Mike Ritchie

The Attic Celebrates Its Final Night

February 13, 2013 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

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

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.

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

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

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’.

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

February 8, 2013 By Mike Ritchie 1 Comment

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.

BoJangles Host Somebody’s Angel Benefit Show

January 29, 2013 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Saturday January 12th Dayton’s Clockwork Soul in cooperation with DaytonRocks.com and BoJangles Nightclub in West Carrollton hosted a benefit/fundraiser for the families affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy. Five bands volunteered their energy, talent and time to help raise money for the charity. Event Organizer’s Michael Anspach and Eric Liddic booked an impressive lineup of local talent each band different to each other both in sound, performance and appearance but committed and united for the cause. Tish & Carrie, 8 Kount, SuperKreep, Induced and Clockwork Soul brought the goods to the packed house whether it was the opening acoustic flavor, Rock n Roll, hard rock or southern fried Middletown metal. Clockwork Soul also took over the Fox 45 News Morning Show with Meghan Mongillo promoting the event and performing ‘Out There’ live in studio on January 9th.

Tish & Carrie

Event sponsors included Babblefish Recording Studios, Side Tat Mafia, Greenleaf Printing, On The Go Printing, Annaleahs hair designs, Pure Romance, and DaytonRocks.com. Local businesses donating raffle prizes included Dayton Dragons, The Funny Bone, Grease Monkey, Pure Romance, The Trolley Stop, Life-Source Massage Therapy and Second Shelf Thrift Store. Co-headliner Induced also donated a blue Schecter Diamond Series Omen 6 Guitar for one lucky winner. Rockstarsglued.com’s Hellbilly was the evening’s MC introducing bands and calling out ticket numbers for lucky winners of some sweet swagOpening the show was the feminine unplugged charm of Dayton’s musical answer to the Wilson sister’s Tish & Carrie. They sang with plenty of heart and soul bringing a coffee house flavor into the rock club, prepping ears for the upcoming noise opening with some acoustic attitude rolling on the river with Proud Mary and Miss Turner then broke out the Black Horse and a Cherry Tree with KT Tunstall. We visited The Angel from Montgomery then they put the crowd in their songstress spell Rolling In the Deep with Adele. Tish went solo with Miss Etheridge on Bring Me Some Water. They hit Zombies with some Cranberries finishing with a tribute to one of the great lost voices of a generation Janis Joplin and Bobby McGee.

8 Kount

Up next is the big rock sound of Dayton’s standing 8 Kount. They brought out their special brand of infection with the Real Disease putting the pedal through the pavement on Getaway Car. They break it all down with the rockstar swagger on Ashes to Ashes. Singer Sugar opens the rockstar handbook to page 56 which tells aspiring RockGods what to say when you’ve said/done something wrong and you’re not sure what it was. He also tours the club personally serenading all the smitten vixens with the Insanity Defense. There’s a Fire in the Hole for anyone that says you’re not good enough, doesn’t love you anymore or doesn’t care what you think because we all have lives to live and we’re gonna live them, because we’re all… More Human Than Human. They finish with their greatest beastly creation Straw Monster. They introduced/broke in new guitarist Stephen Lowe for the nights show. They are definitely a do it yourself, driven, self-financed, self-made working man’s rock n roll band. Website info can be found at www.facebook.com/8KOunt along with their Getaway Car EP/Merch and official video for Ashes to Ashes. SuperKreep busted open the skin with a brutally bloody offering of holy southern forged metal from the mid-west. Performing a few new tunes and select favorites from their second record 2010’s Wizer than the Wicked. They opened up the mind possessing liquid demons with Whisky Devil. This is pure country truckin metal with southern pride and the semi-automatic Dean Guitar riffage of We Are The Truth proves it. Singer Greg Banks born of Chuck Billy spawn brings the Holy Testament from the Bible belt to BoJangles. They put us down for a creeping death Dirt Nap then leave us Dead and Somewhere in Pantera country with some Dimebag chug and concrete sledge with a pounding three guitar fisted hammer. They play a new tune with Pride then Bring on the Pain for the front row diehards. They’re a head bangers delight of mid-south dirty slither and slang with a Wylde side, Hellyeah. They finish living the Fine Life and get a little Psycho-Friendly with the crowd. They’ve been making noise in the underground since 2004 and have shared the stage with Skid Row, Quiet Riot and The Misfits. Their music goes down smooth with a strong after-kick but has enough thrashy dirt and grit to keep the good ole boys happy. Expect a new CD mid-year. Banks has good vocal range doing some solid singing on most tunes adding in gravel in a tree chipper growls occasionally and even sounded a bit like Manson on a few CD tracks.

Induced

Performing their first show at BoJangles the multidimensional, hard hitting melodic foursome Induced the crowd into their musical mesh of originals and favorites. When your singer looks like a cross between Freddy Mercury and Kit from The Forsaken, you’re guaranteed attention. Speaking of blood suckers they started with the Afterlife, Feeling good. They pull open the covers with Say You’ll Haunt Me, the first song they wrote Left Alone and the drum work of Betrayal. It’s the End of Heartache and time for some heavy Bad Company. They finished with one of Drowning Pools big hits. They’ve incorporated/intertwined Godsmack, Disturbed and some Bush into their sound and love taking a walk around. Guitarist Rodney Collins and bassist Matt Hohenbrink both took extended tours of the venue, mingling with the crowd while playing.

Clockwork Soul

As we’re past the midnight hour headliners ClockWork Soul and dirty blonde debutant Mystie Rose took the stage playing to all the late night guests and faithful souls left to hear the screeching roar and growl from the lady in black. She offers the men some special handcuffed Straight Jacket Love and gets red faced ferocious unmasking her wild eyed aggressive Masquerade. They keep it hot with a time machine trip back with The Boys of Summer. Rose’s voice can go from bubblegum pop to pissed off death metal at will. They get grungy with Alice’s Would finishing the night with Out There. Rose resembles a female Bret Michael’s on steroids and a few shots of Jack. For helping make the event happen she’s our rock of love.

“There are no words we can express on how we feel at this time. So we decided to show how much we care and put on a big show and support this great cause. We had an amazing amount of sponsors and very generous people donated their time and businesses to provide support for this cause as well. This show demonstrates a substantial gesture of solidarity and support for the victims of this tragic event.”

A very genuine, heartfelt thank you to Michael Anspach of Clockwork Soul and Eric Liddic of Daytonrocks.com for organizing the event and a special thank you to everyone who contributed, donated, sponsored and showed up for the event, and to BoJangles.Rocks for hosting. All proceeds go to The Sandy Hook Elementary School Victims Relief Fund which will provide counseling to survivors, pay for funeral expenses for victims, create a scholarship fund for the school’s students and fund a memorial. If you’d like to donate please go to newtownmemorialfund.org. Mail donations to Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. P.O. Box 596 Botsford, CT 06404, checks payable to Newtown Memorial Fund, check donations page for information on sending care packages, letters and other goods.

Help Save The Attic!

January 16, 2013 By Mike Ritchie 1 Comment

For a little over a decade 2852 Wilmington Pike in Kettering has been a club unlike any other. Its 22,000 square foot spacious inner cavernous sanctum can hold 700+ kids, young adults, teenagers, and adults. Whether hitting the dance floor, jumping up and down screaming during a concert or hanging out/relaxing at a bible study the large epicenter of friendly fun and frolic for kids-late teens and on occasion adults has stood proud and unabashed in its mission to give local youth a place to hang, study the word, dance, chill and head-bang while Facebooking, texting or Tweeting when needed and…. it’s in danger of closing its doors after February 7th.This year The Attic finds itself in the worst financial bind in the ten years they’ve been open. A decrease in national tours and less local bands booking shows are contributing factors. Originally they were going to lose their insurance due to a lawsuit filed by parents whose teenage daughter was inadvertently hit in the crowd at a show. Staff and management have always gone out of their way to preach and stress safety and watching out for one another due to the aggressive nature of some shows, going as far as permanently banning the rowdiest of the rowdies and troublemakers. After talking to the parents, the father, a Christian decided to drop the suit as an act of grace, never intending to hurt the venue but was trying to recoup some of his losses. In turn The Attic will hold a huge benefit show on February 1st all proceeds going to the families medical costs.

Finding affordable insurance is still a major issue as they are a non-profit organization and need to at least break even to continue operations. There will be an all-day music festival held on January 26^th featuring over 15 bands performing to help raise funds. The venues last scheduled event will be a pre-closing booked show on February 7^th featuring The Color Morale.

Closing the venue would mean area start up bands and those who have a following would have to find other places and there aren’t many all age options. The staff has kept eyes and ears on the Dayton scene and teens and their families are their heartbeat. Ideally, they would like to continue serving them in whatever way possible. Although they’re optimistic they’re not sure what the immediate future holds. Area kids would lose a place where they’re always welcome and invited to hang out. The staff has seen lots of teens comment and say that they will lose a “home” and those are the hardest comments to read and hear. They strive to provide a place where everyone feels welcome and loved and they’d hate to think that they would no longer have that sanctuary in their lives. Many kids say they have figured out who they were and where they were going because of the Attic. Their goal is to continue finding ways to serve the kids so hopefully this will only be a short blip in that mission and they will be able to continue serving them or find a way to once again give them a place to belong.

There’s been a huge outpouring of support from local teens and their families to help raise awareness since the January closing was announced. Facebook and YouTube videos and testimonies have been posted supporting the positive impact The Attic has had on area teens.

Since 2002 The Attic has served as a club/meeting spot for area youth. Though visitors have flocked from all parts of the state and some have crossed the border to see shows. The double doors have opened to all manner of social groups who come in and come together to enjoy the music of their generation performed loudly on stage, sometimes by friends, sometimes by national bands and they all want this grand tradition to continue.

Founder Pastor Jim Kilby and Co-manager Elizabeth Kilby Johnson have painstakingly worked to build a good reputation over the years with business neighbors and the community. The Attic hosts a staff of 20-25. Pastor Kilby is a retired Air Force officer. One day the simple word ‘go’ from Jesus’ ‘great commission’ moved him so much that he decided to move from ministering to teens within the walls of the local church and try to reach those outside. As a result, he founded Harvest Youth Ministries, the parent organization of The Attic.

Harvest Youth Ministries is a non-profit organization operating a unique ministry for local teens. Their hope and mission is summed up by “Some place to go!” Since Harvest Youth was founded in 1998, they’ve worked hard to provide teens a place to have fun, hang out with friends and just be themselves.

The first Harvest Youth center, The Cellar, opened in Dayton in 1998. Originally located in the back room of a church, The Cellar soon moved to a building of its own in Moraine where it was transformed into a neighborhood skate park. Through God’s grace and provision, their ministry at The Cellar led thousands of teens to accept Jesus Christ as savior and begin an authentic relationship with Him. Due to economy changes and the popularity of free, outdoor skate parks, The Cellar closed in 2009. However, many of the teens that attended The Cellar began to attend The Attic, the second Harvest Youth Ministry location.

Lots of big names have played the hallowed Attic Stage including Hawthorne Heights, Staple, Super Chick, Gwen Stacy, Haste the Day, Red, Skillet, Spoken, Between the Buried and Me, The Devil Wears Prada, Brian ‘Head’ Welch, most of the Scream the Prayer Tours, Becoming the Archetype and A Plea for Purging. There’s also a healthy dose of local acts to help polish the future rock stars of tomorrow. The venue has also catered to positive mainstream acts as well.

The club is alcohol, drug and smoke free. There’s a fully stocked drink/food/snack ‘bar’, a few video games, two stages, a family of pool tables and plenty of lounging spots to prop up or plop down on and a generous amount of space up front reserved for the most devoted fans.

The Attic also has available counseling for any alienation, vulnerability, depression, heartache, confusion or other issues today’s youth deal with. Additionally weekly bible studies have been offered for those interested in hearing/learning more about biblical history and The Almighty. The Harvest Christian Fellowship is a grassroots ministry that meets every Sunday in the building and is designed to help teens and families feel more comfortable communicating and participating in a spiritual/religious setting. Thanks to this movement and its fellowship The Attic has had two confirmed miracles within their walls. Two young lives were saved on two different occasions from near suicide just by being there and the staff/entertainment showing the troubled souls that people did care about them. One of which a former bad boy drinker and drug user had planned on OD’ing after one of the Scream The Prayer Tours but was stopped and saved after the singer from one of the performing bands received a spiritual message and intervened and the young man was baptized at the club and has been a staff member since. His testimonial along with Save The Attic testimonials can be found on The Attic’s sister sites www.harvestdayton.com and www.harvestyouth.org

Other upcoming shows include 1/18-The Rose Hill, IATM and Witness, 1/19- The Paramedic, 1/24-The Almost, All Get Out and Makeshift Prodigy, 1/25-Misery Signals, Corelia. Support for keeping The Attic open can be sent to Mailing Donations: C/o Harvest Youth Ministries 4004 Woodcliffe Ave Dayton, OH 45420.

Mushroomhead Play Doomsday in Dayton

January 8, 2013 By Mike Ritchie 1 Comment

Well, if you’re reading this the ancient Mayans were wrong and life as we know it has continued into 2013. It was reported that a new calendar was discovered in a Mayan Temple in the rain forests at Xultun in Guatemala with a life sized mural of a Mayan King and astronomical/numerology calendar symbols showing moon phases in years preserved on walls proving that the much discussed/feared and apocalyptically claimed Dec 21, end of the world prophecy was indeed not the end of days rather the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. But as many bands had certainly taken advantage of the day with such a built in metal theme, why not play a metal show on the last day on earth. At least we’ll all be banging our heads as the sky falls and hell, fire and brimstone hit the earth.

Though nothing earth shattering actually occurred and no rain of blood or fires from the sky scorched the planet, the weather was cold but normal. Though there were reports of a mushroom shaped cloud hovering over McGuffys before dark. Four bands braved the years prophesized final hours playing their best and most brutal metal for the packed house of ‘mostly’ heaven bound souls if rapture did happen.

Killbox

Then I saw an angel come down from Heaven holding a key to the Killbox and a huge chain in his hand (Revelations Chapter 20 Verse 1)

We begin the beginning of the end opening up the Killbox to play with Armageddon’s favorite tools of mass destruction. Northern Kentucky’s the home to one of the genre’s newest metal making sons. Formed in 2011 and though they’re still in their infernal infancy, had much to offer this year and the ear. Named in part after an Overkill album, the group incorporates a loud, rabid speed infection to their heavy drive and loud intensity. The ferocious angry assault of Coming Back borrows the best iron rimmed canine gnashers snarling in your face ready to shred flesh with a red eyed slobbering hunger. They sound proud to sound so damn pissed off and for good reason. If you knew for sure tomorrow wasn’t coming you’d sound off spitting out some life spanning venom too. Weaponry speaking a Killbox is a three-dimensional target area, designed to facilitate the integration of coordinate joint weapons fire. It’s an open free fire zone and a chance to ‘Fire at will commander’ so to speak. Together we all Embraced the Second Coming and the second Mayan calendar. The Mike Muir headband wearing, David Draiman looking Brad Brochers belts out a screeching Sully Erna tangled in chains range with a little bit of Bobby Blitz and Dez Fafara for the rasp. They dedicate a tune to all the fallen hero’s including Dimebag. They dare standing up against the end and say it’s not over Till I Say It’s Over.

Forces of Nature

The first horror is over, after this there are still two more horrors to come. (Revelation chapter 9 verse 12) Then the main event.

When the first angel blew his trumpet there came hail and then fire mixed with blood which was hurled down to the earth. A third of the land was scorched along with a third of the trees and every green plant. (Revelation chapter 8 verse 7) Hence the forces of nature are seen.

One of Dayton’s major forces to be reckoned with Forces of Nature brought all of nature’s preliminary fury supplying a veracious wall of sound echoing from the stage to the earthbound skies above. Saturday December 22 proved the D-Day calendar was just Deception. Rotten Tooth pounded the brain like a bad incisor dangling from the inner oral cavity. Following was a mob of screaming, frantic populous Throwing Fists on board the off track Midnight Meat Train locomotive trying to outrun fate toward the Holy Lights. It will happen again, Nevermore. If the prophecies had been true, the world would be nothing but a huge Forest of Corpses on a Black Earth. With a steel spiked boot up the ass goodbye.

I Died Trying

Then I looked and I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air say in a loud voice, O horror! Horror! How horrible it will be for all who live on earth when the sound comes from the band that the other three bands and audience must hear. (Revelation chapter 9 verse 13, paraphrased) The sound of Armageddon is upon us.

Dayton’s answer to what a prison riot during a madman’s symphony would sound like took over the stage and sound waves playing an almost indescribable audio-ambivalent two song set of Opeth length tunes strung together by movie samples, screams, growls, instruments played and sounds put together in a cornucopias mismatch of sound that God and nature never intended. But since it was the end, it was time to take a long mental disconnect down the Lost Highway drawing First Blood. Time to bust open the padded cell for a train wreck in the brain. We’re all honored guests at this madman’s tea party of the damned. Sipping the best cup of earl grey with a touch of sugar cubed cyanide. Collective in cohesion done to perfection coming out of a soundbox/turntable possessed by the souls of a hundred departed musicians. Slow, quiet musical whispers in the mind to full blown psycho-pandemonium. Cold sweat down the back as blood stained eyes stare wide eyed into the stretching darkness, crystallized limbs reach out from fragments of memories grabbing, juggling, and spinning your mind into a paranoid schizophrenic war dance. Like Swallowing Swords with a grenade chaser. I tried to make sense of this beautiful insanity, but I Died Trying.

Then I saw a group of beasts coming up, out of the sea. They had many instruments and seven heads each wearing a hideous mask. (Revelation chapter 13 verse 1, paraphrased.)

Mushroomhead

One of Cleveland’s most bizarre and infamous exports, Mushroomhead, the seven man masked men traveling demented carnival nightmare came out dressed in their blood splattered dinner suit best. Comprised of a singing/rapping team of pain and pleasure divine, Waylon’s cast face looked like he’d had a few go arounds with Pinheads toy box while Jeffrey Nothing looks like he took a double sawed off shotgun blast to the face and lived to sing about it. Keyboard striker Shmotz sports another mashed up faceplate of the mushroom horde sporting a spiked army helmet of the marching dead. Bass was played by the human gargoyle Dr. F with guitars strummed by the human Collector known as Church. Backstage gets Skinny on the drums while front stage water drums bashing courtesy of a dread locked skeleton and a robotic HH Giger cyber holiday reindeer, respectively.

Every song sung played like a story from a book of twisted nursery rhymes, like Mother Goose but just the Grimm. Accompanied by a pleasant holiday array of strobe and Christmas stage lights, lasers, hand held spotlights and overall sick merry mayhem. The human horror movie performance artists lived up to their hallucinogenic ingested namesake. It was indeed Jigsaws favorite torture music.

They started 12 Hundred with a Bwomp, Come On, the blood splattered MMA love song, Save Me from the next Brain Hemorrhage before I Kill Tomorrow so the Sun Doesn’t Shine. They play the dead man’s hand on Solitaire Unraveling and were Born of Desire to fill all the Empty Spaces in the wall. The mad masked men have promised a new record this year so 2013 will be the year of the Mushroom.

Moshpits & Lighters III Sells Out McGuffys

January 7, 2013 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

December 17 McGuffy’s House of Rock cleared the seats and tables for a standing room only sell-out crowd of 500+ gathered to watch 8 bands play the one and only of its kind annual metal showcase spotlighting local talent and a few state bordering and elsewhere local friends. Seconds Fall, Nightbeast, Chambers of Chaos, Amongst Villains, The Action Blast, Avenue Sky, My Name in Vain and In The Cut played a nightlong showcase plowing through tunes and pummeling heads, brain cells and earlobes.

Seconds Fall

Seconds Fall/In The Cut singer Daniel DeDoncker was the mastermind behind the nights event. The goal was to sell out McGuffys with a local show and he accomplished it with lots of old school hard work dedication, heart and a true passion for music. He wanted to book a show with his favorite local/regional bands breaking the traditional 3-4 band bill with an entire evening of talent playing music across the spectrum. Bands both similar and completely different of each other are part of DeDonckers vision. Another future goal is to organize 3-4 like events a year while opening for national bands. To sweeten the deal if DeDoncker and Co sold out Dayton’s House of Rock they’d earn a signed guitar on the coveted wall of fame. 2 ½ months of advertising went into the show using all social media outlets also employing grassroots methods of word of mouth and multiple flier copies. The show focuses on all types of rock, and eventually he wants to do an outdoor event, a local X-Fest of sorts.

After three years apart DeDonckers first band Seconds Fall played an acoustic reunion set opening festivities. The band played the first two Moshpits & Lighters shows at Badda Bings in Kettering breaking bar attendance and sales records that night, and surpassing that number the year after. Past show alumni includes Fluwid, Occams Razor, Orange Williard, Chapter of Progress, Inept and Negative Process among others.

For the shows third year they enlisted the help of local ink masters Truth n Triumph Tattoo and model talents of Megyn, Jeni, Jenn, Courtney and Tonya the bewitching tattooed beauties of the Michigan Twisted Angels.

Local stand up Funny Bone regular laugh riot Bizcuit MC’d the show opening with his trademark tearful farewell to Twinkies and all out ariel assault of oatmeal crème cookies.

Seconds Fall started with the Lighter stuff, breaking out the electric acoustics for a stripped down performance that really brought out the emotion of all songs performed. Tesla did the five man acoustic jam, Seconds Fall did it with three. A lyrically passionate heavy set brought out by 12 electrically acoustic strings gave us Insignificant, End of Our Time, We All Need Hero’s, Don’t Give Up On Me and the first song they wrote Lipstick Revenge. DeDonker proves big hulking metal dudes can leave the beast growls and screaming in the dressing room (till later) and work the vocals a different way singing some beautiful tunes. They finished with Congulate concluding the Lighter side of things.

Avenue Sky

The cranium crunching began with Chambers of Chaos. Max Headroom yellow Mohawk sporting, slick sunglasses wearing Shaun Clark dared everyone to Enter My Ring growling out an aggressive pounding sound borrowing vox from Dez Fafara mixed with some dirty evil sounding Godsmack with a punk attack from somewhere beneath the earth. There’s definite chaos in the guitars bringing out a mass riot of a sound. They look like a nice friendly bunch of metal blokes, until they’re Pushed to Stand Against something with a deep rooted melody. We’re all Faceless in the crowd enjoying the heavy hype on stage. They leave us hungry for more with the darkly melodious long Kiss of Goodnight. Clark yells his lyrical agenda to the gathering with the fury of a dictator at the podium who wasn’t shy about flashing the bird, letting it soar for all to see. (Metal’s one of the very few genre’s where the middle finger can be used as a sign of camaraderie and respect).

Straight up north from the cold depths of Flint Michigan come Avenue Sky with a chilled string intro launching into Day of the Intruder. They Breathe one part metal, one part coffee house rock and one part indie aura. Formed in 2008, their influences are as diverse and unique as their onstage show. Dragonflies rings out with a jingling, jangling coffee house ballad feel, the strings almost having a piano like effect. According to Kevin Swisher, you ’can’ make babies to this song. A Storm That Burns is sung with an almost Michael Sweet (Stryper) delivery between the growling. There are some nice doses of sporadic /spastic fast footed dancing fury. Swisher and Co play homage to Killswitch Engage and King X’s Doug Pinnick.

Amongst Villains

McGuffy’s regulars Amongst Villains return hot off their set supporting Psychostick a few weeks back. Hardcore sweater wearer Josh Marshall rocked the holy living Huxtable out of his wholly holiday gear, sporting a killer ’stash. He can make any fabric look angry as he screams himself flannel red, throwing himself into everything he does. AV are a band that just can’t stop moving. They play their patented blend of hard, rough but southern strong proofed metal on Heavy is the Crown and a trip down the darkened bayou on Black River Ruin. They take us To The Grave Dragging Hell along the way.

Suddenly a fan took the stage grabbed the mic and unleashed a hypnotic fury of beats, blasts, human throat noises uttering danceable delicacies to the crowd while Nightbeast prepared to roar. Security and staff were too in awe watching him take his vocal chords to almost indescribable heights in a Bobby McFerrin on steroids performance to stop him.

Shaking in the cellar, scared out of your mind, breath fights for freedom as the beast lurks by. Fingers scratch the surface, as night air seeps in, blood red eyes pierce the darkness as your end comes….. crashing through the wall. Well, maybe not as evil as that night beast but with no less a killer instinct for performance Dayton’s Nick Testa aka The Nightbeast, Lonn Friends unofficial twin brother plays a show unique in its presence and somewhat indescribable for the pen to translate. They show up with their own club mix, a band that must be seen to be properly heard and yes, they are a bit different. They bring out the shirtless inked aggression in true comedic form. Blending top 40, rap, hip hop, rock and ska, NightBeast ’could be’ best described as a schizophrenic natural ruthied dance club rock show tattooed male review remix on wheels. We start the pawty on a Fullride, no worries your future educations taken care of. Living Large is the on key Biz Markie version of Will Smith’s Summertime. They add Tenanious D, Weird Al Yankovic lyrics to a dizzying range of performance art and bizarre hijinks. But without PG-X rated humor there can be no Anger Phase. Those topless souls brave enough to perform with him include Sean Patton, Robbie Bauer, Jordan Elam, Ryan ’Asher’ Jones and John Lakes.

My Name in Vain

took the stage with towering skyscraper Josh ’slinky’ Miller at the helm celebrating their first year as a band playing heavy artillerist paced music with a thick shovel in steamy blacktop in maximum security grit feel. We took a trip back to the river bathhouse in all our shame because we’re all Poor People. Santa came out to spread some holiday cheer before he Departed. (Writers note: MNIV was the first local and mainstream band I’ve reviewed for the website (Static X show) so seeing them again and being there was extra special for me)

Chicago’s Action Blast came out ready to prove all the Disbeliever’s wrong, performing with a solid serving of rock, hard melody, and infectious vocals combining the singing Skillet/Killswitch Engage style with God Forbid appearance and screaming. They tap the audiences reserve tank with some hard rock addictive octane. After they hit us with The Plague, they offer us some tail from the headless chick that’ll leave any man stone faced. By the end they’d Erased any doubt they came to deliver the Chi-Town goods.

In the Cut

The evenings local hero’s/headliners, In the Cut, hit the stage bringing the party to the people, honoring those who lasted all night with shots, hot chicks dancing, Santa Clause on guitar and giving the crowd plenty of loud face time. Also celebrating their first year as a band, the Onslaught started symbolically Crossing the Rubicon on stage. They didn’t wait Until the End to pull out a blistering blast of super 80’s power ballads. Tonight’s show had indeed been an incredible Journey of personal triumph and victory for DeDoncker and all performers proving that hard work and dedication does pay off and the local scene can and does carry hardcore heavyweight drawing power. If Tomorrow Never Comes we’ll all feast and get Wasted on Hatred Divine. We finish M&L’s trio show with the voice of its creator from creation to damnation, from Eden to Exile. Their next show will be opening for religious icons P.O.D. on February 9^th.

Psychostick Brings Humorous Holiday Hate to McGuffy’s

December 14, 2012 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Saturday November 24^th humor core pioneers Psychostick brought their unique brand of side splitting heavy metal harmonious bedlam to the Dayton stage bringing their hits, misses and their version of some holiday tunes that to the uninitiated ear would probably sound best roasting on an open fire. They proved however you can have some fun with a few old time Christmas jingles and still sound like you’re pouring out poisonous eggnog to the holly jolly spirited sing along metal carolers.

Adding to the nights serious side were New York’s Xombie, Cincinnati’s The Fallen and Dayton’s Amongst Villains.

Hardcore New York based street kings Xombie opened with a very serious set performing with a Mad Ball/Primus feel and a Rage Against the Machine lyrical delivery. Their sound a self-described Hood Metal mixing hip hop/rap and metal into their own version of heavy street cred. Adam Cruz spits out lyrical novels every five minutes with a Henry Rollins/Mike Muir spoken word rapid fire pace. They soar high above the city smog in the metal heavens with the mighty Terrordactayl, work their game on the ladies G style on Excuse Me Miss and finish up with a PowerSmash giving the crowd something to remember them by. There are plenty of Biohazard signs in New York but there’s a few more Beware of Xombies too.

The Fallen

Next are two hot chicks from Cincinnasty and the three guys that play music with them. The Fallen, a multi meaning moniker, most important definition being ‘Those that have fallen, will rise up from their knees with a new self-identity and fight another day.’ The band, a metal-core outfit, most members formally in alt metal band Chaotic Existence, they purged forward with a heavier sound and the sweet, harmonic, soothing feminine growls and sexy screams of Tosha Montgomery. She spent the set sharing her Wicked Wisdom with the crowd with a Straight Line Stitch to the ear. They opened with the mysterious supernatural Ghost of the Unknown playing under the Blood Red Skies to the Last One Standing. They slow it down taking a seat on the speakers as Montgomery gives the throat demoness’s a break for a few minutes bringing out the inner diva for the first half of Dying, their monster 80’s power metal ballad tribute. Proving they’re a band not all about serious stuff they lighten the mood playing an instant crowd favorite about the nation’s love of ‘motorboating’. The Fallen incorporate a unique blend of metal, mixing an early Slayer sound with Slipknot guitar grooves adding the vocal elements of Angela Gossow and Morgan Lander.

Amongst Villains

Just so everyone knows it takes a real badass to sport a white sweater/pink shirt ensemble at a metal show. It takes ever more guts to do it singing with a band onstage. Never the less Josh Marshall from Dayton’s southern metal outfit Amongst Villains looks ‘fabulous’ no matter who he’s wearing. To his credit the sweater came off and gave apologies for both. They’re a band of everyman, spit and shine with a bloody finger scratching the floor working man’s metal with a heavy loaded guitar sound with some Zakk Wylde southern comfort. We went on an intoxicated downstream trip on the Black River Ruin. They brought out a special guest from In the Cut to help out on Heavy is the Crown. They will be returning to the stage on December 15 for the Moshpits and Lighters III local metal showcase.

Psychostick

Psychostick could be considered a modern day version of Scatterbrain. They brought in the holidays early with the Santa’s an A—–e Tour, some pretty red wreaths and a giftwrapped drum kit for all. A huge inflatable jolly Chris Cringle rocks and bobbles on stage just like the big fat cholesterol filled bastard himself. The band thanked everyone for sacrificing their World of Warcraft Saturday to come out and hear some brutal Christmas metal. They welcome you to the show with Welcome to the Show a song sung as the opening song sung letting everyone know they’re at an f’n concert hearing the opening song sung. Concerts are badass, concerts are cool. Show us your middle fingers, you guys are dicks. Take out your car keys… hey don’t leave yet! Now jingle them to make a nice Christmassy sound! Now put them away and give your neighbor a hug (any metal band that can make metal dudes hug each other (some of which didn’t know each other) in public surrounded by hot chicks is well, a unique form of crowd control I guess). Concerts are bad ass, YEAH! Singer Rawrb sports a weird shiny foam spiked pointed hat thingy. Presumably a homemade version of Doc’s mind reading Back to the Future head helmet, pimped out for the occasion. Bassist Matty brings out his cartoonish nature with a head trip tribute to Bullwinkle and friends. Now it’s time to break out the demonic ho’s, err holiday songs. The double bass pedal kickin yellow snow makin fun loving fury of Jingle Bell Metal. The double extended 24 second remix version of Silent Night followed by a sugary green and red light show filling all with angst and Christmas cheer, along with some curiously strong Jell-O shots. It was washed down with a delicious Sandwich for Santa. Psychostick is where hell and the North Pole collide in a huge pile of red snow. Switching gears we learn how to count to four with Drowning Pool, sort of. It’s an educational mathematically challenging show, elementary. Now that your brain hurts, Psychostick makes your body hurt with the most ingenious original invention every created with built in safety features, the slow motion mosh pit. In other words, the sssloooooww mootiooon moooosh piiiiit…. Old school circle pit! Ok, slower, everyone slower, slower, SLOWER! Stop moving, ok go! Next was a song dedicated to all the boobs in the house, you know… those blessed with less than average intellectually intelligent individual thought patterns. Returning to the holiday theme they sing about sh—y sweaters spreading some holiday Hate Times 8. They sure do hate all the haters who hate the other hating haters who hate the most. They don’t like Bing Crosby or people that hate eggnog either. Now it’s time for some Girl Directions, some girl directions, which way do I go woman? Uhm, like um, you go like uhm, that way, uhm….I guess. Speaking of bad directions this is the true story of Rudolf who killed people Dexter style, and was a blood red nosed freak of nature. System of a put the f’n pudding down! It’s time for the yogurt and eggnog lover’s song. Now, slow dance… by yourself! No clingy girlfriends. They wish you a Merry Christmas, they wish you a Merry Christmas, they wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy taco. A roll of large industrial size gift wrap crowd surfed on this one, along with a huge stuffed oversized taco. Now grab the guy with the sombrero! Next up is a song about the night Santa died fighting off the aliens. (live, on stage intermission brought to you by Hoagy Carmichael) And you know what goes great with Hoagies? Beer, that’s right beer, we all love beer, beer is good, let’s go drink beer with a girl named Ruthie. Time for the Wii, err WEE, worst encore ever. After all the hoopla, jokes, serious social commentary, yelling, screaming, wassailing it was time to send the crowd home happy or at least distracted with a song about hope, faith, high social morals and world peace about all the new year’s resolutions you won’t keep so, Happy F’n New Year from….. wait for it, PSYCHOSTICK!!!!

Psychostick

Tonight Psychostick proved to the dozens of hundreds of fans, including die hard super fan Rob Bowling, they’re one of the greatest, fastest, most brutal, melodic, jazzy, loudest, instrumental bands with loud vocals that perform comedy and Christmas metal songs from Phoenix on a tour called Santa’s an A—–e on the McGuffy’s stage in Dayton Ohio in late November of 2012 around 11 in the evening on a Saturday night at McGuffy’s House of Rock amongst other bands that do the exact same thing.

University of Dayton Presents Heavy Metal for the Sophisticated Educated Ear

December 2, 2012 By Mike Ritchie 1 Comment

Friday November 9, the hallowed halls of finer Dayton based education held a symposium on a subject of great interest, historical value, global impact and social significance. Four renowned highly educated intellectual professionals came to discuss a subject many of the student body loved and many around the word live as a lifestyle. Dr. Esther Clinton and Dr. Jeremy Wallach of Bowling Green State University, Dr. Deena Weinstein of Depaul University and Dr. Mark LeVine of California-Irvine all brought their esteemed, world traveled knowledge to enlighten us on the finer spoken points and high society standards of the world’s greatest musical contribution… Heavy Metal. Sponsored by The UD Arts Series, Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Departments of Communications, English, History, Music, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work. Also the Roesch Library, Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center, Alumni Chair of Humanities and Social Justice LLC and Service Club.

Each gave a different and unique presentation to a packed room in the Sears Recital Hall at the Jesse Phillips Humanities Center on the effects, sounds, culture, emotional impact, history and understanding of the genre as a whole and fascinating insight into its distinctive subgenres.

Dr. Clinton a professor of popular culture and teacher/writer of Folklore, Popular/Material Culture began her lecture, “Who has Access?- Comparing the Moral Panic About Gothic Literature in the Late 18^th Century and Heavy Metal Music in the 1980’s.” She made several comparisons to the themes of gothic literature and Metal such as the often used dark and stormy night verbiage used in novels which was present in metals earliest form, the first Black Sabbath record with its eerie downpour and looming church bell. The music sounds dark, using minor keys, reverb and the dreaded tritone. The theme of human/personal/supernatural evil widely used by Sabbath, historically becoming one of the genre’s biggest lyrical go to subjects was often symbolized by the dark characters within the gothic works. Moral panics were brought on by both forms of expressionism. The PMRC gave us the 15 worst song list questioning their lyrical content on the young minds of the time. Gothic literature gave woman a great sense of empowerment as they could control or influence men using their powers of persuasion. They were given strong roles, standing up to men and allowed to enjoy the more physical side of life in these stories which helped the female literacy rate go up. In 1870 a law was passed which gave women access to these ‘fun’ books which were passed around and shared much like the underground tape trading scene of the early 80’s. So if you lived back in the day and were luckily enough to get a presumably well- read, well-worn ‘early’ copy of Frankenstein, Dracula or the era’s first novel The Castle of Otranto it would be similar to a friend giving you a re-re-re-re-copied underwater sounding cassette of Metallica’s No Life Till Leather demo. Also the advent of cassettes along with malls, Walkman’s, Boomboxes and Ghettoblasters made the ‘then’ music media portable and easier to share and play. It also opened a huge market for the younger crowd as before records were more for adults.

Dr. Wallach, is the Associate Professor in the Department of Popular Culture and author of Modern Noise, Fluid Genres: Popular Music in Indonesia, 1997-2001 and Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around The World. He brought along some very unique sounds to his presentation, giving us a listen to some extremely rare demo tapes and bands from the farthest reaches of the earth showing that the sound of metal can incorporate almost any kind of instrument and will still sound ‘metal’. His topic of “Diversification and the Duality of Domination in Global Heavy Metal” was an eye opening look into just how far heavy music has spread to several parts of the world that the average headbanger probably hadn’t heard of. Not your every-day types of metal included Celtic and non-English and with the bagpipes and accordion’s blaring there’s even a Metal Polka. Other unique instruments used were an Erhu (a Chinese two stringed bowed instrument) used in solo performances and orchestras, known as a Chinese Violin or Fiddle in the Western World. A Gamelan, an Indonesian group of non-interchangeable instruments meant to be played and tuned together from the islands of Java and Bali incorporating drums, gongs, flutes and plucked strings. The instruments are all built together on a decorative rack and are played as its own separate entity and are an integral part of Indonesian culture. Other multi-string music makers include the 13 string koto, Japans national instrument and a shamisen, a fretless 3 string plucked instrument similar but designed simpler then a guitar or banjo. Both have recently been used by Taiwanese Black Metal group Chthonic (pronounced thonic). A group formed in 1995 incorporating ghost paint instead of corpse paint and are still going strong today regularly playing festivals, arenas and stadiums. That’s right, a stadium level black metal band. When’s football’s over, Chthonic will come. While each of these instruments by itself would seem worlds apart and almost alien to the world of loud extreme music, each bands incorporates the sound and different playing styles into the loud sound in a way that doesn’t get drown out by screaming guitars. The instruments use itself is a statement of each bands distinct culture, mythology and history.

Next up the very well-backed up metal spoken word of professor of sociology Dr. Weinstein (she’s posing with Dio in the event booklet). Her body of work covers books, chapters and articles in professional journals ranging from sociology of rock to postmodern theory. She also writes music reviews and features for a range of publications and has authored Heavy Metal: The Music and It’s Culture. “Metal’s Malleability and Its Cultural Globalization” Metal has a name, image, brand just as Starbucks, Harry Potter and McDonalds. Metal music literary speaking shape shifts and can be twisted, torn, bent and reshaped into various forms of product and art just as actual metal can. All shapes though break from their original form. Visually metal bands are seen as strong, often using visuals of power whether in their artwork, lyrics or presentation, as real metal is physically strong. A Manowar album cover can be seen as artistically strong, showcasing its members as built and musically, physically appealing, while black metal bands like Gorgoroth and Mayhem use shocking images in personal appearance and stage presentation. Though there are underground death metal scenes all over the US, where it’s more accepted, there is also a huge scene in Columbia and Mexico. The music’s sound like actual metal can be bent incorporating different sounds, agenda’s, personal messages, lifestyle commentary from different parts of the world. Take Overthrust from Ghanzi in Botswana a death metal band whose appearance reflects an old school biker look. Different cultures have used music as the only voice they might have to vocalize injustice, prejudice, and discrimination.

Dr. Levine is a professor of Middle Eastern history, holding a doctorate in Middle Eastern History and Islamic studies and musician recording/touring with Mick Jagger, Dr. John Ozomatli, and Hassan Hakmoun. He’s also authored Heavy Metal Islam and presented “Behind the Sun: Metal and the Roots of Revolution in the Arab World.” He showed a funny clip of MTV Arbia and talked about nations that just started to open their doors to metal music. In some countries playing metal either recorded or live and wearing t-shirts and having long hair is an arrest-able offense. In extreme cases some societies are so sheltered that the penalty for being a metal head is death so the music in underground in the most literal sense. Many fans embrace heavy music here because of its rare and sometimes almost inaccessible availability. In 1997, there were Satanic scares in Israel the government thinking the music made metal heads torture cats. They also thought the music made kids mentally ill due to the perceived and uneducated viewing of headbanging and moshing. Of several Youtube metal clips shown was a musician discussing that he’d only recently been able to wear his shirts in public and that he once feared for his life and that playing metal could cost him his life. One of the most telling and powerful stories was in 2007 Iron Maiden were the first major metal band to come to Bangelor India, ever, playing for 30,000 fans. There are Youtube clips showing fans openly weeping for joy that a metal show this big had finally come to their country. One funny but telling story was from a fan who sold his father’s shoes for ticket money.

As a historical preview Anthropologist Sam Dunn’s 2008 Global Metal Documentary was shown the previous week. The film follows Dunn’s whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underground underbelly of the world’s emerging extreme music scenes. Genres explored include Indonesian death metal, Chinese black metal and Iranian thrash metal. Highlights include an entire mall in Brazil (home of Sepultura) dedicated to metal music. Former Megadeth guitarists Marty Friedman talking about Japanese fans giving western bands toothbrushes, which has nothing to do with oral hygiene rather the fans just want the bands to have something from their country. He also talks about Visual kei, a movement characterized by make-up, wild hairstyles and flamboyant costumes, resembling a mix of glam and punk. Pioneered in the early 80’s by Japan X and recently to a point incorporated by Dir En Grey, a more familiar to the Western world Japanese band. The musical style is unique as it shifts between shredding metal blasters to tender somewhat cheesy ballads. Imagine a Visual kei band playing Raining Blood, Don’t Know What You Got Till Its gone, Master of Puppets and More Than Words in that order and you’ll have an idea. After being closed off from the Western World, Tang Dynasty became the first Chinese metal band. In 1993 Metallica played in Jakarta Indonesia and due to the kids going into frenzy (releasing pent up anger from the government oppression and dismal living standards) inside and outside of the stadium all rock and metal shows were banned for years. The Desert Rock Festival in Dubai is the only metal festival in the Middle East and the only place where fans can come and safely show their devotion. It’s an epic monumental event bringing people from Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Aman, Saudi Arabia, Duheas among others. Another example of how metal starved this region was, is that there’d never been metal cd’s allowed and there’d also never been a metal show in Iran until 2004 when SDS (Seven Deadly Sins) played in Tehran and even then the audience had to sit down with the band playing covers including Morbid Angel and Slayer couldn’t have vocals due to metal’s perceived harsh and aggressive lyrics. Dunn’s other films include Metal: A Headbangers Journey, Iron Maiden Flight 666 and the TV documentary series Metal:Evolution among others.

SITH, Forces of Nature, King Stench Cross Streams with Zuel at Hanks Pub

December 1, 2012 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Shadows in the Hourglass

Friday night November 16^thone of Dayton‘s long standing staples and supporters of local music Hank’s Pub hosted a noisy evening showcasing some of Dayton’s finest metal minions. Shadows in the Hourglass, Forces of Nature, King Stench and Zuel played like true metal masters, banging the heads of the cozy crowd. Offering a bullet belted buffet of heavy elements and styles. Not one head bang or evil growl was the same.

Bassist Zack Ryan and Travis Abling play passing away the sands of time delivering their two instrument musical torso. They’re missing the guitars and singer and they’re damn proud of it too. Carrying a show on four strings and some drums is a beautiful thing to hear when SITH happens. Nicknamed Showers in The Hourglass for the evening they bathed the crowd in deep bass patterns backed by fast intricate drum conversations. Ryans fingers played us into the dark caverns of the brain, the strings putting mental tip toeing, footsteps and running in the mind. There’s some funk with the shadows too. He shows off some skill fluctuating styles bringing Flea, Cliff Burton and Geezer Butler into the room. Abling lays the groundwork for Ryan to play with beating the crap out of his kit, in the nicest possible way. Sadly this was their last show of the year but as long as the Mayans don’t get their way they’ll be back next ‘13.

Forces of Nature

Next is the bloody reign of Slayer, Mudvayne and Pantera giftwrapped in barbed wire just in time for the holidays. Only these Forces of Nature can control the Seasons in the Abyss. They break out the heavy artillery, pile-driving your head into a bulldozer. Singer Tate Moore screams and screeches sound like he’s trapped in a sewer drain lungs filled with septic fluid, spewing all kinds of nasty vermin. Guitarists Marc Godsey and Jimmy Rose trade crunchy, munchy guitar riffs torn off rusty chains of gristle. Johnnie Wallace plays the bass like it’s the deep voice of hell coming for you. Of course behind every four good big, bad, creepy metal dudes is always a better woman, who could probably beats the skin off of any drum head, the lovely Mrs. Shannon Godsey. The bigger Godsey plays with Kerry King goliath sound harnessing the bands dark live power. Playing with speed and Dimebag thrash he brings all the necessary demons howling out of his electric twanger. They opened with Magnus Lee, Nevermore (not the band), the feet stomping chug and Chromatic Death breakdowns of Mary Hates Herself. Formed in 1999 and revamped in 2009, they’re a few years into their second decade of aggression. They play us the sound twisting, weaving tune with the twisted smiling face of the Dark Carnival. They play nice Throwing Fists just close enough to pleasantly assault the ear but not cause serious damage. They go from the stage to the mystery machine and deal out some serious shredding Scooby Snacks on EX-6-DEZMO. Forces of Nature bring all the elements and can play it all from breakneck guitar speed, seismic solos and slower melodic The Legacy type ballads and bringing down the lightning of the gods with instrumental material.

King Stench

There’s something rotten in Denmark, or Dayton which means there’s a foul stench in the air created by King Stench. His Dan Lilker looking highness summons the mighty forces of evil dark black metal unleashing an old school sound down from the deepest, darkest, backwoods used crawlspace. With possessed grizzly bear growling and a naturally dark aura they play homage to the forefathers of the macabre musical genre including Venom, Mayhem, Immortal and a horde of other corpse painters. Mr. Godsey plays double duty on bass and the newlywed Hammering Hobbit plays the blast beat, deep forest outhouse bowels out of his drums. Yes, under Ohio law it is legal for hobbits to marry. Cess Pool on guitar rounds out this stinking pile of Hellish Odorous Local Royalty. Hells Gate opens revealing the Putrid Remains of False Prophets. The Ungod would be proud of new tune Eternal Flame. Visions of the Goat Lord are next then we Fight for out Last Breath against the Hell Hounds, finishing with a Premonition of Devastation. They’re single handedly playing out the demons from hell and bringing them to Dayton. Thanks guys.

There is no Dana, only Zuel. It’d seem like a no brainer to name your metal band after the feminine Gatekeeping minion of Gozer and sometimes drooling devilish canine worshipped by the Sumerians and Hittites in 6000 BC and subsequently overthrown by the Babylonian goddess Tiamat and banished to another dimension. But the guys from Zuel decided to be even cooler, changing the spelling and name it after the red eyed devil dog that lived in Sigourney Weaver’s refrigerator in the mid-eighties. In Ghostbusting terms they very well could be the 35 foot long, 600 LB, Twinkie of local instrumental metal, “IF” you can find one. Born in the summer of 2009, they’re a band with no gimmicks, no trends and no scene hair, which’ve recently gone voiceless so now only the music matters. They come right out and hit us with a prog, Helmet style guitar prodding taste of Morbid Angel with a S—t Hammer in the b—s. They prove they truly are Bill’s Gate Keeper on Microsoft Rapture. They slowly build up with solid steel spiked steps, jerking and jarring with sudden starts, stops, jolts and snaps. They show off some easy going groovy jazz then speed up the sound race sending you sprinting down the stairs as a building collapse’s above you. They add a little Zep to their dazed and confused set of intricate instrumentalism.

PsychoStick Will Rock You Stupid or Die Trying

November 20, 2012 By Mike Ritchie 1 Comment

Psychostick

So, Gwar, Tenacious D, Chimaira and System of a Down walk into a bar to watch a Weird Al Yankovic show and he’s doing a signature parody about food, let’s say tacos. Then all of a sudden he changes career long lyrical content to STD’s and weird sexual acts and starts screaming and cussing. Let’s say you’re at an S.O.D show and Billy Milano’s screaming his poetry of anger, hate, politics, speaking English and killing yourself, except this time, it’s funny. Imagine moshing in a circle pit to ‘lighter’ almost acoustic ballads laughing at the same time. If your presumably drunk feeble mind can harness the brain cell’s to merge the above descriptions together you’ll get an idea of what a PsychoStick show’s like.

The self-proclaimed humor-core comedy metal band from Phoenix take all the angst, anger, depression, gloom, evil, sadness and other nasty stuff in metal and make it funny with wink-face smiley emoticons. BTW (by the way), they’re coming to McGuffy’s Saturday November 24th, so deal with it…., and Toledo the day after. Even though their big hit’s called Beer don’t drink too much at their show you might piss yourself laughing. Lyrically they bravely tackle taboo subjects like singing about songs, food, Facebook deletions, Hollywood BS, number counting, caffeine, groceries, orange’s and other subjects most other bands don’t have the balls too touch… (yes, pun intended). They play an unforgettable show (no matter how hard you try as you cry yourself to sleep) with goofy props, lyrical parodies, loud metal and sometimes stop mid-song for band discussions, bathroom breaks and texting.

They’re celebrating the holidays the only way they can by bringing out the jolly old man’s dark side and inner evil on the Santa’s an Assh-… tour. So far, they’ve earned success, disgust and a devoted loyal following their own way self-recording, producing, and marketing themselves anyway they can, short of selling out or the world’s oldest profession. They have 3 full length CD’s out. Their first, 2003’s We Couldn’t Think of a Title, 2009’s Sandwich and 2011’s similar titled Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs In 3D. They also have a festive Christmas record out honoring the season in the spirit of Bing Crosby and Perry Como called The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride featuring Jolly Old Sadist and Red Snow.

They’ve played and shared festival bills with an impressive list including Green Jelly, Mushroomhead, Slipknot, Slayer, Anthrax, Motorhead, Disturbed, As I Lay Dying, Godsmack and Megadeth among others. They’ve even played a show with the equally humorous Venom, Pig Destroyer and NunSlaughter. They’ve played 21 national tours in 47 states and were probably banned in the others. They have a few videos out including Political Bum which could be seen as a comical comparison to Suicidal Tendencies’ Institutionalized and there’s a video about feminize pectoral major’s too. If they take themselves seriously, they don’t show it but they are definitely serious about being dumb. Dayton’s Amongst Villains, Cincinnati’s Sleeping Tigers and The Fallen join the bill.

Genitorturers Violate McGuffys House of Rock… Again

November 17, 2012 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Miss Gen of the the Genitorturers onstage at McGuffy’s House of Rock (photo by Mike Ritchie)

McGuffy’s known for a long storied history of bringing in the best local/national bands might also be considered one of the bravest. Saturday November 3^rdthey brought back one of metals most ballsy and brazen acts both in performance, visuals and themes. The Genitorturers, Tampa’s answer to extreme Vaudeville meets sadistic role play meets simulated ‘physical activity’ brought the BlackHeart Revolution back to Dayton for another night of intense debauchery, naughty nemphoism, and general overall depravity. They’ve probably scared Alice Cooper once or twice too.

Not only did the crowd get a tour de force of tantalizing freak show tinsel town as the main event they got two more bands as different to each other as they were to their ‘dominating’ headliner. Tonight may have been one of the most musically diverse bills to play the Mcguffy’s stage.

The Campaign 1984 (photo by Mike Ritchie)

High energy openers The Campaign 1984 have been making dirty southern rock with a sexy cynical edge on the east coast since 2004. Namesake based on the George Orwell novel. Matt Anderson’s stage performance and presence is as much about the music as it his own facial delivery of lyrical themes and subject matter. You may not be quite sure what he’s saying here and there, though his vocals are clean you can tell from every comical/cartoonish expression, eye role, movement that he’s having fun and feeling it whether it’s delivered in sarcasm or sincerity. They’ve opened for Slash, Buck Cherry, Jackal and Red among others. 2010’s Sessions marks their fourth CD showcasing an always evolving sound. Stand in line for this Black Country Communion whisky bottle in hand with some AC/DC style rock with a black magic edge and a bit of North Carolina BLS Pride and Glory. The slobber nockered bluesy jam blasts off with Queen of the Damned about one of the nasties of the street lit evening underworld. We get some Hot Love from the Werewolves of the industrial revolution. Slingblade (not the movie) tells us about those special ‘scene girls’ who’ve probably earned their rep for being Dixie Dynamite. They leave us drinking from the triple X’d jug with a Kiss. The campaign’s a black top gravel in the face dose of full-tank high octane trucker road rock ready for the next all-nighter.

Close the Hatch (Photo by Mike Ritchie)

Dayton’s Close The Hatch is not as much a band as it’s a disturbing musical assault on the mind and the bizarre, noir images the mind conjures during their shows. Their music is almost instrumental except for the intense Crowbar like growls of Stephen Barton. They play music that dream weaves its way into your subconscious and mental lobes. They incorporate a slow heavy sound with a classical edge and effects giving off a weird, eerie melancholy ambiance. Feelings of trauma and trepidation seep off stage slowing finger crawling toward the audience like a misty apparition. It’s a slow musical journey into insanity with straight jacket wall slamming and a little bit of blissful serenity added to the gloom. They’ve figured out what an acid trip during a suicide note would sound like. They create multiple moments playing serene surroundings putting the mind in places it’s not exactly familiar or ok with. Imagine being in the high of a high in the deep end of a pool, floating near the bottom looking up at the sun’s reflection through the murphy clear waves, under the induced tranquil state of peaceful serenity unaware of the fast approaching panic your body tries to warn you. That last moment of dreamlike calm when your eyes close, body shuts down and permanently drift away. They’ve captured it. This is music for serial killers with serious mood swings. Musically they’re Meshuggah meets Tool mediated by Opeth with the Deftones hanging around.

The Genitorurers (Photo by Mike Ritchie)

Now ladies and gentleman, boys and girls it’s time to watch what would happen if Wendy O Willams was resurrected by The Great Kat and both joined the circus, the devilishly delightful hostess of dominatrix Miss Gen. Clad throughout the evening in leather and lace, cape and illuminating top hat she was always dressed to kill. Playing the devils concubine, she’s the femme fatale to Dani’s filth, the queen to King Diamond’s dark kingdom and the conductor of the traveling ritualistic Sodom and Gomorrah metal road show that is The Genitorturers. Where there’s no shame, no taboos, no act too shocking and no liquid or dessert topping too good not to indulge in. If you like your loud metal shows full of lewd acts, Gwar-like costumes champagne simulations and whip cream climaxes you’re in for a sweet treat. They emerge through a blood splattered entrance way opening with their smash hit Cum Junkie, mistress Gen plays with her toys including an incriminating shiny butcher knife, some cute altered baby dolls, a whip and a few humans with a fetish for perverse PDA’s willing to experiment and experience the genitorture. The cast of damnation includes cutters, pole riders, an adult sized baby fresh from the morgue, an overbearing/over ruling judge whose moral/Miranda authority’s quickly diminished by majority rule. It’s thematically an X rated show done with horror movie elements, plenty of depravity, industrial gothic sound, side show sizzle, Halloween hijinks and back room sex club perversity with a creative, artsy feel. She pulls out the evil inside her with a Devil in a Bottle and some Jim Bean unleashing her inner demons into the mic. It’s time to do some evil things, play tempting seduction games with a lollipop and deflower some virgins. One scantily clad lady comes out and makes a religious statement. It’s a busy multi-tasking sex show, without the nudity. We’ll Take It anyway they wanna give it, no pain no gain. They’re Public Enemy Number 1 in Sin City and the moral justice police just gave up the chase. They finished up by vocally touching themselves and saying goodnight. Something wicked definitely came.

Alrosa Villa Celebrates 38 Years with the Voice of Queensryche.

November 15, 2012 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Since August 1974 Alrosa Villa has been a Columbus tour stop mecca for the world of music to come to entertain, perform and generally kick ass. The Villa’s been a staple of the northern Ohio music scene for almost four decades and continues to bring the best bands on all levels through its historic doors. Besides hundreds of the best local and regional bands; a who’s who of rock n roll fame and infamy has come to ransack the place and play its hallowed stage. The royalty includes Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Brian Johnson, 80’s legends/ hair metal kings David Lee Roth, Ratt, Bret Michaels, 90’s goth pioneers Type O Negative, one of metal’s Godfather’s Dio, the legendary Motorhead, masked men Slipknot, the southern charm of Jackal, White Zombie, Suicidal Tendencies, Devil Driver, Mushroomhead, Pantera, Korn, Overkill, Inflames, Lamb of God and countless more.

It’s fitting that Queensryche played a show here in the early 80’s as they’ve brought back the voice that helped propel the band to global success with eleven records, a collection of DVD’s and 20 million records sold worldwide. A man whose voice is one of the most listenable, identified, soothing yet haunting to hear and is responsible for verbal warnings, operating mind-crime, building empires, singing about the Promise Land then another frontier, calling out the tribes for Moore mind-crime and singing for the American soldiers dealing with the chaos. The voice, known as Geoff Tate joined the band, formally The Mob in 1982 after the success of the name changing EP’s title Queen of the Reich. The Metal umlaut aka rock dots above the Y is a Greek punctuation inferring unique pronunciation as they didn’t want a connection with certain parts of Euro history.

No Reverse Gear

His solo work includes the 2002 self-titled disc, guest vocals on Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds on Butchering The Beatles: A Headbashing Tribute, Summerwind on 2011’s Sin-atra and this year’s Kings&Thieves. Alrosa, Columbus and all those who attended had a blast hearing the man whose voice is synonymous with some of the all-time great metal songs/concept records and is Hit Parader’s #14 greatest voice of all time and recently voted That Metal Show’s #2.

The best of the local’s tradition continued as Columbus’s No Reverse Gear started the celebration playing some down n dirty southern jailhouse rock and catchin’ the Southbound railroad train to freedom blues. Backup singer Allix sings the soulful, heartbreaking blues behind lead singer/guitarist/patriarch Rod Knapp, who plays sly with the steel fingered guitar and harmonica. He does his time on stage with a smirk and smile telling us about all of life’s experiences, women and past and present hardships. It’s time to go Home though the Dinal Festination isn’t clear. Life has No Reserve Gear so speed it up and live it up the best you can. A philosophy spoken by a man who’s band is definitely a family affair.

Roxy Mae

Straight from the most hair spray soaked, back streets punked out parts of Columbus come the three man band Roxy Mae. Named after a special working lady they’re as red blooded as any American male from Ohio’s capital. Playing a nostalgic aqua gel throwback mix of dirty garage rock, hard hair metal and pissed of punk they’d make anyone from LA Guns to Michael Monroe to Jetboy proud. Too bad they weren’t around in the mid-late 80’s they could’ve given Roxy Blue, Tuff and Britney Fox among countless others a sleazy run for Sunset superiority. The KMFDM wearing bassist Joe Estes is apparently the ‘punk’ of the group while black leather pants/bandanna wearing guitarist Matt Starr sported a gypsy/biker look complete with a time warp hair tease. Somewhere Phil Lewis and Faster Pussycat are smiling. Drummer JJ Kilimchuk has a lot of Joey Kramer in him. Playing their namesake tune, Dirty Girl and a tribute to Poison minus the makeup they showed what the new nostalgia sound of 2012 sounds like.

Louie Owings

Next up, one of the nights special attractions, guitar prodigy in the making, rockstar and future headliner in the making 11 year old Louie Owings took over the stage playing a crowd roaring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner showing knowledge beyond his years adding in a bit of Hendrix style. He would’ve done the tricks too but the guitar was almost bigger than him. After the crowd yelled for more, he encored showing off his chops and metal muscle with Highway to Hell. Raising hands for reaction, throwing up the thorns he sported genuine rock n roll prowess, letting out a rebel yell before taking a bow saying thank you and goodnight. Having a built in rock n roll family heritage the kids gonna be a star. Future appearances/autograph signing s and gigs can be booked through the Alrosa staff.

Level 7

Next up is quite possibly the most original cover band…ever. Level 7 play everything from the classics to the most recent and everything in between. They perform with such an addictive/bombastic energy if you didn’t know better you’d think the songs were theirs. In fact, they’re one of the only bands apparently brave, brazen and good enough through performance to play songs by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Black Crowes, AC/DC and Kiss making them their own. With over 140 years of collective industry experience they are a force in the Columbus scene rivaling any national touring band. While there’s a unique dichotomy within the band as half look like real bonified rockstars fresh from Cali and other half look like the guy next door mowing his lawn on Sunday giving them as a whole, the perfect look. Singer Doug Savage IS a rockstar starting at an early age with a storied local history and major LA and touring cred, rubbing elbows with Ted Nugent, Zakk Wylde and many others. He brings the attitude and over the top rebellious attitude of Sebastian Bach, the flamboyance of David Lee Roth and the look of Bret Michaels. Opening with some serious rock n roll thunder they slam into a bigger than life show and their version of Toys, it was a time travel transplant back to the west coast. They played a Remedy for our ears then made us feel 18 again. Their mega-popularity showed in the crowd though they’d only formed in 2009. If a cover band ever looked like they’d lived a few Behind the Music stories, Level 7 is that band. Though we were nothing close to Cumbersome, they played it anyway the band temporary becoming Level Seven Mary Three. We got some Sweet Emotion; very apropos being it was Savage’s first Alrosa appearance since 1987. I’m sure over the years some serious dirty deeds were done on that stage but for now we get a Jailbreak. They turned Columbus into Detroit Rock City then rocked out a finale like a Crazy Bitch. Guitarist Sean ‘Riff’ Green, a 20 year local hero plays with the intensity and skill of a tour seasoned pro. Guitarist Daryl Wolford brought part of his guitar arsenal, merging sound and solos with Green. Lennard James bassist stood an intimidating sight, resembling a giant metal beast giving fans the heaviest sound possible. Called “a walking definition of versatility” by Modern Drummer Magazine Marty Brasington lived up to the billing in spades.

Geoff Tate

Many things have been said about Mr. Tate’s voice and four octave range. Though the voice is only one part of the performance, using his hypnotic eyes, body language and motion to convey the deepest emotions in his songs whether, pain, sorrow, happiness, humor or satisfaction emerge. He tells a story with one intense look or stare, one quick motion or convulsion, radiating a unique aura of mystery, sensuality and class, showing off sexuality for the ladies while staying macho for the guys. He encompasses the world renowned global front man he is but also comes across like a regular guy at times. Wearing heart on sleeve he sings the songs he’s known for along with solo material old and new, sipping only the best fine Insania red wine during the show. He smiles along sharing interesting road stories, particular one about being in the heat of New Orleans walking into a large voodoo ritual and ending up discussing taboo subjects with a 70’ish year old lady. He also advised what to do when you get the ‘silent treatment’. He walks the stage casually playing the every-day kinda guy talking to people having some good natured fun with the ladies. One fortunate lady’s hair got a personally applied douse of authentic Geoff sweat; it may never see shampoo again. Tate reminds us that no matter how high you fly, always keep one foot in the dirt.

Joined by long time collaborator Donny Evola on guitars he appeared onstage dancing to the tribal drum beat persuading us into the murky depths of Forever. We revisit Q2K on Sacred Ground then he leaves us Disconnected in the Promised Land sax in hand. This is real, this is now, and this is the first new Kings & Thieves tune delivering the sexy sax playing, cathedral mix of The Way I Roll. Tonight’s a reminder there are no rules, just open your heart and let it Flood. We’re all Helpless, drawn into the performance. We go back to The Real World from the Last Action Hero Soundtrack dedicated to composer Michael Kamen who Tate met in 1984 and worked on Suite Sister Mary and Silent Lucidity. There’s a few thing’s Seattle’s famous for, coffee, caffeine addictions and lots and lots of rain. It’s just Another Rainy Night in Columbus. We go old-school on The Killing Words then new school and Take a Bullet for the Dark Money, In The Dirt. Yep, we Got It Bad but we already knew so Say U Love It. We all Walk the Thin Line with A Grain of Faith. He finished up telling a story about an emotional fan telling him about the best song he ever wrote that saved his life. You know, Silent in Tennessee. The night ended on a long trip with the Jet City Woman. Kings&Thieves, other merch, tour info and fine wine is available at www.geofftate.com.

The evening’s celebration was over and another packed house of sweaty, tired, hoarse fans leave the Villa adding their names to the long, ever growing list of satisfied concert goers to the Alrosa guest book. Whether you’ve been there once, twice or you’re an area regular, Alrosa Villa continues to be an intimate alternative to the huge rock arenas where you can actually almost touch your favorite Rock God and despite one tragic night, their reputation’s been solidified on its autographed walls and the streets of Columbus. In other words, they’re here for another 38years… and counting.

Englewood Cinema Hosts Horrorama 2012

November 10, 2012 By Mike Ritchie 2 Comments

Friday October 26^th the 16th annual Halloween themed all night movie bash Horrorama played the Englewood Cinema showing five cinema slashers from new brain smashing movies dedicated to 50’s era horror, to early 80’s comic book capers, mid 80’s gory reanimation, late 80’s campy horrifying hair metal and a local, well-made historical true crime shockumentary based on the most infamous ‘family’ of the late 60’s. Since 1997 Horrorama has been a premiere event showcasing the newest in local film, best horror movies of any given era and just plain messed up, underground, weird, cult stuff you’ll never see on any other big screen again… ever. Event hosts Andrew Copp, Matt Brassfield and Richard Martin once again brought the goods for another year of all night screaming and movie mayhem. The genesis of the event stemmed from Copp and Martin’s appreciation, fascination and admiration of Shock Theater talking to Mr. Hobart about creating a live action version encompassing all the great elements and entertaining moments that made the show a local favorite phenomenon. Splattertude’s imposing painted up bassist A. Ghastlee Ghoul also co-hosted for a while.

Along with the beloved Dr. Creep the night also honored the memory of national entertainer Dow Thomas and local News Anchor Carl Day who appeared in the night’s last feature. This year marks the end of an era sadly due to the universal conversion to digital prints. Friday night was the last time 35mm prints were shown on the Englewood screen. Three of the five flicks Re-Animator, Trick or Treat, and The Manson Family were the last films to grace the long run format and were a fitting swansong. The evening began with one of two digital prints Atomic Brain Invasion and Creepshow.

The kids costume contest opened the show with the young’ens playing a female joker, Carl from The Walking Dead, the devil and a Zombie. However after saying his name three times Beetlejuice won followed by the female joker and the young ‘walker’ killer.

‘Coming attractions’ from yesteryear included Creature of the Walking Dead, The Last Chase starring Burgess Meredith, there was Magic (way before there was Dead Silence), the crowd pleaser Stunt Rock (featuring music giants Sorcery), Blood Bath and the family friendly G rated Legend of Boggy Creek.

The night’s crème de la cinema began with the fun 50‘s throwback Atomic Brain Invasion. A bunch of big brained aliens land in New England looking to kidnap Elvis and take him back to their leader. Hilarity ensues as the aliens give chase, but the homo-sapiens are cleverer than the creatures thought picking them off with shovels and shotguns and foiling their invasion/kidnapping progress with doors that won’t open. The gang consists of the pretty girl, smart but nerdy main lead, the coon skin cap wearing scared funny guy and the origami loving jock who eventually befriends the nerdy dude to help save the day. A booze guzzling shotgun wielding hillbilly with an invading past joins the fight for survival with a cast of other zany characters from the era. There’s a big Back to the Future feel and the movie gives a unique chance to see what would have happened if Crispin Glover had played Biff.

The adult costume contest featured Doctors, Harley Quinn, Medusa, Saint Mary, Ursula, Werewolf’s, Mermaids and Sherlock Holmes amongst other ghouls and goblins. After much applause the top three were chosen. Top honors and prizes went to the guy for wearing a creative idea, literally, as 50 Shades of Grey followed by the woman who would turn him into stone for beating her and the Movie Damsel who would stand silent and watch.

Before the creepshow began we watched previews for The Undertaker and His Pals (it’s not a wrestling movie), the freakish Giant Gila Monster, the black and white flash version of arguably the scariest movie ever made The Exorcist, Eyes of Hell and the fun 80’s demonic romp Night of The Demons.

Inspired by the 1950’s E.C. comics George Romero and Stephen King bring five tales of terror to the big screen in the early 80’s horror anthology Creepshow. Fathers Day’s about a poor old guy that just wants his cane, cake and to eat it too. The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill has Stephen King feeling a little green after a meteor falls from the sky slowly turning him into vegetation. Something To Tide You Over features a young Ted Danson and a rare bad guy performance from comical Leslie Nielsen. Adrienne Barbeau plays a nagging drunk who walks into the wrong stairwell in The Crate. They’re Creeping Up On You, has lots and lots of cockroaches, nuff said. Apparently several patrons bugged out and took an early break on this one.

The scream contest was next. Each contestant caused cupped ears and ringing drums. The winner received some special Dr. Creep artwork. The strong lunged Beth won and earned the admiration and appreciation of the crowd when she stopped.

1985’s gory dark humored tale of post mortem morticious resurrection Re-Animator was next. Based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, a very young Jeffrey Combs plays doctor with dead things, bringing animals and humans back to life with a few CC’s of neon ‘glow stick’ green goo. It was a starring vehicle for Combs reprising the role in two other films. The movies theme is dark and serious playing like a medical drama despite carrying off incredible black humor, gore and a complete lack of professional ethics. Though the decapitated body milling around from the heads POV makes a great pan shot.

Coming attractions for movies made in the late 80’s and earlier included Black Roses, Rituals aka The Creeper, Devils Express, Ms. 45 (possible inspiration for The Brave One), Mardi Gras Massacre and Night Warning.

For those of us that grew up in the 80’s and loved PMRC inspired movies about devil driven evil heavy metal bands like the previewed Black Roses, Rock n Roll Nightmare and Rocktober Blood know that 1986’s campy horror hair metal classic Trick or Treat is a definite cherished cult classic gem. A definite period piece capturing the cassette/Walkman/vinyl era with backward messaged accuracy. Skippy from Family Ties plays a mulleted metalhead,… well….kinda, sorta, who’s a diehard fan/worshipper of the fiendish shock rocker Sammi Kerr who died in a hotel room fire. The films also famous for Gene Simmons playing a Howlin Wolf type radio DJ and Ozzy Osbourne making two cameo’s type cast as a TV evangelist. Poor Eddie’s the target of some mean abuse and ridicule from the dumb jocks until he starts communicating with the deceased Kerr by playing a demo backwards acting on the messages given by the charred singer. Eddie starts getting revenge and Kerr gains his trust and enough current to come back through a bedroom PA system wreaking havoc on high school kids and has the bizarre cinematic distinction of electrocuting Ozzy through a TV. Kerr’s spirit travels through electricity, a similar theme used in 1989’s Shocker, using radios, Walkman’s and iPods (kidding) to make an entrance.

2003’s The Manson Family directed by Jim Van Bebber and filmed in Ohio includes Andrew Copp and other local actor’s is probably the closest on screen account of what the Manson Family was actually like. The film took several years to make. There’s PLENTY of blood, sex and gore, many family member interview scenes are embellished recreations of the original 1973 Robert Hendrickson documentary. It’s also the only Manson documentary besides Hendrickson’s 2007 follow up Inside the Manson Gang to feature actual family footage. Van Bebber’s version makes you feel like your tripping as your eyes are held hostage with acid like images, trippy rapid fire film cuts and some not so easy to watch but probably accurate blood orgy scenes. The murder scenes are extremely violent and brutal but as horrendous and savage as they are to watch any viewer familiar with the facts of the case would appreciate the accuracy used displaying just how violent, vicious and cold blooded the blunt force trauma and maniacal delivery of these crimes were. Carl Day makes a few appearances before some ‘modern day’ Manson followers break into the studio and take care of business. Mike King the producer and cinematographer lent his personal print for the showing.

A special thanks to everyone that came out this year. Horrorama looks forward to seeing everyone again next October.

Signs of Life Fill The Floyd Void at Gilly’s

October 27, 2012 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

The music of Pink Floyd has been described by many as timeless, emotional, epic, classic, genre defying, transcending and most important, immortal. They have an almost hypnotic mass appeal to so many generations separated by years and often decades. They’re one of the few bands mom, dad and the kids can all agree on, whether they’ll admit it or not. They’ve walked the line of being rock but not loud enough to hurt the ears but catchy, bluesy and soulful enough to appeal to almost everyone. No matter what level of fandom you’re at, you know a Pink Floyd song when you hear it.

By concept, visuals and most important outstanding, groundbreaking and pioneering musical precession they’ve stood the test of time and will continue influencing bands for years to come. You don’t see Pink Floyd, you experience them, you don’t listen to them, you feel them, playing right into your inner most senses. Signs of Life: The Essence of Pink Floyd brings their stadium show into the theater/club environment. Creating the intense sonic audio bombast, intense eye popping visuals and space age, atmospheric trippy lighting that made Pink Floyd one of the greatest bands to watch, and hear, ever. Lead vocalist, guitarist Jon Stankorb plays a mean David Gilmour, putting his own vocals on par with one of music’s most iconic voices. Bass and backing vocals John Hoerr puts the same galloping, haunting sound on the four strings as Roger Waters. Rich Biondo creates the extra guitar sound and ambiance. Atmosphere master Tom Bartel effortlessly takes the legendary sounds surrounding Gilmour, Barrett, Waters and Mason created by Richard Wright adding his own intuitive interpretation making all the moods happen on keys and effects. Tony Sager fills the drum kit nicely for the one original Floyd member that appeared on every album, Nick Mason. Saxist, percussion and vocalist Dan Barger makes Floyd sound just as saxy as the original boys did. Reyna Spears and Akilah Ruiz sing out the majestic heart and soul of the band.

Their third visit to the Gilly’s stage, they emerge to a packed house In The Flesh, ready and welcome to the show. Pink couldn’t make it tonight but you definitely get the next best thing. Helicopter effects fill the room. We don’t need no education, no thoughts controlled or dark sarcasm in the nightclub. Hey teacher, leave those fans alone. The acoustics debut, Mother do you think they’ll like this song? Mother can Pigs fly? There’s one on the Wing. Yes son, they accompany the Dogs of war….welcome my son, Welcome to the Machine! So… you think you can tell, heaven from hell? (For everyone that wasn’t there) Wish You Were Here. Next up is 14 minutes of audio bliss, Shine On. The show’s first half ends with the guitar grinding roar of Sorrow.

They return with the sole intention of Learning to Fly…. One of These days. After the edgy guitar work and audio aura they calm things down and get nice and mellow. The performance is a shared experience of everything that made Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd, just Us & Them. The somber tranquility is broken by the sensory shattering sounds of alarms, chimes and grandfather clocks followed by the slow dramatic guitar crunching buildup in Time. The beginning plucked acoustic almost whispering strings and moody bass of Hey You followed. Then cash registers clanged, receipts were made and coins poured as the Money flowed. Next we took a trip back to the early 90’s and hear the Division Bell. It’s been said that Pink Floyd’s music is the closest thing to hearing the voices and sounds of heaven, this could be true but for now we’re happy to take a trip into space with the lunatic in our head for some Brain Damage and an Eclipse on the Dark Side of the Moon. Signs of Life makes you Comfortably Numb in a good way. They end with the guitar echoing stadium encore pleaser Run Like Hell.

Formed in 2009, they authentically capture the Pink Floyd live experience. They don’t just play the songs, they’ve engineered a concert going experience paying tribute, showing respect and adding their own spin, touch and take on the classics. For two sets the audience is bathed in the shimmering glow of stage lights and stimulated by Floyd’esk screen visuals and symbolism. They’ve played to packed houses and won over the most die-hard and hard to impress fans to the most casual radio fan. Their accuracy to the material is near pin-point while making it just different enough keeping their own identity. For the most part they play different sets every show, sometimes playing big hits early, doing lesser known material from the early years at different times but keeping an even balance and respect of each era and what a Pink Floyd set-list would look like. There’s little talking besides band introduction. The performance is complete delivery and respect of the music. If any band deserved a tribute it’s definitely Pink Floyd. Stankorb says hearing the sounds Gilmour made come out of a guitar inspired him to do the same. They’re not just up there playing the songs with guitars, drums and keyboards. They have multiple instruments changes, bongo drums, sax, chimes and other odd instruments that make the show uniquely their own. They’re also working on idea’s for bigger props like the physical brick wall and inflatable characters to bring an even bigger show to the fans. Indeed this is The Essence of Pink Floyd.

Vandalia Vixens Ignite Spitfire Lounge

October 23, 2012 By Mike Ritchie 2 Comments

A Clockwork Soul

Saturday October 13 three female powerhouse voices played the Spitfire stage. Some growled, some sang, some yelled but all carried and delivered one hell of a vocal wallop. Windowing Hollow productions once again books another kick ass show, this time showcasing the ladies. The evening also celebrated one brand new special lady in the form of W.H. promoter John’s new granddaughter Jalyn Michelle born at 1pm at 7lbs 1 ounce.

Up first A ClockWork Soul featuring blonde Amazonian bombshell Mystie Rose sporting steel coated vocal chords that growl, screech, yell and sooth the most gentle or jaded of ears. Dressed in black, sporting handcuffs, chains, biker attire and who knows what else, Rose has a ‘slightly’ commanding, dominating presence earning her femme fatale status. She looks like she belongs on any stage she chooses to stand on. A modern day Janis Joplin with attitude and a little Otep too, with a voice carrying the husky sexiness of Nina Blackwood that will growl you into submission and claw its way gently into your heart. She’s not the kind of girl who has to act tough, she legitimately looks like she could step into a cage and maim someone then sing a song about it.

Until The End carries a living on the mean streets, fight for survival desolation. Rose growls into the mic shaking with violent rage, eyes wide with killer instinct and a lioness’s fury. Tonight she lays claim to queen of the jungle. The soft synth waved intro of Out There is treated with her softer voice picking up fever as she goes. She sings with the voice of experience, carrying, delivering the emotions and living the stories within the songs. Count The Ways is all about that special someone we meet and think the search is over then find out she’s a complete psycho bitch. They do a very unexpected tribute to Don Henley with The Boys of Summer. I doubt any Henley song will ever be played that heavy or loud again. In conclusion, Out on the road today, I saw a ClockWork Soul sticker on a Cadillac, a little voice inside my head said ‘Don’t look back you can never look back.’

Gathering Mercury

Named after a song by Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Dayton’s Gathering Mercury play with a rock, metal, punk attitude all of which are reflected in singer/guitarist Ashley Stacey’s hot hairdo. The young runaway sports a remarkable resemble to Kelly Osbourne and Jane Wiedlin playing with the same rebellious heart and youth. Her vocals carry the attitude and cat like scratch of Joan Jett. While her influences range from Avril Lavigne to Pat Benatar to Pink, she’s been performing since age 9 which now would make her 18^th year sound like a veteran age. Her style doesn’t carry the in your face soulful wailing of Janis Joplin but instead packages it in a more subtle but attractive manor. She sings the songs with a mix of innocent breathy delivery, edgy feminine punk aggression and inherent cuteness with the seeds of success firmly planted. They play originals I Give, Not Too Late and Nothing To Me with a catchy indie rock flavor while the laid back bluesy Where The Others Go flirts with ballad territory every few minutes but sticks with its loud sound. They also showed respect to the music culture of the early 70’s playing some Rock n Roll Hoochie Koo perhaps louder than Johnny Winter or Rick Derringer ever intended. Bassist Quique Bucio even dressed up for the occasion. They also decide to Paint It Black with The Rolling Stones and the wild frantic playing, soloing of guitarist Max Mobarry flipping his red mane around like his head was on fire.

Killed by Art

Today’s a good day to be Killed By Art. Though they play with a certain murderous skill their sound is nothing but life affirming to the ears. Singer Kimberly Weiss’s soulful gritty voice takes a page from 4 Non Blondes Linda Perry. They break out the best grit and grime of the good grunge. Roots plays with a down n dirty guitar dragging the water straight from the Louisiana bayou. She pulls Joplin’s spirit from the other side incorporating it into her own tribute to the lost voices of history. CD opener Stolen starts out smooth as silk loaded with bass emotion slowly building up a few catchy up and downward spiral hills tag teaming with heavy guitar crescendos. New tunes Down and Dark Hero were tried out and met with loud reaction.

The bands sound resembles a mosh pit mixture of Alice In Chains, Down, Fight and BLS. Weiss’s voice has an Eurythmic charm with lots of Heart and maybe a hint of GA GA. Their CD Habeas Corpus can be downloaded at www.facebook.com/KilledByArt.

Foy’s Hulks Up For Halloween

October 23, 2012 By Mike Ritchie Leave a Comment

Lou Ferrigno as the Incredible Hulk

Saturday October 20th Foy’s Halloween Store in partnership with the Fairborn Chamber of Commerce brought in fitness celebrity and actor Lou Ferrigno. Known for his body building prowess and memorable TV appearances as the angrier side of David Banner, he was the winner of the IFBB Mr. America Title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe Titles. He also appeared in the body building documentary Pumping Iron. From 2000-2007 he played himself on the CBS Sitcom King of Queens and in the 2009 feature comedy I Love You, Man. Ferrigno hung out with fans, signed autographs, posed for pics and walked around Friday evening socializing with the locals. This is the first national celebrity appearance booked by Foy’s and Fairborn. Store owner Mike Foy met Ferrigno in Columbus at an Arnold Classic a few years back and inquired about a future appearance. It took a little time but the deal was done.

Foy’s store is the only year round Halloween supply stores in case you feel the need to scare someone and it’s a different season. There are six different Fairborn stores showcasing Foy’s items. There’s a special age appropriate Halloween store for kids where little ghouls and zombie princesses can roam around without getting too scared. Of course for the older Hellraiser or Hot Vampiress there’s a tailor made adult store for costumes on the bigger side and other attire more on the devilish/devious side of Halloween fashion.

The original Foy’s in Fairborn (photo by Juliet Fromholt)

This year marks their 83^rd anniversary and they’re celebrating with a first ever Halloween Festival. Friday October 26th from 4-11pm and Saturday October 27th 10am-11pm. Friday’s costume judging for the 48th Annual Spooktacular Parade will begin at 6pm at the YMCA with prizes awarded for 8 age groups plus pets based on originality, cuteness and whatever scary, creepy stuff one can put yourself into. Parade will start at 7:30 traveling to the maiming stage area on Main Street. There will also be all day Amusement Rides, so if you spin, twirl around, go upside down enough times you’ll walk like the undead anyway. Saturday the 3^rd annual scary cardio craze Zombie Walk will commence dragging feet from the Great American Legion at 8:30pm. Hosted by The Fairborn Community Center, Pre-party starts at 7pm with make-up, raffle, photo ops and optional blood bath (cleanliness is next to Godliness). There is a $5 entry fee. Other festivities include a Zombie Thriller dance performed with grave skill at 9 followed by a Gene Simmons Impersonator.

Also on Friday The Fairborn Community Library wants you to be in a one of a kind ‘lively’ music video for their YouTube channel. Professional videographer Scott Cornell will be filming the zombie part of a Halloween tribute to the Thriller video at 8pm. Zombies created at 6:30, get there early. There are multiple parts for dancers who would usually devour books with their eyes and…..braaains. This is an all ages event so no blood or gore even during after-hours operation. Zombie make-up will be provided if needed. Also if you know or can learn The Thriller, grizzly ghouls from every tomb will be needed Saturday at 2pm for the Thrill The World dance around the main stage. Go to www.thrilltheworld.com.

Next year Foy’s plans to bring in Butch Patrick aka Eddie Munster and might have a few upcoming Halloween surprises straight from Haddonfield. So you have no excuses to be bored next weekend. Come and join the fun, friendly, fiendish atmosphere and all day entertainment and scare up a good time.

Mike Ritchie

Mon 23

Tue 24

Wed 25

Thu 26

Fri 27

Sat 28

Sun 29

Killer Dolls & Zombie Double Feature!

Killer Dolls & Zombie Double Feature!

Killer Dolls & Zombie Double Feature!

Killer Dolls & Zombie Double Feature!

Color Our World – The Art of Stories

$3 Burger Night

Mommy and Me Yoga

Somatics of Anger Exploratory Hour for Women & Non-Binary Folks

Monday Trivia Night

Chess Club!

Rick Springfield: I Want My 80s Tour

LGBT AA group