Artown 2 17 guide
Roll out: Join us foR even moRe local music duRing ouR new still Rollin’ conceRt seRies
A speciAl supplement to Reno news & Review
Roll
out
Welcome to the 2017 ArtoWn And rollin’ on the river Guide
I
t’s officially summer, and the Truckee Meadows is hopping with warm weather events. From the rodeo to the air races, the summer months in this region are packed with goings on. And one of our absolute favorites is our own—the Rollin’ on the River concert series. This year, we’ve got eight bands playing at the Wingfield Park amphitheater. On July 7, it’s the Umpires followed by Jelly Bread. July 14 is Bazooka Zoo and Mojo Green. Rigorous Proof and the Sextones play on July 21. And the concert series closes on July 28 with Jake Houston & The Royal Flush, followed by Dainsley. Shows start at 5:30 p.m. Last year was the 21st birthday of both Artown and Rollin’ on the River, and what a celebration we had! This year, we’re going even bigger, with the introduction of something new. The Still Rollin’ concert
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RN&R Artown Guide
series will take place Friday nights at Shea’s Tavern, starting at 9 p.m. After the Rollin’ on the River shows wrap up at Wingfield, you can head over to Shea’s to hear your favorite local bands that might be too loud, weird and wild for the regular river crowd. The lineup includes some of Reno’s best noise rock, hardcore, metal, synth pop and punk bands— from Fall Silent to People with Bodies. You can take a look through this guide for stories about each of the 23 bands playing the two concert series. Happy reading! I’ll see you at the river and Shea’s Tavern! Regards, Jeri chadwell-Singley RN&R Special Projects Editor
06.29.17
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K I A | L E X U S | M A Z DA | T OYO TA
Jam
sandwich by Matt Bieker
W
hen Dave Berry and Cliff Porter founded Jelly Bread in 2009, they knew they wanted to outgrow the limited range of lounge gigs and bar rooms available in Reno at the time and hit the road as a full-time touring band. Eight years later, Jelly Bread has taken its show all over the country and released four albums, powered largely by its raucous blend of funky soul and upbeat blues-rock. “People always ask where we’re from, and they assume we’re from the South or something just because of the style of our music,” said guitar player and vocalist Berry. “I say, ‘Reno,’ and they’re like, ‘What? Reno doesn’t have music like that.’ Well, they do now!” This year saw a line-up change for Jelly Bread, when Alvin Johnson took his place as the band’s new keyboard player and backing vocalist four months ago—joining Berry, Porter on drums and vocals, Errick Lewis on bass and Sean Lehe on lead guitar. “He met us at a gig in Ashland, Oregon, and he jumped in the van with all his bags and equipment and we’ve been going ever since,” Berry said. Changes in Jelly Bread’s lineup are not unusual, however. Since the release of its debut album, Top Notch, in 2009,
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the band has remained rooted in the funk and soul tradition. But the bandmates recognize how bringing on new members has a way of influencing the sound. “Of course it’s changed even since then,” Berry said. “Our last recording was two years ago, [Lewis and Johnson] weren’t playing, and neither was the lead guitar player. We’re working on new music right now, and it’s going a different direction again.” Far from uncertain in their abilities, however, the bandmates have developed a wide ranging catalogue of tracks suited to any show they might play in the course of their extensive schedule. “We kind of just meld into whatever the vibe is of the room,” Porter said. “If it needs to be more laid back, we’ve got a bunch of laid back stuff we can do. If it’s a high-energy festival set, we can give them a 75- to 90-minute all balls-to-thewall set, and everything in between.” Ω
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Jelly Bread July 7, 6:30 p.m.
RN&R Artown Guide
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Game plans by Matt Bieker
A
fter the breakup of long-running local reggae act Keyser Soze, Ryan Hall, Dan Weiss and Mike Mayhall were ready for a new sound. As longtime local musicians, they founded a new band in late 2015 with a focus on rocksteady ska and early reggae influences. More than a year later, the bandmates continue drawing on their years of experience—while continuing the search for fresh influences.
The UMpires July 7, 5:30 p.m.
“I had a bunch of demos kind of lying around—in this style that I could never find a home for—that happened to work really well for this line-up of musicians,” said Hall, lead guitarist. “So we had a batch of material to kind
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of get the band going and started with, and then that sort of set the band off in a direction, and, since then, everybody kind of brings in songs individually.” Joining Hall on guitar, Weiss on drums and Mayhall on bass are Chris Sexton, Eric Johnson and Ben Caiazza on keys, tenor sax and trumpet, respectively. Hall credits the band’s sound to the varied musical backgrounds of its members. “We’re all into a lot of different stuff, like there’s a lot of jazz influence in the band,” Hall said. “At the end of the day, it’s kind of like groove music. Above and beyond anything else, it’s good to dance to—the harmonies and the melodic material that we work with. I don’t think you really find it in reggae. It comes from different styles.” Hall explained he grew up listening to and playing predominantly metal music, drawing from influences like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, but
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that being a part of the Reno music scene meant having the chance to experiment with new genres. “I’ve met musicians of all different types, and I’ve had the opportunity to try lots of different things with really great players,” Hall said. “It’s been a good, nurturing scene for me personally to grow and learn and get better.” After spending the year honing their sound at local shows, the bandmates recently released a four-track EP on Soundcloud. They hope to record a full-length album later in the year to be released in early 2018. Eventually, they want to take their ska-fusion sound farther afield. “Regionally, so far, we’ve only played Reno, Tahoe and Northern California,” Hall said. “We haven’t got out on the road too much yet, but that definitely is in the future.” Ω
Like
magic
Mojo Green July 14, 6:30 p.m.
by Matt Bieker
F
ourteen years ago, when Tim Bain first started playing music locally, people might have described Reno as “funky” with a more negative connotation. Today, bands like Mojo Green—of which Bain is manager and lead guitarist—have built a reputation for the Reno Funk scene that is decidedly more optimistic. “When I started playing music here 14 years ago, it was either metal or country, it seemed like,” Bain said. “And neither one really appealed to me, playing-style wise.” Mojo Green has been playing in various incarnations since 2012 and currently features Bain, Monty Adams on trumpet, Frank Fletcher on drums, Dave Strawn on bass, Kevin Thomas on baritone and tenor saxophone, John Bennum on trombone, and Jenes Carter on lead vocals. The group transitioned from being an instrumental ensemble after the addition of Carter’s soulful vocals.
Bain describes the music as “high-energy, horndriven, soul funk.” “That is definitely the Mojo Green thing—our horns are up front,” Bain said. “[In] a lot of bands, the horns are kind of up on a riser in the back, and they add to the song, but we really have the horns stand out.” Mojo Green’s smooth but undeniably groovy sound on its debut album, Funk in Public, won them Reno News & Review’s readers’ choice award for Best Local Album in both 2013 and 2014. The group released their sophomore cut, Soul Phatasaxtion, in 2016 and hope to release their third this fall. “Dave’s been on board with bass for about a year now,” Bain said. “He came on last summer. He’s a killer player—great attitude, great chops, and so I’m really looking forward to recording with him. We’ve got five or six original songs that we’re ironing out right now.”
Bain and company have spent the time in between studio sessions on their extensive WestCoast touring schedule. Booked for 28 shows this summer, Mojo Green opts to play more select venues that cater to its big-band sound—with upcoming shows scheduled for LA’s Viper Room and the Las Vegas MGM Grand. When playing locally, though, they consider midtown’s the Saint their home turf. “We get asked that a lot when we’re on the road. They’re like ‘Oh, man, we’d love to come up and play Reno and Tahoe with you guys,’ and now we always say the Saint is the place,” Bain said. “We definitely always give Reno props. We’re proud to be from Reno. It’s the Reno funk, man.” Ω
Party animals by Matt Bieker
B
azooka Zoo debuted its funky brand of space-rock in the nightclubs and living rooms of Reno in 2010, and has since gone on to release albums, tour the country and hold standing engagements on the city’s most popular stages. Known for its signature pursuit of futuristic beats, 5:30 p.m. blending psychedelic synths with hard-rock riffs and jazzy percussion, Bazooka Zoo still aims to get the crowd grooving at every show. “Bazooka Zoo provides an explosive set of heavy grooves and textured vocal harmonies,” said founder and frontman Zac “Bazooka Zac” Haley. “Expect to get your minds blown.” Known as the “space rock collective,” Bazooka Zoo is crewed by as many musicians as they feel like
Bazooka zoo July 14,
including on a given night, but a few perennial mainstays are usually visible on-stage. Joining Haley is long-time bassist Mac “The Duke” Esposito, Chris Sexton on keys, and drummer Miguel Jimenez-Cruz. In 2015, Bazooka Zoo recorded two music videos with the Emmy awardwinning video series The Reno Sessions, which now airs Saturday nights on local access channel KNPB. “The Reno Sessions have taken great songs and made them timeless through local spaces and expertly crafted video work,” Haley said. “Working with them forces artists to craft their songs as precisely as possible, which ultimately gets us prepared for the studio.” The band released its first official album, Satellite Series, in 2014, followed by Time Capsule a year later—an album featuring collaborations with 34 local musicians.
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“The Reno music scene is blossoming into a more collaborative platform, which means so many good things,” Haley said. “Less competition and more opportunities means artists can take new risks in different genres, play more gigs and ultimately become much more versatile players.” The members of Bazooka Zoo play in multiple local projects—often billed for shows on the same night—as part of an unofficial collective they call “No Labels” Record Label. Although conflicting touring schedules kept Bazooka Zoo out of the studio in 2016, Haley said his own solo act, and projects by the other band members, will be releasing new music in the meantime. “Bazooka Zac, Sky Cats, and Redfield Clipper all have new music and videos coming out this year,” he said. “We’ve got some fire coming your way soon.” Ω
06.29.17
RN&R Artown Guide
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ncluded in the lineup is a series of “Discover the Arts” programs to be presented in English and in Spanish. This popular program has been presented in Reno for over two decades will be held Saturdays starting on July 8 at the Larry D. Johnson Community Center, 1200 12th St, Sparks. All are free. More info: 322-1538.
Discover The Arts: Music JuLy 8, 9:30 A.M. To 11:30 A.M. Composer and Pianist Colin Ross presents a Spanish translated version of Discover the Arts program for kids ages 6 – 12. Music followed by an art project. Compositor y Pianista Colin Ross presentará una versión en Español de Descubre el Arte programa para niños de 6-12. Música, seguido por un proyecto de arte. Discover The Arts: Folklorico Dance JuLy 15, 9:30 A.M. To 11:30 A.M. Traditional Folklorico dancing followed by an art project, a Spanish translated version of Discover the Arts program for kids ages 6 – 12. Workshop followed by an art project. El baile tradicional de Folklorico seguido por un proyecto de arte, una versión de Español de Descubre el Arte programa para niños de 6-12. una actividad, seguido por un proyecto de arte. Discover The Arts: Indian Dance JuLy 22, 9:30 A.M. To 11:30 A.M. Traditional Indian dancing followed by an art project, a Spanish translated version of Discover the Arts program for kids ages 6 – 12. Workshop followed by an art project. Baile Indio tradicional seguido por un proyecto de arte, una versión de Español de Descubre el Arte programa para niños de 6-12. una actividad, seguido por un proyecto de arte. Discover The Arts: Music JuLy 29, 9:30 A.M. To 11:30 A.M. Reno Philharmonic Brass Ensemble followed by an art project, a Spanish translated version of Discover the Arts program for kids ages 6 – 12. Music followed by an art project. El conjunto Reno Philharmonic Brass Ensemble seguido por un proyecto de arte, una versión de Español de Descubre el Arte programa para niños 6-12. Música, seguido por un proyecto de arte.
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RN&R Artown Guide
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ThE REST oF ThE EvEnT ThRoughouT SPARkS DuRIng JuLy: Night of Ives Performances RESTLESS ARTISTS’ ThEATRE, 295 20Th ST June 30 – July 16, Thursday – Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Restless Artists’ Theatre will present a collection of one-act silly and profound plays by David Ives. For tickets: rattheatre.org or 775-525-3074. Events at the Sparks Museum and Cultural Center: 814 Victorian Ave. More info: sparksmuseum.org or 775-355-1144. All events are free. Mountain Picassos: Basque Arborglyphs of the great Basin, June 17 through August 12 First Saturday Lecture: “Transcontinental Film Convoy of 1915” by Leon Schegg, July 1, 2:00 p.m. Paint Along: Children’s watercolor workshop, July 6, 10:00a.m. to noon Basque Dance Performance and Lesson, July 12, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Images of America: Sparks history Book Launch and Signing, July 20, 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. “The hammer of Witches” Basque Book Reading, July 26, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ñiminokA: Children’s Basque Sing-Along, July 27, 11 a.m. to noon 39 North Marketplace Thursdays, 4:00 p.m. To 9:00 p.m. •VicTorian square 39 north Marketplace invites you to celebrate the Basque Culture! Live Basque cooking demos and tastings, live music and dance with special featured artists and performers each week. Join in on the fun with traditional games for families. Learn all about Basque culture. Free. More information and event details at cityofsparks.us/artown
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Set the tone by Brad Bynum
I
The SexToneS July 21, 6:30 p.m.
t’s hard to imagine a band with wider appeal than the Sextones. Sure, the songs are catchy, breezy and so accessible that everybody and their grandmother can dig the tunes. And the band’s live shows feature enough old-fashioned showmanship to warm the cockles of the most jaded hearts. But the players also demonstrate the mad chops to impress other musicians of all stripes, and the band has a cratedigger’s aesthetic—there’s a sly nod to an old Isley Brothers hit here, or a lyrical allusion to a Stevie Wonder B-side there. There’s both talent and taste. The band name might raise a few eyebrows, but folks who follow Reno music know that this is a mutated, grown-up version of the Mark Sexton Band. That was a charming band of talented, fresh-faced, wholesome youngsters, with just a pinch of PG sex appeal. Now that they’re all grown up, that MPAA rating might be PG-13, sort of the musical equivalent of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I recently had the privilege of being an extra/ backup dancer/scene-stealer in the video for “Can’t Stop,” a single from Moonlight Vision, the band’s excellent new album. “Can’t Stop” is a groovy little disco-pop track, and for the video, the group went for a late ’70s/early ’80s vibe, and recruited folks from across Reno’s arts scene to appear, including singer
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Grace Hayes, musician Johnny Bailey, painter Traci Turner and chef Josh Berreman. The video shoot was a blast—a silly, goofy party unto itself—and I think that comes across well in the video. I was just stoked to be there. But the cast of that video—all Reno creative types—is indicative of something else that’s key to the Sextones. The Sextones work hard. Counting its years as the Mark Sexton Band, the band has been around for a decade. The bandmates have done long tours and played big festivals. But they never forget where they’re from. They always rep Reno. The Sextones’ Rollin’ on the River set last year was a highlight of the series, and it was a no-brainer that we wanted them back again this year. If you’re looking for a good time, the Sextones can be relied on to deliver. Ω
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RN&R Artown Guide
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by Jeri Chadwell-Singley
RigoRouS PRoof July 21, 5:30 p.m.
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here’s a track on Rigorous Proof’s forthcoming album titled “Post Modern Apocalypse Blues.” The band’s frontman, guitarist-vocalist Johnny Bailey, said he wrote the song because people kept referring to Rigorous Proof as a blues outfit. “And it was just, you know, kind of people being lazy because they didn’t know what to call us,” Bailey said. “I wanted to give them a blues song, even though it’s not a blues song.” But if blues is a poor description of Rigorous Proof’s sound, it’s only because the term is far too specific. When the band released a single in the summer of 2012, RN&R Editor Brad Bynum called it “a radio-ready track that would fit well between, say, Kings of Leon and The Black Keys on a contemporary modern rock summer jams playlist.” The same can be said of the tracks on Rigorous Proof’s 2011 debut EP, as well as its most recent release, a 2015 LP called Perspectives. “We called it that because there were so many different styles on the album,” Bailey said. It’s true. Between the two albums, Rigorous Proof has covered a lot of rock ’n’ roll ground in the last six plus years—including, Bailey admitted, some work that’s clearly in blues territory.
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WOOD FIRED CUISINE “The new album, though, is straight-ahead, postmodern alternative rock—alternative rock being anything from the ’90s, you know, Nirvana, up to Black Keys, Arctic Monkeys, indie rock, that type of stuff,” he said. Postmodern alternative rock feels like a roomy descriptor but an appropriate one, nonetheless. The band’s style definitely evolved between albums. Songs from East 8th St., released in 2011, moves along at a quick pace, with a fairly uniform, pop-influenced sound. Four years later, with Perspectives, the band revealed a more mature, diversified repertoire. Still, the umbrella label Bailey devised suits both equally well. Rigorous Proof’s discography would fit nicely among any collection of ’90s alt rock standards. The new album, also titled Post Modern Apocalypse Blues, looks to do the same—while also incorporating some new elements. “We’re kind of using Lando, our keyboard player, a little more because he can do much more than just piano and organ,” Bailey said. “He can do strings or horns and stuff on his keyboard. So we’re kind of using that to our advantage.” It’s also the first album written by and recorded with only the band’s four core members—Bailey on guitar and vocals, Adam Landis on keys and vocals, Jesse Gaddis on bass, and Wesley Forster on drums. The album will be available on cassette, CD and, possibly, vinyl. As of press time, recording was not complete, but Bailey said fans should expect “five electric numbers, and possibly one acoustic number—if we can record it in time.” Ω
Play for the crowd by kris Vagner
F
ortune favors the prepared—and if you fancy yourself a road-trip DJ worth your salt, you need to be prepared for all manner of scenarios. Here at RN&R, of course, we offer training for this kind of situation. Here’s your first quiz. Say you’re on a road trip. Uncle Jim is in the back, wearing tie-dye, talking about how lit that Graham Parsons concert was back in ’73. He makes a convincing case, and you are tempted to just dive right into a warm, toasty ’70s country rock groove. Even if you have some reasonable amount of confidence in your DJ skills, you know darn well that a ’70s country rock groove is about as easy to crawl out of as a 12-story-deep Wikipedia hole. You decide to save the country rock groove for one-hour journeys as a matter of policy. Your sister is in the front seat, and she’s about to check into headphone-land because Beck and The National are calling her. If it were just you and her, you’d crank that action, but you know as soon as Matt Berninger’s addictive, mopey vocals dig their talons into your cranium, you will want nothing but High Violet and probably some Xanax for the next four hours, and that’s going to weird
Dainsley
July 28, 6:30 p.m. out Uncle Jim, which would qualify as a classic DJ fail. Your best friend back there next to Uncle Jim is the kind of Gen-Xer who never shuts up about his love for the entire family tree of country music—old, new, honky tonk, trucker ballads, anything with a spritz of bluegrass, the occasional nod to the Grateful Dead, The Old ’97s’ entire library—this guy loves em all. OK, then, DJ-in-training. You’re in the hot seat. What are you going to do? There is one right answer. You are going to play Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory, and you will forever be remembered as the builder of bridges, the hero of this car trip. It’s the album released this past spring by Dainsley, the new band of Dead Winter Carpenters lead guitarist and vocalist Bryan Daines, and it contains a smartly paced tour of all of the above. Ω
A winning
hand by Jeri Chadwell-singley
W
hen guitarist and singer-songwriter Jake Houston first put his band together, there were five members, and the name Jake Houston & The Royal Flush made sense. For the last several years, though, the group has made do with just four. That’s not to say the band or its frontman have fallen on hard times, musically speaking. 2016 was a good year for the outfit, with plenty of gigs and the release of a full-length album titled Up Yonder. But last year’s addition of pedal steel guitar player Shawn Tamborini to the lineup means that the band is once again flush, and, according to Houston, a new album is already in the works. “It’s got a title already,” he said. “We’re going to be calling it Nose to the Rhinestone. And that’ll be the title track as well. So
we’re kind of going for the whole really honky tonk, really traditional—like we play live, kind of the same deal, just a little more polished in the studio this time.” The record could be finished as soon as spring. In addition to Houston and Tamborini, it will feature longtime bandmates guitarist Drea Ballard, bassist Ivan Gates and drummer David Gervais. “We’re going to pick out of a batch, which I’ve never done,” Houston said of the new project. “We’ve demoed nine already, and I believe I have nine or 10 more to demo, and then we’ll pick from those, and then pick a couple of covers even.” But what will Nose to the Rhinestone sound like? Fans of Jake Houston & The Royal Flush are accustomed to a classic country sound. Does the name of the new record hint at something more mainstream?
Jake Houston & tHe Royal FlusH July 28, 5:30 p.m.
“Not so much Rhinestone Cowboy in, like, a Glen Campbell sense, but more in the sense of classic Nashville, you know, like Porter Wagoner, George Jones kind of stuff—where a lot of the music was pretty raw, and they still got radio play and stuff like that, doing songs about cheating and lying,” Houston said. When Campbell’s version of “Rhinestone Cowboy” was released in 1975, it was popular with both country and pop audiences—but The Royal Flush certainly isn’t seeking crossover success. Besides, Houston simply doesn’t possess any pop sensibilities.
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“I guess we’re more of a—it’s like Nashville and Bakersfield, that kind of country—the whole Buck Owens thing, where they had two electrics up there and a bass and a pedal steel. And that was kind of how they did it, instead of having fiddles and everything.” That’s basically what fans can expect from the band’s upcoming performance during the Rollin’ on the River concert series—a classic country performance that could work for The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour in 1970 or a downtown Reno stage in 2017. Ω
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RN&R Artown Guide
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ArTown evenTS To geT You STArTed
Talk of the
town by Jeri Chadwell-Singley
I
don’t know about you, but I get pretty excited for Artown every year. It’s rad to live in a city with an annual, month-long celebration of the arts. And I really can’t believe just how big the whole thing has become. There’s no way to see it all. But if you’re like me, you’ve already broken out the calendar and played Tetris with your schedule to see how much you can cram in. I’ve listed some of the events I’m most excited for here. You can—and absolutely should—find a full listing of events by visiting www.renoisartown.com.
PyRAmid LAke HiGH ScHooL NATive AmeRicAN ART SHow This annual show features work by Native American students at the Pyramid Lake Junior-Senior High School. The show is on display throughout July at the Spanish Springs Library. Pieces on display will include tule ducks, paintings, beadwork, pottery and other cultural crafts. A reception on July 12 at 4:30 p.m. will include native origin stories told by student orators, music by Native flautist Gerald Hunter and dancing by the Pudu Nugadu Troupe— comprised of students from the school. Admission: Free Spanish Springs Library 7100 Pyramid Highway, Sparks, 424-1800
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RN&R Artown Guide
mANSioNS oN THe BLuff HRPS TouR Have you ever wondered about the row of mansions on California Avenue? When were they built? Who owned them? You can get answers to these questions during the Historic Reno Preservation Society’s walking tour, which includes homes on Court and Ridge streets and California Avenue. Tour guides Donna and Paul Erickson, ZoAnna Campana and Joan Collins will talk about the senators and merchants who owned these homes and what Reno was like when they were built. HRPS recommends that people bring water and wear comfortable shoes. The tour starts at 8 a.m. on July 22. Admission: $10 (free to HRPS members) The McCarran House 401 Court St., 747-4478
ReNo miNi mAkeR fAiRe How many times have the kids said they were bored so far this summer? You could always tape their mouths shut—or you could take them to the Reno Mini Maker Faire from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 8. The event is part show-and-tell and part DIY festival. Local techies, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, engineers, scientists, crafters, and student clubs will be on hand to talk with families. The faire celebrates DIY and DIT (do-it-together) culture. Maker Faire is an international network of events that got started in 2006 in the San Francisco Bay Area as a project of the editors of Make Magazine. Admission: $7 (free for kids 16 and younger) Idlewild Park 1900 Idlewild Drive, 682-7371
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LiT @ NiTe: A RAcy, RAucouS ReAdiNG exTRAvAGANzA
movieS iN THe PARk
Studio on 4th wants to invite you to “leave your inhibitions—not your money—at the door for this free, festive reading of adult poetry, fiction and non-fiction by some of Reno’s boldest writers.” The event—which kicks off at 8 p.m. on July 21—will begin with a set of readings by local writers. Do you write erotic poetry on a par with Greek poets Straton of Sardis and Sappho of Lesbos? Or perhaps you’ve been working on the answer to 50 Shades of Grey— something like 12 Varieties of Consensual Sex. Either way, this will be the night to debut it. An open mic kicks off at 9 p.m.
After the Rollin’ on the River concerts at Wingfield Park wrap up, you can hang around to catch a movie. Three movies will be shown in the park during Artown this year. On July 7, it’s Flight of the Navigator, a 1986 movie about a boy who travels eight years into the future, where he meets an intelligent, smartass alien ship. On July 21, the movie is Disney’s The Rocketeer, a story about a pilot who stumbles across a prototype jetpack, which he uses to become a superhero. The film for July 28 is being kept secret until right up to the moment it starts. We’ve got our fingers crossed for A Clockwork Orange— or something equally wholesome.
Admission: Free Studio on 4th 432 E. Fourth St., 737-9776
Admission: Free Wingfield Park Amphitheater 300 W. First St., 322-1538
24-HouR muRAL mARATHoN comPeTiTioN
THe STeeLdRiveRS
This will be the fourth year the Circus Circus Reno has hosted the 24-Hour Mural Marathon Competition. Artists from around the country have been selected to paint original murals on the side of the casino—and they’ll have just 24 hours to do it. The murals will stay up until next year’s event, and the winner will receive a $2,000 award. Last year, Ryan Christensen of Wallingford, Connecticut took home the first place prize. Maybe this year, it will be a local. You can watch the artists paint during this 24-hour race, which kicks off July 15 at 10 a.m. Admission: Free Circus Circus Reno 500 N. Sierra St., 329-0711
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Fans of this band may know that it was once fronted by Chris Stapleton. Now the SteelDrivers consists of Gary Nichols, Tammy King, Mike Fleming, Richard Bailey and Brent Truitt—and they’re great. This bluegrass outfit from Nashville won the 2016 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album with their record The Muscle Shoals Recordings. Rolling Stone called the SteelDrivers’ sound “bluegrass-meetsgutbucket-blues,” adding that the new album “adds a splash of swampy soul.” The band was supposed to play in Reno back in September but had to cancel the show. They’ll be playing the Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater on July 27 at 7:30 p.m. Admission: $25-$35 Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater 6000 Bartley Ranch Road, 322-1538
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• Tuesday: The Summit, 13925 So. Virginia, through September 26, from 9 - 1 • Thursday: Sands Regency parking lot on Arlington side, through August 24 from 4-8 • Saturday: Village Shops, California and Booth, through September 30 from 8 - 1 The Summit, 13925 So. Virginia, through September 30, from 9-1 PLEASE SEE WEBSITE FOR DIRECTIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION
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SAND HARBOR at Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park
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A speciAl supplement to Reno news & Review LTSF - Reno News and Review - June 29 Ad.indd 1
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After hours
Join us at shea’s tavern for even more local music during the new still rollin’ concert series
W
hen this year’s Rollin’ on the River concerts at Wingfield Park wrap up, you don’t have to head home. RN&R is pleased to partner with Shea’s Tavern, 715 S. Virginia St., to bring you the inaugural Still Rollin’ concert series. Still Rollin’ features bands that might be a bit too loud, wild and weird for the casual passersby at Rollin’ on the River. But if you’re down to listen to some of Reno’s best punk, hardcore, metal, noise rock and synth pop, you know where to go. Concerts kick off at 9 p.m. every Friday night in July. We’ll see you there!
July 7 FAll SileNt Fall Silent was a mainstay in Reno’s music scene for many years, releasing three full-length albums before breaking up in 2003. Fans were pleased when the band resurfaced in 2015. In 2016, Fall Silent released a four-track EP called Cart Return. The band still has three original members from its formation in 1994— Danny Galecki on guitar, Damon Watson on drums and Levi Watson on vocals. They’re joined by bassist Joe Foley, who reporter Tim Prentiss learned during a 2017 interview was a fan of the band as a kid. “There are very few bands that positively reflect on what music has ever been in Reno,” Foley told Prentiss. “This represented a lot of cool shit. You
could play fast, sing about what you want, do what you want.” It still represents that. Fall Silent is as loud, fast and hardcore as ever. After their performance at the Still Rollin’ concert series, the bandmates are headed on a tour that will take them to Japan. –Jeri Chadwell-Singley
thÜNdeRheAd Thünderhead was founded in 2014 by best friends Carlos Pintor, drums, and Rade Hendrix, guitar-vocals. The band was a two-piece outfit for about a year before Hendrix and Pintor rounded up new band members and began gigging locally. Today, Pintor and Hendrix are joined by Joe Kuster on bass and Alex Garcia on guitar. Not to be confused with the ’80s German hair band or the New Orleans Southern rock band by the same, this crew rocks hard. Pintor and Hendrix’s 2015 demo, Witching Hour, is a whirlwind trip of speed metal and screaming guitar. And in a recent email interview, Pintor said the band just completed recording on a new, four-track album, recorded at Reno’s Sound Saloon and set to be released soon. –Jeri Chadwell-Singley
BoSS’ dAuGhteR Do you like honest-to-goodness songs about consuming alcohol? Not the weepy Irish songs, not the smarmy champagne toast songs. I mean the
kind of anthemic punk drinking songs that start with the sound of a pull tab, go down like lukewarm PBR—in a good way—and don’t critique your life choices if you guzzle too much, stay up too late and barf too early. Do you live perhaps a bit imperfectly? Do you struggle to find whatever it is that matters in this crazy, mixed-up world, yet want a sign that you are not alone in your quest? Then, allow me to recommend Boss’ Daughter with a Battle Born, fist-in-the-air holler. Chris Fox, Jamie Locks and Danny Paul squish and cram lyrics into meters and rhythms they have no business fitting into, which might make you scream if you’re their former high school English teacher, but if you’re anyone else, you might well appreciate how perfectly their pared down, straightforward, live-for-today-even-iftoday’s-kinda-fucked-up lyrics make you feel—like anthemic punk must never die. Follow-ups to drinking songs include tracks about drinking with friends, drinking too much and drinking a little more. Cheers, gentlemen. Keep a PBR warm for me. –KriS Vagner
July 14 WeReWolF CluB You know your cousin? The one with the rad job? The one who’s always dating the best-looking people? The one that would make you a little
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“after hours” continued from pg. 13 jealous—except she’s so nice, and she goes out of her way to make you feel included, even though she knows everybody everywhere and you don’t. And she knows all the words to all the brand new songs by all the brand new electropop bands, and she’s a great musician herself, and she knows how to eat all those weird foods from countries you’ve never even heard of. And even though she’s so cool, and has such great clothes, hanging out with her makes you feel special, makes you feel like you’re the center of her world. She makes you feel like you’re on great drugs even when you’re not. She’s so warm and sweet and funny. You know the one? Well, her favorite band is Werewolf Club. –Brad Bynum
Slow wow Slow Wow is a relatively new band in the music scene in Reno. Although the band is new, drummer Tim VanGoat, guitarist Scaught Bates and bassist-vocalist Jenn Archerd are no strangers to performing. The band members all have experience with other local outfits. VanGoat played with local noise rock outfit Hate Recorder. Bates played bass for Over-Vert, and Archerd was formerly a member of the punk band Wasteland Witch. Since forming Slow Wow last year, the threesome has performed various shows in popular hubs in the city. Describing their music as smooth and punky jams, the bandmates have yet to release any music, though they plan to release an EP consisting of four songs in August. –nisha sridharan
AlphAbet Cult Together for more than four years, this band is self-described on Facebook as a “noise, stoner, artrock concoction of oldies who have been in many, many bands.” Vocalist-bassist Leah “Tard” Ruby, drummer Darren Barnes and guitarist-vocalist Cyril Beatty have been wanting to play in a band since the ’90s. Now, they’re living the dream. The group is signed under the Intruder Alert! label, which is run by Ruby and the band. Alphabet Cult released its first album in 2014 with strong guitar and rock sounds. The three-piece outfit has also collaborated with various artists over the past years, including Yesir and Cynosure. With strong drums, loud guitar and dual, male-female vocals, the songs are funky and fun. The group has played in multiple establishments such as the Saint, Jub Jub’s Thirst Parlor and the Holland Project. –nisha sridharan
piNk Awful This is one of the bands I’m most excited to present at Still Rollin’ because they’re still 14
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not as well known in the local scene as they should be. Pink Awful draws from a palette of great ’90s noise rock sounds—there are hints of the Pixies, My Bloody Valentine, Throwing Muses and Sonic Youth, among others. But it’s not just a hodgepodge of 20-year-old influences. There are keyboard textures and other sounds that plant the songs firmly in the 21st century, and the songs are well written—there are both catchy hooks and unpredictable instrumental breaks. It’s fun, exciting stuff, and nobody else is playing this kind of music in Reno right now. And it’s exactly what some of us have been craving without even realizing it. –Brad Bynum
July 21 the JuviNAlS Way, way, way back in 2004, when I was a snot-nosed, young freelance writer who didn’t know shit from Shinola, I made one of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made. The category has gotten a lot more competitive over the years, so it might not rank as high on the list of Brad Bynum Royal Fuck-ups as it once did, but it was my first big mistake in print, so it has a place of irrefutable prominence. For the RN&R, I wrote a profile of a Reno band I mistakenly referred to as “The Juveniles.” Turns out the band is actually called The Juvinals. So, yeah, I misspelled the band’s name. All these years later, I still feel stupid about it. In 1964, I might have written about “The Beetles.” And, the thing is, that wasn’t even the worst mistake I made in the article. I also misunderstood what the band was all about. Using pretentious, psuedo-intellectual, just-graduatedfrom-college language, I dismissed the band as “traditionalist” garage rock. But then, a year or two later, I was rocking out, dancing my ass off at one of the band’s shows, and I had an epiphany, a moment of clarity, and I realized that, even though the Juvinals are well steeped in rock ’n’ roll history—frontman Mark Norris does one of the best impersonations of Iggy Pop you could ever hope to see—that’s not what the band is really about. What the band is really about is something much less concrete, much tougher to describe, but I’ll give it my best shot. Simply put: The Juvinals don’t give a fuck.
The bandmates also made an appearance in April on the Worst Little Podcast to talk about everything from what a pain it is when every stall in the bathroom is occupied to upcoming shows. “We’ve got a few ragers coming up later this summer,” Lund said during a recent email interview. The bandmates have two additional shows scheduled at Shea’s Tavern after their July 21 Still Rollin’ concert series performance. Aug. 9 they’ll appear with Bombpops and Sept. 9 with At Both Ends—both punk outfits from California.
But, more than anything, it’s the band’s lyrics that earn them the “adult” designation. Okay Urge’s songs often speak directly to the everyday experiences—the bad, the good and the monotonous—that come with settling into adulthood, including the struggle many people face in making time for personal pursuits and passions. “That’s another thing that’s, you know, an adult contemporary reality—wanting to do creative stuff but wanting to do it in a way that’s not stressful and in a way that you can have an OK life outside of that,” Arbatman said in a 2016 interview.
–Jeri Chadwell-singley
–Jeri Chadwell-singley
okAy uRGe
hAte ReCoRdeR
The last time RN&R caught up with Okay Urge, the four-piece outfit was bringing its grungy, synth-laden noise rock sound and moody lyrics to audiences in Northern Nevada and California. The band had recently released a fivetrack demo that guitarist Josh Koberstein described during the interview as “adult contemporary noise rock.” It’s a joke, of course. You won’t hear this band’s music on the kind of station that plays Michael Bublé and Michael Bolton. But perhaps there’s a case to be made in favor of giving the genre name over to Okay Urge. The band’s sound is contemporary, without a doubt. Koberstein lends distorted guitar, alongside hard hitting drums from Rosie Zuckerman and dueling vocals from bassist Ilya Arbatman and synth player Megan Kay.
When the members of Hate Recorder spoke with RN&R Editor Brad Bynum in 2015, they had recently released Flinching at the Square Waves, the first in a planned four-part EP series. “We want to write some good songs and record them well,” singer-guitarist Tim Blake said of the decision to release fewer songs over a longer time frame. The band made fans wait just over a year for the second EP, Vultures on the Beach. It’s a nice complement to the first EP, featuring four songs that showcase the group’s dynamic blending of punky, lo-fi noise rock sounds and thoughtful lyrics. In truth, the two records could just have easily been placed together on a single album. Still, it’s not hard to see the appeal in drawing things out. Blake and his bandmates—John Benson on bass and Troy
Still Rollin’ features bands that might be a bit too loud, wild and weird for the casual passersby at Rollin’ on the River.
–Brad Bynum
vivA ReveNGe Viva Revenge is a local punk outfit that recalls Reno’s history with the music genre. The band, consisting of Joel Schmidt on drums, Zack Ryan on guitar, Josh Marche on bass and Timmy Lund on vocals have performed alongside many favorite local outfits. Billed by the Holland Project as “young’ns bringing the sound of classic Reno punk,” the band last year played alongside cult favorite Los Angeles ’60s garage rock band The Sloths. 06.29.17
Fall Silent July 7
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Elizares on drums—have all been fixtures in the local music scene for well over a decade. They’re veterans of bands like The Juvinals, Manacle and Short Hair. Together, they’ve earned the distinction of being a band for which fans will wait. Thankfully, the wait shouldn’t be too long. Recording sessions for the third EP—in the now three-part series—were recently completed. It will be titled Most People are Dead. A release date had not been set as of press time, but the bandmates did confirm that the new record— like the previous two—will feature cover artwork by local sculptor Anthony Arevalo. –Jeri Chadwell-Singley
July 28 The ShAmeS How to Love The Shames, 101—Find your thrift store combat boots. Slip a flask in your pocket. Get yourself to a dark, loud Reno bar with a sticky floor like Jub Jub’s or Foxy Olive or Shea’s. Wonder why there aren’t a whole lot more garage punk bands fronted by women, because when when Penny Sillin and Mikie Ramirez sing lyrics like “You’re a dirty dog, and I’m a sexy, sexy, sexy fox,” the whole crowd gets to fast-forward at the speed of a triple espresso past a few decades worth of nice-girl indoctrination and spend the night just pogo dancing to The Shames’ straightforward punk efficiency and brass. Notice that your trust of the The Shames’ expertly honed sense of direction sets in quickly. When they tease you for a second, suggesting with one slick, recognizable measure that it’s time to meander into a rockabilly groove or pay tribute to Dick Dale or remind you about the Go-Gos, you can be damn sure that the detour lasts just long enough to jerk the wheel back to the driving, dirty, delicious garage punk you laced those combat boots for in the first place. –KriS Vagner
PeoPle wiTh BodieS There’s a track on the new People with Bodies album called “Everything was hurt and nothing beautifuled.” Fil Corbitt sings the chorus, his tenor voice managing to sound simultaneously honeyed and matter-of-fact—like a singer on a children’s TV show, except the lyrics are far too miserable: “Sometimes my body does things I don’t want it to do, and I’m feeling pretty tired of the whole thing. How ’bout you?” Corbitt asks. A bit depressing? Perhaps—but Corbitt and his bandmates would argue that it’s in keeping with the rest of their, uh, body of work. “I would say kind of an overarching theme for the whole band is just what it is to be a person with a body,” Corbitt said. “So the theme is kind of like mortality and feeling like you’re kind of stuck sometimes but also how cool it is to be a person, at the same time.”
ViVa ReVenge July 21
The album, released June 13, is titled Con Cuerpo—“With Bodies” in Spanish. It’s a nice follow-up to the eponymous EP released last year, with the same indie meets punk sound. Corbitt and bandmate Kent Irwin take turns on drums, guitar and vocals. The record also features bassist Mark Nesbitt, who joined the band in 2016. –Jeri Chadwell-Singley
FuTuRe CRimiNAlS oF AmeRiCA Future Criminals of America is a four-piece band with some of the best songwriters in Reno. Together, P.K. Hutchinson, Justin Craperi, Mike Mechanic and Mikey Burke have been making feel-good music for a while now. Producing sounds inspired by rock ’n’ roll and country, the band released its first album this year. The record, titled RELAX, I’ve practiced on hundreds of grapefruits, was released in February and consists of 10 songs. The band held its album release party at Lincoln Lounge. Future Criminals of America also produced a music video for its single “Fighting Town,” which is available on YouTube. The video is a compilation of people fighting, both drunk and sober, aligning with the song’s lyrics of a town with fighting everywhere. The group has played with many local bands such as Basha and Jake Houston & The Royal Flush. They are also currently working on a second album, which is set for release in fall or early winter.
ThündeRhead July 7
–niSha Sridharan
The loST oNeS The Lost Ones is a hard band to track down. It took us a while to hear back from drummer John Grinde. And when we did, we weren’t able to learn too much. The band is comprised of Grinde, Garrett Donovan on guitar and vocals, Aaron Foelsch on keyboard and vocals, Todd Imus on guitar and lead vocals and Devon Miller on bass and vocals. When the bandmates made an appearance on the Worst Little Podcast in October 2016, they only had only played one gig together, but show hosts Nick Ramirez and Rory Dowd described the group’s sound as “tight, fresh” and “obviously well rehearsed.” The episode marked the first time the band had been recorded—and they sounded great. According to Grinde, the band is in preproduction on its first EP. As yet, there is no release date scheduled. The only other thing we’re sure of is that The Lost Ones is the favorite local band of a guy named Hector Perez, who told RN&R’s intern, that it’s his friend’s band, and while he hasn’t really seen the group perform yet, he wants to. Well, Mr. Perez, you’ll have your opportunity—Shea’s Tavern, July 28. –Jeri Chadwell-Singley
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STILL The fun doesn’T sTop when The sun goes down AfTer rollin’ on The river, The pArTy is sTill rollin’ The RN&R is pleased to partner with Shea’s Tavern, midtown Reno’s down-and-dirty party central, to present more of the best local music. This unique concert series presents the best Reno music in genres that might be too loud, too wild, too weird for the delicate ears of passersby at Rollin’ on the River. The line up includes some of the best Reno punk, hardcore, metal, noise rock, synth pop, Americana, and rock ’n’ roll. Tune in, turn on, get weird.
EvEry Friday in July starting at 9 p.m. at shEa’s tavErn, 715 s. virginia st., 786-4774. $8. 21+ July 7 fAll silenT Boss’ dAughTer ThunderheAd
July 14 werewolf CluB slow wow AlphABeT CulT pink Awful
July 21 The JuvinAls vivA revenge okAy urge hATe reCorder
July 28 The shAmes people wiTh Bodies fuTure CriminAls of AmeriCA The losT ones
rollin’ on The river And sTill rollin’ produCed By Rollin’ On The River is part of the 22nd Artown Festival throughout July 2017. Established in 1996, Artown is a leader in the Northern Nevada arts and culture industry using the festival as a platform to present culturally diverse and thought provoking performances. Artown, a month-long summer arts festival, features about 500 events produced by more than 100 organizations and businesses in nearly 100 locations citywide. Please do not bring glass, 8666-2_NHL_ArtTownAd_ATCR_FIN.pdf 1 6/26/17 4:59 PM alcohol, tobacco, animals, high-back chairs or coolers to the shows.
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ROllIn’ On THE RIVER and STIll ROllIn’ IS PROduCEd BY Rollin’ On The River is part of the 22nd Artown Festival throughout July 2017. Established in 1996, Artown is a leader in the Northern Nevada arts and culture industry using the festival as a platform to present culturally diverse and thought provoking performances. Artown, a month-long summer arts festival, features about 500 events produced by more than 100 organizations and businesses in nearly 100 locations citywide. Please do not bring glass, alcohol, tobacco, animals, high-back chairs or coolers to the shows.