Saturday, February 3, 2018
Plaza Park, Downtown Ventura
Kevin Costner and Modern West
Olivia Newton-John
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Colbie Caillat
And more!!
Thomas Fire Benefit Festival
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Tag Archives: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 1/17 – 1/30
Ventura Mus
ic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
The Thomas Fire benefit 805 Love Notes concert at the Ventura Theater on Sunday, January 14, was an amazing day of talent celebrating first responders and raising money for Help-California.org, a grassroot efforts to help our community recovery. Just a few of the highlights were performances by Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket, the return of Shades of Day and Franklin for Short as well as all the artists who donated their time. I can’t thank Steve and Polly Hoganson enough for inviting me to emcee the day.
Mark Hartley gave me the head’s up for the Thomas Fire Benefit Festival (www.ThomasFireBenefit.com) to be held at Plaza Park on Saturday, February 3. He said this one will be one for the books, and I can’t disagree as the headliner will be Kevin Costner and Modern West along with Olivia Newton John, Colbie Caillat, Super Duper Kyle, and Ventura’s own Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. When asked what it means to be a part of the fundraiser, BBVD front man, Scotty Morris, told me, “It means everything to us! We were on the road when the Thomas Fires kicked in and it was personally one of the most painful tours of my career. Watching my city burn on [social media] is hard to put into words. To see my family and my friends and my community facing such unbelievable horrors in our beautiful city was heartbreaking. All we wanted to do was get back home and help.” I also hear more acts may be added, so keep tuned!
And yet another Thomas Fire benefit will be held this month at Discovery on Friday, January 19, with The Delgado Brothers, Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps, Guy Martin and Ray Jaurique & the Uptown Brothers. 100% of the funds raised will go to Ventura County Food Share Food Bank, The United Way Thomas Fire Fund and the Red Cross Thomas Fire Fund.
Quick notes: The Boatyard Pub now offers live music Tuesday through Saturday, Yachtley Crew continues their Thursday night residency at Bombays, Cubensis returns to Ventura for a show on Saturday January 20 at Discovery, Tariqh Akoni and Curt Bisquera play Grapes and Hops on Thursday, January 18 as The Groove Lounge; Made West celebrates their 2-year anniversary Saturday, January 27 with Skin & Bones; and the Ventura County Concert Band has a free concert for the family on Sunday, January 28 at Ventura High School’s auditorium.
I’ll be spinning new music over the next few weeks from Karyn 805, Anchor & Bear and Brent Franklin on the Pam Baumgardner Music Hour which airs weekly (Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 and Sundays at noon) on KPPQ-LP 104.1 FM here in Ventura, and worldwide on the internet, at www.CapsMedia.org/Radio. Help support real local radio supporting local artists in the 805.
Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Please send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 6/21 – 7/4
Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
The 2017 Ventura Music Festival is still a few weeks away, which means you should get your tickets now to attend one or more, or all of the events they have lined up. The theme this year is “An American Season” with the grand finale staring the one and only Michael Feinstein featuring stories and songs from the great American songbook on Sunday, July 23 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. There will be performances all week long at different venues; I’m particularly looking forward to Perla Batalla’s tribute to Leonard Cohen on Friday, July 21, at the Ventura College Performing Arts Center. All the event and ticket information can be found at VenturaMusicFestival.org.
In case you missed the memo, Roadshow Revival has moved from downtown Mission Park to Discovery this year, Saturday, July 1, with Los Lobos headlining the day. There will still be two stages with bands playing all day long and an after party indoors that evening (separate cover charge for each event). Roadshow Revival started out as a tribute to the man in black but has since evolved into a celebration of American roots music. You can find the full band line up and ticket information at RoadshowRevival.com.
The City of Ventura will once again celebrate the Fourth of July starting with the Pushem-Pullem Parade at 10 am followed by the 42nd annual street fair downtown. Several stages will provide live musical entertainment including such bands as Rin Kon Tiki, Pier 101, Rhythm 805, Big Adventure, Raised on Vinyl, and more. Then later in the day catch the fireworks show and family picnic at Ventura College sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ventura; gates open at 5 with the fireworks at about 9 pm with entertainment including live music in between. The Rotary Club donates 100% of the event’s net proceeds to benefit charitable community programs in Ventura.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has released their latest CD entitled Louie Louie Louie, a tribute to three musical giants, Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan and Louis Prima. The entire CD from start to finish demonstrates Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s love, admiration and first-class musicianship in honoring the three Louies. I’m incredibly proud to include this one in my private music collection.
Quick notes: Jodi Farrell and TreCoustics played their final show at Grapes and Hops Friday, June 16; Congratulations to Topa Mountain Winery as they celebrate their one-year anniversary on June 25 with live music from Orgone and the Bryan Titus Trio; Ventura Theater announced Queens of the Stone Age will play there August 10; and don’t forget next month it’s Surf Rodeo July 15 and 16.
Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Please send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 5/24-6/6
Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Are you ready for the Cajun & Blues Festival? It falls over Memorial Day weekend May 27-28th at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park in Simi Valley. This year’s lineup looks pretty tasty with such notable acts at Doug Kershaw, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Yardbirds, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Robby Krieger Band as Krieger continues to celebrate 50 years of The Doors music. I’m also looking forward to catching Kelly’s Lot, the 44’s and getting to know all the other acts on the bill. You can find ticket information at www.SimiCajun.org.
The Ventura County fair has released most of their grandstand concert schedule for this summer’s run. There will be Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray on Thursday, 8/3; Huey Lewis and the News on Friday, 8/4; KC and the Sunshine Band on Saturday, 8/5; Dia de la Familia concert Sunday afternoon, 8/6; Billy Currington on Monday, 8/7; The Spinners on Tuesday afternoon, 8/8; Shinedown on Wednesday, 8/9; Gabriel Iglesias on Thursday, 8/10; and Wynonna and the Big Noise on Friday, 8/11.
Speaking of music over the summer, several of the Music Under the Stars concerts at the historic Olivas Adobe have and will sell out. Several bands of note include WhosNext, The Swing Kings, Steely Jam, Celebration of Joni Mitchell, Dead Man’s party, Fantastic Diamond and more. Call the City to order your tickets during regular business hours at (805) 658-4726.
Reggae returns to Café Fiore’s Treehouse on Sunday afternoons with the Babylon Rockers taking the floor on Sunday, May 28. The band tells me they’ll be offering up new takes on some well-known tunes, original reggae music as well as some lesser known gems. Music runs 6-10:30 pm.
Hi Hat Entertainment is bringing back Billy Vera, but this time featuring his full band, Billy Vera and the Beaters on Friday, May 26. Enjoy their popular songs such as “Millie make some chili” and his #1 radio hit song, “At this Moment.”
Quick notes: The Pullmen are heading back to Europe (France and Italy) for another tour this time with only three members; Brothers Fortune is back in the studio working on a couple of songs; The Mighty Cash Cats just released their new CD called “Alaska Boogie”;Donna Lynn Caskey’s CD release party for “The Love Still Shows” will be at NAMBA on Saturday, May 27 and the San Francisco jazz trio, Charged Particles, return to Squashed Grapes Saturday, May 27.
And finally, be sure to tune in for my “mostly local” music show on CAPS Media’s KPPQ-LP at 104.1 FM on Tuesdays from 5 -6 pm. I’m having a blast finding local music nuggets to share like vintage music from Ariel to the Missing 23rd, plus I’m getting new music in from the likes of Ozomatli and Big Voodoo Daddy. CAPS hasn’t launched their simulcast on the internet yet, so if you’re local, be sure to tune and support!
Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Please send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
Ventura Music Photos – May 2017
Sponsored Event!
Cajun & Blues Music Festival – May, 28, 2017
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
The 44’s
Alex Nester
Cajun & Blues Music Festival – May 27, 2017
Robby Krieger of The Doors
The Yardbirds
Lazy Nester
Kelly’s Lot
Bombay Bar and Grill – May 20, 2017
The Pullmen
Surf ‘n’ Suds – May 20, 2017 (State Beach)
Crosscut 805 
Traveler’s Cafe – May 14, 2017
Bernie Larsen
The Wine Rack – May 13, 2017
Jodi Farrell and Jim Rankin
Squashed Grapes – May 13, 2017
Gergo Borlai Trio (with Scott Kinsey and Jimmy Earl)
The Sewer – May 13, 2017
Birdbrain
Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 8/31-9/13
Ventura Music Scene
Help for Budding Artists
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
©highwaystarz
Big help from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy for our local schools! That’s $42,500 in funding to Ventura Unified School District earmarked to enhance existing visual and performing arts programs. The funds were made possible through the BBVD concert last April celebrating the City of Ventura’s 150th anniversary. I’m looking forward to seeing new upcoming artist having the chance to flourish as a result of the band’s generosity.
Local singer, Eric Harrington, recently played at Squashed Grapes to a packed house. Few knew there was a chance that drummer Vinnie Colaiuta might show up, and show up he did for the final songs of the night. Harrington told me, “What an amazing night it was, and to end it with Vinnie sitting in was just incredible, he’s just a delightful man!” Trey O’Toole from Pulse Drumming told me that Colaiuta had been working in a session all day and was afraid he might not make it, but luckily for the house, he did.
Speaking of Pulse Drumming and Squashed Grapes, watch for the Alvino Bennett (currently working with Dave Mason) drum clinic on September 10; he’ll be joined afterwards at the Grape for an awesome jam including musicians George Hawkins, Jr. on bass and vocals (Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina), Jonathan McEuen on guitar and vocals (Dwight Yoakum, NGDB, Dave Mason), Geo Evans on guitar (Cheryl Lynn, Euge Groove) and TJ, Teddy Jack Russell on guitar and vocals (Leon Russell).
Bombay’s 32nd End of Summer Party hits Ventura over the first weekend of September with three stages (including one outdoors with sand and a mechanical bull). Look for musical acts all weekend long including performances from Mandex, Highway Starr, Dirty Rice, Uproots, Shakey Feelin’ and A.D.D to name but a few.
The first ever Oxnard Jazz Festival lands at Oxnard Beach on Saturday, September 10, offering a diverse mix of Jazz, Latin, Soul, Blues and R&B with Tom Brown, Nick Colionne, Howard Hewett, O’Bryan, Quatrosound and Poncho Sanchez. You can get ticket information and more on this special event at OxnardJazzFestival.com.
Alternative/Country rockers, Porter & the Bluebonnet will be swinging through town from Austin, TX, with a showcase at Sans Souci on Friday, September 9. They’ll be on the same bill as The Jelly.
The Ventura Theater has been packing in the shows for the rest of the year. You’ll want to review their line up so you don’t miss any acts such as Jackson Browne, Pennywise, Echo & the Bunnymen, Steve Vai, Good Charlotte, Yellowcard, Ben Folds, Garbage, The Common Kings, Dwight Yoakum and more! Plus, you have the Nardcore show on September 10, and Frost and Fire with the return of Cirith Ungol on October 8. Details at VenturaTheater.net.
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 in the Ventura Breeze – 3/2 – 3/15
Ventura Music Scene
“Ventura Rocks!”
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
winchester Rebels opening for Puddle of Mudd at Discovery
I’m looking forward to the Puddle of Mudd show coming up at Discovery on Saturday, March 5, word has it former bass player Michael Anthony and restaurateur of Now Ventura will sit in for a few songs. Let’s hope singer Wes Scantlin is on his best behavior and keeps it together and keeps it live. To kick off the evening, one of my favorite Santa Barbara rock bands, The Winchester Rebels will warm up the house so be sure to get there early enough to catch both acts.
You know the party will be off the hook at Bombays when Hy Brasil performs while celebrating their bass player, Shawn Echevarria’s birthday on Friday, March 11. The Pullmen will open with a special performance from San Diego’s Mrkts.
Rebulation returns to Ventura for back to back shows at the Majestic Ventura Theater on March 12 and 13. Why two nights? Because they always pack ‘em in!
The 10th annual Ventura Music Festival Jazz Competition takes place at the Pierpont Inn on Sunday, March 13 at 1 pm. Get out and support up and coming young jazz musicians. This event is free to the public.
Tickets have been selling briskly for the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy fundraiser concert in conjunction with the 150th anniversary celebration of the City of Ventura. All proceeds support art and music programs for Ventura’s Unified school district students. Be sure to secure your tickets and help keep music in our schools. Go to CelebrateVentura.org for more information on how to get your tickets online. They’re also available at VSUD school sites.
Hi Hat Entertainment brings back the Forty Fours to the Ventura Beach Club on Friday, March 11 featuring Johnny Main, Mike Hightower and Jason Lozano. The band features killer Blues-Rock-Roots music sure to keep the dance floor filled to capacity.
Ventura’s punk scene continues to thrive, The Dickies, Ill Repute show at the Garage sold out. More shows have been popping up between The Garage, The Red Cove, Sans Souci and Bombay’s. You can get the low down at VenturaRocks.com which has you covered Punk to Jazz.
Speaking of which, VenturaRocks.com celebrates its anniversary this month servicing the music community in Ventura for the past seven years; it is the best online resource for keeping up on where to find live music.
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.
Discovery One-Year Anniversary
Discovery Ventura celebrated their one-year anniversary with several nights of amazing music from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Lee Koch, Josh Damigo, Natural Vibrations & Junior Reid.
If you haven’t checked them out yet, you really need to do yourself a favor and stop in the next time they have music! Here’s a link to their website: www.DiscoveryVentura.com
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Lee Koch
Josh Damigo (from San Diego)
Natural Vibrations / Natty Vibes
Karlos Paez
Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 3/5/14 – 3/18/14
Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
It was pretty cool catching the Numbskull Show on a rainy Wednesday night in the backroom at Bombay’s with Kevin Seconds from 7 Seconds sharing an acoustic evening with Steve Soto (Agent Orange and The Adolescents) and Russ Rankin (Good Riddance). Kevin’s three-week tour in support of his new release, Off Stockton, kicked off in Ventura. Rankin told me he’ll be performing the first four dates and the last three dates with Kevin. The night had the three as solo performers – just the artist and their acoustic guitar – and though there were some missteps from Soto, it was pretty cool when he just laughed it off like the true punk rocker he is.
We’re looking forward to catching Karl Hunter of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy as he returns to Squashed Grapes for another show on Saturday, March 22. In what is being called the Karl Hunter Organ’ic Quartet, Karl will have the legendary Jimmy Calire who toured for several years with America on keyboards, Mario Calire from the Wallflowers and Ozomatli on drums and guitar player extraordinaire Hans Ottsen will round out the quartet. Tickets are $10 and you should get them in advance at the Grape as this one is sure to sell out fast.
Technicolor Tone Factory out of Boulder, CO, will be making their debut in Southern California area with a free show at Green Art People on Wednesday, March 12. According to Taylor Frederick, TTF isn’t a jam band that rocks, but rather a rock band that jams. I took a listen on SoundCloud, and trust me, the band rocks.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrations officially kick off with the City’s annual parade on Saturday, March 15. We’ll be hitching a ride on Kat Merrick’s Totally Local VC float where Dan Grimm and other artists will be performing live along with Jon Reese of Amigos on air guitar, as we cruise down Main Street. Give us a shout out when we pass by!
And of course you are officially invited to help Ventura Rocks celebrate our 5th Anniversary with a huge St. Patrick’s Day party at Bombay’s on the 17th with first Irish music from the Lousy Drunken Uncles at 6:00, then it will Rey Fresco making this the hottest party in town.
Do you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help on publicizing? Then send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.
Ventura Rocks in Ventura Breeze – 12/11/13 – 12/24/13
The Music Scene
Stocking Stuffers
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Here we are right smack dab in the middle of the holiday shopping season and of course our favorite go to gift is the gift of music. Two bands who have made us proud over the years have new releases which will look sweet in your favorite person’s Christmas stocking this year.
Our first selection is New Constellation from Toad the Wet Sprocket. You practically couldn’t turn the radio on in the 90s without hearing this rock alternative favorite, so fans
have waited patiently for years for something new. After breaking up, then getting back together, touring on and off for quite some time, Toad too knew it was time. With 11 new
songs and 4 bonus tracks (various songs from the band’s side projects reworked), I can’t imagine one single Toad fan being disappointed. Toad member, Dean Dinning who calls Ventura home told us, “You know you look at the album New Constellation as kind of a best of everything that we’ve all been doing for the last 16 years I suppose, and us throwing it all in there and making a Toad record out of it.” I told Dinning I had been listening to the new album and that it was full of crazy good harmonies and hooks up the wazoo to which he replied, “Thank you! That was the idea to have really strong songs with sing along choruses and stronger individual identities and hopefully it wouldn’t just all blend together. We wanted something that would get people’s attention.” Mission Accomplished.
And secondly, we go to Ventura’s very own, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (BBVD) who has released their second Christmas album, It Feels Like Christmas Time. We caught up with Scotty Morris, frontman for the band, and asked why a second Christmas record? He told us, “After the first Christmas album was released, we started touring behind it with our Wild and Swingin Christmas Party and the tour just started to build a really large fan base. Every year it just kept getting bigger and more fun. So after ten years we felt it was time for a facelift.” The record is everything you’ve come to know and love about BBVD and each and every song will put you into the “swing” of the holiday season. Asking for a little insight into the record, Scotty divulged, “All but one song is a remake, the title track It Feels Like Christmas Time it’s the only original tune on the record and probably one of my favorite tunes I have written to date” which you know, is saying something special!
And finally, you’ll want to check out Polly Hoganson the MusicMuse and her top ten picks for local music for Christmas including CDs from Shane Alexander, the White Buffalo and the Milk Carton Kids. Check out Polly’s new column, along with complete interviews with Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket and Scotty Morris of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at www.VenturaRocks.com.