On 'The Freznenz,' Kevin hill lays the groundwork for his live performances.
Plus, a quick breakdown of who is playing the Big Fresno Fair.
Editor’s note: There will be no Bandgeeeek next week. Don’t worry, we will return Oct. 16.
Kevin Hill’s latest release, “The Freznenz,” isn’t exactly a concept album.
It is conceptual on several levels.
“I’ve spent most of my musical career specializing in analog music and instruments but always had a vision that included a combination of synthesized and analog sounds,” says Hill, who plays around town in any number of musical projects, including a modern-jazz group performing at St. Joaquin tonight.
“I’ve also always been of the mind that some of the greatest musicians on earth live and play in Fresno,” he says.
So, “The Freznenz” album sets the framework for “the Freznenz” live show, a ongoing performance series that is involves a collective of Fresno musicians curated by Hill for the occasion.
The band — drums, bass, sax, trumpet, and a DJ — performs 9 p.m. Thursday at Goldstein’s and on Oct. 22 at Sierra Meadows.
The seven track-EP was composed, arranged and produced by Hill and are some of his favorite songs to play. They run long — 10-plus minutes on average — and exist as a kind of continual vibe state.
“The Freznenz” is on streaming platforms now.
“Headphones on. Get ready for a galactic journey to the center of the funk,” Hill says.
‘Near Misses’
The album is actually one of a pair of albums Hill released last week.
The other, “Near Misses” is concept album full on.
It tells the story of a musician who has written a batch of songs, but gets stranded in the wilderness before he can record them.
“So, with the last of the charge on his phone, he records the songs so that they can be heard,” Hill says.
“As a musician, you’re always getting song ideas. Most are incomplete and have to be worked on to bring to fruition. But once in a great while, a song comes to you complete. You can’t forget it. And if you don’t write it down or record it, you’re walking around with it complete and heavy like an untold secret.”
The 10 songs on “Near Misses” came to Hill like that — “all done,” he says.
“And I walked around with them for 10 years trying to figure out what I was going to do. Until I came up with a story.”
Following the premise of that story, Hill recorded the entire album (minus a few some parts on closing song “Runaround”) on an iPhone 10. Adding those parameters forced him to let go of any preconceived notions of what the songs should be and play with a different palate of sounds than he would normally utilize.
“It was really a freeing experience,” he says.
“Near Misses” is on streaming platforms now.
On repeat: “Summertime.”
Upcoming: The Big Fresno Fair
The Big Fresno Fair kicks off its 12-day run on Wednesday.
Here’s a quick breakdown to the musical options available, both on the fair’s main stage at the Paul Paul Theater and on the smaller stages around the fairgrounds.
As always, how much you enjoy the fair’s main stage entertainment will depend on the broadness of your musical tastes. There are performances each night of the run and you probably won’t love them all, but you’ll likely to be intrigued by something.
The highlights (chosen by me to be taken with a grain of salt) happen early in the run, with Dwight Yoakam (Oct. 5) and Ice Cube (Oct. 6).
Ice Cube in particular should have a big crowd and exciting show. The rapper sold out when he was at the fair last and we all Fresno loves some old school hip-hop.
The Pretty Reckless (Oct. 10) should appeal to the heavy rock crowd, who hasn’t seen a whole lot of these kind of concerts coming through as of late (though Lamb of God’s Omens tour is at the Selland Arena on Tuesday).
The following night (Oct. 11) Tower of Power will certainly get a big draw, especially considering the concert has a huge push from KMJ, which is using the event as celebration for its 100th year anniversary (which means its also the 100th year of The Fresno Bee, as a side note).
Of the various other stages situated around the fairgrounds, the Save Mart Center Beer and Wine Garden has a nice lineup of performers through the run, especially on the weekend and later in the evenings.
Look out for:
Everybody’s favorite hip-hop cover band The Box, 8 p.m. Oct. 8.
Outlaw Mariachi (ex-members of Metalachi), 8:30 p.m. Oct. 9.
Blues rockers We Hunt Like Wolves, 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13.
Fresno’s long-running hard rock act Stoneshiver, 8 p.m. Oct. 14.
Bakersfield cumbia, salsa, merengue and bachata band La Marcha Sound, 9 p.m. Oct. 16.
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