Ventura Music Hall – August 26, 2023
Dogstar
Ventura County Fair – August 4, 2023
Collective Soul (photo credit: Felix Cortez)
Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
The 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 😉).
HELPING 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.
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.
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.
Namba – August 31, 2019
Nothing Add All (Flagstaff, AZ)
Bombay Bar and Grill – August 31, 2019
Dudeo Perez
Namba – August 18, 2019
Hans Ottsen, Tyler Hammond and Sean Riddle (photo credit: Henning Ottsen)
Discovery – August 15, 2019
Shred is Dead
Grapes and Hops – August 15, 2019
Toni Dodd
Ventura County Fair – August 9, 2019
Collective Soul
Ventura County Fair – August 8, 2019
George Thorogood and the Destoyers
Ventura County Fair – August 5, 2019
X-Ambassadors
Dargan’s – August 4, 2019
The Sunday Drivers
Ventura County Fair – August 2, 2019
Melissa Etheridge
Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Finally! It’s time for live music and entertainment, carnival rides, the rodeo, exhibits, farm animals, food, and more. Yep! It’s the Ventura County Fair which runs July 31 – August 11 at Seaside Park. This year’s theme is “A Country Fair with Ocean Air” and the music, as always, is included in the price of admission. Personally, I can’t wait to catch a number of the acts and I’m super jazzed to be able to photograph several including X Ambassadors, Melissa Etheridge and Collective Soul. Photo galleries will be found on VenturaRocks.com soon after the shows. By the way, I highly recommend taking one of the many free shuttles around town.
The Music Under the Stars series continues on Saturday nights at Olivas Adobe with Four Lads from Liverpool on August 3, and Identity Theft on August 10; unfortunately, all remaining shows are sold out. You really have to plan early to catch these shows the past few years.
Be sure to put the Topa Mountain Music fest “Finding a Cure” Cancer benefit on your calendar. I’m very honored to have been asked to emcee this year’s concert with Marc Broussard, Brett Dennen, The Mother Hips, Chris Pierce, Bryan Titus Trio, Tim Curran and more amazing artists. For information about this one taking place at Libbey Bowl in Ojai on Saturday, September 21, go to TopaMountainMusicFest.org.
Quick Notes: Reggae continues on Sunday afternoons in the Treehouse Lounge at Café Fiore as well as at The Star Lounge on Main and every now and then at Discovery; 54 Reasons out of Houston play The Garage on Friday, August 2; Club Fallout’s Tech 805 returns to the Hong Kong Inn on Friday, August 2; there’s a Humane Society fundraiser at the Ventura Theater on Saturday, August 3, with Astreyas, Cool Arrows, Cruda and DNA; Old Blood (Los Angeles) plays Heavy Wednesday at The Tavern on August 7; Word of Mouth and The Swinging Nixons out of Bakersfield play San Souci on Friday, August 9; Second Sunday Supper at Plan B has Ignition rocking the house on August 11; and Salzer’s Records has Pepper performing an acoustic set on Sunday, August 11 (2 pm).
And finally, if you haven’t yet tuned in for an episode of The Pam Baumgardner Music Hour, please do so! I play music from artists out of the 805 as well as artists who come here to play, and every now and then an Indie nugget or two I think you would enjoy. The show airs on CAPS Media’s KPPQ-LP radio at 104.1 FM on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 pm, and Sundays at noon. You can also listen in with the MyTuner radio app, or online at CapsMedia.org/radio. In the immortal words of Charles Osgood, “See you on the radio!”
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. For updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.
The Ventura Fair open
Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
It’s still three months away, but I cannot wait for the Ventura County Fair this year! I’m loving their music line up which is always included in the price of admission. The fair runs July 31 through August 11 with music most nights on the Grandstand stage starting with Styx on the July 31, then it’s Martina McBride on Thursday, August 1, with Melissa Etheridge on Friday, August 2. Saturday, August 3 has a triple bill with The Ohio Players, The Emotions and Evelyn “Champagne” King. Sunday is Dia de la Familia concert with X Ambassadors on Monday August 5. Tuesday has two shows, the earlier one features Tommy James and the Shondells and that evening it’s Brothers Osborne. Wednesday, August 7, it’s Daughtry, and then on his “Good to be Bad Tour” – 45 years of Rock, it’s none other than George Thorogood and the Destroyers. I’d say I’m saving my favorite for last, but it is actually the last concert of the fair, and they are one of my all-time favorite bands, it’s Collective Soul on Friday, August 9. The final two days the Grand Stand arena always hosts the P.R.C.A. pro rodeo.
There will be plenty of music at Surf ‘n’ Suds beer festival this year on Saturday, May 18, at Ventura State Beach (entrance at San Pedro Street off Pierpont Blvd). While tasting all the suds and ciders from over 65 breweries, you take in music from Soul Majestic, Flogging Seagulls and DJ Hecktik. For more information and tickets, go to www.SurfBeerFest.com/Ventura.
Quick Notes: Gindick has a new CD, you can get your own copy when he plays Grapes and Hops on Thursday, May 9; There will be a punk show at Concrete Jungle Brewing Friday, May 10; the Spring Swing Big Band Dance with Ventura Jazz Orchestra featuring Donna Greene will be held at Knights of Columbus downtown on Friday, May 10; Mother Sting Ray (formerly Strange Weather) play Oak and Main on Sunday, May 12; Ventura Music Festival presents NICO on Friday, May 10, at the Ventura College Performing Arts Center; Pizza Man Dan on Victoria hosts a Celtic Music Slow Session on the second Tuesday of the month; The Exploited play the Ventura Theater on Friday, May 17; Fluid State is celebrating their anniversary with Ventucky String Band on Saturday, May 18; Maid of Ace out of the UK play Red Cove on Saturday, May 18; The Knit Pickers play Made West on Saturday, May 18; Slim Jim Phantom’s at Discovery on Sunday, May 19; and there will be a fundraising event for Casa at Olivas Adobe on Sunday, May 9, featuring Elvis impersonator, Raymond Michael.
And finally, I’m sorry to report the passing of Patrick Buley last month. He was a well-respected musician and will be missed by our community.
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. For updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.