Beating the Odds

In a day and age where virtually every facet of every thing is taken for granted to a certain degree, it is a sincere wake up call when you find that you are indeed quite human, and that you depend on a lot to get you through life. Unfortunately for many, this realization must surface through some sort of personal struggle or hardship. Though these instances are never welcome, after all is said and done, the general consensus seems to be that of gratitude for one’s life and the inevitable dissent in regards to any and all things that are universally taken as a given. It is in these confines that we find Fred Telles, esteemed former Chicoan and spot-on drummer for psychobilly group Tiger Army. Telles is now recovering from bullet wounds sustained by a robbery at a friend’s home in Chino, CA some three months ago. With a benefit show slated for Monday, June 16th and Tuesday, June 17th at Riff Raff, Telles is nothing if not excited and a bit overwhelmed by the support he has gotten from Chico, as well as from the rest of the country.
“It’s helped me recover a lot faster than I would have. Getting shot like I did and three months later, I’m almost back to normal,” states Telles as I speak with him, via telephone from his home in Los Angeles. “It was great to see all my friends come together from everywhere to support me. A lot of our fans and a lot of old friends who I hadn’t heard from in a long time, everybody… It’s amazing,” adds Telles.
As the former drummer for the now defunct Chico punk group Union of the Dead and as an employee at the Synthesis and Woodstock’s Pizza, Telles cemented himself as a prominent member of the Chico music scene and still has many friends living in the area. Support and shock was not hard to come by when the news of Telles’ incident hit our local scene. Riff Raff booking agent Katie Perry elaborates: “Fred Telles was huge part of the local music scene here for quite a few years. Our goal is to just raise as much money as possible for him and all the proceeds are going to go directly to Fred.”
The benefit, lovingly titled the “Fredraiser” will feature many local bands and will spread out over the course of two days, thereby providing virtually no excuse to not attend what should be a diverse and engaging show.
“We’ll have a raffle with numerous prizes collected from downtown [Chico], all the way to [Fred’s] record label, Hellcat. We’ve got a lot of community support; the local bands have all donated their time playing. It should be just a really good event,” states Perry.
In keeping with what I feel is the essence of the music scene in Chico, the musical acts partaking in this benefit are across the board, genre-wise. To date, bands that have signed up include The iMPS, Indecisive Youth, Inflatable Supermodel, the Asskickers, Rev. Shelby Cobra, Socially Pink as well as a few more that remain undisclosed. Telles’ spirits have remained on an impressively positive level throughout the months of his recovery, and he has no plans of discontinuing what to him is a true love of music.
“I talk to kids everyday when we’re on tour and everybody’s got their problems. It’s hard to really complain until you try to talk with other people. You gotta make sure everyone helps everyone out,” reasons Telles. The same perseverance that propelled Telles from local music scenester to nationally recognized rock drummer remains in the forefront of his mind during his struggle to recover from his wounds. One of the shots from that horrible night struck the right lobe of Telles’ brain, causing him to lose some of his coordination and muscle mass in his left hand. However, Telles is confident that he’ll be able to make a full recovery. “I’ve been playing [drums] for the past three weeks now. It’s pretty much been my physical therapy. The doctor’s kind of left [the therapy] up to myself. So I’ve been playing drums and working out to rebuild my hand speed. Things you take for granted like playing videogames or clipping your fingernails are difficult. But, you know, everyday it gets better and better,” states Telles.
Past benefit shows at Riff Raff have proven to be beneficial towards whomever they were intended for and Perry seems to feel that this one won’t disappoint either.
“St. Patrick’s Day we donated all of the door proceeds to Fred, and it came to about $1000 dollars. We did the big benefit for Mehdi [Belahbib] and that went really well, unfortunately his case didn’t go well, but the support that everyone came out and brought for him was quite phenomenal and I think we’ll see the same thing with the Fredraiser,” states Perry. While the Victims of Violent Crimes program, a California-based operation that provides financial support for musicians, is currently evaluating Telles’ case, his medical bills are substantial enough that a benefit show is warranted. “I just think that things like this show how much the community really is involved and how big a part the music scene is for everyone. When something bad like this happens, things like the Musicians Relief Fund, thank God that’s there for artists because it’s really hard to be an artist and not have insurance,” adds Perry.
Suffice to say that this endeavor will be a successful one and for an obviously noble cause. Fred Telles’ overwhelming urge to continue on in the face of adversity is rather encouraging and truly brings hope to fans and friends alike. Tiger Army currently has plans to release a new album, sometime in the beginning of next year. But until then, we will have the inspiration and determination exuded by Fred Telles, urging us not to let up on our respective paths and encouraging us to view life for what it really is; precious.

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