tommy from tokyo garden sings!

our friend lauren convinced tommy, the bartender at tokyo garden, to sing a song. a real treasure, and the only time i've seen it happen. amazing stuff, and i love how he giggles midway through the song.



rare, rare stuff right there.

post art hop @ tokyo

look who's back at making cool flyers for their shows:



that's right, your favorite, and mine, rademacher. this week's post art hop show sounds like fun. achievement house is getting a lot of local buzz, i think the current rademacher line up is one of their best, and blake jones & the trike shop do some quirky, cool songs.

btw, last week i went over to the quiet show featuring malcolm sosa, niiiiiiiilo smeds, rc, and luke giffen. good show. enjoyed new songs by all those guys.

rademacher show review

so, i only managed to make it to one of the thanksgiving shows down at tokyo garden, and it was the last one. the show was supposed to be brother luke & the comrades, archaeology, and rademacher. the funny thing is, archaeology was nowhere to be found. it's as if they didn't even know they were supposed to be in fresno and not their native portland, because they posted something online about being done with rehearsal and heading to a show to watch & listen.

so, i headed out to the show, and only made it for the last song or two of brother luke. that's okay, i wasn't really going to see his set, not that i have anything against that group. there was a decent crowd for a show at tokyo, and it did seem like some out of town folks had managed to incorporate the show in their visit home plans.

rademacher is playing again as a five piece, and they are really starting to click again. i saw them in this set up a few weeks back in visalia, but this time the sound was much better. and by that, i mean there was no feedback. and you could hear the keyboards. they're currently playing a set list that's mostly from stunts, which is good, but i was surprised when mike mentioned during the show that it came out in 2006 (i think it actually was released in 2007). holy crap, time flies. as i enjoyed the music, i pondered where the years had gone. and why good bands like rademacher, the sleepover disaster and el olio wolof toil away without getting big enough to really get noticed and "make it." and perhaps now, with this line up, rademacher can grab someone's ear because they sound really good. it's a very focused sound, a well oiled machine. honestly, they sound as good as they ever did, and hopefully they'll be able to keep it up.

blake jones & the trike shop at tokyo garden

hey, if you're not going to see exit through the gift shop tonight, go see blake jones & the trike shop along with bad andy & the sunburns, and old toy trains. they're playing over @ tokyo garden. tell blake you saw a cat playing a theremin.

surprise show review

yesterday i received a text and also saw a facebook post that rademacher was doing a surprise show at tokyo garden with the band mad happy. i'd never heard of mad happy, but thought i'd go because it would be rademacher's first show back as a four piece. that's right, last show they were a new three piece featuring r.c. on bass, and now they're a four piece with r.c. on bass, eli on drums, johnathan hadden (back from n.y. & in the band) on rhythm guitar and malcalm sosa on lead guitar and vocals.

i knew it would be a small show, and did my best to spread the word a little via text and twitter. two friends decided to join me and i headed off to the show.

so, as mad happy sound checking, one of my friends was saying how he bought their cd the last time they were in town. he admitted he was a little "influenced" at the time, and we were giving him a hard time about his purchase. by the end of their set i was considering a cd myself, although i abstained. but here are some thoughts i jotted down last night:

- secret surprise show = no people
- strange band fresno people don't know = no people

seriously, mad happy had one fan there. there was me & my two friends. there was one guy sitting at the bar. three other people came in later. seven people for two bands.

- mad happy was a little too demanding during sound check. i know, you want your monitors right, but they guy just seemed a little primadonna-ish

- bring your own fans. really, we wondered after the show when it was planned. mad happy basically drives around the country in a car with their baby and their dog. so, i'm sure they get in touch with people and set up shows, but they've got to have some network of fans.

- very fun stage presence. they're a two piece, and the guy is just dancing and flying all around the stage. the girl might've been more animated, but she had her baby in a frontpack.

- that's right, there was a baby. on stage. with headphones. the baby with headphones was a pretty funny touch, especially when we called them earmuffs during a song that was littered with f bombs.

- since most everyone was city at the bar, the band made a joke that we were at an anti-bar-mitzveh. a mitzveh being a blessing, a barmitzveh being a party to celebrate, i guess he didn't feel we were having enough fun. but we were.

- music was cool. it had a jewish feel, with hip hop harmonies. really, the vocal interplay of the two was dope.

- the said they would trade green for a cd. not green paper, but green. they also said they'd trade green paper for cd's as well.

- i never would have expected that i was coming to a jewish hippy hip hop show when i left the house tonight.


----------

- rock-a-macher showed up tonight.

- the sound was very tight. reintroduction of john hadden wasn't a problem at all, even with just 1 practice as a four piece.

- mike on lead guitar = good!

check out the song i bootlegged that inspired the previous comment. it's called charles.

- r.c. on backing/shouted vocals is super nice

- sounding the best i've heard in quite some time

- when jonathan was in the band before he was the only one playing guitar, and i think this limited him. with mike on guitar as well, hadden was able to play with more flare tonight and it was cool.

- the show ended up being basically a trial run/band practice for rademacher's upcoming weekend shows (cellar door in visalia, the smell in los angeles)

have another bootlegged song if you got some magic.

hey, i had a good time last night. it was only $3, and it felt like a private show.

post art hop at tokyo garden

a few weeks back our beloved rademacher had a line up change. i heard it was happening, but didn't blog about it, although i think i did post about it on facebook.

radioactive cauliflower (of elio wolof fame) has joined the band on bass, and malcolm has switched back to guitar. eli's still on drums, which is a good thing.

anyway, rademacher has played a fresno show on a sunday night and i decided not to go. i wish i had because i heard it was a hella good show. i won't make that mistake this thursday. it's post-art hop at tokyo garden, and rademacher is on the bill featuring rademacher's new line up. also, trumpet solo, spider problem and it'll grow back are on set to play. it should be a rather good show.



i'll be there singing along. join me.

super badass thanksgiving concerts

looking for something to do over the thanksgiving holidays? why not check out some great local, live music @ tokyo garden. all shows are scheduled for 9:30 & $5.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25th

Primer Skyline
Abigail Nolte
Circles + Circles

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27th

Badlands
The Quiet Americans
Rademacher

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28th

Blake Jones
It'll Grow Back
Racelegs
Trumpet Solo
Wheels of Fortune (solo)

for more info check out a great podcast episode featuring malcolm sosa, who put this all together.

blake jones @ tokyo garden

received an email from the master of the theremin and thought i'd pass along the info to you:

Saturday, June 11th at Tokyo Garden.
Three bands bring some sweet coolness
to your summer Saturday night:

Opening the show is:
Blake Jones & the Trike Shop

Second up , from San Francisco, it’s :
Griddle
(indie-rock/prog w/ a sense of humor)

!!HEYA!! ---Come on out; let's give these out-of-town bands
a great Fresno audience and show 'em that this is a place to
mark on their map for further shows!


Closing things off, it’s Fresno’s own:
It’s an Icicle

First band (Trike Shop) is up promptly
at 9:30.

Come drink in the sounds of local and
not-so-local music as you lounge under
the comfort of Toshi and Tomi’s
inflatable Godzilla.
See you Saturday night!
5 bucks (cheap!)
p.s.
promotions go to local TV:
check :
Central Valley Buzz on Thursday, June 9th
from 4-6pm for live music, witty banter, and more

momo doves, rademacher & david dondero @ tokyo garden

if you aren't already planning on being at this show, you should be.



special shout out to kaylee benwa for putting this flyer together.

rademacher residency in the ghetto week 3

tonight is the 3rd week of rademacher's residency at tokyo garden. the bus may either be road hardened or read weary from a little road trip to l.a. and arizona.



joining the rad's tonight circles and circles, a truly amazing band.

they're also playing with santonie's revenge, a band i've never seen, but i like their sound on myspace.

rademacher residency review 1

so, i wanted to share some thoughts from rademacher's residency @ tokyo garden

first off, $5 for a show is still a good deal, especially when you're seeing 3 or more bands. i don't know how bands make any money.

racelegs was alright. i don't think i've seen them before, and they do an instrumental, mars volta-ish thing. decent music, but i'm a fan of vocals.

wrong way driver - i got a little soured on this band because it took them forever (for-ever!) to set up, and it's not like they were a big band and had a ton of stuff. basic size band with normal instruments. their music didn't really impress me.

rademacher - rademacher is always changing things. they change band members, they change song arrangements, they change tempos and more. change can be good. change can be bad. last night's song set was filled with good and bad. i really like malcom opening the show solo on guitar. and i liked the first couple of songs. but as the set progressed, i found myself a bit disappointed with it. several songs seemed really sped up. and i'll admit it, i miss greer. her vocals added a lot to songs, and the group dynamic was a little different. maybe it was an off night for me, maybe it was an off night for the band, maybe i was tired and needed to go sleep.

rademacher featuring mike from race legs - i saw these guys practice in the studio last weekend, and i liked how they did things there a little better. it was still good at the show, and i liked the keyboard additions.

some other notes from the night:
a guy near me ordered an apple martini. the look tommy's face was priceless. he was like, what? and the guy ordered again, apple martini. and i don't know if tommy was confused, as if the guy was ordering some made up drink, or confused that someone would actually order an appletini, or what. but he just had this look on his face like seriously? or like someone farted. and then he made the drink.

post art hop @ tokyo garden

that's right y'all, thursday is the beginning of rademacher's residency @ tokyo garden. this week features wrong way drivers, racelegs, and of course rademacher. rademacher will be playing music from their whole catalog so if you really like some old rademacher hits you should go. they'll also be joined by members of other local bands each week, which should be pretty cool.



rademacher, if you're taking requests, i'm calling for 'arguments.'

rademacher residency + gossip girl

our friends, radmemacher are about to start a month long residency @ tokyo garden. they'll be playing every thursday for the next four weeks. each thursday they'll be joined by other bands, and having several guests play with them in their set. if i remember right, the other bands will also be covering rademacher tunes.

as a bit of promo, here's some videos i shot for them over @ their studio. eventually, they vids are going to be synced with some better audio that they recorded at the same time.

rademacher - what the neighbors don't know



rademacher - cool kids




finally, in sort of strange rademacher news, they will be on gossip girl tomorrow night. well, they're not personally on it, but their music is featured. it seems they do little segments @ the end of each show, showcasing real life gossip girls in nyc. this monday's girl likes rademacher and so their music will be used during the segment.

malcolm sosa @ tokyo garden

if you're looking for something to do saturday night, aside from the film festival, ufc fights, or a ton of other things, you can check out malcolm sosa from rademacher playing solo with primer skyline & others @ tokyo garden.



or you can be like me and do several of those things. that's right, i'm bragging that i can manage to do two things in a night.

maybe i will manage to remember to finally pick up the r.i.p. gardenside e.p. from rademacher.

march post art hop show

it's arthop! that means you should try and stop by ashtree studios and see my four pieces that are a part of the rogue festival. it's free, and it's me.

afterward, hit up tokyo garden and see rademacher and all their deliciousness. this is the first official fresno show w/their newest drummer, eden davis.

9:30 pm, $5.

post arthop show review

last night i went to the post arthop show @ tokyo garden. this is no surprise, as i pretty much go every month. on the bill were the aircrash, aimless never miss, and rademacher. aimless never miss is from the bay area, and their drummer is also in cilian rail, which is a really good instrumental band. the aircrash and rademacher are both fresno bands, and frankly, they both outshined the bay area band. they were all good, so it's not like i'm trying to insult anyone. the aircrash really stood out to me on the night. i'd never seen them, despite the fact that they've been playing around fresno for over with a year.

here's some videos i shot from the show, they're all a little dark (especially the aimless never miss vids) but i hope you enjoy them anyway:

the aircrash



the aircrash



aimless never miss



aimless never miss



rademacher



rademacher



rademacher was really on top of things last night. their sound was very good, and i enjoyed the overall set and it's feel. this was eli's last fresno show with the band, and it was a good one.

rademacher at tokyo garden 12/27

if you're not like me and watching a crazy good ufc fight tonight, here's what you should be doing in fresno.



really, get the heck out of your house, brave the cold weather, and see some great local music. i'm not totally sure, but you may also be able to pick up a copy of rademacher's newest, 4 trx xmas. it's pretty nice, and i'll definitely throw on auld lang syne to ring in the new year.

if you're really lucky, you might even see me there after the fights.

and, maybe you're looking for something different. here's another fresno option...40 watt hype

post art hop show featuring rademacher, the sleepover disaster and death to anders

i'm going to borrow a friend's words to promote the show right now:
"it's not really a post-art hop show without rademacher now is it? the originators and curators of this first thursday phenomenon are at it again, this time with guests (the sleepover disaster (devil in the woods records) and l.a. band to watch death to anders, who have - since their last visit to fresno - released a new record and become big players in the l.a. indie rock scene. good music and good friends always make the post-arthop show the best thing to happen to thursdays since, um, 'must-see tv.' come be a part of it."

taken from december's indie preview in the undercurrent

quiet show review

so, i was excited to see malcom sosa and david dondero play last night. i knew they would both be enjoyable, and neither disappointed. in fact, dondero played over an hour, joked with the audience, told stories about the songs, and was great on stage.

as good as these gents were, the show was stolen by travis vick. he went on first, hailing from manteca, ca. i was really impressed by the emotion that came through his songs. they were well written, funny at times, sad at others, and were all well crafted art. another thing about vick was that he was a tremendous guitar player. many singer/song writers aren't that great at playing their instrument. they may be good writers, or singers, but many are just functional guitar players. or, maybe they're great guitarists and marginal singers or writers. not travis vick. he brings the whole package. he had some serious chops on the guitar but it wasn't like he played to show off. he just played that well so that the songs would be musically layered as the lyrics were.

i wonder if manteca knows what they've got in travis vick? i also wonder when he'll be playing in fresno again?

if you're interested in another review, check out what famous whitewater had to say about the show.

rademacher reminder

okay, i admit i'm a little nervous to see the show tonight. rademacher has a temporary bassist because greer's been kindly filling in for another band on tour. will it be as good as ever?

regarding their current line up, i heard two things last night:
1. that's a whole lot of ugly on stage
2. mike and brad are sexy

now, i didn't say either, and frankly it doesn't matter to me. i'm going for the music. and i want to hear eli play twice (fay wrays + rademacher). and, i missed the boxing lesson on their last time through, so it'll be good to catch them this time.