ConqueRoosterOctoWood Rockn’ to Lockn’
Lockn’ Festival takes place the second week of September in Arrington, Va. In an effort to recognize Virginia’s rich musical talent, the festival started Rockn’ to Lockn’, a statewide battle of the bands. In last year’s inaugural event, the winners of four regional contests gathered in Richmond to play for a slot on the Lockn’ 2014 bill. This year’s format will put the winners of the four regional contests on the stage at Lockn’ 2015. The first Battle of the Bands kicked off on July 10 at Shaka’s Live in Virginia Beach. The Tidewater region was represented by 8 armed Oc TopuS, Woodwork, Anthony Rosano and The Conqueroos and Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot, and they span genres that include psychedelic jams, pop/funk jams, bluesy rock and Southern blend.
I’d never heard 8 armed Oc TopuS play live. The other three bands I know very well, and I knew that when it came time to cast my vote it would be a very difficult decision. I really felt like any of these bands would do a fantastic job representing our region. Naturally, each band wanted to win; an opportunity like this doesn’t come around very often, and they pulled out all the stops, flooding their social media channels with special events, ticket giveaways, and anything else they could think of to drum up votes. But at the same time, they wanted to show solidarity. This isn’t a huge musical scene, and most of the bands know each other, having played on bills together or had members sit in at local performances. Thus, the title of this article. The mashup of the band’s names, ConqueRoosterOctoWood, became their rallying cry. And it also became a way to give back to the community. Pat Spalding, the bassist for Woodwork, designed a logo, and Jason Bruner, the drummer for Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot, had t-shirts printed and sold them in advance. The proceeds from the sales are going to Soundscape, a non-profit intervention and educational organization dedicated to teaching transformational life skills to disadvantaged youth in Virginia, using intensive music study and ensemble performance.
I’ve been to several events at Shaka’s, but I’ve never seen it as full as it was that night. The rated capacity is 400, and ticket sales were rumored to be between 430 and 470, but it felt like a lot more. Jess Martin from WNRN in Charlottesville, the emcee for the event, grabbed the mic at 10 o’clock, thanked everyone for coming, and introduced 8 armed Oc TopuS. They opened their set with “Black Train,” a hard rocker that got the crowd fired up. Next was “Mr. Negative,” which segued into “Suspicious Truths,” with an extended jam by guitarist Kyle Hills in between. “Oberanda Risk” was an epic rock jam that featured Hills’ guitar work and Alfred Evans on the Hammond B3. “Woman on Fire” was a trippy rocker that featured bassist Bruce Henning on vocals, while his brother Chris kept propelling the band forward on drums. They finished their set with “Broken” and “Funky Monkey.”
Jess Martin jumped on stage to pull the winning number for a pair of tickets to Lockn 2015, then introduced Anthony Rosano and The Conqueroos, a blues/rock quartet that has been together since 2012. They opened their set with a bluesy number titled “Wicked Grin,” an original tune that is planned for release on their next album that features Jack Campbell on harmonica. I heard the familiar bass line by Paul Warren for “The Bottom,” but it felt more powerful and ominous than usual, and as the song built it became more intense with Anthony riffing like a madman. Next up was “Devil’s Hand,” an upbeat number with a swinging rhythm that included a sample of “Franklin’s Tower” in the middle. The third song in a row from their latest album, Get Rood, was “Flash That Smile,” opening with a fine drum solo by Scott Smith. They closed out their set with a great rendition of The Beatles’ “Come Together,” the crowd singing along all the way. It’s easy to see why they were selected as Best Blues Band of 2015 by Veer Magazine.
Another set break ensued, along with another give-away of a pair of tickets to Lockn 2015, before Jess introduced Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot. Anyone who visits my Facebook photo page (Festy Shots Photography) will quickly see that I have an affection for this band that borders on stalking. I feel fortunate to have covered them in small venues, large theatres and huge arenas as they opened for a wide range of national acts and to spend a couple of days in the studio as they recorded their latest record, Fire and Steel. Seth took the stage wearing an Anthony Rosano and The Conqueroos t-shirt as they opened their set with “Floodgates,” a number off their Earth and Worm album that features some fine slide work by Seth. Next up was “Burn,” a powerful rocker that featured Larry Berwald on lead guitar and new addition Stephen Lazar on keyboards. That sequed into “Cold Steel Woman,” an unreleased original that has a ZZ Top feel to it and is anchored by the rhythm section of Jason Bruner on drums and Steven Yewcic on bass. Next up was a cover of The Black Crowes’ “Thorn in my Pride” that rolled right into “White Walls,” another original that has hints of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Needle and the Spoon.” At this point, Seth handed the guitar off to Stephen Lazar and grabbed the mic as the band launched into “Creekside,” a dark, haunting and powerful song that they spiced up with a sample of Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade.”
Each time the bands changed out you could see a shift in the crowd. The fans of the previous band would fade away from the front as the next band’s fans moved in, decked out in their t-shirts and other paraphernalia. I have to say that the fans for Woodwork were there in force, trying to will their guys on to Lockn’ through sheer volume and energy, and they exploded as the band took the stage. Woodwork’s members are huge fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish, and their influence on the band’s music is evident. James Dale got things started on drums as the opening notes to “What It’ll Do” began to ring out. The interplay between Kyle Folsom on lead guitar and Andrew Majkut on rhythm guitar was evident in “Shit or Get Off the Pot.” Bassist Pat Spalding got to stretch his legs a little during “Guesswork,” and their rabid fans were singing along to every word of their closer, “Suzy Greenberg.”
As the final notes were ringing out, I made my way out front to cast my vote. Jared Stone of Flat Five Productions, the company running the competition, was manning the iPad. I turned in my ticket and pushed a button on the screen. I headed back into the club and found every member from all four bands milling about on the stage, setting up music stands, nearly all of them wearing a ConqueRoosterOctoWood t-shirt. Once they got set up, I heard Alfred Evans’ B3 start, quietly at first, and then rising slowly as the first notes of “With a Little Help From My Friends” led into the twin guitars of Larry Berwald and Kyle Hills. Pat Spalding and Jason Bruner held down the rhythm section on bass and drums, respectively. Jack Campbell added his harmonica, and there was Stephen Lazar with a saxophone in his hand (did I mention he’s an accomplished multi-instrumentalist?), while the remaining members took turns on vocals. It wasn’t a well-oiled, polished performance, but it was a joyous homage to the friendship shared by these musicians even as they were competing for the shot of a lifetime.
After the song was over, Jared Stone took the stage and thanked everyone for turning out to support local music in such large numbers. I was really proud of my town and their overwhelming support for these bands. Jared handed the mic off to Jess Martin, who thanked all the bands and fans, saying they were all winners. But there could only be one, and the voters selected Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot to play at Lockn 2015. I was happy to see the band I’m most closely connected to win, but I’d have been happy with any selection. These four bands represent a talented and diverse music scene that never ceases to amaze me, and I’m fortunate to be able to cover a part of it. Congratulations, boys! I’ll see you at Lockn!
