"Bridging the Gulf"

Musicians come together for a lot of things. They joined together when Katrina destroyed the Gulf states, and when an earthquake brought already-struggling Haiti to ruin. Now, they've joined together to help rehabilitate the environment following the damaging oil spill in the Gulf. This past Saturday, area musicians banded together to raise money in a benefit called "Bridging the Gulf," from which all proceeds went to the National Audubon Society.

Organizer and performer Brian Lewis says he knew right away that he wanted to help, and there was a personal note involved, as well.

"I grew up on the East coast of Florida," stated Lewis, "the Cocoa Beach area. The beach is sacred to me. My Mom grew up on the gulf coast of Mississippi. I spent all my summers there when I was a kid. I've swum in Gulf waters. Seeing what happened after the oil spill tore me up. I knew I had to do something." And he certainly did. Lewis called up Steve's Bar and Grille in Fort Mill, SC, to set up a meeting about what he had planned. When it came to calling on the bands, he relied on local talent, coming up with a lineup of nine bands from the general area, including his own band, 8th Street Stereo. Other acts were Under Attack, Zach Fowler, the Rockaholics, the Square Roots, Ziggy Van Zant, Tattermask, Beyond the Fade, and Drop D. The lineup, attendees could see, was incredibly diverse - which was the intention. The more diversity, the more people were likely to show up.


My musical top three? The last three acts of the night: Tattermask, Beyond the Fade, and Drop D. Yes, I'm a little biased - this is my genre - but going off of energy, they're definitely up there. Presence-wise, Johnny Rochester (bassist of Beyond the Fade and Drop D) and DZL (guitarist and vocalist of Drop D, as well as DJ for 106.5 the END), seemed more comfortable on the stage than anyone I saw earlier in the day. I look forward to hearing more from all three of these acts. Others thoughts from throughout the day? Acoustic soloist Zach Fowler, and 8th Street Stereo. Coordinator and drummer Brian Lewis informed me early in the day that, due to their bassist being called to work, 8th Street Stereo was going to have to alter their set, turning it into an unexpected acoustic set. Well, hearing things acoustic makes me want to hear how it would sound, and I have a lot of respect for the band for pulling everything together so smoothly at the change.


But, as I was reminded throughout the day, this event was not about the music; it was about raising money for the cause. So, in addition the the music, a raffle was suggested by DZL as a way to earn more for the cause. Prizes included Heart tickets, a setlist and poster autographed by the Metallica and Alice in Chains, respectively, and - what many considered the top prize - a BP replica bass boat. Why a BP replica in a raffle to raise money to fix what BP has brought about? Well, the winner got to smash the boat with a hammer. (See the video here.)


By the end of the night, $2900 was raised to go to the National Audubon Society. This money will go toward restoring the wetlands, cleaning and relocating the birds, etc. As Brian Lewis reminded me, "The cleanup from this is going to take a long time. The Exxon Valdez spill was 21 years ago, and they're still having problems in Alaska because of it.  This isn't going away anytime soon." That being said, every little bit helps. If you were unable to attend, but you would like to help with the Gulf restoration efforts, please go to http://www.audubon.org/ and click "Donate to Gulf Oil Spill Recovery."

Local Names Benefit Gulf Catastrophe - NC/SC

This Saturday, August 7, in Fort Mill, South Carolina, nine area bands will be coming together to perform a benefit show entitled "Bridging the Gulf". All funds will benefit the National Audubon Society. Ten dollars will get you in to see Tattermask, 8th Street Stereo, the Rockaholics, the Square Roots, Under Attack, Ziggy Van Zant, Zach Fowler, Beyond the Fade, and - headlining - Drop D, who a lot of people know because of member and 106.5 The End DJ, DZL.

As everyone is aware, the incident in the gulf caused mass amounts of damage to the wildlife population of the area. That's what this show is about - not any one of the bands, but the big picture, and making every bit count. Aside from entry sales, there will also be a raffle of items gathered from 106.5, and donations will be accepted. Remember, every little bit helps! To take part in this event, you can RSVP on the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=128898757142301&ref=mf, or you can just show up at Steve's Bar and Grille (2150 Gold Hill Rd, Fort Mill, SC) at noon on Saturday. Visit the Facebook page to learn more, or drop me an email or a comment and I'll make sure to get your questions answered!

Food, drinks, music, and charity. We'd love to see you out there!

Much love,
Mari
marissa.billiet@hotmail.com

Mayhem Festival 2010 - Raleigh, NC

Mayhem: absolute chaos or severe disruption; disorder, confusion, turmoil, havoc, pandemonium, bedlam.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

When Mayhem Festival 2010 stopped in Raleigh, Time Warner Cable Pavilion went wild. Before they started letting people in, the line seemed like it went on forever. Everyonewreaked havoc as they braved the heat to see their favorite bands. Vendors laughed and joked like anyone in the crowd (I distinctly remember a one man circle pit at the Fuck Your City booth - the guy was hugging a box of crackers), and the smaller stages proved to be just as capable of chaos as the headliners. When 3 Inches of Blood hit the Silver Stage, the show got started. Old fans shouted along, and new fans were made. Personal opinion: Not my favorite, but they certainly enjoyed it!

Every Mayhem stop has had a local band open up the Jager stage, and in Raleigh that band was Gollum. Though the concert-goers came for the more established, Gollum was in no way lacking local love. It was great to see so many people singing along to a band that had gotten such a cool opportunity!

Next to take the Silver Stage was my personal favorite, In This Moment. After opening and before going into heavy-hitter "Next Life", vocalist Maria Brink demanded to see crowd-surfers, and when Maria speaks (or sing), fans listen. People started rushing over the crowd hoping to touch a hand. After the first three songs, the audience was in for a treat. The band was joined onstage by Adrian Patrick, vocalist of Otherwise, who came on to sing his part in a fan favorite from the latest album - "The Promise". This was an incredible performance, and, I learned, a great opportunity for Adrian. (Hopefully sometime tomorrow, MusicCrit's interview with him will be posted!) The set was finished with some of In This Moment's heaviest material, and while Chris, Blake, Kyle and Jeff rocked the stage for the final song, Maria made her way through the crowd, and the sick circle pit, to the soundboard. The crowd was thrilled, and I was ecstatic to get to watch one of my favorite bands perform - it was definitely not disappointed.
(Either later tonight or tomorrow, I'll link my interview with Chris Howorth!)

Next came "Shadows God Damn Mother Fuckin' Fall" - their words not mine! These guys were insane, from the songs to the chaos to vocalist Brian Fair's flying dreadlocks (for real, those things are totally weird, and awesome at the same time). Shadows Fall definitely didn't disappoint anyone - their energy was palpable. And no, I'm not mixing it up with the thick humidity.

Norma Jean. DUDE. I loved this set. Bassist Jake Schultz was absolutely wild with energy, and vocalist Cory Brandan screamed passion as he belted out crowd-pleasers. Norma Jean's style seems a bit different than many of the acts present, but that's the appeal of a festival show like this - there's so much diversity, and it gives bands a chance to be exposed to fans who migh not otherwise check them out.

Unfortunately, I missed the next two sets, Chimaira and Atreyu (Winds of Plague was scheduled for the spot, but they and Atreyu ended up switching out), to run for an interview with Chris Adler of Lamb of God. (You guys'll see that one soon, too!) Chris was really great to us, and he was really intelligent. It was an honor to get to meet him. And we came back just in time for Hatebreed. They had one of the best crowd connections of the day, I say. The crowd loved it and connected in return. There was a t-shirt launcher involved, and then, eventually, vocalist Jamey Jasta called a crowd-member up onto the stage to watch from the side - a little eight year-old boy who'd been up against the barrier, hardly tall enough to see over. I love seeing that, because it shows that human element to people fans often put up on pedestals.

Winds of Plague played the last set of the smaller stages due to their rescheduling, and I turned out to be glad for the change, because it allowed me to see them play. I later told singer Johnny Plague that he was, quite possibly, a photographer's nightmare; I meant it as a compliment, and he took it as one. He - and the rest of Winds of Plague - had so much energy. It was insane, and nearly impossible to get a clear shot, but totally worth it all. I hadn't heard much from the band prior to the show, and that made me even more grateful to get to see them play. I'm considering myself a convert, and happily so.

Mainstage - holy crap! Five Finger Death Punch started things off, and it was killer. I love how Ivan Moody pulls you in. Though they haven't been around as long as their mainstage companions, they proved that they were well deserving of the spot alongside the huge names on the bill. Their stage presence was great, there was a good level of energy, and everyone emanated passion. At the end of their set, we left to go on to some more interviews - Chris Howorth, Adrian Patrick, and Johnny Plague (promise they'll be up soon!) - and we returned midway through Lamb of God's first song. Lamb of God was incredible. Absolutely incredible. Randy Blythe's another who makes it hard to get a shot, but that isn't a negative thing. They put on a great show. They were followed by Rob Zombie, and after shooting that set, I felt like I should have gone back and apologized to Johnny Plague. THIS was a photographer's nightmare. The lights... But from a non-photographing point of view, this was the best-executed set to hit the mainstage. Rob Zombie goes all-out - lights, robots, costumes, pyrotechnics, anything. It was wild, and interspersed with his comments to the crowd and to his bandmates. He joked a lot with John 5 - who formerly played with Marilyn Manson - about being too feeble to keep playing, telling the crowd that John was in too much pain to play. When he told his guitarist to play something that "hurt less" and he started playing Mansons' rendition of "Sweet Dreams," Rob informed John that "neither I nor they give a shit" about the pain, and that he was to play the damn song. Shortly after, John 5 broke into a SICK solo (at one point he played with his tongue). The set was finished off with "Dragula," which involved robots, confetti, and a whole hell of a lot of Mayhem. Korn finished off the night, and while musically they were really good, I had an issue - as a photographer - with the fact that Jonathan Davis was kind of spazzing at points. Still, they did well, though overall I feel like Zombie should have been the main act - in a lot of ways, that was.

Now, throughout this review, there's one thing I haven't mentioned: Metal Mulisha. These daredevil motorcyclists were INSANE. I mean that almost literally. Unfortunately, we didn't really get any good shots of their stunts, but it was definitely a sight to see.

So, overall, Mayhem was everything the name implies, and then some. It was a great chance for musicians of a loose grouping but very different styles to come together, put on a great fans, and be there for fans both new and old. My favorite sets were In This Moment, Winds of Plague, and Rob Zombie, and I'm honored to have been there and to have gotten to talk with so many great musicians. If Mayhem hasn't stopped in your city yet, make sure you're there when it does! And if it has, and you were there, what are your thoughts on the chaos?

Photos and interviews up soon!

Mari
marissa.billiet@hotmail.com
http://www.twitter.com/musiccrit