Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 6/24 – 7/7

Posted on June 22, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Roadshow to Surf
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Xocoyotzin Moraza and Wyatt Hull of Hy Brasil, Saturday, June 20, at Bombay’s.

Before we get into what’s coming up, let’s cover what came down recently: Saturday, June 20, Margarita Villa had D. Henry Fenton who featured Dave Krusen on drums. Yes, the Dave Krusen who was Pearl Jam’s original drummer on their debut release TEN. The Bob Bishop Band played at Saloon BBQ with Jon Woodhead on guitar; Woodhead has toured with the likes of Maria Muldaur and Leon Russell in recent years, they’ll be back soon. And as expected, local talent have once again been collaborating on new material and the result is the highly anticipated Hy Brasil who made their Bombay debut to a packed house on the 20th. You will want to watch out for this band which includes Xoco and Jenkins from Rey Fresco, and Wyatt Hull on vocals. Haunting vocals, rhythmic grooves with music that builds and before you know it you’re captivated and can’t help but move with the band; yeah, these guys nailed it. I’m looking forward to when they release their EP to the masses.

A Celebration of Joni Mitchell featuring Kimberly Ford takes place Sunday, July 5, at the Ojai Art Center as a part of the Jamming at the Art Center Series. Ford is backed up by George Friedenthal, keys; Lee Rollag, guitar; Tom Buckner, saxophone; Tom Etchart, bass; and Charles Levin, drums.

Typically Squashed Grapes has shows scheduled Wednesday – Saturday, but on Sunday, June 28, they’ll have a special performance of Doug Webb featuring Danny Carey of TOOL; and while we’re on the subject of the Grape, Skip Spiro’s 10-piece jazz band will include the amazing Dave Tull on drums, Thursday, July 2. Tull has toured with Chuck Mangione, Maynard Ferguson and others.

I have to admit, I’m really looking forward to 8Stops7 performance on Thursday, July 2, for the Pierpont Inn Summer BBQ & Concert series. I asked Evan Sula-Goff (singer) if they’d be toning it down for this one and he said, “A rough estimate…we’re just a bit louder than Neil Diamond.” Gotta love Evan. He also added, “We’ll be playing two long sets. That pretty much forces us to look at our entire catalog and bring in some tunes you haven’t heard us play in a while.”

Two major events at hand are Roadshow Revival June 27 and June 28 with their Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash at Mission Park Downtown, and then Surf Rodeo descends on Pierpont Beach for two days of surf, and music on July 11 and 12 with a wide variety of genres from the likes of Pato Banton, GrooveSession, Bob Log III, Brothers Fortune, Rainbow Girls, Honey Owl, Raging Arb and the Redheads along with a dozen or so more bands. Go to their official websites for tickets and more details at www.SurfRodeo.org. and www.RoadshowRevival.com.

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 Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 6/10 – 6/23

Posted on June 8, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Classical to Reggae
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Paul Chapman of UFO touring with Killer Bee

We had a few heavy hitters play through the last few weeks including Paul Chapman of UFO who has been touring with Killer Bee, they played The Tavern on June 3, and Grammy winning songwriter Jeff Silbar (“Wind Beneath your Wings”) at W20 at the Watermark for their Thursday night Guitar Pull. By the way, I looked it up and found that a “Guitar Pull” is a southern tradition where a small group of musicians sit around and take turns playing songs on a guitar. You’re welcome!

I’m getting super pumped up for Roadshow Revival: A Tribute to the music of Johnny Cash. The event has moved to Mission Park downtown and will cover two days, June 27 and 28th. Both days are jam packed with National touring acts including the Reverend Horton Heat, Billy Joe Shaver and John Doe of “X”, but both days will also include plenty of local bands such as Medicine Hat, The Vonettes, 50 Sticks of Dynamite, and Big River (yep, they’re back!). Tickets can be bought at www.RoadshowRevival.com.

9 Mile Skid will play at Bombay’s on Sunday, June 14, to kick off the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary, Ventura style that is. And you won’t want to miss the The NaVaNaX CD release party also at Bombay’s on Friday, June 19; this show promises to be off the freakin’ hook!

The Ventura Jazz Orchestra will have a concert at the Poinsettia Pavillion on Friday, June 12th with appearances by Donna Greene, Smitty West and Remington Graham. Aaron Carter’s rescheduled show will be at Discovery on Friday, June 19. Café Fiore is once again offering Reggae on Sundays.

The 69th Ojai Music Festival runs June 10-14. They have music lined up throughout the week, some events start at Sunrise, others late night (10:30 pm) at Libbey Bowl, and several of the concerts are free to the public all held throughout Ojai. Piquing my interest is the Saturday, June 13, free concert at the Ojai Valley School where world renowned artists (including Glenn Kotche of Wilco) will play the music of Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin all on cello, electric bass and percussions. See www.OjaiFestival.org for information on all concerts, artists and pricing.

Surf ‘N’ Suds beer festival with a surf twist featuring over 50 breweries will also offer live music from Rising Son, After the Smoke and Crosscut. This event is held at the Ventura Harbor Saturday, June 13.

And finally, Ventura Music Week? It’s been postponed. I’ll get you details when I hear anything. It might happen during the Fall.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 5/27 – 6/9

Posted on May 25, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Geared Up for Summer!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

May 16, 2015: Jerry Vivino Quartet at Squashed Grapes with Bernie Dresel on drums, John Leftwich on bass, Jerry Vivino on sax and Mitch Forman on piano.

With the end of the school year, summer vacations planned and the outdoor music season quickly approaching, there is much to cover on Ventura’s music scene. Let’s start with the Pierpont Inn’s 2015 Summer BBQ and Concert Series which kicks off on Thursday, June 4, featuring Fish Fry and the Vonettes. Overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a BBQ dinner that can’t be beat, the series will run the first and third Thursday of the month from 5-9 pm. No admission either!

Squashed Grapes had yet another hot night of jazz recently when Jerry Vivino (Conan O’Brien orchestra leader) came to town and brought with him monster players including Bernie Dresel whose work on the movie Whiplash is becoming more known. It’s so very cool, to be so close and intimate with such amazing jazz players. Don’t forget Doug Webb returns with Danny Carey of Tool on Saturday May 30.

Jackie Greene plays Discovery on Friday, May 29. Jackie is out promoting his first studio album in five years with “Back to Birth.” The album was recorded in Portland and produced by Los Lobos member, Steve Berlin. “Musically, this record is kind of a return to the simplicity that I started with, although I feel like I have a much better idea of what I’m doing now,” Greene observes. “I think the lyrics are the part that’s really evolved.” Tickets are on sale at www.DiscoveryVentura.com.

Tickets for the third annual Nardfest have gone on sale for the two-day event at the Ventura Theater August 29 and 30 with all the usual suspects including Ill Repute, Dr. Know, Stalag 13 and dozens of local punk favorite bands.

The final concert of the Ventura County Concert Band’s 51^st season will be held at the Ventura High School auditorium on Sunday, June 7. Doors open at 2:30, it’s free to the public and the final program, “As Summer Was Just Beginning” will be full of cool musical favorites including marches and musicals along with big band and hot popular hits.

And finally, on any given day of the week, you’ll find amazing live music downtown Ventura and all within 4-5 blocks, yes people, that’s walking distance for most. It’s not easy running a business and then on top of that booking bands and ensuring quality entertainment for patrons. But kudos go out to Amigos, Bombay’s, W20 at the Watermark, Sans Souci, Café Fiore, Grapes and Hops, The Wine Rack, Saloon BBQ, The Tavern, Peirano’s, The Star Lounge, Hong Kong Inn as well as El Rey, Rookies, Dargan’s, Padrino’s, the Sandbox Coffeehouse and Shanghai Beer Gardens for stepping up from time to time. These venues are responsible for making our Downtown vibrant. Keep up the good work!!

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 5/13 – 5/26

Posted on May 12, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Welcome Back Joe
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

I just got wind that the R&B Bombers, one of Ventura’s favorite dance party bands, will be welcoming back Joe Wilson to the group; you can catch them on Sunday, May 17, at Bombay’s when you know they’ll be packing the dance floor from 4 – 7:30 pm.

It looks like the powers that be will pull off another Ventura Music Week with two major events as bookends; first June 21 with the Vans Warped Tour at the Ventura Fairgrounds and then the following weekend with the expanded Roadshow Revival over two days, Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28 at Mission Park Downtown. We’re waiting on the announcement for movie night, but the Visual Arts evening is coming along and final details are being ironed out. You can get more information at www.VenturaMusicWeek.com.

The Ventura Harbor has been hopping between Margarita Villa and the new Boatyard Café with music mostly featured Thursday through Sunday. They’ve been offering acoustic artists such as Dan Grimm, Hawks & Britt, Jodi Farrell & Jim Rankin, but Margarita Villa kicks it up from time to time with such bands lined up this month as GrooveSession, Rising Son and Rock Cats Rock.

San Francisco’s doom pop outfit Rich Girls will be touring the California coast this month and will be playing at The Garage on the 29th. Combining west coast garage rock with the polish of British art rock, the band released an EP entitled “Fiver” last year after getting signed to Breakup Records.

Tickets have gone on sale for the Music Under the Stars series which covers nine Saturdays at the historic Olivas Adobe. You can bring your own dinner or enjoy gourmet food trucks and a full beverage service. The venue is intimate with a big dance floor and seating available for family and friends. The popular series kicks off July 11 with Britain’s Finest, a Beatles tribute band, followed by July 18 with Porterhouse Bob, and July 25 with The Kings of the 88. Call the City of Ventura for more information and to reserve your tickets at (805) 658-4726.

If punk music is your cup of tea, then be on the watch out for Luicidal out of Venice, CA. They’re looking for gigs up in our neck of the woods; the band features former members of Suicidal Tendencies (Louiche Mayorga and RJ Herrera), and not to worry, they still play tunes off ST’s first three albums. If you’d like to get them hooked up with a show you’re producing, or you just want to book them, then drop me a line.

Many thanks again to all musicians who create, and to all venues that provide a platform for live music. You make Ventura Rock.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 4/29 – 5/12

Posted on April 27, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
When’s the Downbeat?
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Ozomatli to play Ventura College Stadium May 3.

Congratulations to 16-year-old drummer, Alex Smith, winner of the Ventura Music Festival’s 2015 Student Jazz Competition; Smith earned the privilege of performing with Ozomatli when they perform at the Ventura College Stadium on Sunday, May 3. The Ventura Music Festival officially kicks off Friday, May 1, with a free concert at 6 pm at the mini-park at the corner of Santa Clara and California featuring the Festival Brass Quintet. The complete listing for events held throughout the City can be found at the VMF’s official website (www.VenturaMusicFestival.org).

Cinco de Mayo always brings out revelers but there should be an extra added abundance of Latin pop lovers downtown attending the Kinky concert at the Ventura Theater. The band out of Monterrey, Mexico, has been on an aggressive tour in support of their MTV Unplugged Album and DVD which was released a couple of months ago. Kinky just headlined a festival at SxSW and they’ve been featured on numerous soundtracks and TV commercials.

I caught up with Ryan Cabrera before his show at Discovery, kicking back on his tour bus with vaporizer a blazing to help preserve his overworked vocal chords (he had to cancel his Souix Falls date). Cabrera’s new EP, “Wake Up Beautiful” features the single “House onFire” which has been receiving radio airplay and is catchy as all get out. We talked about the virtue of buying a whole album as oppose to just buying one of the singles. “When I write an album, I don’t write three singles and then a bunch of ‘fillers,’” he explained. “Every single song to me is really important. I spent as much time on the deeper cuts as I did on ‘House on Fire.’” If you missed the show, you can pick up his EP via iTunes or Amazon. By the way, Aaron Carter’s show has been rescheduled for June 19.

Adam and Josh over at Squashed Grapes gave me the lowdown on shows to watch for in May, so if you know your drummers, then you won’t want to miss Bernie Dresel when he performs with the Jerry Vivino Quartet (Vivino from the Conan O’Brien show) on Saturday, May16. How cool would that be if they performed “Whiplash” or “Caravan?” And while we’re on the subject of drummers, Danny Carey of TOOL returns with Doug Webb on Saturday, May 30. The downbeat is always scheduled for 7 pm with live jazz music at the Grape 7 – 10 pm Wednesday through Saturday with Jazz Jams on alternate Tuesdays.

And finally if you’re into burgers, beers and music, then you won’t want to miss this year’s Hamburger and Hops Music Festival May 2 at the Collection in Oxnard. The Main Stage will feature music from The Bomb, The Midnight Band, Upstream and Road Brothers; however, the VIP Lounge will have a special appearance by the band Kalyde.

If you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 4/15 – 4/28

Posted on April 13, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Toast the Train!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

We had a blast at the Second Sunday Supper at Plan B Wine Cellars feathering the amazing Jen Staves and the Bluzfish. Plan B is also hosting the Afternoon Blues Series now through September with Blues lined up on the first Saturday of the month. The next soiree will be on May 2nd with the Shari Puroto Band. Bring your chair and toast the train!

You’ll find music both days downtown on Main Street the weekend of the 18th and 19th. On Saturday, it’s Champagne on Main, the Spring Wine Walk and Street Fair with music from Zeal Levin, Road Brothers, Kalyde and Ross Harper, then on Sunday Paint Ventura with live music from Paulina Logan and The Star Bandits. And then continuing with the outdoor theme, head down to the Promenade for EcoFest on Saturday, April 25, for live performances from Spencer the Gardener, Dan Grimm, Heather Locke, Trans Van Santos, Afishnsea The Moon, Soul Tree and more.

Surf Rodeo has been rolling out weekly announcements for their music line up (a shrewd maneuver I might add), so far to date they’ll have the Rainbow Girls, Bob Long III, The NaVaNaX, Brothers Fortune, the Iron Outlaws and Raging Arb and the Redheads (who didn’t see that one coming a mile away?).

Darkside of the Hand will be there the following night along with Dead of Night, Die Evil Die and Shady Ladies.

The Mighty Cash Cats will hold their CD release party on Sunday, April 26, at Amigos. The CD will be available featuring a blend of Country, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Blues, along with the title cut, an original duet “The Ballad of Johnny and June.”

Shawn Jones will be joined by Stephen Inglis at Grapes and Hops on Saturday, April 18. Confidence is high they’ll have copies of their new CD, Global Guitar Greats, “Common Ground,” available.

Be sure to put this one on your calendar, Ozomatli at Ventura College Athletic Field, Sunday, May 3. You can get tickets for all Ventura Music Festival events at www.VenturaMusicFestival.org. (Ill Repute cancelled gig at Garage).

And finally we’re sorry to report the passing of a friend to so many local musicians, Doug Sax. Sax was a mastering engineer, direct-to-disc pioneer, co-founder of Sheffield Labs, founder of The Mastering Lab; he would have been 79 on April 26.

If you’re missing us on Facebook, we had to convert to a business page. So if you want to see our listings, you should not only Like our page, but you’ll have to continue to Like posts, and write comments to have them show up on your news feed on a regular basis. I know! What a pain!! www.facebook.com/venturarockswebsite.

If you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 4/1 – 4/14

Posted on March 31, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Rocking Ventura – Jazz to Bluegrass
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Brothers Fortune at Bombay’s March 28, 2015

At his latest appearance at Squashed Grapes, Doug Webb told me about a couple of shows he’ll be performing with that he’s real excited about including Friday, April 3, when Norwegian artist, Haakon Graff makes his debut appearance at “The Grape”. But the show that really piqued my interest is the April 18th gig with Hendrik Meurkens. Webb explained that Meurkens is a jazz harmonica virtuoso. Astonished I asked, “Jazz harmonica?” To which Webb just smiled like a Cheshire Cat. Who knew!

The non-profit Ventura County Concert Band will hold one of their free, highly popular concerts Sunday, April 12, at the Ventura High School Auditorium. The theme is “Young at Heart,” featuring beautiful pieces selected to delight music lovers of all ages. The concert starts at 3 and is free for the entire family.

The Global Guitar Greats tour made a stop in Ventura to play to a packed house at the Earl Stanley Gardner Building during Ventura Music Week last year. The trio had so much fun and were so well received they decided to go into the studio this past year; the fruits of their labor will be offered up during their CD release party on Saturday, April 11, again at the corner of Main and California with Thomas Leeb, Stephen Inglis and Shawn Jones performing.

The Sandbox Coffeehouse is once again offering live music at noon on Saturday and Sunday with mostly singer/songwriters. On the bill this month so far: Licity Collins, Hudson Henry, Kyle Parrott and Skeleton Mattress, but they’ll kick it up a notch or two for the likes of the Hard Times Band. Oh! And don’t forget they hold an open mic on Thursday as well.

I don’t know when it happened, but Food Trucks have become cool and you can find a whole gaggle of them at the Poinsettia Pavilion during the monthly Foothill Food Truck Fest on Tuesday, April 7, with the Old-Time Country Bluegrass Music Assoc. performing 6 – 8:30 pm; and then every third Friday 5-9 pm, it’s Food Truck Friday at the Pacific View Mall, this month Mark Masson and Friends will be entertaining the crowd. I’ll admit, food truck fare does taste better while tapping one’s foot to cool tunes.

EcoFest is later this month on the 25th down along the promenade featuring live music from Spencer the Gardener, Dan Grimm, Afishnsea the Moon and Soul Tree. This is the type of event you want to be green and ride your bike to and if you do, there will be a free bike valet.

And finally, if you missed Geezer at the Garage, then go ahead and kick yourself. These guys were not only talented playing the music of Weezer and the Beastie Boys, but they were hilarious and put on quite the show.

If you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 3/18 – 3/31

Posted on March 16, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Ventura Just Continues to Rock!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Fundraiser for Jim Monahan Sunday, March 22, at Bombay’s.

With spring upon us the Ventura Harbor Village brings back music to the Carousel stage; look for Unkle Monkey on March 22 and Smokey & Friends on March 29.

Speaking of the Harbor, we got wind that Andre (805 Wine and Grill Cheese fame) has snatch up more space and will be opening an Ameri-Cubano restaurant featuring live musical entertainment most days of the week. We’ll keep you posted, but we hear the ETA is early summer.

Tickets are on sale now for Aaron Carter at Discovery Ventura for Friday, April 24^th. There are a limited number of VIP Meet & Greet tickets as well.

The Bluegrass jam which originally started at Zoey’s over twelve years ago, then migrated to Milano’s for the past year has landed at Golden China on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesdays of the month. Gene Rubin told me, “Phil Salazar and I are usually there and the rest is any combination of the 400 who might show up to jam. Typically we get 20 to 30 musicians at any jam, which means they usually break up into 2 or three jam circles. Summers are always even busier.”

Winchesters Grill will host a fundraiser, donating 20% of food sales to Ventura Music Week on Tuesday, March 31. Get out and support!

Brothers Fortune is the new project from Kyle Hunt. I reached out to Kyle to find out more and he told me, “I began working on this project over a year ago and it’s been a slow process. Life gets in the way sometimes and it’s taken a long time to say that a new full length album is just round the corner! March 28th (at Bombay’s) will be our first show with a permanent full line up including Jayce Flauding, Marco Perez, John Sagar, Sean Tauber and myself. We’ve only been playing as a whole for a short while, but I’m really looking forward to gigging with these guys!”

Oh! Just a quick follow up after hanging with the crew on their Squashed Grapes float for the St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 14^th; we took two trophies, Best in Category and Best in Show!! The band rocked it with Trey O’Toole, Franklin Murphy, Rj Root, Jacob Scesney and Guil Juliao (who saved the day), but I can’t help to think us dancers helped as well (wink wink).

And finally, The Have a Heart Fundraiser for local musician Jim Monahan will be held at Bombay’s on Sunday, March 22, to help pay for the overwhelming medical bills as he recuperates from cancer and cardiovascular surgery. Just a few of the musicians on hand to help out will be: the Jimmy Calire Trio, the Vonettes, National Cat, Restless Hillfillies, Alan Thornhill and Martin Young, Solimar, J Peter Boles & Friends and Fishfry.

If you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 3/4 – 3/17

Posted on March 2, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Happy Anniversary!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Photo: Louie Satchmo

Squashed Grapes already had Zack Brock, Sam Barsh, Danny Janklow and Mark Ferber on the books for February 28 even before Sam Barsh won two Grammys for his work with Rahki. The evening unfolded with stellar jams from original material (some never performed before live) to jazz standards including Thelonious Monk.

Speaking of the Grape, I’m looking forward to hitching a ride on their float during the City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade Saturday, March 14th, downtown Main Street; the band they put together is always a crowd pleaser; this year they’ll have Trey O’Toole, Franklin Murphy, RJ Root and Jacob Scesney. Later that same evening they’ll have a follow up jam performance at the Grape which is always a treat.

W20 always provides the best in entertainment for the dance lovin’ crowd and in that tradition they welcome Dirty Rice on Friday, March 6th and take note because they will be open Tuesday night, March 17, with a St Patrick’s Day party featuring Rey Fresco.

Chef Ubaldo has moved his staff into a much larger accommodating location and now offers live music to his Italian food loving patrons where Zoey’s was home for many years on Santa Clara. You’ll find live music at Padrino’s during peak dinner hours on the weekend with such artists as John Stanewich, John Hendrickson, Lola Haag and crowd favorite Del Franklin.

The Cash Bash held at Bombay’s in honor of the Man in Black’s birthday was packed to the gills proving once again Johnny Cash’s popularity is as strong as ever. It was great to be able to see the Mighty Cash Cats perform before they hit the road for their European tour this month.

Hi Hat Entertainment just added another artist to the lineup for Friday, March 20th Doug Macleod date. Maria Muldaur & the Bluesianna Band will be in the house! You should remember Muldaur who of course had the huge hit with “Midnight at the Oasis.” Advance tickets are available through their website www.hihatentertainment.com.

You can’t say Jonny doesn’t take chances on new artists. John Reese, owner of Amigo’s on Main Street, is one of the sweetest guys I know giving chances to artists like no other. John got wind that two bands were traveling through town from Santa Cruz and were looking for a place to play and he welcomed them immediately and placed them on the bill that same night. Mimur ( Gypsy/Ska/Jazz/Rock ) and Cyclops and the Owl (psychedelic Surf Jazz) played after the Gypsy Blues Band late Thursday night (February 26) and killed it! Mary Michelsen, bass player for Mimur said, “It was so fun!” Nothing like a last minute gig!!

VenturaRocks.com celebrates its six-year anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day. I launched the website on this day mostly because it was ready to roll out and because, well, why not?! Thanks for all the love and support. Ventura really does 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.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 2/18 – 3/3

Posted on February 16, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
Music in the Round Rocks!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Grapes and Hops downtown has been serving up more than a stellar offering of wine and beer lately. Rufus Philpot has put together top-notch musicians calling themselves No Mad Trio featuring his mad bass beats and Steve Hass (Manhattan Transfer) on drums and Matt Rohde (Associate Music Director from American Idol) on keyboards; they’ve been playing just about monthly on early Sunday evenings. But one cooler than cooler night of music was a singer songwriter music in the round which featured our very own Shawn Jones (along with Sam Bolle) playing host to Suzie Candell (whom he’s been producing), and Jeff Silbar who won the Grammy for song of the Year when he wrote “Wind Beneath my Wings” (Bette Midler had the huge hit with it and it was featured in the movies “Beaches”). I asked Silbar if he ever gets tired of playing “Wind”, but he said he never does because he never plays it the same way twice. It was a great night watching the camaraderie and talent and hearing great stories behind the songs.

Country star, Lacy J. Dalton, played a fundraiser for the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center at Discovery on Friday, February 13; upcoming Reggae shows to watch for include a night with Hirie and Arise Roots on Thursday, February 19, and then on February 26 it’s Tribal Theory with Dirty Rice opening.

Bombay’s will be hosting a Johnny Cash Birthday bash on Sunday, February 22 from 1-6 pm featuring live music from Hard Six, Big Tweed and the Mighty Cash Cats. Proceeds benefit the Ventura County Animal Services.

Golden China will feature live music on Thursday, February 19, when the Vic Moraga Band will get the swing dance crowd swinging, then on Saturday, February 21, Coven will bring their own brand of Goth Rock to the big room.

Hi Hat Entertainment continues to bring on the best of the blues to the Ventura Beach Club; shows to watch for include Lightnin’ Willie on February 20, The Forty Fours on February 27, and always a crowd favorite Billy Vera and the Beaters on March 13.

The good folks at Green Art People have been bringing live shows weekly in a family environment for over six years every Wednesday and now they are offering their weekly shows in the privacy of your own home for as low as $1 a show which you’ll receive Monday mornings. You can contribute more per show and cancel at any time. It’s a great way to support this non-profit who will be splitting the donations with the bands. Upcoming shows include GrooveSession on the February 18 and Rooster Ra with Kyle Swan opening on the 25.

Loving social media? You can follow us on Twitter at VenturaRocks1; Instagram at VenturaRocksWebsite and on the granddaddy of them all Facebook at Ventura Rocks-Website.

If you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks

Yeah it Does!

Category Archives: Ventura Breeze

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 6/24 – 7/7

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 6/10 – 6/23

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 5/27 – 6/9

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 5/13 – 5/26

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 4/29 – 5/12

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 4/15 – 4/28

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 4/1 – 4/14

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 3/18 – 3/31

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 3/4 – 3/17