by christina wagner and jon bosworth
I am sick and tired of hearing the same band over and over again, night after night in this colony of clones we call home. There was something my art history teacher once told me that really stuck: "You don't know where you are going until you know where you've been." In other words, study the classics, don't rip people off because you're too lazy to do the research, develop your own style utilizing the styles that came before.
I ran into this same problem when I served as a judge on the 2007 Florida Music Festival. After listening to more than 300 bands trying to get in, I found myself lost trying to figure out if I had already listened to the same band twenty six times, or if these so called "musicians" had really given up on all attempts of creativity in an industry that is supposed to highlight just that (see Vans Warped Tour). So finding a number of bands that are professional enough to be reliable, have a strong enough following to fill a large venue, and have the talent to represent the event well is a daunting task, but The Florida Theatre is up to it. They have committed their fabulous stage, which has seen most of the world's musical legends in it's lifetime, to helping regional bands showcase their talents and bring in their crowd for a good cause. Bands that have all of the elements to make this a success as well as the heart to do it for a good cause, well that ought to look good on some resume in some record executive's office, right?
JaxRox is a benefit concert that raises money for Body & Soul, a non-profit organization that utilizes art and music to help the healing process in local healthcare facilities. Bu bringing musicians in to play for people that need comfort and putting art on the walls to liven a painful experience, Heart & Soul is committed to helping people heal by encouraging the heart and soul through art while medical care tends to the needs of their body. Nothing can help people heal better than their own love for life, and nothing brings that love out better than music. In that spirit, The Florida Theatre has brought back JaxRox for a second year, which complements this Body & Soul series that also included an acoustic concert a few months back called Uncommon Music for a Common Cause. JaxRox will feature three major rock bands from Florida. Twenty Weight, Dubwise, and Blistur.
I first ran across the band Twenty Weight a while ago, back at Jack Rabbits. They weld the two genres of rock and reggae much like Operation Ivy had woven punk rock and ska. It's seamless and the stage presence is as exciting as its music. Originally from Key Largo, this incredibly full three-piece boasts an incredibly wide variety of songwriting in every set, obviously due to their long list of influences ranging from the Police to Dr. Dre to Slayer. The best part is their attitude, no matter how small or how big of a crowd, they are all over the place; born to light up a stage. Take notes, Jacksonville bands, always appreciate your crowd.
Dubwise. Another three piece reggae band with good songwriting capabilities and a subtle tinge of punk. Poppy and easy to swallow, this group of gentlemen have a way of drawing the listener in.
In Jacksonville, you find a trend that prompts "nu-metal" bands to intentionally misspell their band names. Why? Are you trying to feed into the stereotype that your genre consists of a bunch of uneducated roughnecks put on this earth to sport your always sexy, under-shaven faces and obviously dyed, greasy ponytails while rockin' the "guy-liner" and not tipping your bartender? Maybe I'm bitter due to the fact I sent them one of the ever-so-popular MySpace messages and they made no attempt to respond.
As it turns out, they did respond, but Christina had given them a wrong phone number (she must have accidentally given the number she gives to guys that hit on her at bars, because the lady whose number it actually is says she gets dozens of calls a day for her) and Neal Gupton, from Blistur, replied to her MySpace as well as to EU with his phone number to conduct a last-minute interview.
EU: What is it about this event that made Blistur want to play?
NG: Actually, the Florida Theatre invited us. Erik Hart [President of the Florida Theatre] liked us a lot and tried to get us some opening slots with ZZ Top and others that didn't work out, but he said he was still thinking of us and he called us about JaxRox.
EU: How is your band name supposed to be pronounced?
NG: People think there's a deep meaning to it, but it's web based. If you search for it by that spelling online then you get us. And the dot com was available.
EU: Are you "Nu-Metal?"
NG: I would call it alt-rock, alt-hard rock, alt-metal, maybe. Clearly we have crossover material. We're radio-friendly and we are kind of all over the map. We have played all types of music, from Steely Dan to Metalica, so there is a little bit of everything in our music. But we're definitely hard rock.
EU: Does your band ever play in hospitals to help sick people feel better?
NG: Well, you know that's interesting because when I saw what the charity did I sent a reply back saying I hope the recipients won't be in attendance because of the type of music we play. But they told us not to worry about it, just to rock. Its going to be a hard rock show. We'll leave it to the others to play in the hospitals and stuff.
EU: You opened for Joe Bonamassa at the Florida Theatre not too long ago. What is your favorite thing about playing at the Florida Theatre?
NG: Everything. The acoustics, the way it's arranged, I have been there to see shows before, obviously, but when I walked the stage, I was amazed at how close the seats were to the stage. The sound crew is great, almost any show you see there ends up sounding great.
EU: Can fans expect pyrotechnics?
NG: No. They can expect pyrotechnics on the guitar. That's where the band name came from because I always said Chris [Kellam] plays blistering guitar.
Neal was very nice on the phone and holds no bitterness against Christina Wagner for her mistake. Catch JaxRox live at the Florida Theatre on Friday. The show starts at 10pm and costs $10, which benefits Body & Soul.
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