THE FRESNAN

BATTLES!: Art & Copy vs Bulldog Basketball Opener

Friday night. Two cool Fresno events. Same time. Which one do we choose? 

The Fresno Filmworks folks have a interesting looking movie showing [5:30 & 8] at the Tower Theatre: Art & Copy:

 

And happening at the Save Mart Center [7pm], the Fresno State mens team is opening the season against San Francisco State:

 

Hummmm, tough call. Let's look at it:

• FRESNO STATE GAME: It's the first game of the year for the Bulldogs. They look to have the best team in the Steve Cleveland era. Chance to root against people from The City. Paul George might will dunk on somebody. There will be beer. Cheerleaders.

• ART & COPY SHOWING: First and only chance to see this movie in a Fresno theatre. Intriguing look into the creative process. It's in the Tower District. Able to drink alcohol while watching a movie.

Ahhhhh, can't decide - hate it when Fresno has too many things to do. Alright. Figured it out. We choose....

FresVideo: Thrift Shop Mural Timelapsing

Take a block of time from the painting of the controversial Thriftshop/Tower Mural, add Fresno's Fay Wrays doing "Weatherman" and you've got yourself one entertaining ass 1:56:

The Insecure Fresno Blogger: Veterans Day Edition

What have other blogs been posting about Fresno lately? We like to know these things, because being referenced by outsiders makes us feel more important and special, even if they are sleazy.

>>>California High Speed Rail Blog is posting about Fresno lobbying for a highspeed rail hub and it's generating plenty of Californian comments.

>>>Joe. My. God. is talking about a meet in the middle event going on in the state of Maine that mirrors the one that took place in Fresno.

>>>The Flash Report, a California political blog, posts some video of Governor Arnold talking to the Fresno Bee Editors that he finds interesting because Arnie makes a nice Total Recall reference.

>>>The Splash, a SFGate sports blog, wonders out-loud about the reasons for the departure of Grizzlies manager Dan Rohn. Prompting a commenter to joke "Maybe he was the Rohn choice." Ohhhh, commenter humor.

>>>The Legal Pad, a Cal Law blog, talks about a San Francisco attempted murder case where a dude tells another dude "It's a good time to visit the Fresno Riviera." We think he means he'll "get lost" in a non-existent Fresno place, never to be heard again, if he testifies in the case. Gotta love Frisco sleaze.

And lastly, with much respect for our Veterans on this day...

>>>Home Fires, a New York Times blog written by Americian Veterans talking about post-war life, has a post by Fresno native Brian Turner. Among other things, Brian remembers family friend and Vietnam Vet, Ray Ramos, whom plays taps at Fresno area military funerals. The bugle Ray plays with he found on a dead Vietnamese soldier after a intense firefight.

Fresno Tonight: Eyes Set To Kill

At Starline, they're putting away the usual Indie Tuesday for the night and letting Revolver help bring a band with two members that were voted two of the hottest chicks in metal: Eyes Set To Kill.

 

Sample the screamy metalness:

If that's not what you're about, maybe Audie's Olympic has something more your speed tonight:

Screw This New 'Pismo's' Place, Let's Open Up A 'Fresno's'

There's a new restaurant in town called Pismo's and if you're like any standard Fresnan, you've already been to it (or at least have plans to go) - we loooove our new restaurants no matter what the economy is like. 

This concept wasn't dreamed up by some Central Coaster wanting to make a buck off our Pismo loving asses. It was birthed by the same Fresnan that came up with Tahoe Joe's and Yosemite Ranch - we sense a Fresnan favorite destinations theme here. A "Vegas Joe's" and "Frisco's" can't be far behind.

So with all these Fresnan loving themes, why not just cut to the chase and open up a place called "Fresno's"?

[stroking beard] Yeahhh, Fresno's, kinda like the sound of that. But what would this place have on the menu? On the walls? What would the building look like? Hummm...

THE MENU

• Tri-Tip (duh) 
• Tacos (double duh)
• Tri-Tip Tacos
• Sushi Rolls (yes it sounds weird with tip and tacos but Fresno loves sushi).
• Sweet Potato Fries (as the Taste Fresno Cookbook thread tells us, they are also big here)
• Pancakes (we love going out to breakfast - all that sitting through church does get us hungry)
• Drinks with names like a "Blackstone", a "180 Gap", a "Van Ness Extension" and a "Fig Garden Loop" - hey, those sound like Fresno sex positions too. Neat.

THE ATMOSPHERE

• Pop Laval pictures everywhere.
• A bar area with a key elements of Bulldog Stadium, Radcliffe Stadium and Chuckchansi Park, woven into it somehow.
• An Underground Gardens themed private party room that mirrors the actual dinning area of the Underground Gardens.
• A Storyland style children's play area.

THE EXTERIOR

• A replica of The Water Tower sticking out of the building somewhere.
• Above the front entrance is small version of the Tower Theatre marquee.
• A canal running behind it.
• That OG mural on the front wall of the airport terminal, displayed on the outside somewhere.
• The Fresno Sign framing the outdoor patio with various fruit trees throughout the landscaping.

There ya go, sounds like a pretty damn awesome place to hang out if ya ask us. I'm sure things could be added to "Fresno's" though... Yes?

Bootlegged In Fresno: Synezra

 

Take one nerdyass blogger with a digital recorder. Then add a metal band from Madera playing at the re:FUSE Fest, back in early October and you've got another edition of "Bootlegged In Fresno".

And now, from the 2009 re:FUSE Fest and recorded in a small backroom at Joe's Steakhouse in Downtown Fresno, it's Synezra with "Attack Of The Agenda":

File Download: AttackOfTheAgenda.mp3

Or play it now:

*Synezra has a show coming up Friday at the Lucky 13 then they will be opening up for the Misfits at the Crest Theatre on Sunday:

We Aren't As Cool As You, What Do You Want Us To Cry About It Or Something?

Full disclosure, Monday morning posts can be tough to come up with when we don't have enough going on to do the "Hey look at what we did last weekend! What did you do? Aren't we all kickass!?" postings like some blogs. So we went to the YouTube well just so we can technically say we did some work today.

First, lets work our lack-of-blog-fodder frustrations out with a good hockey fight courtesy of the Fresno Monsters. Although we are nowhere near as excited about this fight as the guy shooting the video, still, we can't ever not watch a hockey double-fight:

Alright, now we feel a little dirty and need to balance things out... WITH SOME FRESNO CELLO FESTIVAL COVERAGE!! 

Classing it up here, boss.

Bloggiest Moment OTW: Taste Fresno Eats Fresno's Blogscape

A revamping of TasteFresno.com caused quite a stir this week. Restaurant reviews poured in , bloggers took note and tweets became blog post fodder. And hey, there's already a review of the new Pismo's restaurant. 

Who knew a local foodies site could produce such viral augments? Congratulations to Taste Fresno on a blogsite well done! Go check out or write a review of your own, right now.

Fresgeek Weekend: Caged Elephants, Down Words And Lost Rebellions

We've already heard about the awesome SwedeFest #4 at Starline on Saturday. And the creative blending that will be happening at the Silver Dollar on Friday. 

But bandwise, what the Fresno is going on?

FRIDAY

AUDIE'S OLYMPIC: Exene Cervenka. No she's not a Czechoslovakian skater. She used to be head punk of the band X. But now she is older and that means she is much less punky and much more folksy. [Time: 9 Cost: $10]

TOKYO GARDEN: The Rockabilly of Motel Drive will be the headlining and Jailbreak's... will not be. [Start: 9 cost $5]

KUPPAJOES: Rolling into town is the "Lost Rebellion Tour" with The Wedding. With A Current Affair, I Am Empire and Old Man Shattered. [Doors: 7:30 Cost $10]

LUCKY 13: This club is getting back into the rock of things with the Dirty Sanchez and some other bands... we assume. [Time: 10 Cost: $5]

THE REVUE CAFE: We believe this to be the second time there is live music happening at the Revue? Yeah? The more venues the better, we say. Apparently playing is Brother Luke, Jonah and the Whale and Malcolm Sosa. [Time: 8 Cost: Free - All Ages]

STARLINE: It's a rocking CD release party for that one dude, Keeney. Playing along is Dislodic, Medium, The Disconnectors, This Midnight Scene. [Doors: 8 Cost: $6 - All Ages]

SATURDAY

>>>Can ya believe it? The Crossroads has re-opened with new ownership and rock from Crucial Point, Infinite Aggression, Khyral and Cursed.>>>At Starline, Down Word has been pushing hard for this show to sell out so don't dash their rocking Fresno dreams and not show up to this:

 

SUNDAY

The nationally surging alt/indie/southern rockers Cage The Elephant are playing Audie's Olympic. These guys have a huge song out right now [Aint No Rest For The Wicked] that's all over the place, so it's awesome to be able to catch them in a smallish club setting (even if it is on a Sunday). And in case you are trying to place that song:

So that would be the stuff we found interesting going on musically this weekend. If you've got something to add, something we missed (music-wise or not), please leave a comment and tell us what's what - also a review of something would be sweet too.

And if you're a band playing next week that wants to make sure you're on next weekend's FresGeek post, email the info to mike@thefresnan.com.

Enjoy Fresno this weekend!

Frosty Mugs and Silver Dollar Blending

We think it's so kickass that this month's Blender is at the Silver Dollar Hofbrau:

 

Yes! The Dollar! Big booths. Gigantic bar with silver coinage all down it. Frosty frosty beer mugs. No windows to the dumb outside world. Pilaf. 

So awesome and we are ready for it!

And if you don't know what these Blenders are yet, you can check the info. But it's basically a chance for Fresnans that are involved in, fans of, or semi interested in, Fresno's creative scene, to booze and do a little networking. But nobody checks your creative levels at the door, so just come to laugh at the nerds if ya want. Free people watching is always fun.

See ya out there.

Post ArtHop Gets All International On Fresno's Ass

Tonight is another post-Arthop battle for your music loving attention, between Tokyo Garden and Audie's Olympic. But this one is quite the International affair.

Audie's has the return of Sweden's Little Dragon (plus Clovis' Jungkshen). The last time they were here, Little Dragon created quite the danceable stir (just ask Conlan). It will be interesting to see if the buzz from that show pushes attendance for this one:

Tokyo Garden is countering with Italy's Alos and Japan's Kawabata Makoto - plus Fresno's own Rademacher and Los Angeles band Nite Jewel:

Kind of a tough decision here. While the Little Dragon show sounds like the more accessible choice, Tokyo is only $5 compared to Audie's $15. Hmmmmm...

Rogue Festival Extending Local Artist's Options

We know next to nothing about art but we've noticed, locally, it seems easy for you, the artist type, to get your work out there. There are plenty of galleries to work your way into (aren't there?) and then there is ArtHop to expose your stuff to the roaming Fresno masses. And yes, don't forget there's the occasional building to make a name for yourself with.

Plus, there's the annual Rogue Festival offering another option to display your goodness... or suckness. Like, right now, if you're a visual artist, you can submit to have your work involved in the 2010 festival. Hit the folks up, it's first come, first displayed.

On a related note, as we wait for somebody to somehow organize a "BlogHop" (How not awesome would that be!?), we have a friendly reminder that ArtHop is Thursday night. We have a couple recommendations for those interested:

Travis Sheridan has a great post that relates to this:

 

And at DCAC, Ashleigh Sumner will be displaying her LA-ness. Also going on at DCAC is a chance to win a piece of art from Stephanie Pearl - awesome, free art!

More on Ashleigh Sumner after the jump: