blog war!

and malcom sosa owes me an argument...the song that is

"Unless the only reason you check Fresno Famous is to see who is arguing about what."

Ha! That's why I was checking just now!

There are a lot of public comments that start off directed to ONE person. Can we stop using the public forum for correspondence that would be better suited as a private message? This happens quite a bit on Fresno Famous. I think it would be more constructive and positive for this online community. Unless the only reason you check Fresno Famous is to see who is arguing about what.

"as the object of your obsession,
though flattered?,"----that was lame.

Don't flatter yourself. It was only the (what I feel are)skewed comments I was dealing with.

In some ways it's truly a bummer that you're choosing to bow out of Fresno Famous, -because you do have some great input, always have,
and when you do so?,
it's really cool.

as the object of your obsession,
though flattered?,

I'd just be glad to see your focus on the issues that myself and others are trying to muddle through.
-rather than being so hung up on the person saying them, (in this case, me.)
-That's what I meant by the friar tuck thing.
-always hearing about 'lets be positive and work together,' while feeling the knife? gets mighty confusing after a while.

Your choice, however, and I respect it.

Though we'er no longer friends, and we don't hang anymore?, I have no problem with your posts and input on the subjects that you bring to the table at any time.
They're valid, and relevant, (they also show a lot of insight and depth.)

I'm more than happy to stick with subject at hand, and not launch (nor endure,) personal attacks, for the record.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

you are probably right. I am obsessing on your comments.
Your style/stance often bothers me and feels destructive---it could be
just me.---or not. But it doesn't really matter in the end.
Hanging here is definitely no longer bringing out the best in me and
there are better ways/places I can use my energies and
hopefully have a positive impact with what energies and abilities I have.
I think it's time for me to bow out from
the FresnoFamous scene.

btw, the friar tuck stance was no stance---i truly believe that people, if they can unite over stuff and argue less , can get some very very cool things done. But here? I spend too much energy in the argue-ing.

For somebody who is so worried about conversations and posts being optimistic, positive, and contributory, you're showing a lot of wanting to argue, needle, and turn it into some passive aggressive pissing match.

To clarify, (though I wrote it clearly enough,)

Sosa makes some excellent points, and, though they are critical, I don't sense that the guy wants to be damning.
He's being honest.

Because he's a local, because he's
(right now) seen as possibly the most successful (currently) local in his genre?
-and looked up to by a lot of people?
I think his addressing the issue and speaking honestly deserves to be heard, IS a side of the issue that has been said by others,
-and (though not 'yeah, this place is great,')
---makes good points and identifies a problem.
--does he have a solution, does he go after it completely and bring it home in a box with a bow? No.

but,,,
Well, to a great extent he's living his own solution, ---and (as stated in my post,) others are finding theirs.
But this is not just some 'yeah, it's cool to bash Fresno.' -and I think he knows that.

How to 'deal with it?'

Well, I'm sure in your way you, Trike Shop, the Beatles Tribute Band, your project for Rogue (etc.) IS dealing with it. (As any 'Fresno' Creative is trying to.)
-I mean, you've made a successful rallying cry, and drummed up the funds to take your band to England ---purely out of the desire to do so... (congrats, it worked, folks got behind you, you played hard, and pulled it off.)
--and when it comes to self-promotion and working with public issues, you're all over that, (again, congrats,)

-But looking at the balance of Sosa's entry,
Specifically with the entry and inclusion of 'No Cello's song,
-and the realization that this kid was like, what, in his early twenties, ---and is now gone? (I mean, this is not 'moved to Portland,' this is DEAD.)

-that the 'scene,' is seen by not one (Sosa) but by others 'Earlimart' as not really encouraging and nurturing bands to grow and go beyond,
-That's saying something.

You and your band have managed to make it bigger than most,
If (you can get past your hiss-fit and jabs, feigning the friar tuck 'we all need to be supportive here,' thing, while throwing rocks at me...)

Maybe you could elaborate on how your band has made it so long,
how they made it so far,
and what may help others?

I've written on these same subjects that Sosa speaks of, (be they regarding social concerns, creative, municipal, (whatever,) they're nothing new.
-I'm not nearly as involved and 'locally versed,'
--having been here for just over two years, yet can see it.
-so they get shot down for whatever reasons ('length of post, not from here, not on subject.' blah-blah.)

Okayfine,
--Now (possibly,) the one local band that is making it nationally (in quite sometime,) is speaking about some of the towns issues.

(And the guy didn't even mention their instruments getting ripped off last year at this time when they played Starline,(like just prior to a major tour, and I think it was a kickoff show??) and this is their HOME,)

I don't think the comments and the blog were meant to be evil,
-just striaghtforward, (and that, at times is lacking.)

-What's worked for You???
-How about dealing with this as a professional creative who's gone further than Fresno?

(or are you just going to continue on obsessing on my comments?)

I guess I'd listen to just about anything M.Sosa has to say.
Y'all have heard the phrase "actions speak louder than words".
Well, this guy has actions by the gazillions---earning him plenty of words in my book.

He's brought in many many bands and graciously had them share the stage and along with his bandmates they've taken their music all over the darn place.
My hat's off to him.

I'm not sure if he's from around here. I don't know him that well personally. I don't really care if someone's born and bred around here. It's those actions that earned my ears.
Whether someone's 'from' here or not is not how someone earns my respect---hey, the guy who started the Rogue Festival is from far far away and he's done our town loads of good.

"(question: will anyone do anything with this?)"

--oh yeah totally. We'll get on it.

I don't know Malcolm Sosa well enough to comment on his personal blog, but reading it was a bit of an eyeopener...
(Josh, thanks for the post.)

thoughts:

...well, malcolm sosa (of rademacher)
-knows what he's talking about.

(disclaimer: I've seen rademacher at least twice, maybe three times and found the band to be really good (fav. drummer? Becca), (even wrote about it a ways back, -fun ban, fun crowd.)

-though I found the venue that they tend to play in (Tokyo Gardens) to have one of the most horrendous soundsystems, ever,
-still the shows were good, (and) if you throw a bunch of bodies in the place, the sound softens up a bit and your ears don't bleed and molars explode.
(ps) Tokyo has cured me of ever wanting to do karaoke.
IF (rademacher) played elsewhere? (with a good soundman?) I'd probably have seen them more...

The Good:
-he's not soft-soaping the town, despite many 'what if's,' and 'what abouts' in the responses
-when he speaks of performance life here... (and being a hard core Fresnan who's band was (still) is in residence for most of the recent 'culture,' resurgance (ArtHop) etc.
He's telling it like it is.

-he's allowed to do this, he's not an outsider (hello,) and that gives him cred. (question: will anyone do anything with this?) Or will people just 'yeah, but, what about,' ----and just neutralize it to death.

-his band, for as much as it was the core 'scene-band,' during most of my art-hop/bike-hop runs (before so many folks went to Portland and such,) was everywhere, warranted a following, ---and has achieved 'escape velocity,' -and are being recognized (so I'm told) nationally.

-He is showing what it takes (modern world) to break out and go national.

-This is somebody who has a definite opinion on the situation and is not all lost in the local goo of
'don't tell the truth about this, don't have a gut reaction or opinion that may be 'negative.' (In otherwords I think we found something that has not been neutered to be allowed in the house of Fresno.)

-He's recognizing that things either grow, progress and continue to grow and explore, -or they cease to do so,
--and that there is a strong likelihood that creativity, and sensitivity (locally,) results in growth and moving on? -or succumbing to something (local?) by way of drugs or whatever, -and that there's something killing or driving away Fresno's creatives.

what's unfortunate:

-With his summation of the Fresno music scene, he admittedly pans it.
(He further explains that he's not trashing out the musicians, just what happens to them, ---though his opinion that there 'really are so few worth listening to' is strong stuff, to say the least.

-This will be taken (probably again,)
as somebody who 'Everybody in Fresno Musically/Culturally' is putting their chips on, turning around and pissing on the town that they're from.
(not sure if that's going to go over so well...
-You are no longer allowed to say negative things about Fresno as a creative, I think it got passed as a measure some time ago, but I never got the memo nor took the injections...)
?But maybe folks will listen to what he's saying BECAUSE of who he is?
and not immed. go '...hey, don't dis Fresno (stab-stab-stab...')
Hopefully...

-WHY it takes really disliking HERE to go out and MAKE SOMETHING is unfortunate,
-but I was reading the same sort of comments from another 'native son,' Earlimart...
And recall some rather sobering comments by Jarah about how the scene is (creativity and entreprenurialship-wise)
--and know of another situation brewing which is particularly galling...
Seriously?, something needs to be done with that...
(and the answer is not 'sorry, no bad news today.'

(Feathering/Moderate statements:)

-I still (personally,) think that there are some excellent bands around here, (off the top of my head:
NepTunes,
Jumpbacks,
Catti-Ness and the Revenge,
Same Shape,
PopLord,
(Laura?) Nolte (played at last years Rogue, I think playing this year -totally worth checking out,)
(Whatever catagory He chooses?) Patrick Contreras has never done a bad show, I think in the history of the planet...

And, in other genres there's some folks definitely worth going to see.
So, there IS music being created here, and some of it is really top-flite.

(I might check out the Brian Kenny Fresno guy, but to be honest, my schedule is way booked, and it sort of feels like it's sooooo Fresno-centric that I'd not 'get,' what's going on...
-but it would be worth it to see a WARR played live again, (it's been, like, something like 20 years or something, jeesh I'm getting old.)

What's totally HEARTBREAKING?

Listening to the 'No Cello' track.

I could do it only once, whole time thinking, 'aw shit, this kid didn't make it to half my age, and he was GOOD,
...this stuff is GOOD.'

As someone who was in garage bands growing up, went on to do other things
-and folks at home were cool with it?
and who has a little brother who was in bands that 'went somewhere,' who went onto greater things
-(and the hometown was cool with that too...)
What happened to this kid, with this talent?,
-who I didn't even know about, never heard live, other than 'blogs,' and completely agree that he died way too young several weeks ago.
THAT track was totally gut wrenching, and made Mr. Sosa's point in a lot of ways that a bunch of philosophsing can't touch.

I hope Rademacher makes it. (seriously, they've worked their asses off.)
I hope a lot of area musicians 'make it,'
-to whatever they want to 'make it too.'
--even if it includes eventually shifting gears, finding somebody, having a few pups, seriously caring about 'the yard,' and jamming with their buds everyonce in a while as their waistlines attack.

I think there needs to be more entries like Sosa's Blog. on FresnoFamous.

...um, come to think of it...
Sosasosad IS one of the founders of it.

Strange, if he wrote THAT entry HERE today,
-think it would even qualify as 'Fresno-Positive,' enough?