DAM BANDS!

Fullerton's Jam at the Dam blowout will return July 27 after skipping last year, and the city's Community Services Department is on the hunt for bands to either perform (Longfellow and Nice are already booked) or compete (bands will vie for cash prizes, but city reps are trying to work out deals with sponsors, so there could be even more booty available). In keeping with the fest's youth-oriented focus, bands that choose to battle must have at least one member under 20. You've got till Thursday, April 11 to get your band's demo and press packet into the hands of the right people: Aaron Orozco, Fullerton Community Services Department, 303 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, CA 92832. Include on a sheet of paper such all-important details as your band's name, type of music, contact info, address, member names, phone numbers and ages, and whether you want to perform or compete. Any other questions, call Jenny Brown at (714) 773-5789. (Rich Kane)



Sheldon ONE NOSTALGIA FOR ANOTHER In a brilliantly progressive move—go on, breathe in the sarcasm—the Orange County Fair will abstain from booking its traditional lineup of music acts that were popular 40 years ago, and for this summer's 110th edition, it will turn to bands that peaked a mere 15 to 25 years ago. Huey Lewis N the News are slotted to play the fair on its opening night, July 12, while the B-52's make a July 18 appearance. OC fans of grotesque, bloated corporate rock will be served by the likes of Styx (July 24), Heart (July 26) and Boz Scaggs (July 25), while Confederate flag-wavers will surely go shit-howdy over Lynyrd Skynyrd (July 28), as will tribute-band geeks over Wild Child (July 13) and the Fab Four (July 20). There are others who are less offensive, like the Indigo Girls (July 16), the Neville Brothers (July 17), and OC's own Save Ferris (July 19) and Supertones (July 22). But what's this? An entire week of Weird Al Yankovic (July 22-26)? And alleged “comedian” Carrot Top (July 17-19)? Frankly, we here at LowBallAssChatter would rather spend an hour behind the fair's Biggest Horse in the World. (RK) THOSE OLDIES BUT BUENASFor years, KRLA-AM 111.0 was the station of choice for Chicanos in Southern California because of its focus on oldies from LA-area groups like the Penguins (“Earth Angel”) and Don Julian and the Meadowlarks (“I Want You Back”). Chicanos made the station and its most famous DJ, Dick “Huggy Boy” Hugg, icons in their community. But when KRLA switched to a talk format in 1998, oldies fans had to buy the compilation CDs put out by Anaheim-based Lowrider Magazine or listen to Art Laboe's narcissistic radio show Sunday nights on KHHT-FM 92.3 (“Hot”) to get their Brenton Wood or Thee Midnighters fix. Now, in the slot once occupied by metal-in-your-skull station KNAC, comes Spanish-language KBUE-FM 105.5 (“Que Buena”). Tune in, and you'll hear the anthems of the '65 Impala set. The trip? All the tunes are remakes backed by banda and sung in Spanish. The remakes are lousy—LBC native Jenni Rivera's warbling of “Angel Baby” is so atrocious that it makes 98's “Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)” sound like Celia Cruz crooning “Guantanamera.” But they are wildly popular. Banda remakes of English songs are nothing new; ever since the genre's ascendancy in the early '90s, there have been versions of “Funkytown,” “My Heart Will Go On” and even “The Night Chicago Died.” Can't wait till the Beach Boys remake “El Sinaloense”—the most famous banda song ever—to cash in on this craze. (Gustavo Arellano)

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