Facelift

I know that it's been a while since my last update, but I've been busy working on what this website is going to become. I have decided that Fever to Song shall no longer be just a music blog, but it will also be the home to a new Arts & Music collective currently based in Blacksburg, VA and it is open to expansion to wherever artists, musicians and writers would like to contribute.

The idea of starting a collective has lingered in my mind long enough for me to do something about it, so here I am making this post. This collective is nonprofit, its only goal is to promote music and the arts, to help artist network and to provide a home that will foster and collect works of art and present them here on the internet for you (the reader) to gaze upon. I will still continue to post my articles, but I will also post works of art that are mine and works of art that I find fascinating.

This collective is not limited to the internet, but will also encompass any shows I book and art shows I organize. I am planning on hosting an art show in the Fall, there will more details about that posted soon.

Finally, the collective is looking for members to join informally at any time. I am currently planning the 100 Hands project, which is going to be a huge mural painted by 50 artists and will be donated to our establishment or building of choice. If you are interested, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment and I will be sure to get back to you with more information.

I hereby declare the birth of The Fever to Sing Arts & Music collective!

Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate: Band Interview

I know it's been long overdue for an update, so here's more than a thousand words to make up for the last week!


Some people might say that Blacksburg does not have much to offer musically, but that is only because there is more to Blacksburg’s music scene than what meets the eye. Blacksburg has long been home to quite a number of genre bending bands whose sounds are eclectic, they become too difficult to describe. Even though I don’t think that the word eclectic is fitting, since it implies an association with the New Age music genre, I feel like it would be the closest implication to their sounds.

I have been fortunate enough to grow up around Blacksburg and learn about what the local arts had to offer. In high school, I had the opportunity to discover the music of Doug Cheatwood, who frequently visited Blacksburg for solo performances. Ever since then, I have been following every release and have never been disappointed.

In 2006 Mr. Cheatwood made the best decision of his musical career; to recruit a whole band in effort to create a fuller sound and easier execution of performing the intricately multilayered songs he had written. At that moment Doug Cheatwood & the Bastards of Fate came to life, foreshadowing some of the most intense and controversial in Southwest Virginia today.

Cheatwood says that the idea of going back to the old meaning of the word “show” had always appealed to him. He says that a “show” should be both theatrically and musically engaging, which is exactly what this band’s performances make true.

When I had met with the band, there was five of them; drummer Doug Shelor, Guitarist/Trumbonist Benjamin Pugh, Bassist/Saxaphonist Jason Wells, Vocalist/guitarist Doug Cheatwood and keyboardist/violinist Camellia Delk. However, I noticed that a famed member of the band, Bernard, was missing.

Where is Bernard?
-Jason Wells: He’s actually a part of another realm, so he’s not here right now. He’s kind of nocturnal.

I paused for a bit, thinking about how he never actually repeated his name. I wondered if I wasn't even supposed to say his name, kind of like how no one is supposed so utter the words "Lord Voldemort" in Harry Potter. Even though I was a little alarmed, I decided to shrug it off and go through with the interview anyway.

Would you like to describe your sound?
-Doug Cheatwood: We’ve been described as melodramatic pop.
-Camellia Delk: Headless bride-core, I like that one the best.
-Benjamin Pugh: Genre pop.
-Jason Wells: Top 40.
-Doug Cheatwood: But don’t you have to actually break into the Top 40 to be a Top 40 band?
-Jason Wells: WELL, we’re emulating what is popular in the Top 40. Kind of like polka, Slayer and the sound of old people singing.
-Doug Shelor: Old people are cool; they know a lot of shit.

How did you become such a controversial band?
-Doug Cheatwood: We just put on our usual show and sometimes it’s received differently in different places.
-Jason Wells: I think we’re the nicest people you’ll ever meet. It’s just that people have different senses of humor at times.

Any upcoming shows we should know of?
-Doug Cheatwood: Well we are going on tour during the first week of August with Joe Jack Talcum from the Dead Milkmen and he’s performing songs from all of his [previous] projects.
-Jason Wells: He’s the guitarist and one of the singers from an old punk rock band called the Dead Milkmen, best known for “Punk Rock Girl” which got a little bit of MTV airtime a while back.
-Camellia Delk: (laughs) Yeah, I listened to the Dead Milkmen back when I was in middle school. I still can't believe we're going on tour with Joe Jack Talcum from the Dead Milkmen. I remember hearing "Bitchin' Camero" on the radio in second or third grade when I lived in Salt Lake City. I mean, how many chances will I get to go on tour with someone I looked up to as a kid? Thank goodness for the Bastards of Fate!

So I understand that a record label has courted your headless bride-core band?
-Doug Cheatwood: Actually, this was something done through my label, Shadowbuster Records. I’ve had some people help me run it, particularly my friend Todd. Since creating an actual label is such a huge project, he’s been helping me with the business aspect of it.
-Jason Wells: It’s kind of like self-courting, almost. Which sounds very controversial.

How did you all start wearing suits to your shows?
-Jason Wells: Well for our first show it was mandatory, there was just no other way to do it. Then we kind of all just stuck with it. But if I ever get a hold of a cookie monster outfit, then maybe I’ll wear that to shows.

So you were all required to wear suits for your first show?
-Doug Cheatwood: Not really, but for some reason everyone showed up wearing suits and Camellia was wearing a dress.

How long have you been together as a band?
-Jason Wells: We just had our one year anniversary as a band over on the farm on the 4th of July.

Do you have any side projects?
-Camellia Delk: The Slaying Mantis
-Benji Pugh: The Sad Gnostics
-Jason Wells: Eschato
-Doug Shelor: The Situationist

How does it feel, being the only female in the band?
-Camellia Delk: Not bad at all, especially since I have had the same experience in the past having been the lone female in bands like A Fine Line, LaBianca and The Galen Kipar Project. The only thing that REALLY annoys me is when we're playing with another band for the first time and they always shake hands and introduce themselves to everyone in the band BUT me because they automatically assume I'm just a girlfriend or friend of the bandmates'. It’s sad that the thought of a girl playing an instrument seems to be so uncommon.

I understand that the band started out as Doug Cheatwood’s solo work. What made you think of recruiting an entire band?
-Doug Cheatwood: I was really hesitant to get a band because I had a hard time finding people that I enjoyed playing with. Then, these guys kind of fell into my lap. I’ve know Benji forever, we’ve been making noise together since high school.
-Jason Wells: I think it’s always really hard to find people you can get along with musically.
-Doug Cheatwood: and this has basically been my first band, not counting my band in high school that I was kicked out of. They eventually named themselves “Blue Sun.”

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
-Jason Wells: It involves potions in the forest and funny hats.
-Doug Shelor: No, they’re actually dead-serious hats.

Do you have any new releases that people should be aware of?
-Doug Cheatwood: We just publicly premiered our brand new t-shirts, which people can get at our shows. We will also have them available online when we release our new album on September 1st.
-Doug Shelor: They’re pretty smokin’ shirts, we have a pre-sale going on right now for the CDs too.

Doug Cheatwood & the Bastards of Fate are going on tour in August and will be performing at Ceritano’s on August 4th with Joe Jack Talcum, Deral Fenderson and the Lee Street Riots. Doors open at 7:30pm and admission is $5 per person.

Brooklyn Meets Blacksburg: The Aftermath

It was 7:30pm on July 6th when I walked into Ceritano’s for the music event that was scheduled there. The restaurant was packed with couples of families feasting on the Italian delights, which this place made to order. The owner asked me if I was there for the show and I nodded. He then motioned for me to go into the catering room in the back.

Doug Cheatwood & the Bastards of Fate were setting up their equipment, while Blacksburg producer and sound engineer Tim Kirk was setting up the sound equipment. There weren’t too many people there, but at rock shows attendance usually grows after each passing hour. Even though the show was advertised the start at 7:30pm, it did not seem that it was going to. Since show goers usually arrive late, 7:30pm really meant 8:00 or 8:30pm.

By 8:30pm, everything was finally in place. However, worried that the loud music might frighten his restaurant customers, Mr. Ceritano asked that the music starts half an hour later. Anxious for the music, the audience members started to wander around the block and into the restaurant area trying to waste some time until the bands finally get to perform. At this point, the bands were nervous about losing what seemed to be a disintegrating audience due to the continued time delay.

In the back of the room, there was a merchandise table setup which all three bands shared. I walked over to see what it had to offer. The one lightbulb that lit the table revealed an array of bandshirts, stickers and records; which featured boy/girl’s new album called Secret Secret Secret Singles, Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate’s t-shirt debut.

The time was now 8:50pm and the bands had finally gotten the motion to start performing. Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate were the first to play. They kicked off their set with an old time favorite called “The Sweet Touch”, which almost everyone immediately recognized and started singing along to. The audience started growing as people were coming back and new people were coming into the doors. Next was “Mister Violins”, a mellow bouncy and catchy beat that fades into a loud noisy song entitled “Harlequin Fetus”. At this point, the band reached into their theatrical bag of tricks and took out a doll, that was a temporary (however quite memorable) member of the band for the duration of the song. The doll was flailed around, hypnotizing the audience into a deep state of rocking-out.

After the first band completed their set, boy/girl started setting up. A shiny yellow drumset appeared, along with a faded guitar and purple tinted light that formed eerie shadows on the crimson wall behind drummer Lisa Cusak and vocalist/guitarist Eric Stiner. The shadows started to animate as the band started to play spazzy fragmented sounds that seemed to artistically harmonize. This duo from Brooklyn had been touring for a few days and I was impressed with the amount of energy they still managed to inject into their performance. Their set featured some material that Blacksburg has not heard yet, such as “Kill kill kill” when Lisa took a break from drumming to use the triangle.

The last band to play was the Gay Blades, boy/girl tourmates who were also visiting Blacksburg from Brooklyn. Despite these two bands touring together most of the time, they hardly sounded the same. The Gay Blades presented music from the poppier side of the Indie music spectrum. The band was comprised of two members; Clark Westfield on vocals and guitar and Puppy Mills on drums. The people couldn’t help but start dancing when they started playing. Westfield sassed the audience in between songs, which ended the show with everyone laughing in stitches.

After the show, The Gay Blades decided to treat everyone who decided to stick around to a freestyle. All of the bands mingled with the audience to discuss music, touring among many other topics.

It was the perfect recipe for a fun-filled Friday night, especially for summertime in Blacksburg. The Gay Blades and boy/girl had announced plans to make Blacksburg a regular tour stop, which is definitely something to look forward to. Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate are coming back to Blacksburg on August 4th to play yet another fantastic show at Ceritano’s, which I will be posting more information about at a later date, so keep your eyes peeled.

This article was also published in The Collegiate Times' website and paper, but the article above is how it was written before it was edited.

Brooklyn meets Blacksburg

In a town where no actual dedicated music venues exist, bands have been under the mercy of bar owners, restaurant owners, basements and anyone who has access to an empty space where they can share their music with show-goers and music enthusiasts. “We need all the venues we can get”, says Bastards of Fate bassist Jason Wells, referring to the scarcity of venues in the area.

Ceritano’s first opened its doors to the public as a traditional Italian Restaurant by day, but lately it has also been providing a home for performances by local bands and touring bands at night. By creating one more option for bands to host their shows, Blacksburg has been quite grateful.

Even though there are fixed performance nights at several downtown bars such as Jazz night at the Cellar and Re:Fill at the Rivermill, punk bands have a difficult time finding places that will be able to handle their noisy amps. Having been to quite a few shows in Blacksburg, I have noticed a divide between punk bands and almost every other kind of bands, where it seems to be a lot harder for punk bands to find venues because there is never really a guarantee as to how many people will show up to watch us play.” Indeed there is no guarantee, but that might be because the public in Blacksburg has not yet been exposed to everything this town has to offer musically.

While many college students might be still hung up on the next Sublime cover band that plays regularly at a Sports bar because it seems like the next best thing to going to an actual live Sublime show, they might just be missing out on some original material that local and touring bands that don’t get the coverage they deserve are bringing to the table.

Two Brooklyn based bands are currently on tour and will be making their way into the streets in Blacksburg soon. The Gay Blades is an indie band that has recently played in the legendary South by Southwest Festival this past March in Austin, TX alongside very well-know performers such as the Buzzcocks, Balkan Beat Box and Kid Koala. As the plan is for most big festivals, the big names are usually only there for turnout, in hopes of helping music savvy fans to discover some hidden gems in the music industry. Noise rock band boy/girl is currently signed to New York-based label Ace Fu Records, also home to The Fatales, formerly of Blacksburg, VA. Virginia Tech alumni and drummer for boy/girl Lisa Cusak says that she is looking forward to visiting Blacksburg again on July 6th.

The last time these two bands came through Blacksburg was when they performed at the WUVT Alumni Homecoming show at the Haymarket Theater in Squires during the spring semester. Boy/girl vocalist Eric Stiner says, “It was awesome playing in Blacksburg. We showed up to the student center hung out a bit and all the kids seemed really cool. There was a really cool vibe... we love playing at universities. The indie rock scene is usually much more cohesive than in the cities we play. The show was in a tough spot during finals or something. We hope to get more people out this time around. “ Despite the weak welcome they received, they have both thankfully decided to try Blacksburg once again this summer.

The third band scheduled to play this event is actually from Roanoke, but the band seems to reach a consensus about their level of comfort in Blacksburg, “Blacksburg is our second home, we feel as though we get a lot support there.” Doug Cheatwood and the Bastards of Fate is a melodramatic pop band, notorious for their controversial stage antics involving styrofoam peanuts and flying pieces of fabric. Band bassist Jason Wells says that he is looking forward to playing with both Brooklyn bands and is interested in seeing what this mix of genres will offer, “we’re psyched to see some bands from Brooklyn.”

The Gay Blades and boy/girl will be performing with Roanoke band Doug Cheatwood and the Bastards of Fate at Ceritano’s in Blacksburg, VA on Friday, July 6th. Doors open at 7:30pm and admission is $3 per person at the door.

Note: This article has also been cross-published at Planet Blacksburg.

Dynamite Club interview

After a month-long hiatus, I think I'm going to go back to updating this baby regularly. I wouldn't expect more than a weekly update, but there will be times where I have nothing better to do than making blog entries, which would result it more than the promised weekly update.

I'm also actually trying to recruit a couple of friends to help me keep this blog regular.

Without further ado, on to the scheduled blog entry...

Today, I am going to talk to you about an awesome band from New York City. This band goes by the name of the Dynamite Club and they might be one of the most fun bands I have ever met. I had the pleasure of interviewing this very fine band a little over a week ago and the original interview was broadcast on the airwaves of WUVT FM this afternoon (disclaimer: WUVT has absolutely no affiliation with this blog, or anything that is posted on here. The only affiliation might be the content of the interviews I have shared with the station, which are copywritten under my name and are not allowed to be distributed without my permission.)

The Dynamite Club features three talented members, who actually live in three different locations and only get together a couple of times a year to grace the world of music with their awesomeness; Kentaro Saito, Mike Pride and Evan Lipson are the ingredients to this to this trio. If you're looking to get into this band, I would recommend that you head over to their myspace and give the song "12 Questions for" a listen.

Here is a copy of the interview (link expired, please comment for a repost) I did on Monday, June 25th.

Anyway, Fever to Sing is back and here to stay!