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...

RUSH-Time Machine Tour 2011

RUSH
April 8, 2011
GIANT CENTER, HERSHEY PA

If you ever get an email saying, 'I just got offered 2 tickets to see Rush with VIP parking and seats in a private box. Do you want to go with me?' Reply 'YES' immediately and be thankful you have such good friends. I was on the receiving end of such an email and consider myself a lucky person. RUSH have always been one of those bands that I always liked but for some reason was never a huge fan. Like many people, I own a copy of their compilation 'Chronicles' and every so often I listen to it and always find myself thinking I should listen to this Rush more often. I was a teenager in the mid 80's and if you listened to rock or so called classic rock stations back then, you were never far from a Rush song. This tour was a walk down memory lane with an emphasis on their classic album 'Moving Pictures'.

Now, I'm not one for paying big money to watch old geezers sleep walk thru an abbreviated greatest hits set in a massive arena. Tonight is a different story. The price was right and even though this band formed before I was born, their set lists proves their is no sleepwalking involved.

Fueled By Moosehead:

On this rainy night in early April, we drove to show in a custom van from the 80's, got warmed up on cold Moosehead's and chased them down with Canadian Club. Classic Rock Canadian style! Two sets made up the show with hilarious intro videos to each set called 'The Real History of Rush'. A total of 26 songs that stretched the show over 3 1/2 hours. Like I said, they may be old but these dudes aren't geezers. Geddy Lee on bass and lead vocal, Alex Lifeson on lead guitar and Neil Pert on drums are rock gods. Geddy looked and sounded half his age and while Alex and Pert have filled out a bit over the years, their is no slow down in their game as was evident in their extended guitar and drum solos (yes it was a classic rock show). Perts drum kit is a monster that probably needs its own tractor trailer to transport it to the next venue.

First set stand outs were 'Time Stand Still', 'Free Will' and 'Subdivisions'. The special of the second set was a song for song playing of 'Moving Pictures', which is listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Any band would be so lucky to have four songs as good as 'Tom Sawyer', 'Red Barchetta', 'YYZ' and 'Limelight'. These just happen to be the first four songs from this album. This should give you an idea of just how great the night was.

To say this show was amazing would not be doing them justice. Here's hoping you get and email from a friend like I did and when you go, keep an eye out for air drummers. They are everywhere and it is a little added bonus to the show.

'The Spirt of Radio' started off the show: