On the night of August third I ventured out to one of my favorite haunts, El Corazon. This time it was a hard core punk show with He Is Legend headlining.
He Is Legend is a five-piece from Wilmington, NC with lots of hair. They are fronted by the very energetic and dynamic Schuylar Croom. He not so much as sang but more screamed and growled. He was a natural performer. The screaming and growling was accompanied by a lot of metal and sometimes twangy guitars (Denis Desloge – Guitar/Backing Vocals, Adam Tanbouz – Guitar and Matty Williams – Bass). Their drummer thrashed as if possessed by a thousand demons. By the time their set was over I was surprised that the club hadn’t disintegrated to dust. The sheer power of their energy should have caused a major earthquake.
Preceding He Is Legend was To Speak of Wolves. This was another hard core band with lots of hair.
From Greensboro, NC, this four-piece is fronted by Gage Speas who belted out songs with his long hair constantly falling in his face. He teetered on the edge of the stage, growling out songs and igniting lots of moshing. Besides the aforementioned Gage, To Speak of Wolves consists of, Phil Chamberlain, Drums, Seth Webster, Bass and Andrew Gaultier, Guitar (who flitted about the stage, often kicking up his heels).
Prior to To Speak of Wolves was the band I actually came out to see, Bad Seed Rising. I saw them in mid June at this year’s Warped Tour and was totally blown away. This quartet from Baltimore is a really young band. Three of their members don’t look like they’ve finished high school yet. Their drummer (Aiden Marceron) barely looks sixteen but his prowess in banging the skins made me wonder if he started drumming while he still wore diapers or perhaps he started lessons in utero. Vocalist/front woman Francheska Pastor was all charm and energy. She danced and pranced about the stage, her long hair whipping about, while throwing out guttural vocals, but then switching instantaneously to a more song bird quality. Her voice had incredible range. Guitarist Mason Gainer also doesn’t look like he should be out of high school yet. His long straight hair reached his hips and constantly fell across his face making him look like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family TV series. He never stood in one place for more than a split second. Bass player Louey also appeared very young. This whole band must be touring for summer vacation. These guys are babies, but their youth in no way means they’re inexperienced. They knew their way around the stage and how to ignite an audience. They are on the up and up so go see them while they’re still playing small venues.
The first band I saw (I arrived a bit late and missed opener Gypsy Temple) was Aim For the Heart. From Yelm, WA, they are fronted by the very dynamic Madison Johnson. She could croon, she could wail and she could growl all within a few seconds. She was very comfortable in front of an audience. This is also a very guitar driven band (Lead/rhythm guitar-Isaac Wilson, Lead/rhythm guitar-Adam Trissel, Bass-Carlos Aleman). Drummer Myles Ricker slammed so wildly that sparks should have been flying off his kit. To add to the effect, there were fountains at the front of the stage that would frequently spew dry ice.
Another sweaty night occurred under the Denny Way viaduct at the tiny dive that is El Corazon (punk rock SHOULD be played in a dive).
– Photos property of Holly Homan all rights reserved.
