Phoenix-Mesa, AZ (1888PressRelease)
April 23, 2008 - Arizona’s favorite local rock and heavy metal acts of yesteryear are joining forces to raise money for some of Arizona’s Pet-Friendly organizations. The lineup will include: Surgical Steel, Kaiser, Whiskey Blu, and Rip & Tear. Animal charities that are beneficiaries of the event are: the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA, Arizona Adopt-a-Greyhound, and Payson Humane Society.
The acts, which have been disbanded since the early/mid-90's have agreed to reunite and perform original favorites in two shows: June 7th and 8th, 2008 at Venue of Scottsdale. Tickets are available at www.ts.com, Rockzone Records and the Venue of Scottsdale box office and range in price from $25 for General Admission and $50 for VIP.
The brainchild of the event is first-time non-profit promoter Heather "Leather" Hammitt, long-time Arizona resident and fan of the acts is excited to see the event come to fruition: "I am so grateful for these talented musicians - they are truly Arizona All-Stars and heroes for dedicating their time and talent and championing the rights of animals! They have been so wonderful helping to get this project off of the ground."
Surgical Steel performed in Arizona throughout the late 80's and early 90's and brought a standard to Arizona that local rockers have not forgotten. With an impressive lineup of originals, Surgical Steel was seen as one of “Arizona's Finest”, and those who attended their shows might recall seeing Judas Priest front man, Rob Halford stepping in to sing a covers at local haunts like the now-closed venues, “Mr. Lucky’s” and “Rockers”. Surgical Steel also has a cameo in the 1985 film, "Thunder Alley".
Kaiser, fronted by "The Voice", Bret Kaiser would later become Bow'ry Boys under the management of music entertainment legend, Don Arden (ELO, Black Sabbath, Air Supply, etc. and father of Sharon Osborne. These boys had an impressive following and national sponsorship.
The all-girl Rockers, Whiskey Blu were awarded "Best New Band in Arizona" by Backstage Pass and Best Rock Band - Readers' Choice by Phoenix New Times in their first year of playing.
Rip N' Tear were a local favorite, and were most requested band on Joel Samuel’s local show “Joel Samuel Presents…Backstage Pass”. Joel Samuels was invited to the show as Guest of Honor, however, is unable to attend for health reasons. Heather says, “I will try and honor Joel’s spirit of Showmanship – he’ll be here in spirit – it’s because of him that some of these acts got the coverage they deserved.”
The acts will be warmed up by the unique and high energy band, "Metal Elvis" who sing “The King’s Classics - Heavy Metal Style”. Sherkhan has just been added to the bill, helping to round out Day Two. “We couldn’t have asked for a better act to fill in the gap”, says Heather, “although there were a lot of local bands that rocked the 80’s and early 90’s here in Arizona, finding a really great lineup is the goal – and then getting the ex-members aligned is another task altogether! This is really going to be more than just a concert, it’s an event that will reunite all the fans and friends of these bands. It’s going to be a party for sure!”
The event has been a “grass-roots effort”, driven by the fans and volunteers. Rockzone Records has volunteered to sell tickets at the store. Paul Kosanovich, guitarist for Surgical Steel and his wife Rochelle have been tireless promoting the show on MySpace. Mark Lehman aka, "Bass God" and former "Loosely Tight" member has been promoting the show wherever he goes, and helped to organize a successful Meet & Greet April 19 at Rockzone Records where a limited edition Surgical Steel CD, remastered from original recordings was given away.
“Sponsors are starting to warm up to the show - everyone is excited and we're getting raffle prizes together - this is more than a concert, it's an event”, says Heather, “I’m hoping for more corporate sponsorship as the hype grows…thank God for the fans, they’re the reason this show is happening."
Corporate sponsorship or not, the show is going on, and in a “Secret MySpace Sale” held St Patrick’s weekend, VIP tickets sold out. Rochelle Kosanovich, who helps her husband with the Surgical Steel Street Team MySpace page says, “Oh my Gosh, there’s been so much excitement, I am so happy to see there are so many fans around after all this time, and into it as much as ever! People are coming from all over the United States, New York, Florida, Indiana, California, Nevada – and we’ve invited some VIPs who got their start in Arizona. It’s exciting!” For tickets, sponsorship, and links, visit www.azallstars.org.
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