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Festival rocks Warren venue
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The Zou invited a 6 foot peruvian boa constrictor onto the stage at Rukus fest in Warren. Guitarist Rob Thorndike, 23, of Youngstown soloed with it wrapped about him like a slimy shawl.
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The Zou invited audience members on stage during an intimate performance at the Rukus festival in Warren Sunday August 24, 2008.
ruKus - the sequel
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By Sean Barron
The event was to give independent artists a place to display their skills and talents, a local band member said.
WARREN — For more than three years, Polly Punkneck’s main home has been a vehicle.
Nevertheless, she’s not exactly spinning her wheels and is quite used to such a setup, because that’s how long her band has continuously been touring the country.
Since hitting the road in May 2005, Los Angeles-based Jason and the Punknecks have played in 40 states and countless cities, with a goal of making their musical presence felt in all 50.
“It’s pure insanity, passion and faith in God that keeps us going,” said Punkneck, who plays guitar and sings with the four-member band. “A lot of coffee, too.”
The group, which specializes in “new American country, outlaw bluegrass and hillbilly rock ’n’ roll,” was one of eight bands that performed during Sunday’s second annual ruKus festival at the Warren Community Amphitheatre.
Punkneck said the band, which formed in 2004 in Hollywood, Calif., recently performed at the Royal Oaks Bar & Grill in Youngstown as part of an open mic session and was well received. From there, members of ruKus radio, an Internet station, asked her band to participate in the eight-hour festival, she continued.
The ruKus festival, sponsored largely by valley24.com, an online provider of the area’s entertainment news and information, was the site for Matthew Fairchild’s and Seth Brown‘s first performance. Both are with the five-member band Jets To Red, a Columbus-based group that formed about six months ago and plays mainly progressive jazz rock, Brown noted.
“I would like to stay independent and be successful in doing what we love to do,” said Fairchild, adding that he and Brown count as influences Stevie Wonder, The Police and Jimmy Eat World, a punk-rock band that formed in the early 1990s.
Touring the Midwest and East Coast next year are long-term goals for the band, both said.
The other six groups were The Kellys of Warren; Winslow, a funk and R&B band from Kent; The Zou and Jones For Revival, both of Youngstown; Reznik, a funk and rock band; and Eclyptic, of Hudson, Ohio.
The free festival was started last year by The Kellys to give independent musicians and artists a place to showcase their work and talents, explained Kelly McCrackin of The Kellys. The event also was a benefit for the 47-year-old Hattie Larlham Foundation, which serves about 1,400 children and adults with disabilities.
Also featured were poetry readings as well as magicians, comedians and jugglers. T-shirts and other merchandise were for sale.
The ruKus festival has grown since last year, with more vendors and artists, noted Moe Angelo of The Kellys. The event also highlighted the benefits of the amphitheater, and was an exercise in diversity, he added.
“I enjoy the fact we pulled this off, since we have so many things happening at once,” Angelo said.
For her part, Punkneck advised members of new and veteran bands to increase their exposure by going online, building local relationships and bookings, and learning more about how the business works.
“Knock on as many doors as possible ... but don’t expect to get the big money right away,” Punkneck said, adding that her band’s next break will be in January 2009.