On: April 4 at 12:53 AM
Above, Kevin Seconds. At front, defEYE.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This story also appears in the April edition of the 209Vibe newspaper. To find out where you can pick up a copy, click here.)
These days, “indie” has become an industry term (used very frequently by yours truly) to describe a certain niche of rock music, similar to that popularized by a certain former Stockton band named after the surface we drive on.
How quickly we forget that, while it has become a sonic adjective in its own right, “indie” is merely slang for “independent,” and the DIY attitude is exactly what the Central Valley Indie Fest is all about.
“It’s an independent music festival. When we created it, it just meant independent music, and that’s what it is,” said promoter Middagh Goodwin, one of the organizers of the event.
After a two-year hiatus, the CVIF is back with a 10-day stretch from April 10 to April 19 that spreads out better than 70 acts over a half dozen venues in and around Stockton and Modesto.
“What we want to showcase is the talent in the Valley and the venues in the Valley,” Goodwin added. “We have pop-punk, noise, hip-hop, metal. The spectrum is there from the one-man solo act to the hardcore.”
“There are a lot of different kinds of bands and people, and everyone has their own flavor,” said Tina Braaten, serving in her first year as marketing and creative coordinator for the festival. “We have a really broad and solid lineup, and everyone has something really unique to offer.”
Even after being out of the game for the past two years, the festival still had plenty of street cred built up from its first four incarnations.
“When you put something out there like this, bands pretty much come out of the woodwork,” Braaten said. “We had over 200 submissions, from past and present and all in between.”
The festival is also showcasing some of the newer all-age venues in the scene, like Eureka Café in Lathrop and the Queen Bean in Modesto.
Be they local 209 performers or visitors from a bit farther away, the festival provides a unique opportunity to bring several different “scenes” into the mix with each other.
“Stockton has a strong R&B and hip-hop vibe. Modesto is strong in rock. Merced has a lot of singer-songwriters. This provides a good venue for them all to get together,” Braaten said.
“Pretty much all the bands are playing for free. It’s just about getting out there and having a good time,” she added. “I’ve seen some bands I’ve booked that could only play for pay, and then we pay them, and it’s like, ‘Whoa, I could have had more fun watching sock puppets.’ ”
Here's an updated schedule for the festival, which should be more interesting than watching sock puppets:
Hero's Choice, My Darling Mayday, Ode to Anthony and EARL
6 p.m. April 10
Queen Bean, Modesto
Free
The Blameshifters, 9:00 News and Switchblade 327
7 p.m. April 10
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
$5
Soup, Arcane Empire, Prieta and Kymatics
6 p.m. April 11
Queen Bean, Modesto
Free
The Hippie Dave Allstars and Good Luck Thrift Store Outlet
6 p.m. April 11
Queen Bean, Ribverbank
Free
Hey Manna! Telephone Hat and Novel Heroes
8 p.m. April 11
Eureka Coffee, Lathrop
Free
The Hot Toddies, Ivy Lines, Bad Fusion and French Cassettes
6 p.m. April 12
Queen Bean, Modesto
Free
Alma Melodiosa and guest
8 p.m. April 12
Waterwheel, Sonora
TBA
Bosco's Brood, Chase Frank and Fat Skeleton
9 p.m. April 12
The Partisan, Merced
$5
Ligeia, Since the Flood, Unholy and With the Blood Comes Cleansing 6:30 p.m. April 13
Raymond Cgreat Hall, University of the Pacific
$8
Kepi Ghoulie, Kevin Seconds, Danny Secretion and Brian Hanover
7 p.m. April 13
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
$5
DAM, E.A.R.L., Shayla Nicole and the Indie Girls
8 p.m. April 13
Fat Cat, Modesto
$8
Power of the County, Drunken Prayer and guest
8 p.m. April 14
Waterwheel, Sonora
$2
Femmebotz, Meat Muffin, Daryl, Romanteek and Fist Fight
8 p.m. April 14
Fat Cat, Modesto
$8
Rachel Bishop, Andrew Hemans, Joelle Maddyson and Peech
7 p.m. April 15
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
$3
Johnny and Kelly Open Jam and Moon Trent
8 p.m. April 16
Speakeasy, Modesto
Free
Open mic
8 p.m. April 16
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
Free
Novacain, Medicine Cabinet and guest
7 p.m. April 17
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
$5
DAM, the Outlaw Dance Society and guest
7 p.m. April 18
Pizza Factory, Modesto
$10, includes pizza and soda
The Midnight Howlers, Los Ilegales Muertos and Simmerhorn
7:30 p.m. April 18
Eureka Coffee, Lathrop
Free
Wardogs, U.S. Kings, Main Street Militia and Toxic Bomb
8 p.m. April 18
Old Stan, Sonora
$6
The Dollyrots, Kepi the Band and the Helper Monkeys
2:30 p.m. April 19
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
$8
Icarus Jones, Neglected, GraySpace, defEYE and Napsty
8 p.m. April 19
Blackwater Cafe, Stockton
$10
Nick Jaina and El Olio Wolof
8 p.m. April 19
The Partisan, Merced
$5
