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Patterson music venue hosts final show |
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Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator
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Wednesday, 09 July 2008 |
At a glance
- WHAT: Final show at Panduh Studios
- WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
- WHERE: 15907 Ash Ave.
- INFO: 505-7421
Local indie rock band The Panduhs have played countless shows at their own Panduh Studios — aka the rural home of Frank Montez on Ash Avenue east of Patterson.
But Saturday’s show will be particularly special, as it will be the last concert at the home, which will soon cease to be a music venue because the house is entering foreclosure.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I really think that me and Frank pushed the local music scene,” said Neil Vento, who has run the venue with Montez the past two years. “We gave people a place to play.”
 Frank Montez (left) and Neil Vento will play a final show at Panduh Studios on Saturday. Courtesy Photo
Vento and Montez have worked together on shows at the house since 2006, during the second of what is the now-annual Frankenfest on Halloween. The two 18-year-old concert promoters met at Del Puerto High School.
At the first Frankenfest, Montez said he hosted mostly his friends’ bands. The following year, Vento worked to recruit a variety of other bands, and he said the venue attracted about 300 people.
“We started booking bands from everywhere,” Vento said.
Vento said there have been close to 50 shows at the home in two years, though only a handful have been large shows like Frankenfest. Among the bigger events was Hellapop, a show co-hosted by local promoter Claude Cardenas of the Web ’zine PopSongRomance in late May.
Cardenas said Panduh Studios has been a great venue, in part because Montez and Vento were fun and easy to work with. Unlike at bars, people who attend shows there go primarily for the bands, and it is open to people younger than age 21, he said.
“People just want to have fun and see the music,” Cardenas said.
Frankenfest, which features a stage for main acts, punk bands and disc jockeys, has by far remained the largest event.
“Frankenfest is usually, like, the Mecca of the shows we have out here,” Montez said, adding that the response can be overwhelming at times.
Vento noted that Huntington Beach-based A Kiss Could be Deadly, which was featured on MTV, has performed at the venue. Vento and Montez also cited Phoenix-based Iji; Boulder, Colo.-based teamAWESOME! and Boston-based Math the Band as favorites.
Vento and Montez eventually hope to find a new venue for shows and events, including Frankenfest, though nothing has been determined.
In the meantime, Patterson Teen Center will have some shows, including a PopSongRomance event from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday.
Saturday’s show also will likely feature Dankifornia, an acoustic band that features Patterson residents Hayden Patton and Michael Fantozzi.
Despite the large turnout at past events, Montez said he would be content if even only the hometown crowd showed up at this weekend’s show, which is free and will include food and beverages.
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