'I love bands that are persistent.' QnA with Justin Pitts of Zodiac Shows
Plus, news from the Moonjacks and Erica Najera's Fossil Creek.
Every gigging band has that one member who ends up in charge of making sure the band plays shows.
Justin Pitts is that guy, every time.
“I’ve always kind of taken charge in booking shows for every band I’ve been in,” says Pitts, who runs the reggae/punk/ska promotions team Zodiac Shows with Life Jacket bassist Eric Fuentes.
“I started to book the first show for my current ska/reggae band 1335 and I knew right away that I was going to jump into booking shows again.”
Since the fall of 2021 Zodiac Shows has booked nearly two dozen gigs at several venues across Fresno. It celebrates a kind of unofficial anniversary with the two-day Zodiac Fest, which kicks of 5 p.m. Friday night at La Mason Kabob on Fulton Street.
I emailed Pitts to talk in advance of the festival.
Aside from borrowing the cool iconography for flier art, what’s the deal with the Zodiac?
I’ve always been really interested in the Zodiac Killer; from evading the police for nearly 60 years to taunting them with cyphers and the terrifying imagery. When I was thinking of ideas for a booking name I knew I wanted something that represented myself in someway but also stood out to people.
You have been booking shows for a long time. Why finally give it a name and try to be legit with it?
After booking shows primarily for my bands, I realized that I was starting to build connections. Emails asking for return dates and sending other bands my way when they wanted to book in the area. I knew it was only a matter of time before that started happening again, so I wanted to be ahead of the curve.
Is it hard to do promotions while being in a band? How do you not just put yourself on every bill?
It’s easy for me to separate the band and the show. I’m definitely going to book my band if it’s a fitting show, but my main focus is building the best lineup I possibly can. I want people walking out of a Zodiac Shows event happy. I want them to want to come back to whatever shows we’re doing and telling their friends because they know that they’re going to get a really cool show, even if it may be a band they haven’t heard of yet.
So, what’s the process for finding new/interesting acts (both the local and the regional touring stuff)?
It’s kind of all over the place to be honest. I mainly listen to ska, punk and reggae, so I’m always going to book those shows. But I definitely keep an open mind to all genres. I’m always looking for new bands to listen to as well. I’ve always been like that, so I try to carry that into booking.
What advice would you give bands that want to get on with Zodiac Shows?
Contact me. You can email me at zodiacshows559@gmail.com. It does help if you’re hard working. I love bands that are persistent and actually help promote the shows. We’re all in this together, do your part and set your ego aside. Let’s build a thriving scene together instead of competing with one another.
Give me the two sentence plug for the Zodiac Fest.
Sixteen bands across two days, playing some of the best punk, ska, reggae and metal that Fresno has to offer. The show is free and all ages. So bring a friend and have a great time.
You can hear more from Pitts and all of 1335 on the Homegrown Show, 8 p.m. tonight on Newrock 1041.
Zodiac Fest lineup (day one): A Devil Like Me, Blazed, Blk Sage, Girl Named Pixie, It’ll Grow Back, Judah, MKC and Void Warden; (day two) 1335, Beyond California, Crashboat, Iwanaga, J Conquer and The Lions, Mantis Watch, Pansy Party and Stargaze.
The Moonjacks are surely Surf Rock Sunshine, right?
Last we heard from the Moonjacks, the SLO (by way of Clovis) indie surf band had released a self-titled debut on Pacific Records.
Since then, the band has built up a solid following on the Central Coast and Southern California and just landed its new single on two Spotify editorial playlists (New Music Friday and Surf Rock Sunshine, for those who use the service).
The band is also weeks away from hitting the road to support its latest album, “Bad Guy Stuff” (out Sep. 2).
Fresno-fact side note: the band’s new single, “Sk8 Hi,” was recorded in part by Stilz Stoudamire, who has played in any number of local bands (White Glove Service for one) and operates White Glove Studios.
Fossil Creek, “Going Under”
File this under “following Fresno’s ex-pats.”
Erica Najera has been busy out in Nashville. Earlier this year, she was tapped to play bass for Olivia Jean on a run of three shows opening for Jack White on his Supply Chain Issues tour (including the one where the pair got married on stage. Najera was the maid of honor).
This year also saw Najera playing a first gig with her new band Fossil Creek.
The band released two singles just this month. The second of those, “Going Under,” was released with an accompanying video on Friday. It’s a four-minute banger of shoe-gazey indie grunge rock (I’m throwing all the adjectives in there, so what?).
The band’s EP, “Call of the Void” is slated for release Sept. 2.
Najera moved to Nashville in 2018. While in Fresno she played bass in Light Thieves and in her own band, the noise-y AF, La Nina.
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. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com