Days of Lore

Tower crumbles When I walked into Tower Records Saturday afternoon, the mood among the employees was understandably somber.

Signs were slapped up on the walls informing customers of the discounted items—all sales final. One guy seemed more preoccupied with how much he was going to save on his purchase than the fact that nearly 3,000 people would soon be out of jobs and that Chico would be left with strip-mall music outlets to buy his Sheryl Crow CDs.

Other long-time customers offered their condolences to the store’s manager of 30 years, Lynn Brown, and his staff.

“I guess he decided that paying back debt was more important than 2,700 jobs,” Brown lamented on the federal bankruptcy judge’s approval of the company’s sale to Great American Group.

The Chico Tower probably has about two months to go before it closes its doors for good. Gone will be the store that has anchored downtown Chico since 1972. Gone will be the Herreid-Fender stage where bands like Kunst Conspiracy and La Dolce Vita got their starts playing all-ages shows. Gone will be the place where people (including myself) spent many a Sunday afternoon browsing the music and magazine racks. And gone will be the friendly and knowledgeable clerks who know what the hell you’re talking about when you say, “I’m looking for the new Dr. Dog EP.” (Well, they’d at least look it up and order it for you.)

Even more disturbing is what the closure of Tower leaves Chico with. Best Buy? Circuit City? The Underground?

Eeesh.

Too good to be true? On the topic of all-ages venues and their apparent, as a wise woman once said, “failure to thrive,” there has been a little less action at the 1078 Gallery lately.

Head of the gallery’s music committee and CN&R Calendar Editor Jason Cassidy said there will be no more shows booked at 1078 until arrangements are made to make the visual arts and music more compatible. Even when the music resumes, it’ll probably be limited to smaller-scale shows.

Shows this weekend plus the Palais Idéal festival and the John Milbauer performance in late October will all be honored.

Cassidy will meet with the board of directors, including 1078’s newly hired gallery director Linda Davidson, this week. More info on the new director and the future of live music as the 1078 saga unravels …

Build it and they will come Sitting across the room from Jason Cassidy almost every day has allowed me to watch the evolution of Palais Idéal, the experimental music festival he’s putting on beginning Thurs., Oct. 19. It’s sort of mirrored what French postman Ferdinand Cheval started in 1879. However, instead of using a wheelbarrow to collect stones to create a giant castle, Jason was equipped only with a genuine desire to bring something unique to Chico. This time it’s in the form of an ambitious four-day event named after the Frenchman’s castle with a mix of local talent as well as acts from all over the state including everything from a 24-hour drone to people hooking rocks up to amplifiers to more straight-forward sonic explorations.

I already have my sights on a few artists in particular. Oakland’s The Atomic Bomb Audition—loud, epic, meandering rock—will perform on the festival’s opening night. Get yourself a sneak preview at www.theatomicbombaudition.com. San Francisco’s The Fucking Ocean and The Modular Set, Sacto’s Dead Western and locals Saucebag and Dept. of Redundancy Dept. are also on my list.

For more info, go to www.myspace.com/palaisideal.

Dude, where’s my shirt? I was recently directed to a hot new band in town (and I mean hot!) called Kill Him Kill Her. I’d tell you more, but words wouldn’t do them justice … I’ll let the photo on the right tell the tale. Oh! And check out the band’s friends list on its MySpace page: www.myspace.com/killhimkillher. Incredible! There must be something going on here, as the band is booked solid through December at Off Limits.

“Success on someone else’s terms don’t mean a fuckin’ thing.”—<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> </script>