Wow, what a night!
It’s been too long since Rockpage threw a bash like this; what a fun time! The latest installment of the Rockpage Jam provided lots of fun, some great music, and quite a few surprises along the way!
The first surprise was the discovery that 30 Something’s resident soundman, Zilly, was out of town and unavailable to run the sound board this night. Rockpage Ron’s arrival resolved this problem, and the music eventually got under way with the debut public performance of the Arthur Itis Blues Band. This was also the first public performance of Rockpager “mjb” – a.k.a. Mike – who showed some serious skills on the guitar! He, singer Brian “nakedtwister” Elliott, bassist Harry Walter and drummer Bill “Hawk” Hocherl laid on the blues thick and heavy, including tunes from Cream, Stevie Ray Vaughan and more. I especially liked the dirty and authentic fuzzy tone these guys gave to “Born Under a Bad Sign,” which really captured that live Cream dynamic! Good first showing, I look forward to hearing more!
The debut of the Arthur Itis Blues Band.
Brian Elliott of the Arthur Itis Blues Band.
”Mjb,” making his public performance debut!
With two-thirds of Half Tempted either incapacitated or unavailable this night, “RonnyD” Dalansky dubbed the assemblage of himself, bassist Joe “fbooth” George and drummer Clint “ccdrums” Carothers as Sausage Magic. Sausage Magic triggered the night’s first dance floor action with classic rocking favorites from Aerosmith, Free. AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Kiss and more. Denice “nece1013” Neely belted out lead voice on AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie.”
Ron Dalansky of…Sausage Magic.
Joe “fbooth” George of Sausage Magic.
Clint “ccdrums” Carothers of Sausage Magic.
”Nece1013” gets up and sings one with Sausage Magic.
The music then shifted into acoustic gear with Rockpage acoustic duet “Big Jim” & “BadDazeRob.” These two stirred up some dancers as well with their short set of favorites from Rick Springfield, Poison, Queen and more. Rob showed some top-notch voice, and Big Jim crooned lead on Cat Stevens’ “Wild World.”
Big Jim & Bad Daze Rob.
Big Jim without Bad Daze Rob.
Then it was time for some ‘grass, courtesy of Mama Corn. Celebrating Rockpage, the good cause this night and banjo man Jeremy Nelson’s birthday, the ‘Corn picked and grinned on bluegrass and grassed-up favorites. Along with traditional numbers such as “Salty Dog” and “Man of Constant Sorrow,” the group also broke out the original number “Shenandoah Mountaintops” (written by Jeremy’s father, Ben), and grassed-up renditions of Guns N’Roses’ “Sweet Child O’Mine” and Men At Work’s “Down Under” (“It’s country music…just from a different country!”).
Providing some quality ‘grass, Mama Corn.
John “Songsmith” Stevens of Mama Corn.
At this point, various collaborative combinations of musicians took the stage in succession as the jam session part of the evening got under way. First was 80% of Spirit Lost with Bad Daze Rob singing lead (replacing singer Austin Tepsic, under the weather this night); they did songs from Seether, Jimmy Eats World and more. Then it was the trio of “Dirty Sanchez,” “DrumAndDestroy” and Joe, performing as The Side Effects, doing a few punk-geared numbers, including the Misfits’ “Last Caress” and Diesel Boy’s “Titty Twister.” Next was three-quarters of Slacker Theory, as “Slacker Steve” Danfelt, “RobtheDrummer” Bonsell and Dalton McDonald did two unplugged original songs, “New Life” and “Here’s to You.” A few members of Dick Shack Posse, including Rockpager “DickShackBass,” then took the stage under the monicker The Asscracks of Society, to perform some old-school punk numbers including Agnostic Front’s “Crucified,” Black Flag’s “Rise Above” and The Clash’s “White Riot.” Then the finale, a freewheeling, hard-rocking jam featuring a number of musicians, including singer Troy “tshovel” Earnest, show organizer Bob “hurricane” Watters and show beneficiary Steve McCulley on drums, Joe George, Rich “pickerichie*1” Piccerillo, Jody Earnest, Ryan McCulley, Denise Neely, Erick Carlson, Uncle Bud and more. Tunes performed included “Paranoid,” “Roadhouse Blues,” “Ace of Spades,” and lastly, “Highway to Hell.” The jams were so hot during this end phase of the night, that an amp even billowed smoke! (I love the smell of burning polymers!)
Bad Daze Rob sings with Spirit Lost.
The Side Effects.
Joe and “Dirty Sanchez” of The Side Effects.
Three-quarters of Slacker Theory.
The Ass-cracks of Society...their name, not mine!
Brian Weibley.
Andrea “DickShackBass” Weibley takes on Joe George’s big double-neck bass!
Uncle Bud, Denise and Joe during the night-ending jam session.
Sitting in behind the kit for a song, show beneficiary Steve McCulley.
Troy Earnest.
Erick Carlson.
Troy and Jody Earnest.
Joe George and Rich Piccerillo.
Joe George and Jody Earnest.
Ryan McCulley.
Again, Rich Piccerillo.
Putting two drum kits to work, Bob Watters and Steve McCulley.
The jams were so hot, amps burned up! That’s what I call a smokin’ jam!!!
Thanks to all the people who came out to support the Rockpage Jam, from the Rockpagers themselves (at least 26 that I counted, there were probably more there who I didn’t know or recognize) to Hurricaniacs to 30 Something regulars to other fun-loving folks just there to take in the good times and music! A good chunk of change was raised to help out Steve McCulley.
