Written by: Dana Tunney
Round 2 of music this weekend continued the with the rock theme over at Studio Records on Granville Friday night with three bands, Burning Spades, Dark Stone, and Crankshaft. The recent renovations has greatly improved on the over all sound of the bands, add the venue now selling vinyl records andSupport Local Music t-shirts, with 20% of the sales of the t-shirts going to music programs around the city, this makes Studio Records a place that is awesome to hang out at.
It’s no secret my favorite genre is rock, this is the music that brings me to life and want to dance, head banging, foot stomping and sing along with. Rock from the 70’s, 80’s 90’s has inspired so many of todays bands, for which myself and others are grateful and love. The electrifying guitar solos, booming of the drums, rhythmic beats of basses and the vocal ranges of lead vocals that are captivating and badass. These three bands, Burning Spades, Dark Stone and Crankshaft made for one loud and rocking show that a few us carried on with until the wee hours of the morning. When your around great music and musicians this certainly incites and ignites some fun and passionate conversations of who’s the greatest vocalist, best showmanship, best band or seeing these musicians that loved what they saw that night and grab their guitars to learn that riff, and when’s it’s a really great night of music, everyone is singing along well after the sun comes up. Yup that as my Friday night/Saturday morning. However I have to remind myself that I'm not 20 anymore and naps before going out are underrated and necessary.
The Burning Spades band I have not have not heard before, but their sound is one that I appreciate, classic rock of the late 70’s. Add a little grunge and some melodic power to carry through made for good set and now I look forward to another. For a trio they do pack a good sounding punch. On guitar, keyboards and vocals is Dustin James, on bass and guitar and lead vocals is Trevor Layton who is quite the song writer and a voice that I’m going to like listening to again, on drums is Joey Handeland. Until then they have many of the previous performance on their YouTube channel and I highly recommend checking those out.
Dark Stone has been a repeat band in my blogs and there is a good reason why, they are FANTASTIC! Their brand of hard rock is influenced by Pantera, Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth and others which has become the strong foundation for their take on todays hard rock and attracting new fans at each show. Check out this clip Dark Stone Never have I seen a drummer so calm and collected but who can produce a mind-blowing back beat and not break a sweat, say hello to Stefan Grabowski. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Kato von Essen on bass who’s high energy rock style was influenced by Jason Newsted and shows us it’s not always about playing bass with just your fingers and as Miles Davis once said, "it's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play". Jason Mintenko…future influencer on the next generation of guitarists and one of nicest most humble guy I have ever met. It is very evident that Jason plays and practices every day, I wonder if it isn’t every waking moment. His style and sound is the true essence of rock music. Here’s a clip of his solo on Friday night, Jason Mintenko Guitar Solo on lead vocals is Jason’s younger brother, Matt; his vocal gift exemplifies his impassion for singing. The depths with which he can lower to and the holding of a note are wondrous. On stage they are a force of rock n' roll nature, off stage they are genuinely nice guys who love engaging in conversation about others musicians who they admire and respect.
Crankshaft is another new band for me and it is clearly evident they are influenced by the 90’s grunge with a heavy does of metal. The power of the riffs gets right into you and holds your attention. I really like the solidness of their sound and for metal music you would expect a lot of screaming but not so much from these guys. I felt they were on stage to perform and not shock. There were obvious fans in the audience that were very familiar with this band and could sing right along. Watching these fans reminds me the power of music has on us and for every style there is a fan base. My first impressions of Crankshaft are a good one and really look forward to hearing them again. There was one very noticeable sound of the band and it wasn't long into the first song I knew I recognized it. The drummer isn’t very visible on the small stage, but there was no mistaking who it was, Jay Deachman was filling in on drums and anyone that knows Jay, he is a master of his craft who is very highly respected and admired in the music community. Jay is also another of those really nice guys with quirky sense of humour and add he's a drummer, well....may be I am a little biased due to my love for drummers, but whey Jay plays I almost hear nothing else. Just don’t tell Danny Craig of Default I said that.