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.)

Fresno, Then and Now.

As some of you may already know, I've recruited a few guest bloggers. Now, when I say "recruited," what I mean is that I've specifically asked these people to write something because I know they have something inciteful to say about the Fresno music scene. But don't wait for an invitation from me; If you want to write a guest blog, e-mail your idea to: mitchonspeed@gmail.com.

Now, back to business. This next guest blog is from a guy who (for the time being) wants to call himself Percival Sweetwater. Of course, that's not his real name. But if one so desires, I will respect their anonymity. I've known Percival for a little more than a year now. He's become a respected friend.

I wanted a blog that compared Fresno's current music scene to that of approximately 20 years ago. Percival thrived in the "scene" back in those days. Here's what he has to say.


Guest blogger: Percival Sweetwater

[Mitch on Speed] asked an old man to write about the local music scene, then and now. I’m the old man. I’m 39.

I doubt you’ve met me. I normally don’t go to live shows. It’s like six bucks a lot of times, which is more than a beer. Other bars you start drinking right away.

I’ve stood outside a lot of places over the years. I stood outside the Olympic Tavern and the Wild Blue in 1983. I was in the parking lot of the Knights of Columbus in 1986. I walked by Club Fred, and stood in the little entranceway of the Starline two years ago. And I’ve spent many a night chatting it up with Chip out in front of Tokyo Garden.

Comparing then and now is like comparing a Fiero to an Aries. Don’t get me wrong. There’s been moments where Fresno’s music scene was so popular and vibrant that it elevated to Bakersfield level.

Yet, both eras have good bands. There was Capitol Punishment (never saw ‘em), The Mockers (ditto), The Clams (see note for "The Mockers"), BEDS, Trojan Country Club, Similar Animals and the amazing Let’s Go Bowling, which played ska just about the same time as ska was a movement. It was probably the best band in Fresno. Maybe the Mockers; others swear they were awesome. Oh, and my former roomies in Neanderthals and Circus Bogus had really good bands.

But then again, some things never change. Man, you should have seen the crap that got Saturday nights back then.

Anyway, this is my point: Back then, if you wanted to see a good band, your best bet was the all-ages show. The kids were ushering authentic stuff, pushing aside Fresno’s usual fare of carbon copy by the numbers bands. It’s the same story right now.

Recently I saw a great little band called No Cello, which charmed me with its originality. And there was a band called Riverwood (I think) that opened up for a band called Ben & The Dolphins or something at Club Fred. And I’ve been noticing more stuff online that references new music. There’s this website called Fresno Famous that mentioned Sufjan Stevens, and the reference to something current made me fill my drawers with joy. And a lot of people in Fresno go online and look at that Pitchfork magazine. There’s something comforting in knowing I’m officially a dork and you guys are cool.

Of course there is the occasional* show that doesn’t draw, but that’s to be expected around here.

But here’s the real reason why I don’t go to shows and it’s not because of the money: Just like back then, many bands in Fresno are not professional. And I don’t mean suit & tie stuff. I mean they play far too loud for the tiny room, or they start an hour late or play past their allotted time. Sometimes they’ll tell everyone they’re playing early and then at the last second negotiate for a later slot, compromising their friends’ evenings. Screw you.

I’ve walked out on at least four shows before they started because the bands waited for the "crowd" to show up. As a farmer once said, "Just because only a few cows showed up at milkin’ time, you think I’m not gonna milk ‘em?"

Maybe these new folks will be better than Bakersfield, start on time, end on time, play at the right volume and create spirited, inspired music that can be embraced by those as far away as Vacaville and Calwa.

(*each Friday)

Interview: El Olio Wolof

Interviewed by Mitchell Peters


So here’s what happened. Earlier this week, a friend told me that El Olio Wolof (Merced) was playing a show this Saturday (10/22) at downtown Fresno’s Gardenside Studios. Apparently, the whole thing was supposed to be hush hush. Whatever. A couple days rolled by, and I saw a Myspace posting about it somewhere. So I figured since the cat was out of the bag, I’d take it upon myself to interview a member of El Olio (since I know nobody else is gonna do it.)

Hopefully, this interview will draw more people to the show. That is my intention in doing this. In all honesty, I haven’t listened to El Olio’s music. However, I’ve heard they rock (from credible sources). I’ll take their word for it.

If you want a bio on the band and all that good stuff, visit their official Web site: El Olio Wolof. Until there, here’s a few questions I whipped up in about 10 minutes. I talked to the band's RADIOACTIVE CAULIFLOWER, who sings and plays guitar. Go to their show at Gardenside this Saturday, damn you! It’s ALL AGES.

Gardenside Studios (746 Broadway Fresno, CA)
El Olio Wolof The Harpeth Trace Birdmonster No Cello
All Ages, 9 p.m., $5

Damn, I should be getting paid for this... Hey, now there's an idea!

Mitch on Speed: I won't ask what your music sounds like because people can go to your Myspace profile and listen to samples. But if you wanna tell us anyway, feel free.
Radioactive Cauliflower: Our Music is loud and fast and then gets really slow or the bottom will fall out all together. Since we write the music to the story it tends to grow well, I feel anyhow. Lots of different parts. We like to focus on the story and not worry about going back and forth from verse to chorus so much.

Everyone I've talked to in the Fresno "indie" scene tells me El Olio Wolof is badass live. The closest I've come to seeing your band was during a show at Tokyo Garden (in Fresno) where Radioactive Cauliflower (RC) was playing solo acoustic. He was pretty good. His songs reminded me of tall tales. What's your response to that?
The solo stuff is usually a lot shorter and straight to the point of the tale. It's like Radioactive Cauliflower solo songs are a synopsis on the back of an El Olio Wolof book.

By the way, where the hell did you come up with the name Radioactive Cauliflower? Your parents didn't fancy names like Robert, Jim, Andy, Harold, etc.???
Actually I was born Ronald Regan Calhoon. When I was 2 months old my name was changed to RC so that I could one day become the poster child for the cola, as my father always wanted. God rest his soul.

Compare and contrast what you know of the Fresno music scene with the Merced music scene.
One great town, and one great city. I feel that Fresno needs to become the the Central Ca hub. Merced will always have that tight knit community at the shows, but like all city's it is such a task just keeping a place open and be able to offer a decent cover and stay all ages. Both towns have enormous potential, but I know both "scenes" need to step it up. Fresno just seems like is is more on the ball right now.

Wasn't El Olio Wolof nominated for some Merced music award? Fill us in on the details and results.
We were actually nominated for a Modesto Area Music Award. We wont win though. It is an honor to be nominated, but I feel that people cheat in the voting and the awards are based on popularity. All the voting is done online by the fans. So if your listeners are lazy and not on the computer all the time. You don't stand a chance.

In doing my "research" for this interview, I Googled "El Olio Wolof." The search engine returned with 814 results. Your Myspace profile has 2,512 views and 351 friends. Don't really know where I'm going with this question... Um, never mind.
And 2,000 of those Myspace hits were done by the fans of El Olio Woloof, a John Tesh polka band from New York.

How long has it taken you to grow your beard? I like it. (This is a serious question, by the way.)
I shaved clean the day my son Osiah was born that was almost 2 years ago. The next time I cut it off will be the day I teach him to shave.

Ah, here's a question. Tell us your affiliation with Fresno's Greytank Records. What's the backstory on all that/current situation?
Greytank Records are going to release our next full length in February. Those guys and the whole Greytank family are very supportive. I met Greyson from Bel & The Dragon at a Calvin Johnson show in Merced. He told me to get ahold of Brad. I sent him a CD that I accidentally lost $20 in. We had a show a couple of months later.

Any upcoming tours we should know about? That, or exciting news/plans your band has?
We are playing alot right now. In December we are doing a 7 day in the north west, in Spring with are doing a 9 day south west and in June we are doing a five week US thing. Our goal right now is to play our songs for as many people as possible while simultaneously exploring the world of vegan cuisine

I see in your bio that you've played on the same bill with SF's Deerhoof (who are frickin' awesome!) How did that show go?
The show went really well. It was a great trip at the end of the night the venue went to pay Deerhoof their larger cut, then Greg (Deerhoof’s drummer) gave them back the money and had them split it even ways, there was no rock star attitude. I just talked to Greg the other day and I am trying to set up a show with them in Fresno. Funny you asked about that.

In El Olio Wolof's opinion, what goes into putting on a good local show – be it Merced, Fresno, etc.? What's your strategy in promoting and getting kids to come out?
Fliers, phone calls, emails. If a band wants to be heard they need to promote all of their shows and play to their fullest. And it doesn't hurt to have naked humans on your flier...sex sells you know, I mean look at Britney, she is someone we should all strive to be like. I got fake tits yesterday.

E-mail: mitchonspeed@gmail.com
AIM: mitchonspeed

Why The Hell Am I Keeping This Blog?

This Is My Motivation:

I've been getting good responses on this Fresno Music Scene Blog. When I'm at a show, people will say, "Hey, Mitch. I've been reading your blog. I like it. It's funny." And I'll say, "Cool. Thanks." It's nice to know people are enjoying it.

Basically, the reason I'm keeping this blog is because it's fun. I've been going to local "indie" shows around here for about two years now. So I figured, hey why not keep a blog about them? It feels so good to be able to say WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT about the music around here. It's very liberating.

But just because I say something doesn't mean it's right. Remember that. All this is just my observation and opinion (which I think is pretty damn good.)

Here's the plan: to keep writing about shows and different people involved with the Fresno music scene. I may also throw in random things here and there. But I'll try to keep it Fresno-related. I'm also planning to conduct short Question & Answer (Q&A) interviews various local bands. (If you're in a band and interested in this, contact me*)

*If you'd like to contact me but don't have a MySpace account, e-mail me at mitchonspeed@gmail.com

From time to time, I may ask people to write "guest blogs" for me. It's nice to have a well-rounded view of what other people think too. Not just me. That would get boring, right? (If you think you have something worthwhile to say about the Fresno music scene, contact me.)

More importantly, I want this blog to reach people in Fresno who may not know too much about what's happening in the local music scene. It would be cool to bring people together. I mean, I don't know EVERYTHING that's going on here, but I know a little. If you or one of your friends has a cool band, let me know about it. I'm anxious to hear. When possible, I'd also like to help promote upcoming shows.

Most of the local shows I go to have pretty small crowds, which disappoints me. I'm hoping people will read this blog and (hopefully) be inspired to go out more often. I will not use the expression "support your local music scene" because I don't like it. You can use it if you want, though. I just don't see the point in that statement. A person should go to a concert because they like music, not just to support the scene. It just sounds weird to me.

So yeah, that's about it. We'll see what happens. Hopefully I don't get bored and quit after a month. Ha! Oh yeah, subscribe to this blog so you can receive updates automatically.

Background Info On Me: I used to be a DJ at Fresno State's KFSR 90.7-FM. They called me "Mitch on Speed." I finished school. Now I write for a living about music biz-related stuff. I've also been known to dabble in freelance music writing for various magazines and Web sites. But forget about all of that. Here's the biggest thing you need to know about me: I love music. It's my life. Well, a big part of it, at least.

Loud is the New Quiet

This first part is off-topic. Don't worry, we'll get to the good stuff...

While driving to work today, I heard an ad on the radio announcing that Andrea Bocelli was coming to Fresno. He’s the blind opera singer dude. I’m not sure why, but as the radio guy said Bocelli’s name I started to think about other blind musicians like Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, etc., etc. (the reason I put “etc., etc.” is because I can’t think of any other blind musicians off the top of my head). So then, I thought to myself, “Wow, there’s been quiet a few REALLY GOOD musicians who are blind.” Then another thought occurred to me: How come you don’t see many of REALLY GOOD musicians with disabilities? In my lifetime, I don’t recall seeing any awesome opera singers/pop stars/county artists/whatever who are stuck in a wheelchair. I mean, how many one-legged jazz musicians have you heard of? None, I’m sure. I know they’re out there, but they’re just not in the mainstream. I’m not writing this as a joke; it was a serious thought. Maybe I just can’t think of any right now, but when was the last time you saw an emo rocker with cerebral palsy? Think about it.

New subject. Last night I was with my friend, Gen, at Barnes & Noble. Let me stress the fact that the bookstore’s name is Barnes & Noble, not Barnes & Noble(s). Understand? I used to work there for a time, and I would HATE when people added an “s” to Noble. So, when you’re around me, please don’t EVER make that mistake. Thanks.

So, yeah. I was at Barnes & Noble with my friend. She was looking for some books on cactus or cacti – whatever the hell you want to call them. While she was looking through cactus/cati books, I decided to browse through the crappy selection of music magazines they have there. I picked up the new Magnet, which is like a cross between Pitchforkmedia.com and Rolling Stone. It’s basically a magazine with a bunch of indie-esque bands featured in it. For example, the latest issue had the guy from The New Pornographers on the cover. It also featured stories with Bright Eyes, My Morning Jacket and some other bands that I’ve already forgotten.

As I flipped through the pages, I eventually came to the end, which usually happens. On one of the very last pages, there were a few black and white ads. I recognized on the pictures; it was latest Sleepover Disaster full-length, Loud is the New Quiet. (The band has since released an EP titled The Oceanographer.) After seeing it, I remembered Vince, the band’s drummer, saying something about them placing an ad in there. But I was still kind of dumbfounded to see a Fresno band advertising in a major music publication. It was just weird. I wondered to myself, “Does placing an ad like this really do anything? I mean, are people [in anytown U.S.A.] actually going to look at this ad, go to Sleepover’s Myspace page, listen to their music, then buy their CD?” In my natural negative thought process, I answered the question: no. But who knows? Maybe it has made a difference. I’m not sure. Maybe someone in the band can comment on this blog and answer the question for me.

I definitely think it’s good that the guys from Sleepover Disaster are doing things to promote their band. I’m just not sure that placing an ad like that will further whatever goal they’re trying to accomplish. May I just an idiot and don't know a damn thing about marketing/promotion. I just want to know what motived the band to do that. What was their underlying stratedy? I doubt placing that ad was cheap. I'll tell you that much. Shit, I don’t know. It’s kind of frustrating just thinking about it. Anyway, I wasn’t trying to make a point there; I just felt like sharing that story.

Vince's (Sleepover drummer) response:

the ad in Magnet magazine (and ads in The Big Takeover, Dagger, and a few others) resulted in a few thousand hits on our website (www.thesleepoverdisaster.com)- even though it's still in the works- and on our myspace page. the intention of running the ads was simply to raise awareness of the band name and the music, but we've made many great contacts, not to mention that CD sales though CDBaby.com and downloads from itunes (and several other sites) that have resulted have more than paid for the ads. we're not getting rich here, just trying to be self-sufficient, and running zine ads has given us a better ability to do that.

that said, the best publicity you can ask for in a magazine is an interview or an album review. why? because it's free, for one thing, not to mention that you'll probably get more space in-print. magazines aren't necessarily forthcoming with that kind of coverage, though, without name recognition, or some major accomplishment or exposure. bands at our level have to work day by day to get people to listen. running ads can "put a bug" in the ear of someone at a magazine so that next time you send that promo package, they might take a minute to listen. don't be so cynical as to call it payola at this level; we sent packages out for our first two releases to magazines that we had run ads in and got no attention whatsoever. it wasn't until "loud is the new quiet" that we began to get attention (a bunch of great reviews over the last few months), and i think every package we sent, every zine ad we ran contributed to that.

-vince from the sleepover disaster

In other “news,” Fresno’s Hop Skotch Heros are playing a show at Fresno State Wednesday, October 19th. I might go. Here’s the info:

Hosted By: Fresno State Women's Resource Center
When: Wednesday Oct 19, 2005 @ 5:00 PM
Where: Fresno State (in the peace garden)