Category: Local Music

Just like I did for the first rendition, last Saturday I was at the Bands for Baby Ava II benefit held at the Pour House in Ocean City. (This time Kim tagged along as well.)

Unfortunately, I have to extend my apologies in advance to the three bands Kim and I didn’t stick around for: Slackjaw, Square Root Syndrome, and Witches Brew will have to wait for another day for me to see them. For whatever reason we were just whipped.

There were a few different wrinkles for round 2. First of all, there were fewer items donated so the auction was done as a Chinese auction where tickets were purchased and dropped into a bag so the winners were picked randomly.

Remind me to bring Kim along to the next Chinese auction, though – she won one of the items!

They also began the show a LOT earlier so that some bands who had performances later that evening could play. But first up was a band made up of up-and-coming youngsters who are taking advantage of their chance to get in front of an audience – this was Parental Guidance.

One thing I noticed (although it’s not in the picture) was the video cameras recording the show. Well, perhaps these guys are their own worst critics.

Obviously it’s a good learning tool, but the band was well received by those who came when the show first got underway.

The next band indeed had a show across the bridge later that evening but wanted to perform.

Normally I’m not a huge fan of rock/rap combos, but Bride Dressed in Black was quite impressive, performing both originals and a unique take on ‘We Are the Champions’ as a highlight of their show. I could see why they were in demand.

Lime Green was another band that had a second engagement and played early.

It had been awhile (far too long) since I had seen them, but I recalled at the time they were a three-piece. So obviously there’s been personnel changes, and they mixed a broad range of cover songs with the originals ‘Pemberton Park’ and ‘Psychedelic Dream.’

The tone changed somewhat as the lone acoustic act, Jason Lee, took the stage.

Lee is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for Crookedfinger, but stuck to covers for this solo performance.

I noticed that there was quite a follwing gathering around for the next band, the Justin Crenshaw Band.

With the possible exception of a cover of Poison’s ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ JCB played the part of a modern country band. Apparently they have a large following about their Charles County base, and several made the five-hour drive to see the band play their 45-minute set.

These folks up front liked them as much as Kim did, so I’ll give them a second picture. Me, I’m not a big fan of country music but they were certainly good musicians who put on a solid show.

Now I expected a definite difference when Dean took the stage, and for the most part I was correct.

The one criticism I would have of them may not have been their fault, but on the slow songs it was hard to hear the vocals. The first two songs and the last couple songs they did were definitely harder-edged than what they did in the middle, and I thought those came off better.

One other thing which left me a little disappointed but wasn’t completely unexpected was the smaller audience. The Pour House was packed for edition 1 but there was more elbow room this time. I took this while Dean was playing, about 6:00.

But while Dean was a new experience for me, I had a pretty good idea what to expect from Gravy.

Of course, they did not disappoint. And they are another band which made a personnel addition because I didn’t recall keyboards in their midst last time I saw them. It made a difference in what they could play, although they kept some of the other songs I remembered as well.

That pushed the show past its halfway stage as 13 bands were scheduled, and unlike the initial show there weren’t the single-shot acts between bands, perhaps because Skip Dixxon and crew were trying to cram in thirteen bands in as many hours.

Next up was a band that played in the first rendition as well, Abbey’s Cage. (This time I apparently spelled it right.)

They did the heaviest set of the night, with songs by Tool, Linkin Park, and Drowning Pool punctuating their set. That’s why the bodies were hitting the floor, as you can see in the picture.

It slowed down somewhat for Asphalt Surfers, who played more of a blues-rock set.

It seems to me they played quite a bit of ZZ Top, too, which makes sense because they’re a three-piece group.

We were tired, but managed to stick around to see Semiblind play.

And because they’re friends of ours I’ll give them individual shots, too.

One thing which stuck out about the Semiblind set was Michele singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ as a Whitney Houston tribute.

Something else struck me as we listened, though. Obviously I’ve followed this veteran band for quite awhile, and there’s no question that a cover list has to be freshened up from time to time. What I noticed was that, because Michele is now becoming a sought-after DJ in her own right (she’s known in that profession as DJ Siren) the band’s playlist is evolving to more closely match the songs she plays a lot at those gigs. People want to hear ‘Red Solo Cup’ and the band learns it, for example. If nothing else, it goes to show that despite Semiblind being on their second bassist and probably sixth or seventh drummer since I’ve come to know them, there’s a lot of talent there.

I will grant that I don’t travel the world to see the various local music scenes, but the one we have right here has a pretty deep pool of good musicians who deserve our support – not just because it’s how they scratch out a living, but because they also unselfishly give their time for a cause. They didn’t charge a dime for doing the Baby Ava benefits, and between the two they raised almost $10,000 for the family.

But I think the well may be a little dry for the time being in terms of fundraising. Next week Skip will have his annual Spring Luau at the Pour House, with 10 bands on the bill currently. That should be a good show.

I wrote this piece last month for a print venue, but the plans for it fell through. So I’m sharing it here with you today. But the nice thing about posting it here is that I can add the links.

Recent months have seen an enhanced awareness of charitable endeavors around the area. We always have the Thanksgiving food drives and the Salvation Army puts out their red kettles every Christmas, but what I’m referring to are the one-off events which galvanize a community – one case in point, the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition stops last fall in our local area. Thousands of local volunteers descended on both the Sussex County site and the Johnson-Goslee home in the small Wicomico County community of San Domingo to aid those chosen to benefit.

But there are always people and families in need around the area, and oftentimes it’s through no fault of their own – a house fire, crippling medical condition, or tragic auto accident place them in a perilous financial situation with little prospect for help. That’s where the community of local musicians steps up time after time, donating their efforts to the charitable cause. Need to find entertainment for a benefit? Put out the word and you’ll probably have a dozen bands beating down your door to volunteer.

I’ve attended many such events, but a recent one was put together over the space of a few weeks to benefit Ava DelRicco. The toddler was seriously injured in a December auto accident in Ocean City and has spent the time since at Johns Hopkins in a long, slow recovery process. While her prognosis is good, the family still needs financial help. Ten bands gave their time for “Bands for Baby Ava,” sharing the bill for nine hours in order to help the DelRicco family.

And it’s not always for local tragedies. After the Haitian earthquake and Japanese tsunami, benefit shows were organized and those proceeds donated to relief efforts for people who attendees will likely never meet nor receive thanks from. But they came and gave just the same.

Some of these one-off fundraisers have become annual events. After Terri Clifton’s son Chad was killed in Iraq in 2005, the next year two bands participated in a fundraiser to begin a foundation created in his memory. It was popular enough that another was scheduled for the next year in a larger venue with more bands, and the Concert for a Random Soldier has grown to become a popular Memorial Day weekend event. Similarly, after succeeding in her fight against breast cancer, Michele Hogsett began the Save the BreastFest to thank the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition for their help in her case and to give them financial support. After a rocky start in 2009 due to a forced postponement and change of venue, the event will celebrate its fourth edition next September as a opener to Delmarva Bike Week. In both instances, several of the bands participating return to play these shows year after year.

Yet the bands aren’t the only ones who should be given kudos, as local businesses step up to the plate and donate items like the food, the venue, or even door prizes in order to draw people to the events. But most of those who attend these shows are there to see the bands, and I thought it high time to use this space to thank them for their willingness to support the community. They should be appreciated as much as the businesses that also participate in making Delmarva a better place to live.

You can subtitle this one, “the Bands for Baby Ava benefit.”

At some unknown future point in another venue, I’m going to point out all the good the local musicians do for the community.

That spirit of giving was on display last week – a full month after Christmas – when a number of bands and assorted one-off impromptu groups gathered to help raise money for Ava DelRicco, a toddler who was seriously injured in a December auto accident just a piece up the road from the Pour House in Ocean City. Since then she’s been recovering at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

So as the Pour House mascot looked on approvingly, we were treated to almost 10 solid hours of musical entertainment from the various bands and DJs Skip Dixxon and Bigler.

And the order of presentation was fairly interesting, as a couple of the bands already had other gigs planned for the day but felt in their heart they needed to come and participate.

So you had a more experienced group who would otherwise be one of the headliners leading off. Paul Lewis and Y-Not had an evening engagement across the Bay Bridge so they were the first band in this instance. They also made one of the more popular donations to the silent auction, which I will get to in due course.

They were one of the few bands who played some originals as well, which was a good touch considering many of the participants specialized in covers of various rock genres.

And by the way, the Sons of Patriots motorcycle club came in as a group right behind me as the event started – about a dozen or so to help fill the room nicely to start the show.

I think the next group has a collective mancrush on Sublime, since there were two of their covers I heard in their set.

Sunny Side Up began as half of the youthful group The Hooplas, which, as you may recall, made their debut at the 12 Bands of Christmas back in December. They picked up some vocal help for the latter part of their set.

The place was beginning to fill up quite nicely at this point, and it was heartwarming to see the community support.

That open mike feel to the event was a recurring theme. But I also learned an old musicians’ trick, thanks to Bryan Russo.

That guitar case isn’t carelessly laid on the floor. It’s by his foot with a microphone inside so when Russo taps his foot it becomes his bass drum. Very multitalented and smart.

Brian brought a bluesy feel to the event with his attire and his playlist, which also featured a number of originals. He also announced that he would donate a portion of the proceeds from the CDs he had for sale at the event to the cause.

He was the one-man band at the event. But we’re not quite done with Bryan yet.

As Russo was clearing out, Blake Haley made a request: to play a song. He wasn’t on the bill but wanted to make his presence known, too.

And since Bryan hadn’t completely packed up and left he helped Blake out with his song.

Next up was Easy Action, a group of classic rockers who reset the stage with a more traditional feel.

As I said above, it was an open mike night of sorts. So Witches Brew singer Susan Witchey stepped in to help Easy Action with vocals on a couple tracks.

Her band didn’t participate either, but she stayed most of the night to support the cause.

Then it was time to put the host to work playing his drum set.

Livin’ the Dream did their normal hard rock show, with the obligatory tribute to KISS as part of the set. And Susan helped out with a song or two on their set as well.

This picture is in there just because I like it.

I’d heard this lady’s name mentioned a number of times but last week was the first time I’d seen Lauren Glick play.

Her band dug back to the era of the late sixties and early seventies for most of their covers, with a country-tinged set.

But that’s what brought people to the dance floor.

After another one-song cameo by the Bob Blair Project (sadly, I have no photo of that) we next heard from Familiar Soul.

And they played some familiar songs that kept the party going, as the dance floor was filled during their set, too.

After Familiar Soul played, I saw an opportunity for a little calm before the storm.

This may be the only month out of the year you can take this shot at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night without a truckload of people in it.

I decided to do something a little different with the Phantom Limbs. Here’s each member of the trio separately.

In the frenetic manner that this trio plays their mosh pit of originals crafted from surf, punk, and rock, it was almost easier to get individual shots, although the group one came out okay as well.

Next up was the hard-rockin’ Dust n’ Bones, with a more modern rock playlist than most of their predecessors on stage.

The last three groups had more of an up-to-date playlist than the earlier groups. High Test came from across the bridge to play the show.

And the Prince George’s-based band probably made a lot of fans with an active show. I was sitting when I took this – the singer was standing on two chairs.

Closing out the show was Vivid Season. We know they bring the hard stuff.

But before they played, we had the conclusion of the silent auction. As I noted up top, Y-Not helped out with this PRS guitar and also donated several other items as a package.

Despite their playoff failure, Ravens items were in high demand, too.

Here’s a look at some of the other items up for bids. There were two other smaller tables, too.

You could even wear your support.

The really good news is that, between the $5 cover charge, the pair of 50-50 raffles, the silent auction table, the various other raffles they had, and straight cash donations, the event raised over $7,000 for the family.

Even better news is that there will be a “sequel” event on March 10, with a venue to be announced. With as many people as there were at the Pour House, they may need a bigger place.