JONNY FRITZ

Guest Blogger: Izaak Opatz
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I first encountered Jonny Fritz (then Jonny Corndawg) at a screening of Stray Dawg, a short documentary that captures Jonny's wry, exuberant personality and his unique and self-wrought life, as he trains for a marathon and tours the country with a guitar and amp strapped to his motorcycle. I happened to watch Stray Dawg at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival just after seeing a long documentary about a grueling year in the life of the dour violin wunderkind Andrew Bird. Many of my friends swooned at Bird's virtuosity and tragic manner, which evoked that of a sickly, cloistered 18th-century composer, but it really got me down about the pleasures of being a musician.


Jonny lives his life in stark and refreshing contrast to this somber vision of the artist at work - from rollerblading from Philadelphia to New York, performing prostrate at Bonnaroo in a neck brace, or dancing in front of a desert sundown with Roman candles blasting off in his hand (see his music video for "Goodbye Summer"), Jonny always looks like he's having so much fun. His music is immediately approachable (if you have the stomach for off-the-wall double entendres about cunnilingus) and no less intelligent - the first song of his to get stuck in my head and grab me lyrically was "Exercise", a country song that features the line "Drink water and juice with a little slice of lemon/ eat a raw clove of garlic every once in a while/ meditate, appreciate, learn a foreign language,/ and understand that immigrants have the hardest lives". As with my favorite country singers, from Roger Miller to John Prine to Johnny Paycheck to Dwight Yoakam, Jonny rejects the notion that his songs have to be either funny or serious - each song, whether about heartbreak or longing, dogs or trucks, is imbued with humor, and not just for the sake of a laugh, but simply because humor is the language Jonny uses to connect with and color his world.
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Jonny Fritz plays Total Fest's opening night, Thursday, August 20th at the Zootown Arts Community Center. The Best Westerns provide the backing.

OCTOBAL FEST.

What, you've never heard of the unique musical event known as OCTOBAL FEST? It's where the Bugs play on Wednesday, October 16th and Kylesa plays Saturday, October 19th. That's what Octobal Fest is all about. It's put on by Total Fest, every year. You probably missed it last year because of that family thing or whatever. That's cool, but you should come this year. You know, it's Octobal Fest. It's always a rad time.

The Bugs (Wed. Oct. 16th, the ZACC below w. Mountain Shark and Oll Breds). Where to start with the Bugs, the Bugs, the mighty ol' Bugs? Jeesh, it's a hard question. I met Mike Bugs when he used to roadie for Last of the Juanitas, who kind of helped produce Red Fang. Mike sang on this song of theirs called Big Eyed Space Girl. It was incredible. The bugs might've come through Missoula first around 2004, or 2003. Kind of like a Sufi punk band. Guys interested in the world they live in kind of more than the teeny little weird world of punk rock, I guess. That's what I've always liked about 'em anyway. The music's as honest and imperfect and human as I think you can find in America. And that's not just us being whatever, kind of sentimental. Come see the Bugs, it's $5 if you get your ticket at Ear Candy before the show and $6 at the door.

We'll have some more about Kylesa shortly, and we're taking the ticket pre-sales down, so your only option for presales is in-person from Ear Candy Music in Missoula, prior to these shows.