Summer marches on. Besides the regular national and local concerts, there are many festivals the next two months — Van’s Warper, Ozzfest and Rocklahoma in Oklahoma. Enjoy.. and take sunscreen!
You Wrote
Bumblebees & then vs. now
A while back there was an ad on Craig’s list for a Stryper tribute band. Somehow, the idea of a bunch of 40-year old guys jumping around in yellow and black spandex doesn’t do it for me. It is getting so ridiculous. It’s tough for musicians. It really is. At one point, we could get up with our original stuff and play for 500 people, and they’d be into it. Now, the only way you can get anybody out is to be a tribute — or especially a Top-40 cover band.
If people had been there back in the (HB) showcase days, or been at the Basement, or DCL, they’d see how far we’ve fallen. It’s kind of sad, isn’t it? I miss it.
Anonymous musician
More on 15-year anniversary
Greetings and congrats to 15 hard-fought years for the Harder Beat, It was THE reason I was able to write for so many years about the thunderous atmospheric esoteric emanations (ha,ha,ha) of doom’s finest. Special thanks to Linda, who started me on the road of promoting metal bands through my writing.
In Thunder, Sabbath Steve
Hi Linda, This is Bill Engfer from Zenabi /CivilEnd. We really wanted to thank you for the CivilEnd comments in the HB. It made our new band seem all that more real and meant a lot to us.
Thanks also for helping musicians. In a sometimes-questionable business, it’s good to know there are still some people who love music and everything to do with it.
Bill Engfer
Thank you very much for attending the Hot Ash show at O’Riley’s on May 30th. It was great to see you there. Also, thanks for the Live Review.... You ROCK.....
Mike Pritchett, Hot Ash
On Ray Velez
It was sad to hear to hear about Ray Velez from the Ridglea. I worked with Roy several times recording bands there — nice guy, great sound man — and so young!
Craig Villareal
Linda, Just read HB for the first time, June issue, and really enjoyed it.
Thanks for putting it out!
Bruce Lanahan
Benefit for X’s Red guitarist
Hi Linda,
I wanted to first thank you for showing support by coming out to Johnny B’s benefit show. Your presence and contributions were greatly appreciated. I am proud to say that we raised over 1K in donations to help Johnny with medical bills. He was humbled by everyone’s prayers and support and asked that I make sure to tell everyone “thank you.”
I don’t know what to say; I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and have tried to express it to Johnny, so that he could feel the love and support that was shown by everyone involved. Having the Harder Beat donate items for giveaways was awesome but seeing you there while taking time away from the magazine’s deadline speaks volumes for yourself and what the Harder Beat means to X’s Red. I know it may seem like such a “small” thing, but I didn’t see any other “local mags, e-zines, myspace sites” or their representatives at the show, and that is an indication of who does the most for the local music scene and always has . . . you and all of the Harder Beat staff!!! Thanks for everything you do, everything you have done, and all that you hope to accomplish in the future. X’s Red is honored to look back at the HB issues from the past that we were a part of. Once Johnny is well, we hope to join you again in doing all we can to promote, build, and be a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth music scene and beyond!!
I want to also thank all the bands that performed . . . Lapse of Sanity, My Last Nerve, Seventh From Adam, Bad Fun, and F.T.L. (Four Texans Live). Special thanks to those who donated items . . . HB, Rob’s Billiards, Little Green Men, F.T.L., Bad Fun, Paisley’s Car Wash, Seventh From Adam, Avalon Multimedia, and Liquid Swiss Productions. And thanks to everyone who showed support . . . Phantom-X’s Kevin and Melanie Goocher, The Pride of Texas, Little Green Men’s Kevin White and Motown, Criminal Sanity, Diesel and many more!! Most importantly Rob, Tony, and Cody and the staff at Rob’s who worked their tails off trying to quench everyone’s thirst (Rox and Joanne - you rock)! It was a great feeling to see everyone there . . . it was awesome to hear the chants of “Johnny B - Johnny B - Johnny B”, and it was heartwarming to know that the brotherhood in DFW is still alive and strong!! It is that kinship that we share that makes it all worthwhile!! THANK YOU!!
Jerry Flores
Liquid Swiss Productions
P.S. X’s Red has posted previously unreleased songs from our 1991 demo on MySpace and X’s Red site. I have had a lot of requests for people who would like to donate but can only donate small amounts, and I think adding songs for download is one of the easiest and most convenient way to donate to Johnny’s cause. Please visit our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/xsred or www.xsred.com to hear and download songs that are probably older than a lot of the young bands hoping to reach metal stardom!!
BTW Johnny B is doing good. He is recovering as quickly as possible, trying to move his arm a little bit more everyday.
