Wild West Rocks Barney McNabbs in Yonkers Friday March 23rd!

The Wild West Returns!

The Wild West, which promoted several shows in White Plains back in 2005 returns to the scene! On March 23^rd the Wild West showcases seven bands playing original rock n roll at Barney McNabbs, located at 600 Tuckahoe Road, Yonkers.

Thrown out of the Vintage as its bands were scaring the regulars, the Wild West approached Barney McNabbs in Yonkers, which routinely offers metal and hardcore nights. With its mix of rock, alternative, metal bands, and God knows what else on March 23^rd, the Wild West should fit right in!

The Wild West has in going to Yonkers has tapped into an already thriving music scene. Bands like Powertrip, Shades of Burn, and Silver Spade are already recognized locally, writing their own stuff and playing around both in Westchester and New York City. Those are only three and there are others, but those are three of the seven playing March 23^rd!

Two of these, Silver Spade and PowerTrip are in the metal vein. Silver Spade are routinely playing in the city and locally and do have an EP! They list influences as diverse as Dream Theater, Aerosmith, and Staind. They are a four piece with the two brothers, Bob and Rick Yapchanyk - Bob on guitar, and Rick handling the vocals. Filling out the band are Pete Simone on drums and Eric Neuman on Bass. For me they are a solid melodic metal act with strong vocals, tight rhythms, and expressive guitar work.

Powertrip also is playing out routinely, doing a mix of covers and originals. On the 23^rd it will focus primarily on their originals. You can see where they are coming from with influences like Godsmack and Sevendust. Chris on vocals, Jonathan on Bass, Matt on guitar and Mike on drums. Again they are a solid four peace, charting out a slightly different area of the metal scene. Both I am sure will be grabbing your attention on the 23^rd!

Slowing it down a notch, perhaps, is another regular on the scene, Shades of Burn featuring John on guitar, Nicole on vocals, Ray on Guitar, Fred on Drums (Who is also taking care of sound on the 23rd), and Nick on Bass. Basically they aim for two things: original rock with a hard-hitting groove, and making sure the audience is having a good time, and those two are really what it is all about! Their influences range from classic rock, metal, funk/soul, to alternative. Shades of Burn do have a self titled CD available too, which has been in my CD player quite a bit last few days.

Add to this four bands coming in from the city and you have a complete night. The bands from NYC include Stark, Statues of Liberty, The Party Death, and Do You See The Dark. These are four very different acts! Stark is basically Lani Ford on vocal and bass, Rob on Drums and Josette on guitar. In a nutshell if you combine Joan Jett and Shania Twain you and a dash of NYC attitude and you have Lani's vocals. Meanwhile, Josette with her Les Paul just plays some of the nicest licks I have heard!

The Statues of Liberty are two veterans from the NYC rock scene. Featuring Hal and John Law, these two were in Banana Fizh Zero, which aside from a great name was a major player as far as punk and alternative in NYC. More recently John Law went off on his own to form the Xs, which featured a former member of Fuel and others. The Statues of Liberty are in the same vein-hard rock, a dash of pop, some punk. No doubt they will bring your attention on the 23^rd to what is happening on onstage.

The last two acts are Do You See The Dark, which is mix of metal, melodic rock and even a dash of pop. They are a three piece with a big rich sound with some great vocals. They also have a self titled EP and have been acknowledged by the Village Voice and others as a group to watch out for. And then the final act is the Party Death, which just has a look and feel of early Guns and Roses. I am not sure where the name is going but they will definitely get the room going when they hit the stage. They just remind me of my glam rock days, but now I am revealing my age. . .Both of these acts were in the Meanyfest circuit, sponsored by Jack Daniels, and were recognized as bands with something going on.

A schedule for the 23^rd has not been composed yet. Please do not take this article as indicator of where or when they will come on. Stark probably will be on earlier and likewise Shades of Burn, but otherwise a schedule still needs to be done!

See you on Friday March 23^rd at Barney McNabbs! Rock on! And if you want a taste of these bands before the 23^rd, do check ut their MySpace pages, or go to the Wild West site, www.wildwestrocks.com where there is a mp3 player featuring all of them and also links to several podcasts the Wild West has put together featuring these and other bands in the area. The Wild West Podcasts can also be found on the iTunes site and are all FREE!

Help us pronmote the show! Download and print the March 23 Wild West Showcase Flyer! (Adobe PDF) Perfect for your workplace, your bedroom, your living room wall!

Bob Schaffer

Subscribe to The Wild West Blog by Email

Another thought-another take on New York

Well I just published the last blog and I am watching Craig Ferguson. I was just talking about how New Yorkers and the city in general have a certain attitude.

Maybe not. Craig Ferguson had John Mellencamp on and he was sharing that he had seen Mellencamp play in Scotland back in the 70's with Thin Lizzy, so he had my attention at that point. Then he went on to talk of another show featuring the Stranglers, a UK punk outfit, who apparently encouraged the fans to come up o the stage. They apparently did the same deal when they did their show in Scotland.

the crowd took them up on their offer and came up to the stage, and proceeded to steal everything-Amps, instruments, microphones.

Maybe they got the same opportunistic streak.

Bob Schaffer

Subscribe to The Wild West Blog by Email

A New York Minute?

Just a quick observation for the moment. I was at the Dirt Bomb show last Saturday over at the Delancey. Stark was there, and a band called Evil from Atlanta, and then the McQuade Gang featuring folks from Supervillain. All good stuff but not the point here.

In fact the interesting twist is what happend five minutes into the McQuade Gang set. the DJ Supermorgan took the stage and announced that the last band's drummer was missing his snare. Somebody stole the guy's snare. McQuade pointed out it was a New York thing but asked that they still, whoever had lifted it, get it out of the van and bring it back. No doubt not the way to welcome a band to New York, and it was no doubt the wrong way welcome the Evils into the city. Just wait till we go down to there hometown venue.

It does, maybe, get to something. There is something about New York. We do grab at things if the opportunity arises. We do have a problem with impulse control. The same phenomenon could be seen a few weeks back. Remember up in Boston - the big Bomb Scare? It turns out that the big Bomb Scare that tied Boston up in knots for a day or two was a promotional stunt for Cartoon Network, their adult swim segment, and specifically Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

The promotion involved these electronc devices with various lights and all placed on the side of roadways in and around Boston. Apparently drivers and police decided these devices were bombs and had the bomb squad come to safely disarm them. Basically they just tied up traffic and the city for the next day or two.

Well, the same devices were placed in and around New York. No one barely noticed these devices, which had up in Boston had demanded the attention of bomb squads and other emergency response teams. Apparently, those who did notice the devices down here in New York did not call 911, but rather confiscated them and in several cases, even placed them on ebay.

So two situations where a certain New York attitude might be claimed. I think there might be a case for something. One of the cases no doubt wrong and dissappointing, the other demanding an approving nod and smile of encouragement. Hell I wish I stumbled upon one of those devices from Cartoon network, put it on ebay to bring in more than $1000. Certainly would be useful in putting this Wild West show together over in Yonkers at Barney McNabbs on March 23rd!

Subscribe to The Wild West Blog by Email