Veterans’ Day

The pictures on the walls of the Bombay Bar & Grill recall the good ol’ days of Ventura before too many people came here from someplace else. On Wednesday nights, the Tijuana Hound Dogs recall the good ol’ days of local rock.

Guitar players Frank Barajas and Chris Byrd, along with drummer Chuck Herrera and bassist Mark Winley, have been part of the local scene longer than the venue. Byrd has been in the Killer Turtles, Evil Puppets and Back Against the Wall but will forever be notorious for teaching Raging Arb & the Redheads how to play.

Barajas has been in Film at Eleven, Crashing Plains, the Strangers, Durango 95 and JuJu Eyeball. Herrera has been in most of the bands his cousin Barajas has been in, and also in J.D.’s Last Ride. Winley used to play in JuJu Eyeball.

A Tijuana Hound Dogs set will test your rock ‘n’ roll IQ. Together, these four know a lot of songs, mostly of the very danceable pop-rock variety. They cover songs by Buddy Holly, the Beatles, the Smithereens, the Byrds, the Who and other bands that knew what a good song should sound like. The band also plays nearly a dozen Barajas originals.

“It’s music we all love to play, and songs we all know,” said Barajas. “We all have day jobs, so it’s hard to rehearse my songs, but everyone knows ‘Mr. Tambourine Man.’ So we’ve never played in Tijuana, but we have played in Oxnard.”

Also, Barajas will have a CD of his originals available in about two weeks, which will include his pop-rock classic, “Bound for You.” So what else are you going to do on a Wednesday night? The Tijuana Hound Dogs begin around 9 p.m. at the venue, 143 California St. Call 643-4404 to find out more about this free gig.

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Raging Arb & the Redheads’ first gig in almost three months will be tonight at Nicholby’s in Ventura as part of a fund-raiser for the Leukemia Society of America. Also on the bill are Bandini, One-Legged Monkey and Big Wheel Deluxe.

Tunes begin about 8:30 and the requested donation at the door is $5. Nicholby’s is at 404 E. Main St. Call 653-2320 to find out more.

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The ambitious “Live at Cafe Voltaire” recordings will take place Friday through Sunday featuring 13 bands that generally don’t play at the dance clubs such as Nicholby’s, Bombay or Metro.

Following this three-day epic event, the Pontiax will make their Voltaire debut Monday night and those ever-popular Rincon Ramblers will play Tuesday night in what should be the biggest week ever for the former city bus barn.

Here’s the weekend schedule:

Friday: Mr. “O” (3 p.m.), Euphoria (5 p.m.), the Java Heads (7 p.m.) and the Tommy Quayle Band (9 p.m.).

Saturday: The Ashford Gordon Band (3 p.m.), Total Strangers (5 p.m.), Danny Timms & Jodi Siegal (7 p.m.), Jimmy Adams & Friends (9 p.m.), J. Peter Boles (11 p.m.).

Sunday: Southern Cross (3 p.m.), Bob Jones (5 p.m.), Randy Rich & the Ravens (7 p.m.), the Kenny Cotter Band (9 p.m.) and Teresa Russell & Stephen Geyer (11 p.m.).

Cafe Voltaire is at 34 N. Palm St., Ventura. Call 641-1743.

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Don’t expect some prancing pretty boy lead singer when the Ventures take the stage Friday night at the Ventura Theatre. Over the years, they’ve avoided having a lead singer or a backup singer, for that matter. Since the Ventures do all instrumentals, no one ever forgets the lyrics to their songs.

Also on the bill are Kelp and Flesh Is Fiction. The venue is at 26 Chestnut St. Call 653-0721 to find out more about this $14.50 show.