Out & About
by Rachel Rocks
Who needs Easter Candy when you have a month filled with such “musical treats.” Every month I have so many good experiences that it’s easy to keep plugging along and listening to more and more live music. I often get asked, “How do you go out EVERY weekend??” It’s easy you never know what each night might bring, so it’s always an adventure.
This month I started out my adventure at the Circle G Inn, or Aces, in Dauphin. I’ve driven by that bar plenty of times and never knew they had live music. Luckily I saw the date on Waysted Sylence’s schedule and decided to go check it out. Aces actually has a great sized stage with a nice dance floor, definitely not what I was expecting! Waysted Sylence was playing their Metal and having a great time like usual. They not only sing Metal music, but they dress the part as well. They have a great stage presence with everyone wearing leather and, John Slade, the lead singer has on the huge platform boots. I definitely can’t imagine standing on those things! Another nice part of Ace’s is the guys were able to show off some of their originals. Two of my faves are Burning Metal and White Virgin Angel. White Virgin Angel starts out with a great bass solo that’s pretty awesome!
The first weekend in March I headed out to Tubby’s for another Back in Black show. Hair Force One opened the night, but unfortunately as everyone knows, I don’t usually make it in time for the openers. The place was packed and Back in Black was on fire! Their show was filled with so much energy. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell just by looking at the pictures. The biggest surprise of the night was when Kerry from Fighting Gollarney Brothers, got up on stage and started playing Bagpipes to AC/DC. I’ve never seen Bagpipes played as part of a Rock-N-Roll show, so that was definitely a highlight of my month! It was phenomenal! I wasn’t planning on staying all night, but “Shakes-It” was with me, and our good friends from Steel and LeadFoot were also there to enjoy the show, so we had a great time partying with all of our friends. Chris from Steel even got up and sang a song, and Space from LeadFoot, played the drums for a song too. It was a blast!
Next up was a trip to Rumors for the Thursday, Original Band night! Not only do they get some great original bands, but it’s also 16+, so it’s a great new place for kids to hang out and enjoy a show. The sad part is that not enough people are taking advantage of this great night. People complain there aren’t more “original” clubs, but I can see why. Original Bands need more support! Some bands are from out of town and most people have never heard of them, but trust me, most times, I am pleasantly surprised! Just like the first Thursday night of the month. I came out to see Torn From Red again. I saw them at the MMC and I got a CD, so I wanted to hear more. I have to apologize to Mike because I accidently called him Nate in my last article. Mike is the lead singer and he’s the one with the amazing voice! Torn From Red is getting ready to premiere their first Music Video at the Valencia Ballroom on March 29th. I’m hoping to be able to check it out because it would be the first local music video I’ve ever seen. Torn From Red is definitely getting noticed in the area, you better check them out for yourself.
The next band of the night was Scrubs who were on a two-week mini tour from Germany. They actually called it the “Study English Tour 2008.” These guys were so nice and crazy all at the same time. They classify themselves as punk, but it’s a lot more poppy than punk to me. They had a couple great songs. They managed to sing some songs in English and German. Even the German songs were catchy enough that they had you up dancing and having a great time. One of my favorite songs was A Better Day. When you are out on a Thursday that usually does mean you need to have a better day! It’s just such a shame there weren’t more people out supporting them.
Octagonal is a band I just caught the very end of as an opener at one show, so I put the kids to bed a little early and made it out for a couple more songs the next time when they opened for Stonehenge. Octagonal is only a two man band, but they don’t skimp on their quality of music. They play it all including The Wall and Seven Nation Army. Jonathan has a soft-spoken off stage voice, but on stage, that guy can sing. I’m glad I forced myself out a little early.
Stonehenge had the crowd rockin at Double K. It was a full house and everyone was having a great time. These guys play the good rock like Ozzy, Blackfoot, and keep the dance floor moving! I had my first “adult” freeze pop! An interesting variety of alcohol at Double K that’s for sure!
Next up was another one of those great “2nd Street Experiences!” It was going to be a busy day, but not as busy as my brother’s. We actually crossed paths he was on a “bar tour.” For a friend’s 30th Birthday Party they were going to 30 different bars and having at least one drink at all 30 bars! I saw him about 10:30pm and they were on bar #17! They started at 1:00 in the afternoon!! Talk about a long and expensive day. Anyway, back to my article. I actually had Robin, mom/boss/owner of the PA Musician, Out and About with me!!
Our first stop was into Ceolta’s for Pub Rally. She actually wrote the cover story this month, so you can read more about them in the Cover Story Feature. Pub Rally plays the songs “everyone” knows so there are a lot of sing-a-longs and crowd participation. That’s great for a place like Ceolta’s. It’s close quarters in there, but everyone seemed to have a good time. I left Mom behind for a little and headed into the Hardware Bar to see Echoburn.
I didn’t want to totally shock her by squeezing her in there. I actually didn’t even stay long because it was so unbelievably packed! Thank goodness for the second level now. At least I was able to get some good crowd shots. Doug was a guest singer on stage, but it seemed strange to see him without an instrument. Shane is doing a great job as a replacement, and he seems to be getting more comfortable on stage. Echoburn does a great job at making the “cover” songs unique, by throwing in a couple words to see if the crowd is really paying attention. You can tell by their reactions, that they definitely are! It’s great to see Echoburn’s crowds getting bigger and bigger at every show.
The last stop of the night was my first visit into Dragonfly to see the recording of Smokin Gunnz’s promotional DVD. They were a little disappointed by the crowd, but the Dragonfly is a big room. All night Smokin Gunnz were throwing out T-shirts, G-strings, and everything! It was a wild night with lots of drinking and a lot of good times. The crowd seemed to enjoy themselves and hopefully I didn’t do anything too embarrassing on the DVD! Mom eventually joined me at the Dragonfly and appreciated the Southern Rock of Smokin Gunnz. It’s so nice for her to actually get a chance to come out and see the bands that have been supporting the PA Musician Magazine. It’s always nice to actually meet people that usually just talk to on the phone!
Next up was another Thursday night at Rumors. This night had the best crowd I’ve seen, so I was very happy to see that people were starting to support a great thing! The first band of the night was Nu World Disorder or NuWD from Northampton, PA. They have the best banner I’ve ever seen with a lady with flashing boobies. It’s quite priceless. Instead of just asking you to be their friend like some bands do, they actually ask you to join their nuwdist colony! It’s great marketing, it definitely catches your attention, and it makes it hard to forget. They play Metal/Rock-n-Roll! They played all originals at Rumors and they were amazing. Oh, did I mention they are only 15 and 16 years old!! These guys were definitely born with the gene to Rock! One of my favorite originals is Hot Carl. The lyrics that these guys can come up with are amazing especially for the young ages. Keep an eye on these kids! You can check out their ad with their full schedule in this issue!
The Tamboureens were up next. They came up from the York area and they were the main reason I was there that night. These guys shocked and amazed me at the MMC, so it was nice getting to see them again so soon. Their songs don’t really have an original genre like so many bands today, but they have a classic genre that everyone loved and still loves that brings out “The Twist” in the best of us! It’s great to see “The Beatles” reborn into a whole other generation of music! Thanks so much for keeping Rock and Roll alive!
Ruffus J Fisk was the last band of the night. They definitely got the people off their seats and onto the dance floor! They played so many different genres of music it was intense. They were all over the place, mixing it up with hip hop, rock, punk, and probably even a touch of metal. These guys were all over the place so they are sure to be a crowd pleaser for a lot of different people.
The next night was the busiest night of the month! I started out by heading over to St. Thomas Roasters off the Linglestown Square to see 61 South. My friend Marge was with me and when we got there it was standing room only! That little coffee house was packed! It’s a great sound to hear Sterling on the Steel Guitar and hearing him sing! The Steel Guitar definitely helps add to the blues sound for sure. My favorite song is “You Got to Move” It’s so true. You can’t just sit back and let the world run you over, you got to move. It was a great way to start out our busy night. When Michelle joined us it was time to head over to Malone’s to see Steel.
I know, I know, I just saw these guys! People complain about that all the time, but if you went to see them for yourself, you’d see why I went to see them again soon! Marge couldn’t say it better when she said they play every song like they were playing it for the first time! Their energy and excitement in every song was fantastic! Michelle especially liked Trevis’s, the drummers, facial expressions. The guy cracks you up! These guys are definitely there to have a good time. We headed out a little early because I promised my friends a trip to Hollywood Casino, so I thought they’d be itching to get there. On our 20 minute drive they both couldn’t stop talking about how much they loved Steel. I thought I was going to have to turn around and go back! Steel definitely gained at least two more fans that night!
Like I said though a trip to Hollywood Casino was promised! My friend Michelle was there before so she could show us the ropes! We didn’t get there till after midnight so we had plenty of machines to choose from, the choices were really overwhelming! I blew through my 20 bucks in about 45 minutes. I think I would personally like to take my $20 to a bar with a band, buy 4 or 5 drinks and have a much better time, for a much longer time! The casino is addicting though when I found out my friend won $2,500 playing a nickel machine the next day, it at least made me realize that people are winning, just not me! The machines range everywhere from a penny to $100 a pull! CRAZY! Definitely a lot of things going on in one place. They do have an area for bands, but I was too overwhelmed by all the machines, that I didn’t even figure out who was playing! Shame on me!! After this exhausting night it was up at 7am to get the kids to the first Egg Hunt of the season. Talk about super exhausted –bring on the Taurine!!!
The next weekend started off with a trip to Snapper’s to see Piece of Me. I saw these guys a long, long time ago opening once for LeadFoot, so it was about time I made it to a headlining gig! They’ve definitely fine tuned their music since the last time I’ve seen them, and they’ve even added in a rhythm guitar player helping that Classic Rock music even sound a little thicker! They sing all the best stuff ranging form Alice in Chains, AC/DC, Led Zepplin, and many more. Their range and versatility is crazy! They even played a song by request that they were able to pull off fantastically even though they haven’t played it for years! Great job guys!
Emily’s Toybox was on stage at a club I don’t feel like mentioning. I’m sure most of you know what it is! It’s so hard for me to have to go into these places, but unfortunately if I want to see certain bands, I’m forced to enter into them! The things I go through for great music!! Emily’s Toybox was of course playing to a more than packed house on Easter Weekend! Once I got my little corner of the stage I had to stay there. ETB definitely has their fan based built up with all of their fans singing along to so many unbelievable songs. Mike sometimes throws out the choice do you want the dirty version or the clean version? Of course everyone screams “DIRTY!!” The whole group is constantly smiling and everyone is having a great time on stage and off! Wade got particularly happy when the sound guy helped out with some great bass and kick drum action, pushing one song way over the top! It was a great night again filled with great entertainment!
The last event for this month was the 717 Music Awards at Gullifty’s. Nick is the organizer and he definitely had all his ducks in a row. It was a well organized event. I wasn’t there for a long time, but I saw Tina Marie and she informed me that Deja Vudoo won for best CD! So she was very excited about that! It’s so nice to see Deja Vudoo doing so well in such a tough industry! Their CD is amazing! Their was a great crowd at Gullifty’s. With a little side stage set up to give awards so the bands weren’t interrupted. It was definitely a great event, and I’m sure it’s one that will just get bigger and bigger every year!
Speaking of Gullifty’s. Wednesday, April 2nd, Sailesh is BACK! I absolutely can’t wait! Sailesh is an uncensored hypnotist and last time I was part of the show, this time I’m definitely hoping to be able to watch the show! It was great being hypnotized, and I definitely didn’t think it could happen to me, but sure enough it did! Bring your friends, come be our entertainment and get hypnotized! As soon as you hit the steps on the way out of Gullifty’s you remember everything, in great detail, that you did! It’s definitely something I won’t forget for a very, very long time!!! I hope to see you there!!!
It’s hard to believe March is practically over and April is coming up fast! Thanks so much to everyone for all the entertainment. It was once again another great month! Please stop by and become my friend at www.myspace.com/pamusician. Support Local Music!
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