Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 6/3/20 – 6/16/20

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Breeze artwork

VENTURA MUSIC FESTIVAL

It’s official, the Ventura Music Festival put out a press release which postpones their 26th season scheduled for the last two weekends in July 2020 and it’s been moved to July 2021. The VMF’s chief executive, Susan Scott said, “when the only certainty is uncertainty, creativity and innovation come to the fore along with the necessity to be nimble. Assuming conditions permit 60 or more days’ readiness, we can present 3-4 live, fully staged concerts between Fall 2020 and June 2021, with distanced seating and other measures as required.”

She also said that larger events were on the drawing board that could be staged outdoors. I remember well Ozomotli on the athletic field at Ventura College. It was quite an innovative idea which was well received during the Ventura Music Festival’s 2015 season. There are plenty of locations throughout Ventura County where outdoor concerts could potentially be held.

Oxomatli

Ozomatli played 2015 Ventura Music Festival on the Ventura College athletic field.

MAIN STREET VENTURA EXPERIMENT

The closing of downtown Ventura’s Main Street to through traffic is a green light as the DVP (Downtown Ventura Partners) work with the City and restaurants and merchants to create a safe environment for people to enjoy, but mostly to help kickstart our economy.
The City Council unanimously voted in favor of the emergency ordinance on May 18, 2020, which will close Main Street from Fir to the Mission (or Figueroa Street). If you live close enough, I would encourage you to either walk, ride your bike, or use one of the many rideshare companies, which include our local taxis, Lyft or Uber.

According to the City’s Economic Development Manager, Estelle Bussa, the target date for the closure is on or around June 15th. She also told me that the Ventura Unified School District is able to do a parade graduation for the City’s graduating class of 2020 which will take place on June 13 and 14 which will have an impact to the traffic in downtown.

I also had a great conversation with Julie Henszey from the DVP about the possibility of live music and we were pretty much on the same page where solo or duos could perform for a couple of hours over the weekend which would liven up downtown without encouraging amassing a large group of people dancing in the streets. She’s even thinking of speakers atop buildings along Main so one act could be heard on each block.
By the way, it cracks me up when I hear talk about “repopulating” areas after the quarantine. Seriously, wouldn’t it be more proper to say “reoccupying” an area? We have the people; we don’t need to produce new ones, although it wouldn’t surprise me if we have a baby boom early next year.

DRIVE-IN CONCERTS III

Concerts in your car artworkAs previously reported, CBF Productions (California Beer Festival), will be presenting Concerts in your Car, a drive-in theater type setting for live music using the parking lot at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at Seaside Park. The first live show is marketed to the new grads in the area with SuperDuperKyle performing two nights on Friday, June 12, and Saturday, June 13 (DATE CHANGED AFTER BREEZE PRESS DEADLINE TO JUNE 26 & 27). They have not announced other dates or artists. SuperDuperKyle who is also known as K.i.D. (Kyle is Determined), is a former Ventura High School student himself (Kyle Harvey), who has given back to his school with a sizeable donation to the theater department and who has sold out the Ventura Theater in the past. He is incredibly popular having paved his own road making a mark in the hip-hop community.

As the state relaxes a lot of their stringent guidelines, there are still many obstacles to deal with such as no bathrooms. WHAT??? Please dear God, let the portables be greenlighted! And as much as I love live music, maybe someone could also utilize the same parking lot for actual drive-in movies. I’m about ready to travel an hour or so to catch a movie up in Goleta, or visit friends up near Morro Bay where San Luis Obispo just reopened their Sunset Drive-in theater. And just a small confession, while I do love movies, it’s mostly because I miss my movie theater popcorn!!

NEW MUSIC

New music released during the pandemic includes Dylan Garcia’s Devil’s Playground which dropped Friday, May 29, 2020; some of the music had been kept unpublished as far back as 2009. You can find Dylan’s work on most social media platforms.
The band, earth immigrant has a new EP called Genrefluid where each of the four tunes features a different genre including country, punk, rockabilly and synthpop, and yes, they prefer their band’s name in print to be all lowercase which is not always an easy feat what with autocorrect trying to override one’s poor grammar choices.

All-a-Blur released False Flag, a highly respectable punk entry. The album was engineered, mixed and mastered by Armand John Lizzy at the Captain’s Quarters here in Ventura. You know years ago, punk bands were mostly garage bands who played loud, fast, but mostly, couldn’t quite play their instruments, and NO ONE CARED! These guys know how to; yes, they’re loud; yes, they’re fast; and with a resounding yes, they nail it!

Michael Henszey & David Standridge were inspired by the pandemic and wrote and produced a song called “Take Care of Each Other” which can be found on Bandcamp; they posted on their page, “In the spirt of this song, we are donating your download gift to the World Central Kitchen, who is distributing fresh meals in communities across the US. World Central Kitchen is active in dozens of cities partnering with local restaurants and providing 250,000 fresh meals every day. Founded in 2010 by celebrity chef, Jose Andres, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devasting earthquake.”
You might remember World Central Kitchen was on the scene here in Ventura making meals for first responders and residents displaced by the Thomas Fire. Over 500 homes burned, no telling how many occupants in each…so a lot of people benefited from this service.

Each one of the artists mentioned here have been played on the Pam Baumgardner Music Hour out of the CAPS Media center on KPPQ-LP at 104.1 FM. I’ve been producing hour-long shows for the past couple of years with 110 episodes in the can. My show highlights mostly artists out of the 805 (area code) and artists who come to the 805 to play. And while the frequency at 104.1 FM isn’t all that strong (serves most of Ventura if you don’t have a large object like a hill between you and their tower), you can listen online at Capsmedia.org/radio or use the MyTuner app on your smart device.
I will admit not all music I play is professionally produced music, but I believe all artists deserve a spin on the radio from time to time. It’s a mixed bag of tunes ranging from punk to jazz and all points in between and airs Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 pm and Sundays at noon. Each show runs two weeks at a time. I hope you tune in sometime, and if you have music you’d like to submit for airplay, just drop me a line at Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

VENUES REOPENING

A couple of venues have taken advantage of the shutdown and have been doing upgrades and remodeling. I’m looking forward to checking out both the Keynote Lounge on the eastside of town as well as Grapes and Hops downtown on Main Street in the near future. Otherwise, most bars and restaurants have been slowly opening up with all the social distancing guidelines in place, and a handful are having live music. The venues already putting out their feelers for booking music include Four Brix Winery for single or duo acoustic sets for weekend afternoons; 1901 Speakeasy in Oxnard is booking solo artists as well as duos for Friday and Saturday evenings; John from Leashless is absolutely onboard for hosting music starting with Saturday afternoons but he is getting his ducks in a row in order to extend out their patio area very soon; JR at Winchesters is holding off for when they can be back at full capacity, but is also entertaining expanding their tables into the street and/or parking lot; and the Winery Ventura has already been hosting a few combos here and there; the latter’s floor plan is quite conducive for social distancing especially when they open up their back doors so people can use the adjacent parking lot where food trucks are available.

And while I don’t have specific artists to report currently for my column, do keep tuned to VenturaRocks.com as I’m able to update the website daily, and my column here in the Breeze is once every two weeks. I will be updating as the information comes in. It is going to take some time before we’re back to hanging out with one another, especially in crowded places like Star Lounge or Bombay’s used to be. Until we have this COVID-19 totally under control, things will look different for the time being. But I’m happy to report it looks like music will continue to be an important aspect to our community. Be patient, do your part, and for God’s sake, wash your hands!

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 – 5/20/20 – 6/2/2020

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Ventura RocksBefore I get to more interview with local artists, I have a couple of updates on a few of our venues, musicians and events.

QUICK NOTES

Both Bombay Bar & Grill and Sans Souci are open again serving up food and libations, they both have limited hours and earlier in the day, in other words, no closing down the bar at 2 am, and they’re only providing takeout/curbside service; Ventura Music Festival has launched “Music Connects” a digital weekly series and they’re looking for musicians who would like to participate (www.VenturaMusicFestival.org); I’m sorry to report the passing of one of the Estrada Brothers, Henry Estrada (saxophonist), passed from a long-term illness at home this month; and the City of Ventura has officially cancelled the Music Under the Stars series for the summer. As with the fair, I wish I knew who they had lined up and who we’ll be missing out on this year, but I guess it’s just as well.

DRIVE-IN CONCERTS II

Speaking of the fair, in my last column I wrote about drive-in concerts and I mentioned a couple of locations that might work including the fairgrounds parking lot, and lo and behold we have a promoter stepping up to the plate. It great to hear Vincenzo from CBF Productions (the good folks who bring you the Winter Wine Walk, Boots & Brews Music Festival, Tequila & Taco Music Festival and more) was already on it and working on a concert series to be held this summer and as soon as the first few weeks in June, and I’m hearing Ventura won’t be their only venue. Keep tuned to www.ConcertsInYourCar.com for bands, dates and ticket information. There’s no doubt about it, there are a number of hurdles to overcome, but if anyone can pull something like this off, it would be Vincenzo.

(Post Breeze: First concert celebrating the class of 2020, Super Duper Kyle, June 12 & June 13.  Tickets & Information: www.ConcertsInYourCar.com )

MAIN STREET VENTURA EXPERIMENT

There are discussions afoot in the City to shut down Main Street from the mission to Fir Street to allow merchants and restaurants to spill out onto the sidewalk and street to provide social distancing for pedestrians and their customers. I’ve seen an artist’s rendering and I have to say, “I like it!” My comments are few but include a couple of small stages for singer/songwriters (solo or duo) to enhance the experience; perhaps one on each block. Other cities throughout the country are considering the same idea to help ease out of this shut down and get people out enjoying their downtown safely while supporting local businesses.
(Monday, May 18, the City Council approved an emergency ordinance to accelerate the planning process and approval for businesses for use of outside space – but will wait for phase III to be enacted)

Now on to interviews!


BRIAN BRINGELSON OF ANCHOR & BEAR

How are you Katy holding up during this Stay at Home mandate?

Brian and KatyBrian: We’re doing fine here thankfully. Healthy, happy, but honestly a bit anxious as well.

Are either one of you still working?

Brian: No we’re both not working and of course no shows to play.

Do you find you’re playing music more…or less now?

Surprisingly it’s about the same. Before all of this we had at least three shows a month and rehearsals twice a week. But since all of this happened, we’ve both been writing a lot and making videos. In addition, I’ve started a side project with an old friend from high school. I record guitar, bass, and vocals at home and then send him the tracks to add his drums to. It’s been really inspiring and keeps me sane. Katy by the way has been finishing up her soon to be released new EP for her project Bearkat. So, we are keeping busy with music.

Any inspiration from this weird time we’re going through in history?

Brian: Yes, lots of writing/recording/making videos, (but) nothing really about the current state of how things are going. I think I write to distract myself from all of it.

Tell me about the live streaming events you’ve been hosting.

Brian: We’ve had a few (concerts) on our Instagram where we play a couple of songs and try to interact with the people leaving comments. They’ve been really rewarding in the sense that we get to connect with our friends and share our music. We also recently just had a simple chat with our bassist Zeke Berkley on Instagram live and lots of our friends joined in on that as well. They’re certainly not a replacement for a live show, but they’ll have to do for now.

Anything else you want to share?

Brian: Katy and I miss playing shows soooo much. And that includes rehearsing with our friends/band mates: Zeke and Paul. We also miss seeing all of our friends that work at Topa Topa Brew in Ventura, Ojai, and Santa Barbara. I’d like to encourage Breeze readers to pick up some beer at one of their locations. And that goes for all of the excellent venues we’ve been lucky enough to play in the last year: Peirano’s – Ventura, The Nest – Ojai, Lucky Fools Pub – Moorpark, MadeWest – Ventura, to name just a few. These places need our support. Besides being some of the only places to hear/play live music, they also provide so much to the community.

AnchorAndBear.com/
https://www.facebook.com/anchorandbearmusic/


Singer/Songwriter Karyn 805

How are you holding up?

Karyn 805

Photo credit: Monica Karl

Karyn 805: I’m coping very well right now. I think I’ve gone through a variety of emotions during this time: disbelief, fear, sadness, stress, acceptance, and finally a realization that this time may be a gift to slow down a bit more, enjoy the small wonders around especially in nature and have more time to write more songs and to check in with family and friends through Zoom or FaceTime.

Are you actively playing and writing?

Karyn 805: I have continued to play music daily, but now I have more time to create new songs (which is my passion) and work on new covers. Before the “Stay at Home” policy there was less time for this because I was performing regularly and spending a lot of time going over my sets.

Since the policy was enacted, I’ve written 3 songs – two deal with Covid 19; one is called “Corona” and it echoes my first impressions and emotions regarding this whole Twilight Zone experience; the second one, “It’s Just Who I Am” is a tribute to all who work in the medical field: nurses, doctors, and all the staff. I have three doctors in the family and when my daughter-in-law Nina volunteered to go to NYC to help on their front lines, I asked my son how she has the strength and courage to do this, he answered, “It’s just who she is.” That said it all, and his words and her bravery gave me the inspiration to write that song. She has shared it with her friends who are on already in this “war zone” fighting this pandemic. I just hope they realize how much they are appreciated. The other original, “Siren’s Song” is a bluesy, seductive tune which I had fun coming up with a nice riff on my guitar at the end.

How do you think this pandemic will change Ventura?

Karyn 805: I think the music scene will change in the near future. Of course, musicians need to perform, many are doing live-streaming, but there is nothing like performing to a live audience! (I miss this!) It will be hard for venues like restaurants to make enough money to pay musicians when they are limited in the number of people they can have. However, with a bit of creativity, there will likely be solutions. We all need to be innovative until we have a safe vaccine at which time the music scene can get back to what has been normal.

https://karyn805.hearnow.com/
VenturaRockSpot with Karyn 805
Facebook


Bill Rotella, Singer/Songwriter, Amber & Smoke

How are you holding up during this Stay at Home mandate?

Bill RotellaBill: I’m holding up as well as can be expected. We in Ventura County are fortunate to have coast lines and trails to help us weather these challenging times. I’m taking advantage of this time I’ve been afforded to create music.

Are you still working?

Bill: Yes, I just filmed a show for Beverly Hills TV and I’m streaming two concerts for the Beverly Hills Virtual Art Show this month. I’m also streaming shows for the Center For Spiritual Living and for BIG BIG SLO productions in San Luis Obispo.

Do you find you’re playing music more…or less now?

Bill: I’m always writing, recording, playing no matter what’s happening but I’m performing far less due to venue closures.

You have new music right? Any inspired by the recent state of affairs?

Bill: I just wrote and released a new song born from quarantine called “River of Smoke.” It is the title song of my new album “River of Smoke ~ a Retrospective” which was released May 1. I recorded the title song, and many songs on the album, with Ventura County’s Doug Pettibone. Doug and I recorded together in the late ’80s at renowned Sound City recording studios in Van Nuys.

Have you hosted any livestreams or Facebook events?

Bill: I hosted 7 episodes of “Live @ 5” on Facebook. It was a happy hour hang more than a concert. It was a cool way to stay connected with friends and fans and they really dug reconnecting not just with me but with each other. My last show had 700+ comments, like they were in a bar chatting with each other. We toasted, did rock ‘n’ roll trivia, I shared some vinyl with them and sang songs from my new album as well as some nuggets from my favorite artists. However, I must admit it was pretty strange creating conversation with a distant and silent audience while singing into an ipad …from my living room. Now with the new album released and more time on my hands (those shows require prep!) I will resume “LIVE @ 5” in June. My streaming capabilities will be upgraded by then.

Any other thoughts you’d like to share?

Bill: Music brings people together. If ever we needed to be reminded of the magic of music this is that time. Some say you don’t know what you have ’til it’s gone (live music venues) but I think many people have always valued live music venues. They just really miss connecting with each other and experiencing music together. Listening to good live music collectively is just a great moving experience. I am grateful that VenturaRocks.com allows us to keep sharing and delivering music during these unprecedented times. They are in service to our community. Thanks for allowing me to share my music. Everyone please stay safe. Together we will get through this.

https://www.facebook.com/brotellamusic
www.BillRotellaMusic.com


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 – 5/6/20 – 5/19/20

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Ventura Rocks in the BreezeThe past couple of music scene columns I had interviewed a number of local musicians to see how they were holding up during this COVID-19 self-quarantine, and then somebody suggested I reach out to a couple of the venues, and so I did, but sadly, the response was a little sad, and I will protect those who asked not to participate. They’re just not ready to respond, and who can blame them?

Here’s what I know, there are a couple of venues (who previously hosted live music) that are offering curbside and/or home delivery services (GrubHub, Postmates, DoorDash, etc…) including Peirano’s, Café Fiore, Casa Bella & Prime, the Winery Ventura, Margarita Villa, Topa Mountain Winery, the Shores and now Winchesters on the weekends. Yay!  You’ll find more of them listed on this page. I don’t have to tell you how vital it is right now to support these guys. Gift certificates are helpful too; in fact, I was delighted to be gifted a Peirano’s gift certificate from one of our local musicians. You can support venues and help spread the joy and buy a gift certificate or two to help support our musician friends (I’m fine by the way 😉).


Fresh ProduceHELPING LAID OFF VENUE WORKERS

Many thanks to Kat Merrick and the Local Love Project for spearheading the effort to help Ventura’s food and bar industry employees by enlisting volunteers, and donations and making available weekly produce boxes and more including some household items to those who have been laid off or had their hours cut. If you find you’re in this category, or want to help her efforts, go to the Local Love Project Facebook page for more information and the rules for receiving their weekly care packages.


RADIO

I’ve continued to work on the Pam Baumgardner Music Hour for KPPQ-LP which broadcasts out of the CAPS Media Center here in Ventura at 104.1 FM, but I am producing my shows at home and uploading them to the station which then loads each show for airplay (Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 pm; Sundays at noon). I had to become creative as I don’t have a “home studio” at the ready. Luckily, I am proficient enough with Audacity’s software for compiling the program, but the real problem is with recording me! I don’t have a microphone and hardware to record my intros and such. But I came up with a temporary workable solution, I use my Android phone and record each element, email each individual file to myself, upload it to my computer, then insert it into the program. I haven’t quite worked out the equalization, and sometimes I’m under/over modulated, but it’s not half bad! I am looking to invest in a real microphone soon.


LIVESTREAM

Along with home concerts, a couple of venues are hosting livestream events which is a great way to keep the community involved with their establishment.  Social distancing is practiced, and some of them request a donation to gain access to the livestream. I’ve found several on Facebook including the Ojai Underground Exchange, the Red Piano and Figueroa Mountain both in Santa Barbara. Just some of the artists participating include Shawn Jones, Morganfield Burnett, Cindy Kalmenson, Tommy Marsh with Jim Guston, and Jamie Drake.  One thing I don’t quite get is when I see an invitation to view a livestream of a previously recorded concert.  Wouldn’t that just be a “watch party?”


DRIVE IN CONCERTS

I read a story recently that certain European cities were hosting drive-in concerts. Yay or nay? I’d say Yay if, an only if I could be parked in the first few rows, though I wouldn’t mind being fifty rows back for Rage Against the Machine and maybe Paul McCartney. So I’m just spit-balling here, if Ventura considered such an undertaking, I’m think a makeshift drive-in could be mocked up at the Ventura Fairgrounds parking lot, or maybe the backside of the Pacific View Mall, or where our last drive-in theater was located in the parking lot of Barnes and Nobles.


COVID-19 INSPIRED

Some singer/songwriters are finding inspiration to write new music, others not so much. We all deal with crisis in different ways. Those who are writing have differing viewpoints as well, some write of hope, others write to inspire people to keep their butts at home. I see a lot of musicians are happy to just take time off after a hectic schedule of performing all the time while others fill the void of connecting and sharing in person, they’re now connecting and sharing via a computer screen.


NEW MUSIC

There is a lot of new music out already for 2020. Keep in mind, most people don’t sit down, write music, go to their home studio, hit record and release an album in a month. Most records take some time before they “hit the streets” and not all music comes with a hard copy of a CD these days.  I find it interesting that some artists are going totally digital (saves boatloads of money upfront) while others are releasing their music including a vinyl option, totally old school. New music to report includes Last Rock Empire, Death to the Monkey People; Bill Rotella, River of Smoke; Karen 805’s sophomore effort, 21 in My Heart; Ben Wylen, People Say;  Medicine Hat, Fences; Michael Fitz, Colors in the Wind; Mik Sullivan, Overdramatic; and Dudeo Perez, King of Last Year (produced by Scotty Morris).

If you are interested, these releases are available on most music outlets online, or check the artists’ website or Facebook page. Ventura Rocks is also a great resource for finding artists and their releases at www.VenturaRocks.com/Artists. If their listing has artwork, that’s a link to their music.


Collective Soul VENTURA COUNTY FAIR NO GO

The Ventura County Fair Board voted unanimously on Monday, May 4, to cancel this year’s Ventura County Fair.  They did it with a heavy heart, I know, I listened in on the remote Zoom meeting.  But you know, as difficult as it was for them to come to this decision, it’s the prudent thing to do. It was sad to hear the 4-H Club and supporting members scrambling to figure out how they can still pull something off for their young members; a remote auction online was even suggested.

Every spring I wait patiently for the concert line up to be announced and then just like everyone else, I pick out my favorite bands to not only go and enjoy, but to shoot some pictures for VenturaRocks.com and the Breeze.  Last year’s line up included one of my all-time favorites, Collective Soul, which I managed to weasel my way into the Meet and Greet before the show. I’m truly looking forward to next year’s fair and praying for a vaccine so we can cram ourselves into the mobs of people in front of the stage again.


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.