Ok…first of all this month I must touch on the biggest topic going around town these days. Metal bands at X-Fest!! For years metal bands were a no no when it came to X-Fest. Due to a certain incident at the State Theater that I’m not really allowed to speak of, metal bands have been exiled from Modesto’s biggest yearly music festival but those days have hopefully faded away. This year there is the Sin-Cal Industries “Rock” stage that is mostly populated my local Modesto Area Heavy Metal bands!! This is a major victory for all of us in the local metal scene and people that normally pass on X-Fest due to the bands that are booked are now finding themselves seeking tickets to this massive event. We applaud Chris Ricci for recognizing metal as a valuable part of the local music scene.
SIN-CAL INDUSTRIES ROCK STAGE AT X-FEST 2011
WARPATH ASSASSINS6:006:45
NOTHING BUT LOSERS7:007:45
BETTER LEFT UNSAID8:008:45
THIRD WORLD EMPIRE9:009:45
BROKEN TROJAN10:0010:45
THROUGH THE ASHES11:0011:45
BENEATH THE EMBERS12:0012:45
In other news this month I must address an Issue…All Ages Venues for Metal bands. Well it has happened again shows at The Melody Ballroom at King Kabob are in danger of being shut down. The Clarion Inn refused to host Thrashocalypse in their venue room in August due to “The type of music and the type of people it will bring” unless you rent the parking lot which includes massive fees and pay for several Modesto Police Officers and their vehicles. Listen, I am using this forum to speak to the public. Teenage Kids in Modesto that love Metal need a place to go and support their bands and friends that are in local bands. I get emails from kids every day begging for a place they can hang out that isn’t strictly 21+. Every time we get a venue it is shutdown within six months. If you know of a place that would allow kids that wanna buy your pizza or whatever you have to offer to hang out please let me know. Metal kids are not a bad element. For the most part they are a very respectful group of kids that are very passionate about what they love and that is metal. We applaud places like The Maddux Youth Center and the Work Shop in Ceres for embracing our metal kids in Modesto. If you can help us at all please drop a line on my facebook www.facebook.com/mike.vanek or on our 209Productions fan page.
That’s it for me this month.
