Saturday June 4th the Rockin' Reggae Fest is coming to Stramler Park. You can see some of my favorites like Mento Buru, Liars and Thieves, Seven to the Right, Give Impulse, RidiKule, Throatshot, and the return of KARMAHITLIST!!! Sorry, I am more than a little excited about Cesareo, Sean Jim, and is it Tim? I forget... he's the new bassist. But I do know they are going to have a new sound to some of their great songs... and maybe a few new songs as well. Let's see if matildakay shows up and critiques Sean's fabulous make-up and dance moves. This is going to be a really fun day... I haven't been to an all day concert in... wait, I can't give away my age...
I am hoping to go visit with one or more of the guys from Karmahitlist before the big show.
And don't forget Tiger Army. I can't wait to see them. I've heard great things. Here's the schedule. I'm going for sure.
stage 1
1 tiger army 8:50 10:00
2 authority zero 7:50 8:30
3 throatshot 7:05 7:30
4 give impulse 6:35 6:55
5 HR 5:25 6:25
6 karma 4:50 5:10
7 rocky nash 4:20 4:40
8 red gun radar 3:50 4:10
9 carlton l. 3:10 3:40
# mento buru 2:30 3:00
# el pus 1:50 2:20
# dub agent 1:10 1:40
# myndsick 12:40 1:00
# KLB week 1 12:15 12:30
# KLB week 2 11:50 12:05
# KLB week 3 11:25 11:40
# KLB week 4 11:00 11:15
stage 2
1 e race 8:40 9:05
2 empty handed 8:10 8:30
3 half moon drive7:40 8:00
4 firescape 7:10 7:30
5 vanity ave. 6:40 7:00
6 7 to the right 6:10 6:30
7 love day 5:40 6:00
8 ridicule 5:10 5:30
9 pharaoh jones 4:40 5:00
# souh of shaw 4:10 4:30
# liars and thieves3:40 4:00
# night crawlers 3:10 3:30
# green machine 2:40 3:00
# mahop 2:10 2:30
# another year 1:40 2:00
# seed 1:10 1:30
Skyler, keyboardist extraordinaire of Lostocean read my recent blog on Christian rock music and had something to say about it. Sorry that blog wasn't well written, but it did make a few points... and it stirred Skyler enough to make some friendly comments...
Here's what Skyler had to say:
after reading your post, it really got me going. plus i love talking
about these sort of things, it's quite interesting.
" If you like the music of the world, go listen. If you don't, then
don't."
That is a completley true statement. As far as what I believe, it's
always good to listen to music that is mentally stimulating in
different shapes or forms. I think thats the only limit i really have
for my own tastes. Why would someone want to intentionally listen to
bad music, when there is tons of great music out there?! Well then
there lies the problem: what is classified as "good" music in the
times we live in? Can people still listen to composers from Mozart to
Stravinsky and still be mentally stimulated enough to get something
out of it, rather than just listening to it casually? What about music
being currently released?
I think there are just a few elements that these really great artists
need to strive for. For one, you can't just be like every other band
to provoke any thought in the more-than-casual listener (if that is
your target audience). You have to have that element that makes you
unique. Another is that it is quite important (I know this may come
off as sounding pretentious, but I personally don't care) to have some
sort of musical knowlege about the instrument as well as the music you
are playing. If you just pick up a guitar, learn some chords, and
kinda have an idea of what you are doing, you are most likely not
going to make a big impact on the music scene whatsoever. Then after
that, you have to control a thing called "taste." You may be the
greatest guitarist that ever lived, and can outshred anyone that
stands in you way, but let's hear you write a spectacular pop song!
That's why its really important to know what your striving for
musically, so you don't end up throwing things in the mix that just
aren't going to work.
Most importantly, BE YOURSELF! I can speak for this, because everyone
in Lostocean are christians, and feel the same way about this. In our
case, our lyrics deal with how we view, feel, and interact with life,
and everything that goes along with it. So obviously this is where the
christian-influenced lyrics fall into place. Not all our lyrics are
about God, because we are not a praise band. Thats not the goal of
Lostocean. Now here comes the kicker: does this make us a christian
band? I mean, do bands that have no faith based lyrics in their music
go around telling people they are a secular pop/rock band? Doubtful. I
think that the whole Christian Rock fiasco is really bizarre, and
really takes away from the whole music creation process. It's become
such a cultural taboo to speak about religion in music. I could go on
and on about this, but I realize that this is already a huge comment.
Anyways, to conclude, I think if more musicians followed the things I
talked about, maybe we could have much more inspiring music to listen
to.
I don't know exactly why I decided to tell you all of this. Just
thought I'd say something.
-Skyler
I was lost. It's normal. Every morning I lose my house keys in the big stack of papers on my desk and I go into cranky mode. JR and I both wandered outside the KRABland studios and I wasn't even sure I was in the right place. And so, yes, cranky mode set in. JR has seen it in me a half-dozen times. He always says, "Chill..."
It read "KRAB Radio 106.1" on the Clear Channel marquee, so it had to be the right place. But what did I know? For all I knew there was some radio tower on a mountain where Danny Spanks beamed his voice into the valley and we were far from it.
It wasn't long and Danny came down and greeted us at the door. He came outside and smoked a quick cigarette and that was that. Five minutes later he escorted us into the tiny room where the illusion of radio is weaved like a hip Wizard of Oz behind a magic curtain. Oh sure, there's a big server room, and other radio stations all tucked away neatly along an upstairs corridor. But that wasn't where JR and I were headed. We were off to send a message to the good people of Bakersfield; well, I had an agenda anyways. I wanted to talk about people being drawn to the drama of the music scene and about hidden talents unappreciated by the greater Bakersfield masses.
Yeah, JR knows I dig hockey. But Detroit??
Just kidding... thanks man...
Paul of Exithead pointed out in an email today that I should have mentioned American Standard. He's right. But then, I put American Standard right up there with Adema and Korn. They're going to the top. It's just a matter of a short while. They have great packaging, great music, great contacts, and a hero and legend in Mark DeLeon. I reserved my time last night for the less fortunate bands...I heard JR even got mentioned in the liner notes. It will be a cold day in hell before I get that lucky. I had American Standard in my notes though...
Yeah, I could have played songs from a bunch of really killer bands on the verge of getting signed, but I figured, if last night was the only night in my life I was going to get on the radio, then I was going to do something for the kids of Bakersfield. Why not play an obscure cowpunk song from some young kids from the agri-city of punkdom, so that they would know that like Matt Munoz once told me, "The kids of Bakersfield need to know that it's still a great thing to be in a band..."
The studio time flew by really fast and it was all over. I have to admit it was pretty fun to do. And if there's another chance. Well I hope to do it even better in the future...
Thanks to all the artists who listened last night.
I think this was where I was putting Danny to sleep
with my rambling...
Some loose notes I took before going on air. Call it a tentative N.L. agenda. I scribbled them onto a legal pad and then jotted down even more notes. I tend to only write down half of what I'm really thinking before giving a speech/lecture. JR, he just has it all in his head. I'm not that good:
NOTES:
Well you can’t ignore the alleged Nate Berg drama. That just captivates people like the Lords of Bakersfield stories I write. Did or didn’t the alleged baseball bat of poor consciousness take place. Did the Lords really kill children on a murderous gay rampage. You see, many of these stories are built on exactly what my music blog states, gossip. It’s what people talk about. It’s the word on the street. And people are drawn to such controversy. We can only wonder, will the Nate Berg stories become mythified five years, ten years from now like the Lords of Bakersfield stories. It can help the music scene in the long run.
On another note there’s always drama in the scene. Band members come and go. Venues come and go or change names completely. I think some of the most tragic and dramatic are the closing of Gigantic downtown. It literally changed the shape of the music scene. Kids could no longer run back and forth from show to show across 19th street. You see, venues can play off each other. And that’s one of the reason Jerry’s Pizza takes so much opinionated heat from local musicians. It wants to stand alone. And so Jerry’s takes heat because representatives are seen downtown checking out the scene in other venues so it knows how to combat instead of work with other downtown venues. I think Jerry’s would be happy to see the Bakersfield downtown never build up like other major cities.
That along with the local murders have nearly decimated what at the beginning of the year was a growing scene. Now the growth is sporadic. The murders were all between people fighting. You know there’s something I say to people about cowboys and it’s a rule of thumb for most people. If you don’t want a boot in your ass, then leave cowboys alone. Same is said for punks with chains and big guys in bars who may be drinking, and who may be on drugs. With that said, people have this false idea that downtown is dangerous for them. It’s not dangerous. Use the same rules you would use anywhere. Don’t walk alone in the dark. Don’t leave valuables in your car. Park in well-lit areas. Don’t drink and drive. And have fun.
You can still go to Jerry’s, Kosmos, Rileys, fishlips, underground or downtown records. You can’t get Chinese food in the Wall St. alley anymore, but you can go to the cat, and now there’s Azuls, and some really cool DJ stuff happening there and over at Xanders. Xanders has the coolest underground DJ scene with its cool leather couches, bar and great vibe… acoustic-based musicians should approach these guys about shows.
Who are all the younger bands?
Night Crawlers and the Kookoonauts: who do the younger bands try to emulate these days?
I spoke with the Kookoonauts…. They take their music seriously so do you call them a garage band? I can think of some bands around here who have that label and they’ve been together a while.
But then, I like U2 and didn’t they start in a garage or something?
People claim there aren’t enough venues in town. Problem is there isn’t enough support for all the shows. There are thousands of young people uneducated as to the talent of some of these bands. And with some bands, fan loyalty among friends who are taught to hate other bands, it’s rather silly. If you’re the Condors, sure, hate the falcons, but why contribute to a small music scene. Small minded-ness only breeds itself.
Is anybody aware of the rock stars in this town? Seantastic of Karmahitlist, Tyler or Liars and Thieves, Kenny Mount of the Filthies, Ty of Arrival of Fawn, the list goes on, and now this kid sensation of Lost Ocean: Skyler. He’s a 19 year old virtuoso. Others in their young band are too, but this kid is amazing with what he does on the keyboards. If people in Bakersfield would quit watching American Idol for one second they would flock to some of these shows to see literal rock stars.
People in Bakersfield take it for granted what Bakersfield means to people outside of this city. It’s a shame. How many times have you heard young kids here say, I hate Bakersfield, there’s no culture, there’s nothing to do in this hick town.
Well I was at a country music show the other night and saw a statue in Bakersfield dedicated to Elvis, let alone other folks like wills, Williams, and Cash, I mean Elvis Presley…
I was at the show and saw rock and roll people… not a lot, but some, why? Because those are the few who recognize and capitalize on the roots of this town that doesn’t just include Korn and Adema, but country roots that had close ties to early rock roots.
If the younger crowd would realize and get educated to their roots, this town could explode as a rekindling of Nashville West.
But then this town seems to repel rather than embrace. Don’t folks realize that people who make music are cultural leaders? Buck Owens can attest to that. And he knew Elvis, right?
I think Norfolk is one of the only local bands on the right track to embrace the culture of Bakersfield; maybe American Standar does. I haven’t listened to their CD, but they have this powerhouse tough-American metal image going on that I think reflects a cool working class USA image… As for Norfolk, their website needs to reflect their alt country music. Marketing must be integrated with Bakersfield culture. The Filthies and Ridicule and hopefully 40-to-1, and hopefully the KooKooNauts are doing it too with rural rock punk as their theme.
Why not invent new movements in music? Be self-created.
Jacob Burkhardt did it for the Renaissance. Did you think there was a Rennaissance just because art flourished? No, it was a name given by a historian. Art is flourishing in Bakersfield today, but unless it is given a name, it will just disappear like other lost eras for some historian in the future to hopefully stumble upon.
Yes, Christian rock thrives in Bakersfield. Just read my review of the Lostocean CD. You can scroll down and find it. I talk all about their Christian-influenced lyrics. Read about Norfolk and Johnny Come Lately. Though they won't come out and say they're Christian rock bands and I typically don't bother them about it, they are, to an extent... But then, such a label is a fine line. Many country artists are Christians but their bands just don't get labeled.
Now read what Danielle Belton has to say about Christian Rock in her interview with Peter Prevost's brother, Phillip Prevost. Both are in Johnny Come Lately. Apparently Christian rock is thriving, although you won't find big Christian crowds down at Jerry's Pizza.
I think Christian parents are too conservative and terrified to see their kids hang out with the angry punks. They'd rather have their own shows on their own territory. Why cross-pollinate and expose kids to the Devil any more than you have to? That mentality is just silly to me. Everyone wants to find the middle ground. Bands want to preach, but not really preach; Christian parents will allow kids to be themselves and imitate the world in stylings, except when it comes to hanging out with the heathens in a social atmosphere. These are age-old issues and expected in this conservative town. It's just not spoken of very often in a secular format... I could go on and on, but why beat a dead horse? If you like the music of the world, go listen. If you don't, then don't. If you want to raise kids who might rebel because you keep them in a bubble, then do what you want... after all, they're your kids, right? I say build trust... build relationships... and like the quote in Belton's article, "Why preach to the choir?" Half the choir might be sitting behind the preacher and falling asleep anyway...
I just saw a bunch of old Joy Division for sale at Arnold's new online outlet for Going Underground Records. You know his store right? It's in the Haberfelde Building in downtown Bakersfield and it's really a killer looking place, straight out of the High Fidelity novel by Nick Hornby. No, we're not in London; but if done right, record stores have a universal appeal to youth across the world. Please, go buy a CD online and support your local music stores. When you're done, go buy something from Jake too. Both links are on my arts page... You'll find a wide and complimentary selection from both stores...
I was reading the dusk devils blog about a Norwegian write-up of the band when I followed some other links to an old review of, get this, a Buck Owens/Cake duet at the Crystal Palace. Apparently the writer for the Phantom Tollbooth was quite perturbed that MTV/VH1, the Californian, et. al were not around to review this historic moment back in 2003. Give the article a read. It's worth your time.
40 Watt Hype is still tearing it up. Check out their blog where they describe playing "lowrider" at a car show.
Broken Record Gospel has been getting very mysterious lately. Check out their last two blog entries. What's going on there?
Myself and J.R. both appear on KRAB Sunday night(tonight) at 9:30pm. JR mentions us getting together on the radio to talk shop. There's more from JR as he has been chillin' with Karmahitlist and Billy Von. Maybe he will talk about them tonight? I don't plan on saying much... probably just mutter a few, "uh huhs" and "ummm I dunno, Danny" or "Ya know, JR..." something like that. And then uncomfortable silence and dead air followed by Danny Spanks saying, "......OK...."
Or if I'm in a good mood I'll discuss a few local bands, some controversy, the ghosts of Oleander, my recent country music moments and thoughts as to why the music scene appears to both be crumbling and picking up speed at the same time.
“The clouds sketch black-and-white photographs…”
Do they? Maybe in my mind the plump gloved hands of Cumulus clouds use a 99-color Crayola box to create a waxy cartoony world of cottony dreams…
Aside from a need to proofread their writings a little better I found myself impressed by the Christian-influenced lyrics found within Lostocean’s debut CD, Douse the Choir.
The first track, “Mute” builds on thoughts that imagining segments of one’s own life in the clouds could be good or bad. It’s a great piece of music that dances through an entrancing key change into the album’s second song, “Douse the Choir”. This jazzy Dreampop band, thoroughly a new Bakersfield experiment in sound is captured in the second track, a song of death and longing in a teary contemplation of afterlife and pity for the unsaved, “where the dead cry for their lost below.” Drummer Christopher Short has a completely narrative innocence to his lyricism and should be read simply for his run-together imagery-filled poetics.
Such idealism, though subtle is as poignant as ever in track three. “Solace” is a fast-moving song that continues such themes into a hard drinking bout of unreality in a tormented world that doesn’t listen. “I choke on the witness,” comes the cries of Jeff Gray who begs, “open your heart and receive the cure…” clearly a ballad to the unsaved.
The piano intro of “Stillife” is a mesmerizing movie moment, a score captured for a dramatic cinematic moment in thought: there’s the soft rain, the car headlights, the apathetic man staring, in love. Is it Christian love for someone who knows he can’t exist without feeling heavenly love? is it the lost pain of entranced physical love? That’s clearly left up to the listener to decide as you can play this song like a movie in your own head… The point? This kind of song if analyzed, self-reflected and debated leaves you wondering if others truly feel such a void without God, karma, alcohol, lovers, friendship, church, candy bars, sex, peanut butter, drugs, my blog, you get the idea…
Innocence is lost in the song “Accident” which declares the metaphorical truth of the American Dream is like a car wrecked in a field. The song takes you on a quick journey with some fancy pants guy in an Armani suit realizing he can’t fit his Beamer into a coffin. That’s the short version, but in essence I agree, though in such a capitalistic society, moralistic truths seem to be embedded in the pursuit of a Wealth of Nations… like Las Vegas as the sin-heart, the mad city of lights and the materialistic realization of the American Dream… but then I am going off on a tangent.
“Rest in Grace” is a beautiful lullaby to the memory of lost life. Give it a listen and if the piano doesn’t wrench you, the subtle flow of background sounds that wail in a dark moment of loss from Skyler’s keyboard tears will drain you… Once again, here is a song that plays like the opening of a movie. You can see through the eye of a camera that pans across a small town, just above a tree line and toward the sun…
The jazzy nature of “Your voice, the color of stained glass” is reminiscent of the CDs highly intensive songs that juxtapose with the soothing voice of Jeff Gray. It’s marked further by Skyler’s keyboard rolls that are sure to be a part of his trademark rock energy.
Almost like a dose of Vangelis “I am therefore I think” is the band’s last appeal to the souls of listeners to reach out and do away with worldly confusion…The song slowly begins, turns jazzy, then with distortion breaks into a running instrumental lead-in with tempo changes to a final lyric-filled longing to help the transgressions of humanity with a dose of anti-philosophic emotive wisdom. With a line like “conviction needs no proof” amid the comfort of solitude, the song transforms such ideas into the permanence and potential solitude of a possible rosy pictured stained-glass afterlife. Reminds me of old Thomas Merton in the wilderness, or a lonely guru-shaman on a mountaintop, or Jack Kerouac in the mountains, longing for heavenly boddhisaatva bliss. It’s moaning and catchy ending is so high-powered that you can’t help but be pulled into its driving heart. This is truly the finality in the album with its massive and inspiring rock crescendo even though followed by an incredible movement in track eleven.
By far the most entrancing song on the CD, “Sortir la musique: a movement in Eb minor” is a swirling rock opera waltz, minus the lyrics, and an emotional piece of artwork, as angelic in its disposition as a final CD song as in its own melancholy imperfect beginning. Listen and you will understand. Although this should have been the next to the last song on this CD, what is good about such track positioning is its very nature as a blissful piece of musical genius. The melodic piano rolling across the rhythm and tempo fluctuates in and out of a temperamental mood clearly within Skyler’s head, who is not forceful at all, but patient in building his crescendo into rock operatic moments. That meshes with Jeff Gray’s guitar and a pounding drumbeat that drives along with the constant bass. The importance of such a song? Perhaps the rest of the album is incomplete without such an operatic instrumental ending. An expression of a musical movement, just one part of a rock album that in lyrics contains the rest of the message in a CD by young men who may not see eye-to-eye with their own idealism in just a few years. The young artistic eye has but one glimmer of innocence, and clearly Lost Ocean has captured such in an album worthy of spinning, not for its message as much as its innocence, bravery and romanticism in musical life-telling.
I used to read a lot of Salon.com back when it was free. Many of the articles had a sarcastic edge that I just loved to check out. Enter Gerhard Enns, one of the best sarcastic writers I have ever met. He sings in the Dalloways, has a degree in creative writing, and loves to be in the limelight when it comes to his cool cat alternative lounge band. I just read some crazy episodes on the Dalloways blog he wrote regarding their current tour. There was the dead zone in Phoenix, the ass named Denver in Denver, the big payoff in Vegas, a lonely library moment in Salt Lake City, and the guitarist-Sith in New Mexico… I'm sure there's going to be more so check back often. Now go have a chuckle and catch up on what adventure is all about…
I happened to be hanging out by the Harvey Auditorium, chewing on some Bazooka bubble gum when I heard the most beautiful violins... Even the leaves on nearby trees upturned themselves for the moment and leaned toward such delicate sounds...
OK, so I meant to attend. I think these students were incredible. For only having three weeks to prepare; for having three movements cut from one of their pieces; for only performing two times all year... It leaves a melancholy place in my heart that such talent doesn't perform four or five times during the school year. Call it my love for the orchestra. I can't help but want more. I can remember back to a moment watching the Tevis orchestra years ago. They were performing an orchestration of the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby." It was a beautiful song, so well prepared, so masterfully orchestrated... and there I was last night, years later, and still finding myself falling into that dream moment when bows run across strings for the evening's first movement...
But then, I can't help but to feel such music...
I’d never been to the Boiler Room out at 23rd and O Street. There, two venues, the Gate and Boiler Room are hidden near the onramp to route 178. They’re part of the same building, an old converted YMCA gym, only the Boiler Room is just what its name implies: an old renovated Boiler Room/basement tucked away down a flight of stairs, only this one is complete with an espresso bar. It’s clean, boxy, sort of looks like the industrial sector has met a creepy mansion interior decorator with its almost macabre flavor and a smallness that borders on claustrophobia.
What I really found was its size accentuates camaraderie and closeness between bands and among people attending. Let’s just say there’s no hiding in the Boiler Room except when the lights go out and the stage lights come on. But even then, you can still see and feel the closeness of the room.
Matildakay kicks it with pal director of The War Days
What I discovered is the Boiler Room is one of the most interesting venues in town. Outside, kids hang out on a spacious well-manicured lawn. Inside, through a back entrance there’s another flight of stairs, this to another room where I saw band members from Norfolk, Johnny Come Lately, Liars and Thieves, From Ritual to Romance and Lost Ocean all milling about, talking, lounging on a couch, and getting their equipment ready to go onstage. There was quite a mix of snacks and coffees too. I didn’t try a mocha drink but probably will next time.
Last Tuesday was a perfect mix of bands. It’s more interesting for me to hear a wide range of music than to, let’s say, listen to music from three bands all from the same genre of music. I get bored too easily. By the third pop band I would surely need a Red Bull injection or Tobasco and toothpicks in my eyes.
Tuesday's mix ranged from Post-Hardcore Screamo in From Ritual to Romance, Alt Country in Norfolk, a visiting band from Texas who I missed called The Elliot Project, and Jazzy Dreampop in the newest Bakersfield experiment in sound, Lostocean.
Let me just say for a moment that Lostocean’s new CD, Douse the Choir is a must buy. I find myself listening to this perfect rainstorm music, so intense, yet with a jazzy mellowness and a smashing edge that seduces listeners. The music comes off a dizzying high in its intensity by finishing with a long overture, "Sotir La Musique: A Movement in Eb Minor", a wonderful piece of musical scoring that puts final touches selling listeners on the idea that young keyboardest Skyler is a sensation to be heard and seen. Although Lostocean played last, they were well worth the wait to see young Skyler work his vibrant keyboard magic.
 
I should say, although their CD is top rate, these youngsters are in a ‘live’ learning phase. Their raw musical talents, education in theory and performance has lent to some real engineering mastery in their CD mix. However their live performance had a few too many voice effects and some live mixing that didn’t quite match the perfection of much of their CD. Doesn’t matter, they’ve already come a long way from when I saw them perform at Gigantic. And even then I recognized Skyler’s genius. Although the entire band is filled with brilliance...
Most local bands have that one rock star quality performer, and Lostocean is example of that. If you want to witness a local sensation, go catch Skyler perform his magic. Lostocean is a really intense group and is sure to rack up a quick following.
Ruben Val Verde’s band, From Ritual to Romance just keeps surprising me. Not only did he tentatively invite me to a barbecue. We Mexicans can cook it up. You folks who have had my salsa can attest to that. Just go to willieboy.com for the recipe. Now, with that said, these guys have played the Whiskey-a-go-go and are going back for a second run. They were invited the first time around. Why? Bakersfield has its share of post hardcore bands who are further along in their careers. It could be just the raw power and energy in this mostly Chicano band. Raw newness, moldable, impressionable, honest and fun kids... why not bring them in? There’s no egos that I’ve discovered in this group. It could be Val Verde’s ability to hold a scream. I think it’s really a combination of all those qualities, especially their lead guitarist, Macario Guiterrez. This long-haired solo-skilled kid is an aficionado of old school Metallica, and has obviously watched his share of Eddie Van Halen tapes…
 
What else can I say about the alt country band, Norfolk? Lead man James has been educating me to some of their influences lately. While at work I have been digging the very tragic Elliot Smith, the cool sounds of the Thrills, and Old 97s. James has gone 3-for-3 busting strings which I thought was funny. Norfolk is a great band but does need to do something with dead air during tuning… Drummer Pablo, who I hear is one of the best all-around guitarists in Bakersfield maybe should have a mic to talk shop during such breaks. He let out a wail when James asked him to talk. Doesn’t matter. I’m never leaving. Soon as Norfolk tears into a song, such near meaningless moments as 'dead air' are all but forgotten...
Squeezing my way through the country crowd at Bakersfield, California’s Crystal Palace, I kept saying “Excuse me. Excuse me. I have to get over to my red-haired girlfriend,” I pointed, and people, well they just let me through. You see, this wasn’t a rock concert where folks’ elbows are up, with feet planted solid so you can’t pass anyone, and where bodies are squeezed so tight on the floor you can’t breathe. This was a historic night at Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace, where to get through the crowd to an up-close center stage position you merely had to have good reason, and then find a circle of trust worthy of letting in a lowly novelist/blogger. The trust issues? Telling people honestly, and with a dose of respect, “I’m in the crowd to write about you and country music.” The circle of trust? I’ll tell you about them in a moment…
A good hour before Buck hit the stage I met Buckaroos drummer Dave Wulfekuehler near the sound booth. I had been looking for one of the stage sound crew, Brent Milton, and wanted to say a hearty “Hello.” But he wasn’t to be found. I did meet Dave. We shook hands and he introduced me to his two cool kids, Alex and John. Talk about having a cool dad. Dave regularly plays for Buck, but last night played for the likes of Garth Brooks, Ray Benson, and newcomers Dierks Bentley and Joe Nichols. Dave was all smiles through the night…
The evening itself was filled with classic Bakersfield country moments, with Garth proposing to Trisha Yearwood, Buck unveiling ten bronze statues, and some performances that will go down as some of Bakersfield’s most memorable.
Buck’s unveiling revealed bronze likenesses that capture iconic music legends in classic poses before playing a quick medley of some of his most popular songs from yesteryear. The statues themselves shimmered in the stagelights, sometimes appearing golden, mysterious, ominous... I looked at them with a sense of childish wonder as such honors are bestowed upon so few. The statues honor country greats and even his old rock and roll friend, Elvis Presley.
Why did he choose such country legends as Cash, Jones, Brooks, Williams and Gills as honorees? “Because I’m the one with the money,” Buck joked. Buck’s a self-made entrepreneur and has the respect of country music for his millions made. He’s got himself an incredible circle of trust with the folks he’s kept company with in the music industry over the years. As for my own circle of trust for the evening?
There was Dave, a Spanish teacher who could sing every line of every George Straight cover song played. He first said, “If you want to be in the circle of trust, you’re going to have to do a dance.” I laughed and handed out some flyers as he shook his hips and flailed his arms. These were great folks to experience a legendary night and have a good time with. I met many others from the circle: Nancy, Amanda, Joey, Mona, Joe (With a double-extra large Honolulu shirt), “Candy Cane” Katie, Nancy, Brock, and of course, ‘A’. Yes, that’s his name. “He did it for the phone book,” someone said. I think he’s a bail bondsman. It’s true. He even showed me his driver’s license.
I asked the group what happened to local country music not long before Stampede, a local country cover band started playing. “Stampede plays out at Ethels. Some of us ride horses up and it’s still really kicking on Friday and Saturday nights… But you’re right, local music has almost disappeared.”
Now this is something I have to explore. Matt Munoz and I are planning a big Honky Tonk hunt for local country music that’s going to be a really great time…
I still wonder if Bakersfield is Nashville West. Buck did say, “Nashville where?” during the evening. Certainly it was a testament that Bakersfield is known as one of the big capitals of country music. Though LA has risen to new country heights, Bakersfield legends, and the notion of Bakersfield as a legendary country music haven are not going anywhere anytime soon.
All in all I had great fun with the ‘circle of trust’. A few people tried to break it by using similar tactics to my own, such as, “My mother is near the front of the stage.” But they were shunned as outlaws and teased to the point of soon vacating the group’s firm position on front-stage territory. Except for a few people who had one-too-many beers and a couple of belligerent folk regarding a nice lady in a wheelchair, the crowd was friendly and extremely excited about this lifetime country music event.
Regarding the big proposal? Was it a staged media event? Probably, but that’s OK. Everyone loved it! And Trisha Yearwood shed real honest-to-goodness tears. I caught her wiping her eyes. You can read about James Burger’s write-up in the Californian and get a hearty dose of the Garth-Trisha debates. You can also view the AP wire that appeared in the BBC, CNN, ABCNEWS.com and more…
Garth, well he sang a bunch of George Straight songs. And the crowd loved him…
I do have to say that Merle Haggard was the most incredible performer of the night. He performed three encores, received a country music achievement award, and let me tell you, like Buck, he plays a mean guitar. “I think Willie is the one who missed out,” he said during his performance, apologizing for Willie Nelson not being able to attend. “Willie sends his apologies,” he smiled. He played classic songs, joked about marijuana, and after saying, “I’m singing this for a few of my friends who are here,” he tore into Okie from Muskogee. “We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee; We don't take our trips on LSD. We don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street…” he sang.
Merle joked about Oildale and Lamont. He sang in his crooning whisper; he laughed in a duet. He propped his black hat onto his award as if he’d just come in from the cold to sing a lonely old country song to a few folks by the fireplace. You could almost see the remaining embers reflecting in his dark glasses. He looked out to the crowd, and said, “We’re going to do this every Wednesday night.” He sang and sang and then sent us home to wonder about legends and the smoky and unforgettable atmosphere of great old-style country music…
After the show I ran into guitarist Peter Prevost from the alt country band Norfolk. I bought him a Snapple at the Arco on Buck Owens Boulevard. "I want to buy a steel guitar," he said. He was in awe of the performance just as I was. Yeah, he should buy one. It's just what you do when you're in a country band...
Those crazy KooKooNauts. I’m still koo koo for them. I was going to the studio tonight where they’re recording some awesome punk songs, but had to back out. I hope they don’t have their dad kick my tail. I’m kidding. These are all great people who I have been having some fun email conversations with. More on that in a future post. I am going to get a DVD from them and some other goods very soon… Looking forward to it…
Looks like old N.L. is going to watch the sun set over the Crystal Palace tonight. Yes, I will be looking out West, toward freeway ninety-nine and the coastal range, and farther past that, where cowboys sing songs on forgotten cloudtops of beautiful girls and fancy sequin coats. Oh yes, it’s one of those nights. Legends will be in the house. Buck himself on his big crystal horse, George Jones, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, the ghost of Elvis and more will be dedicating statues. There’s going to be music. There’s going to be cowboy boots. You know Elvis might stay in the house with this one. He’s going to be a permanent statue. You gotta love Elvis. Remember “Young and beautiful” from Jailhouse Rock? That one still melts the girls…
Now to switch gears for a moment. I have to say that Paul from Exithead is one of the coolest cats around. He always tells a story like it is if you know what I mean. He pulled the plug on my “I don’t own a Metal cd” comment in a previous blog by refreshing my weak memory that he did send one in the mail to me. Now I went ahead and made excuses and said something like, “I have Metal demos…but…” Well you know how excuses go. He’s right, I do own a bunch of metal cds. I should say however that I do need American Standard’s big new shiny packaged cd. I just haven’t gotten my booty down to World Records. These guys have been touring, making a cd, helping the local music scene out in any way they can. You have to give them credit for what they’re doing locally. They’re having an impact… and getting the support they need.
Look forward to my review of the Boiler Room last night. I had never been there before... Got some great pics. I should also have a cd review of Lost Ocean's 'Douse the Choir'... that's it for now...
What do you know about Bakersfield rock, country, alt rock, rockabilly and how it all ties together here in the Southern San Joaquin? Well read on and you might get educated, and in turn, educate me on any discrepancies you find in this article, as it is meant to scare a few bands out of the shadows to reveal themselves.
With that said, country music didn’t have a hard time getting grounded here in Bakersfield, California years ago. There are entire books on the subject defining how it all began, so there’s no need to go into great detail, unless you haven’t done your homework. Locals have written about such roots from novelist Gerald Haslam to local historian, Katherine Burke and more. Katherine interviewed Buck and got all kinds of great info just a few years ago on the Okie migration, church roots, field working days and old Honky Tonks... I read the original manuscript before publication. It is top rate research. We even celebrated afterwards at the Palace...
Read up and you will find that local country music has all but disappeared from Bakersfield. Oh you can find imported acts beamed into the leading Bakersfield venue on any given night. Anymore, the nexus for country music in Bakersfield is the world renowned Crystal Palace. The heyday for the Bakersfield Sound may be over, but such music is still around. You can listen to Buck Owens, and still hear the influences of Billy Mize, Red Simpson, and that old Blackboard Honky Tonk. There, big bands jammed in an era where country music was even more important than the local football cultural heydays in the mid-20th Century. You've heard of the Junior Rose Bowl, right? As for the rest of Bakersfield? The old Bakersfield Sound has not disappeared completely but certainly has stepped into the shadows where now all that dwells within are alt country and rockabilly sounds that still have a flavor of Bakersfield’s country roots. But who are they? Matt Munoz wrote me a revealing letter that tells all. And I think there’s even more to it once we hear from the country/rockabilly community. But you have to ask yourself, is Los Angeles now the Country Capital of California, or shall I suggest a more fitting name, the New Nashville West?
Many of you know I have a dream to get the agri-roots of Bakersfield rock and alt country into the Crystal Palace. Seems I was schooled by Matt Munoz of Mento Buru as they’ve already played the Palace, count them, SIX times! Incredible! But maybe not if you think how strong the Latino community really is with its local sensation Victor Sanz. And moreso, rockabilly bands like Fatt Katt and the Von Zippers and Dusk Devils who recently played Club Fred in Fresno have tore it up at the Palace as well.
What’s next? A concert celebrating the roots of Bakersfield’s grass roots sounds? Some bluegrass, some alt country, rockabilly, country and a splash of rural rock punk? Could such a historic performance take place?
Take a look at some of Matt’s comments… then think about it. And then let's go explore the Honky Tonks. I've done it before with Katherine Burke herself and listened to old Red Simpson sing his Osama song right at Trouts on pot luck night. And then the dancing begun, and the old timers moved as if they'd never missed a beat. At the time I think Katherine was 85.
N.L. ,
I was just reading some of your old entries about the Bakersfield Country scene. I dig country music and make it to the Crystal Palace whenever I can to see some of my faves like Junior Brown, BR5-49, Asleep at The Wheel & of course, Buck.
I don't understand what happened to the country music scene here. There used to be a few bands, besides Smokin' Armadillos that used to gig pretty regularly. The Dooley Brothers used to play at Rockabilly's, now known as Aldo's on Union Ave. Remember The Funny Farm? It was located there too before it "mysteriously" burnt down. Old school country stylee.
Alt country in Bako is alive for the most part: The Dusk Devils, Fat Katt & The Von Zippers seem to pop-up for a show every once in awhile. I haven't seen Norfolk, but your reviews have me curious. Some bands may refer to their music as "roots music" and not alt-country, but since I hate too many labels, I'll refer to them as alt-country for now. Yes, it's a silly label, but this is my mail and I can say what I want.
Here's an article from a while back about country music in LA & Bakersfield. It's pretty amusing and sad at the same time if you know your Bako country roots. The search for country music brought the reporter here, and guess what happened?
Oh yeah, we can officially be named the first local non-country act to play the Crystal Palace. We've played there about 6 times, four times after Mr. Owens himself. I saw it as a good sign of more things like that to come, but it didn't last. Very few local bands get booked. Not even local country bands can find a home there. It's sad, because it is the nicest live joint in the city. The sound system there is awesome, and the whole operation is first rate.
I have a funny story about when country / tejano star Emilio played the Palace, but I'll tell you later. Picture a house full of rowdy Mexicans and the beer running out. Orale'.....
Peace ese',
Matt
I'm spinning Lostocean's new CD Douse the Choir... it's 12:18 am.
This makes for two new CDs in one day.
Of course I had left it in my friend's car
and just got it back this afternoon...
Right now all I can say is...
amazing. But I need to write more...
Let me think...
Go to World Records right now.
Break down the doors, figure out the alarm code,
But leave money on the table as you leave.
You will want this CD.
Rip the CD from the package,
and run to your car.
Put it in the CD player, and drive.
Drive until the morning breaks
over your dashboard dust.
You know how some musicians play rock and roll?
They make simple sounds into great songs;
They use simple chords.
They arrange them with distortion,
drums and vocals that scream about
the pain of lost girlfriends.
And then some people are pure genius...
You know what a genius is, right?
Yeah, well there are a few in this band.
Some people call me a genius.
But then you haven't read my books yet.
And so you might think I'm full of shit.
But I am a genius.
I use words to build bridges of logic
across the void, to you.
And in a novel, there are many many layers,
kind of like a lost ocean song.
There are so many you won't even know they
are there. You won't understand them.
You won't care about many of them,
even if I were to tell you about them.
But those are the ones that
get you the nobel prize.
The genius of lost ocean...
You can hear it in the musical arrangements.
The genius is there...
You can feel it in the keyboard-piano moments
that weave like a forceful narrative...
That take you somewhere else;
into the dream of music they create
as a unique experience for each listener.
It's locked in the swirl of song;
the music dances like the spark-lit
fire that rages, twisting into the heavens
from a bonfire that is the music itself...
The fire, the smoke, the drums, the piano,
the flames, the sparks, the build-up,
the fuel, the heat, the mix, the crash of wood,
the melody of unexplained complex piano theory;
that I don't understand, but hear.
The poetics are in the music.
And right now,
I can't even explain
how I feel...
The dalloways hit the road today on their Western/Northwestern Tour. You can read about it on their blog. Gerhard Enns also told me that their cool alternative lounge sounds are going to get even better when they get back as he's ready to hit the studio again.
I never posted my review of their cd that I wrote for CD Baby. Check it out:
With melodic Morrissey undertones, it's as haunting as Lloyd Cole
Reviewer: N.L. Belardes
Hints of Lloyd Cole and even Elvis Costello materialize in The Dalloways debut album Penalty Crusade. But there's more: Refreshing cd art, the people involved--this music is packaged and presented in a way that brings a fresh perspective to Brit Pop. More: Penalty Crusade is a multi-cultural California blend bringing rural and big city undertones to the Anglian influences of British pop icons. The Dalloways can't help but throw in a subtle flow of Latino riffs and American jazz; all with a hard-edged guitar sound that is as melodic as Morrissey and haunting as Lloyd Cole's lyrical lost love ballads...
Do you have a CD you want reviewed? I have one for Lost Ocean. I'm about to write a big review for their new cd Douse the Choir. They told me they're playing on Tuesday night... somewhere... the Boiler room I think... and at MWP soon too.
 
The melodic sound of “the Builder” off 2am Orchestra’s forthcoming cd, Impermanence provides the subtle grace and jazzy new alternative sounds of a Central Valley band on a mission to create the permanence and lasting lyricism of great music-bourne art. This is emotion-filled alternative pop music pouring right out of the agri-business heart of Central Valley… and that’s just song #1. Enter David J Kelley’s band out of Fresno, California, 2AM Orchestra, together since 2001 and following up on their self-titled cd that had its share of rave reviews.
The second track is a dark acoustic mellow love ballad that really sets the tone with its groaning lyrics singing, “Just say you’re not the one.” There’s a distant tambourine and a grooving bass line that captures the listener. The rhythmic guitar work of track three follows into a rich melody while focusing on David Kelley’s ballad-perfect voice and dark movie-like rainstorm quality… it builds in passion and longing as his voice trails while an orchestral movement builds into a haunting movement. Aptly titled, "Rainy Day"—it’s the perfect name for such self-reflective music. It’s the kind of tune I can loop in my Windows Media Player and write the dark fog-like happenings of a literary denouement. It just keeps the words flowing...
The roots of the Central valley are closely intertwined in the song titles and lyrics of such music. Though compared to Ben Folds Five, Radiohead, and though I can easily compare to the emotive energy of great Sting ballads, I turn such ideas inside-out and would rather expose the heart of the cyclical aspects of agricultural and sometimes overly conservative Central Valley lives we share, all captured in the sounds of 2AM Orchestra. Simply said, their songs reflect a much larger, shared human experience in song titles like "Untouched Earth", "The Old Church", and "The Cycle," not to mention the impermanence of humanity, love and the soil we stand on as captured in the CD title.
"Untouched Earth" is really a masterpiece in alternative pop music. It generates the questioning feelings of unexposed love and fuels pop music into its lyrics as if the very song itself is pouring into the storm drain of your heart. There is a journey in listening to such music that takes the template of a great alternative song and spins it in a perfect circle of sound.
There’s more to be found in the subtle texture of sounds nearly hidden on this cd. Listen carefully and you’ll find a tapestry of echoes, strange noises, sometimes almost a distant wind blowing through the tracks in various simple textures like the rustle of a paper, picked up and shuffled through keyboard textures, violin orchestration, all trailing around lyrics, in between riffs and around the void in broken moments of hidden bass lines. The strength of the final track, “The Cycle” takes the love story of life, that history repeats itself in a Vico-esque tale of spiraling historical forces in the very nature that we breathe... In the end, just after the final note you can't help but let out a sigh and start the cycle all over again...
2AM Orchestra will be at Jerry’s Pizza on July 8th. Who knows, maybe I will put on a disguise and hide in the darkness and give them a 'live' listen …
I need to know if anyone is reading the news links. Please vote to keep or kill the page by emailing to nl@nlbelardes.com. If you don't vote, then I will assume your answer is "no". It's a free news service...
It recently came to my attention from this really cool kid, Bryan Gunter H. that I am not giving enough attention to some of the younger bands here in Bakersfield like his band, Bryan and the KooKooNauts and that Psychobilly band, The NightCrawlers. I don't totally agree with that. But I give such comments my respect because I am about to publish an article here written by some kid I don't know named Johnny Davenport. I'll refer to it here on out as 'The Davenport Article'. For all I know, Johnny Davenport might not exist. He might be Bryan himself. But I shall give the benefit of the doubt: Bryan claims Johnny is a friend from school, so I believe him.
Either way, ‘The Davenport Article’ is an engaging piece of punk rock history that includes nostalgia and a great inside look at a Bakersfield hardcore punk band. Sounds like Johnny used old Jeremy Cravens as one of his sources. Now, me and Jeremy go way back to the days before he played punk rock in Four More Feet. Heck, I wrote Bryan from the KooKooNauts that I once prayed for Jeremy's pet rat back in the 1980s. How's that for brotherly love?
Now I know punk history here in Bakersfield is more than what this next article claims. The Davenport Article is a partially history at best. To truly grasp punk history in Bakersfield you have to dig into the heads of bands like The Filthies or Primer Grey. You have to research and data mine at a much deeper level and talk to bands about what used to happen on the very streets themselves, like the old hero from high school days of the Filthies, a cool kid, a major influence gunned down mysteriously in the dark streets near Oleander. He was a kid on punk streets, in the Bakersfield shadows who could play punk and who influenced young punks with his ability to play great music and rebel with that age-old anarchy slogan painted on a denim coat... and you have to go back to the 1970s and 1980s. The article mentions them, but gives full credit to Bam Bams in 1990 as the nexus of punkdom.
There were punks, I saw them, befriended them around 1978/1979 when I was part of the first busload to help desegregate Emerson Junior High. The old James Green and Greg Seaton punks... I knew them hanging out on South Chester Avenue. And that was just one group of them... Makes me wonder, who the punk bands were in the 1970s and 1980s in Bakersfield? Did they exist? I believe they did. Whose garages were they playing in? Did they perform live in Bakersfield? Did they have to tour to get their music heard?
I believe the history of punk rock in Bakersfield can be broken down into these categories. So if you have information for any of them, please, send an email to nl@nlbelardes.com:
1970s:
1980s:
1990s:
2000s:
The venues:
The bands:
Important people:
Life on the streets:
Now read ‘The Davenport Article’. It heavily promotes the KooKooNauts. But so what? It’s already part of punk history…
KOO KOO FOR THE KOOKOONAUTS
By Johnny Davenport
Every once in a while you find a band that you connect with and really are taken by their style, songs, singing or musicianship. In my case I got lucky, it was a local punk/ska band, and to me they had all the above in abundant amounts and they played somewhere in town, or neighboring towns almost every weekend. I have been following the band for quite some time now. I took pleasure in researching them, and on several occasions interviewing them. Now I take pride in sharing my favorite band with you, and band that took its name from a space theme board game, "The KooKooNauts".
To understand who and what the KooKooNauts are, you have to understand Bakersfield punk and punk history. Using back issues of Blackboard Magazine I have come up with a fairly accurate background and lead-in to the Kookoonaut story.
Punk comes to Bakersfield a little late, but no worse for the wait. Bands existed through the `70s and `80s. Then, according to punk historian Jeremy Cravens, "In 1990 a club called Bam Bam's opened in Bakersfield. Bam Bam's promoted, and put on punk shows every weekend. In this Gulf War Era, Bakersfield punk thrived." Craven's Bakersfield Scene reports that "Bakersfield had it's own style of hardcore (punk)," and his list of the better bands of the early 90s were as follows: Big Jed, Primer Gray, Hossbrutten, Chaotic Evil, Midget Toss, Active Ingredients, and Six Feet Under. According to Billy S. The first wave of Bakersfield punk, from roughly the same time as the Ramones, Germs, Misfits, Dead Kennedys, etc., produced local bands like Teen Suicide, The Lizards, The Contaminators, The Gags and more. After that first wave ended, the bands became too numerous to mention. There was the original Primer Grey, with the infamous Bodie Chavis, Steve Crooks, Todd Short and Dave Butler, and the song that was on everyone's lips at the time, "Hey You! What You Lookin' At?" There were the Feelers, Big Jed, Fatal Vision, and lots more.
When I discovered hardcore punk in 2002, the punk scene in Bakersfield revolved, for the most part, around the underground cavern that is the basement theater of Jerry's Pizza on Chester in downtown Bakersfield. Jerry's is reminiscent of the 1963 Cavern Club in Britain where the Beatles began their career. The atmosphere is amazing: three black wooden staircases lead you into a punk underworld; this blackened, brick-walled underground cavern comes alive as darkness falls outside. The bright white stage lights break the underground darkness with silhouettes of majestic mohawks and liberty-spiked punks who cast thunder from the stage as the mosh pit raves like a fevered tribal war dance. From above creeps the smell of Jerry's famous pizza, breaking the historic musk below. Above the cavern is the actual pizzeria. In the bar-like register with its glass circular pizza warmer, a slice is a mere buck fifty. There are a couple of wooden booth tables for your dining pleasure, two roof-mounted televisions and a really frightening clown gumball machine. Occasionally the oxygen bar man is there, doing his flavored air thing.
Jerry came to Downtown Bakersfield in 1992 with old country traditions for pizza baked on a stone hearth. The best part, though, is the thunderous outpouring of sound from the bands below in the cavern. This is the ultimate in dining atmosphere for the punk and early rock music connoisseur. If you want to relive those early 1960s days at the Cavern Club, come to a punk show some night at Jerry's. The most active current (JUNE 2002) punk bands in Bakersfield included these: Active Ingredients, The Pin Ups, Crimson Stained Nails, Missing in Action (later renamed Urban Regression and then KooKooNauts), The Condemned, The Allied and Commotion.
Of the original 90s bands, only Active Ingredients still plays on a regular basis. They have a new drummer and several CDs out on a local label and are reportedly in the middle of recording a new full-length CD at Bakersfield's own Pig Studios. The Condemned played frequently at Jerry's Pizza and occasionally at the Porterville Veterans' Park Festivals; they write most of their own songs. Missing in Action often opens (plays warm-up) for many out-of-town bands at Jerry's, (They also play Studio 45 and the Porterville Veterans' park festivals). The Condemned and Missing in Action are the more hardcore bands of the Bakersfield punk community. They are high-powered and in your face. The mosh pits get smoke'n with these youngsters. After I got over being scared of them, I really enjoyed their driving melodies and aggressively charged, screaming lyrics.
The next period in Bakersfield punk was a bit darker, punk was pushed out of the music scene by a music called "new metal". Such music was, or of, the old fat guys that aren't that good, so they shave their heads, grow a goatee and tune their guitar to "Drop D". Guys that aren't real hot guitar slingers even sound good. Open turnings are strange that way. Take the early blues slide players; the were good on standard turnings. But when Robert Johnson came back from the cross roads with the open "Spanish" tuning he changed the world. Several punk-like bands made it OK during this period, and several sprung up. The notable ones being Active Ingredients, Crimson Stained Nails, Bury the Hatchet and of coarse, the KooKooNauts.
Many people were still koo koo for the KooKooNauts, a band that had now evolved into something new, different and amazingly good, sort of a Rancid meets Richie Vallins. The lead Guitar and vocalist had developed a master of both crafts that was both unique and tasteful. He still kept a bit of that rough punk edge from the early years, and they are still in high school with years to mature.
The KooKooNauts went through several transformation during this period. The original members met in drum line and included a bass player named Kurt. Kurt basically coached through the learning process to a mastery of the instrument by the guitar player and front man Bryan Gunter H. Kurt now slaps the four string like a pro.
Bryan is a self-taught musician. In elementary school he taught himself how to read music and within only a few weeks tried out and made the school band where his instructor (Jr. high / elementary) Mr. Bar was amazed at the speed of his mastery of woodwinds.
A few short weeks later he tried out and made the cut for the prestigious Kern County Honor Band and to top things off, made first chair over students much his senior in both age and experience. Later Bryan switched to the bass and ended up playing at the massive Centennial Gardens at a halftime show for the Blitz football team. It was no stretch for him to jump from the bass to the guitar and from there it was just a lot of hard work and playing shows by the dozen.
James H., Bryan's older brother by two years also came from drum line and moved over to the set and his speed and technique filled the bands rhythm section with thunder. The three boys had been in a band called Urban Regression that had also played often in the local Bakersfield venues.
That band broke up as the elder brother James went to drum with the local Psychobilly sensation "The Night Crawlers". Later, a Halloween festival at CSUB needed more bands so some of the Urban Regression formed the KooKooNauts to play the show. The band did so well that they stayed together. Several of the Night Crawlers filtered in and out of the KooKooNauts. The two bands often played shows together on the same bill. This was a mutual beneficial relationship, often yielding fairly large crowds at shows at local venues such as Jerry's, the Gate-Boiler Room , and Down Town Records and so on.
One of the shows went nuts when the large crowd was accosted by a mad man in a guerrilla suit with light flashing red lights as eye balls. The crowd went wild and a fight started on the floor between some street punks as the KooKooNauts played on. When the fight was broken up by a bouncer the apeman mounted the Night Crawler's stand-up bass and started humping it feverishly. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen in my life and I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself.
It was this time period when both bands recorded their first demo Cds with a school friend, John T. John was in a band called Amigo Diaz (sp?) with the old Drummer from the Condemned. Amigo Diaz also played on the same billing with the KooKooNauts and Night Crawlers from time to time. The KooKooNauts sold over 300 of the demo CDs for a buck each with the first two weeks of its creation.
Later they began giving the two song CD demo away free and as many as a thousand have been burned and distributed locally. The songs were "Inevitable", a song warning of ‘judgment day’ on those whom destroy nature. “Inevitable” was a local hit for a time around the high school and at shows where dozens of folks would often come up and sing along. At one point even the Night Crawlers covered the tune. My favorite part is the lead-in: "humans are the parasite, earth is our host, wide spread panic from coast to coast." Amazing Chuck Berry-type guitar riffs rounds out this great tune.
Another song of that demo is "Take Me to Serious,” a passionate punk love song that was quite the favorite among high school kids struck with the love bug.
One day there was a falling out and the bands no longer functioned together and the three bands went their separate ways. It was never clear to me what had separated the bands but it was a bit tragic. At this time the KooKooNauts added a keyboard player named John and they played shows with him for a while and the sound was very interesting. They drew a lot of positive attention to the band. One day however John's mother made him quit the Kookoonuats. It was speculated he quit because of bad grades but who knows. This happened with an earlier drummer as well.
After the keyboard player departed the band signed up at Bakersfield Sound Studios for another demo cd and I have not heard the status on this project just yet. Last night at the Corner Stone Church, the stained glass was rattling. Hardcore Bands from near and far were laying down the laws with the thunder of Gibson and Fender guitars, and earth-shaking drum flurries and rumbling bass lines. Man this stuff was awesome! Crimson Stained Nails, Active Ingredients, The KooKooNauts and several other bands were rockin' the hollowed ground. The KooKooNauts played a new set, dropping the usual burning rendition of Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" for the Misfits "Last Caress" and dropping "Inevitable" for a new Celtic sounding number about medieval knights.
The other parts of the set were unchanged and they played one of my favorites "The March" and you will have to pick up their new CD to hear that for yourselves. As the night wore on it was brought up by the KooKooNauts that some one or some group has been pulling down their posters and shredding them on their front lawn and throwing raw eggs all over their car and house. If you think this sucks you are correct, but what was worse is that Active Ingredients was sited and fined $147.00 for posting their flyers. They speculated that Jerry's or Nate may have reported them and filed a complaint.
They we called hypocrite for doing so as they post more posters than any one and post them with permanent postal tape. The KooKooNauts speculated that it may have been some of their old friends from the bands they used to play shows with but don't know for sure. I look forward to attending many KooKooNauts shows in the future and hey, hope to see you there!
Check out the post from JR of Illpressed who attended The War Days, then read the rest on his blog:
He looks a little like a young Francis Ford Coppola. I took this pic just as the lights turned on and the credits finished rolling on his debut film "War Days". His name is Landen Belardes and he is just 14 years old!
The Vietnam era war flick was shot on location here in Kern County and scored with songs from local bands. The acting is all amateur, the equipment used to film and edit is all simple stuff. I think it's great that a kid of this age...
Yes, it's true. Three Chord Whore's punk queen Shirl has left her royal crown behind and sprouted wings for some other girly Queendom. These dark angels of post-grunge angst will be needing a new lead singer. Wanna try out? Better get your vocals ready to scream it! Maybe Shane from the old days of Melodrose will step in with a big wig and sequin Elvis jacket. Oh come on Shane!
(images coming later today)
Local amateur filmmaker Landen Belardes paced the floor like Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland as his movie The War Days played to a crowded house in downtown Bakersfield. I saw him wander up the movie house stairs and even disappear from the theatre once. “I couldn’t help it!” Landen said. It was his nerves.
There was a heavy round of cheers and applause as the credits rolled and Kenny Mount rounded out the movie on a cameo blooper reel with take after take of him with his one big line, “Stay out of trouble, boy!” The movie had begun with a Broken Record Gospel song being played to Kenny Mount’s character giving actor Landen Belardes a ride to the park on his vintage Moto Gussi motorcycle.
Talk about vroom vroom…
The movie was a big success as the crowd hollered and whistled to a young filmmaker’s war movie dream come true on the big screen. The movie itself brought laughs and sadness to the audience as it depicts kids amid the uncertainty of war during the Vietnam conflict. “It’s a movie about friends,” said director Landen Belardes. “Friends have to learn how to bond in different ways whether it’s here in America or away at war.” The movie depicts several friends, two of which are at odds with each other, who then go off to fight in the same unit in the Vietnam countryside. The film’s violence and mild use of adult language would have easily placed this movie in the PG category. Although the creepiest scene to me was the one with the big spider. You could see it crawling on the end of a machine gun as a soldier peered through large clumps of grass to search for an unseen enemy. “Gooks were like boogeymen…they haunted us,” the narrator says in one dark scene.
“It really is a triumph for young people in the city of Bakersfield,” said local novelist N.L. Belardes, and father of The War Day’s director. “It’s a proud moment to be a parent. You know, to see creative energy unfold from any kid like this is a triumph. But when it comes from your own, it’s even better.”
Both director/editer/actor Landen Belardes and film actor Shaun Alaniz appeared on KGET to promote the film, with highlights from the film showing throughout the night.
“It’s a Belardes family day,” said N.L. “Landen had this great film on the news, we had Star Wars chalk drawings in the news, and a Star Wars blog on the homepage of Bakersfield.com. What else can a family ask for? We can’t help being so creative and fun in one day!”
There were however some gliches on the evening. Typical Bakersfield band problems affected the venue’s turnout after the film. Attendance for local music is always an issue and after the movie a lot of folks simply skeedaddled. Seven to the Right and Broken Record Gospel, two great local bands sadly were cut for the evening, while Liars and Thieves and The Filthies both played and were as exciting as ever! The Filthies had an incredible light show and an old black-and-white Flash Gordon movie played in the background for an artsy punk atmosphere. Kids flocked the stage for their autographs after the show.
More controversy? Another gliche is a criticism of local academics who were all a ‘no show’. These kinds of artistic and cultural events are rare, so Bakersfield should academically support such filmmakers. Isn’t it in the Vision 2020 plan to be culturally responsible by supporting youth in all the arts? Such kids are destined for college, not truck driving. With that said, Curran Middle School sent no staff representatives to the film. “With all the great press they received it’s just shameful that not one person from the Curran staff attended,” said one parent. I heartily agree. There was no teacher or principal at the show. That included earlier in the day when no school representative greeted the news at Curran when KGET arrived. That’s called a missed PR opportunity. “These inner city schools with revolving door principals; how can they really care about kids?” said another parent. “Don’t they realize The War Days isn’t your typical student film?” I agree. Such projects are artistic triumphs to pull off both on location filming and in the editing room; and it was kids that did it. The media recognized the value of The War Days… Maybe it is just a show for schools to put on such a front and act like they support kids, but then don’t. I plan on getting to the bottom of why Curran failed miserably in supporting such an artistic venture… they certainly owe the actors and director an apology... Maybe they can make it up by having a screening at the school one evening? Charge students 2 bucks and use the money for their PTA.
A big hearty thank you goes out to the local media who truly recognized Landen’s filmmaking prowess and the value of this community-building cultural and artistic event. It’s not everyday that such triumphs occur for kids.
As for the next movie? Perhaps a horror film. Maybe something darker. We did just recently watch Anakin’s transformation to the dark side… maybe a haunted Halloween movie festival with a guest appearance from Arthur Chilling? Stay tuned...
KGET was out at Curran Middle School today to interview that very creative director of The War Days student film, Landen Belardes. Tonight, The War Days premieres for a one-time show at the Spotlight Theatre at 6:30 pm.
I wandered down to see what all the haps was about. I met KGET reporter, Natasha... she did a great job interviewing The War Days director for the news today. Landen was a bit gun shy but she still dragged some good info out of him. Those directors, they get tongue-tied because they're always thinking about their next great flick. Reminded me of my own interview with the director when he talked of dodging cows, cow patties, stinging nettles and blowing up marshmallow peeps in the microwave.
Actor Shaun Alaniz gave a great interview and that was followed up with some good discussion about kid creativity that can inspire other kids throughout the city...
Why not? "Kids dream. They just need to realize their dreams, act them out," I said.
I asked KGET to come out tonight to the premiere. Will they show up? I don't know. They just might.
But you should.
There are few tickets left for the movie that's followed by four local bands whose music was donated for the film...
Were you at the Episode III premiere last night? I was at Edwards Cinemas. I want to know your experience... or a Star Wars experience. In the meantime, here's mine:
By about Jenna Montez’ 25th light saber duel I finally lost interest. That was after she whooped the director of The War Days in a finger-crushing duel, and long after she challenged Justin: the biggest bad-ass Jedi I have ever seen. Cloaked in Jedi garb from head to toe, he wielded his light saber like I one day wish to wield my pen: oh to swing it mightier than your average laser sword!
Justin was amazed at Jenna’s deftness with her teacher’s plastic blue light saber. She put up a feisty parry-thrust-slash, and I’m not even sure who won as a crowd had gathered like this Jedi match was a major schoolyard bruhaha.
Jenna had been in line with a group of friends: Echo, Nadine, Sara, her brother who digs the Beat Generation, and a few others. Like typical fans, they played games, they laughed and they dueled. Her battles were just some of the ‘fan duels for the ages’ I was to witness last night and clearly showed me that Star Wars crowds had come of age just like the movies… No more standing in line like you’re bored and waiting for the Haunted Mansion’s ghosts to scare you. It’s time for you to be a part of the show.
Also in line was Michelle, sort of your hip Irish version of a princess Leia. She passed out free Gatorade and talked a mile a minute about Star Wars like it was this past Easter’s Golden Egg. After the move she had a smile on her face like she could finally sleep at night. It was all over. Or is it? Anyway, just up the line Adam had a chessboard resting on a skateboard where he used old-fashioned Jedi mind tricks to sweep three games in a row… He told me he barely won. But I don’t know about that.
I pulled out some pastels and quickly got into the spirit with funky sidewalk art as I scratched out several character parodies: Mrs. Chewbacca, Mrs. Yoda (she looked a little too much like Mrs. Shrek), and my favorite, a pink-helmeted version of Darth Vader with bright blue eye coverings and a pair of fancy Death Star earrings. Her helmet simply glimmered. We even added an ‘unfinished Death Star’ until the spirit-breaking ‘security on bikes’ smashed our pop culture Star Wars expressionistic experience by telling us we were defacing cement. Did he think chalk doesn’t wash off sidewalks? One cup of water whooshes such cultural moments into memory. Just ask the kid who spilled a soda on Mrs. Chewbacca’s big red lips… oo la la!
Now just how did this Star Wars crowd really come of age? Years ago when I stood in line for Empire’s first showing, there were no Jedis, stormtroopers, or Darth Vaders dressed to the hilt. This first showing there were serious collectors showing off memorabilia, fancy LED sabers, Jedis everywhere, princess Leias (including one young blondie about 5 years old who has my vote for the cutest kid-Leia ever) Hollywood-folk showed up to promote the film as extravagant Imperial guards, storm troopers, biker scouts, an ominous and very tall Darth Vader, and an emperor. There were duels everywhere, music blasting, video games blaring, trivia, and a whole lot of proud personalities showing off their own particular spirit of the Star Wars couture.
 
 
I met other folk in the crowd. I had a quick conversation with Brian who was convinced (and so am I) that Lucas and Spielberg are going to team up for an extravagant episode seven. All the band members from the very cool band Lost Ocean hung out in the shade. I had my most interesting conversation of the day with keyboardist extraordinaire, Skyler regarding the philosophy of creativity in performance. It was a surreal conversation near the popcorn machines after the lines went inside; it was of a depth of understanding that to write, to perform, to create necessarily needs the psychological removal of self-imposed mental obstacles. We discussed how creativity can fall into haphazard digressions when faced with the self-realization of pondering self-critical thoughts while creating/performing. But that’s another discussion altogether. These guys gave me their cd Douse the Choir, which I am going to spin and give you all my two cents worth very soon… we talked about me going on KRAB radio on the 29th. Maybe I could spin one of their tracks? You can buy their cd at World Records.
I even bumped into Danny Spanks of KRAB after the show. He smoked a cigarette and looked glum as he wandered through the parking lot. He shook his head in major disappointment. I could empathize. I wanted to see the Rebellion, not just the seeds of it. I wanted the acting to be better. I wanted Amidala’s death scene to be more tragic… Here’s what I wrote as a comment on The Reel’s Star Wars blog as my quick and dirty two cents:
The beginning of the movie was the most epic and awesome sci-fi cinematics ever! The rest was total Star Wars: great light saber duels, bad acting, intriguing plot, tragedy, and a creepy Emperor that will for sure give little kiddies nightmares...
You can watch a video and read about some of the folks in line at Edwards on The Reel. There's a mini movie link that provides a great interview. It shows an awesome duel and several cool fans, but doesn’t give you the feel of how the spirit of Star Wars infected the crowd that night: it became a festive occasion in a symphony of swinging Star Wars light sabers, mixed with the cheer and chatter of excited fans, Hollywood-style characters, sparkling lights and happy children and adults.
The video does capture the build-up to a crescendo for Star Wars fans, all realizing that when darkness fell, the partying would truly begin. You can even see a glimpse of Mrs. Chewbacca before she faded away into oblivion…
I was 8 or 9 nine years old. Even though I thought Close Encounters was the movie to end all movies (because of its cerebral aspects of alien-influenced psychological mind games on humanity) Star Wars still took a place all its own in my childhood dreams; and in the end, had a far longer lasting impact.
Yes, I was a cerebral kid. I was reading novels at a young age. But then, I was also trying to take over the planet ala an imaginary Spaceman Spiff comic book style. And that’s because Star Wars had its influence on my sense of daring and adventure. The power of its story on young boys was in its Western shoot-em-up adventure style and epic villains. I could relate on a social make-believe playtime scale that was out of this world (I hate clichés). Yet it was much easier to play Luke vs. 10,000 screaming stormtroopers and Darth Vaders than it was to pretend I was Richard Dreyfus running to Devil’s Tower like the mountain itself were some kind of fat Buddha poised on the landscape to banter about the mothership.
The clay armies I made back in 1977 were of a massive Star Wars scale of vast battles and epic cinematics in imaginary warfare. I had to do it. Just what else does a young boy do when he’s tired of throwing rocks at squirrels in dirt fields, or when he tires of building vast armies out of plastic armymen, where marbles were laser blasts that came rolling and bouncing over hapless rebel warriors (who all happened to look like WWII soldiers). The plastic blue-grey Germans were fine. They were already the evil Empire. But the clay armies. I would spend hours creating those… and the epic battles that resulted… at the very least were much more messy than today’s more painful Lego Star Wars battles, where pieces of galactic ships or snap-together Jedi body parts get lost on carpets, only to be stepped on in the middle of the night by some unsuspecting parent who might scream, “Ow! Damn it, Luke’s head!” The clay just gets squished into the carpet. A whole epic problem in its own…
I remember the old UA Six theatres in Bakersfield, now low budget sound system dollar theatres that may still be haunted. Did you ever hear the ghost stories of the old man with the cigar? Another time perhaps. I was still just a young boy of 13 or 14 when I went to the first showing of Empire Strikes Back. I showed up early, maybe 8 am, and already there was a long line. We waited for hours. Finally, my mother, brother and I squeezed into the second row, far along the right side of the theatre. But that didn’t matter. We were there for what was possibly the greatest movie viewing of all time.
Forget today’s age of movie trailers and spoilers. It wasn’t like that in 1981. There were no video game spoilers, no online teaser trailers, no Hyperspace buy-ins for exclusive photos and videos, no mega-media campaigns that gave away the secret color of Luke’s diaper pins. Which reminds me of the greatest movie trailer moment of all time: The Empire Strikes Back. I was sitting in a theatre in LA somewhere and suddenly there was a snowy scene followed by the cold metal stomping of At-Ats. Whoah! What’s this? An 11-year-old boy’s dream come true? Space battles, robot assault craft, and Star Wars, again?? I couldn’t wait. And there I was, finally in the theatre to watch Empire… And yet I didn’t know what was about to happen… because secrets then were just that: secrets.
The light saber duel: pure magic. Who knew light sabers and flying Jedi tricks could be so cool? This wasn’t your typical tale of fallen knights. I can still hear the gasp of the audience as Darth echoed, “I am your father.” I was horrified myself. And the appearance of Yoda. The laughter, the giggling of fathers, grandfathers, boys and girls, and my own mother who never lived to see the saga complete. But then, she didn’t live to see the horrors of 2001… or another war of lost servicemen.
And when Yoda says, “There is another…” whoah… what did that mean at that moment in that theatre to a young child? An amazing movie where secrets were only revealed on the screen in front of you as you saw them.
And so years later the philosophy of Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth infected me. It was me who gave Brad Alexander, Star Wars lead animator my own copy of the Power of Myth, complete with notes that he read again and again as he worked on Episode’s II and III. I educated him on the theory of the tragic fallen hero and the idea that Han was really an isolated ego-philosopher much like the Han dynasty’s introspective look at itself as the center of the universe. In a way, I had my own impact on two of the films because I helped one of their creators create with a deeper passion.
Such works of popular culture infected me further… into my very own literature. In Lords: Part One, Star Wars is mentioned only as a popular culture homo-erotic reference “…the hard nails on those hands digging in during the flick, this time Star Wars: Chewbacca humping that cowboy Han amongst the tumbleweed stars against the reality of Minstrel’s soft flesh.” What am I thinking? Am I blaspheming the very essence of Star Wars? Or am I just taking advantage of their sense of popular culture to a protagonist who couldn’t see the adventure in imagination that most of us saw?
But even before that in my 1998 novel, The Citrus Girl, the character of Ms. Fin is likened to C3PO as she belt’s out “We’re doomed!” because she has an obsessive compulsive disorder and an uncanny knack of regurgitating green burritos from Taco Bell so she can continue looking thin and robot-like. In Diva, the space opera singer main character I write about has two robotic sidekicks, both like over-sized C3POs, but with paisley skirts and rosy holographic make-up. These would be the fem-bot freaked out Star Wars versions that can only pour from a mind like mine: still obsessed with Star Wars from such a young age.
Tonight’s premiere is just a continuation of such popular culture dreams. When the Phantom Menace came out, a whole new generation began to experience the theatre geekness of the ‘first showing’. You might even remember one of my kids as the ‘Infamous Jedi who tried to lop off a newscaster’s head with a light saber’ during the first night’s showing of Attack of the Clones. I’ll never forget. I wasn’t looking and I was talking to this guy who had a portable TV. He suddenly says, “Hey, is that your kid? He’s on TV trying to kill the newscaster!” And I suddenly see my kid pretending to chop off the newscaster’s head on live TV! It was a proud papa moment for sure…
Oh yes, I could confess to even more. But why do that? You have plenty of Star Wars episodes in your own life to confess to… Feel free to write them down for me and I will share them as further confessions of Star Wars geeks… But only if you’re willing to tell…
May the Force be with you tonight at the Midnight showing…
Bands are not making use of my culture calendar... Instead of just using MySpace and Bakotopia, why not utilize the culture calendar? Just format to the specifications and send in an email to nl@nlbelardes.com
Once again, if bands, artists and theatres don't make use of every possible local culture calendar, then lots of folks will be missing out...
What?? You haven't bought your tickets for the May 19th 6:30pm premiere?? By goodness get your buns down to the Spotlight Theatre and get tickets before they run out! Or just call and order...
The War Days, starring Shaun Alaniz, Seth Cervantes, Matt Prieto, Jordan Belardes, Anthony Prieto, and Landen Belardes also has a guest star cameo. You guessed it already? No you didn't. Don't tell Enrique, but Kenny Mount of the Filthies is the only adult in The War Days. He has a special rip-roaring motorcycle scene that you just can't miss...
Now quit sitting by your computer waiting for my next post. Go buy your tickets!
OK, there wasn't a wedding, but I got your attention. If you haven't been keeping up on your reading on local music gossip since last Thursday, shame on you. If you have, then you will understand where Norfolk's letter to me today fits in on the whole Thursday Night War controversy. Seems that KRAB Radio called up Norfolk and communicated their interests/concerns with last Thursday night's show after reading some rather 'slap in the face' articles and letters right here on my site. In return, Norfolk spilled some beans on their interests/concerns. Glad to see old N.L.'s remarks could bring group love in the end... Kudos all around!
As a side note I should point out that in my other Thursday Night War articles on nlbelardes.com/musicrev.html, I never wrote about winners, just about my personal musical interests while trying to say a little about each band. I always write with the slant of featuring one band over others in an article; makes for more of an interesting read; sort of how controversy and entertainment makes for an interesting read as well; feature a band, or feature controversy, or feature both! A great template... With that said, see what happens when I talk about winners and losers? Gets kind of mucky doesn't it? Don't forget that I'm just a little novelist writing some teeny narratives about the music and art scene...
I spoke to the mother of the four year old Mohawk kid today... now that was an interesting conversation. Seems that kid though the spirit of a Yokut God was calling from the Vesper box. He was simply paying homage with his sacrificial ticket... OK, just kidding on that one...
Here's the letter from James Ratliff of Norfolk:
N.L.,
So here it is:
Danny Spanks from KRAB radio called me up today to dicuss the Battle of the Bands situation. We aired out all of our laundry and made amends. It turns out, for the most part, it was just a misunderstanding. After hearing the KRAB side I realized we were both fighting for the same war, but on seperate fronts. KRAB radio is concerned with providing an outlet for musicians other than Jerry's and are willing to use their station to rally support for the locals.
This was a key concern of Danny's while on the phone with him. The station felt that a Battle type show would make the Montgomery World shows more interesting for the crowd. From what Danny said, it turns out that many bands have been displeased with the battle concept. KRAB is now looking to finish this one out and start up some non-partisan shows. They also apologized for poor communication during the arrangment of the show, which caused the Pangolese to be cut short. Danny was completely supportive of local music and totally optomistic for the future of the local scene.
After our conversation I felt an obligation to support their efforts in trying to do something new with the Bakersfield music scene and I have to apologize for my earlier condemnation of KRAB. In the eyes of Norfolk, KRAB radio is no longer Satan's tool for world destruction and impending doom (although they came pretty close when they got rid of the Mark and Brian show.)
James
Maybe you haven’t seen the Rocky Horror Show. Maybe you saw it and want to see it again. Maybe you haven’t read my review, or Enrique Fuentes’ Dysfunctional Theatre Review of this Bakersfield Community Theatre musical… either way, you're missing the hilarity, the sexy actresses and actors, the rowdiness, oh, and a great show... please go!
New Rocky Horrors dates added!
Friday, May 20 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, May 21 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, May 21 at MIDNIGHT
Friday, May 27 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, May 28 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, May 28 at MIDNIGHT
 
Oh you know it's got to be a white wedding...
Her beauty steals the show, but not Frank N. Furter's heart
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