A post about ArcHop that should have had a video with it
Once upon a time last month, I was at Tokyo Garden talking to Kiel Famellos-Schmidt, the curator of ArcHop. I had the bright idea to videotape him discussing this month's event and post said video here for the wonderful readers of The Beehive to get familiar with ArcHop, an ArtHop spin-off dedicated to architecture.
The batteries in my camera being depleted, I asked my always-kind blogging cohort Ms. Heather McLane to use her video camera, a request to which she obliged. It wasn't until a few weeks later, when I realized I soon needed to post the footage, that I learned a horrible truth: H-Mac deleted my video!
While I place all the blame firmly on Ms. McLearnWhenToDelete, I feel that I owe some Beehive love to Thursday's ArcHop event. So instead of a video, here are a couple of fliers and a post that Famellos-Schmidt wrote on Mindhub this week.
It's a big day for Earlimart -- the band, not the city.
For the unaware: The indie duo is headed by Fresno-bred Aaron Espinoza, who used to play music and tend bar at The Fulton before he was even old enough to drink. But that was like 10 years ago.
Today marks the release of Earlimart's new album, "Hymn and Her," the first on its own Majordomo Records. To whet your appetite, Earlimart's publicity team hit off The Beehive with the album's first cut, "Song For," which we're giving up to you guys as a free download.
If you want to read more about what Espinoza is up to these days, I suggest this recent piece from L.A. Weekly that talks about his work at The Ship recording studio, his label deal and even name-checks Fresno and Rademacher.
I didn't see a single person talking with a cell phone to his or her ear on my way to work this morning. Score one for Johnny Law, I guess. Speaking of talking: My column last week on the issue had people talking to me -- mostly telling me I was wrong for my this-is-stupid stance on the law.
We'll start this mailbag with the cell-phone chatter and continue with some more of what's landed in my inbox lately.
From Paul:
From your writings you seem to be a nice young guy but today you slipped back to being a kid who thinks only about himself. The facts are cell phones in your hand do kill people.
Beehive Poll: Who annoys you more, Kanye West or Amy Winehouse?
In a battle of two musicians people are already tired of hearing about, Amy Winehouse is beefing with Kanye West. Over the weekend -- when she wasn't trying to punch fans -- Amy called Kanye West the C-word. Yep, that C-word. Kanye kinda shrugged it off. But big brother Jay-Z has stepped up to say Amy's wrong and Kanye's a "great guy."
All this made me wonder which drama case people would root for in this spat -- or perhaps un-root for -- the crackhead or the big mouth?
If there was a Miss Roller Derby to be crowed that night, it was Smog City's Betty Rocker.
The speedy Ms. Rocker was at her best, skating laps and laps around the Prison City Derby Dames. She and the rest of the Smog City squad sentenced Prison City to a 50-point defeat, 121-70.
In today's paper, I have a feature story on the Ditch Bank Okies, a band that people who have been around the local music scene since back in the mid '90s might remember fondly.
The Okies were a country/rock band with a definite sense of humor. The band's "Fishing Song" was a hit on KRZR's morning show and the group's popularity quickly spread beyond. After going their separate ways in 2000, the group members got back together for a show last summer and are now reuniting again this weekend for back-to-back shows in Fresno.
Tonight, Ditch Bank Okies are playing at Club Fred for the 21+ and then on Saturday at Starline, which is open to all-ages. At the Starline show, the band is recording for a live CD/DVD.
To get you warmed up for this Ditch Bank weekend, the Okies served up an mp3 of that famous "Fishing Song" for Beehive readers.
Welcome to another edition of Post No Bills, your flier gallery of what's going on in Fresno, compiled exclusively by FresnoBeehive.com.
Below you'll find the largest collection of Fresno concert, club and event fliers anywhere on the Web. It's our way of proving every week that anybody who says there's nothing to do in Fresno is either crazy or lazy. These next couple weeks are crowded with events, so grab your calendar and start making plans.
As always, we welcome contributions bands, artists, venues, promoters and regular joes. Send flier links to mosegueda@fresnobee.com.
Today, meet Smog City's MVP -- Betty Rocker. She's the team's sharp-skating jammer who has fans chanting her name when she steps onto the floor. A shorter version of this interview appeared in today's 7, but here's the whole thing.
VITALS Real Name: Korren Corgiat Age: 27 Position: Jammer Experience: 23 years skating
QUESTIONS When and why did you become a Roller Grrl?
About two years ago. There was a show on the A&E channel called “Roller Girls”, I used to watch it thinking how awesome it was and if there was a team here how I would totally do it. So when Jenn [SCRG's founder) approached me with her idea of starting a roller derby team here in Fresno, I was more than excited to do it!
He shouts out Bulldog players and flows about Fresno's underdog status -- both in college sports and in the rap game, all over Kanye West's "Champion" beat.
Fashawn and his manager/producer Hecktik dropped it off to The Beehive first.
And now we're giving it to you.
Enjoy this one, hip-hop fans and Fresno State fans.
Note: This is the fourth in The Beehive's week-long series of profiles about the Smog City Roller Grrls, leading up to the team's bout this Saturday against the Prison City Derby Dames. We're introducing you to a different Smog City grrl each day.
Today, we'd like you to meet Lola La Chola.
VITALS Real Name: Joey Fernandez Age: 34 Position: Pivot/Blocker Years Experience: Two years, "but I practically lived at Roller Towne when I was young."
QUESTIONS When and why did you become a Roller Grrl?
I am a SCRG Veteran. I started in April 2006. It’s a little personal but I’m just going to be completely honest. I was at a place in my life where the tide was turning VERY quickly and my life was taking on a completely different direction. I was getting out of a six-year relationship. I knew I needed to reach out to other women because I needed to separate myself from that relationship and spread my wings. I guess I was looking for friendships and seeking new relationships. I thought, what a perfect way to make new friends and try something new. I was TERRIFIED on my first day. I thought, "These girls are not going to like me!" But I have made some friends that I will keep for life. I love my grrls. They are my sisters. All of 'em! Plus, I’m a tough chick and what better sport for someone who’s not afraid of taking a girl down then buying her a beer later!
I was in the neighborhood of the in-progress Cabo Wabo Cantina on Wednesday, so I stopped off and took some pics. It's starting to take shape -- though it doesn't look like that "end of June" opening is holding up.
Look, I'm not a Fresno State fan, but I'll concede a couple things: Yes, this is a pretty amazing underdog-wins-it-all story, not "Rocky IV," it didn't end the Cold War, but it's good.
And yes, I can't help but be a little excited that for a day or so, Fresno is getting some positive attention.
But at the same time, I'm not going to look the other way at some of the stupid stuff that's flying out of people's mouths around The 'No.
Example #1: Some lady being interviewed on Kopi's news channel last night said the national title was going to "put us on the map."
No, bad rhetoric lady. I already covered this in a column not too long ago, but Fresno needs to chill with all that "put us on the map" crap. Clichés don't win national championships, lady. Fresno is on the map. Ask Google.
Note: This is the third in The Beehive's week-long series of profiles about the Smog City Roller Grrls, leading up to the team's bout this Saturday against the Prison City Derby Dames. We're introducing you to a different Smog City grrl each day.
Today, we'd like you to meet McRed.
VITALS Real Name: Amanda Veredas Age: 27 Position: Blocker Number: 505 Years Experience: 1
Note: This is the second in The Beehive's week-long series of profiles about the Smog City Roller Grrls, leading up to the team's bout this Saturday against the Prison City Derby Dames. We're introducing you to a different Smog City grrl each day.
Today, we'd like you to meet Hari Kari.
VITALS Real Name: Monica Position: Jammer (Co-Captain) Years Experience: Two
QUESTIONS When and why did you become a Roller Grrl?
It all began two years ago in August. I saw it and just had to join. I didn't want to be a "roller girl" as much as I wanted to play roller derby.
Even though the commercial aired only on British television, that didn't stop our friend Bill O'Reilly, the great American pontificator, from waving his finger at it. Heinz responded to that and 202 other complaints by pulling the commercial.
So that commercial isn't OK to the good people of Britain, but this is?
Ice-T vs. Soulja Boy: The chronicles of ridiculousness
Last week, rapper/actor Ice T dissed dancer/kinda-rapper/YouTuber Soulja Boy, saying he of "Crank Dat" fame "single-handedly killed hip-hop" and instructed Mr. Boy to "eat a [piece of the male genitalia]." Behold:
Warning: Every video in this post is NSFW.
Riveting stuff, right? So, of course, Soulja Boy retorted with seven minutes of YouTube, pointing that Ice T is old, plays a copy on TV and should be happy that young boys like Soulja are making money of hip-hop. Or, in other words, yaaahhh, trick, yaaahh!
VITALS Real Name: Becky Larson Age: 29 Position: Pivot/Blocker Years Experience: 2+
QUESTIONS When and why did you become a Roller Grrl?
Well, April of '06 I was having a happy-hour cocktail and decided to tag along with a friend to roller derby practice. It was Smog City's second practice. I fell in love immediately.
Welcome to another edition of Post No Bills, your flier gallery of what's going on in Fresno, compiled exclusively by FresnoBeehive.com.
Below you'll find the largest collection of Fresno concert, club and event fliers anywhere on the Web. It's our way of proving every week that anybody who says there's nothing to do in Fresno is either crazy or lazy. These next couple weeks are crowded with events, so grab your calendar and start making plans.
As always, we welcome contributions bands, artists, venues, promoters and regular joes. Send flier links to mosegueda@fresnobee.com.
Country fans, here's another chance to tell us what you thought of a Fresno concert. This time, we want to hear about Thursday night's Brad Paisley concert at Save Mart Center. You guys did well on Carrie Underwood, so let's hear about Paisley's party tour.
In addition to Brad and his long string of hits, the concert also featured Jewel, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough, an interesting mix of acts from non-traditional and reality-TV backgrounds.
Chime in on whatever topics you wish: set-list, theatrics, stage presence, wardrobe, crowd response, overall entertainment factor. It's all fair game. But most of all, did you dig the show? Was it worth the money?
If you've got photos from the show you'd like to share, upload them at CentralValley.com. If you've got video footage, upload it at videos.fresnobee.com.
UPDATE: You can read which songs I picked for my Lil Wayne mixtape in today's Bee or at FresnoBee.com
ORIGINAL: We're four days away from Lil Wayne performing at Fresno's Selland Arena, probably with the No. 1 album in the country and the biggest first-week sales of 2008 to his credit. We'll find out for sure when this week's charts come out Wednesday.
I'm working on a Weezy story Friday's issue of 7. I'm looking at his catalog and picking the songs that would be on a mixtape telling the story of his career -- since his prolific mixtape output is really what earned him all that "best rapper alive" talk.
As my iPod shuffles through about 200 different Weezy tracks, I got to wondering what songs other people would pick for such a mixtape. "Hustler Musik?" "Go DJ?" "Lollipop?!?"
Weezy fans, where you at? What songs are on your Lil Wayne mixtape?
Nightclub Notes: Bliss opens, more on Roe, Weezy afterparty and more
A few notes on what's going on in Fresno's nightclubs ...
BLISS: EARLY REACTION
After lots of talk -- much of it disparaging -- Bliss opened its doors last night. Bliss, you might remember, is the new incarnation of On The Rocks (and Bisla's and a long line of other First and Shaw nightclubs).
Last night was an invite-only event at the European-styled club, with the grand opening happening tonight.
We got some early impressions from one of the invitees, who said:
"It was awesome! Fresno nightlife redefined! The atmosphere was chill; the set up was great and the staff was very professional. It’s something that I thought Fresno would never see, just something in big cities. I’ll definitely keep going back. There wasn’t a thing that I didn’t like!"
A couple weeks ago we brought you word of Scoop's, a new ice cream shop opening in the Tower District and serving that yummy, straight-outta-Hanford Superior Dairy ice cream. While wandering the Tower the other night, I noticed Scoop's was open and I had to go check it out.
What drew my eye to Scoop's is probably my favorite thing about it: There were a bunch of people just sitting outside the shop (which is next to Million Elephant on Olive Avenue) eating ice cream. Incredibly charming, I thought.
Scoop's isn't a big shop by any means. Four of us and the Scoop's scooper filled the place up. The interior was cute, though, decorated to make it look like a neighborhood ice cream store of the past. There were plenty of knick-knacks (Disneyland stuff, Muppets stuff) on the walls, giving the place some character.
Ice cream choices totaled about 20, some from Superior Dairy and some made by Foster Farms. I kept it simple and got a single scoop of chocolate, which ran me $2.50. It was delicious, of course, but my favorite part was being able to walk out of Scoop's, past the people sitting outside, and onto the main Tower strip while eating some Superior Dairy ice cream.
This new video from Fresno rapper Fashawn is pretty fresh. Not only is this new song "F.A.S.H.A.W.N." a banger, but the video has some really nice views of downtown Fresno. So yeah, I'm using that as my excuse to justify anotherhip-hop post this week. Enjoy. Oh yeah, LANGUAGE NSFW.
It's a if-you-blink-you-miss-it thing, but definitely "Great Day." It was actually Woman Who Sits Next to Kopi doing the talking -- something about P. Diddy and his name change. See for yourself. The entire show is below. The clip is about three minutes in, at the -17:55 mark.
Big question here: Does this mean somebody in VH1's New York office sits through five hours of "Great Day" every morning looking for clips?
You should know how this works by now, brother. But if you don't, you have to connect The Hulkster to Fresno via professional relationships, family ties, 24-inch pythons, etc.
So train, say your prayers, eat your vitamins and find those Hulk Hogan connections. And what ya gonna do, Beehive, when the Degrees of Fresno run wild on you?
Lil Wayne: No. 1 album, a milli sold and one weird video
Lil Wayne called it. The third track on his new "Carter III" CD is "A Milli" and that's what Wayne sold the first week. His 1,005,545 sales were the highest first-week numbers since 2005 (in any genre).Take that, Kanye.
Weezy thanked his fans with this very odd video, which talks mostly about ... book sales?
It's not often we in Fresno get an artist at such a peak, but Wayne is here on Friday night at Selland Arena.
UPDATE: Wayne dropped a new version of "A Milli" today, talking about his sales, thanking his fans and saying he "reps The Beehive." Word, Weezy. Thanks. [via OnSmash]
For all you Fresno gals still holding on to dreams of being Mrs. Jordan Knight -- or whoever your favorite New Kid is/was -- here's a New Kids On the Block reunion tour update. There's no Fresno date on the tour itinerary, but a couple more California dates were added last week.
Now, NKOTB will be in Cali in both October and November:
Oct. 8 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
Oct. 10 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
Nov. 25 - San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
Nov. 26 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
Consult Ticketmaster, if you're trying to plan a road trip.
Nightclub Notes: Salsaversary, free-ticket Friday and Roe's Remedy?
A few notes on what's going on in Fresno's nightclubs:
Props go out to Starline's Salsa Club, which is celebrating its eight-year anniversary on Saturday night.
There are a handful of DJs scheduled to spin, free admission before 9:30 p.m. and music of various Latin varieties: salsa, merengue, reggaeton and more. Click the flier to right to enlarge it and get more details.
The Starline Salsa Club does a weekly Salsa night on Thursdays, which is a pretty popular event. Also worth a note: The club is also part of the Salsa in the City event next weekend.
Welcome to another edition of Post No Bills, your flier gallery of what's going on in Fresno, compiled exclusively by FresnoBeehive.com.
Below you'll find the largest collection of Fresno concert, club and event fliers anywhere on the Web. It's our way of proving every week that anybody who says there's nothing to do in Fresno is either crazy or lazy. These next couple weeks are crowded with events, so grab your calendar and start making plans.
As always, we welcome contributions bands, artists, venues, promoters and regular joes. Send flier links to mosegueda@fresnobee.com.
Yep, R. Kelly was acquitted today in his crazy-ass child porn case that was more than six years in the making. At this point, the R. Kelly saga can't surprise me anymore, so I just shrug. Rather than trying to make sense of this verdict, I've spent more time debating which video is the appropriate commentary for the situation. I give you:
1. "I Believe I Can Fly"
Its sheer inspiration and uplifting spirit can make you believe in anything -- even that R. Kelly is innocent.
Did They Just Say Fresno? Vol. 12: Electric Boogaloo
You know how people on the Internets like to put the "Electric Boogaloo" tag on sequels just to be funny and reference "Breakin' 2" -- well we're not doing that in his "Did They Just Say Fresno?" sequel, we're actually talking about Electric Boogaloo. (And geez, did I use enough quotation marks in that sentence? )
On last night's "So You Think You Can Dance?" -- I swear I don't watch this show, someone told me about this -- Fresno got a shout-out for its place in dance history. Yes, Fresno has a place in dance history. It comes courtesy of The Electric Boogaloos, namely Boogaloo Sam and his brother Popin' Pete, who are the originators of popping, a breakdancing sub-genre, and were actually in "Breakin' 2."
Popin' Pete and his son were on "So You Think You Can Dance" last night and gave Fresno a shout-out as part of some tribute to different types of dance. Entertainment Weekly was unimpressed, but what they heck do they know?
Regardless, it's a good time to remind people what Fresno's own accomplished back in the early '80s and that it's still remembered today. Below is a video of Sam and Pete demonstrating their moves:
So it's no surprise (to us at least) that the Griz brain trust has some fun up its sleeve for Friday the 13th. Since it's not possible to have everybody play with hockey masks on (how cool would that be, though?), the Grizzlies are giving their jerseys a bloody Friday the 13th treatment.
If you're lame and object to the blood slashes across the chest and back, then you'll be happy to know that after the game the jerseys will be auctioned off, with proceeds benefiting the Central California Blood Center. Fitting, right?
Day and the the Time will be belting out "Jungle Love" and other favorites on Friday night as part of the Dinuba Main Street Car Show. The show starts at 8 p.m. at the Dinuba High School stadium. While reserved seating costs $20, stadium seating is free.
Saturday is this year's Rock 'n' Rod Revival, which has a music lineup of Little Richard, Thorogood and Big Brother. Tickets for the 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. event cost a very reasonable $10. If nothing else, it's a chance to see Little Richard, one of the original pioneers of rock 'n' roll. Let the recent passing of Bo Diddley and Richard's upcoming 76 birthday remind that you might not have too many more chances to see him live.
So there you have it, a bunch of legends for a mere $10. Gas money will probably cost more.
Other than you, it was the typical 8 p.m.-on-a-weekday scene at 'Stones. The soft-rock standards were piping through the place. It wasn't too busy, though people were having dinners under the dimmed lights. I think there was a couple on a date next to us.
This all made you yelling at the bar about basketball stand out that much more. I'm not opposed to people being loud at 'Stones. I'm all for the post 10 p.m. rush of loud frat boys and drunk girls that place seems to attract these days. In theory, at least. But you woo-hooing about the Lakers and Game 3 of the NBA Finals was sorely out of place amongst the quieter dinner crowd.
The guy who might have been on the date kept giving you the evil eye. And I was left wondering, why you were even there dude. It's not like 'Stones has a 48-inch plasma. It has a fuzzy 13-inch TV behind the bar. Could you even tell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen apart?
Go to a sports bar. Heck, go to Starline Grill or Sequoia or Bobby's. I'm sure they could appreciate your loud breakdown of which shots the Celtics would have to sink in the last two minutes to tie the score. They might even throw a high-five your way. Me, I can do math and I just wanna eat, drink and conversate in peace.
You read about Bliss, the remodeled, renamed and "redefined" version of On the Rocks, in my column last Friday. Now comes this peek inside the new Bliss, courtesy of The Beehive's Will Albritton and his video camera.
Below, I'll offer up more info on the club's opening and the much-discussed issue of cover charges ...
Blogger Olympics: Sounds like it'd be nerdy, and it totally is
With gold medals, silver beads and "Hello My Name is ... Third Place" stickers up for grabs, bloggers from around the Fresno Internets assembled last weekend for the inaugural Blogger Olympics. Held at various locations around town, this Olympiad was a chance for eight local bloggers to try to best each other in mini golf, skee ball, arcade basketball, air hockey and Wii bowling.
Welcome to another edition of Post No Bills, your flier gallery of what's going on in Fresno, compiled exclusively by FresnoBeehive.com.
Below you'll find the largest collection of Fresno concert, club and event fliers anywhere on the Web. It's our way of proving every week that anybody who says there's nothing to do in Fresno is either crazy or lazy.
I've spent some time recently trying to make PNB a little more lo-res. Just looking out for your bandwidth. So lemme know if the load time is more to your liking.
As always, we welcome contributions bands, artists, venues, promoters and regular joes. Send flier links to mosegueda@fresnobee.com.
So I'm not doing Men Who Cook this year. Many people have asked. I keep having to apologize.
I didn't really want to do it again, not this year. My experience last year was a little too much to have to deal with again right now.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't go. By all accounts, Men Who Cook is a blast, a fun chance to sample a bunch of food and mingle with people on a cool summer night outside the Fresno Art Museum.
A post about ArcHop that should have had a video with it
DOWNLOAD: 
As you probably already know (and saw splashed across 
Country fans, here's another chance to tell us what you thought of a Fresno concert. This time, we want to hear about Thursday night's 
