Local show brings musicians together!

October 18th was a day I will never ever forget. A day where my internet life and my real social life intertwined. One of my best friends, Stacie, and I decided to throw a Halloween party in which we'd invite some bands I know and dress up. We had planned this party for about a month and a half and if you know me, you know there had to be good music. Stacie and I talked her mom into letting us party it up at her place and invite some of my friends to come play and I knew exactly who to invite. At the end of the day I had a four band set up that consisted of James Wolfe  (Joe Wolfe of Sister City's brother), Spooky Casual, Naked, and finally Social Repose. Richie was the first to show up in his little black Nissan packed full with equipment; the first thing he said was "Hey girl!" Richie, Lizzy (My girlfriend at the time), Stacie, and I all went back and forth taking his things into the house and then he set up. His set up was crazy consisting of different lights, speakers, his mic, sound boards, a fog machine, and maybe even more! Next to show up was Carl Smith AKA Naked and 1/3 of Spooky Casual. Then Matt, and so on. Not only did everyone play a killer set but I met people that I've been waiting to meet forever! Let's start with BowTie Steele shall we? This 6'4" man looks scary with a beard and long teal blue hair but once you get to talking to him you'll think the complete opposite. BowTie was one person I connected to instantly especially when I went to shake his hand he pulled me into a straight up hug. He's funny, fun, and feels like a brother and someone I've known for years. He is also the bassist for Encasing Embrace and the fill in bassist for Face The Fire It was an honor to meet him. Next is the ever fabulous Richie Giese of Social Repose. I had my doubts about him when we Facebook chatted I'll be honest, my biggest fear being that he might've just been acting kind for fans sake or to get a gig but when I met him in person I instantly knew my doubts were indeed incorrect. Richie was one of the kindest people I've ever met with a set to die for. He instantly got you off your feet and jumping and headbanging and every other exciting dance adjective I can think of. He was almost like that hot friend/ big brother that everyone wants because they find him very attractive and then you get to see what he's actually like and you're like well damn this guy is actually pretty dope. (If that made any kind of sense.) Carl Smith was the last one I got to meet that I've previously talked to on the internet and Carl was very quiet but when he spoke it was very honest, funny, or a nice combo of both. NOW LET'S TALK THE MUSIC ASPECT BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR, right? James Wolfe went first with a folky pop-punk sound that at first I was a little thrown off by. As his set progressed I really seemed to enjoy it, his chords were great, vocals on point, and he seemed to be enjoying himself! If you wanna check him out (which I highly suggest doing) do so here. You can really see his personality through his songs, a personality which I think I could get along with. Next was Spooky Casual, now please feel for these dudes and cut them some slack because #1 their vocalist had a family emergency so she couldn't make it so Carl took the liberty of covering the vocals and #2 Matt's guitar legitimately began falling apart even before they played and it progressively got worse as they began to. I spoke to a few of the audience members that listened along with me to Spooky Casual's set and we all agreed that the amp volume was too high for their material, we also all agreed that you could barely hear Carl singing, and that the cord progression in each song sounded sort of similar. The biggest problem with Spooky's set in my own opinion was the mic volume. As a Spooky Casual fan my favorite part are the lyrics and when I can't hear what the vocalist is saying it messes with the way I perceive the song, but looking at it as a whole, with the circumstances they were faced with, Spooky Casual didn't do too bad of a job. Let's take a look at the positives of their set: Carl moved around which kept us all interested, the lighting fit the music style, and Matt wore man-flops. As always. Check Spooky Casual out here. Naked was next and here's where we had some major problems, although I love Carl with my heart and soul we had a giant issue. Carl's set has a song at the end where Carl places a noose around his neck and proceeds to sing and do the gestures of him hanging, this ended up actually triggering about 5 kids and made them have to step out due to PTSD, anxiety, and depression issues with that set. Although that wasn't completely Carl's fault and I did like the song he was singing, I would suggest sending a fair warning out to show goers incase anyone may get triggered by that sort of thing in the future. Carl's songs were very pretty though with deep lyrics about depression and suicide and lighting that fit just as well. Over all Carl did very well and musically his set was top tier. Check Naked out here. Finally, the night was ended by the wonderful uplifting tunage of the ever fabulous Social Repose, and if you check my blog on the regular you know I love me some SR. Richie's set was by far my favorite, he had a light show that was programmed to go with his music, two brand new spot lights, a fog machine, and well his music is my jam. Richie got everyone up on the floor, got me to dance so hard my legs hurt for two days, had BowTie on the floor (BowTie even picked Richie up and spun him around) and Richie had everyone smiling and happy! Richie's actual voice is pretty much the same that you hear in recordings, no autotune or anything and he's very fun to dance with! Richie will be going on tour starting in November so make sure to check him out if you can! Check out his music here. Overall the party was a great success with many musicians and many great friends! Stay tuned for interviews with Social Repose and Spooky Casual soon!