93. Marquis Harris - June 2, 2014

This week, Matt and Rod sit down with Marquis Harris from Marquis Entertainment. 

Entertainer

Marquis Harris

Starting his entertainment career organizing and hosting shows in Tracy, Marquis soon found himself performing in bands, hosting fashion shows and emceeing events throughout the area.

A love for basketball brought Marquis to the University of Montana Western on a full-ride scholarship. After college, Marquis returned to Tracy and shortly thereafter, Stockton, where he has made his home ever since.

Since 1989, Marquis has been building a very successful DJ and entertainment business. He and his team have performed at countless weddings and corporate events, as well as regularly hosting karaoke at local bars. 

For more information on Marquis Entertainment, call him at 209-951-1982, visit marquisentdjs.com, or find him on Facebook. Learn the steps to Superman Glide by watching this video, or text "supermanglide" to 55469.

79. Tony Mannor, Finnegan's Irish Pub & Restaurant and Rebels Whiskeyhouse (continued) - February 18, 2014

Tony Finnegan Mannor

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Tony Mannor, the proprietor of Finnegan's Irish Pub & Restaurant and Rebels Whiskeyhouse. This episode is the second of two parts of our interview with Tony. If you missed the last episode, you can listen to it here.

To get on the guest list for Finnegan's or Rebels, start by going to 209guestlist.com.  You can learn more about Finnegan's by visiting finnpub.com or check them out at Facebook.com/finnpub.

Rebels Whiskeyhouse can be found at facebook.com/RebelsBBQ.

Finnegan's is located at 6002 Pacific Ave. and Rebels is at 6252 Pacific Ave, both in Stockton, CA 95207.

Thank you to Tony Mannor for coming on to Podcast Stockton.

We'd love to hear your comments, feedback or show ideas.

Leave us a message, or text us, at 209-565-3229 or send your e-mail to PodcastStockton@gmail.com. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @podcaststockton.

74. Erin Odessa - November 11, 2013

The Music Edition

In this episode, Matt and Susan talk about music. From the genres of music they grew up listening to, to their first live concert.  Music has definitely been a huge part of all our lives.

Erin Odessa, hosting Open Mic at Whirlow's on October 30, 2013

Erin Odessa

We are joined in the Outback Studios by local musician, music teacher, and ukulele advocate Erin Odessa. 

Erin talks with Matt and Susan about her early start with music, and about her passion for creating music. Erin, an accomplished song writer and performer is also known to scores of children and families in Stockton for The Afternaps, a childrens music program that has been performing for several years. The Afternaps perform every Tuesday at 5 PM inside Yogurt My Way on the Miracle Mile.

Erin is available for ukulele, guitar, vocal, and group percussion lessons. She can be reached by e-mail at afternapsmusic@yahoo.com.

Erin is also the hostess of Open Mic at Whirlow's on the Miracle Mile, every Wednesday night. At a recent Open Mic night, Matt spoke with two performers.

Erin and Daniel Page perform two new original songs, "Won't Be Soon", and "Life Goes On".

Listen to more music by Erin Odessa at soundcloud.com/erinodessa. She can also be found at facebook.com/erin.odessa.

58. Kate Post, Emily Ballus, Mark Wills - April 11, 2011

Welcome to Podcast Stockton. This week, we are joined by three special guests. In this episode:

The Asparagus Festival is this weekend! Rod sits down with Kate Post, Asparagus Festival Executive Director, to talk about what's new for this year's event. The 26th annual Asparagus Festival runs Friday, April 15 through Sunday, April 17 in downtown Stockton. Nothing says springtime in Stockton like deep fried asparagus, and our new favorite, asparagus ice cream! For more information, visit asparagusfest.com.

The Great Stockton Asparagus Festival Dine out was a hit with Matt! There was not enough hours in the day to sample all of the great asparagus dishes at the 25 participating restaurants. There was time, however, to visit Angelina's, Whirlow's and Midtown Creperie & Cafe for some excellent dishes. What a perfect way to lead in to the Asparagus Festival.

Emily Ballus joins Matt to talk about the launch of Q Productions and a couple of concerts coming to the Stockton Empire Theatre. After spending some time with the California Cougars and the Miracle Mile, Emily is now focused on bringing entertainment events to Stockton. This Friday, Q Productions, Food 4 Less and Rancho San Miguel present country music recording artist, Mark Wills.

Mark Wills

Country Music recording artist, Mark Wills calls into the show to discuss his start in country music and his concert this Friday at the Empire Theatre. His hits include "Jacob's Ladder", "Don't Laugh At Me", "I Do (Cherish You)", and "19 Somethin'". His newest song is "Looking For America". Of course, you can find his music on iTunes. For tickets and information on his show on April 15 at the Stockton Empire Theatre, visit qproductionsco.com or call 209-594-1669.

Until next time, make it great Stockton!

- Matt & Rod

57. Susan Mora-Loyko, Stockton Earth Day Festival - April 4, 2011

Welcome to Podcast Stockton, the show all about the great life in Stockton, and a day early this week. In this episode:

The Great Stockton Asparagus Dine Out. With the Asparagus Festival just around the corner, now is a great time to get out to some of our great local restaurants to try some amazing dishes featuring locally grown asparagus. The Great Stockton Asparagus Dine Out runs through April 10. Check out all of the great menu items here.

Susan Mora-Loyko joins us to talk about the 23rd Annual Stockton Earth Day Festival. This year's festival is on Sunday, April 10 at Victory Park. The festival kicks off with yoga at 10:00 AM and the family fun bike ride at 10:30. There's a ton of great entertainment with The Bad Goods, Baraata, Odessa and Sugar Water Purple. Jeni Swerdlow from DRUMMM will end our event again with her awesome drum circle. Admission is free and there are lots of fun (and educational) things for kids. Oh, and did we mention that Matt will be the emcee again this year. Bring the whole family for a fun day!

Terrestrial radio is still out there. Rod reminds us that radio stations still matter and they're out there in the community with free stuff!

A couple quick things:

The New Life Project Stockton CD release event is this Friday, April 8. Tickets are $10 which includes a copy of the CD.

Stockton City Councilmembers are hosting budget town hall meetings. This week, Dale Fritchen on Monday, April 4 and Paul Canepa on Thursday, April 7. The other councilmembers will be holding there meetings later in the month, be sure to check the schedule.

Until next time, make it great Stockton!

- Matt & Rod

Carrie Underwood at the Arena

At the last minute, and thanks to the Downtown Stockton Alliance Facebook post about available tickets, my wife and I decided to take our daughters to the Carrie Underwood concert. We got to our seats in section 212 just before 7:30 and just before Sons of Sylvia took the stage. The Clark brothers from Virginia opened up with Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll.

They entertained as the audience filed in and even played a short "bluegrass picking" tune that didn't seem to be a big hit with the crowd but, as a bluegrass and newgrass fan I enjoyed it.

Billy Currington took the stage later in the night and the opened with "How County Boys Roll". The ladies seemed to go nuts every time his face (and his curls) showed up on the video screen at either side of the stage.

The crowd noise level went up when he performed "People are Crazy", especially during the "... beer is good" part. He closed his set with my personal favorite "Good Directions".

Underwood took the stage a little after 9 with "Cowboy Casanova".

After a couple of songs she told the crowd that she likes to learn about the cities where she performs by looking at Wikipedia. She asked, "you guys have an Asparagus Festival?" and the fans cheered! She said they celebrate Okrafest back in her home town of Checotah, Oklahoma.

She performed favorites like "Wasted", "Some Hearts", "Temporary Home", "All American Girl", and " So Small". After walking off the stage, she returned in the bed of a blue pickup truck (complete with "Carrie" on the tailgate) and was hoisted above the audience while she sang John Denver's hit, "Country Roads". Judging by the crowd, "Undo It", with it's chunky and distorted resonator guitar rhythms, was certainly a favorite.

Carrie Underwood, Stockton Arena

Underwood took a few breaks to talk to the audience and told of how she grew up singing everywhere. The Arena got louder with every mention of American Idol. She said that if her life hadn't turned out the way it did she would've likely still been singing, maybe even at the Asparagus Festival. I always enjoy it when artists talk to the crowd and she seemed to do so often and comfortably.

My favorite performance of the night was "Jesus Take The Wheel" with a few lines from "How Great Thou Art" at the end. She sang it masterfully and was full of emotion. I also think that, besides the very end of the show, the crowd was at its loudest at that point.

She brought Sons of Sylvia back on stage and performed the duet "What Can I Say" from her 2010 release Play On. She payed homage to The Grand Ol' Opry when she performed "I Told You So" with Randy Travis on video.

She closed her set with a very loud "Last Name" before coming back for an encore with "Before He Cheats" and "Songs Like This".

We were all glad we went. It was an awesome show. Great music and theatrics! I'm no fashion expert but Underwood looked exquisite, especially in the dress that lit up. Our daughters had a great time and there seemed to be a pretty diverse cross section of music fans there. I even spotted Thunder President Dan Chapman and United Way of San Joaquin CEO Andy Prokop. I've not yet seen how many tickets were sold but it looked to be just short of being sold out.

This show, and last week's Snoop Dogg / Ice Cube show, are exactly what make Stockton great!

14. Greg Bahr - October 13, 2009

Welcome to Podcast Stockton, episode number 14. In this episode:

A couple of items from the news: Stockton Thunder hosts open try-outs, nut company moves to Stockton, Ports to host heart walk.

Stirring things up Stockton. In addition to Podcast Stockton and my personal blog, check out great local blogs by Andy, Ian, SlickDiaz and Rod as well as the Twitter tag #stir.

An interview with Greg Bahr, entertainment and theatre director at Stockton Empire Theatre. For more information on the theatre, visit them online at stocktonempiretheatre.com. Also, keep an eye out on Miracle Mile Night by visiting miraclemilenight.com. To learn more about the Neighborhood Renaissance Program, visit stocktongov.com/nrp.

The San Joaquin Film Society opens its first California Documentary Festival with the screening of "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe". For more information, check out California Documentary Festival and San Joaquin Film Society. Also, visit the official Disturbing the Universe site.

Until next time, make it great Stockton!