About 20-something years ago, the Reno News & Review had a little section called Music Notes. It was a repository for all kinds of news concerning local musicians and events, including new releases (on CD, even!), shows of note, band personnel changes, and venues and bands new to the city’s club scene.
Music creation in Reno is just as strong as it was 20-plus years ago—with more bands and more places to play, actually—so the time is ripe to bring back Music Notes, to keep local fans up to date on what’s happening in the dark but loud little corners of our music scene.
Music Notes will be online every other week, rotating with Kris Vagner’s new Art Notes column. To submit a news item for consideration in Music Notes, send it to my email: markearnestwriter@gmail.com. You can also find me on Instagram; I’ll like your band or venue page and read messages there, no problemo. I’m @markearnestofreno.
The return of Sad Giants
Besides the excellent Bug Bath, which the RN&R’s Matt King profiled this week, there’s another longtime Reno group releasing a new record this month—and it’s even dropping at another show at The Holland Project.
Two weeks after that Bug Bath concert, local melodic punk band Sad Giants will release their first full-length album, Space Case, with a talent-packed show on Friday, Jan. 23, at Holland.
Sad Giants is led by singer-songwriter Bobby Benedict and has been around since 2016. The band has released several EPs and singles over the years, but never a full LP, and this release continues a streak during which the band has been playing live more since last fall.
The sneak peeks of Space Case on the band’s Instagram show that Sad Giants is continuing, and even expanding, its sound into even more dramatic and dynamic spaces, with some heavier guitar layers than before, and some skyscraping vocals from Benedict riding those distorted waves.
Sad Giants will play the release show with three other local bands that have a melodic punk or hard rock sound: Zack Ryan’s Modern Medicine, Silent Giant and Head Stone. Get more details on the show at Holland’s website. Look for Space Case on Jan. 23 at all streaming sites.
Ex-Replacements sighting
Astonishingly, ’80s post-punkers The Replacements are still earning new fans and influencing scores of musicians long after their breakup, and there’s even a biopic on the way with a tie to Stranger Things actor and musician Finn Wolfhard. So, it was big news for fans of the group to see Tommy Stinson on the calendar at Brewery Arts Center in Carson City.
Playing bass throughout the Replacements’ tenure, Stinson also has released plenty of work on his own with his groups Perfect and Bash & Pop, and under his own name. That’s the catalog he’ll likely play during his upcoming show, so don’t shout out for “Bastards of Young” or “Alex Chilton.”
Stinson’s show is slated for 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 16, at Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall in Carson City; a shoutout to Loud as Folk (the longstanding songwriters’ showcase) and hip capital city store Tiger Rose Vintage and Vinyl for making this intriguing booking happen. You can get details at the Brewery Arts Center website.
A second year for Western Lights
One of the more interesting debut festivals in downtown Reno last year was Western Lights, taking place just as winter’s chill started to crest, featuring a mix of electronic, acoustic, hip-hop and reggae music. It’s back for another go-round, from Feb. 19-21, in the downtown Reno area that spans West Street to the Virginia Street Bridge.
Unlike some festivals, this one offers free admission, although there are a bunch of ticketed post-festival shows under its umbrella.
Western Lights features several diverse locals on the bill, including Subtle Lovers, Micah J, Metaphysical, Jenes N The Juice, Desert Beats Collective, Banda Salvaje and Anthony Postman. Scope out the whole lineup at Western Lights’ comprehensive website.