Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "end of summer fest"

'End of Summer Fest' canceled

2009-09-03T21:52:50Z

Promoter Jerry Perry confirmed with The Sacramento Press Wednesday that the remaining three shows scheduled for End of Summer Fest have been canceled. According to Perry, the first two shows did not draw nearly enough people, resulting in a loss of money.

In fact, the shows were about 2000 people short for the event to even break even, Perry said. "Attendance was about half of what I call 'break even,'" he said. "[During Concerts in the Park] there were times when we had over three times as many people."

As a last ditch effort, Perry tried to relocate Friday's show featuring The Secretions to Old Ironsides, but the band declined the offer. The Secretions, a Sammie Lifetime Achievement Award-winning punk band who have been together since 1991, were to headline the show.

Secretions' fans, also known as "Secretins," can still catch the band this Saturday night when they will be premiering their music video for "Back in the Day Punk." Click here for information on the all-ages show at the Shire Road Club (5525 Auburn Blvd.), which also includes Aroarah, Flip the Switch, The Phantom Jets and DJ Rob Fatal.

"I can't continue to lose money [because] attendance is down," Perry said. He noted that the California State Fair is going on at the same time, but the State Fair has also been suffering from low weekday attendance.

Perry originally thought the low attendance on the first End of Summer Fest show was due to the show being held on a Furlough Friday. But last week's show lost money due to a low turnout as well, he explained.

"I'm surprised that even a free event wouldn't draw a crowd," he said. "I don't know what it was -- the State Fair, furloughs, hot Fridays [or if] people thought the event was over."

Perry confirmed that he will definitely continue Concerts in the Park and End of Summer Fest next year, but he plans to make some changes. Though he did not specify changes, he explained that Furlough Fridays are supposed to end by June 2010, and that may drive up attendance.

The Nickel Slots, who were scheduled to headline next week's show (Sept. 11), are still scheduled to be playing next week at Old Ironsides as part of a CD release party for their self-titled debut album. Fans can celebrate the album release and view opening bands King Cab and Golden Shoulders for $7 (click for details).

Jackpot, scheduled to headline the Sept. 18 show, currently has no shows or other upcoming performances scheduled.

The Sacramento Press was an official media partner with End of Summer Fest.

Photographs credit Sonny Mayugba. Photographs: Kai Kln headline the inaugural End of Summer Fest show.

End of Summer Fest: Method Echo to headline

2009-08-28T04:57:31Z

"I remember the first night we heard ourselves on 100.5 The Zone," said Method Echo lead singer Josh Guerrero. "It was like that movie [That Thing You Do] with The Oneders: Everybody was stoked and pumped up, we were calling each other [saying], 'Oh my goodness we're on the radio.' "

Friday night, Method Echo will be bringing its funky soulful style of rock 'n' roll to End of Summer Fest in Cesar Chavez Plaza. Pop-singing piano player Shannon Curtis and pop-rock vocalist Bobby Zoppi will open the concert (click links for MySpace).

The members of Method Echo first met more than 10 years ago at Harvest Church in Elk Grove (the pastor was guitarist Tyler Hagan's father). Then teenagers, they shared a love for the rock and gospel played at church, and it helped their music develop, Guerrero said.

Two and a half years ago, the five friends decided to form Method Echo. The name doesn't have a meaning, Guerrero explained; it was just a cool name they made up that stuck.

Hagan previously played guitar in a punk rock band while brothers David (drums) and Chris (bass) Moore draw from an R&B background. Keyboardist Daniel Herrera adds an electronic dynamic to the band while Guerrero brings his soulful and stylish pop vocals to front of the group's sound.

The band has been compared to Maroon 5 in the past, but at times its songs sound more like Michael Jackson's layered dance-pop numbers or one of John Mayer's ballads.

"We heard the Maroon 5 label, and initially at first, it was like, 'We want to be more original,'" Guerrero said. "We're not trying to bite anybody, it's just naturally who we are. [We have] rock, soul, pop, R&B and, at times, hip-hop influences as well."

After being featured on 100.5 The Zone, they were asked to open for Chris Daughtry and Lifehouse in 2008 at the Zone's Day in the Zone concert. Playing in front of a crowd of between 8,000 and 9,000 people marked a new high for the band members, as it was and is their biggest audience so far.

After drawing record label attention, the band, now unsigned, is writing as much new material as possible. Guerrero described the new material as "dancy" with a "hip hop element" to it, and he said they will decide in the next few months what to do with it.

Method Echo recently played in Cesar Chavez Plaza at the Guac and Roll festival in May, and the members said they have always wanted to play a show there on a Friday night. They are excited to debut some of their new material there this Friday, Guerrero added.

"I loved looking at Sacramento when we were playing," Guerrero said of playing in the park. "Because we're from Sacramento, seeing the buildings and the trees makes us have a little pride when we play."

End of Summer Fest takes place at Cesar Chavez Plaza on 10th and J Streets from 5 - 9 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 18.

The fun continues after the festival if you bring your beer garden wristband to The Shady Lady Saloon. Details about drink specials to follow.

Photographs credit Karl Schroeder.

Kai Kln to headline first End of Summer Fest concert

2009-08-21T04:40:53Z

"Unfortunately, I'm the idiot [who] came up with the world's worst f***ing band name," said Kai Kln drummer Neil Franklin. "It comes back to haunt me when I have to explain this name and try to pronounce it."

Kai Kln (pronounced "kai" as in "kaiser" and "klin, but ignore the vowel," Franklin said) formed in Carmichael and played its first gig in August 1989 at Southside Park. When the four-piece headlines the inaugural End of Summer Fest concert in Cesar Chavez Plaza, it will be the 20-year anniversary of the band's first performance.

Friday's concert, which is a continuation of Concerts in the Park, will also feature opening band Prieta, a 2009 Sammie award winner for best rock band. Prieta plays fast-paced rock 'n' roll, sounding like a cross between Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden.

Back in the late '80s before Scott Anderson, Neil Franklin, Sherman Loper and Gene Smith adopted it as their band name, "Kai Kln" was a character from a story Neil Franklin wrote in detention. "I had to do something in Saturday detention every week, so I started to write these stupid stories about this character I made up," he explained.

Despite having the "worst" name, in the first year that it existed, Kai Kln quickly made friends with Sacramento promoters Jerry Perry and Brian McKenna, both of whom found the band gigs. After opening for Primus, the band grew in popularity and began selling out gigs in Sacramento and all over Northern California.

By 1992, Kai Kln had already released three cassettes: Rhythm of the Strange, 1990; Hair of the Bud, 1991; and Vigoda, 1992. The songs featured punk and psychedelic rock with a grungy Seattle tint.

The band shared the stage with other big-name local acts such as Deftones, Cake and Oleander, and opened for rock legends such as Sublime, Bad Religion and Nirvana. However, at that point (June of 1991), said Franklin, "[Nirvana] were not the powerhouse they became."

In fact, Nirvana was opening for a larger band named Dinosaur Jr. The show took place at the Crest Theatre.

"Nirvana [consisted of] vegetarians, so we got to drink all their beer and eat all their food downstairs at the Crest," Franklin recalled. "That was my favorite part of playing with Nirvana."

"I still thought they had their first drummer from their Bleach album Chad Channing," he added. "It turned out to be Dave Grohl, and I was a huge fan of the punk band Scream that Grohl played with right before Nirvana. So we talked about Scream for a little while. He ran off chasing girls, and the rest is history."

But Kai Kln's successes didn't stop there. In 1992 the band became the first unsigned band to sell out the 975-seat Crest Theatre.

Lead singer Gene Smith had quit a number of times by 1993, with the other members talking him back into the band every time. But one day, "I just couldn't talk him back into it for some reason, but that's how s*** happens sometimes," Franklin explained.

The breakup lasted for two years, and then the band got back together in 1995, but it "wasn't as fun," Franklin admitted. "Everybody had kids at the time, and it took a shift: All of a sudden it just became a real job, and it's the job you think you want to have, but we got sick of each other I guess."

Kai Kln released another a album, The Matter of Things, in 1997 but played only sporadically from 1998 to 2000. Then the members didn't play any shows until 2007, when they reunited and started playing again on a tour that they named "The Grandpas of Rock Tour."

At Friday's concert, the members expect to bring back an old ritual that they haven't performed since their early years: having a drunk roadie introduce them while covered in costumes and props from thrift stores. An emcee named "Young Jimmy Telethon" will introduce the group to the crowd wearing a "wacky outfit," Franklin said.

Joining the band will also be local musicians Mike Farrell and Nicole Burdock, one of Smith's guitar students. Their set will be the band's first album Rhythm of the Strange, played front-to-back, plus a few extra songs they put on the tail end of the album for the CD re-release in 1995.

"It's the best damn gig in town," Franklin added, referring to Concerts in the Park/End of Summer Fest. "It's so much fun, there are so many people and the sound is great."

End of Summer Fest takes place at Cesar Chavez Plaza on 10th and J Streets from 5 to 9 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 18.

Photograph credits:

Photographs 1, 2 and 3 credit Ilsa Hess.

Photograph 4 credit Denise Wentzel Dunning

Photograph 5 credit Greg Savalin.

Photograph 6 credit Marc Malakie.