Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 10/6/21 – 10/19/21

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

Randy Parsons has left the building? Randy packed up the prime space he had occupied upstairs since 2014 overlooking Main and Chestnut for Parsons Guitars (past clients include Jimmy Page, Jack White, Sammy Hagar and others), it was where he created state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind guitars, and where he provided luthier workshops for those who wanted to learn how to build their own guitar which included students such as Ventura’s own Gary Best.

I asked Randy for any final words and he told me, “I really loved Ventura, it’s a special place, the people are all pretty damn cool, although I’m still convinced the whole city is some type of witness protection program.”

I thought about it, and I can’t disagree! Though totally talented and incredibly nice, I always admired his love for cats; there’s just something about a man who adores the feline species. Randy and wife have landed in Kansas where they bought a castle looking church moving on to their next adventure.

Colin Bailey and Pam BaumgardnerAnd speaking of next adventures, Colin Bailey has also left the building, he passed away peacefully at his home in Port Hueneme at age 87. I met Colin when I saw him first perform at Squashed Grapes in 2015 with the Frank Potenza Trio. Adam and Josh from the Grape told me to look up Colin’s background which I did and I was just floored. This man had not only worked with Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Joe Pass and dozens more, he not only recorded on more than 100 jazz albums, he not only continued to give drum workshops including those at Pulse Drumming here in Ventura, but he was the drummer on the Charlie Brown Christmas special, a cartoon special that will always take me back to my childhood!

For some reason, there are so many special events falling on the same day, Saturday, October 9; I’ve listed them here along with websites to find out more:

  1. Topa Mountain Music 2021 Benefit Concert headlining is The White Buffalo with sets from Lee Koch Band, Bryan Titus Trio, Will Breman Band and more at the Libbey Bowl. Go to TopaMountainMusic.org for more information and tickets.
  2. Surf ‘n’ Suds at San Buenaventura State Beach, where it’s more about the beer than music, but it’s always a good time. Performing will be Jacob Marquez and the Good Vibes, Mestizo and DJ Hecktik. For tickets go to SurfBeerFest.com.
  3. SteckleStock 2021 at Steckle Park in Santa Paula features a full day of live music from Premonition, Sisterook, Charles Law Band, No Biggee, Tommy Foytek Band and Whiskey Business. You can find more on this via Facebook on Premonition’s page.
  4. Surfers Point Live has a full day of Reggae, 2 – 10 pm at the Ventura Fairgrounds featuring Sublime with Rome, the Dirty Heads, Rey Fresco, Local Love Project and Hirie. Find out more at SurfersPointLive.com.

Quick Notes: Congratulations to Suzanne & Ian McFayden (50 Sticks of Dynamite, Duncan and the Dragonslayers) for tying the knot; tickets are on sale for the Ventura Winter Wine Walk for December 11 sometimes called the event of the season if not the year for downtown Ventura (CBFProductions.com); Cadillac Zack presents the Delgado Brothers at Cantara Cellars on Friday, October 8 and the legendary band Canned Heat plays Thursday, October 14 (call Zack at 323-377-5291 for tickets); Ojai Pops Orchestra has a free show at the Libbey Bowl on Sunday, October 10; Ventura Theater shows include Social Distortion October 6 (rescheduled for Monday, October 11), Pennywise with Dead Kennedys on October 7, Pennywise with Strung Out of October 8, and Elefante, Inspector on October 15; Queen Nation plays a free show at the Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard on Wednesday, October 13 at 6:30 pm; and Phil Salazar & the Kin Folk play the Ojai Underground Exchange on Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16.

VenturaRocks.com is undergoing changes. I’ve invested in a new calendar app which doesn’t seem to be saving me much time, but I can load items way in advance which should help in the long run. The look and feel is evolving and for the time being, I’m covering all of Ventura County.

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: 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

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 7/8 – 7/21

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
Ventura Will Always Rock!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Queen Nation at Discovery, Thursday, July 2, 2015

Queen Nation at Discovery, Friday, July 3, 2015

I just had to see Queen Nation at Discovery Ventura on July 3; I was such a Queen fan back in the day and saw them live at least 4-5 times. All I have to say is the band totally nailed it!

I ran into Ventura resident Nick St. Nicolas on July 4th. Nick and the boys of Steppenwolf are responsible for such quintessential rock anthems as “Born to be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride.” He’s been touring with the World Classic Rockers (with members of other iconic bands) and has several out-of-state dates lined up doing corporate gigs. He’s such a classy super nice gentleman; I’d love to get see him do an intimate acoustic show sometime!

Music Under the Stars finally kicks off on July 11 with Britain’s Finest, a Beatles Tribute Band, and then on July 18 it’s Porterhouse Bob serving up New Orleans Boogie & Blues. You can find a complete listing for their summer schedule on VenturaRocks.com.

The summer event of the season, Surf Rodeo, takes over Pierpont Beach on Saturday and Sunday July 11th and 12th. You won’t want to miss dozens of bands all day both days on the sand, a surf competition, a bikini cowgirl competition, a cornhole contest, vendors up and down Seaward from Pierpont Blvd to the sand, food, beverages, friends, family, and of course VenturaRocks.com will be representing! Go to SurfRodeo.org for ticket information.

I have to admit being a fan of all three, I’m totally looking forward to the Tequila and Taco Music Festival on July 18 and 19 at the Collection in Oxnard. Foreverland, 14-piece tribute band to the music of Michael Jackson, will be performing. Other bands include Caliente Band 805, Instone, Zeal Levin and the Bomb. For more information you can go to TequiliaAndTacoMusicFestival.com.

A couple of touring/studio notes: Mario Calire hits the road this summer drumming for legendary singer-songwriter and two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Stephen Stills. Shawn Jones has been touring Italy and Switzerland but he’ll be back late July, he’s also been recording new material. The Pullmen have been working on their latest Beast Records release, “Going Dark;” they’ll be returning to Europe for a Fall France tour this year.

And finally, while catching 8Stops7 at the Pierpont Inn on July 2, I caught up with Chris Jay of Army of Freshmen, and longtime writer for the VC Reporter. We reflected on the state of music in Ventura and how there are ebbs and flows, venues come and go, bands peak then disappear, and through it all, supporting Ventura’s music scene are a number of media including The Ventura Breeze, The VC Reporter, The Ventura County Star and of course websites like VenturaRocks.com. What a privilege it is to be a part of such an amazing music scene. Ventura will always rock!

If 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 Photos: July 2015

W20 at the Watermark – July 30, 2015
Anchor & Bear
Anchor & Bear


Sans Souci – July 26, 2015
My Modern Valentine
My Modern ValentineAll-A-Blur
All-A-Blur


The Wine Rack – July 26, 2015
The Swilley’s – Steve and Sally Williams
Steve and Sally Williams


 

The Star Lounge – July 25, 2015
Arockalypse Now
0725_Arock_002 0725_Arock_003 0726_Arock_001


Squashed Grapes – July 24, 2015
Jerry Vivino & Friends, guest appearance by Jacob Scesney
Jerry Vivino and Friends


 Surf Rodeo 2015

Pam Baumgardner, Staci Brown and Mark Hartley

Pam Baumgardner, Staci Brown and Mark Hartley

Pierpont Beach – July 11 – 12, 2015
Surf Rodeo

 


Saloon BBQ – July 10, 2015
Charles and Christine Law

Charles Law


Ventura Beach Club – Hi Hat Entertainment – July 10, 2015
Hot Roux CD Release Party
Hot Roux


Peirano’s – July 10, 2015
Lola Haag & the Back Beat Boys
Lola Haag


Sandbox Coffeehouse – July 4, 2015
Kevin Stanley
Kevin Stanley


Ventura Street Fair – July 4, 2015
UnUusual Suspects
UnUsual SuspectsVentura Street Fair – July 4, 2015
Iron Mountain Boys
Iron Mountain BoysVentura Street Fair – July 4, 2015
Singing Valentines (for hire!)
Singing Valentines


Discovery Ventura – July 3, 2015
Queen Nation
0703_QueenNation_001


Sans Souci – July 2, 2015
Burien (Seattle, WA)
Die Nasty Die NastyDie Nasty