Category: Concerts

Band touring with Bret Michaels talks about Quincy show

Posted by jmartin – July 5, 2010

Right after Bret Michaels’ health issues started, I emailed a member of the band Attention, who was slated to perform in Quincy with Michaels during the original show dates in April.

Eric Malmberg, guitarist and vocalist, said the band was advised to not discuss details with anyone outside of their immediate business associates.

Malmberg recently got back to me via e-mail about the tour, saying that once Michaels finishes the Lynyrd Skynyrd tour, Attention will “be back on the road again” with him. He also said, “We will definitely be in Quincy to play both Backwaters shows!”

The first show on Aug. 18 is sold out, but tickets are still available for the Aug. 19 show.

Malmberg said things were a bit crazy for awhile, but Attention performed a couple of shows with Michaels prior to the Lynyrd Skynyrd tour and “they were fantastic. He’s a true showman. Looking forward to many more shows in August.”

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Q&A with Lux of St. Louis radio station 105.7 The Point:
Days Taken wins first leg of Battle for Pointfest II

Posted by jmartin – June 25, 2010

Lux, on-air personality for 105.7 The Point, was one of the judges during the night local band Days Taken won the Sunday Night Show contest, which is the first leg of the Battle for Pointfest II contest.

Lux, on-air personality for 105.7 The Point, in St. Louis.

Days Taken will now compete in the Finals Aug. 6 for the chance to perform on the main stage Aug. 14 at the 29-band rock event Pointfest II. Below is an interview with Lux:

THE CONTEST
“Bands work hard building a fan base by selling tickets, because they get to chose their slot on the Sunday Night Show by sales. This sometimes comes under some criticism, however, my thoughts are if you are serious about being in a band, you need to have people to listen to your music. No label will sign someone without a fan base; the music industry is about making music and money. Also, it sucks to play to an empty room.”

JUDGING
“I try whenever possible to not Judge. There is so much talent that it makes it very hard judge. I will only allow myself to judge if I don’t know a single person playing up on stage and or have never seen the band before. At the last Finals we had 13 judges, seven of which had never seen the bands play before. It was awesome to get some fresh ears and eyes out to judge.”

DAYS TAKEN PERFORMANCE
“I enjoyed it! It was a tough night of competition.”

THIS YEAR’S TALENT
“This past year has been awesome for talent; we had so many local shows where I couldn’t choose a winner.”

• To read more on Days Taken’s victory, click here.

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Unrest in the Midwest to feature 12 bands in Keokuk;
Plethora of area events on tap this weekend

Posted by jmartin – June 24, 2010

The Haven, formerly Music @ the Mall, is hosting a 12-band event in Keokuk featuring five national rock acts on their way to the huge Cornerstone Festival next week in Bushnell.

Concert organizers Matthew Hunt and Doug George are piggybacking on the popular Cornerstone, an annual Christian music event June 28 to July 3 in Bushnell. To read the article, click here.

UNREST IN THE MIDWEST PERFORMERS
BOARDERS
Boarders formed in 1989 in Milan, Italy, with the aim to play pure thrash metal. Bands like Testament, Exodus, Metallica and especially Megadeth served as models. The band also has an excellent reputation as a Megadeth cover band. Boarders signed a contract with Retroactive Records in 2009. Boarders recently released “The World Hates Me.”

REX AND COMPANY
Lead-singer Rex Carroll has released more than a dozen albums during his lifetime — most with the Christian metal band Whitecross. The group was recently signed to Retroactive Records and is preparing to release a new album.

KIDNAP THE SUN
Kidnap The Sun of Iowa City plays music similar to Devil Wears Prada, Attack! Attack! and Underoath. They were recently signed to the new label Increase Decrease Records.

SKIES
This young band out of McPherson, Kan., continues to tour through Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota and Iowa — heading to Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell. Skies is not signed to a record label. They are similar to bands The Chariot, The Great Commission and For Today.

A HILL TO DIE UPON (extreme metal) – www.myspace.com/ahilltodieuponband
* Also performing at Cornerstone Festival.

DIVULGENCE (extreme metal) – www.myspace.com/divulgencesc

A HERO REMAINS (metalcore/extreme) – www.myspace.com/aheroremains
* Also performing at Cornerstone Festival.

GRAVE ROBBER (punk/metal) – www.myspace.com/graverobberpunk
* Also performing at Cornerstone Festival.

LEPER (gothic rock) – www.myspace.com/leperdied
* Also performing at Cornerstone Festival.

COPERNICUS (extreme metal) – www.myspace.com/copernicustheband

AND THE GREATEST OF THESE (extreme metal) – www.myspace.com/andthegreatestofthese

FBS (punk) – www.myspace.com/fbs
* Also performing at Cornerstone Festival.

Saturday’s show is at The Haven, 300 Main. It is open to all ages, starts at 1 p.m. and admission is $10.

OTHER UPCOMING WEEKEND SHOWS

Wine Down featuring Keel Clemmens and Dan Eilers (jazz/rock)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa, Ill.
HOW MUCH: $5, patrons must be 21 years of age and over
INFO: www.spiritknob.com

Lojic, Fielder, The Car Thief, The Most Average! and Earthworms
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Backwaters, 138 N. Front
HOW MUCH: $7
• To read an article on the show, click here.
• To read the Q&A with Quincy native Christopher Schnack of Lojic, click here.

Shawn Kellerman (blues)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Club Tavern, Quincy

Junefest featuring Raised On Radio and Cheeks McGee
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: St. Dominic’s Junefest, Quincy

Summerfest featuring The Cheeseburgers (classic rock)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Chittenden Park, Mendon, Ill.

Antidote (rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Adams Trading Post, Liberty, Ill.

2+2 (classic rock/county)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: T n’ A, West Quincy

Block Party featuring Pimpkatz and Shanghai Lil (rock)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Kutter’s Bar and Grill, Quincy

Margaritaville Festival featuring The Balance and The Fins (classic rock)
WHEN: 4 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Captain Kirk’s, Fort Madison, Iowa

Rich Berry (acoustic)
WHEN: 3 p.m Sunday
WHERE: The Club Tavern, Quincy

• To find out about Quincy’s Days Taken winning the first leg of the Battle for Pointfest II contest, click here.

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Q&A with TNT: Southeast Iowa band gets to be ‘rockstars for a day’

Posted by jmartin – June 16, 2010

Southeast Iowa rock band TNT is set to open for Buckcherry and Quincy favorite Royal Bliss Saturday night in Burlington, Iowa, at Steamboat Days.

Through a series of random events, the group has been chosen to open the rock night of the popular festival for the past three years. Info on the band and the full interview are below.

MEMBERS
Nathan Gosnell on guitar, drums, bass and vocals
Nudie Binder on drums, guitar and vocals
Brad Snowden on bass, vocals and drums
The group switches instruments throughout the show.

Gosnell answers questions on the band, music and performing at Steamboat Days:

THE BEGINNING
“The first incarnation of TNT was when I was 10-years-old jamming in a small guest house with two other kids. Those kids moved away and I went on to play with several different groups. I re-lit the TNT fuse in 2004 with two of my high school classmates. We got our first gig playing during halftime of the high school basketball games at Central Lee High School in Donnellson, Iowa. Since then I’ve turned the band into a business, TNT Rock and Roll LLC, and performed with many very talented musicians and played over 400 shows covering a seven-state radius.”

THE MUSIC
“We play rock and roll music covering a lot of top 40 hits from the 60s all the way up to today, with a lot of AC/DC. We also have several original songs that we mix into our set list. I have a solo CD titled Nathan Gosnell “One Man Band.” Those songs are performed live by TNT as well as songs written by my drummer Nudie Binder.”

STEAMBOAT DAYS GIG
“I was performing for my old drummer’s sister’s wedding reception and I met the mayor of Fort Madison, Iowa. We began talking about Burlington, Iowa, Steamboat Days and how badly I wanted that show. He gave me the phone number to a local talent agent in Burlington. They saw the potential in the band and helped me on a number of levels including getting my band into Burlington Steamboat Days. We opened for KC and the Sunshine Band at our first Steamboat Days performance in 2008 and in 2009 we opened for Three Doors Down. This year we perform from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday.”

STEAMBOAT DAYS FAME
“I’m looking forward to the one day of fame that Steamboat Days brings, we get our own fancy dressing rooms with deli trays and it feels cool to be a rock star for a day. Of course, the performance there is the biggest adrenalin rush you could ever imagine and when we hit that last note and walk off the stage, I will have a smile from ear to ear for a week. That is the feeling that I live for.”

FUTURE PLANS
“One thing I have learned from experience and people that are very successful musicians is that you have to quit thinking about the future. I’ve learned not to focus on ‘making it’ or ‘hitting the big time’ but to just get out there and rock. Then when opportunity strikes, take it. Whatever I can do to better the future I will, but rock and roll doesn’t provide a very stable future so worrying about where I am in 10 years will have me dead from stress in 10 years. As for this summer, we have lots of shows booked and a full schedule.”

RECORDINGS
“A TNT album could be in our future very shortly.”

SOUTHEAST IOWA MUSIC SCENE
“The music scene in southeast Iowa is not too bad, but it is definitely suffering due to the bad economy, out of control law enforcement and city ordinances. We are continually spreading our wings to different areas. But always come back to our home.”

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

St. Louis female-fronted trio to perform for first time in Quincy

Posted by jmartin – May 18, 2010

Poster for Saturday's State Room show.

Local indie act, Esther Moore, has organized yet another State Room Unplugged show, but with a twist. This show will not only feature some bands that are local favorites, but also Peach, a female-front trio from St. Louis.

The performers starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday are Jason Sturdivant, Sharrows, Blaisin’ Timothy, Room 9, Predawn Hour, Fielder and Peach. Admission is $5 and the event is open to all ages.

I had the honor of interviewing Peach about the band, influences and plans for the future. The answers are below:

MEMBERS
Melissa Roberts – guitar/vocals
Seth Bailey – drums
Alex Powers – bass

THE BEGINNING
“In the Summer of 2009, Seth and I met via the vast wonderland of Craigslist, a website. Initially, I was just looking for a drummer for a duo, but as we got down to business we saw the need for a bass player, so we added Seth’s friend Jon, who has since been replaced by Alex, who was also a Craigslist find.”

SOUND
“Describing the music is a bit hard and not because we’re so awesomely unique that we’re above classification, but because it’s really just straightforward rock music. People sort of expect us to have some ultra-specific, somewhat obscure genre that we believe we belong to, but that’s not the case. We can just call it post-trash.”

St. Louis trio Peach is set to perform Saturday in Quincy.

INFLUENCES
“Specific influences vary across the board, but some are PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Giant Drag and Sleater Kinney. Also, punk and some old-school pop punk like the Misfits, the Bouncing Souls, Saves the Day, also, Americana, a la Neko Case. It really varies a lot. It helps if there’s a chick in the band.”

SONG INSPIRATION
“‘Loveline’ with Dr. Drew. All of our songs are based on callers and their stories. No, that’s not actually true, I can’t really say where they come from. Just life, sounds and noise.”

RECORDINGS
“Just a demo — three songs. It’s available online for free download and we have them available at shows as well. We’re being very grassroots about this before we drop a bunch of money on an album.”

QUINCY SHOW EXPECTATIONS
“Lots of sweat. It’ll be a sweaty, dirty rock and roll show. Lots of new friends. People on first dates. We haven’t performed in Quincy before, but we’re excited.”

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
“Well, now that I’ve said we don’t want to drop a bunch of money on an album, we’re planning on recording one sometime this fall. An EP. We’ve also got a music video in the works. We’ll be playing shows — lots out-of-town. Just doing the thing.”

Michaels is expected to make full recovery and will make first public appearance Wednesday

Posted by jmartin – May 17, 2010

Michaels

Bret Michaels is out of the hospital following a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which bleeding in the base of his brain, April 21. He spent 10 days in ICU, but the singer says he feels “lucky to be alive,” according to People.com.

People also states that Michaels is currently at a rehabilitation facility for physical therapy, and is expected to make a full recovery. His doctor told People, that a full recovery only occurs in 10 to 20 percent of all cases.

Michaels told MTV that he plans to make a bucket list and will possibly settle down with his long-time girlfriend and mother of his children, Kristi Gibson.

As for public appearances and activities, the rocker is set to appear on Oprah Wednesday, release a new album June 8 called “Custom Built,” and is set to appear and compete on the live finale of “Celebrity Apprentice” May 23.

Michaels is also planning to start performing live again at Hard Rock Live in Biloxi, Miss., May 28, and plans to tour through December, while making up the dates he missed this spring due to his recent hospital stay and an emergency appendectomy in early April, according to his website.

VH1 is set to premiere a new Michaels documentary series, “Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It,” which promises to give viewers “an insider’s look at Bret’s home life,” May 31. This will only be a sneak peek due to Michaels’ recent health crisis. The full 1o-episode run will air this fall, according to MTV.com.

Also on his website, the tour schedule continues to state that Michaels will be ready to perform in Quincy Aug. 18 and 19 to make up the rescheduled April dates.

The date for the Quincy show has finally been changed from April to August on Ticketmaster. However, as previously stated, a ticket for April 28 will be still be accepted for the Aug. 18 show and one for April 29 will be accepted for the Aug, 19 show. The first show has sold out, but there are still tickets available for the second show here.

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Marshall Tucker Band set to perform in Hannibal;
tickets available for Kentucky Headhunters show

Posted by jmartin – May 14, 2010

The Grammy award-winning country group Kentucky Headhunters is performing next Thursday with regional act Madd Hoss Jackson at the Oakley-Lindsay Center. They’ve had a few radio hits with Dumas Walker, Oh Lonesome Me and Walk Slowly on This Heart of Mine. Tickets are on sale at the Oakley-Lindsay Center box office and online.

WEEKEND SHOWS
LaGrange Days featuring Hearsay Band (classic rock/country)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: LaGrange, Mo.
INFO: www.myspace.com/hearsayband2009

TNT (rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Lucky Star, St. Francisville, Mo.
INFO: www.myspace.com/tntclassicrock

Fielder (jam/rock)
WHEN: 11 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Twilight Zone, 906 Hampshire, Quincy
INFO: www.myspace.com/fieldermusic

Raised On Radio (classic rock/blues)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Bowlers Universe, Pittsfield, Ill.

Marshall Tucker Band (classic and Southern rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Clemens Field, Hannibal, Mo.
INFO: marshalltucker.com
The Balance (classic rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Blind Pig, Quincy
INFO: www.thebalancerocks.com

Damaged Goods (rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Kix Club, Quincy
HOW MUCH: $3
INFO: www.myspace.com/damagedgoodsband1

Shade (rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Flying Inn, Quincy

TNT (rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Purple Cow, Alexandria, Mo.
INFO: www.myspace.com/tntclassicrock

ICatchFire, Spanish Harlem, Sender Receiver and Burn The Remains
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Music @ the Mall, 300 Main, Keokuk, Iowa
HOW MUCH: $5, all ages
INFO: www.myspace.com/musicatthemall

SevenD2 (rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Driftwood 13, Keokuk, Iowa
INFO: www.myspace.com/sevend2

LaGrange Days featuring Hearsay Band (classic rock/country)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: LaGrange, Mo.
INFO: www.myspace.com/hearsayband2009

Mechanical Bull Riding event
WHEN: 7-9 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Grove Inn, 6510 Broadway

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Hillstock boasts nationally touring artist for Saturday’s event

Posted by jmartin – May 6, 2010

Culver-Stockton College is set to hold the annual music festival Hillstock Saturday. It kicks off at 3 p.m. and is free to the public. It was started nearly a decade ago by former students.

To find out more, I asked Beau Becraft of Cohesion, a regular performer at Hillstock, about the event and the future of his band. His answers are below:

HILLSTOCK
“Hillstock, to the best of my knowledge, began as DUStock around 2000. It was founded by Ryan Christian, also known as Cheeks McGee, and one of his fraternity brothers, Jason Richmond. The two used the event as a recruitment tool for the Delta Upsilon fraternity. During 2003 and 2004, DUStock spawned a campus-wide version of the music festival that would be called Hillstock. Both DUStock and Hillstock are still held each year with a variety of musical acts from all across the United States. Hillstock itself is an eight-hour outdoor event held in the middle of Culver-Stockton’s campus that gives students a chance to unwind and jam out after a strenuous and grueling year of academic work, but also allows the surrounding communities a chance to come out and support some incredible local and national talent.”

COHESION PERFORMING AT HILLSTOCK
“I was a freshman at Culver-Stockton in 2007 and my RA at the time was a friend from our hometown of Memphis, Mo. She had been to several of our shows around the area and informed me that Culver had a music showcase at the end of the year and encouraged us to play. As a freshman hardly knowing anyone, I was pretty hesitant about playing the show. However, Brent Hickenbottom, director of student activities at the time, approached me and said he heard we had a band that’s interested in playing Hillstock and we’ve played every year since.”

CURRENT LINEUP
“Anyone who comes out Saturday afternoon can expect a top-notch show with the top-notch price of free. Tegan Viggers, the current director of student activities, and the Campus Programming Council have done an outstanding job of booking acts this year. Every act brings something outstanding to the table. I can assure you that Ryanhood will blow you away with their guitar skills. They’ll be a great fit with the show. As always, Cheeks McGee will leave you tapping your foot and singing along with a grin on your face. It’s always a blast to watch him transform into a mini-orchestra. Persona Crown has some really great material. Their guitar hooks and vocal hooks get stuck in your head for days. Fundamental Elements is the essential “feel-good” band for me. Scratch Track is probably the best collaboration of genres I’ve ever heard. Throw some Delta blues, a strong helping of acoustic groove, a generous portion of beatbox, top it off with some suave and smooth vocals, and you’ve got the raw ingredients for this band. You really have to be here to see how great all these musicians are.”

COHESION’S INFLUENCES
“We have influences all over the map. Our guitarist, Loren “Bill” Billington, is very influenced by blues music and has had the opportunity to play with and talk to several big names, including Larry McCray and Michael Burks. The rest of us have very broad and diverse taste. However, the four of us all agree that the best music ever made was created in the ’90s. Over the past five years together, our sound has altered dramatically and we’ve come into our own. We’re very influenced by the Seattle sound, such as, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. That influence has become very evident in our music.

FUTURE OF COHESION
“It’s very difficult for the four of us to play regularly anymore with three of us in college and one working full-time in Quincy, but when opportunity knocks, we cease it. Keeping it together for five years now is a testament to our love for being able to create and share our music with everyone we cross paths with. We hope to get in the studio again sometime soon. We often have our farm sessions, which are sessions we have sporadically throughout the year, when we head out to Bill’s farm in the middle of nowhere Missouri and hole ourselves up in the garage for a few days and hash it out. We’ve recorded a few new demos so far this year. To listen to those tracks and keep updated with our happenings, we encourage everyone to become a fan of us on Facebook and check us out on Myspace.”

Below is a video of Cohesion performing at Hillstock:

For more information on the event, contact Tegan Viggers at (573) 288-6571 or tviggers@culver.edu.

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Touring Chicago band set to perform at CORBINstock at WIU

Posted by jmartin – May 5, 2010

Western Illinois University’s own shorter version of Woodstock, CORBINstock, will be held Thursday for a good cause.

The concert will be held from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. north of Corbin Hall on the WIU campus in Macomb. Donations of $2 per person are suggested. Proceeds are going to the Macomb High School Marching Band to help pay for new uniforms.

Never Say When, The Fizzy Pops, Merlin, Marcos & the Mack Daddys, Just the Kid and Flatfoot 56 are set to perform.

Flatfoot 56

Flatfoot 56 is an internationally touring band from Chicago that was asked to play at CORBINstock again after their performance last year. They are described as Celtic punk music.

The group answered a few questions about the concert and their plans for the band below:

CORBINSTOCK
“We were asked last year to play Corbinstock and were asked to return again this year. We truly enjoyed our experience last year. We have been playing Macomb for years and always have fun with the crowd.”

EXCITING PAST EVENT
“In 2008, we went on tour with Flogging Molly in Japan. It was one of the most exciting trips of our lives.”

FUTURE PLANS
“We are going to be touring a ton this summer on Warped Tour and other festivals. We are also heading to Europe in August with our old friends the Briggs for three weeks. It should be an amazing year. There has also been some talks about some great touring opportunities in the fall. In the meantime, we’ll keep performing and trying to get as many people to hear our new CD, ‘Black Thorn,’ as possible.”

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com

Q&A with Esther Moore on organizing shows at the State Room

Posted by jmartin – April 22, 2010

Local acoustic act Esther Moore started planning monthly acoustic shows at the State Room, 434 S. Eighth, in Quincy, last month. This month’s show is at 7 p.m. Saturday, and she hopes to continue with a show in May.

Moore answered questions about the process and upcoming shows.

Esther Moore

Esther Moore

LAST MONTH’S SHOW
“The first unplugged show turned out greater than I even expected or imagined. There were so many people there and mostly new faces. I love to see new people at the shows because it means we are spreading the word about local talent and music, and that is what I am in this for. I am hoping to keep this going as I continue to host shows at the State Room, and the only thing I will be changing for future shows is having fewer acts. I think there were nine or ten at the show on March 13, and although it worked out great, I want to make sure that each act gets plenty of time with the audience. Also, I may not always make an appearance on stage. If anyone plays acoustic music, or is in a band and would like to be involved, contact me and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

SATURDAY’S SHOW
“I’m hoping this show will have just as good of a turnout as last month. I am risking it by having it the same night as prom, but I have faith that the crowd will be good and the performances will be well worth the trip out. This show will be a little different than the last one, for two reasons: Number one is not all of the acts are acoustic. There are two different bands performing. High school band Forget Me In Vegas is performing and Alex Sanders and Chris Franklin from The Texas Funerals will be doing me a huge favor and backing me up on some of my originals. I’m very excited to play with them, because it gives a different sound to my music that I’m hoping everyone will be a fan of. The other reason this show will be different is because since the show is the same night as Quincy High School’s prom, a lot of the performers are going all out and dressing up. Also, I am letting any high-schoolers, with a school ID, who show up in their prom attire in at half price.”

Saturday’s Lineup: Devonte Clark, Jake Szetela, Katie and Kelsey Sharrow, Tim Bearden, Less Than Defeated, Prom Knights, Forget Me in Vegas and Esther Moore with some members from the Texas Funerals
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: State Room, 434 S. Eighth
HOW MUCH: $5, all ages
INFO: www.esthermoore.com

NEXT MONTH’S SHOW
“I am planning another all acoustic show for May, but I don’t have dates yet. I’m hoping to get some of the bigger rock bands in town that we see at Turner Hall and other places to do acoustic sets of their original music. We’ll see!”

Jessica Martin
jmartin@whig.com