Arts Devo

Crossing the vernal equinox Spring is here, and for Arts DEVO, all hope is reborn in the sounds of new music by local bands. This week, I’ve been stomping through the wildflower blooms to the tune of the killer self-titled fresh release from Mr. Bang, the long-running project of local punk-rock troubadour Josh Lang. The just-released album is the full-band version of Mr. Bang (also Lang’s solo moniker), and it is a gloriously fuzzed-out blend of energetic punk rock and super-overdriven riff-heavy stoner-metal grooviness that would’ve made Lemmy Kilmister proud.

In addition to Lang on guitar and vocals, the album features Khari Cowell on drums, Ryan Allan on bass, and Seabass also on guitar. Releasing it on March 8 also holds meaning for the songwriter, whose father died on that date in 2009.

“I not only lost my father, I lost the center of my universe, I lost my north star, I lost my direction,” Lang says in the album notes. “The next 10 years was an oddity and a journey but with every step I found who I really was and grew into what I am now and that’s what this album and what Mr. Bang means to me.”

Get the digital version at mrbangfact.bandcamp.com, and the analog during the cassette-release party this Sunday, March 24, 7:30 p.m., at Ike’s Place. Mucid, Angry Son and Reno’s Turd Eater fill out the bill.

Break out the donkey sauce! Air times for the Chico episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives have been posted! According to the Food Network website, the first showing of “Coming Together in Cali” will be aired April 19, 9:30 p.m., and four hours later April 20, at 12:30 a.m. From the synopsis for episode 18 from season 29: “For this trip, Guy Fieri zeroes in on Chico, California, celebrating the town’s food scene as residents and restaurant owners recover from ravaging fires that rocked the area.”

The show’s producers haven’t announced the places Fieri visited when he was here in January, but the rest of the episode’s description offers some obvious clues that the sightings and rumors are true that Grana (“a wood-fired Italian spot cooking up powerhouse pork ragu and killer chicken”), Upper Crust (“a bakery servin’ up standout savory specialties like their legendary black bean chili and a Korean pork salad”) and The Banshee (“a pub elevating their grub with a ‘Pho-rench Dip’ and banh mi tacos”) are all highlighted. And if the non-affiliated dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com site is to be believed, so are Momona, The Rawbar and Sin of Cortez.

A vote for community As I shared in this space a couple weeks ago, this year’s CAMMIES Festival and Awards Show is at the Sierra Nevada Big Room April 20. In addition to live performances from a wide range of players (to be announced very soon) from Chico and the rest of Butte County—especially those areas impacted by the Camp Fire—we will be handing out some awards, one for which we need the help of music-lovers in the community: Best Local Act. All active bands and solo musicians playing original music are eligible. Head to newsreview.com/cammies to vote for your fave.