My Date with RockErie

On Sunday August 24th Erie witnessed The RockErie Music Awards 2008.  Between 2,000 and 2,500 people filled the Bayfront Convention Center to watch Erie’s best musicians awarded for their tireless efforts in their different genres.  This was THE place to be on Sunday, let me tell you.

I was asked to present again this year so I made sure to not say something incredibly stupid (unlike last year’s, “I’m not originally from Erie” nonsense).  I was paired up with bassist extraordinaire Frank Furko (of the two-man band Otis) to present the bassist winner.  Frank and I were joined with the lovely Roar on the Shore girls, probably to enhance my non-rockstar appearance.

Here’s a picture of Frank playing his bass on stage:

Frank Furko, Bassist to the Stars

Here’s a shot of the crowd from the podium:

REMA

The show lasted a good three hours with a twenty-minute intermission, preceded by a musical medley of hip hop, vocals, guitar and drum solos and just some good old fashioned rockin’ out.  ‘Twas quite the time!  For a full listing of winners, visit: www.rockeriemusicawards.com.

Thank you Rolling Rock for being my friend during the show .

 

MySpace Music Rocks

I’m an avid MySpace.com user for sure.  I use it for the same reasons that all my friends use it – to keep in touch with past classmates, coworkers and random acquaintances from school and old jobs.

I also just started using MySpace to learn about new music, something I can’t get from MySpace’s close competitor, FaceBook.  MySpace allows bands to make their own Web sites for dirt cheap and capture an audience that’s already in that space.  In fact I found a band originally from Jamestown, NY (my hometown sort of).  Check out Phantasm as they jam their way to local stardom.  Jay Yachetta, the band’s drummer, used to ride bicycles with my brother and I in nearby Falconer, NY believe it or not.  He was a pretty good wrestler back in high school too.  Back then he could put his headphones on and pick out any Red Hot Chili Peppers song and immediately pick up the drumbeat…part of the reason he’s such a great drummer for this band I’m sure.

Not only can I listen to Phantasm’s newest track but I can send a message directly to the band members themselves.  They even write back to me. 

Bands will offer links to other bands of the same genre, something I can’t easily find anywhere else in music review-land.  I’m able to slide from Phantasm to Jealousy Curve with a click of my mouse.  MySpace music truly is something I can lose myself in for long periods of time.  MySpace alone is addictive enough for me, finding friend after friend, editing my profile’s appearance and wasting time in general.

So if you haven’t checked it out already and you’re into the music scene, MySpace Music is a great way to sample music from bands you’d never know otherwise.  Oh yeah, some bigger guys are there too, don’t forget about them.