Fresno Famous

The Big Fresno Fair announced the 25 bands moving on in its Local Performers Contest and I have to say ... wha!!??

Look, I won't pretend to know every band that plays in the area, but, by virtue of my job, I'm familiar with quite a few.

Seven. Of the 25 bands moving on, that is how many I've seen/heard/read about. That's not a bad thing really (there's something to be said for broadening horizons and all that) but this is what I generally don't like about contests like this: They don't seem to reflect what's happening in the scene (and you'll all list reason this is so, I am sure).

Anyway, I was interested, so I watched all 25 of the videos and picked my Top 6 (in no order): 

Motel Drive: Break-necked rockabilly goodness. These guys are no joke. 

8 Souls: I think this style was known as emo once upon a time. Right? 

Front and Center: They say they play "classic juke-box rock'n'roll." Fans of Nick Lowe will appreciate. 

The Bee: Here's one of the names I hadn't heard before. Not sure what exactly The Bee is all about, but it's dance-y and I like it. 

Style Like Revelators: Good ol' fashioned dirty blues rock. 

The Red Coats: This is my favorite of the whole bunch. These guys are working the throw-back 60s garage-rock vibe. For real. The vocals on this songs kill it.