Modesto Music Scene

Modesto Music Scene. Historic Graffiti Cruise Route. American Graffiti was the first movie that was created around a selection of popular music not written for a movie. These songs were integral to the script and securing the rights to the songs consumed 10% of American Graffiti's $750,000 budget., The emerging Rock 'n Roll of the late 1950s and the prominence of AM radio created a common soundtrack. The first rock 'n roll was on KBOX beginning in 1930 and, by the late 1950s, KFIV took over. As the kids in Modesto dragged 10th, 1360 KFIV would play the songs of the day and, since there was only one rock station, everyone shared the same music., Kent Whitt and the Downbeats were the first Modesto area rock 'n roll band. This group included Kent Whitt on drums, Bob DeLeon on keyboard, Danny Toledo on sax, Bill Gross on bass, and Connie Hightman on guitar. The band was first formed to play dances at Modesto High School and then became a popular draw in the area, playing the California Ballroom and the Fable Room regularly, as well as high school gyms., Roddy Jackson, living in Merced, founded the Merced Blue Notes with his high school friends in 1956. He was also touring up and down the Central Valley, was signed as a solo act to Specialty Records, and was making recordings like "I've Got My Sights on Someone New" that received national airplay. Roddy was the first recorded local rock 'n roller. He joined up with the Downbeats and the became the Modesto area's first "superband" and played regularly. Later, without Roddy, they did a USO tour throughout Southeast Asia. This bans inspired later music legends. Roddy would go on to become a touring musician and recorded songwriter and still performs today. Ceres' Jim Burgett scoured a national hit with the singles "Do I Worry?" and others like "Let's Investigate." Al Ward and the Epics rounded out the first wave of local Modesto rock 'n roll., In the med 1960s, local musicians like Michael Allsup grew up listening to Kent Whitt and the Downbeats. Starting in 1963 in the Chancellors, he would travel and eventually join national bands like the multi-million selling Three Dog Night. Michael recognized the influence of Kent Whitt and the Downbeats in his autobiography "The Upside of Rock 'n Roll." One of Michael's first paying gigs was with the Chancellors at the Fable Room, where he earned $15. The Ratz were lead by Gary Duncan (Grubb), who would later front the nationally acclaimed Quicksilver Messenger Service, recognized as one of the pioneering bands of the 60s. Jim Burgett put the Ratz on one of his shows with Chad and Jeremy in Reno. Pat Durr (later of Home Grown) joined the Ratz, taking over for Gary when he left for San Francisco. Doug Holroyd gained some notice with his band Fried Dirt and then later purchased Modesto Music from trumpeter Hank DeCoito. Other bands like the Weathervanes, The Eisage, and the Nimitz Freeway would play up and down the Central Valley and were involved in the San Francisco music scene., In the 1970s and 1980s, the Lights, Visitor, Raven, Axis, NoNames, Dennis Durr, Sunnyland, Stephan Presley, Collage, Silvermoon and Sundance among others were local favorites, regularly playing the Fable Room and throughout the Central Valley. The acoustic trio of Home Grown rode the folk trio wave with their amazing harmonies and are a key staple in the region, earning the very first MAMA Lifetime Award in 2000., Modesto has a huge range of talent and is a lot like Austin, Texas or Athens, Georgia with the wide range of depths of local bands from bluegrass to indie to blues to just plain rock. In the early 2000s, Grandaddy, fronted by Jason Lytle, was one of the most critically acclaimed bands and achieved international fame while touring the global festival circuit in 2012. Also in 2000, Flying Blind wrote catchy pop songs and was a favorite of young and older fans and led the wave of rebuilding the local live music scene. Their song "Smokescreen" appeared on the American Pie 2 soundtrack and received national radio play. They remain a Modesto Favorite., The Modesto area music scene is loaded with talent and frequent live music shows. The Off the Air music series is a home for acoustic and indie artists. Turlock-based Evalinetours globally and has a huge fan base. Singer-songwriter Brett Dennen regularly records, tours and has songs featured in TV shows and commercials. National artists like Megan Slankard and Matt Nathanson developed their following with their regular Modesto performances. The Moonshine Bandits have transitioned from a local hardworking band to national country rock favorites, topping the CMT music and video charts. XFest takes over downtown Modesto every summer and is a showcase for 60 local and national bands on 11 stages (xfestmodesto.com), drawing over 15,000 people to the streets of downtown Modesto. Every October, the Modesto Area Music Awards celebrate the best of our exciting local music scene with awards in 16 music categories (modestoareamusic.com)., The music of Roddy Jackson and Jim Burgett are featured on modestocruiseroute.com