IR: The SoCal Sessions #27 – Party in Fresno

Per local musician Brian Kenney Fresno’s mission statement, the holy triumvirate of activities in the Central California city of Fresno are: car theft, methlabs and chop shops.   While you often hear the area lovingly roasted for such, the city does contain many more highly notable features, such as their rich musical legacy and tight-knit community that feels a little more real and less musician-migratory than a lot of major metro areas.  This may have been a possible factor that helped put Fresno onto the top #10 list of Esquire Magazine’s ‘Cities That Rock’ list in 2004, around the time Insomnia Radio was founded.

After several weeks of online immersion into the music scene and a few years of CA music programming, I’ve compiled a list of musicians from the area that were accessible online and span over several years, all the way back to the early 80’s during the rich punk scene that continues to this day.  Some of the artists are still around, while some have moved on.  The list is by no means all inclusive as I had twice the number of artists I would have like to have featured, but only so much real estate here to fit them into.

While there is some roasting in this show, consider this a toast to the area, its musical heritage, and the musicians who continue to call Fresno and its surrounding communities home.

TRT:  1:16:52, NOT WORK SAFE

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBE

INVITE LIST

• Capitol Punishment – Elephant Man (clip)
• Something From the Planet Hell – Devilution
• The Basement – Natural
• The Sleepover Disaster – Hold My Tongue
• From Indian Lakes – We Thought Your Hearts Were Beating
• Sparklejet – Clever Personality
• The Aircrash – The Pursuit
• Rademacher – If U Got Some Magic
• Wheels of Fortune – Fresno Is a Good Little Town (Holiday Version)
• Kat Jones – Without a Sound (live)
• Super Lucky Catz – Semi-Unconditional
• Travis Oberg – Redemption
• Atari Champ – He’s the Astronaut
• Let’s Go Bowling – Bone Dry
• Flywright – Warm as the Womb
• Winter Wardrobe – Trouble With Friends
• Brian Kenney Fresno – That’s Who!

LOCAL RESOURCES

• Dorktown [podcast]
• The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno
• Fresno Famous
• Fresno Punk Scene History
• The Fresnan
• Party in Fresno (fake working title)