Truth be told, Tom Kielbania, Jr. is actually a fairly skilled, extremely versatile handyman—as adept at general construction and framing as he is at masonry work and sheetrock.
And while the edition of Extreme Home Makeover that took place late in June in Suffield, Ct. certainly could have utilized Kielbania for all of those talents, the powers that be eventually deemed him most useful in yet another capacity.
Rather than hammering nails, Kielbania was tapped to pound out rhythms behind his drum kit with his band, Orange Crush, at the show's official "wrap" party.
"I'm not really sure how it came about," he admits, referring to the shindig that was scheduled to take place June 28 at the Basketball Hall of Fame. "But they asked us, and of course, we jumped at the opportunity to be involved. I don't really have many more details at this point other than we are supposed to play a long time—three full sets—and Ty [Pennington, the show's host] is a guitarist, so we should factor in time for him to come onstage and jam."
Although the public at large was not invited to "Ty" one on with the gang that evening (it was a private function), Kielbania adds that he and his original boys of the OC will resurface this weekend at the annual Chicopee Fest-Of-All (chicopeefestofall.com) taking place July 2-5 at Szot Park once again.
"I'm usually there every year, at the food booth, making what I call sloppy Toms," he laughs. "Since this year's fest is literally days after my wife Kelly and I are expecting the arrival of my son, Noah, I decided to pass on the cooking. Then we get the call to play… and we just couldn't turn that down. We've never played the Chicopee Fest-Of-All before, and half of Orange Crush's band members call the city home!"
Other acts rounding out the Chicopee Fest lineup (between planned activities ranging from a motorcycle poker run, classic car show and cell phone tossing contest) include AC/DC imitators Back N Black, Zep-a-likes Black Dog, The Radiators, Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze, and more. Admission and entertainment are free.
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In other news, Six Flags New England continues its expansion from sheer amusements to, shall we say, more audio-enhanced experiences like the Live and Local concert series kicking off this Sunday, July 5 or the Latin Fest on July 4th proper. New York-based rockers Raposo kick off the former, which will take place at 5 p.m. each Sunday at the Special Event stage by Splashwater Falls.
They will be followed by Connecticut's Kala Farnjam and indie rocker Ryan Schmidt (July 12), singer-songwriter Jim Gaven and melodic rockers Driving DW Home (July 19), and Beantown native Jenny Dee (July 26), to a name a choice few.Latin Fest 2009 will feature Zion Y, Lennox, DJ Flex, La India and Bachata Heightz down in the park's Grove area. All Live and Local concerts are free with park admission; a special concert/admission price of $41.99 for Latin Fest is now available at sixflags.com/newengland.
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Last up, we may be in the dog… well, puppy days of summer, but far be it from the Crawler to let Missy Benerakis' plea for Octoberfest help "fall" upon deaf ears.
"I'm co-chair for an Octoberfest event we plan on holding at the Springfield Turnverein in Agawam Aug. 29," the Q frontwoman explains. "Basically, as you'd expect, we're looking to put together a great afternoon of bands, brews, German dancers and more, but we are also looking to raise money for the club itself. It's such an amazing place, and things are really tight."
Anyone looking to contribute to the Octo-event in virtually any capacity—including but not limited to time, money, goods, services, or just passing along a great idea—can contact Missy direct at melissabenerakis@comcast.net.
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 698-9373 or email garycarra@aol.com.
