Ventura Music Scene 2/21/23 – 3/5/23

Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
artwork
The rescheduled River Bottom Sessions’ Inaugural Bluegrass Festival is set for Saturday, March 2, noon to 7 pm, at Las Palmas de Ojai with performances by Tarantula Banjo, Ellie Rollins Band, The Van Allen Twins and Chris Murphy, and headlining the event is Mark Masson’s Jam Grass and Moonsville. Tickets can be found on EventBrite.

Jon Gindick has put together an acoustic blues night at Greater Goods in Meiners Oaks with fellow musicians, Ralph Carter, RJ Mischo, Bill Flores, TD Lind and Vaughn Montgomery. The show starts at 7 pm with donations accepted at the door.

Punk rockers John Doe and Exene are back at it taking X out on the road with a date at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center on Sunday, March 24. It worth mentioning that Doe and Exene will be the special guests for the Psychedelic Furs when they play the Ventura Theater on Tuesday, May 14.

Ventura Music Hall has several great acts coming up in the next two weeks including The White Buffalo on Thursday February 22; Health, an American noise rock/industrial band on Saturday March 2; and East LA legends, Los Lobos, on Sunday, March 3.

Taking a break from playing huge arenas and festivals this past year including two shows at Crypto.com Arena in LA this month and with more tour dates continuing through June in Europe, Danny Carrey, drummer for Tool, returns for a spirited night of jazz playing with The Doug Webb Group. If you’re a fan of Tool, or just enjoy some pretty hardcore jazz, then do yourself a favor and secure tickets now for Saturday, March 30 at TheGrapeVentura.com.

You might want to snag your tickets for Forever Motown returning to the Rubicon with six performances June 6 – June 9. Performers include members of the Marvelettes, the Temptations, The Spinners and more. Find out more at RubiconTheatre.org.

Quick Notes: Limon y Sal has In Stone upstairs every Sunday afternoon 1-4 pm; Duke’s Beach Grill is offering up live music early Saturday evenings with Mark Cross on February 24 and The Zepp Heads on March 2; Margarita Villa in the Ventura Harbor is back to live music on the weekend starting Saturday February 24 with 805 Crosscut; a Tribute to Leonard Bernstein, American Songbook will be held at the Ojai Underground on Sunday February 25; Shawn Jones has a vinyl release party for his latest offering, “In my Blood,” at the Grape on Friday, March 1;
Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark has more live music with 805 Social Club on Friday, February 23, and Recharged on Saturday March 2; and 311 has two dates at the Majestic Ventura Theater on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday March 6 with Sitting on Stacy to warm up the crowd.

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 Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 4/22/20 – 5/5/20

CrookedEyeTommy.com/Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Ventura Rocks artwork
As we continue in shutdown mode and our town is a virtual ghost town at night (as it should be), I’ve reached out to a number of musicians to get their thoughts and updates on how they’re managing the stay home mandate.

Tommy Marsh of Crooked Eye Tommy

Are you still working your day job?

Tommy MarshTommy: I was off for two weeks but I’m back to work now.

How’s the Covid-19 Stay Home order affecting you as a working musician?

Tommy: So far 20 shows have been cancelled totaling at least $3,500 in lost revenue. To date, the Ojai Blues Fest is still on for June 6th but that is subject to change. I also had to cancel my trips to both the Nashville and Cincinnati areas where I was booked in April. It’s been tough.

Is there any upside to it?

Tommy: I have been blessed to spend time at home with Tammy which has been very nice, I’m usually so busy that it’s all a blur. I have been getting lots of sleep which is also elusive during a busy life of working and playing. I have been writing and that is always good.

What are you doing to fill the time?

Tommy: I’m working on the artwork for our new album, the theme is sort of a comic book style. We have also been getting things done around the house as well as planning our retirement to Tennessee. Plus, we’ve been watching lots of live music shows of our friends and supporting them with $ as we are able. We are so blessed, and I know many out there are not as lucky.

Tell me about the new record and when it will be released.

Hot Coffee & Pain is completed and will be released in August. It’s been a long time coming. I just got the masters and I’m VERY PLEASED and feel it is better on many fronts than Butterflies & Snakes; big guitars and big horns will be the hallmark of this one.

CrookedEyeTommy.com/
Facebook.com/CrookedEyeTommy/
Twitter.com/TommyMarsh805
Instagram.com/CrookedEyeTommy/


Jodi Farrell, Singer/Songwriter and owner of Jodi Farrell’s Music Studio

How badly has the Stay Home mandate affected you economically? Are you able to keep your students engaged with video music lessons?

Jodi FarrellJodi: I consider myself one of the lucky ones to be able to continue working from home.
Although there have been a few students who have opted not to continue music lessons via Zoom, most of my students have welcomed this opportunity and are doing an amazing job adapting to this new format. I believe, just like me, they welcome any sense of normalcy and continuity in their lives during this unprecedented and upheavaled time. Being able to continue music lessons not only fulfills this desire, it also provides a sense of joy and happiness in a way only music can.

Are you doing anything to stay connected to the music scene?

Jodi: Anytime I click on Facebook and come across someone sharing a song or streaming live music or posting a musical collaboration through Zoom, I feel uplifted. I’ve also posted videos singing songs with the intent to uplift the community’s spirit. I am also pleased to see fellow musicians such as, Jerry Breiner and Colette Lovejoy (Déjà vu Too), Karen Eden, Mark Masson (Shaky Feeling), Shawn Jones, Alastair Greene, Jon Gindick, Kelly’s Lot, Polly Musicmuse, Karyn 805, Crooked Eye Tommy and so many others utilizing social media platforms to continue to share their music and talents with all of us.

Have you been inspired to write new music about this experience, or not so much?

Jodi: Funny you should ask, I am in the process of writing a melody to some lyrics given to me from another talented writer (and illustrator), Linda Silvestri. It’s going to be a blues song that will make you smile. I look forward to recording and posting it upon its completion.

Would you like to add anything else?

Jodi: I would like to express my gratitude to you for all that you do in supporting live arts in Ventura. Even in this time, when no performance is able to occur in our local establishments around town, you are still working to inform, and bring the musical community together through articles such as these and in so many other ways. Together, and with music, we will get through this!

Pam: Aw shucks. 😊

JodiFarrell.com
www.facebook.com/jodi.farrell


Jon Gindick, Singer/Songwriter, best-selling musical
instruction author, and owner/operator of the Blues Harmonica Jam Camp

Is the Covid-19 Stay Home order affecting you as a working musician?

Jon GindickJon: I’ve had to cancel five gigs and postpone my five-day Mississippi Delta Blues Harmonica Jam Camp in April; it’s a small price to pay for defeating this virus.

Is there any upside to it?

Jon: Yes, short term, I feel released from my mundane responsibilities, free to develop new songs, and time to research and create new material. Long term, we shall see.

What are you doing to fill the time?

Jon: I’m giving lessons online, advertising my seminars, providing customer service,
playing music, creating videos, reaching out to old friends, and trying to figure what to do with myself next. Luckily, I have a good teaching and publishing business, so my finances have not been damaged.

Gindick.com 
Facebook.com/Gindick


Licity Collins, Singer/Songwriter

How badly has the Stay Home mandate affected you economically?

Licity CollinsLicity: I have complex feelings about the stay-home mandates. We’ve all lost a lot. For many people the reasons might feel theoretical. For me it is not. One of my two best friends in the world contracted the novel coronavirus and came down with COVID-19. She is in one of the high-risk categories. So, my “stay home” time has included a harrowing two-week vigil of holding back tears every day worried for her life while she walked the slow intense path through a “mild case” of the illness which was actually quite brutal. I am grateful for her life today, knowing she has just recently recovered. Her voice has never sounded so sweet. I am happy to stay home so that as few people as possible must go through that illness or that vigil.
I am also hoping that the powerful exposure of the massive flaws in the music economy will, in the end, benefit musicians. We all know that the industry was broken. We lost our ability to earn money through our recording sales in the MP3 transition, leaving only performance as our main way of making money. That system was also starting to fall apart, with smaller musicians expected to play too many shows for free, concert ticket prices getting so high, and major artist fees becoming unaffordable for even the largest festivals. It is my deepest hope that this challenge we are going through will shine a light on the devaluing of music— and correct it. I hope that musicians will begin to receive our true value for all we do.

What are you doing to stay connected with the music scene?

Licity: I have been really focused on staying connected to my community of supporters and fans. I‘ve been sending frequent messages of love and inspiration to my email list and creating new intimate opportunities for them to connect with me and each other.
In asking for donations (which everyone is) I’ve made the decision to pass along 22% of my donations to working musicians in need. I know that many of lead artists have fan bases that we can turn to for support. But a lot of the amazing band members that make us sound like rock stars don’t have that kind of name recognition. I’ve been able to pass along a small amount, and I hope it has helped.

Have you been inspired to write new music about this experience, or the opposite?

Licity: I need a lot of mental space to write music. This time has been anything but that! In addition to worrying/trying not to worry about my friend and my income, I have been extremely busy creating new ways for people to connect to themselves, me and others, as a part of all I do as a music maker. I am very excited to announce those new projects in the coming weeks.

Would you like to add anything else?

Licity: You know I’m a big advocate for love. This time is an opportunity for us to choose love, in every moment. Choosing love looks like so many different things, but this time there is a major focus on unselfishness, while understanding that we have to care for ourselves and our own needs. This is one of the greatest challenges of humanity—to understand both our individuality and interconnectedness.

LicityCollins.com/
Facebook.com/LicityCollins/


Guy Martin, Singer/Songwriter and owner of BlackCouch Studio

Are you still working your day job?

Guy MartinGuy: Most definitely; my day job is a general contractor.

How’s the Covid-19 Stay Home order affecting you as a working musician?

Guy: Well for me, the timing of this pandemic hasn’t affected my gigs at all, simply because I have been focused on building the new BlackCouch Studio for the last 6 months. I had done a few sit-ins and benefit performances in between, but lately I haven’t pushed any Guy Martin Band shows at all. So, when Covid-19 hit, the only thing that really changed was the social interaction.

Is there any upside to it?

Guy: On a personal level, somewhat. Now is the time to get those nagging little things done that I’ve never made the time to do before. On a global level, there is definitely a silver lining in this dark cloud; the world has a common enemy that we are fighting together as one. I do think that after the chaos is over, people around the world will have a renewed outlook on what is important in this life. The downside is I miss my immediate family and close friends. I’m tired of having to use mobile devices and technology to communicate. I would love to have a physical hang, and get together soon. Nothing beats that.

What are you doing to fill the time?

Guy: I have a list of to-dos that I’m stoked to get done. And BlackCouch Studio has a small list of things as well. I just re-wired the BlackCouch Studio’s entire preamp section to exactly how I want it. I have the time to analyze what my perfect workflow should be like in a recording session and make any necessary adjustments to accommodate that. I also now have the time to try and set up and record more social media content, both for Guy Martin Music and BlackCouch Studio. Will it get done how I want? Probably not, because I am my own worst critic and usually get in my own way.

GuyMartin.com
BlackCouchStudio.com
Facebook.com/GuyMartinMusic
https://twitter.com/GuyMartinMusic


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.

Ventura Music Photos – March 2019

The Blue Room – March 28, 2019
Gypsy Blues Band w/ special guest Jimmy Calire


Grapes and Hops – March 6, 2019
The Swillys w/ special guest Jon Gindick


Ventura Theater – March 2, 2019
Pennywise
Pennywise

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 2/14 – 2/27

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

There have been a number of events that have brought our community together over the years but few made as big an impact as the Thomas Fire Benefit Festival did. They were able to raise over $700,000.00 for victims of the Thomas Fire. One hundred percent of the ticket sales along with a percentage of the food, beverage and t-shirt sales went to the fund. Add to that the fact that day was virtually flawless what with the videos in between acts (produced by Mark Gillard), the speeches, the performances by Olivia Newton-John, Kevin Costner and Modern West, Colbie Caillat and all the others, it was an amazing day that brought us together so we could stand with those who lost everything. Mark Hartley told me that for him the most important aspect of the day was that everyone rose to the occasion to help, from City staff, PD, the artists performing for free, the sponsors, all those who rolled up their sleeves and got it done, to the people who showed up to support, he confessed that it was a tremendous feeling.

It truly was cathartic and I couldn’t love this town more.

And yet another event to help our community heal through music will be held at Mission Park on Sunday, February 25. This one features Grammy-nominated, Perla Batalla; Tom Scott and the LA Express; Grammy-winning artist, Diego Garcia; Ventura Music Festival Artistic Director, Nuvi Mehta as well as other special guests. This family friendly event is absolutely free to the public, no tickets or reservations are necessary and you’re invited to bring low profile chairs or blankets to sit on at the park. The concert is expected to run from 3 – 4:30 pm.

I’m looking forward to new music coming from Jade Hendrix, the first single, “Purpose” is set to be released February 15. Hologram Empire has a new album with a June 22 release date. It features other local artists including Danielle Stacy, Lauren Peterson as well as other guest artists; the band had their television debut January 31 on the PBS show, Celebration of Music.

Congratulations to Jon Gindick for pulling off another successful Blues Harmonica Jam Camp at the Pierpont Inn this past week. It was a treat for those who caught a couple of the outings so camp players could perform in front of an audience including gigs at the Hong Kong Inn and a Jam Camp Revue at Grapes and Hops.

Quick notes: Yachtley Crew continues their Thursday night residency at Bombay’s through February; Tribal Seeds “Roots Party” with the original Wailers and the Expanders will be at the Ventura Theater, Saturday, February 17; the Young Dubliners return to Ventura for a show at Discovery on Wednesday, February 21; and the Dive Bar Messiahs make their debut appearance at Grapes and Hops on Saturday, February 24, you know it’s gonna be a scene!

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 Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 1/4 – 1/17

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
Rockin’ in 2017
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

From the foothills of Georgia, The Edgar Loudermilk Band featuring guitarist Jeff Autry will be returning to Ventura for a show at the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) local union at 3994 E. Main Street on Saturday, January 14. Loudermilk has been out on the road touring coast to coast; you may remember him as the former bass player for IIIrd Time Out. Tickets are available the day of the show for $18; doors open at 7 with Ventura’s Bluegrass Bottom Feeders opening.

Jon Gindick’s harmonica camp returns to Ventura at the Pierpont Inn January 31 through February 4. The camp features world-class harmonica players who work one on one with new and returning students who come from all over the world to participate. Keep your ears open for harmonica jams at local venues during that week including The Wine Rack on Monday, January 30.

Karen Eden returns to Amigos starting the first week of the new year at 6 pm for Margarita Mondays. Speaking of Amigos, owner Mike Toler will be trying out Country music for a change of pace on Thursday nights with Pull the Trigger on the 5th of January, then it’s 5th & Birmingham on the 12th and CRV on the 19th.

The Ventucky String Band returns on the first Thursday of the month at Saloon BBQ Co. Other bands to look for include Anchor & Bear on the 6th of January and Bad Leaf on the 7th.

There are two shows for the first two weeks of the New Year at the Majestic Ventura Theater. The first one falls on Saturday, January 7th featuring several local musicians in a couple of tribute bands, namely, “One More From the Road” paying homage to Lynyrd Skynyd and then “Bad Reputation” a tribute to Thin Lizzy. The following week the theater hosts the pop punk band, MXPX with Five Iron Frenzy and Dogwood opening.

Discovery is hitting the ground running for 2017 with Masters of Puppets (Metallica tribute) on the 6th, Cash’d Out on the 7th, Pato Banton on the 12th, The Blasters on the 13th (with Raging Arb and the Redheads, Jackass opening) and Ozomotli on the 14th. Oh! Earlier on the 14th, Discovery will also offer a special family-friendly show with Ozomatli which is geared towards performing for children as well as adults aptly named OzoKidz. The earlier show starts at 2 pm and ends by 4. Get ticket information at www.discoveryventura.com.

And finally, there will be special memorial punk show to celebrate the life of Scott Ross (The NaVaNaX) on Sunday, January 15 from 1-6 pm at the Ventura Beach Club with The Rouse, F.S.K.D. Birdbrain and The Kane Gang.

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 Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 2/19/14 – 3/4/14

Ventura Breeze logoVentura Music Scene
Army on the March
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pa
m@VenturaRocks.com

0207_OwenBucey_001I caught up with Army of Freshmen’s Owen Bucey to get the lowdown on the upcoming Calamity CD release party set for Saturday, March 1 at Bombay’s. Owen told me how Army had been on the East Coast touring back in 2004/2005 and they had been staying at singer Chris Jay’s parent’s house. One evening most of the guys had gone out but Kai, Aaron and Owen had hung back kicking it around in the music room where Chris’s mom taught music. Before long, songs were being developed. Owen explained, “It was just sheer organic fun. We loved what came out of that night and decided to explore it a little bit more.” It was different too because they played different instruments except for Owen, but he actually started to write lyrics for the first time. Flash forward to present time with Calamity and their second release, A Ghost of these Moments, which will be played live, start to finish, with no stops. Price of the ticket at Bombay’s gets you a free download.

The Patio at Player’s Club Casino will play host for a fundraiser on Saturday, February 22, for the Canine Adoption and Rescue League with Kelly’s Lot and special guest on harp, Jon Gindick. There will be food, drinks and no cover, but plenty of opportunities to donate to this worthy cause to help our furry friends. See www.carlvc.org for more information.

The Garage is actively seeking bands to play there once again. Numbskull Presents announced Lower Class Brats out of Austin, Texas, with Kicker, The Loads and Global Crime Syndicate on March 27. It will be awesome having more live shows more often on the east end of town.

Parsons Guitars out of Seattle, WA, have moved into the space above the Ventura Theater at the corner of Main and Chestnut. I swung by during their “soft” opening and met owner Randy Parsons who gave me a tour, it’s amazing what they’ve done with the space. All stringed musicians should drop in and see what the man has to offer, from classes, to repairs, to building guitars to spec. We wish him well as we plan to get him involved with the music scene here in town.

It’s coming up on five years since VenturaRocks.com was launched and you’re officially invited to help us celebrate at our anniversary party on Monday, March 17, at Bombay’s. Yes, it’s a Monday. Yes, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, and Yes, we have Rey Fresco playing! You won’t want to miss it!

Do you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help on publicizing? Then send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in Ventura Breeze – 10/30/13 – 11/12/13

Jason Mariani, Dave Palmer, Don Heffington, Neal Casal, Dan Grimm, Jesse Siebenberg and Bob Glaub. Photo by Amanda Peacock.

Jason Mariani, Dave Palmer, Don Heffington, Neal Casal, Dan Grimm, Jesse Siebenberg
and Bob Glaub. Photo by Amanda Peacock.

The Music Scene
Around town
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam @VenturaRocks.com
I heard an amazing cut off of Dan Grimm’s upcoming new CD, Average Savage , called “Sweet Relief.”  Dan told me that he just got done recording his third release at Brotheryn Studios in Ojai. It was produced by Jesse Grey aka Jesse Siebenberg and engineered by the Grammy winner Jason Mariani. “It sounds like JJ Cale, Dire Straits, Jackson Brown, Steve Miller, and Paul Simon,” according to Dan. His players are virtual who’s who in the industry from Don Heffington on drums (Bob Dylan, Dwight Yoakam and Lucinda Williams); Neal Casal on guitar (Ryan Adams, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Weir andl Lesh); Jesse Grey Siebenberg’s help on guitars, keys, drums, and other various instruments (Lissie, Supertramp, Kenny Loggins); Dave Palmer on keys (Fleetwood Mac, Fiona Apple, Chris Issac) and Jaime Wyatt on duet vocals best known for the Calico Girls.
Average Savage available soon on iTunes, Spotify, Sound Cloud, Salzers, and of course at all of Dan’s live shows. www.danisgrimm.com

Tony Cortez and Carl Valdez, original members of the legendary Nardcore band Ill Repute, are teaming up again after 20 years to form an “old school punk” band with a hard-edged punkabilly sound. Rounding out the new band are Randy Miller, lead guitar (Global Warming, Mayors of Garratt) and local bassist Mojo who is well known on the local music scene. The band hopes to be gig ready by the end of the year and have already been offered a spot on a local punk compilation album. Cortez and Valdez are also featured in the book and documentary, “Clean Cut American Kids – the story of Ill Repute” by True Underground Network in association with Firehook Entertainment and Canadie Bacon Films.

Author and blues harp master, Jon Gindick is bringing his Blues Harmonica Jam Camp to Ventura. This 5-day camp, usually held in the Mississippi Delta, takes place January 21 – 25 at the Pierpont Inn. Focusing on the joys of jamming, each camp is limited to about 30 students, or campers. Gindick is flying in his core team of harmonica coaches to give each camper the time and attention they need. Campers jam with a great blues band daily. It’s a music-learning vacation. Coach/performers include Cheryl Arena from Boston, Hash Brown from Dallas, TJ Klay from Nashville, Rj Mischo from Arkansas, Ralph Carter from Malibu and Brian Purdy of Florida. In addition to in intensive instruction, a show is planned at Yolie’s Blues Club. Get more information at www.Gindick.com.

And then finally, it’s a travesty that we lost Zoey’s. Their doors official closed October 20. We can all be Friday Morning Quarterbacks and place the blame on the City, or landlords, or poor management, or the economy. But deep down inside, if you have the courage to look, you might agree with local musician and photographer, Chris Jensen. Jensen commented on Ventura Rock’s Facebook page, “I’m feeling guilty as hell because I wasn’t down there at least once a week, every week, experiencing great live music…when was the last time you were there? We are the reason Zoey’s is closing…So sorry Zoey’s.”

What the Hogansons did was quite amazing; they provided national acts in an intimate setting while allowing the best of our local talent to shine. So we need to learn a lesson, and learn it quickly.

What a class act Steve and Polly Hoganson are as they leave us with this thought, “Our hope is that you all continue to enjoy and support live music and the community of musicians here in Ventura County and beyond.”

And I say, “We won’t let you down Steve and Polly.

[PDF of Ventura Breeze issue: http://venturabreeze.com/10.30.13.pdf]