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The Rebel Set/Sam at Eleven/Mavis Pearly Are Going to ‘Kick Cancer’ with Benefit Show

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When cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control, they grow and form new, irregular cells.  These cells can also grow onto other tissues.  There is DNA in every cell and it directs all the cell’s actions. In a normal cell, when DNA gets damaged the cell either repairs the damage or the cell dies. In the irregular cells, the damaged DNA is not repaired, and the cell doesn’t die like it should. Instead, the cell goes on making new cells that the body doesn’t need. These cells all have the same abnormal DNA as the first cell does.  This is what is considered cancer.  The American Cancer Society also has released these staggering facts:

  • About 1,660,290 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2013.
  • The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 13.7 million Americans with a history of cancer were alive on January 1, 2012.
  • 580,350 Americans are expected to die of cancer this year, with almost 1,600 people per day.

Cancer is a crippling disease.  It’s a disease that has affected most of us in a many ways.  Friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and many others.  Luckily many cancer researchers and organizations like Livestrong continue to work day and night, looking to help eliminate the deadly illness.  Lead singer of the local band The Rebel Set, Tom Gilliam, is also on the crusade to defeat cancer.  And he has a team behind him along the way.

Gilliam is the Online Chairman and also does publicity for his team in the group Relay For Life of Greene County.  This Saturday night at Blind Bob’s Bar in the Oregon District, Gilliam’s band, along with bands Sam at Eleven and Mavis Pearly will taking part in the Kick Cancer’s Ass Benefit Show.  Last year’s show raised $1057, which helped with cancer research, helped patients get to their treatments, etc.  This year the proceeds will go to help enroll people into CPS-3, a long-term study that will help researchers better identify the lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors that cause or prevent cancer. And you can be a part of this historic research effort by enrolling and encouraging others to enroll.

For those who still haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Gilliam and his merry group, this Saturday will be one of the best nights to see them.  The band got their start in early 2006.  Gilliam and his dear friend Gavin Spencer (vocals/bass/harmonica/accordion) realized that after years of playing in numerous bands that they needed to join together and develop their own group.  They enlisted Jason Johantges (rhythm guitar), Adam Kempf (drums/trumpet) and Ken Hall (keyboards/trombone).

(The Rebel Set)

In September of 2007, the band released their first album Ghost Town Silence.  The engineer/producer Patrick Himes helped the band record the album.  Ghost Town Silence offers listeners a look at how the band’s live shows go-a raucous, loose vibe with a strong emphasis on guitar play; with the lyrics talk speak about life in the Midwest.  Almost a hybrid of rockabilly and roots.  The follow-up to the group’s 2007 debut, Across The Relentless Sea was released in 2009.  With Steve Falearos producing the album from Babblefish Recording Studios in Franklin, Across The Relentless Sea shows the band going into a different direction.  The band brought in additional instruments, including organs and horns.  The band also had overdubs that added more kick to the band’s sound.  Listening to both albums, you notice that band’s influences.  “We are heavily influenced by The Black Crowes and Rolling Stones”, Gilliam says.  “Those bands have always been favorites of ours.”  The Rebel Set is now in the starting stages of a follow-up to Across The Relentless Sea.  However, due to scheduling conflicts and growing families, the band hasn’t been able to have the time to really the ball rolling like they want.  “It’s frustrating for sure”, Gilliam mentions.  “However, family comes first.  We will get in the studio soon.  I’m ready.”

This year will be the second outing for the Kick Cancer’s Ass Benefit show.  With the success of the show that was held last year, Gilliam realized that it was a no-brainer to set up again.  “We noticed how well the show went last year, and the amount that we raised.  So we know that having the show again had to happen.  We get to play live and raise some money.  It’s a win-win for everybody”.

(Sam at Eleven)

As stated earlier, Sam at Eleven will also be taking the stage at Blind Bob’s during the benefit show.  Sam at Eleven is comprised of lead singer and guitarist Jeff Rudolf, bassist Adam Bryant, and drummer Brad Gilbert.  The band, who got their name from the classic 80s show ‘Cheers’, released their album The Year We Won in 2011, and now are currently working on the follow-up.  Sam at Eleven offers catchy hooks to their songs, with punk-infused riffs.  They have imprinted their name in the lists of top bands to check out when they perform.  The energy is electrifying and frenetic.  The band has some of the catchiest choruses to their songs.  You will catch yourself singing parts of the bands songs days after their show.  “They are so supportive of us and I am excited to have them back for another year”, Gilliam says about the band.  The other band, Mavis Pearly will be bringing their unique blend of all different genres.  From rock to alternative to party music to some originals, Mavis Pearly are sure to give the people at the tavern just another reason to sit back, relax, and have a good night.

To most, the Kick Cancer’s Ass Benefit Show is nothing more than a fantastic evening with great live music lined up.  To the people that are going to be inheritors of the proceeds that will be come from the show will give them more than we could ever imagine-a chance to beat a disease that some don’t get a chance to.  The evening is truly for a great cause, and it will be another night that will undoubtedly show people that the folks in Dayton care about their neighbors.  The show starts at 10.  Cover charge is $5.  Come out and help kick cancer’s ass once and for all…

Dayton Sideshow 8: The Art and Music Lovers Weekend Celebration Welcomes Another Year

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The definition of art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.  A person’s imagination can come to life in a variety of different styles.  A single swipe of paint onto a canvas could be the start of an elegant painting.  A photographer snaps a picture of a moment in time.  A block of clay is the start of amazing, with the finished product being able to have unlimited possibilities in the end.  Art is everywhere around us, whatever or realize it or not.  Every year around this time, Dayton’s artists have a two day event that gives them the platform to present their work to the public.  The event is the 8th annual Dayton Sideshow.

The Sideshow began with the idea from Laurana Wong.  Wong had a vision to organize an evening that brought people together to celebrate the local art being made and the artists that created it.  The show as free for the participants to submit their work, the organizers that would set it up, and for the guests that appeared.  Wong believed that by having this show take place, it would bring attention to the arts and give everyone a chance to connect to their similar interest.

The event took place on June 24th, 2006 at what is now the Cannery.  60 artists from all around the area had work showcased throughout the evening.  Everyone that attended and also volunteered loved what the night brought everyone, except one thing:  the heat.  “It was horrible (laughter)”, Vice-Chairperson for Dayton Circus Creative Collective Erin Vasconcelos mentioned to me.  Vasconcelos was one of the many individuals that helped with the show.  “There was no air, so it just made the room feel horrible.  It didn’t care, though.  We all had an amazing night.”

With the first show being a huge success, the organizers and volunteers continued to make the Sideshow a staple in the Dayton community.  With each year passing, the show remained staying true to its core principals-give the local artists in town the spotlight.  And with every year, the show has become larger and better than the previous one.  The show has in the past few years found a home that can be able to have the space that can hold the massive show-the Yellow Cab Building.  The show has also found the perfect time to hold their event-the weekend of the spring Urban Nights.

Sideshow organizer and current Dayton Circus Creative Collective Chairman Jeff Opt also enlisted live music to the event each year.  “Music is a form of art.  We are lucky to have a great music scene, and it deserves to be celebrated”, Opt says.  Due to the fact that the show is now placed at the Yellow Cab, the show can showcase up to 40 bands with having two stages.

This year’s showcase will be drawing attention to well over 60 local visual artists, and over 20 local music acts. Some of the work that folks will expect will absolutely give people more reason to fall in love with the work being done in town.  They will be live interactions of many of the artists finished products that will give the people that attend an experience they thought that they would have never expected.  Also something new this year came from the minds of a younger generation.  Two young children noticed that something was missing from this year’s event and it felt like it needed to be added.  “There will be a section for kids!”, Vasconcelos said.  The developers of this idea-the children of Opt and Vasconcelos.  In the area for children, there will be photos of artwork and a chance for the youth to make some of their own.

For people who don’t have the chance to help out with the Sideshow, there’s many ways to contribute.  One thing that the committee is doing this year is by setting up a donation section on the fundraising website, Indiegogo.com.  For the next couple of days, everyone is able to give to the show.  By donating certain amounts, donators will be given perks, including photography sessions from photographers Gary Mitchell or Jennifer Clarke.  To donate, click here.

This weekend will once again be shining bright on the town by putting the focus on the Sideshow.  The mind-blowing experiences you will have by seeing the marvelous work of the artists will leave you glad you came.  If that doesn’t do it, stay for the music from great bands like Smug Brothers, Nasty Bingo, Tim Pritchard & The Boxcar Suite, WolfCryer among others.  Dayton Sideshow is a staple of the community.  It’s a weekend where art truly does come alive.  Come see for youself.

Dayton Sideshow 8 takes place May 10th and 11th at the Yellow Cab Building on East Fourth Street in downtown Dayton.  The event starts at 5, with live music starting at 6.

REVIEW: Luv Ya Mutha Earth Day Bash at W.O. Wrights

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Abrade the Regal (D. Alan Davison, Infinity Images, LLC www.InfinityImagesOnline.com)

Abrade the Regal (D. Alan Davison,
Infinity Images, LLC
www.InfinityImagesOnline.com)

Saturday April 20th, five bands pre-celebrated Earth Day.  Starting in 1970, the holiday was designed to create awareness for the environment and conservational efforts, bringing 20 million Americans together. The clean air, clean water and endangered species acts followed. Born from the first Earth Day, the Earth Day Network (EDN) works with over 22,000 partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize environmental movements. Over 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year on April 22nd, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

W.O. Wrights started the green machine early, hosting the event meticulously organized by Dayton’s Killed By Art and featuring Abrade the Regal, NDEX (Near Death Experience), Snag, and Menace 2 Sobriety.  Event sponsors included Buckeye Music Magazine and Norml Miami Valley, women supporting the legalization, controlling, regulating and taxing of marijuana.

Abrade the Regal started out as a two man acoustic cover act and now incorporates a full band and a nice blend of rock, thrash and stoner metal taking ingredients from Down, Nirvana and Alice in Chains sprinkled with some Bush and Shaman’s Harvest. Led by the bald and badass Ben Bogard, they played a set diverse with style changes that shifted as soon as you figured out, okay they sound like this, playing nine tunes including Facebook tracks Nothing to Say and Fight for You and Chevelle’s The Red.  They sing, they scream, they growl playing down n dirty whisky bottle blues and groove with mosh pit, sing along, lighters in the air potential often in the same songs.

Killed By Art (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Killed By Art (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Piqua’s N.D.E.X. brought in the crowd with the loud pummeling Confessions of… singer Adam Baumann whose almost fatal motorcycle experience inspired the band’s name. He goes off on sh- talkers, and resembling Chuck Liddell doesn’t hurt his metal cred either. They pulled out the riot brigade guitars as all Control is Lost and it’s every man for himself.  An Eye for an Eye is taken by force with the unrelenting, merciless decibel Hammer.

Event organizers Killed by Art take the stage with the lovely Kim Weiss replacing testosterone with some heavy feminine attitude. Opening with All I Ever Wanted, a twisted tale of inner torment and unresolved pain played with Fight style riffage. They get down and dirty delivering the Roots of their beginnings and sound. We take intrepid surf through deep, dark waters on an unknown journey on Hang Ten.  Their sixth number contains 11 numbers actually, playing with ones and zeros with hands on the Clutch.

Snag (photo by Mike Ritchie)

Snag (photo by Mike Ritchie)

After a 15 year hiatus, the members of Snag return to the stage beating the crap out of the audience with a fun, frolicking, circus of sound and chaos. Being a band of a very Different Caliber, they brought the old-school to 2013. Bringing Crazy Ivan along, they Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck with some Prong power, going on a long and loud Binge till everyone’s nice and Damaged. Sharing a history dating back to the mid 80’s Snag are veterans of the local scene. Started by Guitarist Todd O’Neal and Nathan Goff, O’Neal met vocalist Bob Betz and they began as Dark Theory with original drummer Jeremy White and George Cobau on bass. A heavier direction brought in bassist Warren Finley, playing under the moniker The Band Formally Known as Dark Theory until they christened themselves Snag in the mid- nineties. First album Worst Case Scenario was released in 1997, and two years later they disbanded as O’Neal left for an out of state job. Due to a hurricane his employer sent him to Cincinnati where they reformed with Glenn Sprott on bass and Darrin McKibben on drums. Second record Last Ditch Effort was released in 2001, and another hiatus followed.  Now the band gets together occasionally for high profile gigs and events.

Menace 2 Sobriety brought the house-party downtown with an energetic bleeding of hardcore, rap and hip-hop incorporating the old school metal guitars of Beastie Boys and Suicidal Tendencies with the vocal delivery of Eminem. They start rapping about going after the Farmers Daughter and just Gotta Blaze jamming with some Primus groove smoking mother earths finest aka Mary Jane. It’s all about the Blunts, Bitches and Booze. They play some Sublime homage and Pop the Trunk looking for trouble with YelaWolf. They love educational films and they’re proud of their vast knowledge of them.

Same time, next Earth year.

REVIEW: The Walking Dead Invade Sharonville at HorrorHound 2013.

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The first HorrorHound convention of 2013 will be remembered for many things, most being the cast of The Walking Dead….. and the 15,000 plus wall to wall sea of visitors that literary jammed the Sharonville Convention Center waiting for hours including outside, sometimes literary all day to meet Norman Reedus (Daryl), one of the other Walking Dead members or one of the many other guests who came for the show. Though the average wait time was anywhere from 1-8 hours depending on what time of day you got in the inside line, and what your position was outside to start. Hundreds of die-hards showed up hours ahead of time, some with the sun, ignoring whatever mother-nature threw at them ensuring their early spot inside once doors opened. Such dedication might seem odd or slightly insane to the casual fan but as veteran convention goers know, if there’s a movie ‘con’ in town, they, EVERYONE will come.

Though the lines were long and the weather was less than perfect over the weekend especially Sunday, almost everyone that wanted to get in did. Convention main attraction Reedus, stayed late until 1am on Friday, stayed till late evening Saturday and till around 7 Sunday hours after the show closed making sure that everyone got some Daryl time signing memorabilia and taking fan pics. To accommodate the sheer volume of humanity show hours were extended into mid-evening. Though there were some admission organization issues Friday afternoon, they were resolved by Saturday and convention organizers and venue staff worked hard to make sure everyone that came had the HorrorHound experience.

Besides Daryl, other appearing members of the Walking Dead cast included Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), Carl (Chandler Riggs), Merle (Michael Rooker), Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) and Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal). Other convention main attractions included John Carpenter, Tom Sizemore and Robert Patrick. A strong supporting cast of Diane Franklin, Tony Todd,  show vets Sid Haig and Bill Moseley, Subspecies director Ted Nicolaou cast members Anders Hove (radu), Denise Duff and Full Moon Director Charles Band, also the little Munster himself Butch Patrick, the car from Christine and the cast from Fear.com’s Holliston among other guests. Vendors included Toe Tag, Red Moth Records, Samhain Books, Fright Rags, and  Full Moon Entertainment among many others.  Several weekend Q n A panels including SubSpecies, House of 1000 Corpses, The Walking Dead, Christine and Holliston. The first time ever Weekend Night terrors included the Zombie Ball costume party masquerade Friday night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel along with the Horror Concert Saturday and Water Park after hour party and all night movie screenings to make sure you looked like The Walking Dead by dawn.

Saturday night’s concert sponsored by the makers of magnetic mayhem Skull 13 for all the devils, ghosts, demons and other society outcasts who’d naturally blend in the party headed across the street to the former HorrorHound home. The show also featured the talented movements of the buxom babes in beauty of Burlesque Le Moustache and the illusion, magic and wonder of slowly decaying Magician of the Living Dead Joe Lyon who tragically met his end during the performance fighting off one pissed off killer bunny rabbit.

The Big Bad

The Big Bad

The show started with The Big Bad spewing out only the best of grade A West Virginian horror punk. Guided by the eerie hypnotizing cat’s eyes of tattooed singer Mr. Von Nasty or Zackula to his friends, they immediately broke out the Bat Repellent in case any audience member chose to take flight during the show. Next was a tribute to one of the masters of horror Clive Barker and his novella Cabal which spawned the cult classic Nightbreed. Other scary tunes included twisted tales of Possession, Prom Night 1957, hello Mary Lou and a song about the holiest and most respected and embraced day for all horror fans, Halloween. Nasty’s taken some of Elvis and a little Jerry Lee Lewis and turned it into a deadly performance package. With Col Frankenstein on bass, slicing guitars by Machette and Cemetery Flowers rounded off by a dead guy on drums and a special guest saxy player. Check them out on Facebook for samples from their After Dark CD and upcoming release See You in the Shadows. Mr. Nasty was also celebrating his tenth anniversary with the lovely Mrs. Nasty. They make a cute fanged couple.

Dead Dick Hammer and the TBA Band

Dead Dick Hammer and the TBA Band

Next up was good ole Dead Dick Hammer and the TBA Band. Unfreshly arisen from their underground penthouse in the upper-crust and making their weekend residence at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery down the road, they turned on the living starting with their own Resurrection. Singing out of his custom made spade mic, decorated with black roses, skulls and authentic hallowed earth, a ‘stage prop’ that would get more use later. It’s a nice subtle way of saying ‘my mic’s a shovel-headed killing machine’ without being obvious. Adding some crazy, space aged guitar effects to hypnotize tonight’s dinn-,…. the crowd Dead Dick literary guts the sound out of his guitar then munches on the strings, drawing first blood early. Dick brings out his bag of tricks/goodies showing every country poke zombie has a good side and isn’t just trying to bribe the crowd. He offers people a slightly used buffet of common every day, house broken into items such as duct tape, dirty gloves, Neosporin, aspercreme, breathe mints, candy (for the ladies), special lube, set lists, shoe polish, nasal spray, black stockings, salve, sunburn spray (for the sparkling vamps), chap-stick, tums, burial clothes even ointments of a highly personal nature. He proudly asks if anyone needs any hemorrhoid cream before throwing it out to some unlucky a-hole. He pulls out a family pack of double A’s has second thoughts putting them down. He doesn’t want them knocking someone out before he does. He says he gets everything from the dollar store which questions the validity of the no shoes, no shirt sign, half rotted or not. The truth is everything in the bag’s taken from the homes of past vict-, …. acquaintances and friends DD and the TBA band have hung out with and they don’t like to see things sit and go to waste. He also takes a ‘prospecting’ tour from the stage mingling with the living. His lovely corpse bride the gracefully decaying cadaverous beauty Doreen Laveau smiles watching Dick play with his food. Now it’s time to rot n roll as its Last Call and the love of your life’s in the room but she won’t talk to ya. Fill up on some nice yummy, curiously crunchy Catfish Gravy. Be prepared for their new CD and get some Fourplay by the Eight Track just like dad and grandpa. Their show was loud, fast and Dead Dick showed he has a biting sense of humor. They’re not getting any younger… or older for that matter. They also claim legit rights as being the only authentic walking dead in attendance that weekend.

What do you get when you combine acoustic twanging, a banjo player, drummer and a stand-up bass with the most ugly, offensive, vulgar, graphic poetry known to mankind? Why Kokomo’s Harley Poe of course. Captained by their Mario mustached singer they break all rules of decency, any semblance of respect, decorum or civility and jam on subject matter best saved for the gentleman of Cannibal Corpse and other dapper death metal diehards. Think a po-dunk country fair on the prairie side of a honky-tonk folk jam that will make kids cry in their mother’s arms and scare families. Fun knee slappers about transvestites, vampires, dead things, feminine hygiene, psychopaths and other dirty deeds sung dirt cheap with the sincerest heartfelt sentiment. They could be Dexter’s kill-room band or what’s played at a family reunion to make everyone leave.

Stellar Corpses

Stellar Corpses

Straight from the west coast warm piranha filled waters of California comes the stone pale tanned and toned Stellar Corpses playing their first HorrorHound show showing what a 50’s greaser band plus one black n purple haired hottie would sound like with a modern day suit and tie guy ‘soc’ at the helm. Intro’d by the blue masquerade as strangers look on; Dusty Sheehan plays it cool and suave keeping it all business opening with his own Twisted Fantasies singing about that skin biting Vampire Kiss. He starts disrobing as the spotlight heat gets to him turning his eyes Blood Red as the sun goes down outside and the evil temptress spreads her wings. They’re a stellar mix of Misfits, mixed with some Chris Isaak and maybe even a little Monster Magnet. They get upright bass thumping as the Steel Butterflies take flight, after enough spirits you’re liable to see almost anything floating through the air. They pay tribute to The Evil Dead (original), play their namesake then pay ode to the Cemetery Man who’s always working at the dead of night. They’re a traveling horror movie, performing grave yard shift numbers about midnight monsters, scary corpses and the dark, deadly, dismembered side of Hollywood.

For the grand fatale finale straight from the tough streets of psychobilly Detroit rock city come the deadly when played with Koffin Kats. After 9 years of touring and over 1200 shows later they’ve come to hang out with us, possibly their scariest crowd ever, oh the horror.  The Good Times began as the high speed long string strumming started as Glen Danzig throated Vic Victor played his huge well used plaything like a guitar. Three songs in they’re out For Blood they’re Boozinacrossanation playing hillbilly rock at moonshine proof speed. There’s a twist n shout tribute to Leatherface, as the Chaos erupts in the Splatterhouse and as any horror fan knows it’s a Terrible Way to go out. Koffin Kats make horror movie chase scene music any deranged silent, knife/chainsaw/machete wielding silent killer would be happy to strike terror and savagely maim during. They slow it down a little with a passionate ode to Mary Shelley’s original green guy. All the Bad Apples come out when the Bottles Called. When they’re not recording or touring they can be found hanging out at the Graveyard Tree. The Koffin Katz Rock and they’re For Hire. Victor does upright tricks too using his bass as a ladder, seat, bat, battering ram, back scratcher and standing chair for both guitarist EZ Ian and himself.

Next HorrorHound will be in September in Indianapolis starring Friday the 13th Director Steve Miner, Independence Days Vivica Fox, and a Freddy VS Jason cast reunion among others. Check their page for guest/vendor updates. HorrorHound Magazine Editor-in-Chief/Promoter Nathan Hanneman has suggested the return of certain members of the The Walking Dead but who walks in ready to kill is anyone’s guess.

REVIEW: NIB/Aces High Play Dublin’s St Patrick’s Bash

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Saturday March 16, with the Irish spirits flowing and the green stuff coming from the tap, bottle, ATM’s and everywhere else desirable and not, The Dublin Pub showcased the beginning of an all weekend long celebration to good ole St. Patrick and the snakes he drove out of Ireland way back when. In the words of Aces High singer Tony Oliver, “A group of Americans came to hear British music in an Irish pub.”

Engines of Chaos's NIB

Engines of Chaos’s NIB

Engines of Chaos’s Nativity in Black a tribute to all era Black Sabbath started the outside heated mayhem as patrons were having their fill of spirited blarney. Though the immortal wah-wah bassline intro’d song’s meaning is more about hair than evil Christmas decorations. An intro straight from the Metal Gods… or else-where filled the speakers then one of the best known riffs in metal history started to occupy our brain. We’re taken Behind the Wall of Sleep then visit their tribute namesake. While EOC singer Scott Toops doesn’t have Ozzy’s banshee wail or the hints of Birmingham hopelessness and desperation in those early songs his voice does carry the essence of the Ozzy effect. “You’ll know this one.’ He smirks as drummer Eric Estes starts kicking Marvels favorite signature tune.  All they have to give you is music that never dies; the Symptom of the Universe is written in the eyes of some fine ladies from the crowd dancing to the satanic blues. It was time to pay tribute to the little Elf with the goliath voice. Dan from Aces High joined them when the two fingered Maloik, Dio, the Neon Knight himself made famous were raised for the Mob Rules. Toop’s voice can carry Ronnie James’s pint sized heavy weight well. They reach forward playing some early solo Ozzy about the wickedest man that ever lived with original intro. Then it was all aboard the Crazy Train. The sirens screamed as the War Pigs gathered in their masses with evil minds that plot destruction. From a war stricken land we take a cool mellow trip with the incense and candles burning with Sweet Leaf through time and space to Planet Caravan. Then when you’re nice and relaxed the devils tritone jolts you back to reality as the figure in black gives chase. Due to time restraints there was no encore and no chance to go extra, extra, extra, extra f*****g crazy! God bless, Engines of Chao’s NIB loves you all.

Aces HIgh

Aces HIgh

Any band can play Iron Maiden covers but it takes true dedication and passion to design your own props,  make a large Seventh Son of a Seventh Son replica Eddie and turn a stage inside a tent into the Somewhere Back in Time tour but that’s exactly what Dayton’s Aces High have done. They show their love of all things iron and maiden. In addition they constructed an Egyptian backdrop and their own personal Eddie of Spades. They take their homage very seriously and give it to the audience up the irons as much as possible. During their 2 set 3 hour show they played heavily from the 80’s which too many die-hards is the best era. Maiden’s a band that’s acquired global success with little to no airplay but they’ve made millions scream for them. Churchill said it best, ‘we shall never surrender’! The doomsday clock says 2 Minutes to Midnight; maybe the Mayans were closer than we thought. Wasted Years is the British version of Turn the Page and one of the coolest Maiden videos for fans of Eddie art. Time to take flight on Ed Force One and touch the sun with Icarus and go Where Eagles Dare cause every Wrathchild needs a nice Piece of Mind. Transylvania was dedicated to recently deceased, early drummer Clive Burr. We go back to the ice age and get Clairvoyant with the ice man after he thaws, wakes and finds himself a Stranger in a Strange Land. We then follow the Nile to Egypt drawn back by the enchanting whispers of the ancient gods and the eye of Horus to be their Powerslave. While we’re there we’re reminded what not to do when an albatross flies over you. One of Maiden’s longest and favorite songs is played in its entirety, including sound effects but sadly no smoke machine. Lyrical belter Tony Oliver does a fine job of handling songs operatically sung by one of the greatest metal voices of all time. Though very few can completely match Dickinson’s delivery and 4 octave range, Oliver can deliver the Tattooed Millionaire’s vocal presence well enough. Bassist Randy Gaines has Steve Harris’s foot on speaker bass pointing Tailgunner style down pat. Dan Briley/Dave McCarty play the parts of three guitar maestro’s with no pressure and Matt Tickel keeps McBrain’s beat perfect.

Aces High

Aces High

Starting off the second set we get a little creepy Crowley with the Moonchild and get some spiritual help to comprehend those Infinite Dreams. They play the war dance on The Trooper and crowd favorite Run to the Hills having one of the most recognizable drum intros in metal history.

Unfortunately, once again due to time restraints as Revelation would have it a few goodies had to be cut but we do have enough time for a trip to Acacia Avenue using a little green for a good old time. Hallowed Be Thy Name of the band that’s given us nearly 40 years of incredible music. Though this evening, the sands of time for us are running low and we know the time is short to consume and finish potent Irish liquids. So let he who hath understanding reckon the number of the beers he’s hadith, for it is a human number, and condition. No worries, Dublin Pub announced Care Cab for anyone whose mind was blank, couldn’t remember how many they had and needed time to get the memories from their mind.

Engines of Chaos’s NIB and Aces High take their tributes very seriously paying respect to two of the biggest names in British music, the undisputable Alpha/Genesis of metal and the greatest band of all time to be named after a guy in a mask and a medieval torture device. Even to the most Eddie’d up ‘Irish for the evening’ stumbling patron what we all saw that night was real and not just fantasy.

REVIEW: Bogey’s Bar Hosts United We Jam Against Cancer

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Editor’s note:  In May of 2013, the Springfield News Sun reported that Michelle Mundy was under investigation for potential fraud as she allegedly had faked a cancer diagnosis.  Ms Mundy subsequently surrendered to the police.

Saturday March 9th Bogey’s Bar and Grill in Springfield held the United We Jam Music Against Cancer Fundraiser for Yellow Springs resident Michelle Mundy. Four acts as different as they were united in the cause played to help raise funds for Mrs. Mundy’s treatment and medical expenses.

Mundy was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) at 37, 8 years after fighting her first bout with the  ‘big C’ at 29. Starting chemotherapy in September of 2012, continuing into 2013, she’s gone through 6 rounds every other Monday until Mid-December. Radiation may follow. 11 tumors were found in the soft tissue, bones, organs, abs, and some attached to bones on the ribs. Her medication expenses are around $1500 a month. From September-October 2012 she received R-CHOP therapy (an administration of four chemo-related drugs) every 14 days.   NHL is found in cancerous white blood cells and is curable so the fight rages on. For more information, go to www.cancer.org.

The Shope Brothers

The Shope Brothers

The show began with the uniquely rap inclined Dipspit. In the vein of Eminen meets Tenacious D the duo perform emotional, spirited raps of slight adult nature. Spewing out ultra-serious lyrics that’ll make you laugh, roll your eyes or go WTH. The bearded high priest of sweaty movement DJ DumptRuck shouts out his backup sermon through mic and megaphone bringing their own personal mini sound system as front-man DipSpit tells the stories of the Pontoon boat and Dropkicking the Dub Plate. They’re as different in their spectacle as they are entertaining in their effort and presentation.   We’re infected with DipSpit Fever forever and the Springfield scene will never be the same.

And now for something completely different…. the Shope brothers, Jason and Jacob scale things down with an acoustic as older Jacob keeps the beat a bit differently playing a hand slapping Cajon Box. They play some sweet country tunes singing about the intoxicating effect that special girl has on you. There’s Hell on Wheels as we get the adrenaline twang going and a bootleg shiner from the law for our trouble.  Jason Aldean’s Wheels Rolling could be the cowboy hat tipping version of Turn the Page. We go cruising n sightseeing down that Florida Georgia Line whistling Dixie at all the ladies. From the southern panhandle we take a Canadian detour to heaven with Bryan Adams.

Destracore

Destracore

Dayton’s four piece angry thrashers Destracore opened their turbo’d up set turning on the metal machine full grind unleashing The Beast upon the unsuspecting onlookers. Singer Don Potter tag teams between yelling and actual singing as some screamers can’t do. Now that Twinkies have been resurrected, those and Cockroaches will still be the only things surviving the apocalypse but we’ll still all Die Out in style. The bearded Potter, technically a harry Potter possesses a unique pallet of the usual growls, screams and screeching but can also carry a tune with a bit of creepy melancholy and tension attached. They play their future single When I Close My Eyes. They’ve found a nice balance of the heavy stuff infusing some well-placed melody. They take a page from priest, and Break the Law. There’s some nice Death inspired bass and drum dancing beginning/during the Final Act slowing down the ends coming. Their core started humbly in a New Carlisle kitchen in 1998; relentless touring made them a staple in the Dayton/Springfield metal scene releasing their debut effort Yield. In 2002 they invaded the Columbus area scene and after an 8 year hiatus have returned with a five song crunching demo displaying a hybrid influenced sound and new musical presence. See them April 6th at Club Panama.

Gathering Mercury

Gathering Mercury

The sirens roar as Gathering Mercury start a Bitchin good time. They start with the opening tracks from their debut CD Where The Others Go. Ashley Stacey sings with a sweet soft spoken cue with a rasp of attitude proving with each show she’s a forerunner for her generation’s Joan Jett.  She’s the cute girl next door with a sweet smile with a ‘hint’ of rebellion you keep your eye on. They Lean Into the Fall playing their Dayton Does Dayton tribute to Mona, try out two new tunes. Stacey has the stage presence for rock n roll and Broadway. Bassist Quique Bucio plays deep notes with a side or two of comical humor and physical comedy. They finish with a little high octane Hoochie Koo then Paint it Black with mercury.  See them April 13th and May 11th at Canal Street Tavern.

First Friday to Feature Walking Tour, Craft Battle, Beer Tasting, Art Shows, More

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G - 3 DVAC• The Collaboratory (formerly Blue Sky Gallery), 8 N. Main St.: Featuring “Best Time Ever,” a visual collaboration between photographer Glenna Jennings and mixed-media artist Issa Randall. They use Facebook as a stock image bank to create collages that speak to the transient nature of “good times.” 732-5123.

• CADC, 35 S. St. Clair St.: Presenting “Mexican Reflections;” Sandra Picciano and David Brand will demonstrate their jewelry-making techniques and exhibit their rings inspired by a jewelry workshop in Mexico. 313-9883.

• Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, 48 High St.: Opening reception for art exhibit “Intuition,” featuring work by Betsy Molinsky, Marvin Olinsky and Beth Duke. The exhibit features mixed-media art, sculpture and painting. 228-4532.

• Dayton Visual Arts Center, 118 N. Jefferson St.: (Open 5 to 8 p.m.) The opening of “Art Auction Preview,” featuring works in all types of media. 224-3822.

• Don Crawford Plaza in front of Fifth Third Field, 220 N. Patterson Blvd.: The monthly Courteous Mass Ride will meet at 5:30 p.m. for a ride through the city.

• Clash Consignments, 521 E. Fifth St.: Hosting “Aries de la femme,” an art show highlighting local women artisans. This girl-themed art show promotes girl art by girl artists. Categories include visual, audio and fine arts. Call 241-9434.

• Fifth Third Center, 1 S. Main St.: Local artisans Gina Duncan and Judy Riesser will host an opening reception for their artwork, displayed in the lobby, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. 228-2224.

• Gallery 510 Fine Art, 510 E. Fifth St.: Presents a new collection of hand-beaded pendants and pins by Gallery 510 artist Cathy Helmers. Mention First Friday and receive $5 off winter scarves. 672-6717.

• Grass Roots Enrichment and Wellness Center, 400 E. Fifth St., Suite C: Art opening with paintings by artist-of-the -month Jed Helmers. 723-6747.

• Great Dayton Flood Walk: View vintage photos of the great flood, visit buildings that made it through the flood, see high-water marks from 1913 and much more. Walk starts at 7 p.m. and is $10 per person. Call 274-4749 or email [email protected] for required reservations and meeting location.

• K12 Gallery for Young People/TEJAS, 510 E. Third St.: The opening reception of the second annual juried exhibit featuring 2D black-and-white art; 16 artists have been selected to participate in the exhibit, which includes photographs, drawings, paintings and collages. 461-5149.

G - 32 510• Olive, an urban dive, 416 E. Third St.: Displaying photographs by Gary Kunze, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2004; 10 percent of all the sales of Gary’s photographs and cards will go toward Parkinson’s disease research. From 6 to 8 p.m., visitors can get a sneak peak at the new The Barrel House, which is being renovated across the street from Olive.

• Requarth Co. Supply One Showroom, 447 E. Monument Ave.: (open 6 to 8:30 p.m.) Join the Fifth Street Brewpub for a beer tasting. Learn about the Fifth Street Brewpub Co-op and enjoy performances by local musicians David Baugham, composer/slap-style guitarist and winner of the Teen Music Slam 2012 (6 to 6:40 p.m.) and Pam Baugham of the folk/Americana group Sweet Betsy (6:40 to 8 p.m.). The tasting will feature six craft beers from a variety of breweries for  $2 per taste or six tastes for $10. Proceeds will help the brewpub renovate its historical space and open its doors this spring. Also, Harvest Mobile Cuisine will be on site with local food for sale.

• Sew Dayton, 16 Brown St.: Hosting a “spring cleaning” sale; fill up an entire bag of scraps of fabric for $1. Artwork by featured artist-of-the-month Cherry Fullam will be on display. 234-7398.

• The Yellow Cab Building, 700 E. Fourth St.: Hosting the second “Dayton Crafty-Con,” showcasing local crafters. Starting at 5 p.m., more than 25 vendors will be giving demos on how to create the crafts they are selling. At 7 p.m.,“Battle of the Crafters” will take place on the main stage. Each team will be presented with a box of unknown supplies and will be judged on its ability to make a craft within the parameters of the specified theme. Zombie Dog food truck will be selling gourmet hot dogs. 203-8175.

First Friday is presented by the Downtown Dayton Partnership with support from the Oregon District Business Association, the Ohio Arts Council and WYSO-FM 91.3. The Downtown Dayton Partnership’s website has a complete list of downtown’s arts and cultural amenities, as well as a dining guide, parking map and much more. Download the Find It Downtown mobile search tool for smartphones at http://mobile.downtowndayton.org

 

 

 

Mayliner Looking To Join Area Punk Rock Elite

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The elderly hate it.  Some groups of people find it repulsive.  People question whether or not it’s actually considered music.  There are also those that would fight you for daring to speak out of line about what they are passionate about; those same individuals also say they have found something that makes them feel like they are part of a family.  What I am talking about is punk rock.

Punk rock music is beloved by many around the world.  The Ramones, The Clash, and Sex Pistols brought a brash, rebellious sound that was unapologetic and wild.  Full of energy and emotion, catching a punk show is unpredictable.  Expect a pit of people to start the intense participation of slamming into each other while forming a circle, a practice commonly known as moshing.  There is also a pretty good chance that people will be either crowd surfing or the one of the band members will be stage diving.  You never know what to expect, but you know that you are in for one crazy night.  In Dayton, we are fortunate that we have a great collection of punk rock bands taking local stages.  One band that should you should check out is Mayliner.  Mayliner consists of three memembers-guitarist/vocals Josh Caperton, bassist/vocal Chris Barnett, and drummer Paige Beller (Beller is also the lead singer of band Jasper the Colossal).

(Photo Courtesy-Jennifer Taylor Clarke)

Caperton and Barnett have had Mayliner up and running a little over a year now, but the two have been playing and writing music since their high school days.  The two took part in numerous battle of the bands around the local area and were even asked to be part of the bands that they were competing against.  They have also been there for each other through thick and thin during their previous bands’ journeys.    Mayliner alone has had their share of lineup changes, with drummers coming and going up to last year.  However, both men agree that it doesn’t affect their progress.  “As long as I see Josh next to me, and he sees me next to him-it is all good,” Barnett says.

That chemistry and bond are just part of why they are one of the good up and coming punk bands around town.  Caperton and Barnett play with viciousness, with a rapid pace of play on each of their respective instruments.  The drum play of each of their songs is fast and heavy.  Mayliner wants to do one thing: play as loud as they possibly can, a staple in any punk rock band’s live sets.

“I have been told that we sound like The Who but faster”, Barnett says when asked how he would describe the band’s sound.  The songwriting is shared by both Caperton and Barnett.  They will go to each other and share what they have, keeping the process open and free.  The lyrics songs center on experiences that have come and gone throughout their lives including songs about occurrences and encounters that weren’t delightful.  However, those songs do go into how you overcome bad events and become better, and not let the bad define you as a person.

Mayliner and Jasper the Colossal are will be releasing an split EP from the local record company FM Records this Thursday. Each band will have about 4 songs on the release.  So how was this idea brought up you wonder…

“The idea of doing the split EP was up and in the air for over a year”, Caperton explains.  “We loved the idea of doing something with Jasper, maybe with recording one of their songs and they record one of ours.  We heard that Paige (Beller) went in the studio and recorded, so we went and did our thing.”

Be expecting some fantastic punk rock that will downright be a crime if not played at a maximum level.  After all, isn’t that what punk music is supposed to be played?!

This Thursday, Mayliner and Jasper the Colossal will be playing a split EP release party at One Eyed Jacks in Fairborn, Ohio.   Go out and see why Mayliner is truly one of the up and coming punk bands rocking around the Dayton area.

 

 

A Ghastlee Night at Gilly’s….The Sequel

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Friday March 8 Gilly’s Jazz club hosted an evening of extreme musical diversity. Hardcore humored adult rated acoustic singing, a human mix master, sound-machine and beat boxer, a screaming electric Ukulele playing misfit, a trippy rock n roll splattering of horror fed haunted charm and the southern Grand Ole Opry, brought to you by Bloodline Video.  The show was in honor and celebration of the evening’s host and performer, legendary local TV personality, actor and Horror Host A Ghastlee Ghoul, who toyed with the crowd played naughty games, told jokes, made rude comments and headlines as only he can.

The ever charming, cussing, swearing gentleman Felix Wussington started the evening strapped with acoustic guitar and a wide array of lyrical poetry making beautiful prose out of STD’s, lesbians, killing your significant other, the reaper and amusing domestic violence. This tattooed R-XXX rated country punk talked the sh- about backyard body burial, a romantic interlude in the Y’s swimming pool and a tribute to Herbert West and his love of playing with dead things. It’s a good thing Wussington’s someone everyone wants to hang out with and Lives Across the Street from Heaven. It might save his songwriting soul from the reaper and eternal damnation, good thing All Dudes go to Heaven. Hmmm… he could’ve beat the devil, if only he played the fiddle. Mr. Wussington also has select tunes from his debut My Cthulu’s Showing on Soundcloud.

Splattertude

Splattertude

The power and talent of the human voice and throat is put on display as human beat box master Thomas Gardner hits the mic, spins the turntable, scratches some vinyl, plays with some techno grooves all with his voice. He’s a walking sub wolfer, PA, night club sound-system, in one shades/hoodie wearing bass heavy package.

Next up Dayton’s answer to a loud live horror movie, emanating trippy sounds of the 60’s drug scene Splattertude. Like a bad stain, they don’t come out. Fronted by the howling leather and laced demoness Susperia, MC himself bassist A Ghastlee Ghoul, the ghost faced guitarist Tony Tone and the skins destroying chrome faced Christmas Devil Louu Stahl. The House of 1000 Corpses opened and your Darkest Hour begins. You won’t carry a cross but you’ll have a handful of Black Roses swirling in a pool of dark dreams and persecution. War, murder it’s just a shot away Down the Rabbit Hole. They take us on a train-wreck voyage to the cinema wastelands of Cleveland.

The always handsome Uke playing tallywacker himself Henrique Couto brought his unique brand of showmanship once again to the Gilly’s stage partnered with his friend bass player multi-talent Jay Madewell.  Often accused or assumed as being a walking wardrobe malfunction Couto’s flashy appearance may clash with itself but overall adds to his undeniable talent for drawing a reaction whether by song lyrics or personalized humor and mastery of an instrument few have dared to unlock the mysteries of. Miley Cyrus is Pregnant with his two headed love child, and Couto doesn’t even have a love mullet. He plays Better than Nothing of his new CD That’s Loud and UPS’s his heart to a stalking admirer. He believes ‘educational films’ are bullsh- and gives everyone the lyrical finger with a laugh and smile playing his most popular iTunes song.  He finishes, with a tribute to the man of his dreams saying he’d do Anything Anything to be The Dream Master.

Queen Victoria and Todd the Fox

Queen Victoria and Todd the Fox

The sovereign Queen Victoria and the Reverbnation voted best blues player in Ohio the exalted Todd the Fox take the stage and swing, swagger and silhouette the sounds of the south and old-school/classic rock with a hillbilly twang that was sweet backwater honkey-tonk  strong.  Welcome to Detroit and the Hotel Yorba, such a lovely place. We party with Mr. John Fogerty and the Old Man Down the Road.  Spin the Stealers Wheel and worship Mr. Clapton then jam to some old-time country road blues with The Carters.  There’s a Little Ghost under the Blue Moon of Kentucky, so Sleep On a beautiful haunting lullaby from Alison Krauss. Oh Boy, I see a reflection of a Bad Moon Rising in the Clearwater, I see trouble on the way in the form of big bad Imelda May and the devil divine her Handsome Man. Miss Victoria can swing an acoustic just fine and hold her own on a mandolin with the sexy grace of a rockin country queen.

DRI Thrash Out McGuffy’s

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Friday February 22nd six bands threw down their best punk/hardcore /thrash performance bringing back the original spirit of the early 80’s rebellious alternative scene. Spikes, studs, leather, patches, tattooed faces and 12 inch Mohawks were the lay of the land tonight as every Dirty Rotten Imbecile showed up to mosh, thrash out, surf and tumble their way to a good time. Winding Hollow Productions’  second showcase at Dayton’s house of rock proved an initiation of cardio for the more ambitiously exercise minded in the crowd and an all-night free for all for extreme music.

Dayton’s Abortive Issue opened with the pretty, prim and proper Miss Ashley who danced around onstage like she was in her own private padded luxury cell, complete with open sleeved straightjacket and it was playtime. She embodied the spirit of Wendy O Williams fondling the mic like a plasmatic doll. She’s a raging tattooed Pat Benatar screaming in tune with schizophrenic movement, devious eyes and a psycho friendly smile warming up for mosh pit gymnastics. They play with a smack speed and lots of American Pride but those are just their Minor Qualities, and they Trash Talk too, Just for Kicks.

The Hard-Onz

The Hard-Onz

From the snow covered wastelands of Illinois come’s a modern day version of Bad Brains and Fear in hardcover form in the Hard-Onz. Making the treacherous 7 hour trek from the dark, dank back alleyways of Lake County to defeating mother-nature’s fury and passing several overturned semi’s on the way to be here tonight, bringing the smell with them. They earned their way to the McGuffys stage bringing out the old-school noisy but rebellious conglomeration of punk and hardcore that made the sound of the early 80’s the forerunner of the movement. They spent time falling over each other and even turned a few technical mishaps in their favor adlibbing a song or two.  Playing a song with a broken string totally fits the hardcore work ethos. With Leo on vocals the band jams on songs ramming us with colorful tunes about weekend beer, bitches, pigs, unidentified white powder and tramps also hitting Rock Bottom waking up to find a meth lab in the garage and a Hard-core twist on a Minor Threat classic.  They also made the pit user friendly sending their mascot, Richard Hardon the 1st to stimulate crowd participation in the vintage creepy crawl and classic circle dance moves. What they lack in prettiness and grace they make up for with drive and passion, even if they were influenced by the naked talent of GG Allen and they always towel off after finishing.

The m-m-m-m-m metal shop opened for business with Grim State combining thrash, grindcore and just flat out pounding molten metal. It’s a loud noisy state of the union address and it’s Volatile as hell. All the Deadbeats followed the imbeciles in ready to cause/spread Illness.  Turbine engines kicked on in Solitude and the Madness began as people got a little Absent-minded after a few pit hits.

The Legbone’s connected to the knee bone before a slip and slide beer on the floor disconnection. They’re a nice even groove of punk rock and metal with a packed crowd and filled pit showing a more friendly side of hardcore. With the spirits flowing there’s no Pressure. They dedicated an explicative laden crappy tune to the hard work of the Hard Onz. They’ve too happy and fun loving to be pissed off punks, too heavy to be just punk and punk enough to not just be metal. They do Swallow Razors just to prove their baddass’s though. There’s plenty of time for California dreaming after the screaming over. They cover I Drink too Much by The Give Ups who they’ll be sharing an upcoming split release with.  Next up, the prettiest girls in the ugliest town get some love. Troy gets a unique tribute on Drunk Favors for Beer. Judging by some of the crowd at this point What You Are is one dumb, drunk belligerent degenerate waking up Saturday morning saying I Got Pains, with a Two Day Hangover, so you’re at the right place and basically had fun. They officially break out the metal, throwing up the beer after beer after beer after beer… and the devil horns. They sing a double bandaged, double dose of skater tunes about skinned knees, scraped elbows, broken bones and cracked craniums after 6 foot ledge jumps onto soft concrete. If there’s nothing else you remembered from tonight’s intoxicating show remember this…. B stands for belligerent, E stands for every time I get drunk, E stands for everyone I’m hanging with, R stands for ruthie and the process.

Architects of Doom

Architects of Doom

The unholy Dayton Architects of Doom were ready to spread fury and filth with a trigger happy mutiny of loud angry aggression. They open pulling The Trigger on their own loud heavy breed of Iron Maiden meets Arch Enemy with ‘up tempo’ Morbid Angel gathered in the mix. Keith Hamilton’s vocals are a mix of Zakk Wylde and sonic screamers Randy Blythe and the equally bearded Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg. Danny definitely has some of Eddie’s influence in his fingers powered by Dragonforce. They start a fierce Mutiny playing the Martyr’s dishing out the Ritual Punishment Under a Black Flag of Bloodshed. Black Flag was dedicated to anyone in music or in any kind of art. The Architects earned the night’s most vicious pit… so far. They played new tune Awaken for the first time and new tune Bloodshed. Their sound is a delicious mulligan stew stricken with cool melody with munchy pieces of scrap iron riffs floating in the swirling muck.

DRI

DRI

The 30th Anniversary of those Houston crossover hardcore punk’s with enough thrash to insight a yard full of angry attack dogs DRI began as the Thrashard opened and In The Pit everyone went. A large perpetually moving group of sweaty, hot, stinky bastards and ladies annihilated the floor and each other spreading bloodless DNA everywhere. Kurt and the boys played all the hits and some crowd surfers barely missed hospital time thanks to the heroic patient efforts and skill of the front stage security team. Classic crossover records Four of a Kind, Thrashzone and Definition were well represented also borrowing from the old school pre-hybrid success and some tunes from the mid-nineties. Brecht and Co played with syringes, discussed the Modern World, As Seen on TV with those annoying Suit and Tie Guys. So get Beneath the Wheel and accept your Manifest Destiny because it’s too late to Do the Dream.  Brecht still has that raspy angry spoken word delivery surrounded by the punk-thrash pollutant mixture of the man of a hundred expressions bassist Harald Oimoen, drummer Rob Rampy and original guitarist Spike Cassidy. They’ve brought out the punks, skinheads and metal heads in droves from the early 80’s to present day earning them the status of being the major ‘crossover’ band of the movement. Judging by the crowd of flailing, flying, flowing and falling bodies both standing foot strong and airborne the band can still cause a Molotov Cocktail reaction in people. We’re all family in the pit anyway. Sweat and BO is the indoor version of Acid Rain. Original drummer brother Eric came up and played a few tunes from the very early days. They’ll be touring with fellow hardcore pioneers Suicidal Tendencies in April and Slayer for a few dates in May.

Alrosa Villa Amplifies Awareness for Autism/TS with Jasmine Cain.

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Writer’s note: my personal thanks and gratitude to the Cautela’s and the Make It Fit Foundation for tonight’s event as I was diagnosed with TS in grade school.

Saturday February 9th the Alrosa Villa in cooperation with the Make It Fit Foundation  held the Amplified Awareness benefit fundraiser for children with Autism and Tourette Syndrome. The evening’s entertainment all volunteering their time and talent included Loboz, Fat Dog and the hot rod riding Jasmine Cain.

Event sponsors included Beckners Costum Cycles, QFM 96, Iron Brothers of Ohio and Boyd’s Goodyear. QFM’s Sue Leighton was there to help MC the event introducing the evenings host and organizer Make It Fit founder Mike Hoover. Fans from 8 different states made the trip for tonight’s show.

 

Loboz

Loboz

Loboz opened cranking out 90 minutes of smooth flowing blues rock paying tribute to the classics and respect to some of music’s most beloved fallen heroes. Beginning with a Chris Duarte female friendly tune and the long bearded boys from Houston say Thank You. They get a little funky with The James Gang and play some sexy Latino attitude for Mamacita. They get original playing a namesake tune from their upcoming CD because somewhere Between Hell and Home you’ve Got to Groove into a swinging night taking the lady out on the town, showing her just how special she really is. If She Came in Through the Bathroom Window around dawn you know it was a good time. They set aside their bikes in favor of a red corvette traveling back to the 80’s with the roof down basking in the Purple Rain. We go to Chi-Town with the fuzzy guitar twirling eliminators hanging out on a bus with Jesus. Then Walk the Dog with the toxic twins of Boston and Scrawl with Mr. Duarte again. Though they’re opening tonight’s show they’re The King Bees playing the blues like they’ve lived the stories of seasoned headliners. But they haven’t ‘weathered’ as many storms as Mr. Vaughan… yet. They might look like the average white blues band but they definitely put some electric gypsy voodoo into their show.

 

Fat Dog

Fat Dog

Fat Dog breaks open the Pearl Jam with an Evenflow of multiple genre gems and classics combined with a Cold Crossfade of collective collectibles that went over cool with the crowd. We get a little dark, deep and introspective with Tool, wait Everlong with Dave Grohl and enlist the crash and burn Bad Company of Johnny. Time for a Journey back in time with some friends from the 80’s Anyway You Want It and a trip to the summer skies of Boston along the way. From Boston to the hair-sprayed dusty old western streets of New Jersey washed in a synthesizer wave of 80’s pop metal where it’s all the same, only the songs change. From the six string streets we go deep in the trenches with The Rooster then Ramble On with Zeppelin. Bassist Nathan Hartley shows off his pipes telling us about love then we get Hot For Teacher and those wonderful grade school memories. They throw out a ‘colourful’ tongue and cheek claim of ownership on the next tune then bust into CM Punk’s favorite theme song. The Good Times, Bad Times keep rolling then everything gets Disturbed by the The Police. The end of the show was a clear Schism of band and crowd. All the pieces fit during the show then they walked off stage.

Straight from the gas guzzling hog wild town of Sturgis comes the raven haired, leather and lace queen of the open road Miss Jasmine Cain. Here to smash your face with a few shots of Jager and a show of originals and covers you’ll want to remember, planting a pretty image in your mind you won’t want to forget. Till the early hours of the morning she weaves her headbanging gothic spell, thrashing out like a mad woman banging out deep soothing, thumping bass lines with attitude and you should hear her scream. Her sound created by red rimmed top hat keyboard playing insanest David Michael Thomas along with her own special traveling band combines the heart of country, the rebel in rock, the dark sinister side of metal with an atmospheric horror movie blend that raises holy Cain.

Jasmine Cain

Jasmine Cain

She blasts into the enchanting nocturnal song of the Nightingale spreading delusional fantasies of hopes and dreams drowned in the wishing well. She breathes out the ice cold embrace of Frostbite then takes us face down in a liquid dream with a Whiskey Kiss. We go back to 1995, a great year to learn to drive and ride officially starting the mileage of life. The engines roar, gasoline and oil burn as we hear the hog-lovers lullaby as she travels down that endless gypsy road the Highway Prophet. She’s a road wise woman with hard living stories spiced with a sweet country slap. An acoustic version was played on QFM’s Arch & Elliot Show the previous morning followed by an appearance at the Columbus Easyrider show. She’s a pretty haunted gothic princess moving under the Evanescence of scattered spotlights, adding her own satin locked touch to Miss Lee’s opus. We get Zombified with a Thunderkiss 30 years before ’95. Whether it’s the whiskey or the past the witching hour, hour talking she’s still got some devil in her lungs proving good loud heavy music is still the ‘international colors’ of the two wheeled roaring beasts. Enter night as the sandman takes over for the Nightingale spreading wicked dreams turning front stage Alrosa into the snakepit. With a cold winter’s moon above Cain is definitely of wolf and woman (and a bit of a Dreamweaver in her own right).

The organ blasted out The Phantoms welcome as the Abbey’s creaky gates opened to a Lady Cain guided tour of Mr. Crowley’s house. Bats on the left, doves on the right, don’t expect to leave tonight. We all yell Hey Man Nice Shot as the drinks pour, she lets out a sensual roar and we keep feeling More Human Than Human. She sings like she’d have your back in a bar fight and flings her bass around playing like she’s its scorned lover. It was time for old Ozzy vs. new Ozzy. It’s just a hand in the bush. Tonight was their first show since November and they’ve had plenty of time to make us their Audioslave. Jasmine reminds us that Life is Beautiful and we’re all the Beautiful People, the beautiful people, in it. She gives us a little bit of a ‘sappy’ Love Song then harnesses the energy to Rage Against the Machine.

As part of the fundraiser, a guitar signed by all performing band members was raffled and won by Derek of Ohio’s Number #1 Biker Magazine Thunder Roads Ohio. After a loudly encouraged encore we got a small slice of Americana from The Boss then saving the enchanting White Winged Dove for the last mesmerizing soulful seduction.

Jasmine Cain has come a long way since being the house band for the Full Throttle Saloon back in 2000. She released her debut album The Inside and title track video in 2004 (wins 2 JPF awards in ’06). Videos for Sweet Euphoria and Help Me are released in ’05. Headlines Easyrider shows three years in a row starting in ’07, releases Locks & Keys in ’08 winning 6 JPF awards for it in ’09 and releases Highway Prophet in 2011 winning Female Rock Vocalist of the year award at the first annual Music City Mayhem Awards. Last year the Highway Prophet video was released and they were nominated for three MCMA awards.

The Make It Fit foundation has spearheaded its push for Autism awareness since November 2011. They’ve worked with professional athletes from MMA, football and baseball also appearing at the Arnold Classic and Mr. Olympia 2011 and 12. They’ve donated to numerous charities including Autism Speaks, The Autism Society of Ohio, Cookies for Ipads, Recreation Unlimited, Oakstone Academy and several more. They’ve also partnered with the owners of White Castle who donated 10 million dollars to further Autism research and also donated to Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in a joint venture called The Ingram Autism Research Center. Make It Fit will also be donating to The Ingram Center this year and to the Tourette Syndrome Society of Ohio, tsaohio.org. An Autism Motorcycle was built by Kip Meeks and Mark Beckner of Beckners Custom Cycles painted by Steve ‘Copperhead’ Stritenberger and taken to conventions/fundraisers/Easyrider shows, viewed by millions and auctioned off last year. The annual Ohio Ride for Autism will roar through Columbus on July 27 and The All About Autism Car Truck and Motorcycle show will be on August 17. The Alrosa Villa hopes to make Amplified Awareness an annual event.

Autism is described as a neural disorder affecting mental, emotional development resulting in impaired social interaction, communication and repetitive behavior. It is one of three disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs) the other’s being Asperger Syndrome which lacks delays in cognitive/linguistic development but greatly affects social behavior. Pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) is diagnosed when the whole set of criteria for the other two aren’t met. Autism has a strong genetic base and signs are noticed within the first two years of life. Movies with autistic characters include The Boy Who Could Fly, Rain Man, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Bless the Child and Mercury Rising and on TV’s Parenthood, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Law &Order Criminal Minds, The Shield and most recently Touch.

Tourette Syndrome is an inherited mental disorder onset in childhood characterized by multiple physical (motor) and vocal (phonic) tics that come and go and can be temporary suppressed occurring from an oncoming pre-urge. TS is defined as a tic disorder which are sudden, repetitive, body movements, sounds and vocalizations which include sniffing, blinking, facial movements, body jerks and spasms. Audio tics include making noises, involuntary cussing, swearing and other derogatory verbiage, though the tics generally subside with age. TV shows featuring TS characters include Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Sopranos and The Tourette Guy with documentaries Twitch and Shout, last year’s Magic Camp and the film short Harvie Krumpet. The 2008 TV movie Front of the Class is based on the real life story of TS diagnosed Brad Cohen who became a gifted teacher. Depending on your sense of humor TS has also been lampooned in Deuce Bigalow and mentioned in The Wedding Singer. Celebrities with TS include Howie Mandel, Howard Hughes and Dan Aykroyd. May 15-June 15 is national TS awareness month.

The Last Waltz: Bringing The Movie To Life

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The Last Waltz

A still image from The Last Waltz

“You never know what to expect when they came on stage.  However you know that it was going to be great.”  This is what Jeff Opt said to me while the two of us sat around inside the Yellow Cab building.  What he was referring to in his statement about of the iconic groups of the 60s, The Band.  Jeff Opt is truly special.  He is one of the main coordinators of the yearly event Dayton Sideshow, an annual two day event that highlights the unique art that is being done in town.  Each year, the Sideshow will have a theme to the exhibition that will include a variety of work, which includes video, sculptures, paintings, photography, and live music from local bands.  What the Sideshow aims to do is to help individuals obtain a platform to show off their creations, and also to celebrate the local art scene.  If you haven’t been to one of the previous shows, do yourself a favor and check it out this year during the spring Urban Nights event, which will be taking place in May.  While sitting at the Yellow Cab building, Opt talked about the joys of helping others achieve their dreams.  “It’s a passion of mine.  I love being able to help others.”

For a couple of years, Opt had been dreaming of doing a show that recreated The Last Waltz, the final concert that The Band would perform as a group on November 25, 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco (the same venue the group made its debut in 1969).  The Band comprised of Rick Danko (vocals, trombone, bass, fiddle), Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboard, trumpet, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, saxophone) and Robbie Robertson (guitar vocals).  The Band was a hybrid of many musical influences, with the Americana folk sound blending in with the psychedelic traits that bands from Cream to Led Zeppelin were built on.  The statement mentioned earlier by Opt was true.  The Band wasn’t the most polished group to come to the stage, but you always were in awe of the way they played music.  It was beautiful how they would bring all these different components into their music.

Sadly, with Robertson wanting to have the group become strictly a studio-only band due to the exhaustion of always being on the road, along with Manuel suffering a severe neck injury after a boating accident, the group decided their to disband and have a farewell concert that will have some of the artists and bands that influenced them along the way, with a large horn section backing them. During the concert, artists from Eric Clapton, to Neil Young, to Bob Dylan performed as well.  The show was filmed by director Martin Scorsese.  In 1978, Scorsese released the documentary of the same name as the show, The Last Waltz.  The movie featured concert performances, and interviews with the band.  The Last Waltz is hailed as one of the greatest concert films ever made in many circles you talk to.  On February 24th, Opt’s vision of bringing the show to town will become reality.  “It is one of my favorite movies.  I just think that it’s cool watching this great band play one last time.  I thought it would be cool to recreate that movie.”

 

An all-star lineup of Dayton musicians rehearses for Such A Night in the Old Yellow Cab Building

An all-star lineup of Dayton musicians rehearses for Such A Night in the Old Yellow Cab Building

Such A Night: A Celebration of The Band’s Last Waltz will be taking place at the legendary jazz club Gilly’s Niteclub, located on 132 S. Jefferson Street, in Dayton, Ohio.  Close to thirty local musicians along with an eight piece horn section will bring the awe-inspiring film to life.  “All these musicians are excited about being part of this project”, explained Opt.  “Most of these guys have never played together.  So, to see this coming together is really cool.” Opt has been working on this project since last October/November, calling up people that he knew would be great for the show.  Each member will tell you one thing when it comes to the show, including Opt, “This show is going to blow some minds.”

The evening will not only be producing excellent live music, but it’s also going to be helping a cause that is going to help a great deal of people.  All the proceeds from people walking in will go to one of the Miami Valley’s great nonprofit organizations, The Foodbank.  Since 1976, The Foodbank has been helping a network of food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and backpack programs among others.  Being the largest hunger relief agency in the Dayton area, a single dollar will be able to provide eight meals to the hungry.  Nearly 5,000,000 meals a year are provided to children, adults, and the elderly.  It’s just another gesture of gratitude that Opt gives of himself.  “I am firm believer in helping others.  I want to be a good role model for my kids.”

The buzz of Such A Night: A Celebration of The Band’s Last Waltz has been astonishing.  The show was kept under wraps until the past couple of weeks.  It’s now gotten to the point where a small amount of advanced tickets are able to be purchased.  “I didn’t want to have a lot of people not be able to get to see the show.  So by doing just a limited number of advanced tickets, it just gives people a chance to come and watch, and not be turned down”, Opt said.  Opt believes strongly that the show will be something that people will be talking about for days after.  He hopes that maybe if all goes well, maybe we will do something like this again next year and beyond. “I was asked about doing The Who’s Tommy.  I think that would be cool, but let’s get Such A Night out of the way first (laughs)”, Opt mentioned.  Something tells me that Such A Night is truly just the beginning.

Such A Night: A Celebration of The Band’s Last Waltz  once again is on February 24th.  Show time is 7:30pm, and admission is $5.  Donations will be accepted at the door.

Video from the original “The Waltz”

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_csn7KtVeOU’]

The Attic Celebrates Its Final Night

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Saturday January 26th over 700 kids jammed the Attic’s positive space to be part of the venues final loud shout out of all day music marathon. 15 bands played the Hot Head Burrito and main stage in door festival starting at 2:30 with States Away and finishing 8 hours later with Beneath the Sky. Bands sandwiched in between included Ignite the Empires, Strangers to Wolves, Witness, The Holy Guile and Hail to the King amongst others.

Event vendors No Where To Go Clothing also donated half the evenings proceeds to The Attic. A raffle was held for a signed Miss May I framed poster by Rockstar Energy, a Woe Is Me signed poster, CD and drumsticks and a Texas in July CD.

States Away

States Away

The day started with the high energy of States Away playing human bumper car on stage as they cranked out their pop punk set including I Tried so hard and Mean What You Say. Corey Davis’ Gerard Way influenced vocals carried the band’s sound. Formed in early 2012 they released their self-titled EP in June and plan on recording, playing shows and depending on the kindness of strangers for sleeping quarters on the road.

In Current Standing opened up the first set of heavy agonized screams, growls and a little calm singing mixed in, including some atmospheric laptop tech effects. Guitarist Trevor Strahans skull guitar breathed out some death heavy tunes including Virtues that prompted the day’s first ‘dance’ moves.

Ignite the Empires crash the stage banging heads with some Cheap Wine. The Attic Alumni return from previous shows including opening for A Plea For Purging to play and Piss Off the crowd with their own brand of loud, aggressive in your face noise. They played the guitar intricacies of Miles of Expectations like a thief in the night then told the tale of Xanie Annie before finishing off in a cartoonish manner playing a select tune for all the Family Guy fans.

We take a short acoustic break with the pierced soothing songs sung by rebellious Kevin Brewer including the Foo Fighters’ Hero.

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Strangers to Wolves

Strangers to Wolves brought their snarling pop metal predatory music next. Silver bullets and fang prosthetics aside their sound echo’s the cold dark woods where the howls come from after midnight. They play an 80’s tribute to their namesake historical rival Lost Boys while sporting some hairy wolfish mullets. The night was guitarist Marcus Springer’s second show with the pack. A new EP will be coming out in March with the single Second Star on the Right.

It could be said that Permission to Live are just a bunch of good hearted, fun loving hard edged, hard wood surfer punks riding the wave to future success. A few new tunes in, they pay homage to Taylor Swift, say Final Goodbyes half way through and get a little Smashmouth bringing some VIP’s on stage to celebrate.

Can we get a Witness please? What we get are a bunch of loud, scream/singing loud blokes blending a computer enhanced sound with a warped mixture of pop sound and legit heavy metal cannon fire. Their opener off the Of Great Importance EP spreads F.E.A.R. throughout the building as they played crowd control during The Ledger, a cheery song dealing with the grief and sadness of loss; check out the video on YouTube.

Lammes Lane performed half their set under the man-made flashing light nightshade and stage mist resembling pillaging and plundering shadowed Viking warriors. They play their music like primal animals no matter Who’s at the Zoo. Their hard thrashing sound accompanied by Obituary meets Death vocals brought the crowd up and over the stage for Showtime. Though their music is Yet to be Scene, their debut CD will be available this spring.

 

Witness

Witness

We Are Forever from Indianapolis brought out the special lighting for their 2nd visit. All the girls screamed as they played tunes from their first record Seasons featuring Lights including Make It Through. Their sound is pretty upbeat pop with a high energy presentation.

Grim State play their music down in the heavy drudges and cold earthen woods where they bring us Creeps, Sheep and Deadbeats. Only songs like Solitude and Valor are slow and trudgy enough to come from the darkest forgotten holler. Also songs like Madness, Illness and Torn show just how Volatile and Unstable these Dayton boys are.

Remember When is a five-some power pop band riding high on the momentum of their Save Your Wishes EP, touring with bands such as Miss May I and their new EP He Said, She Said played with high pop precession.

The next act starts with a pretty Cool Story about a band from around these here parts somewhere. They spread their Holy Guile all over the damn place with wicked spewing venom vocals on full rotation, blasting drums, a unique unsuspected cathedral, turntable effects conglomerate with inserted black metal and techno elements to trans-mutate into a chaotic gelatinous mass of metal love and torture. Imagine a holy conversion by Dani Filth backed by Crowbar cranked to hyperdrive. The next songs called Hey Zeus, Yeah, Zeus! As in, father of Apollo? Mt. Olympus? Don’t mess with them or they’ll shove a lightning bolt somewhere special, Zeus! And you better not have a problem with that. All’s good but noisy tonight in Idahoe.

When imagining Hail to the King, think of Fear Factory with an even more pissed off sounding Burton C. Bell in the form of Kody Hale meets Meshuggah, intensity like a thousand screaming armies and aggressive insanity like the screaming mind of a raging psychotic. Hell explodes raining hails of inner earth onto the ground, through the acrid smoke and debris Hail to the King emerge. They clamp on an iron clad Contagion Clasp and Go for the Throat with a malevolent decimation of sound and some nice melancholy guitar notes. They bring everyone together, pit by pit. They play the lovely sounding Starletta then Saud Ahmed of The Holy Guile came out to help harmonize on one of their louder tunes. They thank the crowd with a final pummeling Gutshot shaking the ribs and rumbling organs.

Cincy’s bloody birds pecking at the body of Christ celebrate their second record A Feast for Crows on Victory records with a pretty Portrait of American Greed. There’s Blood in the Water as the ship goes down and those self-made glorious pompous pulpit Monuments crumble to oblivion. A Glorious new song is heralded before we finish with bitterness and hope of Marilyn courtesy of Corpus Christi.

Pastor Kilby address the crowd

Pastor Kilby address the crowd

A reunion show for the Cincinnati metal growlers as they celebrate everything Beneath the Sky with a packed house of tired but hungry for more metal heads is The Reason they’ll are still here. It’d be a Grave Mistake to leave now being it’s the first time the original lineup played since 2007 and not celebrate to the end. The uncomfortably themed and videoed Terror Starts at Home is followed by a Gunsmoke Kiss for the Goodfellas. We spend ten minutes at the users ball before we find an evening partner before Last Call. They talk about Miss Misery and a tale of near death from the Northside. They mourn a friend at 7861 Blackthorne Drive and finish taking us on Our Last Road as sadly The Attic finishes its decade plus road of the area’s best talent.

Though there’s no set timeframe Pastor Kilby has promised that the Attic concept, theme and everything that made it a great hang out for kids will return in the form of another building or venue depending on when some new positive space becomes available.

Special thanks for on the spot event info, go-to guy the prosperous ‘Mr. Tree’.

Team Void: Dayton’s Own Lucha Libre

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Before you start to dive into the article, please start the music…

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/78342443″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

The Mexican culture has various lures to it.  From the Meso-American ruins that cover all around the land, the fantastic climate that awaits you at any time, to the rich beauty of the country’s art.  Mexico is a true gem to the world that we live in.  One of the country’s most unique, interesting, and pleasurable attributes that it brings is the history of the lucha libre.

The lucha libre (aka luchador) is Spanish term for “free fighting” in the wrestling community.  The luchador travels all around the countryside getting rid of the crime and corruption that plagued the townspeople.  The masked hero would showcase an aerial display of high-flying maneuvers, along with a dazzling display of moves learned from the Greco-Roman wrestling world.  In 1942, El Santo (“The Saint”) came to the ring and changed the complexion of the masked fighters.  During his career, which spanned over 50 years, El Santo became a huge star in and out of the ring, becoming the symbol of the lucha libres all around Mexico, with several movies and comic books with him as the subject.  That appreciation has landed here in Dayton, Ohio with the lucha libre’s of rock and roll Team Void.

Team Void comprises of lead guitarist Louie Bean Lerma (“El Muerto”), bassist El Bean Lerma (“Infinity”), rhythm guitarist Nate Beam (“Cruzado”), Jon Mercier on drums (“Johnny X”), Gregory Hall (“Blaster”) on trumpet and keyboard.  Team Void also has a couple of musicians as part of the ‘Lucha Superstars’-Gary King (“Slide”) on trombone, Derek Strouse (“Sandman”)  on drums, and on congos Greg Schultz (“La Marmota”).  The band’s trademark is the lucha libre masks that they wear while they are playing live.  “It’s something that you have to get used to”, Beam mentions. “It takes some time, without question.”  El sums it up nicely. “We become part of a role when we wear the mask.  It’s fun and exciting.” The masks, along with the meaning behind the band’s name are simple: “We won’t to make sure that we void the problems that cause bands to not last.  We want to have a corrupt free style with us”, Louie stated.  Seeing the band will throw you off at first, seeing everyone in their character modes, but you quickly adjust.  It’s seeing them without the masks that will catch you off guard. “We have had people at our shows not realize that we just played on stage”, Gregory says.  “One guy saw me at the bar, and started talking about how the band on stage sounded good.  He totally didn’t realize that I was part of the band.  So, I just agreed.  We find it funny.”  No lie-it took me to have a second look also when I first saw the band live.

To understand how the band got together, we have to go back years ago.  In the 90s, Louie was heavy involved with the music scene in the Dayton area, being in two bands that are forever engraved in the town’s history.  He played in one group The Tasties, and he was in The Amps.  The Amps was fronted by The Breeders lead singer, and local native Kim Deal.  The band saw some success nationally, opening for Foo Fighters and playing on ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ show.  However, it was directing, and editing that sparked Louie’s interest more.  As time went on, Louie met his wife El at Canal Street Tavern.  Then, Louie and El met the band throughout the next couple of years.  The group of friends started playing music together, and realized that they had something special.  When you spend 10 minutes with them its crystal clear of the chemistry. They spoke of the time the band went overseas and played (they have a pretty nice size following over the pond).  They joked around about setting up an organ in the headquarters.  They spoke highly of the love of Dayton, and how it’s exciting to be seeing the music scene going through rejuvenation.

There is one unique aspect of the band that you don’t see much anywhere is that they don’t have a lead singer on the band.  In fact there isn’t any singing on their songs.  “We didn’t want to have any singing in our music because we want to have people just enjoy what they are listening to”, explained Louie to me during my meeting with the band.  “We felt with the music we were creating, we didn’t want to have one lead person in the band.  We want people to just take in the music.  By having someone singing, it just distracts you from that.”  The band’s first EP, Gone With The Werewolves is a perfect example of how this concept works.  Each member brings their own specialty into the mix, presenting a surf rock opus with layers of Mexican influence that simply will stop you at your tracks.  The EP also offers the listener sound bites of what appears like they are taken from classic horror films from the 70s.  Gone With The Werewolves is utterly mind blowing with the level of detail.  The lucha libre vibe appears on each song, especially when you hear the playing of the trumpet and trombone.  Listening to the EP, you also feel grateful that there isn’t any singing.  It would simply take away from the dance that the band is executing.  The EP is a shy under 20 minutes, which only leaves you wanting more.

Currently, Team Void is working on their new album, Robot Killer.  The album was intended to be an EP, but the band feels that all the music they are laying down is too good to leave out.  “Get ready for this album.  It’s going to blow some minds”, Beam glowingly stated to me.  After listening to Gone With The Werewolves, I can’t help but agree.  To see the band live, you have a couple of times here soon.  This Saturday at Omega Music at 6, the band will be performing with Five Year Mission, and Sport Fishing USA.  On February 16th at South Park Tavern, Team Void will be hitting the same on the same night with The Madeira.  These are two shows that you simply can not miss.

Music Fans, Check Out: Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

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jason_becker
Editor’s Note: Although we tend to focus on musical happening in and around the Miami Valley, we also occasionally like to share something music-related that inspires our writers as music fans.  Here’s one such inspiration.  (JF)

Not Dead Yet is an incredible odds defying inspiring story of one man’s true dedication, passion and drive to create incredible music despite insurmountable life obstacles, and dire circumstances. Jason Becker personifies the sheer driving force and spirit of the human artistic will to enjoy life, persevere and make music.

Becker a future guitar prodigy was born in 1969 in Richmond California and exposed to music early by his family becoming proficient on acoustic guitar, harmonica and xylophone at age five. By his early teens he was playing Bob Dylan, Clapton and Van Halen note for note, blowing away local talent contests and variety shows. Becker was very inspired by classical music which influenced his style cranking Bach while friends cranked Slayer. He also had a comical side doing yoyo tricks with one hand while playing with the other.

In his teens Becker replied to an ad, submitting a tape to Shrapnel Records founder Mike Varney who was looking for the ten best guitar players at the time. Subsequently future Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman had come to LA to work on his solo record. Varney suggested a duet to Friedman who after initial reluctance was won over by Becker’s playing and personality becoming fast friends. Their playing so complemented and inspired each other Friedman often said Becker could play his material better than he could. They formed the band Cacophony. His father concerned about his education told the principal Jason had a record deal and was going on tour and asked if he could finish high-school early. He finished six months early with straight A’s

After touring with Cacophony he returned to Japan supporting his first solo CD Perpetual Burn, doing guitar clinics between gigs. One particular clinic drew 800-1000 people validating his rising momentum.

In 1989 at age 20 he auditioned for David Lee Roth, the most sought after high profile gig at the time, earned his spot and recorded A Little Ain’t Enough, released in 1991. During recording he started feeling a ‘lazy limp’ in his left leg and was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) aka Lou Gehrig’s disease, a debilitating condition that rapidly weakens muscle mobility and use of tongue and speech causing permanent paralysis. Becker was given 3-5 years to live. Undergoing uncomfortable and painful therapy while recording and rehearsing his condition progressed to where he could barely play notes or hold the guitar. He told Roth who reluctantly got a replacement.

They tried alternate forms of therapy but nothing worked. Becker went from using canes to a wheelchair in months. In 1992 he met his former fiancé and main caregiver Serrana Pilar. Though he had moments of hopelessness and darkness they believe he never hit the point of giving up. He still had music and ideas in his head he needed to get out somehow.

To accomplish this a computer program was invented using a visor equipped with sensors that would move the cursor on the screen according to his head movements. He slowed down music in his head hitting the mouse with his chin entering intricate and complex melodies note by note adjusting the phrasing and velocity of each one until everything played the way he internally heard it at speed.

>After a near death experience his speech failed and his father invented an eye movement sign language/geometry system so Becker could communicate based on angles. A clear six squared grid with four letters in each square allows him to spell out words and have conversations. First movement is the square, second is the letter in the square. His father’s learned to guess the word after the first couple letters and Becker doesn’t ‘dull’ conversations with filler words, everything he says is important.

“I couldn’t quit on my music, it never even entered my mind. I just love making music and no matter how hard it is, it’s like my drug.”

Becker’s longevity is attributed by his family and friends 20 year care and commitment to keeping his drive, passion and love for music and life alive with a custom made healthy diet and dark rooted sense of humor.

To make music his father plays guitar notes into a computer then Becker organizes them giving instructions on any needed changes. Though they’re no longer together Serrana is his inspiration and taught him what true love is and makes him want to be a better person.

Becker is a global inspiration encompassing the true, unflinching spirit of the human will to never give up.

“I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind.”

Becker’s discography includes Perpetual Burn 1988, Perspective 1995, The Raspberry Jams 1999, The Blackberry Jams 2003, Collection 2008 and Boy Meets Guitar Volume 1 of Youngster Tapes 2012.  He also performed on Cacophony’s Speed Metal 1987, Go Off 1988 and David Lee Roth’s A Little Ain’t Enough 1991. Along with two tribute CD’s Warmth in the Wilderness I and IIfeaturing guitarist’s Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley, and Mattias Eklundh. The album profits were sent to Becker to help with medical expenses. In 2008 Paradise Guitars worked with Becker to design a Jason Becker signature guitar. In 2012 Carvin worked with Becker to design a Jason Becker Tribute guitar that is modeled after the original DC-series guitar he used toward the latter part of his career. In 2011 the inaugural Jason Becker Not Dead Yet Festival was held in San Francisco promoting ALS awareness and the love of the guitar featuring Joe Satriani, Marty Friedman, Richie Kotzen and many others.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a relentlessly progressive degenerative disease targeting the motor nerves and muscles, effecting how the bodies lower and upper neurons communicate and function. When the neurons connected to the muscles from the spinal cord die, the brain loses ability to communicate thus the muscles become inactive. ALS is described as the ‘worst’ disease due to its relatively short window of mortality. Long term symptoms include the break down and eventual loss of mobility, ability to speak and swallow leading to permanent paralysis and death. Scientist Stephen Hawking has had ALS for over 50 years. The ALS Association has committed more than $67 million to find effective treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease, including the discovery of two ALS genes (SOD1 and ALS 6) responsible for 25% of all inherited cases and the trial of a new drug that targets SOD1.

Learning How To Play Vol. 1

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It all began with a thought…

I grew up in the small town of Jamestown, Ohio.  Jamestown is your typical small town-just about 2000 citizens.  A McDonalds  sits right between a Dollar General and the local pizza establishment, Bentinos Pizza.  You have the two traffic lights that await you when you come to town.  On Friday nights in the fall season, the Greeneview Rams take to the field that is located in the same parking lot of the old high school.  On weekends, you grab a couple of cases of cold, cheap beer and drive out to the outskirts of the town, and into the never-ending acres of country land.  If you have some buddies have trucks that have more rust on it than the paint on truck, strap the rope on the machine, and have a tug and pull shake down.

My family and I lived out in those fields that the hijinks and absurd behavior would take place.  When the threat of tornados circled us, we would drive down the road to our friends of the family’s home.  Mike and Liz Bentley would be ever so gracious and open their doors to us, and let us stay in their basement if the time came to take shelter.  Of course, when you live in the country-tornados don’t scare you till they are knocking on your door.  We would sit on the porch, and watch the movement of the storm in the dark skies.  When the threat would move on towards another town, my folks would want to stick around and talk with the Bentleys.  That meant that Mike would go to a small room which was connected to the living room, and put on some music on his record.  The music room was incredible.  On the wall, each shelving unit would stack across left to right, up and down, with records from all decades.  It was a true sight to see.   Any type of classic rock you could think of, Mike had it.  The collection was impressive-still is in my opinion.

For hours, I would sit down at the kitchen table with my folks, and the Bentleys.  They had daughters, so my sister would go and play with girl toys.  Now, being young as I was-I didn’t feel like playing with Barbie’s, playing with dolls.  I was a boy.  I don’t play with those things.  Who would do such a thing, I thought.  I told myself that I would just sit in the kitchen with the adults, and watch whatever was on the small screen television that hung in the corner of the room.  I would never

watch the shows that were being screened with the volume turned up.  The music would be turned up to the farthest that the level that the volume could go.  The walls shook with the sound coming blaring through the speakers.  It was those nights that I would start the relationship that I have with music.  It’s a small part of why I became a music writer.

As I mentioned in my article about open mics in town, I got to college and wondered what it would be like to pick up an acoustic guitar, and learn how to play.  So, I knew that this wasn’t going to be easy.  I received a guitar for my birthday, and soon enough from there I would start to learn.  Well-that didn’t happen.  I had a friend that would try to show me some chords to play, and my fingers would start to bleed.  I was told that this normal, which never made any sense to me.  Why the hell would you want to do something that was going to make you bleed, and you weren’t really do anything that you think would make you do such?

So there I was, trying to push through some of the pain that the fingers would feel, and play some.  I learned how to play ‘Smoke On The Water’ from Deep Purple.  Alright-I learned just to play the chorus.  I would go to college parties, and try to impress girls with my pathetic guitar play.  It didn’t work.   Apparently, you needed to learn how to play songs about love, and also be a little better looking.  I didn’t possess any of those traits, so I gave up playing.  However, for some reason, I would never give away the guitar.  Is it the best guitar to have?!  Probably not, but I wouldn’t give it up.  I have had it for over 10 plus years now.  It’s always been in the black, nylon travel bag that came with it.  It’s always sitting next to the dresser.  I don’t know why I haven’t just hang it up or do anything with it-I just never wanted to give it up.  That is till now.

Starting this past year, I have been going around the Dayton area and watching some of the best music that is played anywhere in the United States.  I will go to show to show, meet up with the artists and bands that would be playing, and write about them and their performances.  I have been going to open mic nights as well.  Being able to live in Dayton, I notice thThe passion and dedication that these people have is incredible.  It’s something that I want to be part of-this special group of individuals around the world that has taken to playing music.

I decided that this year I would dust off the guitar that have had sitting around for so long, and learn how to play.  I would then sign up and play a set at an open mic night around town.  I want to see how it feels to be able to perfect a craft that makes people come together.  I wanted to learn how to play in order to show my appreciation to the people who go out there each and every night and show their talent off.  I want people to read this and see that it’s in fact not the easiest thing to do.  However at the end of the day, the experience will ultimately show that if you follow a dream, it will come true.  I will be doing a monthly update here.  I will discuss the highest of the highs, and the lowest of the lows.  I won’t be holding anything back.  If you have any comments or suggestions, please share them.

Here we go…