Fulton 55 Presents:
The Growlers, Strange Vine
Poor Man's Poison, DJ Onegriggabyte
Thu, June 30, 2011
Doors: 8:00 pm / Show: 9:00 pm
Fulton 55
Fresno, CA
$10.00
Tickets Available at the Door
This event is 21 and over
$10 advance - $12 at door
http://www.ticketfly.com/event/39167/
Share This Event
The Growlers
"The archetype of a rock n roll band." -- Devendra Banhart
The growlers are a rock and pop group formed in long beach California in 2006 who are yet to became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. During their years of stardom yet to come, the band consists of Brooks Nielson (vocals) Scott Montoya(bass guitar, vocals,), Matt Taylor(lead guitar, vocals) and Brian “don’t surf” Stewart (drums, vocals). They were managed by their own alter ego Epstein until his death in 2009. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1960s rock and roll and skiffle, the group works with different musical genres, ranging from ice flossing hip hop to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements have made them trend-setters. While their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions. During the release of their first album and their ongoing singles releases, they have experimented with recording techniques that have the ability to bend sound in ways only drugs can. By now this “bent sound” has been perfected in their live act that some onlookers call “groovy” and or “sick”. The groovy unexcelled value in Lo fidelity sound is their stock and trade. They are the result of a combination of skilled modern engineering techniques and the very finest outdated recording and amplified equipment. The Growlers sound is best exemplified through Nielson’s cryptic lyrics and the relationship it has with matt Taylor. As if the two are each other’s half. Though they complete each other, they compel and challenge one another in ways only the frequent growler fan can truly understand. Perhaps it is what the growler fan feels while taking part in the drug wave of bent sound.innovative folk-rock bands in the US." -- No Depression
The growlers are a rock and pop group formed in long beach California in 2006 who are yet to became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. During their years of stardom yet to come, the band consists of Brooks Nielson (vocals) Scott Montoya(bass guitar, vocals,), Matt Taylor(lead guitar, vocals) and Brian “don’t surf” Stewart (drums, vocals). They were managed by their own alter ego Epstein until his death in 2009. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1960s rock and roll and skiffle, the group works with different musical genres, ranging from ice flossing hip hop to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements have made them trend-setters. While their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions. During the release of their first album and their ongoing singles releases, they have experimented with recording techniques that have the ability to bend sound in ways only drugs can. By now this “bent sound” has been perfected in their live act that some onlookers call “groovy” and or “sick”. The groovy unexcelled value in Lo fidelity sound is their stock and trade. They are the result of a combination of skilled modern engineering techniques and the very finest outdated recording and amplified equipment. The Growlers sound is best exemplified through Nielson’s cryptic lyrics and the relationship it has with matt Taylor. As if the two are each other’s half. Though they complete each other, they compel and challenge one another in ways only the frequent growler fan can truly understand. Perhaps it is what the growler fan feels while taking part in the drug wave of bent sound.innovative folk-rock bands in the US." -- No Depression
Strange Vine
Strange Vine's earthy, energetic music is a fusion of blues, psychedelic, and traditional American rock. It's a sound born of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, from two men who were raised there. Ian Blesse plays drums and Rhodes piano (simultaneously), while Toby Cordova fleshes out the songs with a rotating arsenal of guitars (including one made from a cigar box). Both contribute vocals toward a rich, layered sound that's greater than the sum of its parts.
Poor Man's Poison
Music in the 21st century is a strange dichotomy. On one side you have a waning corporate juggernaut, printing records based on focus group results. Elsewhere is a landscape riddled with cynicism, where genuine expression has been shunned in favor of irony or imitation. While it may seem difficult for an honest band to traverse such a dense minefield, Poor Man’s Poison have a way of making it look easy. After ten years of playing together in different configurations, indulging nearly every genre under the sun, it seems the boys have found their niche. Apparently just sounding like who you are is all you ever really need to do, and this is truly a group that understands itself. Less concerned with sonic exploration, they seem more interested in a direct continuity with our collective musical heritage. They don’t play music tailored for a specific subculture or an obscure movement; they play something for anyone who still values integrity in American songwriting. Really, it’s almost shocking to hear music so universal and uncontrived.
Like any great band, the sound is the clear result of collaboration and compromise. Diverse influences converge into a singular consistent vision. Each component is integral, and each serve the greater whole. The effect is serious but never hopeless, thoughtful but still kinetic, with a bit of anti-authoritarianism inherent to the working class. Really, it’s a bit surprising that music this warm and optimistic was born of a near collapse amongst its creators. After drummer Dustin Medeiros was diagnosed with tinnitus, it became apparent that he would have to resign, not just from his band, but from loud music all together. So, after just one (fantastic) album together, this would be the reluctant end of Done For Good. As the group disintegrated, singer Ryan Hakker and Mike Jacobs continued working on more acoustic music, eventually arranging a show at a place called Lush in their hometown, Hanford California.
It was then that Medeiros shifted gears, borrowing a stand up bass, expecting nothing more than a one-off show. Then, as these things go, on the second day of practice, former Done For Good guitarist, Tommy McCarthy, arrived with a borrowed mandolin. “After he played that first hook melody,” says Medeiros, “we knew we had a band. It was out of our hands.” Since then the group has accomplished far more than any of their prior endeavors, and in far less time. Now, they’ve finished their second album entitled Friends With The Enemy, and are poised to take their music further outward, into a world that’s better off because of it.
Like any great band, the sound is the clear result of collaboration and compromise. Diverse influences converge into a singular consistent vision. Each component is integral, and each serve the greater whole. The effect is serious but never hopeless, thoughtful but still kinetic, with a bit of anti-authoritarianism inherent to the working class. Really, it’s a bit surprising that music this warm and optimistic was born of a near collapse amongst its creators. After drummer Dustin Medeiros was diagnosed with tinnitus, it became apparent that he would have to resign, not just from his band, but from loud music all together. So, after just one (fantastic) album together, this would be the reluctant end of Done For Good. As the group disintegrated, singer Ryan Hakker and Mike Jacobs continued working on more acoustic music, eventually arranging a show at a place called Lush in their hometown, Hanford California.
It was then that Medeiros shifted gears, borrowing a stand up bass, expecting nothing more than a one-off show. Then, as these things go, on the second day of practice, former Done For Good guitarist, Tommy McCarthy, arrived with a borrowed mandolin. “After he played that first hook melody,” says Medeiros, “we knew we had a band. It was out of our hands.” Since then the group has accomplished far more than any of their prior endeavors, and in far less time. Now, they’ve finished their second album entitled Friends With The Enemy, and are poised to take their music further outward, into a world that’s better off because of it.
