Local musicians dream of the day when kids from San Jose drive
30 miles south to see a show in Gilroy instead of the other way
around.
Saturday’s Festival of Fools is a step in the right direction,
members of participating bands said. In its seventh year, the
festival will feature eight homegrown Gilroy bands playing music
from punk and heavy metal to hip-hop and pop.
Local musicians dream of the day when kids from San Jose drive 30 miles south to see a show in Gilroy instead of the other way around.
Saturday’s Festival of Fools is a step in the right direction, members of participating bands said. In its seventh year, the festival will feature eight homegrown Gilroy bands playing music from punk and heavy metal to hip-hop and pop.
“Every year the festival gets a little bigger,” said Wally Guerrero, 26, one half of The Chupakabraz, a hip-hop band. “The first year, we got together a bunch of kids to play for what we thought was going to be just one show. But we just kept growing.”
The first festival landed on April Fool’s Day – hence the name – and has become a much-anticipated tradition.
Making a name for themselves has been difficult in Gilroy, where a lack of suitable venues and a less-than-lively downtown hinders creative expression and forces entertainers to take their talent to more hip towns like Morgan Hill, San Jose and Santa Cruz, musicians said.
“It’s frustrating because I grew up here and I’ve seen a lot of talent come and go,” said Jason Franks, 32, a member of hip-hop band Nos Leratz. “I think we’ve got plenty of creativity. This town is just lacking in outlets. You go 10 minutes north to Morgan Hill and it’s poppin’. That’s a town that cultivates culture. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have Gilroy.”
However, “boring towns do make for creative people,” Franks joked. That’s how Festival of Fools came about.
“We were just a bunch of kids with nothing better to do,” said Todd Graham, 25, vocalist with heavy metal bands Dimidium and Flesh Weapon. Graham also tends bar at the Oakwood Lounge, the site of this year’s festival.
The festival has come a long way in seven years, evolving from a mishmash of thrown together teenage talent into an eclectic sampling of Gilroy’s young musicians. For their 10th anniversary show, Graham said he’s shooting for the amphitheater at Christmas Hill Park.
The majority of band members graduated from Gilroy High School and started playing under band and choral directors Tom Brozene and Phil Robb. Adam Martinez, 25, bassist for the pop-rock band Aniimul, hopes to one day teach band to students like himself. He is working on a music education degree at San Jose State University. At a time when public schools are reeling from budget shortfalls and cutting many music and arts programs, established musicians are alarmed.
“It’s a shame – not everyone’s going to be your next astrophysicist,” Graham said.
One of the sights that makes Lorenzo Chavarria, 26, drummer for punk-rock band Seduce the Dead, smile is watching his 2-year-old son, Sylus, pick up a pair of drumsticks and go to town on his drums. Passing the an appreciation for music to the next generation is this generation’s responsibility, he said.
“We’re just trying to keep music alive in this town,” Franks said. “We believe Gilroy deserves it.”
***
Festival of Fools
– Bands: Dimidium, B Nobil, The Devil Himself, Aniimul, Galvanized Minds, Nos Leratz, Seduce the Dead and The Chupakabraz
– When: 9 p.m. Saturday
– Where: Oakwood Lounge, 7421 Monterey St.
– Cost: $5; ages 21 and older
