KRL hasn't been covering as much local music since the pandemic started, but we are gradually starting to do more again. This week we are interviewing local singer Shantel Perez from Sanger about her music.
It’s been approximately thirty years since the actor Gary Sinise portrayed the character that he’d be most renowned for: Lt. Dan Taylor in the Best Picture winner of 1994, Forrest Gump. In the movie he portrayed a platoon leader in the U.S. Army, and decades removed from the role, he’s still finding ways to associate himself with the military.
Oh May, oh May! This was another great month of entertainment in the Central Valley. There was a festival, a rock concert, and a surfing competition. And this time, unlike in April, you didn’t have to travel to Bakersfield.
Dance like no one is watching. You know – don’t worry about what others may think, just jump around and wave your arms with wild abandon in an exuberant statement of self-expression. What if you sang like no one is listening? Or played a guitar or kazoo, or beat out a rhythm on a drum or box with a complete lack of self-consciousness, just for the sake of making music?
The month of April was a great month for live entertainment. So far 2023 has been flooded with good concerts and comedy shows, but April went to another level. Now that Spring is here, more shows will be appearing to satisfy all tastes, but this past month really set the tone. The Central Valley always offers a variety, but this time around there was quite a bit happening in Bakersfield. There were many options in terms of genres ranging from classic rock, jazz, and stand-up comedy. These are the shows that Kings River Life had the privilege of covering.
If you combined ‘50s oldies and '80s punk, and if the eccentric filmmaker John Waters was looking for a band to put in a movie, or to provide the soundtrack to his retro esthetic, it would most definitely be Shannon and The Clams. They look and sound like they’re from another era, and they for sure live up to it.
Louis Armstrong said, “All music is folk music. I never heard a horse sing a song.” I am pretty sure that the first time I heard folk music, I smiled. I am also pretty sure that the first time I heard a sad folk song, it brought tears to my eyes.
When an independent publisher I wrote several short stories for, Pro Se Press, announced they acquired the license to characters from several stories from Charles Boeckman, a prolific pulp writer whose work had enough recognition that Alfred Hitchcock got the rights to develop one short story into an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode. What caught my attention about Boeckman was that not only did he write stories, but also was an accomplished jazz clarinet player.
On Saturday, March 11, at the William Saroyan Theatre, Pink Martini, the band that is a performing jukebox of multiple genres, entertained a Central Valley crowd in a collaboration with the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra. All those musicians on one stage playing a plethora of different musical styles was unique to witness. The orchestra was conducted with preciseness and gravitas by Rei Hotoda. It was a United Nations of musical numbers that were presented ranging from different cultures, years, and languages.
Blood Harmony—A performance by The Murray Girls, who create amazing vocal combinations that enhance everything from folk murder ballads to Sixties pop.
