Roger Perry channels Elvis, Andy Kaufman on new album

Also, who landed spots at Treefest, Punk Rock Bowling?

The concept for Roger Perry’s latest batch of songs was born out of a late-night guitar-building session.

He’d hit a rough spot, six hours into the project.

“During that time, YouTube randomly played unnoticed, until Andy Kaufman, wearing a turban, a fake mustache and a diaper, played guitar and sang (beautifully) ‘Rose Marie’ by Slim Whitman,” Perry says.

An hour later Elvis played, a home recording of him doing an old Jim Reeves song. Somehow, the two meshed.

“In my rattled brain, the fictional saga of Slim Reeves formed.”

So, yes, “The Strange Life and Sad End of Slim Reeves,” is a concept album. These are the lost tracks of Alfred Farnsworth ValJohnson, aka, Slim Reeves, a fictional long-haul trucker, country musician (and possible serial killer) who (fictionally) lived and played in Fresno in the 1960s until his death.

He was decapitated by a tape reel while trying to recreate the Sun Studio echo sound. The 1/2 master tapes were held in police evidence of 50 years until they landed in Roger’s hands and … you get the idea.

In keeping with the story line, the 10 tracks on the album are era-specific mostly country-ish cover tunes (think Johnny Cash, the aforementioned Jim Reeves) recorded with gear made before 1964 (a 1946 Gibson acoustic, 1955 Les Paul, 1941 Gibson amp an old Montgomery Wards bass). Perry played and sang everything (including the harmonies) with the exception of guest spots from Jeff Hallock (who played harmonica on nine of the 10 songs) and John Clifton (who played organ on “I Walk Alone”).

“It has pleasantly restrained leads from Jeff and I, and more than a little yodel type vocals,” Perry says. “But it still bops and boogies like rockabilly songs should.”

In a way, the album is a continuation of Perry’s last two albums “Truck Stop Bop” and “Big Rog Boogie.”

“It is nice to be able to approach a recording pretending to be a crazy, long dead truck driver,” Perry writes in the album’s liner notes.

“I get sick of being me sometimes.”

The album will be available in physical formats (read, CD) at a release party May 21 at Gazebo Gardens.

Sunnydales book Punk Rock Bowling; Sahab at Treefort Music Fest

While we haven’t seen any news on how Fresno Grizzly Fest plans to return from the pandemic, other music festivals have started announcing their lineups for 2021.

Of note for fans of the Fresno scene:

The Sunnydales, everyone’s favorite “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” themed pop-punk band, landed a spot at Punk Rock Bowling. The three-day festival happens Sept. 24-26 in Las Vegas with a lineup of headliners that includes NOFX, Circle Jerks and DEVO, and also ALL, the Queers, the Bronx, Lunachicks and the English Beat.

The Sunnydales play early in the day, Sept. 24.

Next to Riot Fest maybe, Punk Rock Bowling is THE major punk event of the year and it’s super exciting to see Fresno represented on this lineup.

Tickets at punkrockbowling.com

Meanwhile, Sahab is slated to perform at this year’s TreeFort Music Festival, which happens Sept. 22-26 in Downtown Boise, ID.

This is a massive lineup headlined by Japanese Breakfast, the Marias and Calexico.

Sahab is know for making art, but also psychedelic synth wave pop tinged with hip-hop. His debut album was released on the UK based label Zabte Sote last year.

TreeFort has a history of putting on Fresno musicians including the Light Thieves, Ultra Diamonds and Zee Will (and probably others).

On the radar: concert happenings

There has been some movement on the live music front.

Fulton 55 has a headliner for its first post-pandemic show. Though details have yet to be released, the show will be happening June 18 and likely be headlined by local talent.

While Strummer’s hasn’t announced any new shows in the immediate future (there are some rescheduled dates on the calendar), it did announce a fall tour stop from the Austin trop-pop duo Summer Salt. The band plays Nov. 2. Tickets are on sale now.

For those really eager, Visalia’s Cellar Door is hosting an all-ages fundraiser concert next weekend (May 9) with Motel Drive and the Tower Vampires.

It will then host musician Nik Freitas for a limited capacity show June 18.

That’s it for this week. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com