Going Places
Aaron Orbit is going to Toronto, Canada, to perform during Indie Week in mid-October. He will kick off his travels to foreign lands (and celebrate his birthday) with a show at
Bombay Bar and Grill on Friday, Sept. 28, with
Carlism, Space Panther, LEAGUES and
Dante’s Elephant.
Jeff Hershey and the Heartbeats are currently touring Europe with dates in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands. Hershey said he’s excited to finally meet some Euro fans face to face.
Recording/Releasing
Affirm Records in Santa Paula is celebrating a handful of summer releases, including a duet by the
Charles Law Band featuring
Delaney Gibson on the song “Crazy Girl” and a cowboy poetry hymn by
Andrea Kidd that we can’t wait to hear.
Army of Freshmen has finished its record
Happy to Be Alive ,which frontman Chris Jay says is the band’s best and “most rockin’” record to date. The band also shot a video in the historic Gardner Building earlier this month for the song “Ava.” The single and video will be released Oct. 16; the full record is due Nov. 13.
The Shoddy Cons are finally in the studio after years of consistent local gigging. Frontman
Graco Hernandez said the music is done and the band is finishing up vocals. They hope to be finished in late October. Punkers
Stop Breathing just released a video for the song “What I Want” from their debut album, which is getting a nice push from
No Idea records.
All-Ages Update
Save for
Rock City Studios in Camarillo,
Zoey’s on occasion, and random hardcore shows in secret locations, Ventura County’s music scene has been notoriously lacking in venues for underage audiences, but there may be a tiny light at the end of the tunnel. In tandem with the debut of its tasty new burger bar,
Bombay Bar and Grill has been booking a few early shows, allowing the younger-than-21 crowd to see some of the region’s more popular musical acts and grab a bite to eat.
Movie Town in midtown Ventura is putting the final touches on a stage in its back room as owner
Josh Berman prepares to host all-ages shows there. Stay tuned.
Kickstarting
Local hard rockers
Angie’s Curse need 500 people to contribute just $5 to a Kickstarter campaign so the band can finally get a record made. At press time, they were approaching 20 percent of their goal. The deadline is Thursday, Oct. 6. Can ya help a goth out? Go to Kickstarter and search Angie’s Curse. With less than a week left to raise $15,000 toward recording costs, young singer-songwriter
Britney Christian could use a wee miracle. If she doesn’t make it, maybe she should consider auditioning for
The Voice — she has the pipes to wow. Speaking of
The Voice,
Lee Koch, whom we still consider a local, campaigned hard for help funding his record and managed to surpass his $24,000 goal. Congrats Lee!
Launching
Producer, vocalist and entrepreneur
Jace Martin is planning the first
Oxnard Music Walk on Saturday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m. The event, which will begin a series, is based loosely on New Orleans-style street ambience and will feature a variety of acts performing R&B, funk and hip-hop, including
Caliente, Cosolive, LG and Unwritten and
Riley Real. Martin, who owned the Cajun Country Café in Oxnard some years ago, would like to incorporate busking, spoken word and zydeco into the event in hopes of celebrating the city’s cultural richness and diversity. “You can go down Bourbon Street, and see 20 bands in a two- block radius,” he said, explaining his inspiration. For more information, visit www.downtownoxnard.org. There’s yet another new kid in town and he has some Monster plans.
Ezio Van Horst, a 37-year-old entrepreneur from Simi Valley, is putting on the first
Monster Jam Fest at the
Ventura County Fairgrounds Oct. 26-28. The all-ages, family-friendly Halloween celebration will feature a 2,000-square-foot haunted house comparable to the Seaside Haunt of years past (no affiliation), carnival rides, pumpkin patch and a battle of the bands culminating with a metal concert on the third day featuring
P.O.D., Static-X, Exodus, Prong, Cherri Bomb and headliner
Hell Yeah featuring members of
Mudvayne and
Pantera. The winner of the battle of the bands will be put on the Sunday bill. Though news of the event has spread a little via word of mouth in Ventura, Van Horst told VCReporter that 700 tickets have already sold. Admission will be $7 on Friday and Saturday and $65 for the Sunday concert with unlimited rides. For more information and to register for the battle, visit www.monsterjamfest.com.
NoteWorthy is a monthly column dedicated to developments in Ventura County’s music scene. If you have a tip, write to Michel or give her a call.
