He may front one of the nation's most popular tributes to one of the so-called slacker generation's greatest heroes, but when Negative Creep's Josh Enemy noticed a disturbing trend among his students at Performance Music in Westfield, the Cobain clone says he had no choice but to spring into action.
"It was just kid after kid coming in, telling me how their school dropped their jazz band, or another school cut some other musical program because they could no longer afford the instruments," Enemy explains. "I instantly thought 'I need to do something about this.' Then it occurred to me—I actually can do something about this."
In creeping around the country's nightclubs the past several months with his band, Enemy realized he had befriended nearly every other prominent tribute act on the circuit—and that they all had tremendous drawing power. As he asked them one by one to sign on to a concert he was planning to benefit music education, he says, they were all more than happy to roll up their flannel sleeves and lend a hand.
The result of Enemy's efforts will culminate this Sunday, Sept. 2 at the Elks Pavilion, West Springfield in Grungefest, a day-long, multi-act event benefiting Music For Education.
As advertised, the show will feature premiere tribute acts for the likes of Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Tool, Alice in Chains and more—many of which hail from the Boston and New York areas. Enemy is quick to add, however, that several original acts including Noledge, Pallet, 4th Demention and his own Homeboy also have slots on the 20-band bill.
"It's amazing how it all came together, and when I look at the lineup, it blows me away," Enemy says. "I mean, each tribute act alone normally gets anywhere from $800 to $2,000 to perform a piece. When you consider that and all the other great bands, I would guess that the entire Grungefest bill probably equals about $20,000 worth of talent."
For those of you who have had mathematics cut from your curriculum, that would make the show's paltry $15 admission price a hell of a deal. To secure your ticket—or learn more about the event or donating—kindly point your browser to www.myspace.com/grungefest.
*
Speaking of homeboys, Mark Schwaber recently checked in to report that his band Home will reunite this Friday, Aug. 31 at Westfield's Finn MacCool's for their first official show in more than a decade. While the trio—which also includes Rob Connelly and Josh Churchill—has remained in contact and even jammed briefly at a CD release party in '06, Schwaber revealed that, for the record, the real impetus for this reunion stems from the relocation of one of his favorite record stores.
"Platterpus Records is moving to the Hadley Mall, and this show is in honor of that," says Schwaber, who himself owns Easthamp's Night Owl record store. "Both me and Rob used to work at Platterpus, and the owner, Dave Witthaus, is like a brother to me."
*
Lastly, looks like your friendly neighborhood Nightcrawler has just enough room to enlighten the masses about melodic rockers The Room (myspace.com/theroomspace) and the CD release party they have planned for Aug. 31 at Chicopee's Maximum Capacity.
Singer/six-stringer Eric Arena recently revealed that the impressive new studio offering, titled Dressed For The Occasion, features the premiere of Christo Fortin on drums.
As for the Max Cap bash itself, Arena says to expect a "classy" affair, with the venue decked out as a school room and assorted student-friendly prizes raffled off throughout the evening in true back-to-school fashion. Nude Black Glass and metal-meisters Under Falling Skies open the Aug. 31 performance. Valley faves The Swillmerchants occupy the final slot on the evening's bill.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
