Ventura Music Scene
“If the Fair is a Rockin’…” by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Finally, it’s Fair time!!! Yippee! Deep fried foods of all kinds, here I come and I don’t feel too guilty as I’ll be burning off those empty calories dancing to all the great music coming our way. The fair officially opens on Wednesday August 3 (the Fair Parade will be held on Saturday morning the 6th on Main Street downtown Ventura), and will run through Sunday, August 14. Their full entertainment schedule can be found at the fair’s official website (VenturaCountyFair.org). I’m looking forward to Styx, Old Dominion, the return of Joan Jett, and of course one of my favorite bands, Third Eye Blind!
Music Under the Stars continues Saturday nights throughout the summer at the historic Olivas Adobe with Cuban Classica music from Orquesta Charangoa on August 6 and one of the best Beatles tribute bands around, Britain’s Finest on August 13.
Here’s an interesting tidbit, Paul Black (of LA Guns fame) will be returning to Margarita Villa on Saturday, August 13. Black had actually reached out to the venue asking for a slot to play and they were happy to oblige.
I looked over Squashed Grapes’ August calendar for jazz music and trust me, there’s going to be plenty of cool jazz for your hot summer nights culminating with the return of Doug Webb featuring Danny Carey of TOOL on Saturday, August 27. Carey missed the last engagement due to touring conflicts. Other highlights to watch for include the return of Bobby West with Adam Clark on August 3, Anne Hall & the Remarkables on the 7th, the Fair Parade band August 6 (always a good time), Rachel Flowers on the 13th, Colin Bailey on the 25th and D.on Darox and the Melody Joy Bakers on the 26th. Full line up can be found at SquashedGrapes.com/events.
The final installment of Ventura Rocks on CAPS Media has been released. Don’t miss The NaVaNaX airing now on CAPS but it’s also available 24/7 on Ventura Rocks’ YouTube channel. The guys did a spectacular job. Many thanks to the crew at CAPS for the opportunity and for their support of Ventura’s music scene.
And finally, I caught up with lead singer/musician Eric Rachmany of Rebelution who assured me the band will return to Ventura, but on their current tour you’ll have to catch them at the Santa Barbara Bowl on August 13. Eric told me, “Ventura is just as much home for us as Santa Barbara. Back in the day us and Iration had the opportunity to open for Yellowman at the Ventura Theatre. We have some great memories in Ventura. We will be back!” You can read the full interview on VenturaRocks.com, and you’ll most likely want to pick up their latest release, “Falling Into Place.”
Do you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
Ventura Music Scene
“Spicy Summer Tunes” by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com Pam@VenturaRocks.com
The French connection back in Ventura: Jean Francois wtih Kelly Zirbes, Perry Robertson of Kelly’s Lot.
The good folks that bring you Ventura’s Wine Walk, Champange on Main and Tequila and Taco Music Festival have moved the latter from the Collection to Ventura’s Plaza Park! The event will run over two days July 23 and 24th with music from Adelaide, Patron Latin Rhythms, Instone, SambaDá and Metalachi. More ticket information can be found at tequilaandtacomusicfestival.com/ventura.
Nashville singer-songwriter Don Gallardo will be performing at Saloon BBQ on Friday, July 29. Gallardo, who’s just recently back from another successful UK tour, will be playing select shows outside of his home base of Nashville to celebrate his summer US release of his acclaimed album, “Hickory” (four stars from MOJO Magazine and named one of the best albums of 2015 by The Telegraph).
It’s the final dates of the Ventura Music Festival with Sergio Mendes, a Celebration of 50 years of Brasil 66 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Friday July 22, and the last two dates will be held at the Ventura College Performing Arts Center with Ventura Music Festival’s musical director, Nuvi Mehta & Friends on Saturday, July 23 and wrapping it up will be a program entitled “Composers and the Movies” on Sunday July 24.
Music Under the Stars continues Saturday nights throughout the summer at the historic Olivas Adobe with New Orleans style boogie and blues from Porterhouse Bob on July 23 and Queen Nation’s tribute to the rock band Queen on July 30.
And finally, I caught up with the dynamic Kelly Zirbes of Kelly’s Lot who is super jazz that their good friend Jean Francois will be back visiting this summer. I asked her about how their friendship between she, her husband Perry (Kelly’s Lot guitarist) and Francois began and Kelly told me, “I met Jean Francois in 2010 during a tour in France. We became instant friends and we decided it would be fun to share our love of music and community with each other. Perry and I have traveled to France three times since then to play shows that Jean Francois organized and promoted in the Auvergne region in France. The French community embraced our band so last year I invited eight friends from Ventura to join the band in France and the bonding of Auvergne and Ventura began. A couple band members and I even played on Jean’s new CD, “Death Valley Blues” which was inspired by his first trip to Southern California in 2015. At the end of July, Kelly’s Lot will host Jean Francois for 6 shows here in Southern California; two of which are in Ventura County. The first one is on July 29th at Four Brix Winery in Ventura and then on July 30 at The Maritime Museum in Channel Islands for the annual Oxnard event, Chowder Feat.
Do you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
Ventura Rocks has been a big Army of Freshmen fan for years, and so when we heard that fellow bandmates Chris Jay and Aaron Goldberg had a new project which was a movie being filmed entirely in Ventura, we had to get on board! Initially, Polly Hoganson did an interview with Chris Jay before they even started filming, and then Ventura Rocks showed up for one of their first (see photos) and final scenes being shot at Camino Real Park baseball field using lots of locals and musicians as extras.
Ventura Rocks: Your film is finally ready for the world to see. How are you and Aaron holding up?
Chris Jay: Holding up but… barely. We’re now wearing the hat of publicists, party planners, marketers, social media promoters and trying to hold down part time jobs to pay full time bills. We’re three weeks away from release as of this interview and two weeks away from the premiere so it’s just insane but kind of exciting too!
Ventura Rocks: Taking a look at what your vision was before you started filming, and the final product, are the two pretty close or did it turn out totally different?
Chris Jay: Good question. We can’t complain. Is it exactly how we envisioned or wrote it? No but it’s not that far off which by all accounts we are really lucky to be able to say that. We hear horror stories from other filmmakers that what they set out to make ends up completely different when it gets released. If anything it’s just some scenes and locations that had to be cut due to time and budget. We basically wrote a studio comedy but we only had a micro budget. So the flashback scenes of each girl in The Bet when they were back in school all had to go and we couldn’t get all the characters back to be in the stands at the final ballgame, like a bigger movie would, but all things considered we’re very happy with it. I think any artist be it a songwriter or filmmaker always has something they wished they did different but you have work with what you got and to pull off a feature with multiple locations in 13 days is pretty amazing in it’s self.
Ventura Rocks: Tell me about the support you’ve received from Army of Freshmen fans, local musicians, family and friends.
Chris Jay: We simply could not have made this movie anywhere but Ventura. I mean that. Locations were donated, which is unheard of in LA, then from all the bands we are friends with, we were able to have a ton of extras where most small movies barely have any in the background, and when it comes to family the first people willing to invest in the film were family. This really was a grassroots effort and so many people went out of their way to help us. I also think we pissed off a few people in the process, half kidding, but no… this really is testament to Ventura and the support that’s here. We were able to save so much money on locations, catering, extras, props that overall made it a better looking film then when should expect on our small budget. I think people got inspired by how insane the undertaking was and wanted to help us.
Ventura Rocks: I know you had a producer and you did a lot of fundraising for the film, how did that go? Meet your budget?
Chris Jay: Flat out the most difficult aspect of filmmaking is finding the money. That’s most difficult aspect of a lot of things in life of course, but we did raise enough to get it done. We were lucky to land two amazing executive producers, Craig and Teresa Beech who produce theater productions in the United Kingdom but they believed in the project and along with some smaller investments from family and friends, we got it done. But it is a rabbit hole, at every corner you spend money you didn’t expect to for example we frankly weren’t prepared for how long post production would take and how expensive it is to do right.
Ventura Rocks: Originally you thought you’d need only 13 days to film, but in reality, how many days did it take?
Chris Jay: We filmed 13 days in Ventura. Then we did an afternoon of some pick up shots with a drone, then an afternoon of no dialogue pick up shots, then at the last minute we had to replace our baseball crowd footage, long story but it involved not having releases for some young kids that snuck into the shot who we possible couldn’t find, so we shot an hour or so of a new just recently to fill like 10 seconds. But ultimately it was not a deal where we did a ton of filming after the fact, 98% of the movie was done in those 13 days in Ventura.
Ventura Rocks: How about post production? How long did that take?
Chris Jay: I shudder at the word. Aaron and I were very naive to how long post takes. On top of that we (by that I mean myself, Aaron, the director Ryan Ederer and the producer Reza Riazi were all very passionate about virtually every single aspect of the movie and I think that drug things out sometimes as opposed to a dictator making all the calls but ultimately it’s for the best. There’s a world where this movie could have come out a year ago but no way it’s as good as it is now.
Ventura Rocks: There were a few name changes for The Bet, how come?
Chris Jay: Urgh. The film was shot under the name, Baker’s Dozen. The generic title aspect made us change it to Betting on Baker shortly after filming. Then when we got distribution, our distribution company asked for a more generic title that didn’t have the word “Baker,” as quite frankly, if you don’t know that’s the character’s name then you think it’s a movie about a baker. So we went with The Bet and right now I’m thrilled. It’s easy to remember. It’s quick to type for hash tags and social media. It’s doesn’t take up a lot of space on adds and designs. As much as I went kicking and screaming each time a name change came, I am really starting to love it. I still find myself calling it Baker a lot thought and I need to break that habit before all the press starts.
Ventura Rocks: Tell me about the main actors.
Chris Jay: If there’s one thing I think we knocked out of the park, it was the casting. We spent so much time on it. Much more than the average movie our size does. It was incredibly important for us to love the people that played these characters we invented and were so connected to. We did auditions in LA. We scoured casting sites. We contacted friends who were actors and ultimately it paid off. Our two leads, Alex Klein and Amanda Clayton who are just wonderful actors both went on to land parts in big movies. Alex has a role in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel and Amanda is currently starring in Tyler Perry’s If Loving You Is Wrong and the upcoming Marin Scorsese produced movie, Bleed For This. Not too mention the lead character’s friends, who are played by a trio of three incredibly funny comedians and actors all who have a lot going on. Yassir Lester, Jeremiah Watkins, Brian Allen. Oh and our bad guys, Michael Consiglio and Paul Natonek are great too. Lot of new faces in the movie but they are clearly the type you’ll be hearing a lot more of. Then of course we got some great cameos from the wrestlers, Chuck D, Gerry Bednob, Dave England. We called in all the favors!
Ventura Rocks: I found it quite endearing how the guys (local musicians) were jazzed to see wrestlers involved in the movie. What inspired you to get Jake “the snake” Roberts, Tommy Dreamer and Diamond Dallas Page involved? They just happened to be available?
Chris Jay: From day one writing the script I had a vision of the two dads in the film being played by wrestlers. I am an out-of-the-womb pro wrestling fan so it was important to me to get a wrestler or two in the movie. The story how they got involved is epic with twists and turns but the long and the short of it is, I was aiming for Mick Foley and Roddy Piper, two of my all time favorites to play the roles. I landed Piper and thought I had won the lottery and cause of him got DDP. Then days before we shot, Piper got called to the WWE and clearly he couldn’t turn that down. DDP was awesome, stayed on board when he didn’t have to and helped get us Jake 48 hours before we shot. In the hunt for wrestlers, I reached out to Tommy and even though we had just filled the dad role with Jake, he agreed to come out to do a cameo. Then during filming Roddy reached out to ask how it was going and I begged him to come to a cameo when he got back to LA, he agreed. Got to spend the whole day with Roddy in the car on the way back and forth from LA. We became friends after that and kept in touch and then he tragically he passed aways last year which affected me quite a bit. To have him in our film even for that short scene and it’s one of the last, if not the last, film he ever made is something I will be proud of forever. The guest bedroom where he stayed at my house is forever known as The Roddy Room. I got one of his action figures on the shelf. It’s an amazing thing when you meet a childhood hero and he exceeds every expectation. He was and is a special human being.
Ventura Rocks: Is there a soundtrack? If so, what music was used?
Chris Jay: Yes! It’s coming two weeks before release on iTunes and Spotify for those cheap millennial types! It’s got 5 original comedy songs we wrote for the film, including the greatest song I have ever been a part of recording, “Sneaky Beej” and 5 songs from local bands who are in the movie. In addition it’s got an intro, interlude and outro from one of the characters which I think is pretty amazing. It’s more a promotional tool for the movie than a proper soundtrack you buy at Salzers but we can’t be musicians who makes a movie and not have a soundtrack. We have some locals helping out on the comedy songs, we got Frank Barajas to do a song in Spanish and Aaron Orbit to sing an 80’s hair metal love anthem. We spent a lot of time working on this soundtrack, we almost drove our music supervisor, Michael Mason to the nuthouse but he never bailed on us. We also got an amazing composer, Michael Leslie who helped give the film the big movie score feel and not just 25 rock songs in the background which is common for lot of small comedies.
Ventura Rocks: How will The Bet be distributed?
Chris Jay: The film will be coming out July 26, 2016 via Screen Media Films on all cable VOD outlets, iTunes, Amazon Prime, Fandango Now, Xbox, Playstation and more. Then there will be a DVD/Blu-Ray release August 23 then if all goes well a streaming and cable TV deal in the fall. In this day and age at least right now, Netflix is the goal, at least when it comes to the amount of people that see your film.
Ventura Rocks: What were some of the surprising aspects of becoming a filmmaker? I’m sure you went in thinking, “How hard could this be?!”
Chris Jay: There’s never enough money. There’s never enough people. There’s not enough time for pre production and there’s way too much time for post production.
Ventura Rocks: Who helped walk your through the process of getting a film out the door?
Chris Jay: While Aaron and I wrote the film and co-produced, the head producer was Reza Riazi. Reza worked with Aaron and I and guided us through everything since we first told him we wanted to write a screenplay. He was with us every step of the way and I think he was so close to the damn thing that he didn’t have any other option but to produce it when the script was ready. When many producers would of long ago bailed and moved onto the next project, Reza has stayed in the trenches with us. His company is called Balding Penguin and I truly believe in a few years that company will be synonymous with comedy films and TV. He’s just a gifted hard working and funny guy. Look forward to forcing him to work on our next movie, Wedding Or Not.
Ventura Rocks: What was the most valuable lesson you’ve learned?
Chris Jay: Wow. The big question. I will look at the glass half full and say… why not? Why not write a movie even if you’ve never done it before. Why not try and film it even if people think you’re crazy. Why not spend two years of your life making no money but doing something you love that no one can ever take away from you. Granted we’re talking about a raunchy comedy but I think it holds true whether you want to be an astronaut and walk on the moon or write dick and fart jokes to make your friends laugh… somebody’s gotta do… why not you?
Rebelution just released their fifth album, “Falling Into Place” so we thought it prudent we catch up with Eric Rachmany to see how things have been progressing for the band.
Ventura Rocks: The last time Ventura Rocks caught up with you guys was about three years ago when Polly Hoganson sat down with you before your Ventura Theater gig to discuss touring, DIY, and taking about the 805. (See interview). Since then Rebelution has come out with a new album, your fifth, “Falling Into Place.” I’ve been spending some time with it and I’m totally digging it. I have to ask, and trust me, I’m dead serious, how do you keep your music so fresh? I usually find after three songs, I’m good with so many reggae bands, but you guys keep me engaged, What’s your secret?
Eric Rachmany
Eric Rachmany: I think what sets us apart from a lot of other bands is we aren’t afraid to try something new. Reggae is a big part to our sound but we are exploring new territories with each album.
VR: I couldn’t agree more with Polly, you have a great voice Eric. Any training, or just a natural talent?
Eric Rachmany: I’ve had very little training. The few classes/lessons I’ve taken have been helpful in preserving my voice.
VR: What’s the songwriting process like for Rebelution?
Eric Rachmany: I usually do most of the songwriting but we all come together to arrange the song. Usually a song starts with a melody and chord progression. Lyrics typically come afterwards.
VR: I see the band enlisted some heavy hitters to help out on this one. What was the vibe like recording with the likes of Sam Hollander, Donovan “Doncorleon” Bennet, Dwayne “Supa Dups” Chin-Quee? More of a party, or inspiration bouncing off each other, or just staying focused and getting down to business?
Eric Rachmany: We’ve tried to work with a few producers in the past and it never worked out. Working with Supa Dups, Don Corleone, and Sam Hollander was awesome. The most important thing in collaborating to make good music is getting along as people before even playing one note. It’s for sure a vibe thing.
VR: The fact that Rebelution has sold over 450,000 albums independently speaks volumes about your following. Has your 87 Music label and Easy Star Records helped reach an even broader audience? Does this delegate the business to others and free up creativity?
Eric Rachmany
Eric Rachmany: 87 Music is our record label that we started but it really doesn’t exist and function without the leadership from Easy Star Records. Easy Star really knows our audience and makes it a point to try and reach a new audience as well. With so much music content out there in the world, I feel like it’s more challenging these days to market a new album. We are incredibly blessed to be where we are as an independent band with a small marketing budget. We owe a lot to our fans. A lot of this comes down to word of mouth. Thank you guys for spreading the good word about Rebelution!
VR: You guys totally walk the talk and get yourselves out there in front of audiences around the world touring, but radio support is something a lot of bands that “DIY” don’t have the luxury of enjoying. Do you have words of wisdom that could help other bands to conquer that typical “hard nut to crack?”
Eric Rachmany: We’ve got more FM radio play with this new album than ever before but to be honest, it’s the touring that gets us more listeners. Again, it’s our fans that bring new people to our shows and then they bring somebody the next time. My advice to any aspiring musicians out there is to make good music and spread it around to your friends. Let it grow naturally. Don’t try to rely on the radio.
VR: I see the band’s not playing the Ventura Theater this tour. Two nights back to back sold out is quite a feat. Folks will have to travel up to the Santa Barbara Bowl or down to the Greek Theater to catch you this time around. Is the booking this time around strategic, stepping it up a notch?
Eric Rachmany: We will be back to the Ventura Theatre at some point. Santa Barbara Bowl is a little bit bigger and we want to make sure everybody gets to see us play. From my experience, people in Ventura and Oxnard have had no issues making that drive up north to see a show at the Bowl. It’s a spectacular venue and it’s always a ton of fun.
VR: It’s been a big deal to have you guys in Ventura. Glad to hear you haven’t written us off.
Eric Rachmany: Absolutely! Ventura is just as much home for us as Santa Barbara. Back in the day us and Iration had the opportunity to open for Yellowman at the Ventura Theatre. We have some great memories in Ventura. We will be back!
I just want to say kudos to you and the band Eric. Your positive message is imperative in this day and age, please keep it up!
Ventura Music Scene
“Summer Music Heating Up” by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Raging Arb at Surf Rodeo
One of my favorite events of the year, Surf Rodeo, is finally upon us over the weekend of July 16th and 17th! You won’t want to miss this year’s music line up with a great eclectic mix of local, near local and national with over two dozen bands continuously playing on two different stages. The crew have it down to fine art while one stage is live, the other is tearing down and setting up the next band. Stationed between the two stages of course is where the surf competitions take place with male and female categories from 13 and under up to 45 and over including a Pro/Open category with $1,000 purse. All seriousness aside, you’ll want to catch the “greased pig” competition where oiled up surfers try to tackle the waves with grace, which of course turns out to be nothing but hilarious.
Music starts at 10 am both days; high on my list of priorities music wise include Dirty Rice, Mark Masson and Phriends, Hy Brasil, The NaVaNaX, No Duh, Spencer the Gardener, The Pullmen, an obligatory set from Raging Arb and the Redheads and of course the headliner, Dave Wakeling and The English Beat who will wrap up the weekend on Sunday.
The Ventura Music Festival’s 22nd season runs July 15 through the 24th with the big ticket being Sergio Mendes, “A Celebration of 50 Years of Brasil 66” on Friday, July 22. Ticket information can be found at VenturaMusicFesitval.org; however, there will be a couple of free events, the first one on Friday, July 15 at 6 pm at the corner of California and Santa Clara with the Festival Brass Quintet and the second one, a Master Class on Saturday morning July 16 in the Ventura college Performing Arts Center.
9 Mile Skid (Grateful Dead tribute band), are calling it day, while a few former members of Bullet Made Statues, StoneFlys, and Trash Honey have come together to form a new band, Goodnight Kiss. The band’s already making their mark on LA whilst playing our local haunts such as Amigos, W20 and Sans Souci.
The Ventura County Fair doesn’t open until the first week in August, so don’t plan on taking your vacation during their run as their music is exceptional from UB40, a return of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and one of my favorites, Third Eye Blind. Of course all music is included in the price of admission; get the lowdown at www.VenturaCountyFair.org.
And finally summer wouldn’t be summer without Music Under the Stars at Olivas Adobe on Saturday nights through September 3rd. July 9th kicks off the season with Mirage – Visions of Fleetwood Mac. All dates and ticket information can be found on the City’s website: www.CityofVentura.net/mus.
Do you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
Music Under the Stars at Historic Olivas Adobe – July 30, 2016 Queen Nation
Members of Queen Nation with Pam Baumgardner, Loree Price, Eve Mimiaga & Tammy Mullins
Four Brix Winery – July 29, 2016
Kelly’s Lot
W20 at the Watermark – July 24, 2016 Alastair Greene
Tequila and Taco Music Festival – July 24, 2016 Metalachi
Surf Rodeo – July 17, 2016 Raging Arb and the Redheads (Photo credit: Felix Cortez)
Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016 Hy Brasil
Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016 Spencer the Gardener
Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016| The NaVaNaX
Pam Baumgardner (Ventura Rocks) interviewing Shayne Mihalka (The NaVaNaX)
(Photo Credit: Elizabeth Rodeno)
Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016 Herbal Rootz
The Star Lounge – July 15, 2016 Whiskey Stone
Margarita Villa – July 10, 2016 The Swillys (Photo credit: Maggie Ramos McKinney)
The Wine Rack – July 7, 2016 Ian Soloman Duo with Hans Ottsen
Squashed Grapes – July 6, 2016 Sheldon Brown (Publisher Ventura Breeze), Bobby West, and Pam Baumgardner (Owner VenturaRocks.com). Photo credits: Rich Barth (VenturaCountyJazz.com), and Jack Lee.
Sheldon, Bobby & Pam
Bobby West
Downtown Ventura – 4th of July Street Fair – 2016 Raised on Vinyl and UnUsual Suspects
ROV
Unusual Suspects
Grapes and Hops – July 2, 2016 Doug Pettibone w/ Herman Matthews