Ventura Music Photos – March 2017

Squashed Grapes – March 25, 2017
Denny Seiwell (Founding member Paul McCartney & Wings)


The Patio at Player’s Casino – March 25, 2017
Natalie Gellman


Amigo’s – March 24, 2017
Bad Leaf (Photo: Louis Olachea)


Squashed Grapes – March 18, 2017
Doug Webb Group featuring Danny Carey (TOOL) playing Johnny Be Goode tribute to Chuck Berry who passed away earlier that day at age 90.

Doug Webb Group featuring Danny Carey (TOOL) with Jacob Scesney


Discovery – March 17, 2017
50 Sticks of Dynamite
50 Sticks of Dynamite


The Tavern – March 15, 2017
Witchstone (Photo: Louis Olachea) #MetalWednesday

The Tavern – March 15, 2017
Spell (Photo: Louis Olachea)  #MetalWednesday


St Patrick’s Day Parade – Downtown Ventura
Squashed Grapes Parade Band
RJ Root, Trey O’Toole (Pulse Drumming), Dirk Shumaker (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy), Karen Parkhouse (Barrelhouse Wailers) Pam Baumgardner (VenturaRocks.com) Drue Drew & Andrew Conchelos (Barrelhouse Wailers).


St Patrick’s Day Parade – Downtown Ventura
Diana Boydstun5, RJ Root, Pam Baumgardner
Diana, RJ & Pam photo


Majestic Ventura Theater – March 7, 2017
Social Distortion

Ventura Music Photos: July 2016

Music Under the Stars at Historic Olivas Adobe – July 30, 2016
Queen Nation

Queen Nation

Members of Queen Nation with Pam Baumgardner, Loree Price, Eve Mimiaga & Tammy Mullins

Members of Queen Nation with Pam Baumgardner, Loree Price, Eve Mimiaga & Tammy Mullins


Four Brix Winery – July 29, 2016
Kelly’s Lot
Kelly's Lot

 


W20 at the Watermark – July 24, 2016
Alastair Greene
Alastair Greene


Tequila and Taco Music Festival – July 24, 2016
Metalachi
Metalachi


Surf Rodeo – July 17, 2016
Raging Arb and the Redheads (Photo credit: Felix Cortez)
Raging Arb and the Redheads


Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016
Hy Brasil
Hy Brasil

Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016
Spencer the Gardener
Spencer the Gardener


Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016|
The NaVaNaX
The NaVaNaX

Pam Baumgardner (Ventura Rocks) interviewing Shayne Mihalka (The NaVaNaX)
(Photo Credit: Elizabeth Rodeno)
Pam and Shayne

Surf Rodeo – July 16, 2016
Herbal Rootz
Herbal Rootz


The Star Lounge – July 15, 2016
Whiskey Stone
Whiskey Stone


Margarita Villa – July 10, 2016
The Swillys (Photo credit: Maggie Ramos McKinney)
The Swillys


The Wine Rack – July 7, 2016
Ian Soloman Duo with Hans Ottsen
Ian Soloman Duo


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.


Downtown Ventura – 4th of July Street Fair – 2016
Raised on Vinyl and UnUsual Suspects


Grapes and Hops – July 2, 2016
Doug Pettibone w/ Herman Matthews
Doug Pettibone

2014 Ventura County Fair Parade

Thanks so much to Squashed Grapes for inviting us on their float.  And thanks to everyone who sent us your photos that you took as we passed by on the parade route.  The musicians rocked it:  Trey O’Toole (Happy Birthday Sir!), Jacob Scesney, Franklin Murphy, RJ Root and Andrew Hill!

Here now the preparation, the parade route & celebration that evening.  LOVE The Grape:

The band warming upPreparing for the parade and the band warming up:

Thanks Felix Cortex for these shots:


Thanks Diana Boydstun for these shots:

Thanks to Lance Baird for the “winning” shots!  Squashed Grapes took #1 Place for Best Commercial Float!!

After party at Squashed Grapes:

Rj Root and Franklin Murphy celebrating!!
Rj Root and Franklin MurphyJacob Scesney getting the crowd up and dancing!
Jacob Scesney

Ventura Music Photos: February 2014

Photos of Music in Ventura this month

Bombay Bar and Grill – February 28, 2014
Diana Boydstrum, Diego Gambino and Pam Baumgardner
Getting out, taking in music, hanging with good friends.  Ventura Rocks!Diana, Diego an Pam


Amigo’s Surf Cantina – February 27, 2014
Gypsy Blues Band with Morganfield Burnett
Gypsy Blues Band with Morganfield Burnett


Bombay Bar and Grill – February 26, 2014
Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds), Steve Soto (Adolescents, Agent Orange) and Russ Rankin (Good Riddance)


Paradise Pantry – February 26, 2014
Xoco Moraza and Todd Hannigan
Todd and Xoco


The Star Lounge – February 23, 2014
Mighty Cash Cats


The Star Lounge – February 23, 2013
Kyle Hunt
Kyle Hunt


Sans Souci – February 23, 2014
Jukebox Mutiny
Jukebox Mutiny


Amigo’s Surf Cantino – February 23, 2014
Jerry and the Big Beats
Jerry and the Big Beats


The Patio at Player’s Casino – February 22, 2014
Kelly’s Lot – Fundraiser for CARLVC.org


Squashed Grapes – February 22, 2014
Paul McCallum & Friends

Squashed Grapes


Yolies – February 21, 2014
Rick Holmstrum Band
Rick Holmstrum Band


Squashed Grapes – February 20, 2014
Buckner, Flowers, Genova & Christie


Bombay Bar and Grill – February 16, 2014
The Bomb
The Bomb


Amigo’s Surf Cantina – February 16, 2014
Tommy and Paddy Marsh w/ Pam Baumgardner of VenturaRocks.com
Paddy - Pam - Tommy


Ventura High School Auditorium – February 15, 2014
Ventura Music Festival:  Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band
Eddie Palmieri


Bombay Bar and Grill – February 15, 2014
Doubt Aplomb, Rubberneck Lions, Mandex


Cafe Fiore – February 13, 2014
Christopher Hawley
Christopher Hawley


W20 at the Watermark – February 13, 2014
Ventura Social Club with Lenny Castro
Ventura Social Club w Lenny Castro


Bombay Bar and Grill – February 9, 2014
RB BombersRB Bombers


EP Foster Library – February 9, 2014
Toni Jannotta Jazz quartet
Toni Jannotta


Surf Brewery – February 8, 2014
The Hard Times Band
Hard Times Band


Bombay Bar and Grill – February 7, 2014
Owen Bucey
Owen BuceyAaron Orbit
Aaron Orbit


Peirano’s – Friday, February 7, 2014
Shawn Jones with Sam Bolle


El Rey Cantina – Friday, February 7, 2014
Xoco Moraza & Friends


Amigo’s Surf Cantina – Thursday, February 6, 2014
Gypsy Blues Band
The Gypsy Blues Band


Bombay Bar and Grill – Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Mikey Mo with Tommy Marsh


Squashed Grapes – Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The Jazz Report


Green Art People – Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Aloha Radio


Amigo’s Surf Cantina – Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Catfish Fry and Doug Johnson blues swing jam & open mic featuring
Brittney BurchettJoe Billingiere


Billy O’s – Monday, February 3, 2014
8Stops7
1795658_583630848394930_1628919344_n

Ventura Rocks in Ventura Breeze – 1/8/14 – 1/21/14

breezeVentura Music Scene
All Hans on deck
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

I woke up pleasantly surprised on New Year’s Day to find that Hans Ottsen had just released a brand new EP called Music for Mind Movies. While getting to know Hans and his live jazz performances at one of my favorite venues, Squashed Grapes, I learned that he also teaches guitar lessons, and is a well-sought after session musician.  He co-produced and engineered at Filzar Studios for the past year or so, and recently worked on Phil Salazar’s new release, Life on the Edge, in exchange he earned some prime studio time.

So how did Hans use that time?  He told me, “I got the band Tico Trio in there a couple months ago and we’re planning to release that one in early 2014. These tracks were really just me experimenting in the studio. I never really planned to release them as I was creating them.  Then I thought it’d be fun to release an EP without any jazz on it.”

Han’s EP titled Music for Mind Movies is seven eclectic beautifully written and performed songs that if you allow, will take you to another place. Hans explained, “As for the name, the tunes don’t adhere to any one genre. There’s some ambient electronic, instrumental pop, demented circus music, but I can’t really describe it all easily. I’ve been told that it all kinda sounds like ‘music from a movie.’ Those movies have yet to be made. They exist in the mind.  Music For Mind Movies.”   You can buy the new EP at www.HansOttsen.Bandcamp.com

The Ventura County Concert Band (VCCB) is celebrating their 50th season with their next performance scheduled for Sunday, January 26, at the Ventura High School auditorium at 3:00 pm. VCCB is a non-profit Community Concert Band, under the direction of Ms. Julie Judd based here in Ventura.  They perform for the community free of charge 4 times a year. Take the whole family for an incredible show.

And two shows to watch for at the Majestic Ventura Theater this month.  If you like grooving to what they call “Sunshine Reggae,” you won’t want to miss Iration on Friday, January 24 and then Grammy award winning Country artist Dwight Yoakum will be kicking it up on Friday, January 31, as he continues to tour in support of his latest release, “3 Pears.”  Contact Ventura Theater for ticket availability.

And don’t forget we’re helping to get Tommy Marsh to Nashville to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.  Fundraiser is Sunday, January 12 at Bombay’s with Guy Martin, Kelly’s Lot, 50 Sticks of Dynamite, Mikey Mo, Donna Greene and the Roadhouse Daddies, 4 on the Floor, Ray Jaurique and the Uptown Brothers, and Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog. All this amazing music for only $10 plus it helps get Crooked Eye Tommy to the competition.  See you there!!!

Have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help on publicizing?  Send all information short or long:  Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks: A Look at 2013

blogsAs we quickly approach 2014, we can’t help but reflect on 2013 and how there have been so many changes for VenturaRocks.com over the past year.  For almost three and a half years we only posted on our website.  We took photos from time to time and did some editorials and stories about Ventura’s music scene, but we mostly were behind the scenes.

franklin

Franklin Murphy

But this past year, we became proactive by going out and introducing ourselves and finding out what is needed and wanted. We meet venue owners, many of which have become great friends.  We’ve gotten to know many of the bands and solo artists listening to their concerns. We attended meetings and council member forums to help keep our finger on the pulse of Ventura’s music scene.

party

Eve, Pam and Staci Brown

We had a party for our four-year anniversary last March at Bombay’s on St Patrick’s day, and although the band nearly ruined it (I’ll tell you about it someday), Diego’s hospitality and all the music lovers who came out enjoying the day and celebrating with us made it quite the event to remember.

Surf Rodeo

JD, Staci & Pam

We had a booth at several of the music festivals and events this past year where we were able to shake hands, kiss babies and sell a VenturaRocks.com t-shirt from time to time. We started with Roadshow Revival’s Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash.  We followed that up with Ventura Music Week, Surf Rodeo, Aloha Festival and Blues at the Beach. We loved meeting new people and telling them all about VenturaRocks.com.

Pam Baumgardner and Eve Mimiaga of Ventura Rocks, with Kat Merrick of Totally Local VC between them.

Pam Baumgardner and Eve Mimiaga of Ventura Rocks, with Kat Merrick of Totally Local VC between them.

Speaking of Ventura Music Week, OMIGOD!  What work, but what fun!!  There were only 6 or 7 of us who met on a handful of occasions, but somehow we managed to pull it off.  We’re so looking forward to this next year’s event!  100 bands – 10 days – 1 city!!

paradeKat Merrick invited us to join her on the Totally Local VC float for a couple of City parades. Loved walking the parade route up and down Main Street while Dan Grimm and Ian McFadyen rocked it on the back of the float.

Immortal TechniqueWe did a number of really interesting interviews with not only local artists, but with national touring acts and posted them:
Immortal Technique
Todd Hannigan
Scotty Morris of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket
50 Sticks of DynamiteWe also did a number of CD reviews of local artists including reviews for Shawn Jones, Shaky Feelin’, Spencer the Gardener and 50 Sticks of Dynamite.

BluesFestWe got out as often as we could to support local music, taking photos from time to time and participating on helping grow the music scene here.

And sometimes we got a “bee in our bonnet” and we just had something to say so we wrote editorials regarding our music scene.  We wrote about what we feel it means to be an artist, should it be venues vs artists? We talked about the taking and posting of artists photos, and we wrote one called, “A Call to all Artist: What is Your Worth?”.  So, we offered some interesting reading material. guitar Oh! And we can’t forget to acknowledge Charles and Christine Law for giving me my rock ‘n’ roll debut!  I mentioned in passing one day that I always wanted to play a song with other musicians (I’ve just messed around on my acoustic for years), and before I knew it I was playing with the Laws and Tommy Marsh at Bombay’s in front of a live audience.  What a freakin’ rush!!breezeAnd what an honor to be asked to be a writer for the Ventura Breeze!  Sheldon Brown approached me to see if I would be interested on covering Ventura’s music scene.  He didn’t have to ask twice!


And it was a privilege to help on the Heart and Soul benefit for Polly Hoganson of Zoey’s.  With only less than a month to prepare, we helped to pull off the event of the year as the music community came together to help this amazing woman who needed some assistance at a critical time in her life, especially just after she and her husband Steve made the hard decision to close Zoey’s doors. It was truly inspirational to witness the love and support for this woman.

radioWe made our debut appearance on the Tom and Sandy 805 radio show on KVTA, and we even crashed in Spencer in the Morning doing a quickie appearance with Timmy Curran on The Vibe 103.3.  contact_pam-eveBut VenturaRocks.com also lost the help of Eve.  She had ruthlessly hunted down music schedules from our local venues for over four years, a key component to what we do here. She gave ample notice and handed over all her contact information and notes…I know she’s going to miss it.  Okay, maybe not.  It’s hard work!

Polly and PamAnd of course we welcomed Polly Hoganson on board as a guest writer. We’re getting great feedback on her column, Polly Hoganson, MusicMuse and we’re looking forward to hearing from her on a consistent basis.

I had a vision almost five years ago of creating a one-stop music resource for Ventura.  A place to read about the music scene and to find out what the venues have to offer on any given day.

No one asked us to do this. No one hired us to do this. We do this as a labor of love to help our local economy, to help our local venues, but more importantly to help build our music scene.   If the truth be known, it’s our way of giving back to the artists for what they do.  They deserve this kind of support.
VenturaRocks-bannerVenturaRocks.com has been my baby from day one and my vision and this commitment remains steadfast. There are changes still coming, several minor adjustments to be made and some possible expansions on the horizon.

Stay tuned, because Ventura will continue to Rock well into 2014!!!

Happy New Year
and may you flourish and prosper!
Love,
Pam

Ventura Rocks in Ventura Breeze – 12/24/13 – 1/7/14

breezeThe Music Scene
New Year’s Eve and More
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

I love that Ventura’s music community has such heart and supports worthy causes. Firstly, we’d love to see everyone out for “A Benefit for Jacob” on Saturday, January 4 at Yolies (138 W. Main). The McWorters of Hi Hat Entertainment are putting on this event for their eldest son, Jacob, who has been undergoing Chemo for over 16 months. On board for entertainment are Albert Lee, Coco Montoya, James Harmon, Johnny Main and over a dozen more musicians. Go to www.hihatentertainment.com for tickets or to make a donation.

And then we’re helping to get Crooked Eye Tommy to Nashville to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. The band needs help on travel expenses so there will be a fundraiser at Bombay’s on Sunday, January 12 with Guy Martin, Kelly’s Lot, 50 Sticks of Dynamite, and Tommy’s “other band” Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog. You can also enter a raffle to win a new Gibson guitar.

We’ve been getting a ton of questions about what’s happening for New Year’s Eve, and so we did a little research and it turns out there is a boatload of music to be had to help bring in the New Year. We’ve provided phone numbers for venues where you’ll want to make reservations.
The Top of the Harbor at the Crowne Plaza will feature dinner and dancing into the night with disc jockey Bruce Barrios; special room rates available, call (805) 648-2100.
Another place with overnight accommodations is the Pierpont Inn which will be offering a Roaring 20’s party with cocktail reception, buffet dinner and champagne toast while dancing to DJ Matt Madsady; there will also be a live performance from Sound Effect, call (805) 643-6144.
Peirano’s features dinner and music from the Mighty Cash Cats then a DJ, call (805) 648-4853.
The Rhumb Line at the Harbor has Bobby Watley for dinner at 6, then Frank Barajas, call (805) 642-1200
The Greek has traditional belly dancers to get you in a festive mood, and then you can dance to R&B music from Jon Francis. (805) 650-5350.
W20 has Dr. M from 9-12, then a DJ on the first f loor 10:30 – 1:30 pm. Cover starts at 8 pm. (805) 643-6800.
The all new Discovery Ventura will ring in the New Year with dancing to a DJ.
Bombay Bar and Grill will rock in the New Year with a Lex Rule dinner show, and then there will be a Tommy Marsh jam session on one stage and MANDEX on the other.
Keynote will have Red Rhythm.
Gigi’s has What the Funk.
The Star Lounge has CRV.

And finally, check out Polly Hoganson the MusicMuse for some fun reading as she shares New Year’s Resolutions from local musicians and venue owners as well as Ventura’s mayor, Cheryl Heitmann, Read all about them at www.VenturaRocks.com.

Be safe. We wish you a Happy New Year!!

New Year’s Resolutions

It’s New Year’s resolution time again.  To make promises to better ourselves or to quit doing things that we feel are harmful to us or to others.  This tradition dates back to ancient Babylonia and was first celebrated in March. Then those feisty Romans changed it to January in honor of the God Janus.  He was the patron of arches, doorways, beginnings and endings.  I contacted several locals to see what they are resolved to do and was buoyed by their positive messages and the notion that 2014 is full of promise and inspiration.  We hope you and yours have a very happy New Year!

  • Cheryl HeitmannCHERYL HEITMANN
    Mayor Ventura, CA – “Better time management!”
  • ShelbySHELBY FIGUEROA
    Singer/Songwriter – “Spend more time with friends & family and to take more pictures!!”
  • SHANE ALEXANDER
    Musician/SingerShane Alexander/Songwriter – “I’m a Buddhist so I literally start EVERY day with resolutions – to be the best man I can be, to be the best artist I can be, to develop and maintain a blissful life condition and to keep my home-life balanced and flourishing.”
  • bill locey_100BILL LOCEY
    Music writer Ventura County Star – “I live as if every day is New Year’s Eve, Christmas and my birthday”
  • DOUG PETTIBONE
    Doug PettiboneMusician/Singer/Songwriter John Mayer band – “This year I will try to be the best father, husband, friend I can be.”
  • GUY MARTIN
    Blues/Rock Musicianguy martin_t – “My New Year’s resolution is to write, record and produce a long overdue original album. My last effort was in 2000.  Lots of unfinished music has been written since then!”
  • MB HanrahanMB HANRAHAN
    Artist/Muralist – “Never do something ‘only for the money'”
  • KYLE HUNT
    Musician/Singer/Songwriter – “Aside from the usual resolutions like trying to live Kyle Hunthealthier and get in shape, I’d really like to release the new songs I’ve been working on. I’m looking forward to sharing them with everybody. On top of that I’d like to go see a lot more live shows. I’d like to check out some of the bands I haven’t had a chance to see.”
  • Todd HanniganTODD HANNIGAN
    Musician/Singer/Songwriter/Producer – “No resolution this year.  I usually end up breaking them all year.”
  • MARK MASSON
    Mark MassonMusician Shaky Feelin’ – “My New Year’s resolution is to live everyday to the fullest appreciate all my friends, family and even all of my lovely acquaintances around Ventura. Life is short and we never know when it’s going to be taken away from us. Oh yeah and work out and stay in shape, drink only the best beer and keep on playing my music and rocking hard to pursue my dreams for me and other people who are pushing for me. Basically my resolution is to just try and be a better person.”
  • Jodi FarrellJODI FARRELL
    Music/Voice teacher/Singer -“To thine own self, be true”
  • LISBET FREY
    Owner/Partner Green Art People – “I can tell you this I have Lisbet Freyresolved to have more fun (unrelated to work) and to connect authentically with friends, family and music. I want to be more present and live and make connections out of love, not obligation. I also plan on working on my own music this year and getting back into singing/writing.”
  • Brendan Willing JamesBRENDAN WILLING JAMES
    Musician/Singer/Songwriter Member of Grizfolk- “I resolve to be conversational in Swedish by the end of the year, to meet Steven Colbert, and eat sushi in Japan.”
  • Christina DiazCHRISTINA DIAZ
    Artist/Editor in Chief E-Volved Magazine – “My 2014 resolution is to continue to stay sober (I have a 15+ months) and keep moving forward.”
  • Amanda PeacockAMANDA PEACOCK
    Rock Photographer –“I think my New Year’s resolution is: Less time spent on social media, less time spent in bars (did you know that I don’t even drink?), more time with Family and friends, connecting on a deeper level. The past year has brought me new insight to what matters most.”
  • DiegoDIEGO GAMBA
    Manager Bombay Bar & Grill – “To make downtown (Ventura) safe and thriving and to provide quality local entertainment in a safe and fun environment.”
  • PerlaPERLA BATALLA
    Musician/Singer/Songwriter/Producer – “Every moment counts so I plan to pay close attention and take regular tech breaks for goodness sakes!! And most importantly I plan to continue to love big, always love big!!!”
  • Jim RiceJIM RICE
    Executive Director Bell Arts Factory – “My resolution is to have a new resolution every day …not just once a year….but a lifestyle resolved to simply be… “BETTER”.
  • TOMMY MARSH
    Blues/Rock Musician “My resolutions are many…Tommy MarshLOL, lose some weight… Love my friends and family more apparently and deliberately… To give more of my time and substance or help others find their path or get back onto it… And of course the biggie…To WIN IN MEMPHIS!”
  • John ReeseJONNY REESE
    Owner Amigo’s Surf Cantina  “I am resolving to take better care of myself and the people I love. Be more open to new and different music styles!”
  • Samantha RossSAMANTHA ROSS
    Comedian/Acct Exec VC Reporter – “I’m looking forward to 2014. Although this year was positive creatively, 2013 was challenging professionally. I was afraid of change, but in the end it was the best thing for me. This next year, I’m going to embrace new experiences and focus on a little thing called follow through.”
  • Tom HiltonTOM HILTON
    Radio personality KVTA Tom & Sandy’s 805 – “My New Year’s resolution it’s to lose 10 LBS without cutting down on beer LOL!”
  • pamPAM BAUMGARDNER
    Owner VenturaRocks.com – “My New Year’s resolution is to create and maintain a well organized office. It will help smooth the way for getting more projects done. Oh! and dance more!”
  • POLLY HOGANSON
    Music Advocate and Writer VenturaRocks.com – “Well I hope to travel to where ever Paul McCartney is and enjoy a once in a lifetime live concert.  Pick up an instrument, I think I have time now, and live a simple, healthy life, physically, mentally and spiritually. Here’s to 2014!”

Steve and Polly Hoganson

Ventura Music Photos: December 2013

Winter Wine Walk

Winter Wine Walk
 Ashford Gordon, Duane Meagher, Pam Baumgardner, Kat Merrick, Karen Lawless, We think Chris, Cathy Higa, Wendell Roberts, Eve Mimiaga

Squashed Grapes – Saturday, December 28, 2013
Ventura Jazz Collective
Ventura Jazz Collective
Amigo’s Surf Cantina
– Saturday, December 28, 2013
Kaleigh Jo Kirk


Amigo’s Surf Cantina
– Saturday, December 28, 2013
Galvanized Souls
Galvanized SoulsThe Cave
– Saturday, December 28, 2013
Warren Takahaski
Soft Rock

Billy O’s
– Friday, December 20, 2013
Mother of Dissension
Punk Rock

Yolie’s – Friday, December 20, 2013
Hot Roux – Mark Tortorici
Swing, Blues, and all points in between

Bombay Bar and Grill – Friday, December 20, 2013
Totally Local VC Christmas Party
Tommy Marsh and Bad Dog, special guests

Squashed Grapes – Thursday, December 19, 2013
Christine Marie and Segue
Jazz

Bombay Bar and Grill – Thursday, December 19, 2013
Rage the Machine Again
Tribute to Rage Against the Machine

Downtown Ventura – Saturday, December 7, 2013
Winter Wine Walk

Amigo’s Surf Cantina – Saturday, December 14, 2013
Spencer and Todd’s Swingin’ Moods
Spencer and ToddBelow is the annual get together of my old radio pals from KXBS, The Bus when I was known as Stephanie Rose and not Pam Baumgardner.  Brother Rob was on air in mornings with Matt Cooper and Tammy Myers ran amok doing promotions.

Tammy Myers, Rob Moss, and Pam Baumgardner

Tammy Myers, Rob Moss, and Pam Baumgardner

W20 at the Watermark – December 5, 2013
Mikael Jorgensen (Wilco) teamed up with David Scott Stone to play his special brand of electronica.
Jorgensen - Stone

Interview – Dean Dinning of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Toad the Wet SprocketToad the Wet Sprocket has their first release as a full band in at least 15 years.  It’s a big deal.  And we know it’s a big deal because when the guys in Toad went to fans for help on producing the album via Kickstarter, you won’t believe how quickly the band made their target of $50,000.

Ventura Rocks (VR):  I have been listening to the new CD, I’ve kept it constantly in my car for the past couple of weeks, I’m loving New Constellation.  I don’t understand how you can just pick out a song to push on radio because there are so many solid songs on there!

Dean DinningDean Dinning:  Well that is interesting, because we are about to release another single. We released the title track, “New Constellation,” as the first single; it got a little traction out there on the radio, but we’re ready to release another one.  This is the first time we’ve put out a record in 15 years, but thanks for things like i-Tunes where people can actually go on and sort of cherry pick the record and the songs that they like, it’s really kind of helped us find out what song should be the next single.  It’s interesting because you can take a look at what individual songs people seem to be responding to, and just go, “Oh, obviously, that’s what people want to hear, so let’s put that one out as a single.”

(VR):  Alright, so what’s going to be the second single then?

Dinning: It’s going to be a song called “The Moment.”

(VR):  Nice, very nice. I was putting my money on a bonus track, “Finally Fading.”

Dinning: It is a great song.  That song was previously on Glen’s solo album back in 2002 or so, and that’s the reason we didn’t put in the main listing of songs for the record or release it as a single.  One of the things we wanted to do was to put out something 100% new.

(VR):  Well that makes sense, you’d want to choose a song the whole band had done together as a group effort.

Dinning: Right, especially after all this time.  But it’s such a great song and we’ve been playing it live in concert and people really like it and are responding to it.  We do a really great version of that song, a little more rocking than the version Glen had done on his solo album.  While we were in the studio making the record, we didn’t know if other songs would turn out as good as we hoped, and we might need an up tempo pop single like that.  But as it turned out we had other songs that hopefully would do the job.

(VR):  As a former program director of a rock alternative radio station here in town, KXBS, The Bus, and I’d like to think I have an ear for what would work on radio but I have to say I’m having a hard time! “California Wasted”, “I’ll Bet on You”, “Get What you Want,” Is there Anyone Out There,”  “Life is Beautiful,” these are all solid songs.  You guys have got to be proud of what you did here.

New ConstellationDinning: We’re really happy with what we did, we had a great bunch of songs.  Before we made the record we went in and played for Mikal Blue, who is our producer.  He has a studio down in Thousand Oaks, we played for him absolutely everything we had. And some of the songs like “Bet on You” was originally another song that Todd Nicols, the guitar player, and I had done on a record we had done with a band that we had briefly after Toad called Lapdog, and we had done this song called, “See You Again.”  And I played that for Mikal Blue one day when we were in the studio and we were playing every idea that we had so we could make sure that some undiscovered gem would not be heard when we went to make the record.   And he just flipped out for “See You Again” and he worked on it and rearranged it and rewrote the lyrics and it’s a whole new song.

(VR):  It’s beautiful.

Dinning: You know you look at the album “New Constellation” as kind of a best of everything that we 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.  But 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.

(VR):  Crazy good harmonies, you got the hooks up the wazoo.  It’s really nice.

Ok, Let’s talk about Kickstarter; from what I read, Toad was thinking it would take two months to hit your goal of $50,000, but it took so much less!  How did you get wind that this was going on?  Explain how it all unfolded.

kickstarterDinning: We were actually in New York out on a very short tour where we were scheduled to play at Willie Nelson’s 80th birthday celebration and the the Kickstarter went live during that time and we were watching it.  We all got the Kickstarter app for our phones and we were watching it in real time.  It was climbing so quickly…you know, it was unbelievable!  It was sort of like watching the individual song sales on i-Tunes.   (laughs) You know there’s this new fangled thing called the internet these days and you’re able to watch your project in real time as people are pledging and the numbers are just going up and up and up, and halfway through the first day we realized we were going to hit the goal the next day! And we did!  It was unbelievable, we set a $50,000 goal originally and we hit it in 20 hours.

(VR):  Oh My God!

Dinning: You know we had a feeling that our fans would really respond to the idea of Kickstarter, because they really wanted us to make a new record.  Our fans have been paying real money to buy tickets to come out and see us live for the last 15 years.  I mean we were broken up, we got back together, and we’ve been touring off and on pretty steadily since 2006.   But we had no idea that they would jump on it with that kind of enthusiasm.  And even at the end of the two months – well once we hit the original goal, we made another goal, which they call a stretch goal, And we said, Okay, if we get to $100,000, then we’ll throw in a live acoustic CD.  And people encouraged their friends, shared it on Facebook to get more people to participate.  Our fans just really showed up.  That’s the main thing that we found out just how much real love there was for the band out there in the world.

(VR):  What validation.  That is just so amazing.

Dean DinningDinning: And we did this other thing with Kickstarter where as soon as we hit our original funding goal which was really big, we didn’t expect to hit it that quickly, we wanted to let people hear the music, and that was the ideal all along.  The record was pretty much done, and we wanted people to be able to download it.  No one had ever done that on Kickstarter before; normally you have to wait until the end to even get the email addresses of the people who had pledged.  So we had to figure out a convoluted system.  We set up a second page where we would have to send messages to the backers and then have them put their email addresses on another page and we would send them a download for another site…you know, at the end of the day, we ended up with about the first 6,000 of the most diehard fans of the band got the download of this new record they had been waiting for, for all this time.
And as far as critical reviews, we’ve done really well, but having the fans love it as much as they did right off the bat…it made me feel like I really didn’t care if someone gave us a bad review now, because the people I care about love it.

(VR):  Exactly, and that is the bottom-line, It’s about the fan, the person who wants and knows and loves the band, someone who has always been there…and how they feel about it.   That’s all that really matters.

Dinning: Yeah, that’s what matters. And we got them first which was really really cool.

(VR):  What’s it like this time around?

Dinning: I can’t get over how fortunate we are to have all of these people who have stuck with us for so long.  The best reason to want to keep doing this music is the difference that it has made in people’s lives.  Every night going out there on stage and seeing their faces light up when we play a certain song, it’s the best thing in the world.  It’s pretty cool.

(VR):  And Glen’s voice seems to be holding up alright?

Dinning: It’s doing just fine.  We have a new rule where we don’t do more than four shows in a row, and he’s not spending too much time talking after the shows.  We do these big meet and greets after the show; we’ll go out in the lobby and take pictures and things.  People always want to engage in some very deep conversations, but he’s had to develop some sort of discipline to say, “You know I’d love to have this conversation, send me email on Facebook.”  The voice is something that you just can’t wear out. Talking is actually worse than singing.  So yeah, we’re holding up real well!

(VR):  What’s next for the band?  Continue doing what you’re doing?  Keep touring and see how long you can go with this?

Dinning: Yeah, that’s the great thing about doing this ourselves; we get to decide when it’s over. No one in an office somewhere is looking at a balance sheet – and our balance sheet is on the positive side – but no one is looking at it and saying, “We’re not going to put any more money into this.”  It’s up to us. The next single is going to go to radio right after Christmas, we’ve got tour dates in the West…it’s so odd, but we get calls to play on the East Coast all the time, and we have to schedule things more along the West Coast, so finally we’re getting to places like Salt Lake City and Seattle and Portland.  Things are so much more spread apart in the West, it’s harder to tour out here, and there are lots of places. So we invariably fine ourselves going up and down the East Coast and in the Mid West more than we make it out here to the West. But we’re going to do all those places in about two weeks in February and we’re looking forward to summer and the rest of 2014.

http://toadthewetsprocket.com/
https://www.facebook.com/toadthewetsprocketmusic
http://www.twitter.com/toadwetsprocket

Toad the Wet Sprocket