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Dear Santa: A Fresno wish list for Christmas
- Dec 21 2011
- 4
According to NORAD's Santa Tracker, there's still a bit of time before the big guy heads out on his holiday run. So, if you've proscratinated like me, you'd best send off your gift list ASAP (granted you've been a good boy or girl). As is Famous tradition, we asked our contributors (and other Famous friends) what they would like to see Santa bring to town this year.
We've emailed the big guy the link.
Michael Banti (ghost-story collector and operator of weirdfresno.com): What I wish for Santa to bring to Fresno this year is for Fresno to actually get behind ALL of its sports teams, be it college football, basketball, baseball or hockey. We are lucky to have a plethora of college sports, a Triple A baseball team and a hockey team. Yet Fresno is the capital of bandwagoners it seems and only supports its teams when they succeed and ridicule them when they fail.
John Esquivel (promoter and house-party thrower with Religious Appeal): I would like to see Santa give some people a little motivation. I would like to see people create their own fun rather than expect to have it set right in front of them. How about less 'fattest/drunkest city in America'and more 'Hey! There is this cool thing called the Swede Fest/Love The Captive/Rogue Festival in Fresno.' That would be pretty sweet. Oh! And how about a little celebration for our quirkiness? Whenever I say 'only in Fresno,' it's usually a good thing. Also, I'd like to see more local bands in 2012. I guess I want a lot from Santa. He's going to hate me when he sees this list.
Mike Seay (the most interesting Fresnan in Fresno): A bike to every Fresnan that doesn't have one. And then $40 to be given to them only after they ride it to work or the store for a couple days. That way, more Fresnans might be friendlier to bikers because they'd get what it's like having to truly share the road with cars. Also they might not bitch about bike lanes as much.
Ray Arthur (Fresno Film commissioner and friend to many a celebrity): I would like to see Santa bring Fresno a big bundle of self-respect and positive attitude, so that we can occasionally laugh at ourselves when the joke’s on us, once in awhile turn the joke around (I’m talking to you Stockton, Bakersfield, Reno, El Centro, and Cleveland … oh yeah, Cleveland!), and move forward.
Zara Arboleda (CBS47 newsie and pop-culture addict): I'd like Santa to clean up Granite Park. It's just so sad looking.
Dale Stewart (singing political activist/one-time punk-rocker): Dear Santa, Could you make it so that all the stuff sold in the stores that says 'Buy Local' is actually made in the USA?
Jefferson Beavers (freelance writer, California-report contributor and Fresno-music lover): I would like to see Santa bring Fresno for x-mas this year a big bagful of money to save the Fulton Mall and renovate it, one square block at a time. The big stipulation: Throw out the mayor's plan to restore vehicle traffic and pursue big-box stores, and instead respect and build upon the vibrant communities of people that already thrive on the mall. Santa wouldn't want a bunch of bland gentrification, now would he?
4 Comment(s) for "Dear Santa: A Fresno wish list for Christmas"
All good points y'all.
I really do need to look more closely at Coattrack.
I think that a local person, with a feel for a multitude of bands and what they bring to the table would be good at attracting notice--and yeah, as you brought up elsewhere, in places like NPR. A person or persons with enthusiasm for a scene, along with some skills in marketing could get a bit of the spotlight on the town and it's artists.
One problem with being a musician, is that there's never enough time.If you're working on an album, you're not out promoting...and if you're always promoting...then you're not doing what you're *suppossed* to be doing...and that's creating music. --and then there's that whole 'eating' and 'rent' thing.
And hey, I know there are lots of practical considerations...but I was making a dreamy WISH to Santy Klaus here!
A local label would be able to package all of the various bands in a form that is more marketable than whatever a single band can do. Instead of clicking through to a band's webpage (or facebook/soundcloud/etc.) you would get to see a collection of similar (awesome) bands all from the area. That would be impressively cool. I think that Coattrack Records is already doing some of this. They have tapes out from Fay Wrays/Quiet Americans/Niilo Smeds/Achievment House, plus a really cool comp, Sounds from Below (I think that's the name of it).
What a record label does nowadays has changed. Making a physical document, a record, CD, even an MP3 file, isn't the hard part any more. Publishing is easy, too. It's done on the internet. Most musicians can do that part themselves. It's that elusive getting from point A to point B that's needed.
Definitions. Maybe definitions have changed. Some parts of hustle, just shoe-leather, walk and talk is still vital. That's what your good at, Blake. (among other things) Meet and greet. Something I'm not too good at.
I always seem to go back to the view. What part of the music business do you see clearly and from what perspective? Who are the hot, trail-blazing acts? The trends, the place where the ground-breaking, new scenes are being established. It's in those places where the doors of opportunity open ever so briefly for the graceful and quick-stepping to pass through to that success as a musician.
Ok, this is Santa, right? So I can just wish away:
I wish there was a person or persons that would start a local record label and really hustle multiple local acts and hustle Fresno as a Place, as a Happening..which I think it is (yeah, ups and downs, and hot to warm back to hot again..but it IS)...and I wish they would see that as their passion. and a long-term passion at that.Santa, you said I could wish, so I did.