Martian Culture 5th Anniversary

By Clayton Chaney
Local Music Journalist

Fall is the season of familiarity, new beginnings and new music! It’s a beautiful time of year as wild summer adventures come to an end and familiar routines set back in.

The local art culture has an enormous amount of support around town, not just from the people creating it but also from many businesses doing their part to provide these artists with an outlet to share their creations. Local icehouse, Zelicks, celebrated five years of Martian Culture, an event that highlights local artists of all sorts. They have live music, performers, vendors with hand crafted art, food and drinks; a little something for everyone.

The place has an open feel with big garage doors that make for a smooth transition from the front patio to the bar and into the back patio. It feels like you’re hanging out in a really chill backyard, secluded and tucked in the middle of rapidly growing San Mo. This past weekend featured live music from local bands Ooey Gooeys with Christian Sparks & The Beatnik Bandits. Both groups are on the verge of new beginnings. New albums, new music videos and new tours are right around the corner! It’s always exciting to hear SMTX music making its way out to the rest of the world. 

The OG’s opened up the night, setting the tone for a relaxed and slow-paced time. Their playful yet mature sound stands out and will guide your soul to the right place. Their new tune “Growing Pains” shows heavy signs of maturity in a really good way. They sound fully complete and confident. Although, with so much to see and take in, it was important not to get too hyped and fly straight to the end of the night, so it was nice to have music that allowed you to sit back, relax, and take it all in.

Christian Sparks & The Beatnik Bandits took over as the evening made the transition from hot, to not-so-hot. Rustic vocals and twangy guitar riffs are the base of Texas dirt road country sound, which was perfect for this kind of night. While big stages, packed crowds and high energy is always fun, sometimes the backyard patio feel is just what you need. This isn’t to say that they played with lower energy; it was simply channeled in different ways that still made you want to get up and enjoy the music but also take the time to indulge in all the unique artwork.

 Be sure to keep up with your favorite local artists and to come out and show support as these bands post their new releases and get ready to take on the road!

Band Links:

http://ogooey.com/

https://www.thebeatnikbandits.com/

Featured image by Rachel Carlino