LAUNCH Music Conference 2011

DANA ALEXANDRA, SLIMFIT, DEAD 50's
April 22nd
THE CHAMELEON CLUB, LANCASTER PA

Heading home for Easter weekend, I was happy to find out that the 3rd Annual LAUNCH Music Conference would be going on the same time. LAUNCH is slowly becoming one of the best places to launch your career in music be it on the business side or as an artist. It is a place where industry people can mingle and unsigned bands can get heard. This year there were over 200 bands performing on 18 stages spanning 12 venues. Not bad for this small central Pennsylvania town.

On this night I was heading down to the Chameleon Club, a twenty five year old venue with a knack for showcasing top national acts as they roll between major local cities like Philadelphia, DC and NYC. While it started out as just a stop over, the Chameleon has become a destination point for bands to say that graced the stage of this legendary venue. I could go on and on for days about great shows I have seen here but I've forgotten more than I can remember. Tonight I was there to see local band SLIMFIT and there would be twelve other bands playing between both stages.

We got their just before local DANA ALEXANDRA hit the stage. Like pretty much every band playing the conference, Dana is an unsigned artist. She has a singer/songwriter with a poppy vibe and tonight she was performing with a full band. Her debut album will be coming out later this spring and from what I was told it was recorded in Nashville with some top musicians. She has some crafty tunes with fun lyrics that a lot of the younger attendees seemed to already know. Her music is radio friendly and I could see her gaining major attention in the near future.

Next up, SLIMFIT. I've seen these guys on numerous occasions as I have known their drummer, Tony, for over 25 years and he has been so generous to give me their last two solid releases 'The Path' and 'Make it Worse'. It's always scary when you know someone that says they started a band and you should come see them. What happens if they suck? Do you lie and smile thru clenched teeth telling them they were really good? What happens if they ask you to come see them again? Do you make up another lie as to why you can't go? How many lies can you come up with? Well that hasn't been the case with either of the bands Tony has been in and SLIMFIT is even a band that I am telling people to go see. With a rebellious mix of rock & roll & alt-country blending classic Son Volt with Drive By Truckers, SLIMFIT is what seeing live music is all about. The two lead singers swap guitars and take turns leading the charge thru songs that make you want to stomp your feet and pump your fist. Their energy is infectious and continues to build with each song. With so many bands playing tonight, they only had 30 minutes to play, so when they told they crowd they only had one more to play, you got the feeling they were just getting warmed up. But that is what LAUNCH is all about. Introduce yourself. Let them know about you. Wet their whistle and hope they tell their friends about you. SLIMFIT's sound is ready for bigger things. Playing their legendary local venue should be a springboard to bigger venues in bigger cities like the other bands that come thru here on a regular basis. That's what LAUNCH is all about right?

'Afraid to Fail' from their latest release THE PATH:


'The Path' from THE PATH:


We decided to stick around for the next band, the DEAD 50's, and I'm glad we did. A punk trio that are more pop than classic punk with whitty vocals reminiscent of Blink 182. There will always be a fan base for this regardless if they are old or new. I'm more of a classic punk fan but these guys were pretty good. Not being able to leave we caught one song from another local band called The SKETTIES. Kind of had a Moudest Mouse vibe to them. Wish we could have stayed longer. It is so great hearing fresh bands...