While we never got around to rapping about Yalta, the two certainly (along with cohort D Ferreira) had no trouble getting down - linguistically speaking.
| Tammy Cruise
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I don’t get the whole comic book thing. I think you either do or you don’t.
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| SJFanboy
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It’s a fascinating thing. It’s funny to walk into a comic book shop because it feels like I’m the only girl ever to walk in to the store.
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| SJF
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How would you describe the state of the entertainment scene in Modesto?
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| Tammy Cruise
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I don’t go out. (laughs)
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| Angie Good
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I think it’s great. I think it’s really come into its own over the last several years. I do miss when we used to be hooked up downtown on 10th Street with live bands out there. I really enjoyed that groovy vibe down there. Even if you weren’t going down to see a band – just wanted to see a movie or go to dinner, there was this good ambiance. Occasionally they do have a Battle of the Bands, and that’s pretty cool, but it’s just not the same as it was before.
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| SJF
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We’d love to see Stockton do more of that.
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| TC
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I went to the Asparagus Festival at Weber Point this year. That was pretty cool. It seemed like they were able to get some bigger name acts like The Smithereens.
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| D Ferreira
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I like when we go to see a movie, it’s not just “going to the movies.” There’s so much happening down there like eateries and sometimes live music. It’s like a little hub. It’s not like in the Bay Area when you come out of the theater and you’re in a parking lot and you have to leave. And Stockton has that new theater. It’s nice having a choice to do something else when you’re done with the movie.
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| TC
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I was thinking the same thing when we had the Downtown Rocks shows, like the one with Hootie. Sometimes it feels like we have more than we deserve in a town this size. I was talking with a friend of mine from Fresno. She asked how it was that we were able to have all these great shows like X Fest and Summerfest and then the Downtown Rocks shows when we’re so much smaller than Fresno.
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| SJF
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What do you think it is about Modesto that makes it able to have all these great shows?
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| TC
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I think a lot of it has to do with Chris Ricci in conjunction with Clear Channel who’ve been putting these shows on.
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| SJF
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It’s helpful to have a person who’s passionate about getting things going.
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| AG
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We also have to credit Chris Murphy and the folks at the State Theater are really motivated to bring music in. I think it’s everybody’s desire to have all these great shows in the community.
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| SJF
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We hope that the renovated Fox Theater, I mean Bob Hope Theater, will do some of that for Stockton.
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| AG
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The one thing that Stockton has that Modesto doesn’t is the Miracle Mile. It’s really cool to just have a couple of beers at the pub and walk up and down the market. That’s a really cool thing when they do that every summer. That’s a good thing for Stockton.
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| SJF
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What made you want to go into radio?
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| AG
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When I was a kid, I was this little radiophile. I loved listening to the radio and the disc jockeys. It really impressed me. It made me a big mark on me as a teenager. I wanted to be a part of that when I got older.
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| SJF
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What did you do to get started?
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| AG
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I went to radio school at a junior college.
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| SJF
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Is that what you’d suggest to someone trying to get into radio?
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| AG
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Definitely. It’s the cheapest way to go. It’s the easiest way to go because you don’t experience per se. You don’t need to know much to get in. And then you can get an internship and build from there.
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| SJF
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What advice do you have for local bands trying to get airplay? Is that easy to do around here?
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| TC
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It’s not. I don’t think it’s easy anywhere. It’s really unusual to run across a radio station that’s as supportive of the local music scene as ours is. It’s great for us to have that freedom – it’s shocking. (laughs) Right now we’re playing Megan Slankard. And she deserves it. It’s not that we’re doing her a favor. I think that it’s in our best interests to be playing Megan Slankard because she is going to be a star.
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| SJF
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How much freedom do you have working under the Clear Channel umbrella?
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| TC
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More than people would think.
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| AG
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Clear Channel doesn’t regulate that on the local level. I think that people have this impression that they tell us what to play. That’s never been less true. I’ve worked for a few chains where there was a group programmer who would tell the cluster what to do. But, this is like working local radio to me. Maybe some of the other stations in the chain aren’t as free, I don’t know. Max is really free with us.
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| TC
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I think for a lot of people Clear Channel makes them think of a cookie-cutter format, but you know what, radio’s been that way forever! It always has been. Most radio stations are cookie-cutter – sorry. It’s been that way – way before Clear Channel. But, as far as the music goes, we have a lot of freedom. As far as what we get to do on the air, we still have a lot of freedom. You wouldn’t be hearing Megan Slankard on the radio if we didn’t have that.
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| SJF
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(To D Ferreira) You’re being awfully quiet. You’re like the Spinderella of Cruise and Good.
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| All
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(laughs)
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| DF
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Exactly. When they point at me, I say something. I’m not the talker, they are. I’d get up and dance with my favorite band, wouldn’t even need to take a drink to do it. When’s that opportunity going to happen again?
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| SJF
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It makes for a good story.
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| DF
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Yeah, something fun to tell my kids. When they’re done being ashamed of me and are willing to tell their friends what daddy did.
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| SJF
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Has that ever happened?
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| DF
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They get embarrassed. Yeah. When I wore the pink tu-tu with the boobs in it to meet Terri Nunn of Berlin. I show them the pictures and they say, “Put those in a special box, Dad.”
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| SJF
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Where are your favorite places to go in Modesto?
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| DF
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If it’s to dance, it’s the Fat Cat. If it’s with the family, I love going to Creseda Park when something is going on, or to the movies. |
| TC
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I like to go home. (laughs) St. Stan’s is really cool now. It’s a lot better than it used to be. It was such a great space but they won’t using it. They’ve got a pool table in their now. A juke box. Board games. They have dart. Fooz ball. Live music. They had a Celtic band in there with traditional Irish music one night. There was one little girl who was dancing along to it and after each one this really drunk Irishman would get up and explain what the dance meant. It was pretty funny. I don’t think they knew each other, but it was pretty funny.
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| SJF
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(laughs) Was he making it up?
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| TC
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I don’t think so, but if he was it was still a good story.
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| AG
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It sounded authentic.
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| SJF
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What are the things you hope for the valley? What do you see as the next steps?
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| AG
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An arena to bring in bigger shows. I think that’s been our only roadblock to bringing in much bigger acts is that we need a venue that’s much larger to house them, otherwise the ticket prices would be way too high to bring in the bigger acts we’d like to bring in. But, we’ve been really luck with some of the acts we have had.
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| SJF
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Yeah, it’s been great to be able to go to see really great shows without having to travel very far.
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| TC
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If we could get Savemart, who are based here in Modesto, to put a Savemart Center here next, that would be great. They’ve got one in Fresno and they get some pretty decent acts. We could just tag on to the tour.
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| DF
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We need a Dave & Buster’s. They have one in Milpitas. Up until 11 you can bring your family and play pool and games. After that it becomes 21 and up. It’s like a Chuck E Cheese for adults.
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| SJF
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That’s like my dreamland. Do they have a giant thing of those balls that you can dive in? I want one of those.
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| DF
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That’s the one thing missing.
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| SJF
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Anything that you’d like to add about Modesto?
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| DF
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I love it here. I’d never go back the bay. I feel so comfortable here.
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| AG
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It’s really nice. My only complaint is that it’s a little hot in the summer. But, otherwise it’s really nice to have a backyard.
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| TC
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The other thing that would be really cool to have in Modesto would be an indie film house. Thanks to the State Theater because they bring a few through, but I mean a real indie theater where we can have four or five different indie films at one time. Because all you can see pretty much are the big blockbusters for the most part.
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| SJF
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I’d like to clarify that with an indie film house that stays in business.
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| AG
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I think that the problem is that when they do bring an indie film in, it’s important for people to go see it so that it shows there’s an interest. Is there one in Stockton?
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| SJF
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We did have the Royal. It kept opening and closing, but now it’s closed, probably for good. Actually at UOP they have small theater, but they’ve been showing some older films. We have to travel to the Crest or the Tower up in Sacramento.
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| AG
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Oh, and a crosstown freeway would be nice.
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| SJF
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You’re not asking for much. A crosstown freeway, an indie film house and a Dave & Buster’s.
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| DF
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Dave & Buster’s!
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| AG
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And an Old Navy!
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| SJF
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You don’t have an Old Navy?
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| TC
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Would you even go to it if they had it? I want a Crate and Barrel, damnit!
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| AG
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Hoodies for everyone!
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| TC
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We got to interview Al Jean once, from the Simpsons. That was one of my favorite interviews.
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| AG
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We got him to say “I choo-choo-choose you” for Valentine’s Day. And then he told us the story about how he had that engraved in his wife’s wedding ring. He said that a lot of his stuff comes from his personal life. Look at us sharing trivia. I think we’re official fangirls.
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| TC
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How can you not love the Simpsons?
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