By Chris MurphyThere is one global truth: Music is the spice of life.
From prehistoric times, through ancient civilizations with flutes made from bones 50,000 years ago through horns in the bronze age to the Lute, the distant relative of the guitar, to the modern day synthesizer, music is a vital part of our lives. Everyone has a song that takes them back to a certain place. For my wife Becky and me, it is Never My Love by the Association from our wedding and the sounds of the 80s when we were young marrieds living in Seattle. Still a classic Mozart, or a Glenn Miller song will take you do a different place. Beatles’ music fills in most of the other gaps and those that choose the Stones feel the same way. For every person that chooses Grandaddy, Flying Blind or Foo Fighters, Billie Eilish, Madness, Metallica, Charli XCX, St. Vincent, Norah Jones, Taylor Swift or even the Backstreet Boys or ABBA, there is an amazing memory attached. I admit, that Danke Schoen by Wayne Newton, takes me back to the fun of Ferris Bueller.
Modesto is loaded with musical talent. Fortunately, our local school districts still have music in the schools and this is one of the reasons today that we have MoBand each summer. Music builds creativity and studies show that that students who read and play music can perform better academically. This foundation is so key to the future.
August is the Summer of Rock!
Music fans are going to love August as we kick off the month with RockFest on August 3. Doug Robinett and Nate Wilson are presenting a Modesto showcase of Rock beginning at 4 pm. This is a great bar with a good restaurant and a party festival space behind on the edge of Modesto out Maze Avenue at Hart Rd. This will be one of the most fun rock evenings so bring your air guitar, friends, family and your rockin’ spirit to this event. The rock will be hot and the beer will be cold, What’s not to like? Check out Triple D, Third Party, Autumns Garden, Vintage Youth, Emerson Biggins, TMR, Aware, and The Vibes.
Get your tix at www.eventbrite.com/e/rock-fest-tickets-928010212527<www.eventbrite.com/e/rock-fest-tickets-928010212527>
RockFest – Aug 3 4 pm Twin Rivers
Modesto’s Music Festival
ModStock has become one of the best music festivals on the west coast. Why? Local pro bands will be sharing the stage with brand new bands that are the future of our music scene. Hosted and presented by VMI Rocks and Roberts Auto Sales, this will be a 90-band-mulit-stage event, with food and beverage vendors, bands from VMI Rocks and Gordon Kennedy Music. There will be a metal set on the GK stage and the RMG will host many local faves. There is a main stage at Mancini Bowl that will feature SIXTY student bands from 9:30 am – 7:30 with Blue Line headlining, The pro bands on the ModestoView stage and two other stages. Music all day long beginning at 9:30 am through 8:30 pm on August 11.
Graceada Park – This is a free event thanks to generous sponsors.
Everyone in town should support this and go see an amazing smorgasbord of bands.
ModStock – August 11 9:30 – 8:30 pm
www.Modstock.org<www.Modstock.org>
Call to rock!
Fundamentally, some of the most creative cities are those with a strong live music culture. We have had some really strong scenes, and some times we have to wade through until we make it better again. We need to get to that great space again.
In 2000, Chris Ricci and I started the Modesto Area Music Awards to showcase the amazing music we had in town. Over the years, things exploded, with the Red Pepper Grill, Mustang Club, Dirty Duck, Charlie’s, the Fat Cat, Music in the Plaza, X Fest, Summerfest, Acoustic Christmas and so much more. There were many restaurants, bars and cafes that hosted live music, mostly without a cover charge. New bands popped up, country, pop, punk, ska, indie, metal, acoustic and more. Matt Nathanson and Megan Slankard got their start here and Granddaddy was always more famous around the world than here at home.
Sadly, XFest was shut down by the City of Modesto, Fat Cat and Hero’s closed, and corporate radio took a lot of the local programming autonomy out of the local stations like B93 and streaming took a big bite out of artist promotion budgets that ended shows like Summerfest, Acoustic Christmas and the Underground Lounges. Places like Ralston’s Goat became a haven for local band showcases and then Covid took a hammer to live venues across the nation.
Sounds grim right? As we ramp up to the 2024 MAMA Awards, our 25th Anniversary, we need to take stock about where we are and what we have to do to rebuild a live and local music back to the top of our entertainment choices. MAMA and ModestoView have been working hard to support Blue Monday, Music in the Plaza, Rockabilly Shows, local shows and focus on promoting live music and musicians, but a bigger team effort is needed and we need all of you.
So now, here we are, what are we going to do?
First, we need to go see bands whenever we can.
Second, we need more places for bands to play.
Third, we can’t expect everything for free.
For a band to grow, develop, and record, they need to have a good sound, get a following, sell merch, songs and get paid to play by places that benefit from live music.
See where I am going here?
Promotion and hustle.
MAMA winning promoter Middagh Goodwin will tell you that good old-fashioned promo, post cards, posters, flyers are still very effective in addition to your social media. Venues will hire bands that draw a crowd. Does your band draw a crowd that will come and buy food and drink to make it worth the while of a venue owner? This is an important key. A band is a draw to the venue. So build your following, use your social media, and bring your fans to a gig.
City of Modesto Cooperation
The City and County need to realize that live music is a social asset, not a nuisance. It should be EASY and affordable to get an entertainment permit for your place. This permit will allow you to have music, a dance floor and ways for music to a part of your local marketing. This needs to be extended to outdoor patios in downtown. Downtown Modesto is an entertainment district and there needs to be multiple options on any given night. Cool jazz vibe, acoustic guitar, singer songwriter, classic rock, SKA, Punk or Metal? All of these genres have an important role in our cultural scene, along with open mics for music, or poetry and even Haiku. We need downtown to be a good, welcome, well-lit, safe and exciting destination.
Finally, Music has Value.
Creative things to do will draw creative people. The more we have to do culturally, makes it more likely that people will venture out to find something to do, to eat, or to listen to. Modesto needs to figure out that a $5 or $10 cover is ok. Want more music? Then convince venue owners it is worth their while to add more music or even open a new venue. We can be our own catalyst, but we have to work together to make it work.
People like Ray Ray Sheen have been hosting Open Mic Nights, Dave Dow hosts a Jazz Jam and Eric Benson has been presenting Blue Monday Jams that are a good way to get more people playing. You gotta show up, bring your song and spread the word.
Where can you enjoy some great music?
There are some really good things happening. Dying Breed is really happening, and they created a space with a stage, lights and a easy place to draw a crowd. Blacker Brewing has been hosting some great shows. Persuasion brewery has been presenting Ska, Punk, Metal, Rock and a variety of fun shows and festivals. Off the Air brings cool indie shows to the underground bar at Greens. 108 in Riverbank is ramping up more live shows and Twin Rivers is hosting some festivals like RockFest on Aug 3. Porchfest is Modesto’s largest spring showcase of local music on the porches of over 60 local homes.
Music in the Plaza
Started by Kate Trompetter and Thomas Lopes of Fuzio fame, this was a sponsored music series in downtown’s 10th St Plaza that showcases local bands each summer Friday. 10 years ago, the Modesto Area Music Association teamed up with the downtown plaza merchants and increased the number of summer shows. There is a great line up of bands from May to October thanks to generous sponsorship. This gets people downtown to enjoy our music and also patronize our downtown restaurants, bars and theatres. We are hoping to expand Music in the Plaza for 2025 Check it out at @musicontenth
How do we jump start this?
First – Learn to play. Stap on a Strat and play your first chords. There are Green Day and Ramones and a million blues songs that are three chords, heck, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac is two and Tomorrow Never Knows is One. Anyone can do this if you want to play and our friends at Valley Music Institute (VMI Rocks) or Gordon Kennedy can teach you how to rock, in a band, created just for you.
If you want to learn the foundations of music, take music and band lessons at our local schools. Modesto City Schools has a music program from grade school through high school. Here you will learn how to read music, be a part of a band or orchestra and make some great music. From here, you can learn to play anything. Randy Rhodes, the late ace guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and Brian May of Queen studied classical music that dramatically enhanced their playing and made them true rock legends. If you are a parent, have your kids learn piano. It will be the foundation of so much they can do. Get your kids in band at school at a local school of rock. Making music is magic.
Where to buy or rent instruments for band at school.
Gottschalks – 133 Burney St, Modesto 209- 523-5326
Ingram and Brauns Musik Shoppe- 1709 Yosemite Blvd, Modesto 209-571-0133
Langlois – 1700 McHenry Ave Ste 78, Modesto 209-524-1355
Barker’s Music – 3125 McHenry Ave – Ste F, Modesto 209-526-0347
Where to learn to rock
VMI Music Institute. 1220 J Street Modesto 209-543-2066
Gordon Kennedy Music – 977 Center St, Manteca 209-923-4121
Share your ideas @ mama@modestoview.com<mailto:mama@modestoview.com>
Should we have a local musicians forum? Yes? No?
Let us know so we can take action.
Mysterious New Artist.
Do you love the old pulp novels and detective stories? There is a new dark noir sound emanating from a secret remote outpost in the Modesto area. These are cool songs, with a dangerously good sound. Get yourself a dirty martini, hide in a dark hallway and check out the music of Tele-Ignites
teleignites.bandcamp.com/album/judgment-day
