Ahead of throat surgery, Kat Jones made an album. Help her get it released.
Plus, From Indian Lakes play support for L.S. Dunes and a demo from Russian Leg Sweep.
Shout out to Fresno music photographer Arthur Robinson for putting me on to this art project from Kat Jones.
Jones has been living and making music and art mostly in Nashville (with a brief stint in Portland) since 2006. But she’s a Fresno ex-pat. She grew up here and got her start high-school interning at a studio here and was known around the scene (my scene at least) in the late ‘90s/early 2000s.
For years now, she’s been living with two types of thyroid diseases and a fear that she would eventually need a thyroidectomy, which is especially scary for someone who makes art with their voice, given the thyroid’s proximity to the vocal cords and nerves.
Jones was slated to undergo that operation on Thursday.
It will be followed by at least six months of vocal rehab.
In late December, Jones announced she’d be playing what could be her final show in advance of an operation and followed that by going into the studio to get a record of how her voice sounded pre-operation.
“My voice is the best it has been in my life to date,” Jones wrote as part of an Indiegogo campaign to raise money and fund the album (plus at least two music videos and a documentary about the entire process and aftermath of the surgery).
Jones finished the bulk of the recording (including her vocals) under the quick deadline, right before the operation.
Via Instagram: “The urgency of finishing these songs before surgery will be palpable on every song and I am soooo grateful to all of you for helping us to get to this particular finish line.”
The campaign runs through March 31. Ten dollars will get you a digital copy of the album when it releases in May. Compact disk and vinyl options are also available.
From Indian Lakes announce spring dates supporting L.S. Dunes
From Indian Lakes announced this week, a series of spring dates playing direct support for L.S. Dunes. The tour starts April 8 in Austin and run through May 11, with three California dates (SF, LA and San Diego). Tickets are on sale now.
Here is another artist that is Fresno by proxy. The band is the brainchild of Joey Vannucchi, who grew up in the foothills near Yosemite. The name comes from the unincorporated community of Indian Lakes Estates in Madera County.
In July, the band released “Head Void,” its first release in five years.
L.S. Dunes is the modern rock super group from Anthony Green (of Circa Survive, Saosin and The Sound of Animals Fighting), Frank Iero (of My Chemical Romance), Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria) Tim Payne and drummer Tucker Rule (of Thursday fame).
The band opened for Pierce the Veil at the Selland Arena in … 2023 (which is … times flies). Anyway, I am a fan.
Russian Leg Sweep releases unexpected demo
Cristobal Carrillo and I have this game we play where we try to “scoop” each other on new local music. He might argue on who gets the better of whom more often, but this week he picked up on this demo from Russian Leg Sweep.
The album is “seven minutes of paranoia, angst and botched Swanton Bombs,” according to its Bandcamp page. Like the band’s name, that is nod to pro-wrestling, obviously, though I had to look it up, because … that’s the job.
This is some seriously good hardcore (the early ’80s, not the crowd killer kind). For fans of “Flex Your Head,” and the like.
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. Tonight we have music from: Buzzbomb Phase 4, Petty Luxury, Beautymark, The Beertides, PKD and IO Access. Follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com