Sharks of Dance drops five songs EP, "Echo House"

Plus, Valley Music Hall of Fame has its second class of inductees and the ex-pat chef Paul Canales.

Sharks of Dance aren’t just living in Echo House, they exist there.

“For us, the Ep name is more than just a place, but rather an identity of who we are as a band,” says Seth Duran, who plays drums for the Fresno four piece.

“A journey that for us began three years ago, this is the start of a new era.”

He’s referring both to the band itself and the “Echo House” Ep, which dropped across platforms on Friday (and maybe an actual house somewhere, who knows?).

This is the band’s first release since 2017 and the five songs build out on a kind of modern, mid-tempo radio-dance-rock, driven by soulful vocals Steven Peckham.

The bands has aged, some. In a good way.

“Echo House” replaces some of the band’s earlier, funkier moments with clean, pop production that the band describes as “an epic departure that still holds true to the roots of Sharks of Dance.”

You can stream the album below and hear the band next Sunday (June 12) on the Homegrow Show on Newrock 104.1.

Valley Music Hall of Fame announces 2022 class

In late May, the Valley Music Hall of Fame announced its new class of inductees with a concert party at Fulton 55. The event was a quick teaser for an official ceremony, which will happen Sept. 27 at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater in Fresno’s Tower District.

That event will have actual awards to hand out and serve as the nonprofit’s official fundraiser. Save the date, obviously.

For those following, the Hall of Fame (or its volunteer board at any rate) has been working since 2017 to memorialize the contributions of those in the Central Valley music scene.

Its inaugural class, inducted at a virtual ceremony last year, included Russell Howland, James Winter, Dave Stogner, Dick Contino and Audra McDonald.

This year’s list of inductees includes Gene Bluestein, Ray Camacho, Allen and Faye Harkins, The Fresno Musical Club and Richard Hagopian.

You can read more about each over at The Fresno Bee.

Of course, the real point in all of this for most people is “What about … ” (insert whichever famous or influential musician type you think belongs in the hall)?

There’s already been a bunch of ideas thrown out for next year’s list.

That’s the cool thing about the Valley Music Hall of Fame. All inductees are taken from public nominations using a scoring rubric. So, this isn’t a popularity contest. If you’re really passionate about someone (or some entity) being nominated, you can make it happen.

In other words, quick ya bitchin’ and go do it.

Nominations for the 2023 class are open now through the end of the year, with forms available online.

Fresno ex-pat Chef Paul Canales talks Cafe Midi (and some music)

Bethany Clough over at the Fresno Bee had a great story this week talking with Paul Canales, a chef in Oakland who just opened a new restaurant where he recreates a dish from Fresno’s history books.

Canales is a Fresno expatriate (and we love a good ex-pat).

He’s a guy who left the city and then came back and then left again and now sort of exists on the peripherals, wandering in and out from time to time and reconnecting (with people like David Kennedy and Cindy Wathen-Kennedy, who put together video for Canale’s restaurant Duende).

Canales is also a Fresno music guy, who played in the scene during his second stint in Fresno in the early 1990s. Currently, he plays with Scott Oliver (of Miss Alans fame) and Victor Sotelo (Sparklejet) in the political punk band Blackcoats.

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