Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze – 3/19/14 – 4/1/14

Ventura Breeze logoVentura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

The music series being proposed up behind City Hall is still a possibility for this year.  If it happens, the promoter will be allowed one season to see how it goes.  Consultants are working on the Draft EIR (Environmental Impact Report) and citizens will be able to weigh in on it soon.  There are strong viewpoints for and against it happening in that location so it will be interesting to see how it unfolds in the near future.

It was pretty cool hearing The Calamity’s new CD, A Ghost of These Moments played live from beginning to end during their CD release party at Bombay’s.  They guys so nailed it. Afterwards I ventured in the backroom for Crazy Rust, a Neil Young tribute band, where lo and behold, Neal Casal had joined in for their second set.

We joined Kat Merrick on her Totally Local VC float for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown Ventura and Dan Grimm was on the float playing live for the crowds.   Dan recently released his latest called Average Savage, and I have to say that Dan continues to grow as a songwriter.  His songs tell stories of love, drama and struggle, some of which are quite personal.  And I’ll be up front and honest, there is nothing sexier than a man who isn’t afraid to show his love for his woman and profess he’ll eat monsters for her.  That’s just feakin’ awesome!  Dan describes his sound as “flip-floppytonk” or “rock ‘n’ roll with a little bit of country” and I can’t disagree.  You should check it out at www.DanisGrimm.com .

I ran into Trey from Pulse Drumming the other evening and he told me about some drum clinics they have coming up.  The one that caught my attention will be the one with Vinny Appice, and I’m a little upset I never got around to learning the drums because what an opportunity to sit in with one of the masters!  Appice, who has played with Dio, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Derringer and Axis (I still have the vinyl for that one), will be here in town on Saturday, May 17.  The clinic is offered to all ages and abilities. Call Pulse Drumming for more info (805) 648-3786.

I already have my tickets for two upcoming shows at Squashed Grapes.  First it’s Karl Hunter of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy returning for a show on March 22, and then it’s The Jazz Punks on the 28th.  The Grape has really been pulling in some terrific acts helping to establish them even more as the Jazz place to be Wednesday through Sundays.  Call for ticket availability at (805) 643-7300.

And finally, shows to watch out for at the Majestic Ventura Theater include Cage the Elephant, Pet Shop Boys and Ellie Goulding, more information can be found at www.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.

Ventura Music Photos: March 2014

Photos of music in Ventura this month:

Red Cove – March 28, 2014
Mostly
Mostly


Peirano’s – March 28, 2014
Estrada and Friends


Squashed Grapes – March 28, 2014
The Jazz Punks
The Jazz Punks


Squashed Grapes – March 22, 2014
The Karl Hunter “Organ’ic” Quartet
(see full photo gallery)
Karl Hunter Quartet


Sandbox Coffeehouse – March 22, 2014
Hip Hop Vol. 3


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 17, 2014
Rey Fresco
Introducing Rey FrescoSee complete VenturaRocks.com’s party photo gallery.


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 17, 2014
Those Lousy Drunken Uncles
w/ Those Lousy Drunken Uncles


See complete VenturaRocks.com’s party photo gallery


Squashed Grapes – March 15, 2014
Trey O’Toole, Jacob Scesney, Andrew Hill, Franklin Murphy
Jacob, Trey, Andrew & Franklin


Amigo’s Surf Cantina – March 15, 2014
Joanie Collins Band with Doug Johnson, Elisabeth Blasingame and Tom Towle.
Joanie Collins Band


Downtown Ventura – March 15, 2014
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Liam, Kat, Jonny, Pam & Maggie


The Tavern – March 14, 2014 – 2-Year Anniversary Party
The Rubberneck Lions
Rubberneck Lions


The Tavern – March 14, 2014 – 2-Year Anniversary Party
Xoco Moraza
Xoco Moraza


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 12, 2014
Guy Martin
Guy Martin


Green Art People – March 12, 2014
Technicolor Tone Factory
Technicolor Tone Factory


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 7, 2014
Shelby Figueroa
Shelby Figueroa


The Wine Rack – March 7, 2014
Jodi Farrell and Jim RankinJim Rankin and Jodi Farrell


Squashed Grapes – March 6, 2014
Fausto Cuevas Quintet with special guest LaNesha Latimer
Fausto Cuevas Quintet


W20 at The Watermark – March 6, 2014
Ventura Social Club with special guest Jimmy Calire


The Tavern – March 5, 2014
Mark Masson with pals from Shaky Feelin’ and special appearance from Jacob Scesney
Jacob Scesney & Mark Masson


Amigo’s Surf Cantina – March 5, 2014
Brian Nicolet
Brian Nicolet


Green Art People – March 5, 2014
The Rainbow Girls
The Rainbow Girls


Squashed Grapes – March 5, 2014
Daniel J. Ross Quartet


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 1, 2014
Crazy Rust (Tribute Band to Neil Young) with Neal CasalCrazy Rust with Neal Casal


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 1, 2014
The Calamity


Bombay Bar and Grill – March 1, 2014
Evan Sula-Goff
Evan Sula-Goff


W20 at the Watermark – March 1, 2014
Luis Oliart
Luis Oliart

Album Review: The Calamity

A Ghost of These Moments
By Pam Baumgardner

The Ghost of These MomentsListening to the first track of A Ghost of These Moments, “Everybody Knows” I immediately envision a dark smoky room after hours at some underground speakeasy back in the day where the a lone individual is singing to no one in particular on an upright piano.  Raw vocals.  Deep in thought.  Yeah, “Everybody Knows”.   They had my attention.

The Calamity was originally formed by several members of Army of Freshmen back in 2005.  There’s no doubt about it, the members are talented and given a little bit of downtime, they’ll be working on new material, because that’s what artists do, and that’s what Owen Bucey, Aaron Goldberg and Kai Dodson did one night when everybody else went out; they hung back picked up different instruments and started messing around with new material.  And though Bucey stuck with keyboards, for the first time he was writing lyrics.  Eventually Balt Cano and Phil Tibbs would round out the band adding a tad of an edge to their sound.

A Ghost of These Moments is The Calamity’s second release, and it contains 12 solid songs.  The second track “Killing Time” establishes the power pop dynamic of the band with poignant lyrics about wanting to do something as you realize life is passing you by.

As I listen to each track and hear the lyrics I’m impressed by mature nature of looking at life.  Digging deep and pulling out the stops about how it’s not always easy, yearning for an easier life, people snapping under pressure, yet you can also hear the commitment to family, friends and doing what’s right.

My favorite tracks are “Killing Time”, “B-Side” and “Musical Fashion”.  I tend to lean towards the upbeat side of music.   But I have to say that at one point listening to “Descend” I could feel the the ghost of John Lennon being channeled. It was interesting how Lennon had stripped down from highly produced Beatle tunes to working with Ono where it was more organic and real; and that’s what I hear from Bucey’s vocals, and simply produced tracks from The Calamity.

The record is produced by The Calamity and Armand John Anthony, engineered and mixed by Armand John Anthony.  Mastered by Paul Miner @ Buzzbomb Studios, Orange, CA.  There are also guest performances from Austin Knecht, Marcella Tambouris and Zeke Berkley.

I love this town with so many amazing artists who support each other and collaborate and promote and continue to create new works for us to enjoy.  I recommend you add a copy of A Ghost of These Moments to your collection and see if you don’t agree.

See VenturaRocks.com Interview with Owen Bucey

Struggle
“It’s a constant struggle
But it’s beautiful
Hold me back before I fall
Keep the light on for me
I’m coming soon
To our family, our home”

The Calamity:
Aaron Goldberg
Baltazar Cano
Kai Dodson
Owen Bucey|
Phil Tibbs

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Interview: Owen Bucey – The Calamity

0207_OwenBucey_001One evening taking in music around Ventura I came across Owen Bucey performing a solo set at Bombay’s.  Owen of course has played keyboards for Army of Freshmen since day one.  I hadn’t seen him perform solo before, so I was impressed. Jeff Hershey was in the crowd and encouraged me to check out one of Owen’s “other” project The Calamity.  Less than a week later I found myself sitting down with Owen on Main Street at Palmero’s talking about Army, Calamity and the the music scene in general.

Honestly, the tape ran much longer than what you see here, as we got off topic more times than not just talking about Ventura’s music scene which we both love! But here is the spliced down version of our conversation.

Ventura Rocks:  How did The Calamity originally get started?

Owen Bucey:   Calamity was a project that got started with Kai, Aaron and myself when we were touring on the East Coast in Jersey around 2004/2005.  We just hung in one night when everybody was going out and we were staying at Chris’s folk’s house.  They live in a place in Cape Main.  His mom’s a music teacher so they have a piano room and we were just messing around, drinking beers and whatever; and we just put it together. It was just sheer organic fun.  We loved what came out of that night and decided to explore it a little bit more.

VR:  How was the experience different from Army?

Owen:  In Calamity everyone was on different instruments, except for me, but I was starting to write lyrics which was a new experience for me.

The CalamityVR:  How soon did you realize you had enough for an album?

Owen:  We’d meet up occasionally to keep it going.  We took baby steps, you know?  We’d record a couple of songs with someone. But we finished a full length record in 09 and put it out on Missing Words label (The Return, Matt Marten’s label).  It was cool, because he did a real push and even got us on college radio.  We played a couple shows, but we continued to write more.

VR:  And the rest of the guys?

Owen:  Balt joined right before we finished Songs from the Gold Coast (the record that came out in 09.)  Some of the songs were done, so he contributed to some of the songs on bass. But we were always like a three piece, just Aaron, Kai and myself.  We basically wrote almost a full record like that, then Balt came in and we added three or four more songs for a full-length.  Phil was added after that for more texture and guitars.  We’re all from the same circle of friends and bands; it was a chance to jam out and get something with a little more guitar texture so it doesn’t end up being too Ben Foldsy, straight up piano pop.

The CalamityVR:  And how was that writing?

Owen:  The songs that were coming out of me were about what was going on in my life at that time, relationship stuff, marriage stuff, it was difficult, the economy, everything.  So it was little more moody, so it was cool to have those other elements.

VR:  And you got out and performed?

Owen:  Yeah, when Phil came in, there was like an injection of passion, which was cool because he was all jazzed about doing some shows, so we organized some more and and this was all going on at the same time as whatever Army of Freshmen was doing. So we’d run around with Freshmen and go out on a trip for a week, then come back and have a show here and there with Calamity.  We just coordinated everything with our off days.

VR:  And what about the marketing of Calamity?

Owen:  Well the cool thing about this, is that nobody really cared about whether or not it took off. It was all about just playing music, and writing songs.  But we were real proud of it. It was always great when we had an opportunity to perform it.  And we had some cool opportunities like when we got invited to play with Camper Van Beethoven’s camp out which they do every year at Pioneertown.

The Ghost of These MomentsVR:  When did you guys decide to cut a second album?

Owen:  Winter of 2012. We knew we could book time at “The Captain’s Quarters” (Satellite Studios) in spring of 2013

VR:  Who produced it?

Owen:  The Calamity and Armand Tambouris

VR:  What are you hoping to achieve with A Ghost of These Moments?

Owen:  We wanted to achieve a more organic and raw sound with real instrumentation. The songs were a natural and personal culmination of the previous year. Something we can always be proud of. No agenda really

VR:  How did the idea to cover the album start to finish at the show at Bombay’s on March 1 come about?

Owen:  We liked the idea of making the show a one time event. Give the entire concept of the album in one fell swoop.

VR:  Is there anything else you would like to say about the project?

Owen:  Basically, the Calamity has always been about the music. Trying out new things without trying too hard, and playing with friends.

See VenturaRock.com’s music review of A Ghost of These Moments


The Calamity Members:
.aaron goldberg
.baltazar cano
.kai dodson
.owen bucey
.phil tibbs

Facebook:
Facebook.com/the-Calamity

Buy The Calalmity – A Ghost of These Moments
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