HarrisburgNightlife

This is a guest article about a new local band Slamo and their recent appearance at the Brewhouse Grille…

What would you get if J Mascis’ cousin, Stewart Copeland’s kid and Yebot’s twin played in a band? Uummm…

What do you get when Wildboy plays ‘El Capitan’, Brother of Pum goes Billy Cobham on his Shines, and Yebot headbangs like an Avett brother? Slamo. (www.Slamo.org )

To celebrate the 1^st Anniversary of the Brewhouse Grille in Camp Hill on July 28, Slamo debuted to a geared-up Friday night crowd and it got “ill”, just as Yebot phrased the evening before first-set opener ‘Call Me’ (listen @ www.myspace.com/slamo4).

Congrats to the Brewhouse Grille – if you build it, they will come. And Cheers to the crowd - who came.

As a first-time observer of Slamo, I was refreshed. The show was fun on two fronts, like a good Super Bowl during the Budweiser frog years, a spectacle to be seen and heard, with some great laughs along the way.

Packed to the brim with walls sweating like a frosty-mug, the band and the crowd were quick to warm-up. By the time Slamo finished their second song, ‘All My Blue’, I’d spilled two beers on three people, and the outgoing text message in my Blackberry mailbox was “The Police” , a two-word response to the two-word question; “Slamo sound?”

The set-up was uniquely cool as the power-trio occupied the middle of everything. Tobey, aka Yebot (bass/vocals) and Kelly (drums/samples), the chest-pumping rhythm/percussion section was set-up at the center of both rooms with Jay (guitar/vocals) served on-the-side. The set-up fit like a glove and almost depicts the band sound; driving rhythm & percussion at the core, front and center, with solid strings and fun vocals peppering the pulse of a hard-beating heart.

The atmosphere was very accessible, as the stage was shared by both band and audience alike. As I fell victim to a fugue-like stint as my old self, ‘Spill King’, everyone there fell victim to the speeding-car grooves of Slamo. Everyone had fun…whether the dude that loves to yell “Whoooooaaa!!!” really, really loud, or the girl that loves to chat with musicians while they play fast, important, parts of songs…all were funked up and lovin’ it, rightfully so.

Slamo is a new band with a newer sound, and there is perfect contrast, too. Their song-writing style and sound seems to pay homage to classic yester-year influences while it’s packaged and delivered by three progressive musicians of today, paving their way into tomorrow.

Like a cold lemonade stand on a steamy summer day, Slamo is quenching good reason to gulp it down and celebrate something, anything. I celebrate the birth of this band, the fun evening they sound-tracked and the promise of many more to come.

So, what happens when Kelly Hollinger plays drums, Chris Rebert plays guitar and Tobey Forsman plays bass? Slamo, and that is good.

- Christian Gleichman

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Posted by Christian on Friday, August 11th, 2006 at 11:48 am.