RSS Feed
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Road-Side Fire a dark' alternative
But as the afternoon sun begins to stream in through a set of garage windows, the members of Road-Side Fire aren't ready to be quiet. They're ready to rock. "We're loud and big and energetic," said Shawn Sullivan, the band's lead guitarist and unofficial manager. "We play, like, a black alternative. Similar bands would be Papa Roach or Offspring. But actually, our music doesn't really have a category." "We rock," finishes fellow band member Ben Fini. "That's all." Road-Side Fire, made up of four local musicians including Ashburnham resident and Oakmont Regional High School student Shawn Sullivan and Leominster resident and Narragansett Regional student Ben Fini, will be one of six regional bands featured at the Future Stars Showcase on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley.
The band, according to Sullivan, has been playing together for the past two years. He said the group came together when all of them were at various stages of their musical careers. With some performers like Sullivan having over 10 years experience and others like Fini with less than five years behind him, the band is both new and young (in terms of playing experience). But that didn't stop them from submitting a demo of their music to City Music in the hopes of making it into the Future Stars Showcase. The Future Stars Showcase being presented by City Music LLC is a showcase for teen musicians, giving local children and teens a chance to learn what it takes to succeed in the professional music business. Performers chosen for the event learn how to hone their skills on and off the stage, discover how to promote their bands and make money while performing a live show in front of a full house. "We've actually been working on our own CD for awhile. We've had studio time and we've been practicing," Sullivan said. "We're actually recording in the studio Saturday and performing Sunday." "It's going to be a lot more professional than we're used to," added Griffin. "We're having a professional sound guy help us out and a professional setup. But not just that, it's a great opportunity to meet other bands, which is what I like and maybe meet people you'll want to play with down the line." Sullivan says playing the show also has a personal meaning for him. "I've been taking lessons at City Music (in Gardner) since the eighth grade and when we decided to try to get into the show, it was an opportunity for me to show my mentors what I'd learned all those years," he said. Besides talent and drive, Road-Side Fire also hopes to bring something else to the mix on Sunday: personality. "We're a fun bunch of guys that love to be onstage or making a scene," Bisson said. "We're all techies or actors." "Anything that makes us the center of attention," Fini said. The Future Stars Showcase will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley. With a CD in the works and upcoming gigs being planned, this band hopes they're in it for the long haul. "I'd like to see it be successful," Sullivan said. "I'd love to see us get to the point where people aren't just coming to see us, they're out in the audience singing with us." "We're going to do this as long as we can," Fini said. "We've worked too hard already not to make this work." This event is sponsored by City Music and Marc Rines with help from promoters Steve Gaetz and Bob Grant. For more information visit citymusiconline.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
)