AUBURN - Bloodapalooza, Music to Get Your Blood Flowing - a concert series promoting the Red Cross, drew a crowd of 170, mostly teenagers, at its Friday night kick-off show at the Auburn Public Theater.
Chat Susslin / The Citizen
Honor Bright singer Liam DiCosimo and guitarist Ryan Gilmore perform at Bloodapalooza, the first in a series of concerts bringing attention to the work of the American Red Cross, at Auburn Public Theater Friday night.
Honor Bright singer Liam DiCosimo and guitarist Ryan Gilmore perform at Bloodapalooza, the first in a series of concerts bringing attention to the work of the American Red Cross, at Auburn Public Theater Friday night.
First in a series of three rock shows, the Auburn concert got juices flowing and the room rocking to music by The Score, from Watertown, Through These City Streets and October Nites, both from Auburn, and Syracuse's Honor Bright.
The Score opened with music from their CD “Steady Fingers! Steady Fight!” Arison Cain, lead vocals, Brett Ramus, bass guitar, Leo LeMay, guitar and backup vocals, and Mike DeMarco, drums, played “Rock Bottom” and “Blowing My Cover” among other songs.
Through These City Streets played hardcore rock, including “The Hole in Edward” and “Suffocate.” The group, together for about six months, featured Shawn Dutcher, of Auburn, on vocals; Ron Ballweber, of Port Byron, on guitar; C.J., of Owasco, on guitar; and Derrick LaVoy, of Port Byron, on drums. Dutcher said the group would produce a CD in February or March.
October Nites creator Steve Gage played numbers from his CD, “When We Were Infinite,” with drummer Brandon Wakeham and Naren Ananda on guitar, bass, and backup vocals. His pop/rock song “Give It a Try” stirred the feelings of the crowd. Gage's parents, along with the parents of all the performers in this group, were on hand to enjoy the performance.
Honor Brite, together for two years, closed the show with Liam DiCosimo, vocals, Tim Paige, vocals and guitar, Ryan Gilmore, guitar, Anthon Merritt on bass, and Curt Henry, drummer. “Home Is a Heartache,” “Take My Hand,” and “Stage Dives, High Fives” made up their repertoire.
DiCosimo said, “This is a PG rated band, no swearing. We play pop/rock.”
Cassie Hess,16, of Jordan, and Kim Garafalo, 15, of Auburn, paid their $5 admission just to come and see Honor Brite. Both girls were waiting to hear “Take My Hand.”
“I like their songs,” Hess said. “They make me want to dance.”
“I think it's a great avenue for kids to have fun,” Kevin Carpenter, 52, who works for the New York State Department of Juvenile Justice, said. He was volunteering to help, make sure there were no problems.
Organizer Gary Mann, 26, emergency services director for the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross, wants Bloodapalooza to attract teens through music to the services and volunteer opportunities of the Red Cross. The series also brings concerts to their communities.
Mann, on the job at the Red Cross for two months, had to respond to an emergency on Friday. A Locke couple with two children, a four-month-old and an 8-year-old, escaped from a fire that destroyed their home. Mann helped arrange for clothing and food.
“All they had were the clothes on their backs,” he said. And all of this happened on the day of the show.
Moravia and Cato will host the next two shows in the series, on Jan. 18 and 26.
All bands performing in Moravia are from Moravia, Mann said, but bands playing in Cato come from other areas. The search to book a Cato group turned up nothing.
“I believe Moravia will be our biggest show,” Mann said, “from the reaction we've gotten already with people asking for fliers for their friends.” A stack of fliers at a blood drive in Moravia a few weeks ago were gobbled up.
“Every kid in Moravia will be there,” he said.
Mann said the Red Cross does a lot more than hold blood drives and provide disaster relief, for example, teaching first aid and child care. Scholarships are even available to students at schools with frequent blood drives, he said. He hoped to spread a positive message about the organization.
Wearing T-shirts advertising Bloodapalooza and the Red Cross, fliers, e-mail numbers, and general details in print subtly advertised the Red Cross to a crowd mildly tolerant of short speeches in the midst of a rock concert.
“I hope you guys had an awesome time,” Mann told the crowd. “All these guys (bands) donated their time.”
“What do you think of when I say Red Cross?” he asked.
“Blood!” they answered.
Mann told them there was a lot more to know about the Red Cross and referred them to the literature they could pick up on their way out. He expects to organize more shows around the county.
“I'm really excited about all these shows,” he said, and his enthusiasm is catching. “My friends and I have put on shows ever since we heard of heavy metal, but this is only the second time I've done it for an agency or business.”
Alecia Butts, director of finance for the Red Cross, said more than 50 percent of the concerts' proceeds will go to the Red Cross after paying the groups for their gas.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
If you go
What: Bloodapalooza
When: 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, with Angels Beneath Me, Rabid, He the Hero and Child's Play
Where: Moravia Volunteer Fire Department
When: 6 p.m., Saturday Jan. 26, with Between Walls, East of the Wall and From the Ashes
Where: Cato-Meridian High School
The Score opened with music from their CD “Steady Fingers! Steady Fight!” Arison Cain, lead vocals, Brett Ramus, bass guitar, Leo LeMay, guitar and backup vocals, and Mike DeMarco, drums, played “Rock Bottom” and “Blowing My Cover” among other songs.
Through These City Streets played hardcore rock, including “The Hole in Edward” and “Suffocate.” The group, together for about six months, featured Shawn Dutcher, of Auburn, on vocals; Ron Ballweber, of Port Byron, on guitar; C.J., of Owasco, on guitar; and Derrick LaVoy, of Port Byron, on drums. Dutcher said the group would produce a CD in February or March.
October Nites creator Steve Gage played numbers from his CD, “When We Were Infinite,” with drummer Brandon Wakeham and Naren Ananda on guitar, bass, and backup vocals. His pop/rock song “Give It a Try” stirred the feelings of the crowd. Gage's parents, along with the parents of all the performers in this group, were on hand to enjoy the performance.
Honor Brite, together for two years, closed the show with Liam DiCosimo, vocals, Tim Paige, vocals and guitar, Ryan Gilmore, guitar, Anthon Merritt on bass, and Curt Henry, drummer. “Home Is a Heartache,” “Take My Hand,” and “Stage Dives, High Fives” made up their repertoire.
DiCosimo said, “This is a PG rated band, no swearing. We play pop/rock.”
Cassie Hess,16, of Jordan, and Kim Garafalo, 15, of Auburn, paid their $5 admission just to come and see Honor Brite. Both girls were waiting to hear “Take My Hand.”
“I like their songs,” Hess said. “They make me want to dance.”
“I think it's a great avenue for kids to have fun,” Kevin Carpenter, 52, who works for the New York State Department of Juvenile Justice, said. He was volunteering to help, make sure there were no problems.
Organizer Gary Mann, 26, emergency services director for the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Red Cross, wants Bloodapalooza to attract teens through music to the services and volunteer opportunities of the Red Cross. The series also brings concerts to their communities.
Mann, on the job at the Red Cross for two months, had to respond to an emergency on Friday. A Locke couple with two children, a four-month-old and an 8-year-old, escaped from a fire that destroyed their home. Mann helped arrange for clothing and food.
“All they had were the clothes on their backs,” he said. And all of this happened on the day of the show.
Moravia and Cato will host the next two shows in the series, on Jan. 18 and 26.
All bands performing in Moravia are from Moravia, Mann said, but bands playing in Cato come from other areas. The search to book a Cato group turned up nothing.
“I believe Moravia will be our biggest show,” Mann said, “from the reaction we've gotten already with people asking for fliers for their friends.” A stack of fliers at a blood drive in Moravia a few weeks ago were gobbled up.
“Every kid in Moravia will be there,” he said.
Mann said the Red Cross does a lot more than hold blood drives and provide disaster relief, for example, teaching first aid and child care. Scholarships are even available to students at schools with frequent blood drives, he said. He hoped to spread a positive message about the organization.
Wearing T-shirts advertising Bloodapalooza and the Red Cross, fliers, e-mail numbers, and general details in print subtly advertised the Red Cross to a crowd mildly tolerant of short speeches in the midst of a rock concert.
“I hope you guys had an awesome time,” Mann told the crowd. “All these guys (bands) donated their time.”
“What do you think of when I say Red Cross?” he asked.
“Blood!” they answered.
Mann told them there was a lot more to know about the Red Cross and referred them to the literature they could pick up on their way out. He expects to organize more shows around the county.
“I'm really excited about all these shows,” he said, and his enthusiasm is catching. “My friends and I have put on shows ever since we heard of heavy metal, but this is only the second time I've done it for an agency or business.”
Alecia Butts, director of finance for the Red Cross, said more than 50 percent of the concerts' proceeds will go to the Red Cross after paying the groups for their gas.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
If you go
What: Bloodapalooza
When: 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, with Angels Beneath Me, Rabid, He the Hero and Child's Play
Where: Moravia Volunteer Fire Department
When: 6 p.m., Saturday Jan. 26, with Between Walls, East of the Wall and From the Ashes
Where: Cato-Meridian High School
