Santa better beware ... of Werebear
Plus 2021 Fresno music in review and some NYE events.
Werebear dropped one hell of a Christmas gift down the ‘ole chimney this year.
“For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls,” is available now on Bandcamp and it is classic Werebear.
It’s a first-hand account of the destruction caused when the full moon hits and you become a human-bear hybrid, but with some seasonal novelty.
It’s “Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer,” if grandma was Kris Kringle and instead of getting run over, the reindeer ate his guts.
And also the song was done by a killer grunge rock noise band and not … Dr. Elmo.
This is Werebear’s first completed music in five years, with mixing and mastering from Studio Six Audio in Madera. As a bonus, the song comes with awesome art from children’s book illustrator Lee Gatlin.
While we’re on the topic of ridiculously cool Christmas tunes and hints of new music in the new year, Sleepover Disaster drummer Vince Corsaro shared a link to the band doing a version of “Santa Claus is coming to Town,” in 2007. It’s a dark and moody, atmospheric take to be certain, especially when the band kicks in on the choruses.
It appears this may have originally posted on the Fresnan as some point, though it’s not clear where else the track might exist now.
Bandgeeeek: 2021 in review
I started this newsletter in December 2020, not quite on a whim, but with few expectations, other than sharing Fresno music stuff as it came my way.
On that front, I hope it has succeeded.
It’s certainly been fun on discovery alone and as we celebrate the upcoming New Year, I’d like to celebrate Bandgeeeek’s one year anniversary (OK, cool).
Anyway, here’s some stuff that happened in the city this year that’s worth mentioning again.
Fresno did PorchFest, which was A.) totally the vibe the city’s music scene needed at the time, the pandemic being what it was. And B.) a really amazing way to interact with the artists and Tower neighborhoods.
Work is already happening on the second annual Tower PorchFest, April 9, 2022. Mark the calendars now.
On a similar note, Van Ness Village held a Krampus Caroling party last weekend, which had an eclectic mix of music (indie, punk, hip-hop, Christmas theremin tunes) spaced out (both physically and in time) over four venues.
It brought back memories of F.U.S.E. Fest (for those who were around in the late 2000s) and is something that’s worth them doing more often.
The Valley Music Hall of Fame inducted its first class, which included five musicians representing a timeline of music stretching back to the 1940s. Among the inductees; Audra McDonald (an obvious choice), but also Dick Contino.
This was a very needed addition to the Fresno music scene.
Nominations for the second class are open now.
See also: the Central Valley Music Awards, which held its inaugural ceremony in Visalia in November.
Of course, the big takeaway for me in 2021 was how many new bands were formed and how much new material was released. I could go down the list featured on just this newsletter and not get close to covering everything (my own projects excluded).
Some standouts: Decide: Defy’s “Fields Of Dreams and Blood,” and “Dirty Money Clean Hands,” BKR’s collab with Fresno super producer K Pizzle.
The latter especially stands out after seeing BKR perform live.
Also, the two albums from Scott Oliver’s Elektron Graffiti Kult and that rap EP from The Redcoats front man Gabriel Francisco.
Seriously, check through the Bandgeeeek archives for all the stuff I left out here.
Events NYE 2021 (a limited list)
New Year’s Eve with LMC, 8 p.m., Fulton 55, $10-$20.
Strummer’s NYE party, 9 p.m. $5, 21 plus
Red Carpet Affair at The Rosè, 7 p.m., 820 Van Ness Avenue. $40-$300.
Resolution NYE 2021, with Ghastly, Kaivon and Yetep, 8 p.m. Rainbow Ballroom. $20-$25.
Brewery District Block Party, Fulton Street, downtown Fresno. 5 p.m. Free. All ages.
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