On: October 2 at 10:26 AM
Above from left, Ethan Layton and Alex Casillas of We're Not Friends Anymore. At front, WNFA vocalist Mike Cast. WNFA is among the bands performing at Fall Fest.
Alex Casillas has a problem that was unheard of in the local music scene just a few years ago.
His band has too many fans.
“The fact that the venue won’t hold more than 300 people, we can’t bring as many people as we want,” said Casillas, 20, guitarist for We’re Not Friends Anymore.
The Stockton-Oakley group is among the more than 20 young bands set to perform over two days at Fall Fest, a concert which reflects the explosive growth of the local music scene. The bands start at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 and 11 a.m. Oct. 4 at the One-Eighty, 17 W. Lockeford St., Lodi. Tickets are $15, while two-day passes are $20. Both can be purchased at MySpace.com/oneeightymusic.
WNFA and many of the other screamo, metal and indie acts on the bill have been drawing hundreds of fans for shows this year. Also set to perform at Fall Fest bill are local acts like Oh My! Explosive and A Mover, A Fighter as well as bands from outside the area who are signed to independent record labels, including Catherine and Hazel and Vine.
A few years ago those bands might have had difficulty attracting several dozen fans for a local show. There were only a handful of live music venues in the area, and artists had to distribute piles of fliers and posters to let fans know about a concert.
Today, bands can spread the word about a show to tens of thousands of fans just by posting a flier on MySpace.com. The social networking site also allows for fans to talk directly with bands, creating a sense of community that has helped the scene grow.
Many bands also focus on building relationships with fans at shows, said Micah Stevenson, 18, keyboardist for the Galt group With Grace We Fall.
“One thing we try to do is approach it not from the perspective of a band, but someone that’s there to talk to them,” Stevenson said. “That’s what (fans) remember us for - ‘this band, they were really cool.’”
There also are bigger and better local music venues today, including the Stockton Empire Theatre, which has drawn sell-out crowds of 600 for Lodi/Galt screamo band A Skylit Drive.
The recently-remodeled One-Eighty hosts concerts every Friday, several of which have sold out this year.
“Seven years ago we couldn’t turn kids out for the life of us,” said Jake McGregor, executive director of the One-Eighty. “In the last couple years it’s really exploded.
“We have something locally that we can hang our hats on,” he added. “This is a local music scene that’s turned out some great acts.”
That doesn’t mean that there are pop stars living in the area, however. For most playing in a local band is still a part-time gig that comes after school, a job and family. With Grace We Fall drummer Cody Dettman, 18, said his band is waiting for most of its members to graduate from high school so it can go on tour.
Still, the recent success of the scene has some looking forward to its future. “We’ve had kids coming out to check out new music, which is exciting,” McGregor said. “We’re going in the right direction.”
