Only two more weeks of killer tunes will grace the Seymour air before
the Battle of the Bands 2007 draws to a close. With an encore lineup of
awesome rock and metal outfits set to rip up the night for the Scaryoke
thriller on October 27, the hottest entertainment event in the history
of Seymour, brought to you by Tennessee Production, Inc.’s family of
businesses, and the South Knox · Seymour Times, will finally end,
having seen more than 100 bands perform before thrilled crowds on the
state-of-the-art outdoor stage at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café, and made history on Knox Rocks.TV, a brand-new television show airing each Saturday night at 11:30 pm on MyVLT2.
Friday night’s lineup included punk/pop outfit Without Hatred, Without
Violence, Without Weapons, who set the pace with an energetic on-stage
performance. With a vocal attack led by Austin Wilson and a verve fed
by Matt Kramer on lead and Tom Mullins on rhythm guitar, the quintet
relied on the steady beat from bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Perry
Andrews to fill the Friday bill with brash youthful sound.
Vena Dilla capped Friday’s festivities with a double-set of hard rocking stiffness. Citing influences like Whitesnake and KISS,
frontman Mark Huffstetler and guitarist Mark Garland set their own mark
on the evening, capably supported by the dual rhythms of bassist Eddie
Harbison and drummer Steve Hamby.
Saturday’s slate started with a sizzle when rock quartet Here’s To You
blasted onstage. Slipping expertly between tunes during their set of
original compositions, the four-piece blitzed through a rapid series of
fast-paced songs, driven hard by the crisp clatter of Jon David
Matlock’s drums and the brisk bottom-end of Brent Myers’ bass. With
Nathan Morgan’s upper-register howl pinning every note to the mat, and
Brad Dills’ guitar tag-teaming to thrash each movement into submission,
the outfit placed themselves strongly at the forefront as the sun
slowly set in the west.
But the solid threesome Seclorum worked their way onstage next, and put
their own power to the amps in a bid to be named best in show. Smoking
through seven songs in what seemed like seconds, the Jefferson City
trio filled out their dance card with rapid riffs from singer/guitarist
Jay Jeffers and sepulchral bass from John Treece, while drummer Danny
Wilson brought serious thunder on the skins and cymbals.
Next up were The Dirty Gunzz,
a quintet with tons of stage presence and a knack for writing catchy
tunes with enduring hooks. Leading off with We Are the Party, an
arena-rocker of the first water, they quickly followed with their own
Giddy-Up, forcing the crowd to its collective feet. Turning to a couple
of well-known favorites by Poison and Chris Issac
before launching into more of their own material, frontman Michael
Gunzz and lead guitarist Stacy Bullets fired at will, covered by the
fully-automatic Mark Barnhart on staccato drums and the howitzer bass
of Jimmy Craig, while guitarist Vince Ingle sniped from the shadows.
Closing out the festivities Saturday was the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute
band Saturday Night Special. Like men possessed, the sextet channeled
the spirits of their progenitors, firing up the night sky with
southern-fried sounds that were near-perfect renditions of the original
artists’. With the triple-guitar attack of Steve Fox, Steve Hembree and
Chad Webb, listeners would have been hard-pressed to find a misstep
among the quick-slung riffs, as drummer and lead vocalist Chuck Hembree
and bassist Chad Crum blew out the bottom end and keyboardist Matt Fox
filled out the piano and organ signatures with an expert touch to end
the night.
There’s no excuse to miss a single exciting moment of the Battle of the
Bands as they prepare to put the finishing touches on this year’s
event. But if you long to hear what you’ve missed, log on to www.karaokecafe.com,
where you can view and download audio and video of every band’s live
performance and post-show interview to your computer or handheld
device, and vote for your favorite band.
But don’t miss the final two weekends at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café
October 26 and November 2 and 3, because once the last notes have
sounded, you won’t get another chance until next year.
