This Local Spins West Michigan music news roundup goes metal in a female way, electronic with “Synesthesia” and folk/pop with a dynamic trio of bands playing together for the first time in Muskegon.
Aria Flame
GRAND RAPIDS’ ARIA FLAME TO PLAY BELGIAN METAL FESTIVAL
West Michigan neo-classical hard rock band Aria Flame, led by singer Aziza Poggi, will head overseas to Belgium in October to play the Metal Female Voices Fest featuring female-fronted metal bands from around the globe.
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Aziza Poggi
“We are thrilled,” Poggi, of Grand Rapids, told Local Spins. “This is a dream come true for Aria Flame. It can take years to get noticed and sometimes never, so this is one amazing year for Aria Flame.”
The band’s first-ever European performance will take place as part of the 2014 Metal Female Voice Fest being held in Belgium Oct. 17-19. Bands selected and confirmed so far for the festival include Therion (a Swedish symphonic metal band featuring opera singer Lori Lewis on vocals), Ancient Bards, Diabulus in Musica, Draconian, Viper Solfa and others.
Aria Flame, which features former members of the Egyptian-themed metal band Dendura, boasts a distinctive look and a dark, haunting approach steeped in classical music themes.
The band – Poggi (singer, composer), Dan Cruzan (guitar), Greg Cloon (bass), Alicia Menninga (keyboards) and Erik Sales (drums) – is also about to release a new song, “My Own Little Hell,” on iTunes and CDBaby.com. The song was mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning producer Neil Kernon, who’s worked with Judas Priest and Nevermore. Listen to the song at Aria Flame’s ReverbNation site.
The Crane Wives’ Tom Gunnels, at right, has taken over the band’s bookings. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
THE CRANE WIVES JOIN THE ACCIDENTALS, VIC & GAB FOR FIRST OF NEW-LOOK CONCERTS
When banjo player Tom Gunnels recently took over booking concerts for Grand Rapids’ The Crane Wives, he was looking to assemble unique shows with a special flair.
His first foray into that tricky business – this time pairing with Luke Sass’ Gold Coast Entertainment in Muskegon – shapes up to be quite the gem.
Folk-rock’s The Crane Wives will share the stage on Saturday April 26 with fast-rising Traverse City acoustic duo The Accidentals and Milwaukee indie pop-rock act Vic & Gab for a concert in Muskegon’s historic Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts.
“I wanted to make it something different than just a regular show,” Gunnels said, stressing the importance of “working with other local talent” for special nights of music that attract all-ages audiences and aren’t restricted to bars. “I want to put together as many more unique bills as we can, incorporating talent from all over, and even beyond just music.”
The Accidentals (Photo/Anna Sink)
In Saturday’s case, Gunnels and Sass will spotlight bands starting to draw a national buzz. Eighteen-year-old phenoms Savannah Buist and Katie Larson have turned Traverse City’s The Accidentals into an eclectic folk-flavored must-see act, while Milwaukee sisters Victoriah and Hannah Gabriela front indie-pop’s Vic & Gab, whose “dreamy brand of pop/rock is worthy of attention in its own right,” according to JSOnline.com.
Sass noted the 250-capacity Johnson/Bergman Hall inside the Frauenthal Center where the concert takes place is a striking venue, with hardwood floors “perfect for dancing till you can’t stand it.”
The Muskegon event represents “a good starting place” for The Crane Wives’ new-look concerts, Gunnels said, calling it something to “build upon at future venues in Michigan. We are taking a few risks with the show, but if we pull it off I think it’ll only give us the momentum and motivation to try to build even bigger and better events.”
A full cash bar will be available on April 26, and The Norah Project, a no-kill animal shelter, will be on hand to promote animal adoption.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. April 26 at the Frauenthal Center, 425 W. Western Ave. in Muskegon. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the show. (The first 50 tickets sold for the all-ages concert are just $10.) Get tickets and details online at the event Facebook page. Tickets also available through startickets.com.
SoundIsRed (Photo/Sonia Ngov)
SOUNDISRED TO UNVEIL ‘SYNESTHESIA’ IN HOLLAND
Grand Haven percussionist Kevin DePree will present his “Synesthesia” visual and musical show in Holland on Saturday night – and it’s liable to be unlike anything audiences have ever seen before.
Based on a graphic novel, video and music that DePree has spearheaded through his SoundIsRed project, “Synesthesia” takes the viewer/listener on a trip into a fantasy world of merged humanity and technology.
DePree, of Grand Haven, brought together local artists to create this imaginary world that combines techniques of shows such as Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soliel and the Disney move “Fantasia” into his own futuristic vision. The presentation blends his favorite features from those shows into an entertaining and thought-provoking multimedia production.
“What if I took those three things and put it in one performance, all on one stage, and used all the different art forms to tell it? I really like creating music,” DePree says, “and the idea of trying to write a story and mix these things together.”
The free show, slated for 6-9 p.m. Saturday at the Holland Arts Council, 150 E. Eighth St. in Holland, begins with a gallery display featuring the pilot “Synesthesia” graphic novel, video, and photos. In addition, DePree plans to discuss the project’s current status and future goals.
The EDM-style drummer will conclude the evening with a 10- to 15- minute musical performance in costume, accompanied by projection of the graphic novel and other live footage. To learn more about DePree’s Synesthesia project, visit his website at soundisred.com.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
