John Shafer, prolific Fresno drummer and purveyor of cool, has died

Also, the old Club Fred spot ain't what it used to be. And that's not a bad thing.

It’s odd how news travels these days.

Like, there’s this random post in your social media scroll. It’s a collage of a musician you know. It’s pictures of him behind the drum kit, or standing arm in arm with bandmates, or just his face, smiling with loved ones.

There’s no caption, but the presentation is clear and it takes only a bit of extrapolation to put things together.

But even as the condolences are being written, it’s a day or so before there’s clear, official confirmation.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved father, John Shafer.”

He was 71.

In his “day job,” Shafer owned Whitie’s Pets, which he took over from his parents, who bought the place in the late 1960s. As an inside joke among my bandmates (pet lovers and patrons of the store), we’d refer to Shafer as “Old Man Whitie.”

There was a juxtaposition there that seemed funny. Shafer never seemed old.

As a drummer, Shafer was prolific. He did both studio and live work and was a full-time band member and a hired-gun and consistent last minute fill-in for a seriously long list of performers.

I first encountered him through his work with Blake Jones and the Trike Shop, but he was also part of bands with Vince Warner and Richie Blue. He played in Evo Bluestein’s Badboy Zydeco and the Neptunes and on Scott Oliver’s “Desert Union” project. He toured extensively with John Clifton.

I knew Shafer only in the way of people who share friends a bonded community, but I did get the chance to play with him on a several occasions thanks to Jones and Warner. He played with a seeming effortlessness that marks those who are masters in their craft.

“Whenever I was around him, I kinda felt like I was sitting at the feet of The Master, soaking up whatever knowledge he cared to impart,” Don Priest wrote in a remembrance of Shafer.

“And he gave it freely.”

The two served together on the board of the Valley Music Hall of Fame.

“It was the same when I watched him perform. He was so smooth and effortless. Plus, he was the embodiment of ‘cool’ on the drum set. I tried to learn something every time I got to see him play.”

Victor Sotelo remembered Shafer as “the best of what Fresno has to offer in terms of musicianship but also service to the community and just being a good human. Fresno has lost an important part of its mojo.”

There’s no word yet on services or celebrations (updates when I see them), but Nate Butler will be honoring Shafer on this week’s Local Show on KFSR. That’s tonight at 8 p.m.

Below are some samples of Shafer at work.

And a couple interviews.

Summer Fox opens in old Club Fred space in the Tower

When Audie’s Olympic closed in 2016 it seems like the end of an era.

That particular spot of Van Ness Avenue had been a nightclub for … decades at that point and felt like a haven for the local music scene. The number of amazing bands that came through that venue is too long to list, so I won’t.

Y’all can remember for yourself.

Suffice it to say, I spent many a late night at Audie’s.

After it closed, there were several tries to reopen the spot. The owner of the Hook and Ladder wanted it for a bar/music venue. The Artist Tree had a lease to open it a cannabis dispensary.

Full Circle Brewing Company came closest to making something work when it opened a taproom there in 2019.

Now, Summer Fox Brewing Company has opened the space as its third location.

I’ve been in several times since the soft opening earlier this month, and I got a chance to hang out and talk with one of the owners, Jason Hatwig, for a story I did in The Fresno Bee.

You should check that out to get a sense of the new space.

The place ain’t Audie’s or Club Fred (if that’s how you remember it), but that is OK.

The owners seem committed to the neighborhood and to making this a viable music venue, with an emphasis on local and original music.

What that looks like, exactly, is to be determine. It’s a brewery taproom and it needs to keep those vibes, but the owners understand the history of the place (were part of it in the ‘90s in fact) and seem intent on paying homage as they can.

We should have a few example of what the place has planned, music wise, soon. A grand-opening is slated for sometime in April and Hatwig says he’s already figuring how to be part of Tower Porchfest.

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. I’m in the studio by my lonesome tonight. 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