Valley Music Scene: Uniting the Bakersfield and Fresno Scene - by N.L. Belardes

In case you didn't know, the main reason for attending the Dalloways, 2am Orchestra and The Filthies at Club Fred in Fresno last night was to begin to bridge a gap to create not just a Bakersfield Music Scene, but a Valley Music Scene. Remember what I wrote months ago, quoting Jason of Ridikule who talked music scene ala Seattle as an example? How cool would it be if bands could tour a valley scene by leapfrogging the major valley towns and back? How cool would it be if media got the word out from Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno, Modesto, Stockton and more to promote bands up and down the valley? What about the cool cat venues going into Fresno, where big bands can have opening acts by valley acts representing multiple valley areas? And how about bands getting support along the way? Support... there's a notion...

I had a meeting of the minds yesterday with Fresno college radio celebrity Frank D, Mark Harris of Abundant Entertainment and a mystery man who is a Fresno music expert putting together a scene and wanting to unite, unite, unite... this meeting marks a new era in promoting a valley music scene, with cross pollination, cross promotions, and building, building, building to make a scene explode and flourish in not just this little town of Nashville West...

It takes cross education. For instance, if Fresno folk have the perception that Bakersfield is 'the valley scene' because it simply has a rich history in rock and contry, and that Korn and Adema mark what all bands sound like (no offense), that Jerry's Pizza is the only venue, that because Bakersfield has a downtown scene that means it has a perfect scene already established, well then an education of the minds is needed. The valley scene needs to learn the intricacies of the Bakersfield scene: the rural rock punk, the quiet is the new loud, the metal, industrial, alt country, post hardcore, etc... the venues, the Montgomery World Plaza, Narduccis, Kosmos, Rileys, Studio 99, the Gate, Spotlight, Fishlips, Gumbeauxs, Gigantic Vintage, and more... the separation between alt, metal, punk, screamo and country, that they are separate beasts...

Well let's just see where this all goes...

developing...

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Saturday, April 16, 2005. You can leave your response.