Chico’s Secret Stolen: Rock ‘n’ Roll, a working van fuel DIY tours

Originally published Feb. 01, 2007 in The Buzz.

While most people spent their winter vacation sleeping in, four young Chico musicians drove across California on a “do it yourself” tour.

Relying on networking skills over the Internet, The Secret Stolen booked shows in more than 10 California cities for a three-week tour in January. The band kicked off the tour January 2 in Chico and embarked on a search for ears willing to listen to their high-energy, mind-bending brand of alternative rock.

Besides, the members being young, ages range from 20 to 25, the band itself is also fairly young.

Childhood friends, Billy DiBono (drums), John Wold (bass, vocals), and brothers Cameron Ford (guitar, vocals) and Nolan Ford (guitar) played in bands throughout high school, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2005 that The Secret Stolen was born, DiBono said.

Previous to that summer, Cameron Ford was attending college in Santa Barbara, but kept in contact with DiBono, he said. Cameron Ford sent DiBono songs he had been working on while in Santa Barbara. When Cameron Ford made a visit to Chico for the summer, the idea of starting a new band sparked.

As soon as they heard about the idea, Nolan Ford and Wold became interested in joining the band. The Secret Stolen was born June 2005 and Cameron Ford did not return to Santa Barbara.

Cameron Ford joined DiBono at Chico State University and the Chico workforce with Nolan Ford and Wold. They all soon found out how difficult it is to play in a band while juggling school and work.

Being tied down to school and work makes it hard for a band to leave town for a tour. That is why The Secret Stolen has taken advantage of semester breaks and uses them for touring.

Their January tour marked their third touring adventure. Instead of relying on a booking agent, the band researched venues and booked the tour.

For some shows they used contacts at the same venues they played on their last tour, DiBono said. Other shows were booked through networking done by DiBono and Nolan Ford on www.myspace.com.

While the Internet is helpful for networking, the band still encountered some obstacles while planning the tour, DiBono said. Planning a convenient route was not an option. Relying on their van for full support, the band had to take any shows that came up, regardless if they required long drives in between dates. Luckily, their van, named Jean-Claude Band Van by friend Kiel Kennedy, had no problems.

The group searched for bands in other cities that play music similar to The Secret Stolen and asked if they could play a show with them, said Cameron Ford. Playing a show with a band that already has a following in a city gives The Secret Stolen security that they will not be playing to an empty venue.

“Hopefully, we can strike a nerve with their fans,” he said.

Yet, all shows on the tour did not attract large audiences, DiBono said. The band played a few shows that had a 21-age restriction. Those shows were not nearly as fun or successful as shows that had no age restriction.

Other shows did not happen at all, DiBono said. The band had booked two shows in San Diego, but both were cancelled due to other bands on the bill breaking up. Canceled shows, however, did not halt the tour. As soon as the band found out about the canceled San Diego shows, they got back on the Internet and acquired a show in Long Beach.

Proving that everything happens for a reason, the band’s most memorable show was also unplanned, said Cameron Ford. The band had yet to book a show for Jan. 19, but while on the road Cameron Ford was able to book a show in Reno. However, the band had a show in Monterey Jan. 18 and another in Morgan Hill Jan. 20.

After deciding that the drive to Reno would have been too strenuous, the band was able to find a show in Turlock, Cameron Ford said. The show was all-ages, but the band was not expecting much.

“There’s nothing in Turlock,” he said.

To the band’s surprise, more than 100 people attended the show.

“It was the first time on the tour we played for genuine people who cared about our music,” Cameron Ford said.

Meeting genuine people makes all the hard work worthwhile, he said. The benefit of doing a DIY tour is being able to improve and have people take notice. Eventually, someone in a higher position will see the band’s constant tour dates and will want to help out the band.

The tour dates keep coming for The Secret Stolen, he said. The band is ready to leave California and tour more days out of the year.

Learning from stressful experiences, the band is now able to tour anytime of the year, Cameron Ford said. He and DiBono are now solely taking online classes at Chico State University.

After a short break in Chico, the band will leave in March for their first tour of the Northwest, hitting cities like Portland and Seattle, DiBono said. They hope to be well received in the Northwest and not encounter the same obstacles as before.

Either way, they will enjoy the creativity that new surroundings bring.

“Tour is trial and error,” DiBono said.