BON JOVI: Dead or Alive?

Originally Published Here: http://shutter16.com/wp/2011/12/20/bon-jovi-dead-or-alive/

Published Tuesday, December 20, 2011 By amanda_caines. Under Editor : Amanda Caines, News, Uncategorized, Writer: Amanda Caines Tags: Dead or Alive, Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey, Jon Bon Jovi

What do bored, unimportant people do with their spare time? They blog and tweet about celebrities, regardless of the truth of their claims.

Earlier today, some idiot with a wordpress account created a phony press release that proclaimed “International Rockstar Legend Jon Bon Jovi: Dead at 49!” which was subsequently tweeted and re-tweeted ad nauseam, creating a viral rumor mill of complete crap.

http://dailynewbloginternational.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/international-rockstar-legend-jon-bon-jovi-dead-at-49/

Really, y’all?

The bogus press release has been debunked by a variety of more-credible sources, and even before Bon Jovi’s camp made an official statement, a representative for the “international rockstar legend” has told inquiring (legitimate) news professionals that the claims are 100% false. The “official” proof that Jon Bon Jovi is still alive and well came from the Twitter of Bon Jovi’s photographer friend, David Bergman, with Bon Jovi standing in front of a Christmas tree holding a timestamped sign that says “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey.” (http://twitter.com/#!/davidbergman/status/148913842259365888/photo/1)

This brings about an interesting discussion on whose news is real and whose is fabricated. This “news report” lacks authenticity, with a variety of red flags lining its paragraphs. Here’s a short list to help you sniff out the bull.

1.) It is the ONLY WordPress entry for the blog. While many legitimate music news blogs are on WordPress due to its convenience and flexibility, if the page still has the placeholder text “Hello World!” at the top, it’s a sure sign of crap.

2.) Check the facts AND the sources. In this case, the source names don’t even match, not to mention that the “sources” were supposedly anonymous… yet the writer names the information sources, the Fire Captain Douglas Gray and someone named “Ruda.” Secondly, the paramedics would not have performed CPR if they’d determined he was in cardiac arrest; they would have used a defibrillator. Lastly, if there were “hundreds of reporters” at the scene, why the hell aren’t any credible news sources reporting about the death?

3.) Check for CONSISTENCY. Not only were the sources kinda iffy, but the first paragraph states that the singer was found in a coma in the Empress Hotel, whereas the second paragraph describes the 911 call as coming from “the home.” Yeah. Busted. I’m not even going to dignify the rest of the article with an appropriate bitch-pickin’ on all the details.

This is only the beginning, but if you catch a whiff of these three surefire smells of bull-dookie, you can be nearly certain that your “news source” has run afoul of reality. Remember, music fans: only YOU can prevent the spread of bogus crap on the internet.

Not All Charlotte Area Venues are Wolves–Venue’s Benefit Show Provokes Cooperative Spirit in The Carolinas

Originally Published Here: http://shutter16.com/wp/2011/12/16/not-all-charlotte-area-venues-are-wolves-venues-benefit-show-provokes-cooperative-spirit-in-the-carolinas/ Published Friday, December 16, 2011 By amanda_caines. Under Editor : Amanda Caines, Photographer: Amanda Caines, Photos, Show Review, The Money, The Ultimate Basement, Writer: Amanda Caines Tags: Akarsha, Amanda Caines, Broken at Birth, Darling Waste, David Kiser, Death of Paris, Dreaming in Color, Duran Duran, Lady Gaga, Lithiasis, Luna's Lament, Manamana, metal, Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Roll It Over, Static-X, The Money, The Ultimate Basement, Thermostat, Veritas Aequeas

Ultimate Basement Fundraiser at The Money – Day 2 | December 10, 2011

More Photos Here: http://www.flickr.com//photos/shutter16mag/sets/72157628421642867/show/

In a scene full of greedy con artists and self-serving wolves, one venue and a dozen bands stepped out of the dark to help out a nice guy raise money to re-open his arcade/music venue. Beloved owner of The Ultimate Basement, affectionately nicknamed “Gerb,” enjoyed two days of bands’ support and hospitality courtesy The Money and its new owner, David Kiser. Kiser extended his welcome to Rock Hill via accommodations and meals for Gerb and for out-of-town bands who came to support the cause. By this altruistic outreach to another venue owner, Kiser hopes that the spirit of cooperation will prove contagious and that other Charlotte area venues will step up to the plate, leaving behind petty competition in favor of a stronger network of venues, bands, and fans within the music scene.

Though prior obligations rendered me unable to make it to the Day 1 show, which included Veritas Aequitas, Darling Waste, Death of Paris, Akarsha, and Lithiasis, folks who had been there were still raving about it. Day 2 started off with a band called Thermostat from Greer, SC, that immediately brought us back to the heyday of Dimebag Darrel with their heavy, mosh-worthy guitar grooves and aggressive vocals. Jonathan Smith jack-hammered on the double bass in near-perfect precision while Danny Cline and Larry Richter busted out the bass and guitar riffage with some killer squeals and lightning-fast guitar solos. Michael Sellers on the vocals added to the Pantera effect of the band, and he definitely enjoyed unbridled use of the “F” word throughout the set. Kiser was sure Sellers could’ve set a Guinness World Record for the number of times he used the word while Thermostat was on stage.

Next up was a surprisingly good, youthful band: Dreaming in Color from Boone, NC. This ferocious fivesome came out with axes blazing, setting a quick pace with their infectious, upbeat riffs that would sustain the music-electricity throughout their set. I liked the tag-team screaming/melodic vocals of Ben Dunlop and Pat Tarpey—the trade-offs added a versatility to the sounds of the night that even Ben’s wide range of screaming vocal timbres couldn’t have offered alone. Ben also made a point to get the crowd involved in the music, and it showed. Fans crowded around guitarist Gary Vinson as he wailed through some fast-paced guitar shredding. Gary and Pat harmonized on several riffs, which always get bands mega points in my book. Right before they closed out their set, they pulled out a terrific cover of Ozzy’s “Bark at the Moon,” which, except for some odd guitar scale meanderings during the solo, was pretty spot-on.

Broken at Birth from Salisbury, NC, took the stage after that, and brought out good screaming tones over cool riffs and tight rhythms that all adds up to a less-industrial Static-X type sound. While the band clearly has talent and energetic music going on, they would greatly benefit from upping their physical expression of the music and making more of an effort to engage the crowd. The music has a lot of potential if they can get the crowd up in front, paying full attention.

A “Yankee” band from Baltimore, MD, came up next: Roll It Over. These guys had some cool riffage and were really excited about what they were doing. The strongest piece in the band was definitely drummer Brady Molinaro, though his pop-star appearance betrayed him a bit as a metal drummer. Surprisingly, the band pulled out a pop cover to close out their set: Lady Gaga’s “Pokerface.” As a fair-weather fan of Lada Gaga’s, I’d have to say I was unimpressed. While it’s cool to switch genres and play something un-metal in a heavier fashion, you’ve got to NAIL it, and they didn’t. The band has a well-defined personality to it, though, so as long as they stick to originals, they’re pretty impressive.

Second-to-last on the list for the evening, the lovely ladies of Luna’s Lament hopped on the stage with an acoustic guitar and a couple of borrowed bongo players (okay, so one was a djembe). Though an unfamiliar setting for women of metal, acoustic shows allow for more showcasing the beauty of the intricate vocal harmonies blossoming between Morgan Riley and Kim “Kimniption” Karnes. The only thing that didn’t quite fit was the screams—I found it a bit jarring in the otherwise-groovy and intoxicating set. The bongos and djembe, manned by Paul Lashway of Manamana and Adam Smith of A Light Divided, added to the exotic feel, and in the peaceful spirit of the evening, former drummer Michael “Digi” Biggerstaff came up to jam along with the ladies. I know this band is eager to get back to full-on electric performances, but I’m definitely digging the “unplugged” version in the meantime.

Closing out the night, the always-entertaining, never-duplicated Manamana had a new set of tricks up their sleeves for the eager crowd at The Money. Paul Lashway pounds passionately on the drums with Neil Peart precision while channeling some mixture of the Mad Hatter, Gene Simmons, and Animal. Carmen Piro, Damon Patrinos, and John Piro tear it up on the guitars (that’s riht, there’s 3 guitars), and howl like rabid wolves while Stephen Sues brings up the low-end on the bass. Speaking of wolves, the band brought up a friend, Briana Strickland, to howl with them on a cover of Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf.” Was it the most skilled cover of the song I’d ever heard? Well, no—but it was certainly the most entertaining. Carmen stripped off a layer of clothing, revealing a shirt that bore “Das Wulfie” for a little game of cat-and-mouse during the song. David Kiser, Gerb, and I really just couldn’t stop smiling and giggling throughout the song. Then, as an early Christmas gift, Manamana turned on their softer side for a guitar-fueled rendition of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” I’m a sucker for Classical music, and for Manamana—they are so much fun to experience.

By the end of the night, Gerb’s ear-to-ear smile couldn’t have been melted off his face—the feeling of generosity and cooperation present in the walls of The Money over the weekend truly overwhelmed him. The next morning, Gerb posted on Facebook that “This last weekend, you all made me and my hospitality seem like a New York cab driver dealing with a non paying hooker….. y’all put me to shame!” I’m equally overwhelmed—without the hooker references—and I challenge all fans, bands, and venues to set aside their competitive spirits and instead show genuine support and reverence for one another so we can make Charlotte and The Carolinas a highly-anticipated destination for music.

Boisterous Bands Flaunt Face Fuzz as Fundraiser for Beards BeCAUSE

Originally Published Here: http://shutter16.com/wp/2011/12/13/boisterous-bands-flaunt-face-fuzz-as-fundraiser-for-beards-because/

Published Tuesday, December 13, 2011 By amanda_caines. Under Amos Southend, Editor : Amanda Caines, Photos, Show Review, Uncategorized, Writer: Amanda Caines Tags: Amanda Caines, Amos Southend, Beards BeCAUSE, Evelynn Rose, Grown Up Avenger Stuff, The Spiveys

Beards BeCAUSE Benefit | Amos’ Southend | December 9, 2011

More Photos Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutter16mag/sets/72157628408052037/show/

In their down-to-earth, working man attire, I expected Charlotte band Evelynn Rose to kick off the Beards BeCAUSE benefit with music akin to Nickelback’s redneck radio rock, but instead they brought out soaring, emotional melodies to the scene at Amos’ Southend Friday night. Singer “Joe,” sporting a festive beard for the event to go along with navy blue coveralls and a large beanie hat, belted out the desperately artistic cries of a man truly sublimating intense anguish into beautiful tunes. Underneath Joe’s powerful melodies, guitarists Chris and Josh along with bassist Thomas wove a wall of sound, articulated by meticulous tempo of drummer Mike, keeping this fearless fivesome afloat. All the while, there was a barbers’ booth set up in the back, measuring face fuzz length and trimming back to non-Mountain-Man beard length. (One participant came dressed up as a lumberjack—big, bushy beard-appropriate.)

Next on stage came The Spiveys, whose singer/guitarist Adam Middleton also flaunted his face follicle prowess with a beard. Adam is a singing contradiction of self-deprecating chit-chat between songs and boisterous, emotive bouncing with the music that pulses electricity throughout each Spiveys’ set. Going to-to-toe with Adam both musically and in bouncing-height is guitar/vocal co-conspirator Jesse Reaves. Setting the scene for infectious, head-bobbing, retro-infused tunes, are the steady-yet-complex rhythms laid down by drummer Jacob Worden and bassist John Rutherford. All that being said, the best thing about The Spiveys is not just that they’re a good band, but that they present a variety of different rhythmic and stylistic patterns—sometimes within the same song, like the rhapsodic “Inadequate.” While I prefer seeing this band in cozier venues than Amos’, the set was still smile-evoking and head-bob-inducing.

Moving into the headlining timeslot for the night, event-goers saw giant, white banners that looked like a creative use of bed sheets carried onto the stage. A curious sight to those not in-the-know, the sheet-prop setup was an interesting backdrop to the announcements of the Beards BeCAUSE award winners. Female-fronted headliners Grown Up Avenger Stuff really drive home the somewhat humorous polarity of a charity benefitting battered women’s shelters fueled by a masculine, grunt-inspiring beard-growing competition. While vocalist Deirdre Kroener proved not to be a bearded lady, guitarist John Thomsen had enough chin decoration to go around. Drummer Tyler Thomsen made a valiant attempt with a mustache, however. Once the Avengers took the stage, onlookers finally figured out what those sheets were all about—hidden in the vast whiteness was some glow-in-the-dark painted pictures, visible only in black light, which flooded the stage intermittently during the set. Deirdre also used her arms as a phosphorescent canvas, painting “MUSIC” and “LOVE” on her arms. Paired with the throwback feel of the band’s songs, the black light spectacle almost gave Amos’ the feel of a roller skating rink in the ’80s.

As for the music, this set of Grown Up Avenger Stuff’s brought out several of the less-familiar tunes, even to an avid listener. That’s not to say that there weren’t a bunch of the hits, either—and some of their most-loved tribute songs. Deirdre’s costume of a simple white polo, skinny jeans, and calf-high boots was a bit too “soccer mom,” but at least the comparison ended there. After all, who knows a soccer mom who can scream out “Bulls on Parade” with great gusto? No show is complete without technical snafus, and some tuning wonkiness between John Thomsen’s guitar and Hunter Thomsen’s bass left Deirdre singing “Pretty New” in an a cappella duet over Tyler Thomsen’s drumming. Luckily, the incident didn’t deter the crowd from clamoring for an encore, which Grown Up Avenger Stuff heartily obliged, bringing forth the quote of the night from Deirdre: “Do you want a happy song or an angry song… Well… Anger and happiness are close to the same thing.” The band is certainly an envoy of fierce happiness, and a great addition to the finale of a fabulous fundraiser fueled by face fuzz.