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May 24, 2007
Adventures on the IE Coffee Radio Show
Saturday morning I woke up earlier than normal to appear on the Inland Empire Coffee Radio Show with hosts Cliff and Ralph at 9 a.m.
For those of you who have not listened in, the show spends a half hour on coffee talk and another half hour on local music coverage.
Ralph, the host of the music portion, asked me to come on the show and talk about my column in the Facts and the Local Music Scene.
As my first radio experience I was not quite comfortable with random chatter until I got to talk about music.
I gave Ralph three tracks from three different bands to play on the show, all of which received strong and positive feedback from listeners who were chatting online about the “good jams.”
First I played Waiting for Decay’s “Enemies,” then Shoppy’s “Sua” and “Pianos” by Phoenix and the Turtle.
The station owner, Fred, called in at one point asking if I happened to be affiliated with any other radio stations. I quickly let him know this was my radio debut and he quickly offered me my own show. Crazy.
Well, public radio costs money, but Ralph is stoked and is sending a letter to Fred to see if he and I could get a deal.
Whatever the case may be, Cliff and Ralph want to me to appear of the IE Coffee show once a month. I will be appearing next month on June 9.
The show is streamed live online. So if you haven’t heard me say enough about music, check out it out.
www.myspace.com/iecoffeeradioshow
Posted by Darcie Flansburg at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2007
Saturation Art and Music Festival
If you haven’t been to downtown Riverside recently, go check out the sixth annual Saturation Art and Music Festival. The event hosts hundreds of artists, bands, performers, dancers, poets, DJs, art and craft vendors, workshoppers, bike gangs and other “strangeness” at several venues through Sunday, May 20.
Many of the performers are local, some coming from as far as Portland and San Diego.
Many of the events are free or at least fairly cheap so that anyone and everyone can attend.
“We choose to keep most of the events free and all ages so that the kids who couldn’t normally afford to go to a whole bunch of shows out of town can see the possibilities in their own backyard,” said event coordinator Alaska Whelan. “We are helping to foster an inclusive cultural community in Riverside.”
Well, I’m all for it and I only wish that I could attend more of the events. So I am enlisting all of you to enjoy what I cannot.
Tonight, Thursday, May 17, at midnight, eight bands are performing with mixed media projections split between the Life Arts Building and Division 9 South. The bands include Brother Mitya, Baby Dinosaur, Mosaic Palm, old mexico, Sleeping Me, Vernon Falls Off a Building, Voice on Tape and Fathom.
Friday at 8 p.m. at Back to the Grind is The Art Opening featuring 20 visual and multimedia artists’ work in illustration, textiles, installation, photography and design.
After The Art Opening the Grind’s basement will turn into an open bar with DJs on both levels.
On Saturday Der Irregular Bike Society presents a traveling DJ party. Vendors and sellers of art and music will also be present downtown for the event. Vendors include Nightpass Records, KUCR, Totally Mag!, and Folktale records.
Art and culture workshops will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. and music begins at 6 p.m. featuring Bizzart, Perrla, El Oct, Mad Marionettes, Francisco the Man, The Panties, The Sea Beasts, Scandells, Jeprocket and Walter oftha Woodz and diamondcutter.
And Sunday features Mika Miko, Redcellone, The New Motherf*ckers, Fights in the Orange Groves, Mystery Hangup, Polite, John Thill, Abe Vigoda, The Gaza Express and Rogue State.
This brief explanation does not even include all of the events taking place through Sunday. So get out there and get saturated.
Information: www.myspace.com/saturationfest
Posted by Darcie Flansburg at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)
May 10, 2007
Joshua Tree Music Festival rocks out May 18 through May 20
As the weather continues to warm, outdoor festivals become more prevalent. And though Coachella is now in the rearview mirror, the Joshua Music Festival is on its way.
The festival will take place May 18 through May 20, featuring bands from all over the world including Los Amigos Invisibles from Venezuela and The New Deal from Canada.
What is great about recent music festivals is their “green” agenda.
Like Coachella, the Joshua Tree Music Festival encourages carpooling to the site, recycling the biodegradable products at the event and even uses biodiesel for the generators, donated by TurkeyTown Biodiesel.
The festival also includes a Kidsville which offers daily parades, stargazing, arts and crafts, face painting, juggling, a playground, bubbles and puppets.
Coachella could have used a Kidsville. I watched parents pushing strollers through crowds of patrons who were passing joints and dancing crazily. Not the best environment for children.
If you bring 10 non-perishable food items to donate to the Conscious Alliance Food Drive you receive a Joshua Tree Music Festival limited edition poster.
Coachella offered a free water bottle when you recycle 10. The only thing they didn’t mention was that you had to buy the water inside the event and could not bring in outside bottles for recycling.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it to this year’s Joshua Tree Music Festival and I encourage readers to write in with their experiences for those of us who are missing out.
On the upside, the Joshua Tree Roots Music Festival will be taking place Oct. 20 and 21. So if you couldn’t make it out next weekend, get a jump start on the October festival.
Joshua Tree Music Festival May line up:
Los Amigos Invisibles
Garaj Mahal
The New Deal, fea. Dave Murphy of STS9
Rhythm Council
Heavyweight Dub Champion
Ganga Giri
Be Good Tanyas
Prezident Brown
Pnuma Trio
Brett Dennen
Hunkamama
Meltone
Trampled by Turtles
Po’ Girl
Axis Brothers, fea. Wally Ingram
Goddess Alchemy Project
Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra
Omar Torrez
Blvd, with Souleye
Vegitation
Maneja Beto
Scott Huchabay
Mojow and the Vibration Army
Solid Ray Woods and the Raw Soul Revue
Local Music Calendar: May 10 — 17
The Vault: 14 E. Vine St., Redlands
9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 12 — Hobo Jazz
The Performance Loft: 345 N. Fifth St., Redlands
7:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 — Buffalo Blues Band
Market Night: State Street, Redlands
Tonight — Broken Arrow, Crystal Marie, and Sounds Divine
Farm Artisan Foods: 22 E. State St., Redlands
6 p.m. Friday, May 11 — James Nation Trio
Angel’s Road House: 32464 Dunlap Blvd., Yucaipa
10 p.m. Saturday, May 12 — Kisses
The Vibe: 1805 University Ave., Riverside
8 p.m. Friday, May 11 — Charley Horse, Mad Marge and the Stonecutters, the sleeping Sea King and the Hellions
Lake Alice: 3630 1/2 University Ave., Riverside
8:30 p.m. Friday, May 11 — Under Cover ($6)
8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 12 — Under Cover ($6)
The Press: 129 Harvard Ave., Claremont
9 p.m. Tonight — Ryan Seward and DJ 33 66 North
10 p.m. Friday, May 11 — DJ Jordanian
10 p.m. Saturday, May 12 — DJ Jordanian
10 p.m. Sunday, May 13 — DJ Jordanian
The Wire: 247 N. Second Ave., Upland
7 p.m. Friday, May 11 — Capulet, A Hearts Affair, Unarmed, and Chiasmata
7 p.m. Saturday, May 12 — Science Fiction Theatre, 200 West, Late Night Avenue, AXIS and donny
7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 — IN:AVIATE, Day Two, and The Ready Aim Fire!
Next Week: Buffalofest
Posted by Darcie Flansburg at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
May 02, 2007
Redlands Music Festival anyone?
So, I finally had the pleasure of dirtying my toes and sweating through my clothes at the Coachella Art and Music Festival.
Driving there with another colleague and a few friends, we were grateful to find that press passes made things much easier. After hours of bumper to bumper traffic, walking through the long parking lots of hay and getting through the gate, had we not had press passes I don’t know if I would have made it.
At first I said it wouldn’t have been worth it without our press passes, but that was before I experienced Perry Ferrell’s new project Satellite Party as we entered through the VIP area.
And that was just the beginning.
I spent the day dancing to Stephen Marley, talking to artists and activists who had booths and exhibitions of information and art, and later being overwhelmed by the medling of lights and sounds that filled the Empire Polo Fields in the darkness of Indio.
The many smiling faces and the incredible jams being performed throughout the weekend made me think about the Local Music Scene.
Many of the bands at Coachella got lucky somewhere along the line, enabling them to play at venues such as this. But many of them started at coffee shops and bars and even their parents garages.
I have been toying with the idea of creating a Local Music Scene Festival for some time. It would be located at the University of Redlands Greek Theater or in Prospect Park; a two-day music festival hosted by the Redlands Daily Facts and Sun newspapers, featuring artists that have been profiled in each paper’s local music sections.
I would also like to invite local vendors to provide food and drinks and to also have a merchandise area with band t-shirts and CDs.
This idea is in the preliminary stages, but I am going to make it happen. It is time that Redlands bands have a festival to celebrate their work.
As I was watching bands like Circa Survive, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Amy Winehouse, I can’t help but compare their talents to my local favorites. A local music festival in Redlands would be just as entertaining without a long drive and a sticky atmosphere.
Keep looking for updates. Together we can make it happen.
Posted by Darcie Flansburg at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)