Fresno’s Bitwise Industries has a virtual festival happening Saturday called No Place Like Home. It starts at 9 am and goes till 10 pm.
Go here to sign up. I “bought” three tickets. They’re free but you still need to sign up. If you want to go all the way with it, you can buy a box that has swag to maximize the festival experience.
I might be more interested in the box Tioga has put together for it with the new and exclusive Valley Sunrise:
How the hell is this gonna work?
I assume there will be a constant Main Stage channel to watch and maybe some Stage B and C action to look at if you feel like flipping back & forth, I don’t really know dude.
They are going to stream stuff to the Internets and we’ll watch, nuff said.
I plan on having it in on the background on a screen somewhere in the house, all day, with focused stops to watch some of the more interesting acts.
I’ll be looking out for the music acts for sure:
SAGEY. Everything I have seen from these guys have been creative so I am willing to bet they have something cool planned.
PATRICK CONTRERAS: He has been keeping his chops up with his driveway concerts, he’s gotta be ready for this.
OMAR NARE & JASIMIN LA CARIS.
MERLINDA ESPINOSA.
ZEE WILL.
EDWARD HERNANDEZ.
HOPE GARCIA.
RAY’S BOOM BOOM ROOM. With a name like that there is no way his feed won’t be interesting.
How the hell is there food availible for this?
Organizers have teamed with Fresno Street Eats to have festival vendor food sent to your safe place. Not real sure how all that will work, but I guess we’ll find out Saturday.
I hope I don’t run into any people I don’t want to talk to. Or end up kicking myself for not remembering their name, or die of lameness for making bad awkward comments to people, or get drunk and… oh wait, virtual, I almost forgot. I’ll only be embarrassing myself at my own house like I do every day. Neat.
I’m sure Fresnans will still complain about parking though. And not enough bathrooms, which, actually, I have a complaint about… oh dammit, VIRTUAL, *bangs forehead* Mike, virtual festival.
In fact, if Bitwise wants to make it feel like a real festival, it will start an hour late and fall further behind schedule as the day goes.
Seriously, props to Bitwise and everyone involved in putting it together. I’m actually slightly pumped to see this thing. And thanks for giving me something to drink beer to while staring at stuff.
I’ll leave you with some Sagey to pump you up. Please mosh at home responsibly.
I love everything about this EP. My favorite track being “Dial Tones”.
Well. I almost love everything.
My only wonder is why the vocals are buried in the mix, lending to an unfinished and disconnected feel. But I think that is the point… maybe? Part of the Ghost Surf sound coming out of Fresno, I guess.
I go back and forth when it comes to my favorite all-time Fresno band. Some days it’s the Light Thieves. Other days it’s Strange Vine. On days I’m feeling hardass metal it’s Farooq. Punk days it’s It’ll Grow Back. If you’d have asked me 20 [something] years ago, I would have said Neanderthals.
But the band I consistently go back to? Sparklejet.
The 20th Anniversary of Sparklejet has arrived and to celebrate, the band went back to the studio to record a new song. It’s called “UR A Dope” and they are letting you download it for free here. Check it:
If you’re like me, this may send you down the Sparklejet rabbit hole. To help guide you, here are nine Sparkle Jet songs that totally still stand out:
I love that the guys are still around and care enough to take the time to make new stuff. They always sound warm and familiar when I listen to them. Important sounding. Very Fresno, but somehow more sophisticated.
If you’re a fellow Sparklejet fan, I’d love to see your favorite songs and/or memories in the comments.
I miss Audie’s Olympic. Barely seen a band in Fresno since the place begrudgingly closed. I blame Audie’s closing on my lack of seeing local bands play lately, but that is a copout. Still, I miss it.
Yes. Strummer’s is there and still scheduling bands. So is Fulton 55. Frank’s Place does a thing or two, I think. Cool, cool.
There are new local venue things too. Tioga Sequoia Beer Garden has a lot of music. Goldstein’s has music. These are places that were not much of a factor musically when Audie’s was still operating.
And none of these places match up to the true rock club vibe of Audie’s. Nor can they regularly bring to town the kind of shows that Audie’s brought in. Not the touring, fresh, rock bands or mid-level local kind of shows anyway.
What the Fresno Grizzlies are to a professional baseball player, trying to get into the major league’s, Audie’s was to rising touring or local bands.
And, you could just hang out in Audie’s – as long as the style of music was not too grading to you, that is. Just hang and have a beer, sit on a stool, occasionally stop and look to the stage to enjoy a nice set. Didn’t even need to be there with anybody.
NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH A LOCAL MUSIC BLOG
I hesitate to write this post because it personally concerns me. I don’t want to do what I did before and turn the Fresnan into a music blog that is not supposed to be a music blog.
That is what it was when I previously put this blog on ice. Just posts about local shows. Which is fine if you brand yourself a music blog. The Fresnan was not branded as a music blog. I got lazy and complacent.
If you want a local music blog, check out Spanspek or read Joshua Tehee stuff. Do it.
…and Sagey. Now Sagey was a new one to me. Josh talked about how these guys have the local buzz right now and I think I get why:
I will keep listening to what Josh has to say about the Fresno music scene because he will find out first when (or maybe if) Audie’s opens again as a new music club.
I might finally be motivated to get back into the local music scene. Maybe see a Sagey show. Sit on a stool.
*I am finally starting up a newsletter. It will augment what you see on The Fresnan with a bent toward local life in general. Sign up below!:
Fresnans. This is your culture podcast. It is called Flowing With Famous. Mr. Joshua Tehee of the Fresno Bee and I have been doing this for many years, mostly talking Downtown Fresno and interesting Fresno culture and music stories. This month’s episode is no different.
We revisit the Fulton Mall groundbreaking and our feelings for that day. We stay in Downtown Fresno and talk about the Culture Arts District and if South Stadium is a good name for that area of Downtown.
The Audie’s Olympic era has closed and we reminisce about the historic Tower District music club which leads us into the Band Of The Episode: Let’s Go Bowling.
The playing of Let’s Go Bowling sparks yet another version of the game: What’s The Greatest Music Act In Fresno History?
We then talk about last month’s Fresyes Fest at Tioga and how we may be getting too old and if there a culture shift in Fresno nightlife. Plus Josh saw Justin Beiber… so that happened.
