section. I used to HATE when I'd work the register and old crusty ment would come up and purchase gay porn mags. I guess it's their right to do so, but it was just kinda weird, as you can imagine. But I did get a kick out of saying, "Would you like a bag for that?" It was funny. But I felt bad for the girls who had to do that stuff. I'll never forget the image of Shannon pricing porno DVDs. Ha. There was also this time a mentally retarted guy was caught doing something really bad in that section, but that's a whole other story you don't wanna hear about!

But enough about the Tower days. What I really want to know is why Fresno doesn't have a cool independent music store? Tower has a decent indie section, but it still sucks, for the most part. I mean, you can't even order CDs because their ordering system SUCKS. It takes like five years to get anything you want. Besides, now that we have the Web, who needs to order music from a record store?

But, yeah. Does anybody have a clue why Fresno doesn't have a decent record/CD store other than Tower? It's kinda sad. Maybe people tried to start them up in the past and ultimately failed. I don't know. It would be nice to have one, though.

Any theories?

Why Do YOU Go To Shows?

If you go to local shows around here, ask yourself this question: Why do I go to shows in Fresno?

I was talking with a friend recently about why I (Mitch on Speed) go to local shows. I go to maybe one or two a week – max. There are many reasons, I guess. I’ll list three. 1) because there’s not much else to do in Fresno; 2) I like live music. Well, music period; and 3) I like the social aspect – talking with people and whatnot. I’m guessing these are reasons most people would give.

I’ll be honest. If I went to local shows solely to see the music, then you’d probably only see my face at approximately one show per month. Let’s examine this realistically. How many times a month can an individual watch "band X"* play every other week at Tokyo Garden and/or Starline, without getting bored outta their mind? After a while, that person will get tired of "band X" and stop going to their shows. Don’t get me wrong; I like Fresno bands. I like some of them a lot. But there’s only so much a person can take.

*I don’t wanna name any specific bands. No reason/point in doing that.

There are a few things I’m trying to say here. First, it disappoints me that Fresno doesn’t have a bigger variety of solid live bands. Within the "indie" scene (that I tend to frequent), I can count the amount of bands that regularly perform on one hand – and, interestingly enough, that number is slowly declining. I find that pathetic. With a city of Fresno’s size, there should be a TON of bands playing out. But where are they? Are they in their parents’ basement waiting for the right opportunity to expose themselves to the world? Please, tell me where they are hiding. I’d really like to know. (If you’re thinking to yourself, "Well, if this guy wants more bands, then why doesn’t HE start one up?" then refer to my "Jaded" blog. You will find your answer there.)

Alright, alright. I know some of you are saying that there’s a decent variety of bands playing around town. But I said good bands, remember? Just kidding....just kidding. But seriously... What’s up with that? I guess one could argue that some of the local venues are tight-asses and it’s hard to arrange shows, but I don’t buy that. If a band really wanted to play out, they’d find a way. One suggestion: more house parties.

In a perfect world, mid-sized nationally touring bands would roll through Fresno and local groups could open up for them. But, as we know, it’s very difficult booking decent out-of-town bands in Fresno (I’ve tried, believe it or not). I mean, who was the last semi-popular indie band to come to Fresno? Earlimart? And from what I heard, even they left pissed off because there was hassle in getting their money (guarantee) at the end of the night. I guess you can look at The Belmont’s (formerly Big Game) roster and see a bunch of hardcore/emo/punk bands, but I’m not really into that stuff. It’s cool if you are, though. Not that you need my reassurance or anything.

I may be going off on a tangent here, but it kinda pisses me off when I see cities like Visalia, Modesto and Bakersfield getting WAY better shows than Fresno. I’m not knockin’ those cities; I think that’s fantastic. More power to ‘em. It just confuses me as to how smaller cities can get better shows than us. It boggles the mind! (This is a WHOLE other subject I don’t want to get into right now.)

So here’s my idea: Since we can’t seem to get any cool bands to come to Fresno, I think some local musicians should get together and start an indie cover band. You know, cover songs that people actually know. (Examples: Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bright Eyes, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Decemberists, Cat Power, Arcade Fire, B-52s, the Shins, Elliott Smith, King Cobra, the Gossip – WHOEVER!!!

Sit back a sec and try to think of the last time you heard a local Fresno band play a cover. The last time I remember hearing one was from Pinkeye. They used to cover "Divine Hammer" by the Breeders. They used to play a really cool Beach Boys song, too. I almost forgot about that. Great song. Some of you remember that, I’m sure. I’d bet that an indie cover band would pack the frickin’ house at Tokyo. Am I wrong? I’d venture to say that people would MUCH rather see their friends playing covers of their favorite songs rather than originals (sad but probably true).

This goes back to what I was saying before about seeing the same band play every other week. Even if an indie cover band doesn’t start up, it would be cool if local bands threw in a recognizable cover every now and then. I can TOTALLY see No Cello covering the Black Keys. It would definitely peek my interest a little. You can’t deny that EVERYONE likes to hear a good cover. So, yeah.

Hmmm, what else did I wanna cover in this blog. I can’t really remember. I guess all I ask is that if a Fresno band decides to play out a lot, that they step up their game and do whatever it takes to make the show interesting and fun. Isn’t that why people go out to see band in the first place, to have fun? If a band plays the same exact show over and over and over, then people will get bored. The audience has to be left wanting more. That’s one reason I like Pinkeye so much. No matter how often they play, they keep it light-hearted and fun. Hell, Pinkeye got banned from the Starline because they played past 2 a.m. And the only reason they kept playing is because people couldn’t get enough. Now that’s the kinda shit I like to see.

So let’s brainstorm as to how bands can make their shows more interesting, ‘cause I sure as hell don’t have the answers. Also, if you decide to comment, maybe briefly include why you like going to local shows. And, please, be honest. No bullshit.

p.s. I expect a looong response from James L. on this one... Don’t let me down, kid.

2nd p.s. Sorry if this blog made no sense whatsoever. Ha.

The Perfect Flyer.

Course: Flyer-making 101
Professor: Mr. Alan DeCoronado
Place: Mitch on Speed blog
Cost: Free!
Time: Whenever

Course Description:
This should be an interesting blog for those of you going into the well-paid career of professional flyer-making. Flyers can come in handy for promoting shows, if done correctly. It may also provide a few well needed tips for those of you who indulge in making crappy show flyers (you know who you are...).

I thought I'd tap one of Fresno' best to give us all a lesson on what goes into making a kick-ass flyer. I can't think of anyone in this town (and probably Valley, for that matter) who can make a better flyer than Alan (aka Princess Cuckoo).

As some of us know, Alan (aka Princess Cuckoo) is a co-creator of Meatball Magic (you know, that DJ thing every other Friday at Fresno's Red Lantern). This guy knows a shitload about music. He also sends me rad mp3s while I'm at work, so he's cool in my book.

Anyway, who knows how the hell Alan (aka Princess Cuckoo) learned how to make such creative looking flyers. I guess that's why I wanted to interview him.


Interview: Alan (aka Princess Cuckoo)


Mitch on Speed: OK. Before I ask the first question, go ahead and tell people why I'm interviewing you in the first place. Tell us about your background and what you're musically involved with right now.
Alan (aka Princess Cuckoo): Well, despite myself, it's a case of Fresno gravity: What goes up must come down, or in this case, you go away, you're bound to come back. Born and raised here, moved to Portland, moved back, then again, then back. Sometime last year, after a lifetime of bitching about "nothing to do in Fresno," a couple of friends and I decided to get off our asses and do something about it, and in February of this year our little idea came to fruition in the form of Meatball Magic. For anyone who hasn't heard about Meatball Magic by now, there’s a great interview with the three of us on Fresno Famous. It’s pretty good, I guess… If you’re into that sort of thing… But I can’t for the life of me remember who wrote it… Hmm…

What's your background in flyer-making?
Newspaper journalism major in school, subsequent Managing Editor of the FCC newspaper The Rampage, subsequent burned-out graphic design major after I decided I wasn’t going to take after my dad (journalism wasn’t for me anyway), and I dropped out after three semesters. I changed majors because I don’t work well with deadlines, and assigning and editing stories wasn’t exactly the best creative outlet one would imagine. Designing things -- whether it be a website or a flyer or a CD cover or whatever -- has always been something I just do for friends and for fun. Lately, though, with super duper fun nights coming more frequently, it’s more necessity than amusement. But I’ve got an innate urge to create and a learned urge to edit, so it’s always fun anyway. What’s the point of doing anything unless it’s fun, right?

Give a step-by-step process into how you make a flyer.
If you’re expecting me to give up all my secrets, you’ve got another think coming. Seriously, though, there’s really not much to it. With enough practice, and with the right impetus, anyone can pull a decent flyer out of their ass. The only difference is that for me, from conception to delivery, it’s very much a labor of love. It’s like that every single time. From the moment I start to think about the feeling I want to try to convey, to the moment I’ve perfected the typography, I’m having the time of my life. If at any point during the process I begin to fall out of love, I scrap the whole thing and start fresh. Unless I’m like, you know, in a hurry or something. Then we get something half-assed and everybody hates everyone else.

In your opinion, Mr. DeCoronado, what constitutes the perfect flyer?
Well, I don’t know if I’m qualified to answer that question, but who is, really? Maybe Vaughan Oliver or Peter Saville or someone like that. In my humble opinion, though, you need three things to create an effective flyer: a good idea of your intended demographic, the right tools (physically as well as motivationally) and every last bit of information to be included on the flyer. There have been so many times when I’ve had something I’d been working on, that’d I’d been so proud of and that I was ready to turn into a vehicle for someone’s event, only to have my creative momentum thwarted when I suddenly realized I didn’t have a date or address. Just be prepared. I can’t stress that enough. In terms of the feeling of the flyer, you really have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. That seems like a fairly obvious thing, being sensitive, but you'd be surprised. Unless you’ve really got balls (or a gift for spin), you wouldn’t want, say, a flyer based on Catholic imagery for a strip club, or a communist propaganda rip for a “Make Money at Home!” campaign. Use common sense. Finally, and most importantly, if you’re blocked, go out and get inspired. Take some photos. Look through old design magazines. Read up on those crazy Russian Constructivists. Then make sure you’ve got a decent computer, or if you’re going to kick down old school, a decent working space and, you know, a pencil sharpener or something.

What types of programs do you use?
Adobe Photoshop CS, almost exclusively. I’ve used Illustrator in the past, but I find that with Photoshop’s crazy vector stuff as of late, it’s not really necessary. I just got a copy of CS2, though, and even though it barely runs on my computer, I’m totally horny for all the new image manipulation stuff in this version. Maybe I’ll upgrade and switch over to that. You’re weak in the knees, I know.

How long does it usually take to make a flyer?
Depends. If I’m in no real hurry, I’ll spend an hour nudging a text field left to right until it’s perfect. I’ll nitpick for three days if I’ve got the time. Otherwise, I’ll probably crank something out within a few hours. It seems to work out better that way, too. If I’m inspired enough to finish a flyer in one night, I’ve usually got a good enough idea of what I’m going for, so I just go for it.

How do you usually come up with your brilliant ideas?
That’s really sweet, thank you, but I don’t know that it’s brilliance so much as clever execution (toot toot). Someone once said that originality is the art of concealing your source, and I absolutely find that to be true. Anything you’ll ever do has most likely been done before. The delivery is the trick. People tend to like my flyers most when I’ve cannibalized something familiar or incorporated elements of something they recognize. I think that’s why our Mucha Lucha and The Haunting flyers were so well received. People get a kick out of something if they can relate. Incidentally, that’s also why the dance floor is always so packed when we play '80s freestyle or cheesy pop at Meatball Magic.

What's the best flyer you've designed and why?
God, that’s like asking which one of your children you love the most. Having said that, there are always times when I’m disappointed by trying to top myself. I think it all stems from that very first flyer back in February. There was such a sense of accomplishment tied to that flyer. We were finally on our way to doing something promising and cool simply out of sheer love. In love with music, in love with our friends and in love with our hometown, this first flyer represented our swollen hearts and fluttering bellies. That’s a pretty difficult thing to top.

Do you design flyers for bands too, or just Meatball Magic?
I do and I have. Bands, shows, parties… I’d design a flyer for a passed kidney stone if someone asked me to.

On your last Meatball Magic flyer, some dude left a comment saying something like, "It looks like somebody ate your flyer then threw it up." Do you respond well to criticisms like that?
Probably not, because I responded by telling him that someone did throw up… on his face. Obviously, I was being facetious, but I’m totally a mother hen when it comes to things like this. I totally respect people’s input and impressions, but nobody wants their babies to be ugly. It helps if you’ve got a healthy sense of irony. All I can really do is try to provide information and dates in as attractive a form as possible and hope people catch my drift. It’s all very subjective, though, isn’t it?

More Meatball Magic Flyers Can Be Found Here.

SparkleJet, An All-American Band.

Let’s take a moment of silence to bow our heads and respect Fresno’s SparkleJet (MySpace profile). They’ve been around a while and they deserve it.

Earlier this week I heard SparkleJet (official site) was scheduled to play a show this Friday (11/18) at Fresno club, Zapp’s Park. Former KFSR (90.7-FM) DJ Chris Corners LOVES them! If you ever used to listen to his radio show, that wouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Since I know Chris (aslo the guitarist in Pinkeye) loves/worships SparkleJet, I thought I'd ask him to say a few words about this "tried-and-true, all-American ROCK BAND." Hell, they recorded with Steve Albini (the guy who produced Nirvana’s In Utero, and more…) not too long ago, so they get the thumbs up from me.

Show Info:
SparkleJet/Sleepover Disaster
Date: Friday, November 18th
Venue: Zapp’s Park (on Blackstone, just south of Olive in Fresno)
Age: 21 +
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Price: $5

Rumor has it that SparkleJet’s label people from Long Live Crime Records are going to be at the show. Let’s get our asses out there and show them that SparkleJet rules Fresno.

Yours truly,

Mitch on Speed.

(P.S. future guest bloggers can pitch ideas to mitchonspeed@gmail.com)

Guest Blogger: Chris Eckes (aka Chris Corners)

SparkleJet is the tried-and-true, all-American ROCK BAND. That breed of bands/musicians was once a widely embraced staple of our cultural fabric. These days, for reasons I don't completely understand, true rock bands are suddenly being nudged aside in favor of who knows what. Indeed, the music world would be a dull, monotonous wasteland if it were still made up solely of straightforward, guitar-based rock ‘n’ roll combos. Let's make no mistake about that. I also can't deny that excess-driven hacks have given the traditional idea of "rocking" a bad name a few times throughout history.

Putting all that nonsense aside, we all know it would be nothing less than a disgrace for the right-minded "rock band" to somehow lose its important place in the grand scheme, and for people to suddenly forget about the inherent power attached to it (as it’s undoubtedly the foundation from which every other form of popular music is based upon). SparkleJet is here to make sure this doesn't happen. Not in Fresno, at least.

It's such a good thing, really. SparkleJet, that is. Better than most probably even realize. The very best part being that they go about their rock ‘n’ roll business in a completely honest manner that doesn't feel the least bit contrived or pretentious. They aren't trying to be anything but who they are and what they know. SparkleJet simply play the music they were designed to play. I can't speak for anybody else, but for me, that's all I can ask from a band. It's also the common thread among nearly every artist that I enjoy listening to. What a bonus to have a band in town who not only stylistically fill the void of a dying breed, but also do it with genuine purpose and conviction.

Oh yeah, let's not forget that the songs are good. Like, real good. SparkleJet’s Bar Guest is one of my all-time favorite albums by any band, from Fresno or anywhere else. It's a bona fide classic in every sense of the clichéd term. Certain aspects of the record's sound can naturally be compared to other groups like The Who, Pixies, Guided by Voices, etc., but it's void of any copycat shenanigans that so many bands are guilty of. Besides, I can think of worse bands to occasionally give a nod to than those just mentioned, and when the influences make an appearance it feels more like inspiration than any sort of direct duplication. I also appreciate the fact that the album sounds highly calculated and well thought out, but with no sign of the urgency and spontaneity being compromised in the performance itself. In other words, it's chock-full of subtle nuances that make it more and more interesting with every listen, but it still retains the no-nonsense charm of a punk record (i.e. - "Dog Riot").

And, really, everything about SparkleJet is very balanced in that same way. The band even managed the difficult feat of having never made the same record twice whilst rarely ever veering from their distinctive aesthetic base or feeling the need to completely reinvent their sound. They merely change things up a bit each time out to give their winning formula a fresh twist, as will be instantly noticeable on their new record slated for release on Long Live Crime Records in January.

I feel obligated to point out that this forthcoming SparkleJet LP, Beyond the Beyond, was primarily engineered by Steve Albini at his Chicago studio, which obviously rules. (Albini did record a Nirvana album, a Pixies album and a Jimmy Page & Robert Plant album [aka - 1/2 of Led Zeppelin. Eh, um!].) But I suppose it wouldn't be wise to jump to the conclusion that this guy's involvement automatically makes something "cool" or "great" (as badly as I’d like to say). At any rate, because of the way Albini approaches the recording process, the worth of a product ends up mostly in the hands of the artist. The producer has made it a simple priority to faithfully capture the natural sound of a self-contained band in the room that they're playing in, just the way our ears would hear it (no over-doctoring/altering of the sound, except when necessary or requested by the artist).

It's fortunate, then, that our SparkleJet boys happen to be a top-notch unit, entirely capable of taking advantage of such a streamlined approach, which is just what they did. The result is anything but Bar Guest Pt. II, yet none of the basic elements that made the old SparkleJet so alluring have gone missing. Absent is the underlying production polish of Bar Guest, yes. But maybe that's only a superficial curveball where instead we get an equally effective raw, live energy applied to the same great songs, the same great singing, the same great guitar work, the same great drumming, the same great bass playing -- the same great band.

It's a blast to listen to and a welcome addition to their back catalogue of work. They're currently showcasing many of the new songs live, so if you're curious about the new record and want to hear what the tunes sound like, the best way to find out is to go to a show and hear them in person.

Final thoughts. SparkleJet is that rare, tasteful rock band that every city should have and be proud of if they do. It's exciting to me when a group of guys from our own Central Valley locale can bring as much songwriting prowess and live performance value to the table as bands I might otherwise have to travel 4-5 hours to see/hear. They conduct themselves as a real band with a healthy work ethic that is equal parts focused, simple, fun, and meaningful. The same can only be said about maybe a handful of other Valley bands, and SparkleJet are at the forefront of what, to me, is "doing things right".

SparkleJet is a breath of fresh air. That is, in contrast to the fleeting, disposable, Fresno music buddies, who get together to write a quick- batch of songs so they can play a couple Tokyo shows and call it quits after a month without ever recording a thing-type of bands that Fresno is notorious for. And let’s not forget the Triple Rectifier half-stack-playin' kids on the other side who think that cloning the image and sound of the nu-metal flavor of the week is their instant ticket to rock stardom.

Maybe that stuff is all part of the Fresno charm. I happen to like the SparkleJet way better. Besides, any band capable of taking a cornball song like "A Quick One, While He's Away" and miraculously making it seem cool, just the The Who did 40 years ago, is okay by me.

Interview: Fresno Famous.

Before I get started with this blog, I have a quick announcement to make…

I saw two awesome shows last weekend in San Francisco: Chicks on Speed/Kevin Blechdom (Independent) and My Morning Jacket (Fillmore). If you missed Chicks on Speed in L.A. of S.F., then you screwed up BIG TIME. This was CoS’ first U.S. tour in three years. I doubt they’ll be coming back anytime soon. OK, that’s all. I just had to let everyone know that. We may now continue.

When I got home last night (11/13) from my S.F. excursion, I found an e-mail waiting for me from FresnoFamous.com Editor Jarah Euston (aka Abby Blackstone). I was like, "Hmm, I wonder why she’s e-mailing me…she probably wants me to write something for the site, or something." (As some of you know, I’ve freelanced articles/interviews for Fresno Famous*) Well, I was wrong. The e-mail contained answers to a list of questions I had previously asked her about Fresno Famous.

(*Articles/interviews I've contributed to Fresno Famous include: Earlimart, Mommy and Daddy, Meatball Magic, It'll Grow Back.)

When I first started this blog a couple months ago, I was trying to think of interesting people I could interview. The first idea that popped into my head was doing a Q&A with Fresno Famous. They've been awesome in promoting Fresno's music scene. I was at work when I came up with the idea. I saw Jarah online, so I sent her an instant message asking if she wanted to do an interview for my blog. She was like "Um…sure, OK." I didn’t think she’d actually end up doing it. I gave up hope after the first month of not getting a response. I’m really happy she finally got around to it. I think Fresno Famous deserves a little publicity, even if it’s only a short blog interview.

Let me back up and tell you my first memories of Fresno Famous. I can remember the very first time I gazed upon the site. I was sitting at my job as a "PIB" (person in building) at Mondosphere radio group. (Mondosphere is the company that owns radio stations like 104.1 and 95.7-FM. A PIB is basically someone who sits alone around the studios and makes sure the automated DJ stuff doesn’t screw up — an extremely boring job. Just ask guest blogger Christy A.) So, yeah. I was screwin’ around on the computer at Mondo and came across Fresno Famous. Being the eager young journalist that I was, I contacted Jarah with the intentions of eventually freelancing for the site. I thought it was so cool that people in Fresno were starting a site like this. It was very inspiring. OK, that's the end of the story.

Before I go on, I can’t forget to give props to Mike M (aka Malcolm Sosa) – Jarah’s boyfriend – who also started/maintains Fresno Famous. Mike M and Jarah make an awesome duo. He’s also the singer/songwriter/guitarist for Fresno’s Rademacher (See "Self-promoting Rademacher" blog).

OK, enough of my babbling. I could talk about this shit forever. Let’s get on with the interview. OK, I lied. I have one more thing to say. I think Fresno Famous is one of – if not the most – important things to emerge within Fresno’s cultural arts scene. I’m sure MANY (millions upon millions) will agree with me on that. So let’s give it up to Jarah and Mike M who have give Fresno this amazing weekly-updated Web site. Thanks, guys. By the way, rumor has it that the Fresno Bee is a little intimidated by Fresno Famous. I don’t blame ‘em if they are. A little competition never hurt anyone, right?

Mitch on Speed: When and why did start Fresno Famous?
Jarah Euston: We launched Fresno Famous in April 2004 because we wanted to know what was going on around town. We figured in a town this size there had to be things happening, but we were totally in the dark. We'd look in the Bee and think, there has to be more than this. Looking at handbills in coffee shops wasn't very efficient. Fresno is one of the largest cities in the country without an alt weekly- where you would usually turn to get entertainment info. We also thought Fresno was absurdly disconnected. If you were in one scene you were plugged in to that, but excluded from everything else. We wanted to create a database of events and people so if you knew no one, you'd still have a way of finding cool things to do. And we wanted to support, encourage, and promote local talent. We thought that if musicians and artists living in Fresno got more recognition, they'd be more successful here.

Is it difficult keeping up with your weekly updates?
It can be. We are a community journalism site, which means that anyone can submit stories, photos, or other content. People pitch us story ideas all the time, which is kind of funny because we publish anything that is sent to us, as long as it's about Fresno. At the end of the month we'll be making some big changes to allow people to publish directly to the site.

Between the two of you, how much time do you invest in Fresno Famous?
I do it full time. Mike's focusing more on other projects so it really varies for him, from 2 to 20 hours a week depending. Our awesome programmer Suzi is putting in serious hours for the new site.

How did you come up with your clever pen names?
Inspiration from God.

What type of content do you cover on the site?
Entertainment! Our goal is to get everything happening in Fresno onto our events calendar. Everything, from punk shows to pancake breakfasts. Anything related to Fresno. People most often contribute stuff about local music and art, but we do a lot about downtown development also.

What’s been the most interesting story you’ve covered? Most controversial?
The most controversial was probably the Coconut Club snafu. The restaurant decided to withdraw its sponsorship of the Reel Pride Gay and Lesbian film festival he night before a champagne brunch. To make matters worse, the owner allegedly made a Reel Pride supporter cry when she called to complain, spewing homophobic remarks. What would have previously only been discussed among friends, is now on the internet for all eternity. We really felt like we had an impact that day. There have been lots of interesting stories. The interview with Donnell Alexander was a favorite, and I really enjoyed doing the story on Fresno graffiti. Luke Deniston's piece on the Broadcast Flag is another favorite, because no one else was talking about how a Fresno congressman was one of only a handful of representatives pledging to support that ridiculous legislation. It made a big, national issue very local.

What keeps you motivated to keep the site running?
Money, and the possibility of more money.

Do you encourage people in Fresno to contribute to the site?
Yes. We're very excited about the new site we are launching at the end of November. People will be able to post their own stories, photos, reviews, and editorials, as well as their events. We are inviting everyone to contribute to the online community and keep us posted on what is going on in their neighborhoods. We really want to be the place people go to find out about life in Fresno- local issues, where to get Thai food, what bands are playing, what local artists are showing, what happened at the school board meeting. We're opening it up to everyone to catch the stories and people larger news outlets miss.

Jarah can be contacted at jarah@fresnofamous.com

The Fresno Scene: A View From The Outside.

A long ass time ago (maybe two years), I became friends with Dany Sloan (yes, only one “n”). He’s a native of the East Coast. At the time of our meeting, he had moved to Fresno on a whim. He didn’t stay long. To this day, I still have no clue why he did that. Anyway, he’s a cool guy and he likes some really cool music. We hit it off because we both did a little freelance journalism. He went to a lot of local shows.

The last time I saw his was in Oakland when I was dropping him off at the airport to go back to Philly. That same weekend, we hung out and saw Q and Not U/Erase Errata at the Bottom of the Hill in San Fran. It was cool. But I’m still pissed off about something. We crashed at Ben and Eli’s (from now-disbanded Soma Holidays), and I left my favorite long-sleeved Guinness there. I got that shirt at the Guinness factory in Dublin, Ireland. It fit me so perfectly. Damn.

Before Dany flew the Fresno coop, I interviewed him about his take on the Fresno music scene. I pitched the story to Fresno Famous. I thought it’d be interesting to see what an outsider thought about the scene. He had some good things to say. To make a long story short, I got lazy and didn’t do it. But I didn’t give up hope. I asked Dany to write a short blog about his take on the scene, and he kindly accepted.


Guest blogger: Dany Sloan

[Dany Sloan is a former short-term Fresno resident who is currently acollege radio promoter at The Planetary Group in Boston and is a contributor to Prefix Magazine. He has also done time with AAM, Pitchfork, Rockpile and Rocket Fuel.]

I've always been weirded out by the West Coast. I mean, seriously. Thecities are spread out, it's always sunny and things just move so slowly outthere. Now you may wonder why I moved to Fresno for three months last year and the answer I have for you is this: who the hell knows? Did it suck? For the most part, yes, but looking back, it was a great time and I met some awesome people and got to know some really great bands.

Fresno is a sizeable city with the resources of a small town, stranded inthe no man's land between San Francisco and Los Angeles and there really is nothing to do there, but that didn't stop the local indie rock kids fromgetting a tight little scene going. It's the only thing that kept me interested during my time there. I was lucky enough to play bass in Ira for a short time, plus I developed a fairly tight relationship Fresno scene booster [Mitch on Speed].

Living in the Tower District, I saw a ton of bands during my three monthsthere. The ones that stand out were: Pinkeye, Rademacher, Bel and theDragon, Gypsy Cab and The Insects. Additionally, Bianca from Ira was one of the best songwriters I've ever come into contact with. Practices with Ira were amazing because each time we got together, Bianca would have like five new songs, all of which were great, but she just never had the self-confidence or the forum to do what she needed with them.

Being a close knit scene though, Fresno has its share of problems. It's afairly sizeable city that should do more to promote its local scene andbring in more touring acts. I remember people going apeshit over Cursivecoming to town, but seriously, Cursive is an ok band that used to be a lotbetter, and a band of their stature should be coming through Fresno muchmore often. It's situated perfectly between San Fran and LA, and is a greatmidway point to play and crash instead of doing a seven hour drive down the coast.

The local scene is way too exclusive. Small scenes typically start with anenterprising group of friends, but they need to expand outside of that. Fresno could be on the brink of having an exciting local scene akin to Omaha or Minneapolis or Portland by now, but its "friends-only" mindset was holding it back. I am not sure if that's the case now, but if there are kids who have exciting ideas, a wealth of experience and are willing to help, they need to be included. Greytank and Gardenside are good starts, but there is so much more to be done.

I am excited to find out what is going to happen to all of the excitingyoung bands in the Central Valley. Are they going to reach their potentialand put Fresno on the map or are they going collapse under the weight ofmaintaining their clique? Some food for thought: Washington D.C., our nation's capital, had a scene in disarray in the ’70s, but they rose above all of that to become a scene to be reckoned with. Dischord began to welcome exciting new people and thought outside the box.

Here's a link to Dany's blog: http://exitfare.blogspot.com/

Jaded.

Here’s a little blog about yours truly. Get ready, it’s a long one...

In the many conversations I’ve had with people involved in the local scene, people seem intrigued when I reveal that I used to be in a band. I guess people are so surprised because they’ve never seen me play.

But for those of you who used to frequent the open mic nights at Starline and Club Fred back in the day, you’d know that I used to throw down a little acoustic every now and then. That was back when maybe three or four people would go. Now it’s crazy and overcrowded.

James Z (the best local singer-songwriter I’ve met) and I used to provide a few tunes for the Kern Street Café too. Those were fun; we’d make like $20 bucks. I’ve still got a couple of those sessions on cassette. Not to toot my own horn, but we sounded pretty damn good.

But lets’ back up and start from the beginning.

My first guitar lesson was on the day I turned 13. I’m not ashamed to say that Guns ‘N’ Roses guitarist Slash was my main inspiration. I desperately wanted to learn the opening riff of "Welcome to the Jungle." I eventually got it down.

The first time I picked up a guitar, my natural inclination was to play left-handed (like Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, etc.). My guitar teacher eventually advised me to switch and play as a righty. He said I’d be better off in the future because it’d be easier find/buy right-handed guitars. I ended up switching. I’m still not sure if I made the "right" decision. It was a weird transition at first. Eh, I’m used to it now.

I hated taking guitar lessons and eventually quit. I didn’t practice what I was supposed to, so it was useless. I’d basically go into the lesson and the guy would teach me how to play Nirvana songs (I was a HUGE Nirvana freak). When I started to learn power chords and whatnot, I began writing my own crappy little songs. From there, I bought a karaoke machine and started recording them. I still have those tapes. I must’ve had like 20-30 songs. They all sucked.

In those days, my dream was to be a famous rock ‘n’ roll star. I grew my hair out, wore ripped jeans – the whole bit. That dream eventually faded, but not until the end of high school/beginning college. It was awesome sitting alone in my room, turning up the bitchin’ distortion on my little Crate amp, and just rockin’ out. I’d close my eyes and pretend like I was playing a concert in front a bunch of people. It was fun. Now I know that I could never be a rock star. I go out one night and feel like shit for the rest of the week.

The first time I stepped onto a stage was eight grade during a talent show. A couple friends and I lip synched Green Day’s "When I Come Around." It was so dumb but in a weird way it was cool. Even though we weren’t playing the song – or our instruments for that matter – it was fun. I later ended up playing a few talent shows in high school. I never won. I wasn’t all that bad, though.

Once I entered high school, it was time to start a band. Unfortunately, my school only had about 600 people and not too many of them shared my passion to create rock ‘n’ roll; none that I knew of at least. At the time, a friend of mine had been messing around with the drums, so we decided to try and start something up. It failed miserably. The upper classmen called us "The Momma’s Boys." The other guy in the band wasn’t serious about it, and I was. That caused a problem. I guess it didn’t help that we both sucked, too. I eventually got frustrated and quit.

It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I joined my first "real" band. It was scary. I remember the day James Z (the guy mentioned above) approached me about joining his hard rock/heavy metal/grunge band, Jaded (that was the name of the band). At the time, James Z was in another band. I can’t remember their name, but it was like the only rock band in our small little town. In my mind, James Z was the closest thing to a rock start that I knew. To this day, he probably doesn’t know it but I idolized him.

It was extremely flattering for him to come up to out of nowhere and ask, "Hey, you wanna play bass in my band?" I was like, "Uh, yeah, sure." He was a senior at the time, so it was a little intimidating. Even worse, I only had like two days before he wanted me to practice with them. Luckily, they already had a bass guitar for me to play. It was this purple-blue metallic 4-string Fender.

Our first official band practice was on a Sunday. We ALWAYS practiced on Sunday. I used to love those days. We’d go over to our drummer’s house in Sanger and spend the whole day hanging out. Good memories of smoking cigarettes and walking to 7-11. The reason I remember it was a Sunday is because the night before I had a party at my house. I got pretty wasted. And for some strange reason, I remember exactly what I was wearing at that first practice. Damn, what happened to that shirt?

Jaded’s first "jam session" was fucking loud. I mean LOUD. I eventually started wearing earplugs. I was the youngest one in the band, so everyone kind of treated me like the baby. I was pretty naive back then. My parents hated me hanging out with the "rocker" types. If they had known the kinda stuff we were doing, I honestly couldn’t blame ‘em. Ha. I mean, our drummer’s room (where we practiced) had an upside down American flag on the wall, and one of our guitarists sang like he was possessed by Satan. It was awesome.

As I’m writing this, tons of memories are resurfacing. I experienced a lot of "firsts" during my time in Jaded: chicks, alcohol, drugs – you name it. I wish I could tell all the stories. I met a lot of cool bands and people back then. For the time being, I’ll just stick to the basics.

As I said, I was the bass player. James Z was the guitarist/singer, Travis was the drummer and Rene was the other guitarist/singer. Our sound was a cross between Slayer, Rage Against the Machine, Danzig, Nirvana and Soundgarden. To this day, I still believe we were the best band in Fresno at the time. Not to sound cocky, but I know we were.

I only sang two songs in Jaded, a cover of Nirvana’s "Breed" and an original called "Averse." I still love that song. It was funny because James Z and I would trade instruments in the middle of our set and everyone in the crowd would freak out. They’d say, "Hey, why are they switching? That’s crazy!" I guess it was impressive or something.

After practicing together for a few months we decided it was time to play live shows. Here was the problem: most of us were underage. But that didn’t stop us; we played at bars and stuff anyway. Back then, we would frequent the Red Wave Inn (the dive bar across from Fresno State), this little arcade on Shields and Blackstone, and house parties. We would go crazy onstage; usually because we were under the influence of something.

One time, we played a show at my cousin’s house and these two girls started to fight while we were playing. It was awesome. Instead of stopping our set we only played louder. I was 16-17 at the time, so it was interesting, to say the least. Unfortunately, we never toured. That’s probably a good thing.

Jaded eventually decided to record an EP. That’s about the time things went to hell. One of our guys knew this dude who recorded bands at his house for a cheap price. His name was Tom Delgado. He’s still around Fresno today. He’s that short guy who heads up the Wednesday jams at Starline. At that time, the Tom had REALLY long hair, and some pretty sweet recording equipment. We called me Eddie Munster. I guess I kind of looked like him.

We spent a couple weekends at his house. On one of the days, I remember buying a whole box of donuts for everyone. I ended up eating every single one of them. Can you guess why? Ha. But we ended up recording about four songs, which were never completed. I still have a rough copy of the songs on cassette, but they were never mixed properly. Man, I think Tom still has those reels. We should’ve gotten them back. Those were the days when Pro Tools didn’t exist.

Shortly after that recording session, Jaded broke up. We played for fun, but deep in our hearts I know we all had bigger hopes and aspirations. It was OK though, I was ready for it to be done. Rene (guitarist) and Travis (drummer) were fighting about something and they eventually called it quits. They’re friends now, though. After that, James Z and I still talked and hung. He’d come over my house pretty often and we’d play songs together, which eventually led to the coffee house gigs. I guess we both kind of got bored with it and stopped.

Which brings us to present day. I don’t really play music anymore. I pick up my guitar a few times a week and mess around, but that’s all. I can’t write songs anymore. I’m not sure why. I have this never-ending writer’s block. It’s weird. Maybe someday it’ll come back to me. I have a couple of cool guitars and a nice Fender DeVille amp. I also have drum set, which I haven’t played in a long time. It needs new heads. In the past year or so, I’ve bought several electro devices (drum machine, synth, etc.) but I haven’t really learned how to use them. I still have the desire to learn, though. Fresno needs an electro band.

The last time I played live anywhere was at Starline a couple years ago. James Z, Travis (Jaded’s former drummer) and myself got together and closed for Fresno’s Bev. We went under the name "Skeleton Keys." I still have the flyer in my car. We bombed that night. Afterwards, James Z and I went to Denny’s and talked about how horrible we sounded. We never played again after that.

I’m happy with not performing. I’d rather sit back and watch others. If I had my own band then I would lose my objectivity on the Fresno music scene. But who knows, maybe I’ll get the wild hair again sometime.

I commend anyone who actually read this whole thing... Thanks.

KFSR.

KFSR 90.7-FM. Need I say more?

Since I started writing these blogs, KFSR’s name has been popping up quite a bit within people’s comments and whatnot. Usually it’s in the context of, "KFSR blowwwwws, man!!!" or "Dude, KFSR doesn't support local bands." You know, stuff like that.

As some of you know, I used DJ at KFSR a couple years back. In fact, that's how I got this ridiculous name, "Mitch on Speed." Bad Andy (from Pinkeye) gave it to me one day during my show. I didn’t have a name for myself, so he just called me "Mitch on Speed."

(Due to legal reasons, I can’t explain in detail what went into me getting this name. And, no, it’s not drug-related.)

Anyway... We all have our own opinions about KFSR and why it does or doesn't suck these days.

Here’s a story written by a former KFSR "employee," DJ Christy. In my opinion, her show was one of the best. (We used to DJ during the same time period.) Christy is a journalism student and Fresno State. I believe she was let go from the station. I don’t know why. Anyway, here’s her story.

Guest Blogger: Christy Arndt

The college radio station, 90.7 KFSR Fresno, has the potential to reach over 500,000 Valley residents, according to the station’s Web site. The equipment has been replaced with up-to-date MP3 players and state-of-the-art microphones, computers, and a new main audio console. Joe Moore, Station Manager since 1999, has worked toward this goal by luring in a specific target audience.

KFSR’s self-proclaimed title, The Valley’s Home for Jazz, does more than attract the older jazz-listening crowd in Fresno. It alienates the college age listeners who are more interested in new progressive music, whether it’s hip-hop, rock, or rap. Although the radio station’s mission statement focuses on musical diversity and variety, a majority of the programming is dedicated to the jazz genre. KFSR plays over 70 hours of jazz each week, although the station’s mission is: "...to provide the Fresno area with unique, innovative and high quality public radio programming, thus enhancing the quality of life in Central California."

The main purpose of CSUF’s college radio station, according to the station’s Web site, is to operate as a profit-free learning tool for students.

[Mitch on Speed], music journalist and a former disc jockey for KFSR, says that soon after he left in spring 2004 new employees sharing Joe’s vision (to imitate corporate radio stations) decided to change the format.

He said in an interview that the station is now forcing DJs to play certain songs on a daily basis, which is cheating college students out of the whole college rock experience.

"I don’t think the station caters to college students. There is some programming that does, but as far as rock music goes, it seems kind of lame. From what I hear, half of the newly released CDs that are considered ‘good’ in the indie rock scene don’t even make it into the studio. I think that’s partly the music director’s fault for not recognizing what music is popular," [Mitch on Speed] said, in regards to the community’s expectations of KFSR, versus the new program director’s agenda.

[Mitch on Speed] agreed that an unusual amount of jazz is played to much at KFSR, and that a majority of the donations come from old people listening to Joe’s jazz programs.

"It would seem that he has many listeners who are older and would be more inclined to give money they had," he said.

Another former disc jockey from last year, Ryan Borba, wrote his strong opinion of jazz programming in a letter to The Collegian. He hypothesized that while people do know about KFSR, it is not serving the community of bored younger people in Fresno as well as it could.

In his letter, Borba said:

"The reason no one knows about KFSR is because KFSR caters to the older, wealthier, donating jazz sponsors who are responsible for a huge portion of the station’s operating funds."

This gives the impression that Joe Moore has the intention of keeping the station afloat with donations, but is forgetting about the college age listeners who proudly named the station, "The Mighty 90.7" when the new console was installed for more power. Money shouldn’t be the focus of an updated, non-profit organization.

"Even though (jazz) is not insanely popular it is certainly a very important style of music," said Moore in a Collegian interview last semester.

His hobby, which is also his lifestyle, has overpowered the station’s focus, losing variety and listeners along the way.

Interview: It'll Grow Back

Here's a lil' somethin' somethin' Kumar Santiago and I threw together in honor of Fresno's It'll Grow Back releasing their very first full-length album.

The new CD is called Seduce & Destroy. It features songs like "Say What Motherfucker" and "Choke." You can buy it at Tower Records

(and that is SO not a plug for Tower. I used to work there, and only go back when I wanna look at mags. That, and their Black/Death Metal section. *That one's for you Seb (K). BLUT! AUS! NORD!).

OK, sorry. Back to IGB. Warning: Cover your ears kids, 'cause this band your mommys warned you about...

(Source: Fresno Famous)

SEDUCE AND DESTROY

Forget about that pop-punk crap, It'll Grow Back is an old-fashioned punk rock powerhouse. Famous chats with the band about their first full-length record.

BY KUMAR SANTIAGO AND MITCH ON SPEED

Talk about stage presence: JT Rocket gets manic

We're pretty sure It'll Grow Back is the only punk rock band in Fresno that actually still annoys the right people for the right reasons. There's no whining, no makeup and definitely no apologies for any of their antics, no matter how many frumpy, repressed bystanders and club owners they make enemies out of.

The frantic live energy of frontman Josh Tehee is unparalleled, and it's doubtful there's anyone who's seen the band at any point in its career that wasn't affected by his manic performances. Think Minor Threat-era Ian Mackaye meets the Tasmanian Devil.

Over the course of a few lineup changes, the group has evolved into a tightly knit powerhouse. Nowadays, with a rock-solid rhythm section comprising old friends Daren Taylor (drums) and Simon Smeds (bass), co-founders Tehee and Chris Fletcher (guitar) have found themselves leading one of Fresno's most exciting and, yes, professional bands - as long as you can handle a few Jesus jokes.

It'll Grow Back recorded its new self-released, Seduce & Destroy, at Gardenside in Fresno. Do everything you can to check out the band's CD release show, this Friday October 28th at the legendary Zapp's Park. It's a bargain-basement $3 and they'll be joined by SparkleJet, who, for some reason, has apparently never before played Zapp's.

Fresno Famous had the opportunity to communicate electronically with Josh about IGB and its new album.

First question: What will grow back? (I'm sure you get this question all the time.)
Do you really want to know? The story goes like this: I chopped my block off (if you get my drift), and only if we rock hard enough, with enough raw power, will it ever grow back. The question is will you be there when it does?

What's your music all about? Try to give a description of the band's sound and what you're going for with your lyrics.
Musically, we're just an old-fashioned punk-rock band. People say we sound like the Dead Kennedys, and I can see that. We're more punk-rock circa 1980 than punk-rock circa 1990, I guess. Lyrically... Here's an analogy: Motorhead has a song called 'Killed by Death.' And no one ever says, 'Hey Lemmy, what's that song about?' If you're asking the question, you missed the point.

For those who don't know ANYTHING about your band, give 'em a little background info on how you met and formed It'll Grow Back.
Chris Fletcher, who plays guitar, had seen my former band, Dr. Rocket and the Moon Patrol, back in the day, and had booked a few shows for us at Fresno State. This was like 1999, 2000. After that band broke up, I wasn't doing anything musically and Chris approached me about starting a band. We're into the same things. Not just musically. It just seemed to work, straight off. He came over one afternoon and we wrote like three songs.

How have things changed since Daren (drums) and Simon (bass) joined the band?
For the first time in maybe two years, it feels like we're an actual band, instead of just Chris and me and revolving drummers/bass players. It seems cliche to say we've had five drummers and four bass players or whatever, but it's true. For awhile we were totally going to go the electronic route, with a drum machine or whatnot. It just feels like we're on common ground. Plus, having an actual practice schedule pays off at show time.

In one of your songs, you repeat over and over, "Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus!" At least, I think that's what you're saying. So, do you really praise Jesus, or is that just a lie?
The song's kind of a joke, I guess. One of my favorite movies is 'Leap of Faith,' with Steve Martin, and part of me has always wanted to be an evangelist. So the song's a way to have fun with all that. It's like the It'll Grow Back old-time revival.

It seems like you guys play more "indie rock"-type shows than the average local "punk rock" band. Whatupwiddat?
It's funny that we are a 'punk' band that never plays 'punk' shows. We met a lot of 'indie' bands when we used to play weekly shows at the Crossroads, but it's something we just fell into. Partly because our friends were/are in 'indie' bands, and partly because we don't do as good a job of marketing ourselves as we should. Plus, we might have more in common with a band like Gypsy Cab, who plays a cover of 'Ace of Spades,' then a lot of punk bands around. But we'd love to play more punk shows, for sure.

Where can people buy your latest full-length, Seduce & Destroy?
Right now it's consigned at Tower Records. We're going to try to get it in as many local shops as we can--Valentino's, SBI, Retro Rag, maybe Yoshi Now! Eventually it will be on I-Tunes and all that. Best bet is to find one of us to get it all cheap like.

Tell us a little about the album and what went into recording it.
First off, without sounding like an ass, I think it's proof that a 'local' band can pull off a professional product. It's definitely an independent effort, but it doesn't look or sound cheap. We recorded with Matt Orme at Gardenside and Shawn Covert did the mix and Chris did the layout and design work with Jason Olmstead helping on the technical end, and they all did a kick-ass job. We did splurge, if you want to use that word, to have Jeff King at Threshold Sound do a professional master job and we paid to have it duped and printed, which was totally worth it.

Who is Jeff King?
He's an engineer from L.A. He mastered Bel and the Dragon's album, Judah, and was really cool to work with and totally gave us the 'indie' rate on the whole deal. Mentioning him wasn't me name-dropping or anything, just trying to give credit where it's due.

You've said "the band is all about the performance." Would you say the new record gives the listener an idea of what it's like to see It'll Grow Back in a live setting?
Yeah. But it still lacks the visual impact. Though I suppose, if you've seen us before, you could close your eyes and pretend.

Seduce & Destroy is being released on GetFaced Records. Is that your own label? If so, why did you decide to put it out yourself?
Chris and I had this idea for GetFaced pretty much from day one, as a record label or a 'zine or something. We knew we were putting the album out ourselves, so why not give the thing a name or whatever?

Some bands leave Fresno to "make it." Do you think moving to another city would better serve It'll Grow Back?
Probably. But I don't really buy into that whole notion of having to move to another city to do the whole 'band' thing. And there are the people in town -- I'm thinking Rademacher, Kat Jones -- to prove it. I'd rather be a band from Fresno than a band from LA or Portland via Fresno.

How has being banned from several local venues affected the band?
The punk-rock part of me loves it. We're so fucking hard-core we got banned from a State University and all that. But, then I think, 'Oh wait. That's a huge untapped audience. And they actually pay well for you to play.' Essentially we're blocked from playing at two good all-age venues. So that sucks.

What does the future hold for It'll Grow Back?
Right now we're going to get the album in as many hands as possible.

Will you eventually change your name to the Notorious IGB?
That was actually the alternate name for the album.

Visit myspace.com/itllgrowback for more info.

The Insect Memoirs Pt. I, II & III

As promised, here are Pt. II & III of "The Insect Memoirs." I reposted part I again so this all makes sense. Here we go....

***

It's official. After a long hiatus, The Insects are FINALLY getting back together to play a show... Here's the "official" announcement from the band:

Oct. 31, @ Fresno State. We'll be playing in the pit. Not sure of the whole lineup yet, but so far I know Pinkeye and Needy Eevy are also on the bill. 7:00 p.m. Admission is free..............with costume.

That announcement came today. Anyway, the last time I saw The Insects was in Armona, Calif., at Travis' house last February. At least, I think that was the last time I saw them. Travis is the band's drummer. After that night, I felt compelled to right something about the band. I've liked them for a long time. They're different than most Fresno bands.

I'm posting this in honor of the group's reunion. This "Insect Memoirs" was written over the course of a week. It's in three parts. Unfortunately, I never finished it. But I'll post it anyway. If it doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. I'm not that sorry, actually.

OK, here we go:

February 21, 2005 (that’s a Monday, in case you give a shit, which I’m sure you don’t...)

The Insects: Travis’ Birthday Party. He turned 24! Happy birthday, dude.

A recollection of sorts.

Pt. I

I’ve finally decided: I’m going to listen to Elliott Smith (I’m sitting in a Starbucks and I need something to listen to while I write this masterpiece). You want to know something funny? Any time I type out the word "Smith" I always end up typing "Smitch" by accident. And do you know why this is? Because my name is Mitch. It’s a natural default. But now that I think about it, listening to Elliott Smitch – see, I did it again – might not be the best music to listen to while trying to write a recollection about an Insects performance I saw a couple nights ago. I mean Either/Or isn’t exactly the most uplifting music out there. It doesn’t matter, though; I’m going to listen to his badass anyway – even if he does depress the hell out of me (in a good way).

Now that we have that bit of information out of the way let’s get on with the happenings of Saturday, February 19th: Travis "Wasp" Soward’s – drummer for the Insects – birthday party featuring the motherfuggin’ Insects! Yeah, they’re the best (and probably weirdest) band in Armona, Calif. Hell, they maybe even be the best band in Lemoore. I’d venture to say they could even be the best band in Fresno. Watch out No Cello! You may have the hipsters on your side, but you ain’t got the freaks!

So Fresno’s littlest Insect is growing up. Travis turned 24 on February 14th aka Valentine’s Day. To celebrate, he threw a party at his house in Armona (about 35 minutes south of Fresno). Now, this was the third time I had been to Travis’ house, and trust me, the drive doesn’t get any more exciting. You basically have a couple of cemeteries to gaze at while driving through the snaky country roads. There is one positive aspect, however – you get to drive through Laton. That was a joke. No offense Laton, it’s all good.

After buying a small bottle of Crown Royal (Travis’ b-day gift) at one of the town’s charming little mini marts (this one dude was bitching about a phone card he was trying do buy... I don’t know, don’t ask me), I headed to his cozy homestead and found myself amid a crowd of unfamiliar South Valley faces. It was pretty refreshing, actually – definitely an Insects crowd. Once I saw the 3-foot tall doll of the Jolly Green Giant sitting in the corner of the room, I knew the night would be a memorable one. (Side note: The self-titled Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP is fucking amazing. You know you can’t deny it).

Pt. II

OK, it’s been a few days since I sat down to write this. Yes, I’m extremely lame. Now I’m sitting in the ‘new edition’ back room of the Revue in Fresno’s Tower District (for all the uncool people who don’t know where it is). Anyway, I decided to throw on some Sonic Youth – Dirty, to be exact. Don’t think I’m super cool just yet; it’s actually one of the first Sonic Youth CDs I’ve ever listened to. And I’m 23. How pathetic is that? I just got it through Amazon.com’s used section, you should check it out. At least I’m honest about never having listened to them, right? The only reason I’ve ever been curious about them is because I’m a HUGE Nirvana fan (or at least I was age 14-17). And Kurt used to always rant and rave about Sonic Youth. Naturally, it got me curious. But enough about fuckin’ Sonic Youth already, this is about the Insects. Actually, I should be transcribing an interview I recently did with Detroit electro duo ADULT. – look out for it in Rockrgrl magazine next month!!! Ha, that was dumb – but that can wait. This shit is more important. Sorry for the profanity.

So where was I? Damn, that party was almost a week ago. This is why you should write the story the night you come home, or at least take some friggin’ notes. But after a 30-minute drive coming home from Armona at 4 a.m., you’re a little exhausted. You feel me? Anyway, my friend Terrance (probably the biggest Insects fan I know) just e-mailed me this photo he took of Guido (Mantis) – the crazy guy at all the Insects shows you hear yelling "More, Moooooorrrrrreeeee, More." You know the one. He’s tall, big, wears a big black leather hat, and can sometimes be caught prancing around in a really crazy looking wolf costume while the Insects rock out. He’s also one of the nicest guys you could know too. At a Tokyo Garden (small venue/sushi joint in Fresno) show, he bought me one of those big ass Sapporo. That’s sounding a lot better than this coffee I’m drinking right now. I’ll use a quote that I got from Travis that Guido pretty well.

"He’s a power too great to harness. He has this crazy, unpredictable, obnoxious energy that creates the force and the spirit of the band."

Couldn’t have said it any better myself. Good job, Wasp.

Anyway, the photo Terrance – aka T-Bone, tRance, or whatever – took displays a silver-masked Guido singing a song. As I recall, Guido came out while the Insects were playing a song, set up a black light in the living room of Travis’ house, and started dancing around with this glimmering wrestling mask. With that, he was wearing this weird white jumpsuit that looks like those things guys wear while they’re spraying deadly chemicals on plants. The black light brought out some interesting looking stains that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. The site of Guido dancing was both disturbing and hilarious. But that’s what adds to the greatness of every Insects show.

An outside chat with Mark Stacey (Weevil aka brainchild/singer/guitarist of the Insects) revealed that Guido was in fact the backbone of the whole band. I don’t want to quote Mark because I can’t remember exactly what he said, so I’ll try and paraphrase (that’s what we call it in the journalism field...). Basically, the band doesn’t make any move unless Guido OKs it first. The funny thing is, Guido isn’t even in the band. He may sing a few raunchy-sounding rock ‘n’ roll blues songs at the end of every show, but he is by no means a musician; just a really good friend of the band. But I found Mark’s words interesting. They just added to the whole weirdness of the band as a whole. I mean why would Guido, a guy who doesn’t really say much, dresses up in crazy costumes, and always has a wicked smile on his face, be calling all the shots in the band? But like I said, that just adds to the weirdness and greatness of this enigmatic band. And before I forget, Mark wears these really cool black-framed glasses that look like those kind Buddy Holly wore. Hopefully Mark doesn’t have the same misfortune. Damn, I shouldn’t have said that...

Let me say one more thing about Mark: Being the total Nirvana freak that I am, or once was I should say, Mark totally reminds me of Kurdt (I meant to spell it like that. Those who know a thing or two about the best grunge band to come out of Aberdeen, Wash., will know what I’m talking about). One specific thing that is similar between Mark and Kurt is that they’re (or were, in Kurt’s case... damn Courtney) both great songwriters. And for all you Nirvana skeptics out there, just stop OK. They were a fucking good band, period. Don’t make me say it again, please. Another similarity between the two is that they both are (or were in Kurt’s case) left-handed guitar players. I used to be a left guitarist but was forced to switch early on. If you want, you can ask me about that story later. Very traumatic, but I’m glad I did it. In any event, they both kinda look the same too. Skinny, blonde, coy, weird, etcetera, etcetera. I didn’t know Kurt personally, but we frequently exchanged e-mails. Yeah, right. So that’s what I have to say about that.

Let’s get back the actual party itself. I’m not sure if I mentioned it above (I ain’t gonna scroll all the way up to check) but I arrived late and missed the opening band Love Pollution. At least, I think that’s what their name was. I was kind of bummed but not really. Somebody said they sounded like the Beatles or something. If Love Pollution doesn’t sound like the "Fab Four" please forgive me for spreading lies. Ah, screw it – spread the lies if you want, I don’t care. Just kidding. On a totally different topic, I’m not listening to Le Tigre’s self-titled release now. It’s pretty damn good. I’m on the song "What’s Yr Take On Cassavetes," which isn’t my favorite, but It’ll have to do I suppose. OK, so I got to the party just in time to see the Insects go on. I was greeted by a drunk girl, who will remain unnamed -- MARI. She was happy to see me, but then again, I think she gets really happy when she sees anyone. That’s what is so great about Mari. But I was really happy that I arrived just in time. As I looked around the room, I saw Terrance wearing his furry beige Kangol Fred Durst-looking fisherman’s hat. He had this history-in-the-making grin on his face while he held a borrowed camcorder. Before the party, he vowed to get the whole thing on tape for the Central Valley rock ‘n’ roll archives. Good job, my friend.

It’s always interesting watching the Insects play. Between Christy’s giggles and hardcore concentration on playing the futuristic-sounding keys, Mark’s dirty looks to band mates who fuck up during a song, Travis’ amazingly minimalist beats, and Bean’s tobacco-chewing bass licks, the band is simply put, tight. I remember writing an article for Fresno State’s newspaper The Collegian about the Insects. Mark mentioned these crazy influences of his, Captain Beefheart being one of them. Granted, I’ve never listened to Beefheart’s music, I deeply thank him for contributing to Mark’s song-writing. You can’t quite pinpoint the music of the Insects. Each song is very different. I may be a "music writer," but I must admit that I’m actually horrible at describing music. A lot of music journalists use all of these bullshit adjectives to describe bands but I really hate to do that. That’s the challenge about writing about music. It ain’t no sailboat ride, I’ll tell you that much. I guess you could call it alternative rock, or indie rock, but I just call it crazy. Maybe you could call it weirdo pop rock. Although, Travis’ song – which, to my dismay I have forgotten the name of (shame on me) – does have a very indie sound to it. But what do you expect, the guy love’s Pavement and has a Pedro the Lion poster on his wall. I think he really likes Modest Mouse, too. Oh well.

All of the songs are sung by Mark – with the exception to a few that are sung by Guido. I believe one of Guido’s songs has the lyric, "I wanna get some Mantis ass" or something like that. Basically playing up the whole ‘Insect’ theme. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that each of the band members has an Insect alias. But the whole ‘getting laid by a praying mantis’ thing is just one of the darkly humorous aspects of the band. Not only do they sing about taboo Insect sex, but they also tend to make random rainforest animal noises, dance around the idea of killing Ronald McDonald, and have a song called "Big Fat Bean." Need I say more? But trust me, their music is good. And this is coming from a guy who likes the best music that is out there. That ain’t no lie. Ha. Actually, the Insects are one of those bands that you either love or you hate. The first time I heard their CD, I loved them.

But before I talk about that, let me just tell you that I’m now listening to the new Bright Eyes (iPods can be great when they don’t break on you). It’s not bad, actually. Anyway, I’ll briefly explain my first interaction with the first self-made Insects CD, which I still have to this day. It was about a year and a half ago and my friend Christy (who was dating Travis at the time) kept raving about this band her boyfriend was in. Now Christy has some excellent taste in music, but I was a bit skeptical. I wasn’t sure whether the music was actually good or if she just liked the music because her boyfriend was playing drums. I was a DJ at Fresno State’s radio station at the time, so after I listened to the CD I immediately had to start playing it on my show. I got good feedback from my listener’s. And you know why I got good feedback? Because it was good.

(Let me take a few steps back to one of the first times I met Travis. This doesn’t really have anything to do with anything but I’ll share it anyway. My friend Ben (formerly of The Soma Holidays) was playing in this basement at somebody’s house. So I went there and saw Travis with the girl Lisa, who later turned out to be Mark’s (from the Insects) sister. I think I had met Travis once before that and he told me he played bass. Who the fuck knows? Anyway, that’s kind of how I met Travis. Great story, right?)

Pt. III

March 1, 2005 – A week before I started writing this thing.

It’s starting to feel like a journal entry for God’s sake. But it’s not a journal entry; It’s a recollection of sorts. Actually, I’ve decided that it’s more a stream of conscious kind of thing. That’s the best kind of writing my friends. Honest, unedited, writing – you can’t really beat that. I dare you to try. But I could be lying and you’d never know. So I guess I left off talking about the first time I met Travis. Now that we’ve got that story out of the way, let’s jump forward a little. The other night I was talking to the stylish Terrance (who, in the past, said that I have no style and curses my Kill Rock Stars hoodie for being "record label propaganda). He actually told me the other day that people is his hometown of North Fork tell him he looks like a drug dealer. Maybe it’s the cow-skinned cowboy boots, man??? Just a thought.

(I didn't finish these memoirs because I got lazy. Enough said.)