Friday, March 5th 2010 was the night of the most recent Rock Out ALS event at Club Motor in Seattle, WA. ROALS (as it is known in short) is an organization that raises awareness and puts on charity events to help find a cure for ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease.
"Mad Mike" Miller is the main organizer and he plans around 4 events per year. The event on the 5th had 5 bands including: Tsavo, Alpha Hero, High, The Crying Spell and Underride. By the time Mike got off work and picked me up, we had time to see 2 of the 5 bands.
Music: The Crying Spell
Musically and lyrically, this is one of my favorite local bands. Len Hotrum has and amazing look and voice. Some are already aware of Len's voice as he is also the front man for Point One. He is joined by fellow Point One man Chase Culp on the drums and the original guitar player Eric Snyder. Dane Brooks plays rhythm guitar and new bass player Jason Phraner adds rounds out their cohesive look. This was my first time seeing Jason with the band. I liked what I saw. Not only did he have the bass lines down, he has an appealing look and moves around the stage interacting with the other guys. Their sound this night, as always, proves they belong on the road opening and headlining mid-sized venues. This sound needs to be shared.
ALS videos:
In between bands, there were ALS awareness videos that were very touching. Being a music event, the organizers made it clear that ALS can touch anyone. Sorry, I couldn't recall the first musician's name by the time I got home. But his story was compelling and full of hope with the love and support he got from his family and musical community. Software was developed that allowed him to continue creating music using his eyes to control the computer screen. His compositions, his mind, his music! Sadly, he has since passed away.
The second musician was Jason Becker. His story is amazing. Diagnozed with ALS at the age of 19, Jason Becker has been living with ALS for 20 years. His family worked with him to devise a way of communicating that works with how he positions his eyes. Family and friends interpret his eye movements for interviews and everyday communication. He is now stable, and ALS has not robbed him of his mind. Jason continues to compose with the aid of a software program.
Music: Underride - If you like this band - Stop reading!
I do have to preface this review with the fact that I took 3 full days to relax and think about what I saw, felt and currently feel about this band. It's not good. There is ONE single bright spot about this band and it's guitar player Lord Balsley.
I started off liking the first few songs, but it was the actions of one of it's members that turned me off to the point that I was ready to go right then and there. Unfortunately, my husband still had rounds to make and pictures to take.
I'll start with a description of there the band went right visually and where they went wrong. My assumption is that they are working toward a Glam look. Two of the members had it right: Lord Balsley and El Barto. Yes, they have pet names and one actually calls himself (yes, himself) Princess. El Barto is the bass player and had the best look of them all. He had a great presence and attitude which drew my attention toward him from the beginning. AKA Aaron Balsley, Lord Balsley had the hair and the outfit worked out fantastically. His guitar stills are just and added bonus.
Now for the blah - Drummer Double A - He did nothing for an onstage presence to even match the other two. No make-up, no outfit, nothing. Just BLAH! Closely followed by the singer - Rev. Rev had on a couple lines of make up, but the all black and poorly selected necklace was all that the lead singer brought to the event. His guitar player and bass player should not be the ones that command the looks from the underage girls in the front row - He should! I'll get back to those underage girls in a little bit.
Finally, we have the one who didn't know when to say NO when it came to his look. Princess. Skinny black jeans with white pinstripes and a black T with some faded looking graphics. Had he stopped near here, he would have been OK. Then we add a black vest with wider pinstripes - Still OK at this point. Then add a red skinny tie but put it on backwards. A little silly, but still OK. Here's where I really wanted to do an intervention. The white fedora, the earring that was about 6 inches long and fed through his ear to be 3 inches dangling from the front and back of the lobe to the most ridiculous gold necklace that looked like a pair of folded up sunglasses. Oh! I forgot the makeup. Some strange green glob around the eye that looked like an attempt at the Phantom of the Opera's mask. It was tooooo much. Know when to say when!!! You had it until the accessories and makeup.
It wasn't the visual aspect of the band or even their music that made me want to leave. It was the bass player. He carried that attitude too far and got gross. At one point he sprayed spit on all those little underage girls in the front. Then he decided it would be a good idea to spit into the air and catch it in his mouth again. That did it. I left the stage area and waited for Mike at the back of the venue. I was done. It's a flippin' all ages charity event! Grow some balls and have some class!
To say that I hated this band by the time they were done would be just about right. This is me holding back on my review of Underride as best as I can.
Rock Out ALS has another event coming up on May 15th. This show will include Post Modern Heroes, Dryver, Lucid Spiral, Ninthgate and Dreaded Knuckles. This is a show that I can't wait to attend!!
Please help by attending a Rock Out ALS or Rockabilly Out ALS event near you. They can be found on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rock-Out-ALS/166051959008?ref=ts
-S
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