\u201cHe fought patiently until it was useless to fight anymore. And then he let go,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world has lost a magnificent human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willam Hud Bixler, or Bix, as he was known, was \u201ca beloved father, husband, mentor, teacher, and constant gardener of the Fresno music and arts scene,\u201d his family said in a statement to The Bee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Central Valley burned a little brighter because of the love, devotion and shelter he provided from the creators of the Tower District.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fresno rock band Wild Blue Yonder, pictured in its original heyday in the 1970s. SPECIAL TO THE BEE Into the Wild Blue Yonder<\/p>\n
Bixler\u2019s resume as a musician started as a student at Bullard High School in the 1960s. He played saxophone in a working garage band called the Cindermen<\/a>. Among their gigs at the time: An opening set for The Rolling Stones\u2019 locally famous Ratcliffe Stadium<\/a> concert in 1965. Also on the bill that night? The Byrds.<\/p>\n In 1974, Bixler, his wife, brother and a group of fellow musicians created the Wild Blue Yonder<\/a>, a jazz-rock fusion group that played hard against the incursion of DJs and disco that would come to take over local venues. Bixler was a main songwriter, saxophonist and vocalist on the band\u2019s two self-produced albums (which sold thousands of copies, received newspaper reviews and radio airplay, and are still in circulation if you know where to look).<\/p>\n He was also one of driving forces behind The Wild Blue.<\/p>\n Not to be mistaken with the similarly named band, The Wild Blue, or simply The Blue as it became known<\/a>, was the group\u2019s self-run music venue and clubhouse.<\/p>\n The band pooled their money ($300 each in the 1970s) to open the spot at Fulton Street and Olive Avenue, mostly so they would have someplace to play. Over the next two decades, they turned it into a home base for Fresno\u2019s would-be rock stars, jazz cats and folkies \u2014 along with touring artists traversing from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n The music ran the gamut from prog rock to folk, blues and new wave.<\/p>\n The patrons were a mix of freaks, geeks, older folks and college kids.<\/p>\n During its height, recorded performances from the club were broadcast periodically on a local radio station (KFCF and KFSR) and it even had its own awards show, open to any local musician who had performed there in a given year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe club provided an island of culture, The Tower, a sense of community and charm,\u201d Bixler recalled of the venue\u2019s early days, in a column in The Bee in 1997.<\/p>\n Dozens of professional musicians (not to mention future venue owners, band managers and fans) were indoctrinated into Fresno\u2019s scene via the Wild Blue stage, where Bixler served a booking agent and talent scout.<\/p>\n \u201cBill did everything for all the right reasons,\u201d Ragin\u2019 Record owner Paul Cruikshank wrote in his remembrance online.<\/a> \u201cBill and Jim put together that place so musicians, fans, friends and neighbors could all crowd in and get weird while having a blast,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Bixler himself \u201chad a great deal to do with more than a decade straight of one of the best of my life,\u201d Cruikshank wrote. \u201cI always appreciated it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Bix hit the note\u2019<\/p>\n The Blue lasted into the early \u201990s, when rising rents and changes in musical tastes (and burnout among the Bixlers) led to its closure.<\/p>\n Bixler left Fresno for a job in the music department at Malibu High School. He spent nearly two decades there before retiring in 2014.<\/a> Then, he picked up a gig hosting the \u201cBix Mix\u201d radio show on KBUU-FM, an independent station in Malibu.<\/p>\n He never stopped creating and playing music, both with wife Leslie (in her project Miss Bix<\/a>) and with the Wild Blue Yonder.<\/p>\n Despite its breakup and the fact members all went on to form other projects, the band continued to get together for one-off celebrations, like the 40th Anniversary of Fresno State\u2019s Vintage Days in 2014.<\/p>\n The band played the first Vintage Days in 1974, opening for Muddy Waters.<\/p>\n In 2024, the band held a 50th-anniversary concert in the lobby of the Tower Theatre.<\/p>\n Earlier that night, the venue had been given the Valley Music Hall of Fame\u2019s first ever legacy award.<\/a><\/p>\n