“My name is Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid…”
Sorry—Kid Rock is actually one rock act that won’t be at KidsRock, a family-friendly music festival occurring at—and raising proceeds for—Beacon Field in Greenfield Aug. 13.
But what it lacks in “Ba-Wit-Da-Ba” and “American Badass,” this show more than makes up for with actual kids who rock.
“I heard about the Beacon Field Playground Project and the mission to raise funds for a new play structure, and I just had to be a part of it,” recalls show organizer Kristy Kim. “I immediately reached out to some of my husband Matt‘s students in a project he calls Rock Show as well as Dave Westbrook with PDP Productions. In very short order, we got a half dozen bands together. And I would say the average age of each [member] is 12 to 20.”
While KidsRock will kick off with the adult band Planet Z at 1 p.m., it will quickly yield to young upstarts like Slaw (1:45 p.m.), Goat Boy (2:30 p.m.), Solutions (3:15 p.m.) and Planemo (4 p.m.) before giving way to Matt Kim’s Rock Shop boot camp at 4:45 p.m. and headliners The Takeaways at 5:30 p.m.
“I have seen some of these kids from the first note they ever played, not knowing a lick and turning into the most amazing players,” Kim recalls. “And there are so many other kids out there just as talented… what better way to showcase them and raise money for an important community cause?”
Admission to KidsRock is $10 at the door, children 12 and under free. Advance tix are also available at Raven Used Books in Greenfield.
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In other news, your friendly neighborhood Crawler must confess… he cherry-picked his first question for pop rockers Cherry Suede just prior to their Aug. 7 engagement at Headquarters in Agawam.
The Canadian quartet had just amassed its 10,000th Facebook fan the week before, and the Crawler was itching to learn the secrets behind such cyber-success.
“For years we’ve been hearing that the Internet killed the music industry,” explains singer/six-stringer Randy Young. “I think this is probably the most exciting time in music since the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. How amazing is it that we, or any artist, for that matter, can have their music heard around the world and tour the world, all without the help of a major record company? I’m by no means anti-record company. They used to play a vital role in artist development, but as the years wore on, they became more of a high interest bank and distributor of product, and they are out of touch. Now, no artist can work in isolation. You need great people around you to help you along the way. I just think those people are not working at a traditional label anymore. I would sooner partner with a tech company than a traditional label any day of the week.”
So that covers modern technology… but what of the band’s core philosophy?
“Pretty simple,” Young continues. “Our fans are like our friends and family. We give away as much of our digital music as we can. A 10-year-old can find your music free in a matter of seconds, so why fight it? We embrace it and would rather you get a quality file right from us. That’s our radio.”
Cherry Suede has just recently released its newest single, ‘I’ll B Waiting.” And, true to form, it’s available for free at cherrysuede.com.
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Last up, look for a familiar face when ’90s rockers Bang Tango take to the Stearns Square stage this Thursday, Aug. 11 as part of the ongoing Bike Night concert series.
Local boy Scott LaFlamme was recently tapped to handle guitar duties for the tour. Original axeman Alex Grossi had to bow out due to a previous commitment with Adler’s Appetite, featuring Steven Adler of Guns ‘N’ Roses/Celebrity Rehab infamy. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.”
Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email Garycarra@aol.com.
