Nik Freitas explores Visalia's '90s skate culture in photo book.
Plus, SF proto-punk band the Maggots has a Fresno connection and I'll be at the Music Industry Meetup
Before Nik Freitas became a musician of some note (ties to Conor Oberst via Team Love Records and the Mystic Valley Band), the Visalia native was a photographer; specially shooting skateboarders for Thrasher Magazine.
Of course, there were pictures before that, when Freitas was a skateboarder himself, documenting Visalia’s scene. Those pictures have been collected into a 264 page hard cover book called “Tule Fog.”
Per the book’s press: “The Central San Joaquin Valley of California is an agricultural paradise full of dairies, alfalfa fields and almond orchards. It’s pretty much the last place you’d ever think of riding a skateboard. It is also home to the Tule Fog — a blanket of dense mist which covers the Valley floor six months out of the year. A phenomena not found anywhere else in the world. It could explain why, during the late ’80s and ’90s, this little region, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, produced some of the most influential professional skaters of the time.”
The book features 35mm film photos from 1992-2004, along with stories from Freitas. Skate fans might recognized names like Tom Knox, Karma Tsocheff, Alan Petersen, Jesse Paez, Richard Paez, Salman Agah and Tim Garner.
Here’s a pretty good explainer of the book from the Sun-Gazette.
Freitas also wrote and recorded an album while working on the book. Also titled “Tule Fog,” the nine-songs were originally intended as a separate release, but actually ended up mirroring the work in the book. Per the album’s press: “It only seemed natural for the book and album to exist together.”
The book and/or album are available now.
Fresno business exec was a punk rocker. Here’s proof.
Shout out to Gabriel Dillard at the Business Journal for pulling this one.
Before Rich Mostert started as the director of the Valley Community Small Business Development Center in Clovis (before he came to Fresno, even), he played bass in the San Francisco punk band the Maggots.
In 1980, the band released a 7-inch single titled “(Let's Get, Let's Get) Tammy Wynette,” which was about the time the country singer was kidnapped (or maybe had herself kidnapped, or maybe faked the whole thing). The song is a killer example of gen one west coast punk and the record has since be reissued.
According to the Business Journal the song was also recently featured in the Shogwtime biopic series “George and Tammy.”
You can check out a video of the song below.
Fresno Music Industry Meet Up
File this under the self-promotion. Next week, Saturday, I’ll be the guest speaker at the 10th installment of the Fresno Music Industry Meetup.
For the unfamiliar, the meetups are the brainchild of Nick Kennedy, designed as a way to connect the various facets of the music scene. So, musicians and performs, yes, but also producers and promoters, photographers and journalists, graphic designers, managers and agents.
“We all need help, so why not help each other,” is the driving intent here, I am guessing.
Past speakers have included Fashawn, Audrey Johnson and Amber Fargano from Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries, John Esquivel (Religious Appeal) and Paul Cruikshank from Ragin’ Records.
So, I am in good company and happy to have been asked to share some thoughts.
Without breaking into my whole resume, I’ve been a part of the local scene (as a performer/writer/radio host/sometimes promoter and fan) since the late ’90s. I’ll probably do some story telling (sorry) but mostly share some thoughts on what I see as the state of things. I’ll also take questions, if you’re so inclined.
The meetup happens 1-3 p.m. Feb. 25 at South of Shaw Brewing.
Here’s a video from a past meetup to get an idea of what to expect.
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