This weekend is loaded with great stuff to do.  Number one on your list of things not to miss is the 35^th Anniversary of the film American Graffiti at the State Theatre. This is an all day festival that begins at 1:00 pm and continues into the evening.   You can meet Harvey Wexler, Cinematographer on the film, car designed Gene Winfield and Candy Clark, Debbie from the film.  There will be doo wop music with Frankie and the Fabletones, fun, food and of course the film American Graffiti on the big screen of the State at 7 pm.  Do not miss this and take the family.   In other Graffiti action this weekend will be the Mid Valley Chevy Car Show over at MJC West Campus and will feature some great Gene Winfield cars and an appearance by Gene himself.   

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For other fun things, Friday night you can go Jungle Girl at Banana Joe’s on 9^th St and at the State Theatre, you can see the Grant and David Boring film presentation of the Inner Eye the studies the art of the Howard Training Center, featuring a new soundtrack by Keith Cole and David Boring.  Late night, it gets fun as it is Sex in the City Night at the Fat Cat with Pure 209 Productions.  It will be a gas.  

 

This weekend at the Gallo Center, there is both a Traditional Hawaiian Hula Bash and a special folklorico dance presentation by Corazon de Mexico.   The film In Bruges will be playing on the big screen at the State Sunday evening. 

 

Don’t forget that your Modesto weekend needs to start with the Certified Farmers Market on 16^th St between I and H.    The Sierra Railroad will be featuring a Murder Mystery and a Wild West Train this weekend leaving from downtown Oakdale. 

 

On Sunday Senior Spotlight featuring Grace Lieberman and Friends will take the stage on Sunday at 1.  In the evening, you can go check out some Classic Rock dancing at Crocodiles on Prescott.    For those of you looking for a little bit of rehab, you can Run with the Shadowchase Running Club meeting at Scenic and Oakdale or you can ride bicycles with the Stanislaus County Bike Club from Marie Calendars.

GoModesto Blues Fest and Walk

Want some hot blues mixed in with your American Graffiti? 

There will be a huge Blues Festival on June 14 at Graceada Park.  There will be blues, there will be cars, there will be art and there will be fun.   Additionally at 10 am there is the United Community Walk, for Hope and Recovery, NAMI Stanislaus among other groups

 

Before the Blues Fest, the Commonality art group will be featured at the Modesto Certified Farmers Market.  This will be set up in the Library parking lot with many works and artists on display.  During the morning they will provide directions to Graceada Park where at 10 am, check in at the Mancini Bowl Modesto Blues Festival main stage for the walk  up to the Virginia Corridor Walking and Riding park via Enslen and west on Morris, by the Lion's Club kids park at Virginia and Morris, then up to Rotary Junction at Roseburg Square and return.

 

At 1 p.m., crank up the music, and start the Fifth Modesto Blues Festival, complete with cars, vendors, music, art, (got a good kids show coming in with El Concilio) food, drink, and great line up..... DJ Slate and Rocket 88, Rhythm Deluxe, Rene Solis & Laura Chavez in Guitar Extravaganza with Johnny Cat, Reno Blues Explosion of Blue Haven and The Whiskey Haulers, then MoFo Party Band...... and as it will start to get dark as John and Bill Clifton, Cobra wind down in the park. It doesn’t stop there.

 

An After party at Minnie's, free to get in, hosted by Vintage Blues Band, as the house jammers, with friends in from this years Blues Fest lineup, other local players at the first Official Modesto Blues Festival After Party playing ‘till midnight at Minnie's.

 

Time to buy some local music from new and upcoming bands.  The CD, titled Gem Splash I, features twelve artists from Modesto and surrounding communities, each having one particularly catchy song.  The songs were chosen by two criteria (1) overall type of music—acoustic and/or power pop and (2) bands that are still together and looking to book shows. Hear great music from local bands like: A Mover A Fighter, The Undergrads, Hero’s Choice, Radio Inflight, Fall of Versai and more.   Cool that the Modesto Bee has featured this CD in the Buzz section.  We need to support our local musicians. 

 

To help promote them, studio owner Brenda Francis, who has an MBA and a Music Management degree from University of Pacific, developed 3 one-hour radio show segments with band member interviews and music.  The show has been getting strong rotation on community station KQRP 106.1 FM.  She also links their websites on the studio web site, modestosound.com, at no charge.  You can get the CD by visiting www.modestosound.com and ordering. The CD is only $5. (Cheaper per track than Itunes BTW) You can also buy them at Ingram and Brauns Music stores.  

Hey radio fans of Modesto. Make sure that you turn on your radio Monday morning to Cruise and Good!.  Yes, they are back and on the air at B93.1 am.  The local music scene is starting to spin on the correct axis again.   Angie Good is now the program director for B93 and the dynamic team that has been host to many a Summerfest, Acoustic Christmas, Extreme Halloween is back on the air.  Local bands have a good friend at Clear Channel now and this should be the start of something great.  You can check out pics of MAMA Bands in Studio B and other great B93 performances in our gallery.   Tune in early Monday and every day.    B93.1 to listen online.   Check out our gallery and you can even send ecards.  

Jeff Bonilla’s Sapo Sueno brings some fabulous music to Cafe Deva Friday night and Mad Cow Industries does the Pink Floyd Tribute at the Fat Cat.  Rick Barnes is at P Wex.   Saturday it is Strangebrew at P Wex and it is Jazz with the Kyle Barker Duo at Vito’s.  Sunday night, the funniest guy in Modesto, Jay Smith is live at Banana Joes on 9^th St. and Jeff Bonilla hosts the open mic show at the Queen Bean.  Go start your music career today. 

 

See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama   to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

We are in gear.  Get your dancing shoes on.  Make sure you dress warmly and enjoy so let’s Tango! Time to get on your feet and get into the 2008 gear.  Get into a jazzy mood with the Nate Henderson Combo at the Barking Dog Friday night and Gordon Kennedy continues in the Jazz vein Saturday night.  The Tooth and Nail tour with Run Kid Run will be rocking the Underground at Calvary Temple.  There is reggae at Sidelines Friday night and there is a Murder Mystery Train at the Sierra Railroad. On stage, Danny in the Deep Blue Sea is at CSU Stanislaus over the weekend and the cool digitally enhanced Mask Of Eleanor is on stage Friday night.  Modesto Symphony does the big presentation and does the Tango this weekend with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, string quartet.  Yes, you can get exotic at the Gallo Center this weekend.  Make sure that you check out dinner before and drinks after the show.  You can do this without moving your car.  

At the State Theatre, the Film the Devil Knows You are dead is on the big screen.   At the West Side Theatre Sat, Roy Rogers and the Delta rhythm Kings will deliver some serious blues and some slide guitar that will get you going.  Saturday morning, you can run with Shadowchase at Mr T’s at Tully and Standiford, and Sunday morning at Scenic at Oakdale. Stay fit this year.  Saturday evening, rock at the Fat Cat with James Bent and Suicide Shift.  Sunday, enjoy Serenades on Sunday with the Matson Musicians Piano Trio, or head to Crocodiles for some classic rock dancing.  The Dickies will bring their vintage punk at Fat Cat Sunday, complete with Stukas over Disneyland.  Yes this is good. Monday night, the Blue Monday Jazz Jam sessions at Clayton’s.  

Coming soon- Mardi Gras – Feb 5 all over the world.  There are two authentic places that you need to be in Modesto. B93 Tressetti’s Fat Tuesday in 10^th St  is a hall of fame with red beans and rice and lots of bands and Harvest Moon does it family style with some seriously good jambalaya and more.  Book reservations now.

2008 Revs Up Modesto

Greetings Modesto Fans:
(reading time:  less than it takes to clean up the last of the Christmas stuff around the house)

Wow…it still has not set in that it is 2008.  After the holiday haze we are back in action and already celebrated Elvis’ birthday.  This was a much happier thing to celebrate than “Dead Elvis” day.  We are smack dab in the middle of the 1^st round of primaries and while we watched the primary returns from New Hampshire and got the State of the State address from the Governator, we also got a early year city council meeting so there was no missing the smell of politics in the air across the entire country.  Let the games begin.  Speaking of games, no sooner do we close the season on college football (Cal finished with a win!) we go into college basketball (Cal is strong) and in between we are strapping on the skis and the boards and hitting the local slopes that are now covered in over 10 feet of snow.  Yahoo.  Here in Modesto, the Gallo Center fires up again and there are many new events at the State this month and the local restaurants dig it when these houses are in action. Best of all, we will have a new camera network on downtown so we can cut down on the number of squad cars in the middle of 10^th Street and more people will want to be downtown. Yes that is the ticket, we need to think smart for 2008 here in the greater Modesto area.  Let’s see what is happening shall we?  

It is great to see that our local and independently produced ModestoView has inspired the Modesto Bee to focus on Modesto at Night (the cover of our August issue, “Modesto a Nuit”) for local restaurants and clubs.  We need all the coverage we can get for our local businesses and we need to make sure that more people enjoy our downtown and our cultural offerings.  The more coverage the better for all of us.  Now, we need to make sure that people get out and check these places out and spend their money locally.  Local news and information is key from local radio, local TV like the Central Valley Reports, shows like the Morris Show, MAMA Radio, KCSS and the Bee.  Let’s get out and do these things.  You get features like this every day in Modesto and in the monthly ModestoView magazine, now on stands all over the county.    This month we feature the Chef from Hero’s, the Bartender at Torrii, predictions and resolutions from friends all over town and we introduce you to a whole new batch of new local bands and things to do.   Read on-line right now at www.modestoview.com

We are in the final countdown days to the end of 2007.  It is hard to stay focused at work, family and friends are visiting and the kids are home from college so it is pretty fun.   This weekend will be fun and Monday is New Year’s Eve and there are some Hall Of Fame events. 

 

Here is a full spectrum of ideas: 

Funworks Family Fun Event beginning at 6:30 to 12:30am

Comedy at the Seasons with Sean (Man Song) Morey and the 104.1 the Hawk

Overnight Pajama Party and a Movie at the Galaxy Theatres in Riverbank at 9 pm to 9 am.  

Fat Cat will be ultra cool with a Pure 209 party featuring live music by Peaceable Jones, Endrone and Victorian Elm and then DJ all night long.

Bacchus is featuring Johnny and Kelly until the wee hours. 

Aqua Shi is having a formal masquerade ball with special gifts, never know who you will meet.

Tresetti’s has the Valley Rhythm Section and multi course dinner and Champagne toast

At the West Side Theatre, check out the Sneaky Pete all star cover band.

The Moonshine Bandits are rocking in LaGrange. 

Find these and other things to do in Modesto at www.modestoview.com/todo

 

In other things that you need to know about, the multicultural music presentation of Crosspulse will be at the Riverbank Library Friday and at the Oakdale and Modesto libraries on Sat.  Something from Planet Hell and Protoman will be rocking Fat Cat. Saturday, Jacobs Fine Dining features an exceptional musician named Tito playing the Tres, an instrument similar to the Guitar. Tito studied with the masters in the Buena Vista Social Club in Cuba. This will be a special event.  For the totally wack thing to do on Sat night, head to the Stockton Civic Arena for Girls roller Derby where the SJ Valley Vixens will take on Sacramento.   Learn more at www. Valleyvixens.org (make sure you type in DOT ORG) For you runners, the Flat Arch 50 race is Sunday morning in Downtown Oakdale, 50 km or 50 miles.  That is some serious post holiday running.  What a great way to start the year.  At the State, the film is Bella throughout the weekend and the Gallo Center is quiet this weekend.

 

End of Year Tax Tip

Give the Gallo Center.  Get the big write off and donate a chair, a wall, a plaza, a dressing room or just take advantage of the last chance to get on the founders wall. 

Big news for local music fans.  Angie Goode, part of the original Cruise and Good morning team is back at B93.  Not only is she back, she is the new program director and will be driving the local sound. This has got to be great news for local bands and local venues.  B93 has a new general manager, Rich Hawkins that comes from San Luis Obispo (translated college radio town) and this could be the start of a new way of presenting local music.  This is great news. 
Chris Murphy

Do you want the daily hook up for what is happening?   Listen to AM 970 in the mornings from 5 to 9 am and get the hourly and all day long on FM 106.1 to hear the ModestoView Top5 Daily report.  Listen on Friday mornings to KMPH 840 am for the weekend ModestoView Top 10.  To hear local music, all the time, with no commercial interruption, listen to MAMA Radio at www.modestoview.com  and local bands are on B93 Sunday nights at 9 pm and sometimes on Friday nights.

To do List:
Modesto View Magazine Top 10 events happening this weekend: 1) Food4Music dual shows at Queen Bean tonight (Thursday),2) the English Beat and 3) The Ill List Poetry Slam Saturday night. Do not miss these.

The first thing on your to do list needs to be Vote by mail. Do it now. Thursday night has important things to do. There is a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of drunk drivers in 10 th St. Plaza beginning after dark. The Food4Music is your next stop. Local bands and Queen Bean have stepped up to collect food for the needy. 2 simultaneous shows, one hosted by Sapo Sueno and friends at the Downtown Modesto QB and the other hosted by local and now nationally famous Megan Slankard and friends at the Riverbank QB. Bring food - get music. Such a deal.

We are now officially in Hanukah season and there will be a latkes and Vodka event at Congregation Beth Shalom on Saturday at 7. There are only two more Farmer's Markets this year, this weekend and next. Make sure that you get the cranberry / orange Autumn Harvest gigantic bread loaf from Word of Mouth. You can do most all of your holiday shopping at the Farmers Market.

Saturday night, do not miss the Poetry Slam Ill List at the State Saturday. If you have not experienced the verbal combat of a poetry slam, you are missing out. For those of you aren't into that, you can rip it up Sat night to the SKA beat of the English Beat at Hero's. This will be a flat out bust it loose show. I double dog dare you not to dance….At the Gallo Center , Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz band is on the big stage and there will be an after party jam session at Claytons directly behind the Gallo Center .

But first, you need to get through Friday night and that means that you need to see Jazz pianist David Benoit at the State Theatre featuring a tribute to Charlie Brown Christmas. This is something fun and recognizable for the whole family. For adults, there will be a GoGo Dancing competition at the Fat Cat Friday night. Big fun. Saturday night, Filthy Gorgeous presents the Winterfresh party at the Fat Cat. The out of control fun show will be at the Battered Beaver in Oakdale featuring MAMA Winning Moonshine Bandits and Los Hermanos Mueratos Friday night.

On Stage this weekend, you can find the Christmas Story presented by Riverbank Arts at Eustache Middle School . The Trojan Women are on stage at CSU Stanislaus. Babes in Toyland will be on Stage at the State Theatre Sunday and the “you are supposed to think” Someone to Watch Over Me continues at the Prospect Theatre. Durang-Durang is on stage at MJC West Campus Theatre. At the Gallo Center , film and stage actor Joe Bologna is on stage in “If You Leave, Take Me With You”. Cool to have all of this happening.

Specially for kids: the Annual Modesto Symphony Breakfast with Santa is at the Gallo Admin Building Sat morning, there are two sessions. Who can pass up Oooey and Gooey Christmas candy and frosting house making party at the Scout Hall in Riverbank? Better go.

Some Other Holiday events you need to know about:
Sites and sounds of Christmas in downtown Newman through the 8th
Downtown Turlock Lights parade Dec 7
Come Celebrate Christmas at Big Valley Christian Dec 6-9
Hospice tree lighting at Memorial Hospital on Dec 7 at 6 pm
MJC Organ Recital Dec 7 at Emmanuel Lutheran Church
La Loma neighborhood Holiday Faire Dec 8

These are just a few of the events that you need to know about here in Modesto . There are many more that need to see by clicking this link www.modestoview.com/todo ModestoView is your hook up to the good things happening in our area. If you know of another event, please tell us about it so we can get it on our calendar. Our hotline email is events@modestoview.com

This weekend is certified crazy festival holiday off the hookness. Saturday could be one of the most stellar downtown days, as it will be snowing for the Dodge Ridge Snowboard event at Center Plaza , The Farmer's Market goes Dickens at the Christmas Dickens Fair at the McHenry Mansion . The Festival of Lights parade will go right down I street in front of the Gallo Center that will be showing Evita. Then Sunday the Modesto Symphony Candlelight concert will be held at the 7th Day Adventist Church . Meanwhile, Riverbank Community Theatre presents, A Christmas Story on stage Saturday at Ustach Middle School and in Riverbank, the Christmas Craft Parade and Craft Faire will be Saturday in Downtown Riverbank. The Messiah is coming… in concert to Emmanuel Lutheran Church where the sign along event will take place Sunday. Rehearsals are Thursday and Sat for Sunday gig. Tonight, Thursday is the tree lighting event at Center Plaza .

In the regular world, Evita is the word. You can enjoy the tales of Evita and Juan Peron as she rises from a dancing girl to the first lady of Argentina accompanied by the mythical cynical narration by Che Guevara. This is a Broadway touring company at the Gallo Center . Show times Friday, Sat Matinee and Sat Evening. This is one of Andrew Lloyd Weber's best.

Fallen Sleepless is rocking the Fat Cat Thursday night and the MJC String Recital is at MJC East. Friday, it is the last Friday which means that Critical Mass will be lining up their bikes at 10th and J at 5:00 – 5:30. Tri Star Embodiment will be rocking the Underground, and on stage this weekend, Someone to Watch Over Me continues at the Prospect Theatre, Stage Fright is at MJC West, and the Starry Messenger will be presented at Johansen High. The new Warren Miller film “Playground” will be presented at the State Theatre Friday and Saturday and the Holiday Sampler will be at the Barking Dog featuring the Camaraderie Quartet and the Central Valley Brass is Friday night.

Saturday, besides the downtown holiday activities, there is a Stan County Bike ride, A Sierra railroad Sunset Train, Blue Saturday Jazz Sessions are at Claytons. Off the Cuff will be performing at Queen Bean. During the day, there will be open auditions for a new film at the downtown Modesto Library from a national film casting company. This may be your big chance.

Sunday night, do not miss the Steely Dan Tribute band, Kid Charlemagne on Sunday evening and for you punk fans, the legendary Agent Orange will be rocking the Fat Cat with local bands Peaceable Jones and Los Punks Del Norte. There is classic rock dancing at Crocodiles and on Stage at CSU Stanislaus Trojan Women will be presented.

Coming Soon:
Food4Music at Queen Bean Dec 6
David Benoit – Charlie Brown Christmas at the State Dec 7
Babes in Toyland on Stage at the State Dec 8 at 11 and 1
The Ill List – Poetry Slam Championships at the State Dec 8
The legendary English Beat at Hero's – Dec 8

Find these and other things to do in Modesto at www.modestoview.com/todo

Beep beep beep…Special ModestoView WebCast Event Bulletin beep…beep..beep
In case you did not get tickets to the B93 Acoustic Christmas show at the fabulous historic State Theatre with Vanessa Carlton, Colton Graham, long time Modesto friends and 3 time AC Alumni Matt Nathanson and our own Aaron Durr, don't fear. ModestoView has a solution for you. You can watch a live broadcast quality webcast and chat room. The only way to get tix is to listen to B93 for this December 14th show that sold out in a few minutes. Stay tuned for more info next week but don't make other plans for the 14th.   The concert window with our exclusive inconcert chat feature will begin at showtime.   www.modestoview.com

There are so many live and local options for you this weekend.  Rick Barnes is a P Wex on Friday, Fat Skeleton plays Queen Bean in Riverbank and Pythagorean Theorem plays Queen Bean Modesto.  Larry Davis Experience is at Yosemite Bowl and Kyle Barker plays Mallards.   Sat Night, Strange Brew is at P Wex and 5 Years and Counting plays the Queen Bean Modesto.  Sunday night, Knuckle Up and Liquid Conscience rocks the Fat Cat really hard.

Last chance of the year to hear Sapo Sueno at the Off the Air show on the 15^th.   This show will be a combo music and art show where you can also hear Not An Airplane.   Jon Valenti is releasing his new CD Grin and Bury it at the Fat Cat with a mega all star line up including Joe Cornell, Niki Leigh, Roem Baur and the Mundaze along with a live webcast on his Justin.tv connection.   Local artists playing around town include Johnny and Kelly at Bacchus and Nick Shandel at El Palomar Thursday, Rick Barnes at P Wexfords and Mariachi at El Palomar, Big Earl and the Cryin Shame are at Hero’s on Friday, then DJ Chopstiques and DJ Mike will be spinnin at the Battered Beaver in Oakdale Saturday night.

Calling local musicians!!  Do you do holiday music? ModestoView and the MAMA Association are looking for local bands that have produced a holiday, Christmas, Hanukah or other song. If you have, we have Comcast TV and MAMA Radio airplay for you.  Email me today if you have a track or can record one soon.   chrism@modestoview.com 

 See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama   to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

Tailgators has jumped on the local music scene featuring the great cover band Late playing every Thursday nights. The Queen Bean has a loaded weekend and tonight at the Fat Cat will be Team Awesome, Saturday at the Modesto Art and Wine Festival, local bands will be on stage all day long from 10 AM to 10 PM. Make sure that you check out Greg Edward's Off the Air Stage. Always innovative. Neil Buettner is doing a regular Friday night gig at Speakeasy and his shows are cool as he uses lots of cool effects to tweak his trusty guitar and Rick Barnes is close to being selected to the “Don't Forget the Lyrics” TV show. He knows everything so he should do well. Transport is putting the finishing touches on a new CD and Fig Mutant is lighting it up with a mega show at the Fat Cat last weekend and a big write up in a national magazine and Moon Trent has a new CD available on CD Baby. The Modesto musicians are making big noise.

See what is happening and check out the local bands at www.modestoview.com/mama

Bands and Musicians! Send us your gigs and updates by contacting us at mama@modestoview.com We will help spread the love.

Have you read your August ModestoView Magazine yet? Did you get the inside scoop on Art and Wine, did you meet local artist Allen Passalaqua, learn about Memphis Tip Top BBQ, get new info on local bands and CDs and meet chef Vinny from Chefs of New York? It is all there in ModestoView. Modesto is the only local and independent coverage of arts, entertainment, dining and community. Read the issue online.

This has been a fun summer so far. Today is a sad day as it is the last MoBand of the season, so make sure you get out there and you can even get all dressed up for the final final. Tonight is Artwalk, so you can park downtown and then walk to all of the galleries, then to Graceada Park . The awards will be given tonight for the photography show, Our Corner of the World at the Camera Center . Later, there is music at the Queen Bean, Fat Cat, Galletto, Bacchus, and Hero's and a special Artwalk after party at Deva.

Friday, it is Dave Mason at the State and you can here a classic version of All Along the Watchtower and We Just Disagree. Also Friday night, Karen Joy Brown and Joe Baretta play the Queen Bean and don't get stuck in the Penalty Box at Hero's as there is some serious DJ Fun on Friday and Sat nights. Saturday, it is X Fest. But X fest happens later in the day so you can still get in your trip to the Farmer's Market and then do a river and raft train trip with a float down the river and then head to X Fest. Sunday night you can check out Karaoke at Tailgators and Electric Soup plays Fat Cat and you can com pete in the pool tournament at the Battered Beaver in Oakdale and of course, don't forget Gong Show Karaoke at the Speakeasy with the comedy of Jay Smith if you are brave enough.

The Shakespeare continues this weekend at CSUS with As You Like It and over at the West Side Theatre, the Jitterbug Juliet will totally entertain you and at the Prospect Theatre, the Complete Shakespeare ( Abridged) will make you howl. There is some serious high brow stuff to check out.

Find these and other things to do in Modesto at www.modestoview.com/todo
Send us your events to get on the ModestoView calendar events@modestoview.com

It was great to see actress/singer Mandy Moore at the B93 Music Cafe today at Hero's.   Her show was fun, entertaining and she was very friendly to everyone.   It is so nice to see a celebrity that is so good at being freindly and just plain cute with out  being trashy.  She has come a long way since Princess Diaries, but you couldn't help thinking the shout  "Lana got coned!" since thanks to my daughters, I have heard a million times.   She even sang some Cat Stevens and some of her new songs.  It was great for my girls to have a good and positive role model like this in the headlines.    Check out the ModestoView gallery of pictures from the show today.  You can even send these as e-cards to your friends that couldn't go with a simple log in.   Thanks to B93  for bringing her to town and doing this show in such a cool setting.  By the way, the sound was great too. Have fun in Modesto.  www.modestoview.com/views   Chris Murphy

Wednesday, the Black Irish Band release their 16th CD at the Pinecrest Amphitheater, Thursday night, Nick Shandel is at El Palomar, Friday night at the Red Lion's Sunset Lounge, Jon Valenti is on deck to do a regular Friday show and he always brings his friends if for a great time, this week featuring Not An Airplane and Jeff Bonilla. Make sure you hear Jon's new song Caress. Joelle Maddyson is at the Queen Bean Friday night, and Northwood Blackroot is Saturday. Don't forget that there is live music every night of the week in downtown Modesto . Tell your friends and get downtown and check it out.

See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

Townsend Opera Players is currently auditioning singers for the 2007-2008 Season, needing baritones for Die Fledermaus, sung in English. African American performers for Porgy and Bess with all roles open and Miss Saigon, needing many Asian Americans.. all roles open. No check this out, all performances will be held at the Foster Family Theater of the new Gallo Center for the Arts. Woo hoo! Remuneration is negotiable, plus home stay. Call 209-523-6426, or email top@townsendoperaplayers.com . Townsend Opera Players is a non-profit organization. Performances are by and for the Valley people. All principles are paid com mensurate with artists' qualifications.
Modestoview.com/community

Warped tour is coming and a local band will be playing.   Jupiter is Useless, a big local indie favorite around here got the total hole-shot and will be playing the Warped Tour in on Aug 22 and 23.   Cool news huh?  Click on our MAMA band page and click on Jupiter is Useless and see what the fuss is all about.   In other local band news, Tara Tinsley is touring in Texas, El Olio Wolof is almost ready to release a new CD and the Sapo Sueno show last week was one of the best ever in town.  I had to miss it as it was my daughter’s High School Graduation.  If you were there and have pics, email them to me so we can post ‘em in the gallery.

 

You can hear local bands on local radio every week.   If you want to here them live in the studio, tune in to B93.1 on Tuesday mornings at 7:15 and local is what you will hear.  This week, A Mover A Fighter will be featured.  Next week is Not an Airplane and Peech will be featured the week after.  On Comcast Channel 7, 19, 26 and 98 you can hear local bands with MAMA Radio that now features artist and song ID.  Cool huh?    Check out the local music.

 

Did you know that you can get your X Fest Tix now?   Go to the ModestoView homepage and click on the X Fest Logo and you can also check out our gallery, the largest X Fest Photo gallery on the planet with pics from every X Fest since 2000.  View now. 

Modesto has a new conductor for the Modesto Symphony.  Yes, the selection has been made from an entire season of on the job interviews and performances.  David Lockington has accepted the position and will be ready to go in the new Gallo Center this fall.   ModestoView has the exclusive video of David’s introduction to our city and a great photo gallery that includes a great shot of David with his key to the city.  Click on our view section to watch the welcome video. Learn more about our cultural activities here:

www.modestoview.com/culture

Angst is going to TV! Yes it is true, our own MAMA winning angst will be featured in a new reality TV show pilot and will be heading to Hollywood the first week of May to film the show, and play some really cool gigs that will be filmed for the promos and so much more. This could be a huge break for our energetic rockers that have been true to their Clash roots and are writing some really cool songs and making interesting videos that have caught the attention of the Hollywood studios

Coming up this week on B93 15 minutes of fame is MAMA winner, Shades of Grey on Thursday at 7:15 am. See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

The Fat Cat nearly burst into flames last night when Storm Large blew on to the stage with her band the Balls.  This is a tight hard rocking band that takes and blends up everything you have ever heard. If you really liked the Beatles Love CD where they mixed up the old tracks, then you will love the blending of Metallica Sandman with Eurythmics Missionary Man, or some Led Zep mixed with Billy Idol for In the Light Wedding, or maybe some Abba with Iron Butterfly.  Her originals like I Want You to Die have become underground anthems. The Balls delivery on all fronts, as there is not guiter, just JJ on the Keysboards and effect, killer bass and slammin drums.  Doesn't hurt that Storm delivers the proper amount of Supermodel meets a functional Courtney Love either.   Modesto  has  seen some cool alternative shows  and we need to make sure that  we keep getting experimental bands.  Reverend Horton Heat was a huge hit, Storm Large was a blast and now we need some more pyschobilly that will just light our city up.  Music is fun.  You can see the full photo gallery here www.modestoview.com/gallery and check these pics out.  Stay tuned to ModestoView and get the hook up for the most interesting stuff.   Thanks to DCMM productions for doing this show. 

Megan Slankard returns to Modesto. After touring the country and now receiving regular airplay on XM Radio and Pandora, she returns to B93 on Thursday Morning. Her song Too Bad You pushed her into national airplay.  Tune in and listen.   Next week is the Evening News.   Niki Leigh was on last week and is going into the studio to embark on a new “electric” CD that sounded really good going out over the airwaves.  You can hear some of your local favorite bands on www.cruiseandgood.com and most every night of the week in our local bars and restaurants.   Good news is that Hero’s is doing the live and local music thing every Friday now.  This is great and let’s keep it going.  Local bands need places to play so that they get more fans, sell CDs and Merch and then become big stars.  Check out our todo calendar to find out where they are playing.

 

See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama   to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

Longtime ModestoView friends Angie Goode and Tammy Cruise are back on the air.  This time, it is on the net, baiscally commercial free and the mix of the music is really good.  In fact, they are even playing a lot of the music of my favorite band Muse, Supermassive Black Hole and more.    It is cool that many of the local radio stations are now online for listening.   I only wish my car had a broadband connection.   It is great to hear the voices of our friends so tune in and check it out.  The broadcast quality is really good.  Welcome back girls. 

You can listen online at www.cruiseandgoode.com  and enjoy the mix. 

B93 Local Music Series “15 minutes of Fame” continues every Thursday and OMG – Jeff Bonilla and his band Sapo Sueno unleashed some of the best music heard last Thursday.   Click on Sapo Sueno in the MAMA Band list to listen to their tracks.  This week, MAMA Winner Tara Tinsley will be in Studio B, playing a track off of her CD and a live track.  The whole game is being upped in Modesto, from Solar Powered People, to Newlyweds, Evening News, Aaron Durr, JuB and so many more, the music quality is impressive.  Local bands, make sure that you are producing “broadcast quality” CDs.  Tune in to B93 every Thursday morning at 7:15 am.

See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama   to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

ModestoView Update:
Here is a quick Cherry Holmes update. About 580 lucky people got to see them here in Modesto. Then they were going to LA, Nashville for the National Bluegrass awards, then to New York and then to Switzerland.  At the Bluegrass awards, Cia Cherryholmes won best banjo player of the year and Cherryholmes won the Most Entertaining band of the year. The people who saw them here were pretty lucky.  Meanwhile, on the big screen of the State, the film Pans Labyrinth is showing February 12, 13, 16, 19 - 7:00 p.m, February 18 - 3:30 p.m.  You really need to check this trippy film out. Coming soon – Preservation Hall Jazz – Feb 28.    Learn more at www.modestoview.com

Beatle Thoughts

As I was standing in front of John Lennon’s Dakota house in New York last week, looking at the exact spot where he was gunned down, it really hits you hard.  It is amazing that it has been 26 years since the death of John Lennon and more amazing that it’s been 36 years since the Beatles broke up. The most amazing thing is that there is a whole new generation discovering the Beatles.  Parents out there, it is your job to help create a new generation of Beatles fans out there. Lennon forever.

We have had the total blast this week as ModestoView and the MAMA have taken over B93 and have been serving up some serious local music.    Friday we were able to showcase Tara Tinsley, Monday – Moon Trent, Tuesday – Angst, Wednesday – The Mundaze, Thursday – The Evening News, and Friday morning the 8^th Aaron Durr will be on the air between the 7 and 8 hour.   We hope that they will continue to celebrate local music as the new morning show rolls out next week.  I appreciated the opportunity to help get our bands on the air. 

See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama   to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

The MAMA Musicians are back to work after last weeks celebration. The Evening News won its award and promptly headed out on a tour of So Cal and here is some fun news.  2005 MAMA Winners Angst has entered the Underground YouTube contest and submitted the "I Thank You" video and they need your votes. All you have to do is follow this link... CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO   , watch the video, click the log-in link and register and then vote for the video!  Only one vote per email counts, so if you have a bunch of friends tell them to go and register and vote too!  MAMA bands rock.

 

See what is happening in the local music scene at www.modestoview.com/mama   to send us your music update reply to this email or contact us at mama@modestoview.com

 

We have some big news here.   Long time ModestoView friend and DJ Jack Paper  will be a moving to KHOP 95.1 to do the morning show.   Jack has been great to local bands, has been a fixture at the important concerts and events and is a new proud dad.  Tune in to hear your Morning Paper on John Lennon's brithday, October 9.