Joyce Manor's new album remembers late nights driving to Fresno
Plus, a brief PorchFest recap and and honoring country singer/drummer Bob Watson
For good or bad (but mostly good, we think) Fresno is a memorable place for young punk bands out on tour.
For instance, Joyce Manor, who dropped a new single on Tuesday to promote its upcoming album on Epitaph Records.
That album? It’s called “40 Oz. to Fresno.”
“This album makes me think of our early tours, drinking a 40 in the van on a night drive blasting Guided By Voices and smoking cigarettes the whole way to Fresno,” singer/guitarist Barry Johnson said in a statement announcing the record.
Joyce Manor seems to have had a good, long working relationship with Numbskull productions, which was hyping the band up as far back at 2013, when they stopped by Strummer’s before hitting the FYI Fest that year.
They were back in 2015 playing a couple dates, including a spot on the Catacomb Party. They were last in Fresno in 2018, the year they dropped “Million Dollars to Kill Me.”
The band is swinging through California this May.
There is not a Fresno date listed yet.
“40 Oz to Fresno” is out June 10. You can pre-order a copy (on opaque pink color vinyl) in store at Ragin Records.
Watch the video for the first single “Gotta Let It Go,” below or hear it tonight on “Ozmosis with Mike Oz,” 9 p.m. on New Rock 104.1.
Porchfest: A quick review
The full strength of Fresno’s music scene was on full display at Tower Porchfest yesterday. That’s both in terms of the massive number of bands/musicians/DJs playing and the number of people who crowed in around people’s houses to watch the performances.
Aside from one major cancelation that sounds like it will get a make up date at some point, the whole thing appeared to just unfold without problems.
For those looking to scout talent (especially, but not exclusively, new talent) this would have been the day (there are plenty of video floating around today, too).
Who did you y’all see and love? Let me know.
R.I.P Bob Watson of the Country Edition
Mike Keeney Sr. remembers Bob Watson as a guy who changed his life.
“We go back to 1969,” Keeney says.
“I was a hippy in 1969.”
Watson was a country guy, a drummer and singer who became a cornerstone of the honky tonk era in Fresno, Keeney says.
Watson died of a heart attack earlier this month.
He was 77.
“It was a different world out there then,” Keeney says.
He remembers playing in Bob’s band, The Country Edition, in the 1970s, where there were 10 places at least that had live, original music five nights a week. The band played four nights a week, plus after hours gigs and a jam night on Sunday.
“It was a good time to be a professional musician,” Keeney says.
“There was a lot of music.”
And Watson’s stage was open to everyone, Keeney says. He imagines the County Edition was (maybe still is) connected to 1/2 or a 3/4 of the music community in town in one way or another.
While Watson wasn’t doing the music gig full time anymore, he still popped up on stage from time to time. Country Edition did a reunion show in 2015. More recently, Watson performed at tributes for Elvis and Kris Kristofferson at Fulton 55.
“The Bob Watsons are few and far between,” Keeney says.
A celebration of life is happening April 24 at Legends Restaurant in Selma.
Learn to DJ with 40 Watt Hype
File this under: Good music licensing.
40 Watt Hype is better than most at getting its music out and showing up in all kinds of places, whether it’s on TV (the show “Narco’s,” specially) or on your phone (in the form of a mobile DJ game).
The band has two songs featured on “Cat the DJ,” an App that lets you learn how to mix and match beats and cut tracks using “real DJ console features” and “a cute cat avatar.”
Apparently, “Judy Segundo” and “3 & Out,” are in the library of tracks you can add to your virtual DJ set. “Cat the DJ” is available on Google Play and the App store.