Werewolf of ... Fresno? A look at Warren Zevon's connection to the Valley

Plus, concert announcement for High on Fire, 2 Chains, Marky Ramone and more.

Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Warren Zevon, a rare and complicated musician who studied with Igor Stravinsky, hung out with Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, toured as musical coordinator for the Everly Brothers and later had R.E.M. (minus Michael Stipe) as his personal backing band.

To most people, he was kind of one-hit wonder. As collaborator once told the Jewish news site Forward: “People only know him in terms of being a drunken lunatic or as the guy who wrote that funny werewolves song.”

It’s called “Werewolves of London.”

For the sake of this blog, let me add this: He was also from Fresno.

More accurately, his family lived in Fresno, for a time. That’s according to Wikipedia and mentions in several media sources. At least one mentions how Zevon would brag that he was tested to have the highest IQ ever in Fresno, which seems dubious, but makes for a great story.

According to the biography, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” Zevon’s father and mother actually met in Fresno in 1946 and the family lived there periodically for several years (though Zenon was born in Chicago and was living in Los Angles by the time he was a teenager).

He was living in Fresno around 1955, according to a timeline set forth in the biography.

“When Warren was nine years old, his father made a rare visit to Fresno, where Warren and his mother were living next door to Beverly's parents. On Christmas Eve, Stumpy disappeared for a night of gambling. He returned on Christmas morning, with a Chickering piano he had won in a poker game.”

The story does not have a happy ending.

While, I didn’t find any mention of Zevon’s time in Fresno as having a direct impact on the musician (it could be out there), the city did pop up in at least one of his songs — “Disorder in the House,” which he performed with Bruce Springsteen on his final album “The Wind.”

The song, which won a Grammy in 2003, includes the lyrics:

I just got my paycheck

I’m gonna paint the whole town grey

Whether it’s a night in Paris or a Fresno matinée

Concert announcements: High on Fire, 2 Chainz, Marky Ramone

Area venues have been stacking up their booking calendars of late, which is a good thing as long as people know the shows are happening.

Here are some recent concert announcements you may have missed.

Futlon 55 has been particularly busy, announcing a slate of shows in November.

That includes Black Joe Lewis and Emily Wolfe (Nov. 8), Built to Spill (Nov. 11) and GA-20 with Duane Betts (Nov. 16).

While it’s not listed on the venue’s website yet, the doom Gods High on Fire have a Nov. 3 date listed in Fresno on its tour with Pallbearer. It’s been nearly a decade since the band was last in town, though the hard-core out there will remember when the band played Audie’s in 2011 (ish).

The Fresno Fair has confirmed two more acts for its 2023 entertainment lineup. The first is 2 Chainz, the Georgia rapper and host of Viceland’s “Most Expensive.” He performs Saturday, Oct. 14. The following night, Norteño legend and accordion king (or king of the accordion), Ramón Ayala performs with his Bravos Del Norte.

The pair joins the fair’s announced performers War, En Vogue with Expose, Carlos Mencia, Elle King, Hairball, Danny Gokey and Ryan Stevenson, Midland, the Beach Boys and the Offspring.

Tickets on sale now.

For punk fans, especially the older set, Strummer’s announced Marky Ramone will roll through town next year to do an all-Ramones set. It’s one of four shows the drummer is doing with Numbskull Productions and promises a 30-song set (so you’ll probably hear your favorite).

Marky was the Ramones second drummer, taking over for Tommy in 1978 and playing with the band for nearly two decades (save for a short stint in the mid ‘80s). Of course, he was already entrenched in the punk world before the Ramones, having played with Wayne County and Richard Hell and the Voidoids (on the band debut “Blank Generation”).

The show is February 18. Tickets are on sale now.

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