'90s indie band THC is back at it, again. At least for the night. And 'it’s like riding a bike.'

Plus, 'The Voice' finale leaves Ralph Edwards as runner up. And, I spend some time with the blog site Certain Songs.

Dec 21, 2025

During its run through the 1990s, T.H.C. was as prolific a band as any coming out of Fresno.

The trio — Tarik Ragab, Hud Bixler and Craig Daniel — had a natural musical association and an seemingly unending amount of energy and excitement.

Musically, Ragab was the instigator, but the band was an instant unit.

“We hit it off immediately and were writing our first album within minutes of playing together,” the band told me in an email this week, talking in advance of a reunion show Dec. 28 at Fulton 55.

T.H.C. spent the next dozen years, gigging, rehearsing, writing, recording and touring. Daniel has a handwritten diary of every single show the band played; more than 300 by his count. There were also six albums; four as T.H.C., one as the Playtonics and another that was fully recorded and mixed, but never released.

“In 2002 we petered out,” the band said

“Probably from sheer exhaustion.”

Individually, the member went on to have their own careers.

Ragab has a progressive rock band out of Ashland, Oregon with his wife Moorea Dickason. Until 2018, the pair played in the bay-area band MoeTar.
Bixler splits time playing covers and traditional jazz with drumming in the San Francisco ska/reggae/soul band The Vesuvians.
Daniel is a gun-for-hire in Fresno, though he’s released a trio of power-pop solo albums as Jet Electro, including “Like So,” last year.

This will be the first time the trio has been on stage together since 2015, when they did a one-off performance outside of Peeve’s Public House on what was then the Fulton Mall.

The idea of a second reunion hit when Bixler started archiving THC’s musical output this year. “Suddenly, we had a whole new appreciation for our catalogue,” the band says. “We had forgotten how hard we had worked and how many great songs we had recorded.”

Which doesn’t make for an easy comeback.

Deciding on which songs to play was kind of the easy part.

“We have so much material in all types of styles. Our songs usually have three-part vocal harmonies. There’s lots of playing and singing going on.”

Muscle memory helped, but it was still challenge.

“It’s like riding a bike, except it’s one of those 100 year old bikes with the giant front wheel.”

Most of the prep work was done individually at distance, with some final polishing happening this week. The band promises at least one in-person rehearsal before the gig. But also, they don’t seem all that worried.

“We each discovered music as kids. We’ve done this for a long time and now we’re veterans. We can’t wait to reunite and play our tunes better than ever.”

Bixler posted this recent conversation with the band over on Youtube if you want to know more. THC plays 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28 at Fulton 55. Blake Jones and the Trike Shop opens with Nate Butler as host. Tickets are $10-$15 plus fees.

Ralph Edwards almost won season 28 of ‘The Voice’

“The Voice,” season 28 finale aired this week and Fresno singer Ralph Edwards was … this close … to the win.

Officially, he was runner up to a 20-year singer from Texas named Aiden Ross.

Which is only a loss if you discount Edwards’ performances for the entirety of the season (including a rather spectacular finale sequence where he was backed by a full-on choir) and the fact that he now seems to have a direct line of communication with uncle Snoop.

Check out the interview I did with Edwards for The Fresno Bee this week (especially if you’re interested in seeing more of this kind of content there).

When Edwards says he’s moving “full speed ahead” on hitting the studio and putting together some original music, that’s an exciting prospect for his career (and Fresno’s music scene more generally) and something that I’ll be keeping tabs on.

Dude’s got a few gigs to keep him busy in the meantime, including a national college football bowl game (the one Fresno State is playing, in cool twist of luck) and that Valentine’s Night Out at the Warnors Theatre (which still has plenty of tickets available. FYI.).

Certain Songs is a music nerd dream come true

So, I’ve mentioned the blog site Certain Songs before.

I’m going to recommend it again, because I recently rediscovered the thing and it’s just so good. As I wrote last year: “Certain Songs, an old school blog series that is internet content the way it was meant to be, before all the micro-blogging and social-media influencing took over.”

In it, Jim Connelly, writes about his favorite songs (The Whigs’ “Right Hand on My Heart” most recently). The posts are both historical and contemporary, personal and contextual. It’s the kind of deep-dive nerdery that seems to have fallen by the wayside (or been replaced by Reels, more likely).

It’s the blog version of Bloomsbury Publishing’s 33 1/3 series (IYKYK and you know now).

There are more than 3,000 Certain Song entries for those who need something to occupy time over the Holidays. You’re welcome. As a bonus, you’re going to find no shortage of Fresno specific songs in the archives (Sparklejet, Town Cryers, Western Chapter, Miss Alans).

Bandgeeeek!

Ready for more?