This Friday: The Scream of the Butterfly, a Tribute to Jim Morrison & the Music of the Doors
The Scream of the Butterfly, a Tribute to Jim Morrison and the Music of the Doors, takes place this Friday, June 15th, at The Crowbar in Ybor City, featuring artists and musicians from a number of bands in the local area. The event is being presented by OnTap Music, a new face on the bay area scene. It is the brainchild of 22-year-old guitarist George Pennington III, who has been performing in the area for years, first as a member of Troy Youngblood and The Soulfish, then his own band, and currently with superb funk rockers Displace.
If you’ve seen Displace recently, you know they’re likely to let Pennington go wild playing “L.A. Woman” or “Riders on the Storm,” both of which he absolutely nails. But how did this young man come to revere the work of The Doors in the first place?
I have loved Jim Morrison’s performance style ever since I first saw a live video of one of his performances. It was evident that his mannerisms and demeanor were extraordinary and complicated. I wanted to learn more. He was handsome, had a lower, perhaps more “realistic” voice for a young man to try to emulate, and in my mind I saw equal parts intensity and fragility in his essence that drew me in. I felt and feel like I understood that: how someone can be at times quite charismatic, extroverted and dominant and also shy and thoughtful at other times.
Often performers are very confident people – but I don’t believe Jim always was, even as a superstar. There are many eyewitness accounts and tales of Jim being so shy he’d turn away from the audience. But his Lizard King persona is certainly different. I have no experience with psychedelics, but I really would like to believe that Jim had both in his personality sober. But perhaps that is naivete. Of course, The Doors’ sound is very bluesy, and the blues is where my heart is. It has always been. It is a dark, theatrical, heavy in timbre and text, twisted blues I love.
For this performance, Pennington has recruited an A-list of musicians to help tear the roof off The Crowbar. He will be joined by Dennis Stadelman (guitar, CopE, Sonic Stew), Kenny Stadelman (bass, CopE), Vinny Svoboda (bass, Displace), Tucker Sody (drums, Displace), J.T. Brown (guitar), Mark Etherington (guitar, Mountain Holler), Joe Roma (guitar, Row Jomah), Alexa and Bella Toro (vocals, Flow Sisters), Shevonne Philidor (vocals), Sarah Ferrer (vocals) and more TBA. Many of the gentlemen will sing as well.
In addition to the music, there will be live art — lots of it. Ashley Cantero, Bean Spence, Carlos Pons, Adam Danger Smith, Stephen Barry, and Cosmic Collective Art will all be there painting. Alyssa Sky and Jen Ferry from ‘of the Mirage’ will be performing their live art installation — a moving statue duet! And Pasqual Artise will be doing a digital art instillation.
OnTap has decided to auction off a painting for the person dressed in the grooviest attire. Proceeds will go towards international costal cleanup. So time to bust out those platforms and bell bottoms!
The Scream of the Butterfly
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