It was a phenomenal weekend helping raise money for the humanitarian effort in Japan. We had an incredible amount of help and support from the Japanese Cultural Society, the BUC Anime Club at ETSU, The Dharma Community at ETSU, Vegans and Vegetarians of the Tri-Cities, and Campus Crusade for Christ.
We kicked off Friday night with fantastic performances: the night started with acoustic acts such as Revelator Station, St. Dominic and A Great Disaster. As the night went on, the music would gradually go from one dynamic to another. Black Roof Country played some fantastic classic rock tunes familiar to us all. Wayne Quasar and the Solar Flares would be followed by such equally impressive acts as The Lovely Goodbye and a solo act from Via la Vulture. Up next would be the notoriously entertaining Kryss Dula & Friends, with whom I had the pleasure of performing two songs. Finally, we ended the night with yet another fantastic performance by Contact the Militia. After all was said and done, we had raised over 800 dollars in the first night!
Saturday night featured some acts tailored to the heavier music scene in the Tri-Cities. We started off with To the Bitter End, followed by Matriculation. Unfortunately Sons of Cronos were unable to attend but thanks to Steven Garnett of the Vegans and Vegetarians of the Tri-Cities, we were able to get his very own band, The Velvet Cowboys to perform. Insanitarium and the equally brutal A Soul Disowned rallied the masses for some heavy metal mayhem. Later on, I would have the privilege of performing with Decade of Deceit. Finally, we ended the night with the fantastic energy of Plagueworn and Bacalou. By the time everything was finished, even after deducting our expenses, we wound up raising a total of over a 1050 dollars!
All in all, Japanapalooza turned into a success story that went above and beyond expectations. Many people took the opportunity to enter for the prize of a specially made electric guitar, donated by the ETSU Guitar Building community. Besides raising money for a good cause, we showed the power of unity; we showed the world that despite the vast differences that people may have, we could still work together as one to help our fellow man in crisis. This is a message that I think the world needs, especially at a time like this.
There is an incredible amount of people I cannot thank enough for their help and support. Jamie Dove of the Galaxy Lounge and his staff helped us incredibly, and I thank them for their enthusiasm. I also would like to thank Jim of the Acoustic Coffeehouse for giving us a venue to host the Saturday event. Another special thanks to Keith Smith of EKS for his sound engineering, and to Gregg Searles and DJ Non-Stop for Djing both events. Another big thanks to the ETSU guitar building community and BUCtainment for promotions. To all our volunteers and sponsors who helped at Japanapalooza, I thank you dearly. I would also like to thank the incredible bands that came out and gave the masses a good time for a good cause. We could not have had such a great success, were it not for the hard work and effort of every single person involved.
I hope with success stories like this that our organization may continue to flourish and host similar events in the future. Congratulations everyone!
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