Actor and musician Drake Bell visited Fresno on Wednesday promoting his new album
Drake Bell sings to the crowd gathered at f.y.e. in Clovis Wednesday afternoon.
Bell’s new album, ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ was released on Tuesday featuring new music genres from Bell.
A childhood blast-from-the-past performed at f.y.e in Clovis Wednesday afternoon.
Drake Bell, a musician and actor who is most famous for his work with Nickelodeon, performed a few songs from his new album “Ready, Steady, Go!” at the entertainment store.
The album was released on Tuesday, and Bell calls its sound a mix of several different genres.
“It’s like stripped-down, revved-up, rock ‘n’ roll. It’s got a lot of 50’s influences — Elvis, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran,” Bell said. “It’s definitely got that rockabilly, swing feel to it.”
Bell appeared in shows such as the “The Amanda Show” and “Drake & Josh” and has since turned to a career in music.
Dozens of fans came out to watch Bell perform. Fresno State Liberal Studies major Annie Vue said that she was excited to meet the star of her some of her favorite Nickelodeon shows.
“When I was little, I used to watch him all the time,” Vue said. “This is like my first time going to stuff like this, because I don’t really go out a lot and watch concerts.”
Carson Kelly, a senior at Central High School, was the first in line for the concert and waited in line for four hours.
“I’m extremely excited to see him. I’ve watched him since ‘The Amanda Show,’” Kelly said. “I’ve got all of the CD’s, the poster and I’m going to hang it on my wall when I get home.”
Bell said that he’s happy that he has fans who have stayed with him after all these years, and that they continue to enjoy his work.
“As artists, we sit in a room and work on our music and work on all this stuff hoping someone will like it. It’s cool to get validation from that,” Bell said. “It’s awesome to see fans when they’re young and still be with you as they are growing. It’s always a great thing.”
Store manager Greg Lyman said that f.y.e occasionally hosts performances at their store, and that he enjoys seeing fans get the chance to interact with artists.
“We’ve had Cody Simpson in the past, the rapper MGK and MURS and Fashawn,” Lyman said. “It’s great because we love to promote the music. We have the interaction with the fans. Everyone has a good time, you know, they get to meet a personal hero for them, and we just have fun doing it.”