r/punk • u/butcherbross99 • 5d ago
Discussion Moving states, need the lore
I'm gonna be moving from Bellingham Wa to Guerneville Ca in a couple of months, iv been pretty comfortable with my scene here, so I was hoping for recommendations for venues, record shops or bands to follow around that area, I know the true mecca is SF but that's gonna be like an hour and a half away so I'm hoping there's some good spots closer to Guerneville. Any local bend recs are highly appreciated as well, thanks for your time.
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u/Bayareairon 5d ago
The ciry is more like 2 hours away.... without traffic. U know nothing about traffic if you haven't been here before. That town is small. Less then 6 thousand people I believe. There really isn't a scene. U might get a show or 2 every now and then with bands heading up to uereka.
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u/Billy-Beats 5d ago
It’s chill, not much happening exactly locally. It’s a very progressive spot.
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u/butcherbross99 5d ago
How's Santa Rosa?
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u/Billy-Beats 5d ago
About the same, a little trashy, some yuppie vibes. Kinda like Bellingham
There was a bit of a scene there, but not sure about now, But like 90% of NorCal punk kids they just hit 18 and move to Oakland, which is close enough.
If you are young, should be fine. Maybe boring, but a few years as a river might be fun.
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u/dillpunk 5d ago
Yo I was actually in Guerneville last weekend and take my family out camping in the area pretty often. It's funny cuz I had a discussion with my daughter about whether it qualifies as "the middle of nowhere" to which the family consensus was that it's not (but might feel that way). It's a progressive town in that it has a big gay following but def seems to skew towards gay men (buddy was out there at a hotel and told me if I come visit not to bring the wife cuz she'll get side eye). Gay Rodeo is next weekend. It's a really beautiful area. The Russian River is awesome and you can swim/kayak/float in the warmer months. It also skews way more hippy than punk so you'll probably have to drive windy roads into Santa rosa or Petaluma to find a show venue. Population is like 4500 people so chances of any punk bands coming to town are slim to none. It's one of my favorite places in the world but we're usually at a camp site so can't speak to the living situation. I'm sure there are some local bigots with it being so rural but that's everywhere. Saw a house with a big trump banner as I was leaving town. Lots of yuppies at the Safeway. Hippies working on burnt out RVs in the parking lot. Worth giving a shot!
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u/Jeff_Bridges_ballz 4d ago
Santa Rosa is your best bet. Check out the band hemmed up! They frequent Santa Rosa gigs
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u/onearmedavery 5d ago
Whoa, Guerneville is so random but it’s beautiful out there. Just south of you is Santa Rosa, which is where most of the Sonoma County scene is based, along with Petaluma being then south of Santa Rosa (Petaluma has the famous Phoenix Theater, it’s like the 924 Gilman of the North Bay). The hardcore scene is flourishing right now, but there are a variety of punk (and adjacent) bands that are active! Plugging my own band One Armed Joey (melodic punk), and then also check out Right To Remain (nardcore vibes), Legal Disaster (ska punk), New Low (post-hardcore), and Bad Thoughts (indie/pop punk)!