They're loud, proud and on the road

By JOHN PATRICK GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Making a good impression is something a band must do each night it performs, and each time a consumer buys a compact disc and presses "play."
As music festivals go, Ozzfest and the Vans Warped Tour have cultivated a dedicated following over the past eight years. Aiding organizers of each event are lineups that consistently cater to its specific genre -- heavy metal and punk rock. Slight variations occur to the formula, but nothing outstanding. The bean counters wouldn't want to rock the boat too much.
While it's not exactly the fly in the ointment, the high profile inclusion of Voivod on Ozzfest's Second Stage represents a valuable nod to metal's past. The veteran act came together north of Montreal, combining high speed yet complex riffs and rhythms with science-fiction-based lyrics that picked apart society's ills.
Its latest self-titled release doesn't follow the current metal conventions. Guitarist Denis D'Amour's unconventional style and Denis Belanger's snarling vocals provide a definite contrast to the fashionable mix of buzz-saw riffs and screaming vocals.
Made do
"It was created out of necessity," said Jason Newsted, who'll do double duty at each tour stop as the bassist in Voivod and Ozzy Osbourne's band. "This wasn't a thing where in Cleveland this cat, his dad's got some money, so for his 15th birthday he gets a Marshall half stack and a Les Paul. It's already given to you like that. Two hundred miles above Montreal in the ice, trying to stay out of trouble, four kids, one of 'em has a guitar amp, one of 'em knows how to play, nobody wants to sing, but they still want to have a band. So they have one amp and they record the guitar out of that amp, they record the bass out of that amp, record a vocal out of that."
Voivod has been re-energized by the presence of Newsted, the former Metallica bassist who readily admits to being a longtime fan of the group. His inclusion, along with original vocalist Belanger back in the lineup, has made "Voivod" a stronger effort as well as raised the quartet's public profile.
The advantage
Speaking on what drew him to the band as a listener and a musician, Newsted said, "They are unique. They still are unique. They're original. In the beginning when Flotsam & amp; Jetsam (Newsted's pre-Metallica band) and Voivod were starting on Metal Blade Records, you look over to those guys and they got a mascot and they got this drummer that can draw all this cool stuff. They have a concept and a vibe and they're all dressed in spikes and look like they belong together. They had that going 20 years ago!"
But will today's metal fans, accustomed to a regimented style, be in awe of something overtly distinct or head for the beer lines? "Nothing can replace experience. That kind of thing will translate big time. You can't pay for that. That's one advantage that we have," Newsted said.
"The people that are into music that much more, players that get great respect by other musicians, that's the kind of fans Voivod has."
Vocalist Zachary Davidson of Vendetta Red, whose firebrand music evades the current wave of pop punk approach, admits that it's a matter of showing crowds at Vans Warped Tour that his Seattle band deserves all the praise heaped on it from the press (i.e., chosen as one of "10 Artists to Watch" by Rolling Stone).
"Warped Tour brings so many different factions of subcultures in, different fans and different styles together. You definitely have the new kids who look at you funny because they've never heard anything like us. But. we're very blessed that we have such an amazing core audience that knows every word and comes to every show. It's a really good feeling," he said during a phone interview before the band's set in San Diego.
Back for more
If it's variety you want, then you have to search for the granddaddy of the summer fests, Lollapalooza. From its inception in 1991, the alt-rock extravaganza brought together a variety of sounds to concertgoers' ears and upped the experience by introducing multiple stages that featured lesser-known acts (Ozzfest and Warped also include more than one main stage.) As it strayed further away from its original intentions, Lollapalooza went into hibernation after the 1997 excursion.
Now, that music festival has been resurrected and joins Ozzfest and Warped this summer, competing for fan interest in a tight market for concert dollars from an increasingly fickle audience that would rather download free music off the Internet while sitting home playing Xbox or the next edition of GameBoy.
Like that tour's debut, this version will be headlined by alt-rock pioneers Jane's Addiction, which is promoting "Strays," which comes out Tuesday. The band has joined ranks on a full-time basis after an acrimonious split more than a decade ago.
"As a musician amongst Jane's Addiction everyone has got a certain attitude and a little bit of their own little circle of what they want and what they feel and what they think the band should be," said Jane's drummer Stephen Perkins.
A different approach
Not only is Lollapalooza attempting to reconnect with its audience, but so is Jane's Addiction. A successful tour two years ago led to the writing and recording of its latest album, "Strays." It's highly reminiscent of the band's classic sound, which brought together hard rock riffs with punk attitude and polyrhythmic force.
"Things were very different for this record. For the first [in] three records, it was basically a documentation of what we sounded like. Just put the mikes up and record. This time we had to go in and find our sound, write songs, find out what tempos worked, what tempos didn't, how to cut the fat. None of this stuff has been played live.
"The trick was getting in there and exploding as Jane's Addiction. It was a true expression, and if we tried to overthink anything it got dull."
Influenced by Lollapalooza's stance that an all-day concert could offer more than just a series of artists performing, vendors fill the concourse promoting bands and entertainment options and selling merchandise. Lollapalooza and Warped also feature information booths for political, social, health and environmental issues.
Spreading the word
While Lollapalooza offers a variety of options for concertgoers to learn about issues, the environment has become an especially important subject for Perkins and his bandmates. The tour uses alternative fuel, vegetable oil diesel, whenever possible.
"Everybody has something they want at their party. You put a list together. Well, you don't want just music. You want other things. You want a good topic to talk about. You want food and clean air and all the different things you want at your party. My job, of course, is to play drums for an hour, an hour-and-a-half and make people jump up and down. But what else can I do for Lollapalooza and the environment or the world besides that and try to take that to this massive summer tour?
"If people go home with more education in their head, a little knowledge about the environment, a little knowledge about what they can do in their little circle, then I go home happy 'cause I think the list of musicians is amazing. What we give them is high-quality music and high-quality information. Up to them to do what they want with it."
For Davidson, it's the opportunity to make an impression on listeners, including himself, that's exciting. "Warped Tour is amazing 'cause I love so many bands and I get to see them for free every day. I get to hang out with these people. I get know them as people.
"This is the place where an opinionated band like us fit right in," he said, "but at the same time, you're not necessarily preaching to the converted 'cause we have all these kids here that are into Top 40. There are Top 40 bands that are on Warped Tour. There's nothing wrong with that. That gives all us littler bands a chance to pry their eardrums open."