THE FRESNAN

BANDGEEK!: A Rocking Vacation

We are on a vacation. That's our excuse THIS week for having another limited Bandgeek post. Now you may ask "How DOES one take a vacation from being an unpaid blogger?" Not sure but it's happening. Anyway, Fresno music isn't taking a vacation. It's working hard:

FRIDAY

KUPPAJOE'S: Metal and hardcore from San Jose's Me The Mountain and more:

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Look out. Patrick Contreras playing with the Jay Smith Group. Crazy amount of talent for one stage.

BABYLON: Huge festival size lineup, headlined by Wes Borland's Black Light Burns. Plus all kinds of local talent like Violent Serenade, Euphoria and more. Tickets. Info:

THE LAMP POST: He was a hit at FUSE Fest and now see B. Rawcity for free:

BANDGEEK!: Fresno Covers Fresno, Gets Into A Strawberry Jam, Blows A Fuse Box and finds some Nashville Pussy

Good stuff happening this weekend. Let's do our research before we head out. Let's Bandgeeeeek!!:

FRIDAY

TOKYO GARDEN: We have only three weeks left until we geek-out on FUSE Fest #5! This show isn't part of the main festival but it is put on by the Fresno Urban Sound Experience. It's show one in a series of shows that will raise money to make an album of Fresno bands covering other Fresno musician's music. Cool stuff. Playing live tonight and helping out is That Guy Kevin, Omar Nare', Blake Jones & the Trike Shop and The Overdubs:

FULTON 55: People have been saying not to miss Strawberry Jam...just sayin'. We hear Sci-Fi Caper and Francis Ward are pretty good too. We also hear that *Surprise Guest* sucks shit:

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Yes, Nashville Pussy, [insert lame pussy reference here] will be rocking Audie's tonight. Local rock provided by The Backstabbers, Blue Crown and Thrawtle:

THE LAMP POST: Check out Not Perfect Humans with Whatever The Matter. [$?, 8pm, 21+]

THAI PALMS: Fresno's Rubiks Theory:

STARLINE: That Wild Bunny just won't go away, he still thinks he can rock. Maybe he can, who knows. Certainly Fuse Box can rock some AC/DC and it doesn't hurt that it's free:

INCOMING!: Fresnans Covering Fresnans

This Friday at Tokyo Garden, FUSE Fest (you know, the folks with the big local music festival coming next month) start a series of shows. They are to help fund an album idea that FUSE has been kicking around for a few years. The idea is to have Fresno bands cover a song from another Fresno band. Record it. Make an album. Kick local music ass.

Sounds cool to us. Friday's local acts playing in support of this Fresno comp' idea is

• That Guy Kevin
• Omar Nare'
• Blake Jones & the Trike Shop
• The Overdubs

Starts around 9, $5 cover, 21+.

Bootlegged In Fresno: Fatty Cakes "420BabySlut"

The one-woman-band-of-crazy-sweet-badass otherwise known as Fatty Cakes is a project of Strawberry Jam's, Amber Fargano. It's hilarious and catchy and should be on your Fresno list of things to enjoy live sometime. We recorded a bootleg of her playing at Tokyo Garden we'd like you to hear:

Warning: this song may give you a "clit boner".

In Town Tonight: Itchy-O, Old Man Markley, AAN, Wintertime Carousel, Dime Runner, Light Theives

AT Fulton 55, presented by Love The Captive, experimental pop band from Portland, Aan. Plus some new local indie favorites: Light Theives, Greener By Color and Actress. Watch you some Aan. Show details:

AT Tokyo Garden, indie folk-rock band, Wintertime Carousel (Eugene, Oregon). Wintertime Carousel "creates a collage of sounds bringing to mind artists ranging from Miles Davis to Bon Iver." Sounds right at home at Tokyo. Info:

AT CAFE Infoshop, turn punk with Iwanaga (Ska, Fresno), The Genetics (ska-punk, Fresno), The Mermaid Theory (Indie punk, Hanford) and Astral Underworks (Hip-hop, Hanford). Info:

AT Audie's Olympic: So-Cal punk and bluegras band, Old Man Markley:

AT Babylon Club, one not to be missed, if you like Mucca Pazza you're probably going to like the 27-32 piece marching band called Itchy-O. Should get plenty crazy. [$8, 9pm, 21+]

LINEUP ANNOUNCEMENT: Fresno Urban Sound Experience Festival for 2012

Hope you'll be in town September 6th-8th. It's going to be a fun weekend in Fresno. Fun because that's the weekend for the Fresno Urban Sound Experience. It's the 5th year for FUSE Fest and while it may be a bit bigger, the ideals are the same as year one: Showcase Fresno's diverse and talented music scene while featuring relevant venues in Downtown Fresno.

So. The big stuff. The reason there is a festival at all. Let's take a look at the lineup for Fresno Urban Sound Experience #5! Because FUSE Fest has no headliners, this is in no particular order:

• Light Thieves
• B-Rawcity
• Patrick Contreras
• Lezayr
• Werebear
• Blake Jones & the Trike Shop
• Distrito Torre
• Boxcar Figaro
• It'll Grow Back
• Gayle and The Bowties
• Alana Shap Hill
• Fast Car
• Restaurnaut
• The Overdubs
• The Dirty Stomp
• Collecto
• Fields Of Prey
• Actress
• Strawberry Jam
• Kady! Danger
• Sparklejet
• Dislodic
• Cinco
• The Dirty Dirties
• Back In The Valley
• I Do Not Exist
• Karen Marguth
• Niilo Smeds
• Before Perils
• Kat Jones
• Your Hero Is A Villain
• Basura
• Brother Luke & the Comrades
• Danielle Rondero
• Achievement House
• General Populus
• Siren Singing
• College Kids
• Sunburns
• Ornery Ones

That's a large helping of Fresno music. Lineup is supject to change (such is life). But it's looking damn special so far and we cant wait to see it all in Downtown Fresno, Friday and Saturday September 7th and 8th.

Make sure to start inviting all your friend's faces. Follow FUSE Fest on Twitter and check the website for the latest news.

BANDGEEK!: Coast Into Summer, Meet Olivia Mancini's Mates and Clash With Metal's Titans!

Your firework hangover should be cleared out by now. Time to get out there this weekend and enjoy some live music. LET'S BANDGEEK!!!

FRIDAY

KUPPAJOE'S: Fresno Coasts Into Summer with Rookie of the Year (NC), Challenger!, Eryn Woods, Clouds like Mountains, & Get Up & Go:

TOKYO GARDEN: Stopping in Fresno tonight, Olivia Mancini "Olivia writes pop songs. Upbeat, melody-driven, and not interested in being taken too seriously, Olivia-the-music is a lot like Olivia-the-person. Likable." There ya go. Go:

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Comedy at Audie's? It makes sense when it's Neil Hamburger. Plus Brian Kenney Fresno opens so now we're totally getting it:

FULTON 55: Assless chaps are encouraged at Glam Corbra will be hitting the stage for a FREE event!:

THAI PALMS: Homegrown Fridays returns after a week off with Keep Your Fingers Crossed, 2 Hours Later and Relion:

BANDGEEK! Black Veils, White Gloves, Crooked Metal, Sad Horses, Fatty Cakes and Old Tires

Let's get some knowledge on what's doing down band-wise this weekend. Let's...BANDGEEEEK!:

FRIDAY

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Fresno indie-folk-rock band The Long Black Veils headline this local rock show. Stellar support from Third Rail Power Trip and Llama Boy:

FULTON 55: Rising reggae band Sono Vero with Fresno's The White Glove Service and more:

CAFE REVUE: Forget the coffe, go to the back and rock with Lezayr and Mercy Fist:

ARTE AMERICAS: Santa Cruz' Audiafauna and some tasty Dusty Buns:

THAI PALMS: The Homegrown Fridays tradition continues, this week with Silva/Sonstegard, George Anthony and The Remedy:

BANDGEEK!: Mom Loves Some Metal and American Rock To Go With Her Weekend, Trust Us

There is good music all around Fresno, you just gotta know where to find it. Find it here. It's time to... BANDGEEEEEK!

FRIDAY

KUPPAJOE'S: We have faith that Jesus will be head-banging at this show with I The Mighty, Mercury Bullet, Stories In Braille and Corsair:

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Fresno's Light Theives with the newness of Ghost Skin Coat...or something like that:

CYC: Metal and hardcore from ITheDeceiver, Murder My Hero, Behold The Device, Sagas and Embrace The Nightmare:

SPECTRUM ART GALLERY: Art it up with music from Sahab and Former Selves:

Tonight: Become Part Of Fresno's 'Hop Scene'

You know an event has become a established success when other events are created BECAUSE of the original event... "by-products" is maybe the word we're searching for here. Fresno's Art Hop has by-products.

One of the cooler ones is Bike Hop. Fresno cyclists meet-up then ride around to various Art Hop venues together. Not the worst way to enjoy some Fresno art, that's for sure.

A second cool by-product is Jazz Hop. Mixed in with the art venues are local musicians playing some quality jazz music. Again, not the worst way to enjoy some Fresno art. Or, well, a good way to work on your ignoring art skills as you listen to music. Many spots you can find some jazz tonight, such as (click to enlarge):

Bandgeek!: More Music This Weekend Than This Blog Is Worthy Of

Not that you noticed but the posts on here were a little light this week. Sadly we don't even have the nerd excuse of playing too much MW3. We just suck some weeks. Lucky for us there is a lot of music happening this weekend to make the blog appear relevant - if only briefly.

This. Is. BANDGEEK!:

KUPPAJOES: All local lineup of melodic metal and hardcore with the highly regarded (by us at the very least) Sounds & Sciences plus Infinite, Makers, The Day I Ate The Moon and CGR.

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Never a disappointing night when Lance Canales and the Flood play. Add rising rockers The Dirty Stomp and Casey Neill & The Norway Rats and you've got a hellava show:

MEZCAL LOUNGE: Either we need to be seeing more shows like these in Fresno ... or maybe we need to start noticing more. Either way looks like a hell of time with funk-rock-rap from Argentina with Timmy O' Tool (shared stages with Tom Morello, Fishbone and more), Outernational, Intruder Intrusos and Ezequiel Aragon:

STARLINE: Plenty of good local rock with Session, Style Like Revelators, Blackbird and Nova:

THE BEL-TOWER: Tour stop with rock bands Hit The Lights, Such Gold and Divided By Friday. [$?, 7:00, All Ages]

FULTON 55: R&B singer from Oakland, Ledisi:

Tonight @ Tokyo Garden: A French Jazz Band That'll Blow Your Head Clean Off

This seems like one of those kind of shows you'll remember for a while. Paris (yes, the real Paris) expierimental jazz band, The Kandinsky Effect, is stopping by Tokyo Garden tonight. Should be some good stuff for any lover of music. Tickets are $10, $8 with student ID. Show starts around 7pm.

Tokyo seems like a perfect place for these guys to be. Check em:

BANDGEEK!: All FUSE Fest 2011 Edition

Every week Bandgeek is about promoting what's happening in Fresno's music scene over the weekend. This weekend we're letting FUSE Fest take over, because it's the bestest, because we're involved with helping it happen and because there's no time to post anything else.

Much respect to Audie's Olympic, The Bel-Tower, the CYC, Starline, Babylon, Kuppajoe's, Full Circle Brew, Club Retro and many others, who week after week, support the scene. But this weekend is all about Downtown Fresno for us.

UPDATE: For online ticket buyers, Will Call is at Fulton 55 for FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!

TONIGHT! It's the South end of Downtown with: (names in red are new editions or have changed venue)

Friday September 30th

JOE’S STEAKHOUSE (All Ages)
6:30 Werebear
7:30 Dale Stewart Band
8:30 Marlson Bruegen
9:30 Brian Kenny Fresno
10:30 The Dirty Stomp

DOWNTOWN CLUB (21+)
6:30 Sounds & Sciences
7:30 Achievement House
8:30 Lezayr
9:30 B. Rawcity
10:30 Koncrete Rose
11:00 Meatball Magic@FUSE (dance party!)

HERO’S SPORTS LOUNGE (21+)
7:00 Karen Marguth
8:00 Boxcar Figero
9:00 Lance Canales & The Flood
10:00 The Neptunes
11:00 Motel Drive
12:00 Bully the Kid

CLUB ONE (21+)
7:00 Brother Luke & The Comrades
7:30 College Kids
8:00 Westerns
9:00 Rademacher
10:00 Fay Wrays
11:00 Quiet Americans

Saturday enjoy the Mural/Cultural Arts District with:

Saturday, October 1

AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM - outside in back (All Ages)
5:00 The Milford Higgins
6:00 Kevin Hill Blowout
7:00 Your Hero Is A Villain
8:00 Azazel
9:00 Bruno dA uNo

IRON BIRD LOFTS - outside of old Iron Bird Cafe (All Ages)
5:30 Distrito Torre
6:30 Fast Car
7:30 It’ll Grow Back
8:30 Niilo Smeds
9:30 Werebear

FULTON 55
7:00 Irie Sun
8:00 tba
9:00 Let’s Go Bowling
10:00 Poplord
11:00 Buffalo Guns

FULTON 55 – COFFEEHOUSE STAGE - upstairs (21+)
6:30 Abigail Nolte
7:30 Heather & Joe
8:30 That Guy Kevin
9:30 Suicide Lounge
10:30 Restaurnaut

TOKYO GARDEN (21+)
10:00 Josh & Jaime
11:00 Blake Jones & The Trike Shop
12:00 Sunburns
1:00 The Backstabbers

New map is a great help to figure out where the hell is everything.

MORE INFO!

There is a super awesome FREE IBikeFresno bike valet happening both nights. Ride your bike down to the festival and these nice dudes will take care of it for you all night. Check the bike icons on the map for each night's location.

Also also IMPORTANT: The place to buy and pickup tickets ($20) on Friday is at Club One! You can start picking up tickets at 5:30, doors open on the early venues at 6.

Buying your ticket on Saturday (if you didn't get the 2-day pass on Friday) means going to Fulton 55 when you get there and the first band is playing at 5:00!

Twitter hashtag for the event is #fusefresno. There is a Foursquare thingy up too to check in with.

All venues on Friday have fine dinner options (and BOOZE) so make sure to plan your dinner at FUSE on Friday. Saturday there will be a good taco truck around plus Tokyo Garden will serve dinner till about 9:30 or so and there will be booze at Tokyo and Fulton 55.

Parking is free Downtown at night and on weekends (since the Grizzlies season is over) so find a spot and you're done. Friday the Spiral Garage will be a good option. Saturday just find a random spot in the Culture Arts/Mural District and that's it. Easy.

There will be band merch and festival merch so bring some cash.

Get there early. Stay late. Bounce around. Sample sample sample. See what Fresno's music scene is all about. See ya out there!

FUSE Fest 2011: The Schedule Is Out!

Welcome to FUSE Fest week! The biggest local music festival in town begins Friday night and ends early Sunday morning. Time to start planning your festival route and this may be of some use to ya:

Friday, September 30

JOE’S STEAKHOUSE
6:30 Werebear
7:30 Dale Stewart Band
8:30 Marlson Bruegen
9:30 Brian Kenny Fresno
10:30 The Dirty Stomp

CLUB KARMA (STAGE 1)
6:30 Bully The Kid
7:30 Achievement House
8:30 Lezayr
9:30 It’ll Grow Back
10:30 – 2:00AM: Meatball Magic @ FUSE

CLUB KARMA (STAGE 2)
7:00 College Kids
8:00 Sounds & Sciences
9:00 B-Rawcity
10:00 Koncrete Rose

HERO’S SPORTS LOUNGE
7:00 Karen Marguth
8:00 Boxcar Figaro
9:00 Lance Canales & The Flood
10:00 The Neptunes
11:00 Motel Drive

CLUB ONE
7:00 Brother Luke & The Comrades
8:00 Westerns
9:00 Rademacher
10:00 Fay Wrays
11:00 Quiet Americans

Saturday, October 1

AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
5:00 The Milford Higgins
6:00 Kevin Hill Blowout
7:00 Your Hero Is A Villain
8:00 Azazel
9:00 Bruno dA uNo

IRON BIRD LOFTS
5:30 Distrito Torre
6:30 Fast Car
7:30 Nate Pearce Band
8:30 Niilo Smeds
9:30 Touchdown Jesus

FULTON 55
7:00 Irie Sun
8:00 Aire Especial
9:00 Let’s Go Bowling
10:00 Poplord
11:00 Buffalo Guns

FULTON 55 – COFFEEHOUSE STAGE
7:30 Heather & Joe
8:30 That Guy Kevin
9:30 Suicide Lounge
10:30 Restauraut

TOKYO GARDEN
10:00 Josh & Jaime
11:00 Blake Jones & The Trike Shop
12:00 Sunburns
1:00 The Backstabbers

The lineup can be a volatile thing so check the site for changes. Look at the map if you're not sure where these places are. Sign in on the event page and annoy invite your friends. Festival goers get a handout when they check in that shows everything above. Tickets $20 for a two-day pass. $15 for one-day ($15 2-day for Creative Fresno members when you buy them at Fulton 55).

Feel free to share your route in the comments!

Music In Fresno Tonight: 1776, Westerns, Mallard, Niilo, Revelators and Seeds

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC

Portland rock band (with a 60s vibe) making a return trip to Fresno: 1776. Fresno is represented soundly with Westerns and Style Like Revelators. Some fine examples of the Westerns work can be found on their new EP here, check it:

TOKYO GARDEN

Maybe the Greatest Bearded Fresnan around: Niilo Smeds (you may know him from Wheels Of Fortune) and Mallard (the Bay Area/Fresno band with Greer McGettrick, formally from Rademacher) are playing at Tokyo Garden tonight. Listen to some Mallard here. Starts around 9:00. It may be $5 or free or something.

EUREKA BURGER

Southern Cali reggae rock group: Dub Seeds. There will be good beer and underwhelming burgers (Who says this isn't a food blog!?) too. Show goes from 9:30 to Midnight and there is no cover.