And the Blogs play on... - By N.L. Belardes

There I was, hangin’ ten, cowabunga surfing Danielle Belton’s entertainment blog when “Whooa Nelly!” She’s gone and linked to recent pics I took of Downtown Records' Jake Chavez, and she linked to my recent descent into the rock and roll cavern. One thing that I like is her pics. She’s got them going full steam ahead now, either surfing the Net for them, or having Roger Hornbeck take some nightlife photos. Kudos to the Californian for getting a little more intimate through pics. The blogs are good, but the photos pull folks inside the writer’s world; an often scary place that non-writers appreciate a glimpse of. Just ask Wotts, er, some of those funky writers for the Californian. But, really, Danielle is leading the way over there... Why? She has a hipster creative writer attitude and offers a different ‘outsiders’ view of the Bakersfield night life. She’s from St. Loo, Mizzoo, and likes to party up with the boys from Gigantic Vingtage and can be seen frequenting Azul’s nightclub and PJs. Moreso, she recently did a club review where she quotes the Pizza-a-go-go as a “legendary home of underground rock,” but also a place where you might get rickets…

You have Stubble the Lords Hunter chasing down Jagels, or as Enrique Fuentes puts it, J. Edgar Bagels, by his very toes. Then there’s Jennifer Baldwin writing here and there> I don't see a recent blog from her, but hopefully she is finally understanding just what a Sith is these days. There are more representatives from the Bakersfield media blog tidal wave. Just go to here to read more and hang ten.

Now for some happenings on the Bakersfield underground blogs. You all know that my blog has gone through art page changes by including two podcasts and a different look and feel. I will be hitting hard and heavy with the Lords of Bakersfield entries as I wind down to the ‘Day of the Lord’, better known as my book release finally winding into action.

Now, there’s Heath Dobbler. This guy from 3 Cent Nickle—no, I never heard a song but I do know Heath. I came too late into the Bakersfield music foray. He’s got a blog going on called Dobbler’s Drunk Corner. He talks about punk rock, about his opinion of the state of Bakersfield music in a very rough way. Yeah, he doesn’t hold back. He’s very kind by plugging my own blog and I recently read that this cat is working on a novel called, The Best Band You Never Heard. He even called me a local scene hero. How cool is that. Although I think Belton gave up on calling me a novelist since I keep delaying the release of Lords: Part One. We’re getting closer and I’ll be a novelist yet. You know, I once gave columnist Herb Benham a copy of The Citrus Girl. I think he uses it for a coffee cup stain holder on his nightstand. Either that or he’s tossed it into the landfill by now. I saw him walking down Eye Street the other day and said 'hello' to him (we've never officially met). He looked at me like he knew me from somewhere. I was too ashamed to say, “I’m the guy with the book that you never read.”

There are other blogs worth mentioning. I had promised Jenny Angel to talk a bit about her Dusk Devil's show with guitar legend, Link Wray. He’s this power chord guru and she writes about sharing the stage with at Fishlips in her Dusk Devil’s blog. I wish she would figure out how to work the links section on it though… another funny story she tells is of a recent show with Cattie Ness who for some forsaken reason wanted Jenny et. al to wear torquoise. Strange. Of course this was an out of town show and the drummer was late… Read all about it on her rockabilly blog…

Illpressed wrote a fashionable Pizza-a-go-go piece worth checking out. He gives his two cents about why bands play at Jerry’s, while calling all the ruckus regarding the boycott and intimidation a ‘fuss’. Oh man, JR… It was more than a fuss if the promoter is gone, if Gigantic once moved because of it, if the promoter ended up in jail, and if old N.L. wrote so many articles on such a topic. People told me not to write the truth, that bad things would happen to me. But then, not even the Lords of Buck City have quieted the N.L. Blog and podast. But then, JR is not so dark and dismal like me in his telling of Jerry's Pizza and uplifts some of his favorite bands… go read...

Fellow blogger in crime, Matildakay has been writing in her blog. She's got a poem and a funny little piece about Mr. Incredible... I don't know if she's been working on her novel. It really pisses me off when she doesn't. But then, that's just novelists for you. Everybody gets all worked up and not enough writing gets accomplished...

A Bakersfield Novelist Descends into the Caverns of Rock and Roll - by N.L. Belardes

I open the DVD case. It’s the same black-and-white case I got at Starbucks on a bright Bakersfield midday; a seemingly unlikely drop-off point for a group of punk rockers to give a DVD to an old man sucking down a mint mocha Frappuccino. I plop the DVD into my computer, open Windows Media Player and begin to watch the KooKooNauts video, “Music, Not Drugs.” I’ve seen parts of it before. It’s a tour of the KooKooNauts playing at various venues around Bakersfield: Jerry’s Pizza, the Gate, CSU Bakersfield, Beach Park... But it’s the beginning I want to see again.

I take a closer look at the video. I lean toward the monitor, frequently hit pause, fast forward and rewind so I can get a better look at the details. It starts off with a black screen—the lens is apparently covered with some cloth. The words ‘Koo Koo Nauts’ appear. Music starts and we see some black-haired punk drinking from a can. Is it an energy drink? Looks like it is. Keys dangle from his right hip; he’s got tattoos on his arms that I glimpse as he passes by the camera. Nearby, one of the KooKooNauts, before he joined the band, I think, is eating a greasy slice from the Pizza-a-go-go. I know it’s the Pizza joint because not only did the camera show the logo above the counter, I can see a booth and the staircase entrance into the black descent to the Pizza-a-go-go cavern.

Now the view is outside of the parlor along Chester Avenue. There are punks outside with spiked Mohawks that rise like great spires from their heads. One punker wears a jacket with a glowing red skull on the back. I wonder who has the baseball cap on; he talks to the camera eye but we can’t hear him…

Now we’re back inside and we descend down a set of old wooden stairs. We only see them for a brief second—dirty wooden planks as rickety as the boards of a weathered and broken pier; but it’s enough to see we’ve dared descend into a haven for punks as the intro had showed us, with images of punks in near howlish form; here would be a dark descent into a subculture of not just punk, but into a dismal hollow of a pizza venue where Bakersfield musicians have been performing for years, willingly, suffocatingly. The camera eye has entered into a black room with bare, dirt-covered walls that are never scrubbed. On stage are the KooKooNauts, some of the nicest kids you could ever meet, yet who are charged with a punk-driven energy you’d expect from a band just like them.

I remember them at Starbucks, a bunch of Bakersfield kids who jumped out of an old truck. Just like you could meet anywhere in town—although they don’t put off the rich kid vibe—something Stockdale High School yuppy cliques might frown on because they’re down to Earth, down in the trenches with the punkers, deep in the subculture where they create, sing, energize, in hardcore cyberpunk song frenzy.

They had been writing to me that they had a following. I was skeptical. But then I’ve seen the DVD. There are crowds watching them, albeit, some are crowds endemic to various venues and areas… but there are crowds. The KooKooNauts do have friends. Though I wonder if they will show up to Montgomery World Plaza on July 28th.

I lean further toward the monitor. The KooKooNauts are on stage. In a moment of punk rock prophecy, Brian, their lead singer reaches out to the audience and says, “Come on up. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

The crowd chants “KooKoo KooKoo KooKoo!” in response.

Suddenly we’re not in Jerry’s Pizza anymore, but the Boiler Room over near 23rd Street and O. How do I know this? I just recognize it. The stage is just as dark, but you can see the difference. Here, there is lighting and black curtains along the stage. A picture on the south wall is a dead giveaway, as is the chandelier on the southwest corner and a pillar near the stage. Punkers with leather jackets, chains, and wild cyberfreak hairdos are drawn to the KooKooNauts’ show, and as the music plays I glimpse a kid in an ape suit without the head; he’s still nearly a frightening sight. And then it happens; a fight suddenly breaks out. I was wrong when I reported before. This is not Jerry’s Pizza. But there’s a connection. Sources inform me that something is amiss in this video tied to a murder in or near Jerry’s Pizza. Which leads me to my actual story as I wonder if I am entering murderous depths as I make a decision to descend into the rock and roll cavern…

I arrived at Jerry’s Pizza with camera in hand. There was no telling what I was going to see. Would punkers jump me from the cavernous depths for writing against the old promoter and meatball sandwiches? Surely punkers would be around. What about the KooKooNauts? Would they be lurking nearby? I didn’t know, but felt it was time to take the risk, not that I was afraid the KooKooNauts would do me harm. But there is a self-loathing subculture tangent to them. They swing chains and fists and aren’t afraid to be hauled off to jail for it.

I entered the pizza joint and saw no sign of Jerry or punkers. I half expected him to see me and throw me out right away. Outside, Alex from Gigantic sat at the door in the stifling heat and took money. He charged me five bucks. Steep for someone who takes pictures of shows and does write-ups for free. Then, Alex is just a businessman looking to make a little cash. And I wasn’t here to see Alex as much as I was here to see a possibly once murderous lair. I wanted to see firsthand where this ghost of the downtown dark subconscious might dwell… down in the sleeping black dragon’s lair of Bakersfield downtown music.


A picture just after entering. My heart was racing...

I had attended a meeting of artists recently who were concerned with Nate Berg style intimidation. Called the Tumbleweed Collective they seemed to be interested in somehow policing Jerry’s Pizza. I felt a little out of place at that meeting as I had my own agenda on art, novels, blogs, podcasts and such. I agreed, however, on keeping the integrity of a wholesome venue for local kids. But that’s another story in how to police such. And how do you define such policing? And what can kids really do to enforce integrity? What is important is that artists are wanting to be some kind of music promotion police… but that’s not me this night or any night. I’m just a novelist in a mad descent into Bakersfield rock and roll hell…



I went down the rickety stairs into the heart of the Jerry’s Pizza cavern. I could hear Liars and Thieves playing from down below. Instantly the temperature rose several degrees. And it wasn’t because of the music. It was from the stifling heat. As for the band, their sound was muffled in such a dank sauna-like room as if the very creepy shadows wrapped ghostly arms around each note.





The burning humidity from human sweat and the porous walls was almost unbearable. I could see the musicians struggling to cope with music and heat… Yes, this was a Bakersfield heatwave, and yes I had entered an underground room with no ventilation. The room itself was black, cavernous to the point of being only an underground cave; with not much to explore other than one room with a door, a brick-lined corridor, two old staircases, and cobweb-covered lighting that glowed eerily as if I was on some Hollywood Amityville house set, or underground secret spy station beneath a bombed out city.





I felt like I was in a movie, in an underground ghetto during World War Two, where all you might have is light blinking, and a resistance movement waiting to pounce on the Evil Empire. I half-expected to see Uzi-carrying punks creep from the cockroach shadows with blue and orange hair to recruit me to their fashionable rebellion.

I wandered further and looked up. I saw holes in the ceiling. The collapse of the building above in an earthquake? Would be certain doom for those peering from blackened shadows. I stumbled further into the darkness. I saw a trash can overflowing, and eventually an exit sign.



I wanted to get out. This was a claustrophobic musty room. I clambered up the stairs into the hot night, to see people sweating, lurking, escaping, wandering, gathering, excited for the pizza joint moment, and overheated to the point of almost denying their love for such a music-filled cavernous hell.



I had been hearing about this big night over at Jerry’s Pizza, A.K.A., the Pizza-a-go-go’s first Gigantic promoted night over at Jerry’s Pizza. There had been a handshake, an agreement for Gigantic to help promote shows along with Zill DeVille. I don’t know the details, but what I can say is that after Jerry’s Pizza show promoter Nate Berg had allegedly intimidated Gigantic into vacating the downtown Bakersfield music scene, I find it plain odd, and yet not a completely crazy business strategy on Jerry’s part. Now with Nate Berg gone, Jerry’s Pizza and Gigantic have made amends so that a portion of the Indie Music scene would leave the Montgomery World Plaza to return to downtown Bakersfield. So Gigantic hopes.

Why?

Doesn’t matter. The fact is there is a love-hate relationship with this pizza parlor turned rock and roll farm cavernous hangout. I had refused to enter Jerry’s Pizza for months, citing a dismal set of experiences regarding food, venue and integrity issues regarding bands having to pay to perform at what is really a not-so-attractive venue. Club Fred and Starline in Fresno, the Gate in Bakersfield, Studio 99, Rileys, The Red Rooster, and Montgomery World Plaza are all attractive, clean venues. Yet, bands and kids are seemingly endlessly attracted to the cavernous depths of the downtown pizza parlor. Not me, I would rather attend a venue where you don’t have to descend into a hellish nightmare to watch a band perform on a blackened stage along a brick corridor above a broken-cement floor with lighting as dim as any horror movie theatre. But I had told Alex of Gigantic that I would try to make it out.

A drummer recently told me, “I don’t like playing at Jerry’s. When you start wailing away on the drums sometimes cockroaches start pouring from the walls. I try to scoot up in my seat because I’m terrified of them.” Is that what I was heading into?

I asked Sal and Nick/Tyler from Liars and Thieves, “Are you guys happy with your performance and the turnout? And, what brought you back to Jerry’s Pizza?”

Sal had a wet towel over his head as he stood outside of the pizza parlor. “It’s so damn hot down there. I can barely breathe let alone scream my lyrics.” Sweat endlessly poured from both he and Nick/Tyler. And even though he complained about the heat, he still had a few words of downtown strategy to let out, “It’s the central location. It’s where the people are all out and mingle in the scene. They show up here.”

Why? I had just come from my ten-minute incursion into the cavern below the pizza joint. All I can figure is it’s about the people and the money. The promoters get money; the bands hope to get people; the kids can all eat pizza upstairs and sit in booths and mingle along Chester Avenue right in the Wall Street Alley where nearby Alley Cat, Azul’s, Rileys, Fishlips, Kosmos, and Downtown Records, which are practically within earshot.

As I wrote in a previous blog, if bands don’t get Jerry’s to clean up, then it’s just the bands’ fault. I didn’t like what Nate Berg was doing by allegedly intimidating people; I also admit I don’t like pay-to-play schemes. Doesn’t mean pay-to-play schemes are wrong, because the simple fact is that bands keep doing it. A business will make money however it can, with minimal upkeep. That’s just how capitalism works. I just wish it were a cleaner place, like it was in the mid-1990s: bright, alive, clean, inviting.

Bakersfield music history has done something strange to that place. But then, people are all drawn to scary movies with a raw terrifying energy; kind of like a roller coaster—you don’t know how you’re going to feel after that first hill.



Doesn’t mean I have to go back and sweat and feel like I’m standing on hosed down vomit and the ghosts of dead punkers to watch a show in Bakersfield. Kudos to Jerry for getting bands, kids, and promoters to come to his pizza joint. Kudos to Gigantic for making more money. Alex, he’s just a good business man after all.

New Mexican Rock Calendar - By N.L. Belardes

There's a new Spanish Rock Calendar in town run by Rene Villa called queremosrockbakersfield.com. You know, if the Mexican rockers in town can do a calendar, why not the rest of Bakersfield culture and art? My only criticism is I want to go see shows but I can't understand much Espanol. Can't it be in English too? Here's some info on it I received from Reve Villa.


Hello Nick, well the intension of this website is to inform and give life to this unique type of rock, the "spanish rock". I plan to inform people about local events, concerts, view recent gigs pictures, and news about famous spanish rock bands. At the same time I'm promoting or helping local bands like likhy2 be more known by the community... etc etc.

This is mostly a hobby but open for companys to pay for an ad at my site. Thank you , and I appreciate your contribution on linking me.

queremosrockbakersfield.com

RidiKule Guitarist back in action - By N.L. Belardes

Some News from RiDiKule and big show at Vinny's. Looks like Jeff might be able to play guitar after all after that big accident he had to his arm:

Hey NL, finally some good news and more good news! Ridikule will be making the show on Friday with Rocky Nash, Beyond The Ruins and Trashlight Vision (feat. A-Cey Slade from the Murderdolls) We have a new drummer, for this show at least, and we will be ready to rock everyone's socks off that night. The show will be at Vinny's it is 21 and over as always there. The other good news is that we are working on an ALL AGE show at MWP and plan on getting together with some great bands to make it a huge night. Jeff is also going to be able to play too, he's been working really hard at trying to play, with his tendon messed up and all. Hope to see you out, take care~ Chris and "RIDIKULE"

Uncertainty of the Pismo Sea - By N.L. Belardes

The seaside town is Pismo, California. You’ve been there. The waves are choppy and the beach gets overloaded with umbrellas and zooming seagulls. On the beach you can find jellyfish residue all piled and ready for some grubby pirate’s toast. Just down the beach are caves and tidepools where you can find crabs, baby jellyfish, sea snails and sand dollars. Throw the dollars high into the air and they zoom like spaceships and then dive into the sea. Yesterday Pismo was shrouded in low-lying clouds. We stood in line for twenty minutes at that crazy little cinnamon roll shop where everyone stops by to get fat; but some schleprocks in front of us bought the last three. I hope they get twice as fat as I would have.

But then, I really went to experience the sea, the uncertainty of the ocean, and on such a gloomy day, there was a perfect ambiance of choppy waves and an unseen horizon of mist and squawking seabirds…

The Blogger Wars, Matildakay disses 200 Dollar Car - By N.L. Belardes

Oh yes, it was a diss. In fact, it was a down right, "No." There I was, minding my own business when cheap car blogger and 200 Dollar investment enthusiast says to Matildakay, "Hey, you wanna drive my car to go **** ** ******?"

I'm thinking there was a flip of the hair too in her 'indifferent' response.

In fact, 200 Dollar Car already blogged the entire fiasco and even gave his opinion of the Pizza-a-go-go...

Here's some new pics of the fabled vehicle, still running, but with an unknown grand total. In a June blog it states that over 800 bucks have gone into this purring Tercel...






Look, the headlights work

Jake from Downtown Records - By N.L. Belardes

That old skinhead from yesteryear, mellowed like a fine wine; jammin' some tunes in Riley's second anniversary night, a historic night of Jessie Deluxe and the Rolling Blackouts. And Jake in there, that old steelworker playing the tunes like he was building some erector set of sound for the masses to climb on...








Jake at Downtown Records, circa 2005

Bakersfield Bukowski meets belly girls - By N.L. Belardes

Saturday night I was supposed to hang out with a couple of friends who ended up dogging me for who-knows-who or what’s-his-sign. It was one of those “I’m getting ready” and “So and so is in the bathtub” speeches, followed by, “we’ll catch up with you later” kind of yaya whatever promises. Another friend was off for tea and crumpets. Another in Palm Springs getting eyebrows waxed. My fellow blogger in crime was off to pick up parents from the airport. Even the director of The War Days was off to Universal Studios and such. You know how that all goes. It’s the life of a novelist to be cranky and isolated. It’s how I spend holidays. The War Days director and his cohort gone. Both my parents long dead and buried. I’m just the poor bastard writer fully in drunken self pity on those days crying over why Santa stopped eating his milk and cookies on Christmas Blissmas night so long ago. I think novelists revel in such pitiful behavior and then try to write these grandiose statements in sweeping narrative form. Anyway, I wandered downtown, walked from the Oleander Arts Collective onto the great big streets of Bakersfield, fully in a Buck City Bukowski mood for sure.

I wound my way across bright sunlit streets, wondering if the sun was ever going to dip beneath the horizon into the icy Pacific. Lucky sun. So I finally made my way to Kosmos Restaurant where a whole bunch of glittering sunshine caught my eye. Inside, there were many beautiful women, all in ceremonial dancing garb, and as golden and glittering as jewel-encrusted crowns.

Inside sat Shantell from 2-out-of-3 Chord Whore. She had told me to boogie on down, and so I did, even though I had thought about just sitting at home and surfing movie trailers until my eyes popped... ploink-ploink.

But here I was in this exotic place of tribal girls and belly dancing ladies. There were shaking tummies, swaying hips, curled lips, wandering eyes and fingertips moving like Polynesian waves beckoning me to a sparkling sea. The music and artistry was beautiful and it was more than pleasant to see such joy on faces that seemed happy to feel so free.











Thanks to Shantell and Heather for getting me to walk on down to see such beauty. Of course when I left I just sauntered back home in the darkness, back in my Bakersfield Bukowski mood, back to my dark house and mood in the Oleander Arts Collective, back to where I could sit and ponder the echo of such music still surfacing, still moving...

Reflections on the Rileys 2nd Anniversary Show - By N.L. Belardes

It’s been a week since Jessie Deluxe, The Hero and the Victor and The Rolling Blackouts invaded Riley’s second year anniversary party. It’s been a week of reflection, of pondering just what to write about such a heated show, and how to express my thoughts of such great music having poured into Bakersfield on a heat wave night… right smack into a long weekend of seeing shows and watching bands in this lonesome cowpoke town of desperados, Buck Owens wannabes, and post hardcore Korn-syrup bliss…

But this was the Indie scene at Rileys. This wasn’t the heart of countrydom, or the very spot where Korn sprouted, got plucked, and ended up in LA: the land where bands grow on every street corner like little bird-chirping weeds (just add water and then go watch the Little Shop of Horrors and feed those bands!).

I saw Jessie, pronounced her name correctly this time, and was very flattered by what she had to say. She had read a little piece I wrote in a previous blog about her band Jessie Deluxe and the Binges storming into Buck City, “She was almost melancholy herself at times as she performed and perhaps wondered about herself, her music, everything spinning just then in her own Bakersfield Bukowski artistic moment…” Oh yes, and it was true as Jessie said, “No one ever wrote about me like that before.” Well, she didn’t deny it. I think she liked such a phrase because she smiled very quaintly and said “Thanks.”

I dared to tell her, in not so many words, that most folks are like a little crystal ball to me and I’m just some Harry Potter magician-novelist wannabe with my big dumb glasses and staring out from them trying to figure what might tick inside of folks like her. It’s what I do hiding behind a camera, watching, pondering, dreaming, listening to music, getting what Jessie said is “the feeling in music is that easy to communicate.” She’s right.




Jessie Deluxe cupid arrow guitar...

But then I look deeper and that might have been a little scary and exciting to her, that a writer doesn’t just say, “Jessie shreds”, but writes that Jessie reflects life in a series of lyrics found within songs like, “Shimmy Shake”, “Whiskey”, and “Hellfire”. And, why is that? Because a song like “Shimmy Shake” represents an excitedness we all feel as adrenaline rushes through our bodies for a host of reasons brought on by lovers, friends, artists, music, life… “I wanna shimmy shake, shimmy shake!!! Oh Yeah!” Or her song Whiskey, which she tributes to all whiskey drinkers in the house before she performs it… but isn’t really about whiskey at all… but a deeper point of recognition in the human spirit that touches through ideas, song, a song title, music, art, people wanting it all, knowing what’s true but denying, and then wanting to scream it out in song; a song that pauses like a long breath of denial and then stabs, “You know it’s true what you do!”







Jessie, that bassist sweetheart, Tsuzumi Okai, and that angry-looking bald drummer were all in an exceptionally brilliant mode of rock and roll at Riley’s last Sunday night. It shown in their music, in their attitudes, in a few smiles sheepishly thrown out by Tsuzumi (she never broke form—but in such moments recognized the friendliness of the Bakersfield crowd with the crack of a humble smile), in Jessie’s self-wonderment and showmanship where for a moment you might think she is a quiet, nice girl just happening to be carrying around this enigmatic black guitar shaped like an arrow; but then her songs have such power you realize she’s shoving that guitar-arrow straight into your heart—a cupid to her own sound—if you don’t like her music that is; that doesn’t matter because she makes you fall in love with it.





The crowd in the back of old Riley’s pub shuffled together, crowded around the stage and whooped and hollered at Jessie Deluxe. There was one big mac daddy who passed out drinks to the band and there were smiles all around. I was disappointed when Jessie Deluxe played their last song, but then was happy that she took a few moments to talk to me. I of course invited her onto the Buck City Podcast… and I’m holding her to that.

I was in the house with the boys from Norfolk. But there were many music-driven folks around Rileys that night. Nick/Tyler from Liars and thieves was in an exceptionally boisterous mood, dancing, and generally doing a two-step that had people wondering just how such a tall lanky fellow could move like that and not tip over or get his legs all in knots. He mostly did that during the Rolling Blackouts set.



Oh and then there was The Hero and the Victor jamming in the house from Santa Barbara. They had an interesting set-up with the drummer facing the band… Unfortunately I missed a lot of their set as I tracked down Jessie to have our conversation.

I was back for the Rolling Blackouts. Leslie of Riley’s fame had been telling me about this band since I started writing in the music and art scene back in February. I remember, her and I had met up at the Mint and she talked and talked with such enthusiasm for music and the Indie scene. I listened with childish glee because I hadn’t listened to music in a few years, so all this band excitement was new to me.

When I entered Riley’s last Sunday Leslie introduced me to Daniel from the Rolling Blackouts. I shook his hand; here was a guy nice enough, thin enough—isn’t that all of us starving artists at one time or another? …he was grubby enough too, with a slight beard and a head full of dark hair; he was friendly to the point of getting me to think I should sit and talk to this LA guy. But I had been on my way to track down Jessie Deluxe…

I kept hearing The Rolling Blackouts had received accolades from the LA Weekly. I did some research and sure enough, they were voted Best Rock Band in 2005. Starting up right away I realized I needed to snap out of any Bakersfield Bukowski dark mode I might have been in. Nick/Tyler was fired up, dancing it up and Daniel, lead vocalist and guitarist had a big red rose on his guitar strap that was as pretty as a little Mexican dancing girl in a red dress. How could he go wrong? He had all of our attention as soon as the band started up.



The Rolling Blackouts are a high-energy tight group of hard rockers—none of them are sub-par, or take up slack for gaps in music-making efficiency. These guys have a rich sound and exciting guitar-driven vibe that doesn’t leave any doubt as to their rock star potential. Their guitarist, Jarrod, is mild mannered but has such a command over their big guitar sounds that I at least found myself staring at how he worked the frets… Best band in LA? These guys are one of the best bands I have ever seen, period. No wonder Nick/Tyler was dancing a mad jig even before they started tearing it up. Amazing that such a great band like the Rolling Blackouts would grace a little Bakersfield pub on a hot Sunday valley night...





After their set I spoke to drummer, Gabriel. Now this guy is one of the best drummers I have ever seen smacking the snare and toms. He smokes on the drumset and has an emotional intensity that isn’t undisciplined at all, but rather disciplined to the point that he makes drumming look like something as easy as tapping your fingers on a steering wheel. My only beef? Gabriel promised me a shirt that never materialized. A small price to pay for great music. I’ll buy one next time…



The Rolling Blackouts are making a new album and I will be one of the first to get it here in Bakersfield that’s for sure.

I then had a nice talk with Dylan from The Binges who told me he reads N.L. Belardes: Music Gossip and the Arts. I am undeserving of such rock star talent reading my few misplaced words…

Afterwards I drifted back into Bakersfield Bukowski mode. My mood grew a little sour as I listened to some of the barflies flitting about outside talk of working in diners, buying clothes in thrift stores, how to give restaurant customers a hard time and about pie as they drifted through a strange dialogue.

“I love pie, any pie, unless it’s Lemon merangue pie. Who wants to eat that? But then it gets so hot at my place I sit in the shower because we have no air conditioning.”

“I have Popsicles in my freezer.”

Oh yeah I would love one. We walked to the store. We walk all over the place now. Now, ice cream, that’s something I never get enough of. You know I love food. But there’s all this drama. Our computer Internet is down. Our phone isn’t working. But we’re happy. We’re as happy as we can be.”

“Happiness is the most important thing.”

“Yeah, well…”

Peter Pan pirates on Buck City Podcast #7 - By N.L. Belardes

In the fourth interview on the Buck City Podcast, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee get lost on the way to N.L. Belardes' studio. Neverland never seemed so far away as these two pirates find themselves in the below ground studio wishing they were back on their big safe ship of planks. If that's not enough, about ten other pirates invade the N.L. Belardes studio as well as Peter Pan Bakersfield Community Theatre director Aaron Mauldin who tells all about how Peter Pan flies, why he directed the play, and more. Listen to Kevin Lively and Andrew Hupp interview the cast and Kevin talk about his upcoming play, The Hobbit.

Check out the N.L. Belardes review...


Mermaid blows bubbles from the Neverland sea


Andrew Hupp as Captain Hook

You have to listen to Episode Seven, and if you're in a band, you're going to want to do a podcast. Why? Because a podcast can be downloaded and listened to over and over again. It's not just a one-time radio thing... Go to my homepage and click on one of the chicklets, subscribe, or just wimp out and download the MP3 of Episode Seven, 'Peter Pan'... If you do click on a chicklet, try podnova. But don't discount iTunes. The Buck City Podcast is now on iTunes, Podfeed, Podnova, Podcast, PodcastHostDirectory, PodTower, Podcast Directory, Podcast Pickle, Podcasting News, podcaster world, Odeo.com and Podfeeder... and yes, I did say iTunes! That's the biggie. Go ahead and look, you'll see the Buck City Podcast right there in the music directory...

And no, you don't have to have a MAC to download iTunes. Just go to apple.com and download right now! It's great! A great search engine for podcasts, a great look and feel, and you can listen with ease, with auto updates!

If that isn't enough, my arts page just went through a major overhaul just to keep up with the new Buck City Podcast and the popularity it's already received. Take a look at the new simplistic look and feel...

You can still see the play this weekend at the Bakersfield Community Theatre.

Stay tuned for a brand new podcast with folks from Lostocean, Exithead, and more...

Dante Esperanza singer almost lands in the slammer - By N.L. Belardes

Just farmed fresh and hot from musician Duncan McNight's site on myspace.com:

last night my band played @ jerry's pizza and the show sucked, our guitars kept going out of tune and it was hot as hell. so we end the show and go back to our house being as it's one of our good friends birthday parties... there's a lot of people there so we decide to play another set and rock the house down so we could sleep peacefully that night. just as we got into the second song and we were rocking the fuck out, a big hand clamps down on my shoulder and i turn around to see its a f****** sherriff, haha. he's like "don't you ever f****** learn? go outside".... so I go outside and wait and then he comes out and is like "you're going to big boy jail tonight!" and I was just like "f***..." but I ended up not going to jail once everyone from the party was evacuated. there were helicopters and police dogs and everything! we do throw some awesome parties over on belle terrace don't we? haha

Literary street team forming for Lords of Bakersfield book - By N.L. Belardes

I am forming a literary street team for the promotion of the most controversial book Bakersfield has ever seen, Lords: Part One. I already have a few team members signed up, but I do need more… Come and join the fun.

What you get: free signed copy of book and other free merchandise as released

Strategy includes:

flyers: spreading the news of the book
phone calls: to media, bookstores, etc.
book tour: planning and implementing a 4-6 city attack

The first meeting will be next Wednesday July 27 at 8pm
If you are interested please email me at nl@nlbelardes.com for address and details.

Buck City Podcast Episode Six, Rural Rock Punk - By N.L. Belardes

In only the third interview on the Buck City Podcast, Gus from the Filthies comes into the N.L. Belardes studio to talk rural punk rock history, OC Punk Pock Latino Punk, and Tijuana Punk. It was a great interview and I got to learn about some old friends of Gus in Norcal turned Socal band, Hit By A Semi. I play music from The Filthies, Hit By A Semi, The Politicians, LIKHY2, and Delux.


Dr. Gus Guitarblaster

You have to listen to Episode Six, and if you're in a band, you're going to want to do a podcast. Why? Because a podcast can be downloaded and listened to over and over again. It's not just a one-time radio thing... Go to my homepage and click on one of the chicklets, subscribe, or just wimp out and download the MP3 of Episode Six, 'Rural Rock Punk'... If you do click on a chicklet, try podnova. But don't discount iTunes. The Buck City Podcast is now on iTunes, Podfeed, Podnova, Podcast, PodcastHostDirectory, PodTower, Podcast Directory, Podcast Pickle, Podcasting News, podcaster world, Odeo.com and Podfeeder... and yes, I did say iTunes! That's the biggie. Go ahead and look, you'll see the Buck City Podcast right there in the music directory...

And no, you don't have to have a MAC to download iTunes. Just go to apple.com and download right now! It's great! A great search engine for podcasts, a great look and feel, and you can listen with ease, with auto updates!

If that isn't enough, my arts page just went through a major overhaul just to keep up with the new Buck City Podcast and the popularity it's already received. Take a look at the new simplistic look and feel...

Stay tuned for a brand new podcast with folks from the Bakersfield Community Theatre (BCT) director Aaron Maudlin and pirate Mr. Smee from BCT's Peter Pan.

The hard rocking sounds of a Bakersfield Saturday night - By N.L. Belardes

Last Thursday night I attended the Peter Pan sweat fest. I thoroughly loved the quaint theatre, the bubbly children and swashbuckling Lost Boys. But the heat. That horrible Bakersfield heat was just pounding away at the walls. And my night didn’t end there. Afterwards I saw the Filthies, Hit By a Semi… Peter Pan was just a tune up, as me and cohort in blogger crime, Matildakay, headed into the heart of darkness after having seen such happy frolicking children. But that was last Thursday… I was exhausted the next day… and then the heat wave smacked down, and Friday night’s show at Chencho’s was a sweltering casserole of sound baking in a hot oven. And then there was Saturday’s show…


The heatwave made me stare crazily at this...

If you haven’t guessed it yet there was a big metal/post-hardcore show over at the Montgomery World Plaza. Studio 99 was putting on a show with Level being the headliner. But then Level was a no show. Now that’s disappointment and not a good sign of camaraderie between a band and a promoter. But the fans were still in force.

When I arrived, From Ritual to Romance was in the house. Big Daddy Screamer Ruben Val Verde was in his strongman pose all lit up by the stage lights and doing his thing. Get out of his way everybody. Get out of the man’s way!





There were the usual kids tearing it up in front of the stage. I snapped a few pictures wondering just when From Ritual to Romance was going to record their first CD. These guys all have a lot of energy, and a lot of kindness for fellow Bakersfield bands, fans and more. Gotta dig their enthusiasm. They have a lot of shows coming up, from out of town to the Kern County Fair, Vinnie’s and more… If that’s not enough, I think I just might crash their CD recording sessions when they do have them. I just have one complaint: Make smaller online flyers! Sometimes my myspace comment section is as big as their hardcore sound…

The night got even darker just before Endrio took the stage when Daniel of Studio 99 says to me, “You have to hear this band. They’re a hidden gem. Not enough people know about them” I was thinking I would just have to see for myself, but then Endrio powered up. I don’t mean they just flipped on their amps and began playing a little soft metal lala riff. No way, these guys are hardcore, head-banging, neck breaking, sweat-pouring, full force coming-at-you-with-deafening-sound rockers, as they went zero to sixty in point-two seconds.



Of course the schedules were kind of crazy because of businesses closing late so the Internet flyer I looked at was outdated and I missed my homies in Give Impulse because I went to go eat dinner. How disappointing. Later, after I came back Corey from Give Impulse asked if I’d seen their show and had I missed it completely. I was looking forward to doing another Give Impulse review, N.L. Belardes style. Instead I had to look Corey in the eye, give a half-smirk and tell him I’d missed it.



By this time the Bakersfield heat was catching up to me (so was the margarita I had with dinner) and I grew super tired as My Dysfunctional Me had sound problems setting up. These things happen and as they soon got into their angry set, I was turning into the old tired man of the music scene. I used what little energy I had left for the night to go snap some cool pictures of Steve in his spiky hair singing to the crowd of crazed My Dysfunctional Me fans…







I grew tired, the music got louder, and I thought it was funny how I didn’t recognize Steve when I arrived because he didn’t have a bandana on… I just have one thing left to say: Who needs Level to rock hard in Bakersfield?

Buck City Podcast Episode Five, The Dreampop Lounge - By N.L. Belardes

In only the second interview on the Buck City Podcast, Gerhard Enns and Nico Rhodes of the Dalloways enter the N.L. Belardes studios and talk it up about their California Brit Pop music. Just back from their North by Northwest tour they've been in the studio recording and have two world premiere songs to play in the Buck City Podcast.



You have to listen to Episode Five, and if you're in a band, you're going to want to do a podcast. Why? Because a podcast can be downloaded and listened to over and over again. It's not just a one-time radio thing... Go to my homepage and click on one of the chicklets, subscribe, or just wimp out and download the MP3 of Episode Five, 'The Dreampop Lounge'... If you do click on a chicklet, try podnova, they're my favorite. But don't discount iTunes. The Buck City Podcast is now on iTunes, Podfeed, Podnova, Podcast, PodcastHostDirectory, PodTower, Podcast Directory, Podcast Pickle, Podcasting News, podcaster world, Odeo.com and Podfeeder... and yes, I did say iTunes! That's the biggie. Go ahead and look, you'll see the Buck City Podcast right there in the music directory...

And no, you don't have to have a MAC to download iTunes. Just go to apple.com and download right now! It's great! A great search engine for podcasts, a great look and feel, and you can listen with ease, with auto updates!

If that isn't enough, my arts page just went through a major overhaul just to keep up with the new Buck City Podcast and the popularity it's already received. Take a look at the new simplistic look and feel...

Stay tuned for a brand new podcast with Punk Rock mayhem and an interview with Gus from the Filthies followed by a theatre podcast with Bakersfield Community Theatre (BCT) director Aaron Maudlin and pirate Mr. Smee from BCT's Peter Pan.

Novelist gears up for the big push on Lords of Bakersfield book - By N.L. Belardes

I walked to work yesterday thinking about a starry-eyed night of big music, art talk, and podcasting discussions when it occurred to me I should let the good people of Bakersfield know that I am literally into my big push just before the 'Lords of Bakersfield' storm about to be set loose on Bakersfield.

In the first of a two-part novel detailing a group of maddened Lords, a young Hollywood pimpchild roams Central California streets, and the wild media storms that raged incessantly back in the late 1970s... oh and it gets better. But I'm not telling.

You don’t want to miss this book. I should add again that I’m putting together a literary street team who is going to be having its first meeting very soon. Stay tuned for an announcement. If you’re interested in being part of the push for this historic literary moment, then make contact: nl@nlbelardes.com

Mexican Rock from Mexico to Bakersfield - By N.L. Belardes

Mexican Rock. What is it? Where is it in Bakersfield? Are there homegrown Mexican rock bands? Are there more than just Mento Buru and mariachis singing ska-rumptious-dilious tunes, electrified, congafied, and singing while we eat our albondigas meatballs? Or are there other hard rocking bands hidden in Bakersfield’s part-Latino heart, that heart that still runs with the waters of El Rio Bravo in a turbulent hydraulic water storm we now call the Kern River?

I had been asked for some time now to attend one of the El Tremendo Huarachon Latin music nights going on in the Bakersfield underworld of Mexican Rock. Sal, manager of LIKHY2 (pronounced Leek-hee-those) had been sending me emails over the past few months detailing the history of his Mexican Rock underground band that really is part of a Bakersfield Indie movement; only this one is mostly Spanish and part English in its lyrics.

When I ran into Sal and LIKHY2 band members, Rafa, Chuy, Damas and Jorge at the unplugged Fish Fry when Mento Buru and Karmahitlist played, he slipped me a CD of nine solid tunes that hit a range of styles: punk, ska, metal; all with a Latino blend of stylings that made me want to dance my socks off right there at my computer. Oh goodness, how could I handle a live show?

That night at Fishlips, Sal said, “You have to come out to the last Tremendo Huarachon. You will hear some great music.” Of course he went dancing after that, tearing it up while Matt Munoz led his boys into a ska-ready big sock frenzy. The house lights were dark. Sal’s dancing shoes were on, and, oh I am getting away from myself…



Saturday night I went to Chencho’s Bar and Grill. This little bar is attached to the historic Dome, that old Strongbow Stadium where fisticuffs still fly in its hidden blood-stained rink. Ok, maybe there’s no blood on the rink. But it sounded good as I hear that people still pound faces there on a regular basis. Old Chencho, he sat outside on his concrete patio and quietly observed the Latino crowd meandering in through the gate. He’s got some grey locks and once talked with me about the Lords of Bakersfield and some research he once did…



Inside Chencho’s there is a little bar selling beers and tacos and really, OK, I hate to say it, but there were some nasty sodas, the worst I ever tasted. I know, it's pitiful of me to even bring it up... Blogger Matildakay who was in the house said, “They just need to learn how to properly hook up the CO2.” Ok, the bad soda is forgiven. It’s just a learning curve, so somebody please help them. There were no margarita’s either, but so what? Everyone was happy. And those problems are easily fixed. Though the crowd was overheated from the sweltering summer temperatures, there was still a hint of anticipation in the air for all of the night’s bands. Six Gun Samurai was up first. It was their first gig, so I made sure to take some photos to capture their historic experience…



Six Gun Samurai is a Mexican Rock Screamo band that leans toward a nice pop sound that’s mild on the screaming and heavy on the pop. The band members seemed a little nervous, but for a first gig, it was a great show…





KD from Threttsound was in the house mixing all the music. He bought me one of those rip-roaring sodas, but I still drank it. His business is thriving and he's looking to make more. So get in touch with him...

This Plastic Smile from Riverside, California was also in the same musical category, but with a bit harder of a Screamo sound. I loved hearing lyrics in Spanish and appreciated when lead singer, Alan, spoke to us in both Spanish and English. And that’s because my Spanish is really crummy.


Check out the three hip ghosts dancing like madmen

These guys had stage lights glaring on them and it had to have been nearly 105 degrees with this tremendous huarachon dancing heat wave striking Bakersfield. But they got through their set, sold some merchandise, gave me a CD though I wish we had sat and talked... You see, I plan on using a song from This Plastic Smile in an upcoming Mexican Rock podcast…probably “Solo Memorias” since I dig that one the most…

Tijuana rock punk band, Delux was next on stage. I had met Max Uballez, representative of their American distributor co-op out in the parking lot as well as Mo and Leo from Delux. I kept hearing, “They sound like a Mexican Green Day…” What? A Mexican version of Green Day, perhaps even of rural rock punksters, The Filthies of Bakersfield? It couldn’t be! But they did…



When Delux finally hit the stage I was in for a punk pop treat as they indeed had that same flavorful high-energy rock punk sound that the young folks love these days with Green Day winning a Grammy and all. Only this was with Spanish lyrics sung to music with a Mexican-American border flavor that had the Chencho’s crowd going ballistic… The boys from Delux had some serious punk energy, with Mo jumping on the old bouncy wrestling rink like he was going to stage dive a sweaty mess into the crowd. Guitarist/singer, Leo was right there with him, touting a wireless set-up with his guitar, which he spun around him like he was flipping an ice dancer around his waist. Let me tell you their music is every bit as good live as their CD.



Forget that I don’t understand half the lyrics. I get the feeling of their music, and that’s what's important… But let me tell you, the night was hot as they belted out their set. Mo, who is easily over six-feet tall even complained a little. “I’m tired!” But not too tired after the set as Leo and their drummer took some pics with the ladies hanging out at the back of the bar. Snap-snap went the cameras as the ladies were as hot for the boys of Delux as I was for their music.



I met with Delux for a little while outside on the patio. Mo and Leo are from Tijuana and talking to them reminded me of a work where a novelist talks about Palestijuas, an oppressed Mexican landscape hidden beneath the glittering shadows of American Capitalism in waterless San Diego. But these musicians put off an aire of success. They dressed and looked like hip Californians. Mo even had a California accent. I asked him where his accent came from…

He looked at me, still sweating from a raucous set of powerpop punk, “I grew up in Tijuana until after high school. So did Leo. But I got a basketball scholarship to San Diego. So I spent a lot of time in the states.”

We spoke a bit about their upcoming tour to the East coast, about distributor deals, and Delux’s ability to sell 9000-10000 CDs in Mexico. That wouldn’t surprise me. The kids at Chencho’s flocked to purchase merchandise. We then talked about an International podcast and all agreed that it was something in all our futures… Of course that would have to go better than this awesome rock bands sense of direction in a band van as they at first headed on the I-15 toward the Mojave Desert. Hey Delux, we’re a hot town… but not that hot. I look forward to meeting these Mexican punk rocksters again.

A should add their CD is most excellent with the beginning of their song, “Desafortunado” sounding reminiscent of the Filthies “Embalm you”, only with a rad Latino flair that was amazing…





Speaking of local legends and I don’t mean the Lords of Bakersfield fiction book I’ve written. I’m talking about a local underground Mexican rock band that’s been around Bakersfield for some time. LIKHY2 was the headliner band and a well-deserved group of musicians. These guys have some strong musicianship, some long hair, some killer guitar riffs, and Rafa on the drums reminds me of that singer for Los Lobos, turned percussion.

Earlier today I received this note from Chris of RidiKule who said I just had to check these guys out:

Hey, NL have you heard of or had the chance to see a band called " LIKHY2" It's pronounced " Leeky Dose" They are a spanish rock band that has a sound of a punk/ rock / alt. I checked them out one night over at The Dome, just to see what they sounded like, because they wanted to play a show at Vinny's. My intention was to go and see a few songs and leave, on to other shows. To be honest I was not really looking forward to it, due to the fact of being let down in the past. Have you ever had someone tell you about a band "You just had to see"?, and then get let down. I showed up just before they were to start playing, and I noticed that there was a pretty decent crowd, not unlike our own " Punk rock" shows. There were kids there dressed up and ready to mosh, mohawks, spikes and all. There were quite a few people there. The band started and immediately got my attention. I could not understand what it was that they were singing about, because it was all in spanish, but they had a killer stage show and were all quite good musicians. They have a percussionist who plays both acoustic and electric guitar also. I could not leave until they were done with there set, and I got to meet the guys afterward. They were all very personable, and just loved to play music. If you get the chance to check them out I would suggest doing so. You may not be able to understand them unless you can speak spanish, but sometimes you can't even understand what english bands are singing about either. The music is good and upbeat and that's what really matters. Thanks, Chris





LIKHY2 has a difficult name to pronounce for the gringos, and some complex songs, and I think their look is a little mixed compared to their style. After listening to their CD I was expecting more punk-looking ska-boys, but these muchachos were some cool-looking long-haired Mexican hipsters; and so was the crowd. In fact there was one young Latina dressed in black that had the coolest black-and-white patterns going on. She took a picture with me and I was flattered.



Along with Rafa on drums is Jorge on percussion really tearing it up in this four-piece Mexican rock band who sings their own original tunes as if they were classics all along. I didn’t know why it took me so long to see this band other than I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to truly experience their music. All I can say about LIKHY2 is they have many styles incorporated into a fluid sense of musicianship where artists blend into a unique Latino style. It’s powerful and would work well to crossover and play with any band in Bakersfield, not just the big Mexican Rock fests…

LIKHY2 self-titled 9-song CD is a really awe-inspiring slice of Mexican Rock that I highly recommend you track down. These guys are a hidden gem in Bakersfield music and are even looking to be more progressive as I just got a note from Sal about them looking to expand their sound…

Ke ondas Nick? Komo estas Karnal?

This is Sal from LIKHY2...I am trying to set up an account for LIKHY2 at MySpace but, I am having some technical complications...If there's any way you can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it...I know you're a busy man and I don't want to take much of your time....chingon!

P.S. Thanks again for supporting the show at The Dome this past Friday.

P.S.S. We are curently holding auditions for a Lead Singer for LIKHY2, I was wondering if it's possible to post an advertisment on your Blog...Here's the Info:

LIKHY2 is currently holding auditions for Lead Singer... If you have the right "look", the "moves", and the "voice"....you may be added on to Bakersfield's premier Spanish Rock Band "LIKHY2"......

Our current singer "Chuy" will be jumping on lead guitar and support back-up vocals...LIKHY2 is looking to experiment with new ideas to create a more eccentirc show!!!!

Must be over 21, able to sing in Spanish and English....

Interested prospects should call "Sal" at (661) 496-5252
email: splascencia@runner.csub.edu
web page: www.likhy2.com

Enough said. Mexican Rock in Bakersfield is definitely alive and well. Look forward to a podcast featuring music from these bands and Nunez on the Buck City Podcast…

Calender ends, Podcasting craze takes off like a rocket right here in Bakersfield - By N.L. Belardes

I'm a little behind on my reviews since I have been revamping my site and attending shows over the weekend, but please hold steady. I will soon have write-ups and photos of La Tremendo Huarachon at Chenchos, a killer show at MWP put on by Studio 99, and tonight's big two year anniversary show at Riley's featuring Jessie Deluxe and the Rolling Blackouts...

Notes on revamping the nlbelardes.com site:

I apologize but there is no more Calendar. That has been replaced with a 'friends' page of Podcasts, blogs, bands, stores and more... That's still in the works, but you can see it as a work in progress. If you want your link added then please contact me.

I offer no excuses other than than the Calendar was difficult to maintain. It would be nice if someone in the community stepped up and maintained a calendar of art, theatre, and music events... but it just isn't happening, and I can only do so much. I will continue to review and attend shows, but I will be focusing more on the Buck City Podcast and the Morning Cereal Podcasts.

Great Podcast News!



On the good side, the N.L. podcasts are really taking off! I just received 5 emails from the Netherlands, 4 various Asia emails, and over 20 emails from the states. Tell me you don't want your music on the Buck City Podcast! Right... forget radio, go with the podcasting. And if you think I am full of hooey, just read this article today in Yahoo News on podcasting and the big media podland grab!

Let's go Bakersfield! Let's do this!

The Filthies, Hit by a Semi and the Politicians

I don't have time at the moment to do a write-up. I'm off to watch Charlie and the Choclate factory with some Johnny Depp-obsessed ladies...

Let's just say it was a night of punk gods from Orange County and Bakersfield. Rural Rock Punk meets suburban punkness in the Filthies, Hit by a Semi, and the Politicians... oh yeah, and check out where Guppy of the Filthies kid Ian, you know he's a next generation punk, right? He played in one of the songs...

Check out the devastation:

Barrie's Peter Pan still flies 101 years later at BCT - By N.L. Belardes

Upon arriving at the Bakersfield Community Theatre I saw a lot of kids battling with wooden swords and instantly thought, “I want one of those swashbuckling weapons! I want to fight with these swashbucklers, Indians, pirates, fluffy frogs, Lost Boys and flittering pixies with my own grand wooden sword!” Oh, but then their swords were taken away. Such prudish theatre folk so glumly not wanting any child’s eyes to get poked out olives propped on the tips of toothpicks, or a bloody gash on the noggin’, or to tear a fluffy kitty costume… for shame! These are the things we children are never concerned with. But then that did cost me a scar or two as a reckless wooden-sword wielding youth…



Youth however was still regained. I watched kids wrestle on the theatre lawn and run about like they really were innocent pirates and lost children on the banks of Neverland streams. There, in that far away place, imaginations are a reality of childish perspectives of grown-up needs and candy-coated desires. The overly grouchy parental Captain Hook, oh how dastardly and comical he was in the Disney version, just how would he appear in Aaron Maudlin’s direction of James Barrie’s 1904 classic, Peter Pan? And that immortal Peter Pan, that misfit lonely child-immortal and swashbuckler supreme, who would play such a wondrous lad? I was on a mission to find out…

The weather was terrible. The day had run as hot as a Bakersfield summer could be, and worse because of a slight humidity that has been uncanny for the urban sprawl of the Southern San Joaquin. The children didn’t seem to mind though as I saw adults fanning themselves among the aisles. In the seats sat many kids from the Boys and Girls club. They all appeared genuinely interested in the goings on, though they seemed as hot as I was…





There in the red curtained theatre show host, Aaron Maudlin, came out and greeted the audience with the usual, “Turn off thy cell phones” speech. He thanked the contributors, the donations from charitable businesses and was genuinely proud that Peter Pan would literally fly. Of course as he spoke I moved up to the front of the theatre. What else could I ask for but the best seat in the house? I wanted to see Peter fly…

The play began in as quaint a setting you would expect. The actors all spoke in contrived British accents. They stood in their pajamas in a giant cartoony bedroom and argued with their father who seemed as annoyed with the family dog, Nana, as the rest of us were with the poor air conditioning in the sweltering theatre. Nana of course let out a whiny howl of a bark that was as hilarious as it was sad. Such a punished pup given medicine and dragged out to be tied to a lonely tree…



And then there were the children with their tidy British accents, their wondrous speech of wanting fairness, and adventure that only Peter could truly solve.



The acting? It was delightful. The music? Delightful as well, but from a soundtrack and was best used in between acts when the curtains closed and kids ran across the stage. The music was magical and seeing kids in costumes of colorful frogs, birds, cats, faeries, and more made me remember when my own kids were so small. It was a touching moment repeated several times throughout the night.

I was only planning on watching half the play. But I had been mesmerized. Captain Cooke’s sidekick, Mr. Smee handed out refreshments and I saw Aaron Maudlin who said, “Don’t miss the sword battle between Hook and Peter.” And yes, I had been mesmerized: the imagination, the reminding that I am not unlike Barrie, a writer with a boyish imagination for the whimsical, just a kid as well and would have been just as suited to hop across the Bakersfield Community Theatre stage in a frog costume, or to don the hook costume which was a magnificent as the actor’s portrayal of such a piraty buffoon, or even a Lost Boy sword...





And yes, there was a flying Peter Pan, portrayed by a lovely young lady who sometimes spoke in a whisper. But then, Peter Pan is such a whispering character, whooshing through scenes and in a confidence and sometimes self doubt, as Peter is truly only caring about an infinite childhood and fairness in Neverland—a child’s view of fairness I should add.





So wonderful—the bubble-blowing mermaids and the fake water; so wonderful the silliness of Hook’s not-so-faithful sidekick, Mr. Smee, whose blundering and zaniness I heard one audience member say, “Stole the show.”





There is so much more to see and the actors and actresses are a delight. Please go watch this show... the end is a treat, such a great swordfight as here I will only give you a glimpse:





Title: Peter Pan
Where:: Bakersfield Community Theater
Address: 2400 South Chester Avenue
When: July 15, 16, 22, 23 @ 7PM; Matinees July 16, 17, 23, 24 @ 2PM
Cost: $5 Adults, $3 Children
Details: A fantasy in 5 Acts by J.M. Barrie. Visit http://www.bakersfieldcommunitytheatre.org/nowplaying.htm for full information.

New Literary Arts Podcast, The Morning Cereal Show - By N.L. Belardes

There’s a new podcast in town called The Morning Cereal Show. If you’re into the literary arts, then you will want to check out this podcast that falls under the Buck City Podcast banner. For now, The Morning Cereal Show is centered around N.L. Belardes reading excerpts from his forthcoming Chicano lit novella, Thick White Crust. This isn’t high-octane music, but high-octane literary happenings, readings, and more… and, it’s EVERYDAY. Keep up with the readings and get to know the stories of N.L. Belardes.

Add the feed. Or go listen now: THICK WHITE CRUST: READING 1.

SUBMIT A POEM:

You can also interact. Send in poems and N.L. will read one poem each week from his listeners… Thanks to Kevin Briley of Whiskey Galore for this great idea…

Just so you know, this means N.L. runs two out of the only three podcasts out of Bakersfield, CA.

Whiskey Galore to make reappearance later this year... - By N.L. Belardes

I had been wondering what Kevin Briley was up to. I hadn't heard
a peep, and then out of the blue I get a note. He must have had a
moment of clarity in between studying for all those exams.

A note from Whiskey Galore:

… not having too much fun studying for the bar…
I know that Whiskey Galore is going to be doing some shows this fall.
We are going to do the KC fair for the Bakersfield fire fighters and
probably Riley's or Brittannia. We just bought about 3G worth of our
own gear finally! I am sure we are doing Lengthwise in October also.
Mike just bumped into some friends of ours in Las Vegas and there is
a chance we might do a gig with them later this year. Regardless, we
are playing Bakersfield as soon as this nightmare I’ve gotten myself
into is over.

I came in to town to play a wake for Harold Yule, who owned the
british shop. The wake was at Mission family Mortuary. I got to see
Kenny Mount and hang out and do some sets with him. Always a treat
to hang out with that dude.

Well, the bar will be over 7/28. I hope after that we can have a few
pints and talk about some music.

Take care man.
kevin

Las Vegas artists and Vinny Swizzarino's Tale of the Trailer - By N.L. Belardes

I may have experienced several years worth of crazy Las Vegas days, but let’s face it, there are folks out there still living it! I was really in awe of a few artists and folks while I chummed it up on Fremont Street back in the late 90s: I wandered the bowels of the Golden Nugget Casino, tossed pennies from the tippy top of the Big Red Garage, and saw my cheesy cat town Swing Cat Blues drawings up on that four block long canopy of lights.

Although I credit those Las Vegas artist folks for helping me to truly realize I was an artist, and an insane one at that, I can’t help but think there are still a few artists in Vegas who I rub elbows via email at least. Meet Art Whitton and Cindy Chinn. OK, Art is an artist but he would never admit it because his wife, Cindy is about as fantastic of a multi-faceted artist out there. Art’s claim to fame back in the day was creating an autocad drawing of a Coke can that made it into all of our animation light show spectaculars. He’s an artist, I swear!

Now Cindy, she can sculpt, paint, draw, build, animate, create, and dare I say, not only would she win ‘Survivor’ with all her skills and know-how, she also drives cars really fast… Oh yes she can and does. She does this wild Autocross stuff, full-on pedal to the freakin’ metal, and quite frankly, it scares me to death. “Hey Nick! Come racing with us!” she would say. And would I ever go? No. I always wimped out.

Now, Art, he’s one of those closet Dostoyevsky lovers who has a fine taste for writing as sarcastically as he can. Well recently, when their club got a trailer and spent a night painting it as if it was personally to carry Corey Costelloe’s Nascarzone speedster special, Art suddenly decided to help his friend Vinny Swizzarino write a story about it. So sit back, get a brew, ‘cause Art’s Canadian and he would expect that, and read his little ditty, ‘The Tale of the Trailer’. And then go check out www.lvrscca.org and see what desert autocross racing can do for your complexion.


The Tale Of The Trailer
by Vinnie Swizzarino

It sat there, motionless, at the end of the driveway. Like Captain Ahab’s Moby Dick, this was another great white whale. What follows is the epic story of how the LVR trailer came to be what it is today.

I take you back almost a year. With King David and Rick of Pahrump in charge, the beast was first tamed – almost. They dissected it and reworked the brakes, bearings and all that other stuff that makes it roll down the highway with such grace. With a fresh coat of paint in a spectacular off-white, it was ready to face the new season – greeting veterans and rookies alike. But was there something missing?

One group of people looked at it and thought, “Perfect – it’s plain and inconspicuous. Plus, we can see it at night!” Other’s thought, “Perhaps blue or purple would look nice”. Then out of the back of the crowd came a voice.

“I have a dream!”, she screamed “I dream to live in a land where trailers are respected and glorified, for without them, we can have no events.” This was the voice of the crazy Artist, with the even crazier hair. The people stood back and let her approach the trailer. There were murmurs and snickers.

The Artist turned to the crowd and spoke: “This white box is not just a hauler of dead cones and oversized speakers – it is to be the shining beacon that represents us all!” From these bold words, the Artist described her plan. A month later, the Artist and her fellow believers gathered at the house on Duneville to make the vision a reality. All of the workers were high on enthusiasm and didn’t let their lack of experience get in their way. The group worked hard the first day, planning, voting, masking, painting – everyone chipped in, for they shared the vision and the dream.

Hours turned into days and days turned into nights. The Artist and her husband, the appropriately named Art – worked long into the nights – for they feared the daylight. Others, like Randy, enjoyed the heat and the puddles that formed as they melted. The Brothers Krahl, Kris and Hunter S. provided much help and support through many of the long nights. Don feared the wrath of the Artist, but gave everyone the gift of light for weeks to come.

I would also be remiss if I was to forget the Bottomleys, Scott and Cindy, for they learned the fine art of taping and provided much sustenance and support. Vickie, the Diamond Queen of Taping, worked hard – but with her busy schedule of work, school and keeping tabs on two young daughters, could not work as much as she liked. Her daughter Amber proved that she not only shared her mother’s skills at taping, but may have surpassed them. Assisting the Artist with the only other steady hand was Catherine of Britton. Many hours she spent, painting and touching up – culminating in placing the Golden Eagle above the flag pole.

But no dream can be complete without the finishing touches that only the King of the Las Vegas Region could provide. In his workshops, his minions toiled to make the hardware as shiny and glorious as the dream. And finally, mention must be made of Young Carl, for he provided the greatest gift of all – he was the bringer of liquids and ice.

But in the end, this is a story of a group of people who tackled a project head on. Experience was low, spirits were high and as much as possible, decisions were made as a group. Unsure of even which paints to use, the group worked hard to ensure the best possible job. As a group, everyone who worked on it hopes that members will enjoy the trailer for years to come. It stands as a glowing testament to what can happen when club members pull together for a common cause.

Buck City Podcast Episode Four, Skakersfield, has big interview with Matt Munoz - By N.L. Belardes

In the first ever interview on the Buck City Podcast, Matt Munoz of Mento Buru came down to talk some music smack of Ska-liscious yesterday, today, and tomorrow. With his head still spinning from a big Fishlips show Matt shared some of his favorite Mento Buru songs and even one of his inspirational ska-ditties from Los Fabuloso Cadillacs.


Matt Munoz on the Buck City Podcast

You have to listen to Episode Four, and if you're in a band, you're going to want to do a podcast. Why? Because a podcast can be downloaded and listened to over and over again. It's not just a one-time radio thing... Go to my homepage and click on one of the chicklets, subscribe, or just wimp out and download the MP3 of Episode Four, 'Skakersfield'... If you do click on a chicklet, try podnova, they're my favorite. But don't discount iTunes. The Buck City Podcast is now on iTunes, Podfeed, Podnova, Podcast, PodcastHostDirectory, PodTower, Podcast Directory, Podcast Pickle, Podcasting News, and Podfeeder... and yes, I did say iTunes! That's the biggie. Go ahead and look, you'll see the Buck City Podcast right there in the music directory...

And no, you don't have to have a MAC to download iTunes. Just go to apple.com and download right now! It's great! A great search engine for podcasts, a great look and feel, and you can listen with ease, with auto updates!

If that isn't enough, my arts page just went through a major overhaul just to keep up with the new Buck City Podcast and the popularity it's already received. Take a look at the new simplistic look and feel...

With that said, Matt Munoz was in the N.L. Belardes studio; you know that studio that records from the bowels of the downtown underworld, in the dark shadowy tunnels of who-knows-where...? Matt had a lot to say about ska-musack and I look forward to having him on the show again and again.

Next up for the Buck City Podcast? The Dalloways. They're going to jam, they're going to play some brand new material, and crooner/guitarist Gerhard promises to tell ALL...

KooKooNauts' Punk Historian Johnny Davenport Strikes Again - By N.L. Belardes

Ok, this is hot off the press from local KooKooNauts afficionado Johnny Davenport. He may actually be one of the KooKooNauts in disguise. He may be a punk teenage angst hero. He may just be kookoo for KooKooNauts. But I'm publishing him here for the second time, right here on nlbelardes.com. Get raw, get punkness, get Johnny!! Why? Because Johhny Strikes again as he dives into the punk Bakersfield underworld for a big punk report:



July 9th. Mohawk Revolution "British Punk Invasion, in retrospect."
By Johnny Davenport. July, 10th, 2005 ( Reporter: The Bakersfield Scene)

Mohawk Revolution "British Punk Invasion is a tour put on by World Wide Concerts in association with J Rock Entertainment, Guerilla Urban Marketing and Libertalia Marketing. And featured bands from both the UK and California, USA. The Skulls (United Kingdom), The Partisans (United Kingdom) American Made (New Port Beach, CA) The Koo-Koo-Nauts (Bakersfield, CA) Willie Psycho (El Cajon, California). Also, several special guest bands. Tour date locations included: Newport Beach, CA, Tijuana, Mexico, Irvine, CA, Santa Cruz, CA and Bakersfield, CA. It was the July 9th Bakersfield show that I was able to attend and hence review.

I didn't think I would ever see it, the Jerry's punk resurrection. As I drove south down Chester Ave. About 6:30 PM it was still hot and sunny, I didn't really expect much but as soon as 22nd street off the 178 I started to see them, a steady migration of colored hair denim vested, stud laden punks, majestic Mohawks reminiscent of a time gone by, not even at this years Van's Warp Tour a week before did I ever see such a site. As I got closer to Jerry's I could see this was something really big. I went around 18th street and lucky for me and my old Nova someone was just pulling out so I slipped right in.

There were severe levels of Punkdom surrounding the front orifice of the venue. In the alley there were several clusters of various subspecies of punk, Skater punks with their boards, Straight edge with their XXXs on their hands, hardcore with their old schools hawks, liberty spikes and vests, T-shirt punks with "Rancid and Ramones T-shirts, Skin Heads, and the ever present street punks drinks barfing and otherwise hang'n out.

I had purchased my ticket the day before at Downtown Records for ten bucks, I gave my ticket to the awesome looking babe at the door and was in. It was a show where you can't go in and out, sort of like L.A. shows, this works well and it is safer and more people tend to watch the bands. Since I could not go in and out, I opted to do some hang'n out and some other stuff before going right in. Unnoticed I cruised around the scene, listened in and made some rounds. Downtown Records was abuzz with conversation and up and down the 19th street corner. It was a lot like the punk scene from a few years back, really vast.

Most of the time when you get big acts from out of town a lot of people are just hanging out, but this time it was different, most everybody came in. I bought a slice of world famous pizza, a cola and down the stairs I went. I got there as the local band "The Koo-koo-nauts" were setting up. The Cavern was about have backed and as the sound check was going on people were hustling down the stairs with pizza slices giggling with each step down these historic steps. Jerry's ambience has stayed fairly close to it's classic feel and this quote from a 2002 Blackboard Magazine article pretty much sums it up :"The underground cavern that is the basement theater of Jerry's Pizza on Chester in downtown Bakersfield. Jerry's is reminiscent of the 1963 Cavern Club in Britain where the Beatles began their career. The atmosphere is amazing: three black wooden staircases lead you into a punk underworld; this blackened, brick-walled underground cavern comes alive as darkness falls outside. The bright white stage lights break the underground darkness with silhouettes of majestic mohawks and liberty-spiked punks who cast thunder from the stage as the mosh pit raves like a fevered tribal war dance. From above creeps the smell of Jerry's famous pizza, breaking the historic musk below. Above the cavern is the actual pizzeria. In the bar-like register with its glass circular pizza warmer, a slice is a mere buck fifty. There are a couple of wooden booth tables for your dining pleasure, two roof-mounted televisions and a really frightening clown gum ball machine. Occasionally the oxygen bar man is there, doing his flavored air thing. Jerry came to Downtown Bakersfield in 1992 with old country traditions for pizza baked on a stone hearth. The best part, though, is the thunderous outpouring of sound from the bands below in the cavern. This is the ultimate in dining atmosphere for the punk and early rock music connoisseur. If you want to relive those early 1960s days at the Cavern Club, come to a punk show some night at Jerry's" (Blackboard 2002).

Nick Belardes of nlbelardes.com a local Bakersfield music and scene writer posed this question on his website a few months back: "Have you heard this astro-band, these kookoo cocoapuff kings of guitar-blasting SKA punkdom?" Well, I have to say after this show hundreds of punks from near and far can say "OH YA "and "kings of guitar-blasting SKA punkdom" is right on the mark! The very first