Ventura Music Scene
“Rockin’ from the Avenue to the East End”
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Pam Baumgardner with Whiskey for Kittens Photo: Elizabeth Rodeno

I met up with owner Mike Toler at Amigos where they’ve been shaping up the menu and fine tuning their nightly music line up. A few of the band/artist residencies have been switched out and he’s offering up Reggae for downtown on Thursdays and will be creating Tuesday Bluesday in early May. Also coming in May, Mondays will be reserved for an open mic with a twist; they’ll be doing a six-week contest where winners win a paid gig at Amigos on a Sunday afternoon.

SPRP (Sunday Punk Rock Party) will be celebrating their first birthday party on Sunday April 24th 1-6 pm at the Garage on the East end of town featuring music from Mother of Dissension, The Lower Echelon, We the Underclass, The Rouse and The NaVaNaX.
Singer songwriter and powerhouse guitar player, Zack Bramhall makes his California debut Friday, April 15th at Ventura Beach Club; he’ll be joined by RJ Mischo.

The Velveteen Band is going back into the studio for their second release with a soft target of Fall 2016. The whole band is taking part in producing it and taking their time on the mixing and mastering process. Baron von Velveteen told me, “After almost 2 years as a band, we’ve really grown together as a team. At its core, this band is going to continue doing what we’ve done from the beginning, being as creative as we can, and having as much fun as possible. Fun and imagination, is the soul of this band, and this world needs to have way more of it! We hope to achieve an album, that tells that story!” You can catch the Velveteen Band on the first Friday of the month at Bombay’s.

Bell Arts Factory on the Avenue will host a screening of John Phaneuf’s film “Points of Light” with a performance by Dan Grimm on Saturday, April 16 at 7 pm. You probably know Phaneuf best as lead singer for Ill Repute, but he’s becoming quite the filmmaker. “Points of Light” highlights the inspiring lives of Barbara Flitt, Becca Porter and Al Earle. There is no cover, but a donation to Bell Arts would be appreciated.

And speaking of Dan Grimm, we’re working on the next episode of Ventura Rocks on CAPS Media with Dan Grimm in the studio featuring solo material and his new band Whiskey for Kittens. You can catch our most recent show with 50 Sticks of Dynamite on VenturaRocks.com.

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.