From: musicdish@gmail.com   
      
   For 25 years The Baghdaddios have churned along, trolling the seedier dive   
   bars of New York City that were fortunate enough to have a sound system and a   
   cabaret license. Occasionally they graced the spotlight of some higher profile   
   venues (including    
   their third-ever show at iconic punk birthplace CBGB). Somewhere along the   
   way, between the indie CD releases, music videos, trips to other countries and   
   criss-crossing various part of the U.S., they got a bright idea in their 5th   
   year that resulted in    
   the proverbial 'gift that keeps on giving'. They founded a musically-themed   
   benefit for their home City's homeless.........   
      
   Blank-Fest.   
      
   "We were a lot younger and naive back then", remembers front-man and Benefit   
   founder Kenn Rowell. "We didn't even have plans for a second-year show until   
   the very last moments of the first one, when I just looked at the few people   
   who were left in the    
   club and said 'See you all next year'. I remember walking off the stage and   
   thinking to myself 'Uh-oh, what did I just promise'?"   
      
   But here we all are, 2 decades later and the little-Benefit-that-could is   
   still rolling along, spawning satellite shows and still marshalling the best   
   of the City's indie and unsigned talent to bring a diverse audience together   
   at The Hudson House, a    
   friendly little club in the New York City suburb of Nyack on Sunday, December   
   17 for what will be the twenty-first consecutive year for a worthwhile cause.   
   When Rowell booked the first 5 acts back in 1997 there was no real blueprint,   
   no primer - Hell,    
   there was barely an internet - to lead the way. It started as a late-night   
   post-gig barroom convo between he and fellow Blank-Fest founder (and fellow   
   performer) Chuck DeBruyn where they hit upon the idea of mini-set performances   
   by themselves, along    
   with some of their friends. The price of admission? Just a blanket, any   
   condition. These blankets, in turn, would be handed out directly to the City's   
   less fortunate, spending Christmas Eve on the cold, dark streets. No   
   middle-man, no huge organization (   
   or red tape) to slow down their efforts and (here's the cool part) NO money   
   involved. "We reasoned that if we made dime one, then we had failed", explains   
   Rowell. "It was kind of a real hippie-type thing; we felt money corrupts - so   
   let's dispense with    
   that. Just give us the blankets and we'll get 'em to the people".   
      
   Growth was near-exponential in the early days. Blank-Fest's inaugural show   
   netted 40 contributions - 20 of which came from DeBruyn's mother's home.   
   Blank-Fest II in '98 yielded 70 donations. By the early 2000's the Benefit was   
   pulling in over 600    
   donations for what was by now the flagship show. Early attempts at City-based   
   shows, while well-intentioned didn't come close to matching the main event.   
   That all changed after a full-page feature in the New York Daily News in 2006.   
   New Jersey rocker    
   Rich Kubicz approached Kenn about developing a Garden State-based Blank-Fest   
   and within a few years was outperforming the original venue. A tour of England   
   for The Baghdaddios the following summer inspired a few enterprising rockers   
   in Nottingham to    
   organize the first Blank-Fest UK, soon to be followed by shows in Canada,   
   Virginia and Florida. Today Canada boasts Blank-Fest shows in multiple major   
   markets and there are talks of pushing the show onto the mainland in Europe   
   (Germany is one such-   
   rumored locale). All-in-all the organizers have estimated that Blank-Fest has   
   been responsible for raising over 15,000 total donations, the vast majority   
   being blankets, since it's inception, 20 years ago. As always, Blank-Fest XXI   
   will be featuring the    
   best of NYC and the surrounding area's indie talent including ex-Misfit and   
   current Undead frontman Bobby Steele along with EMI-alumna, singer-songwriter   
   Patti Rothberg. The rest of the lineup is rounded out by some great local and   
   regional acts -    
   including a few surprise entries.   
      
   For Rowell, it's been a fun - if sometimes crazy - journey. But he's used to   
   the up-and-down micro-dramas that come with the turf considering that The   
   Baghdaddios - his band, the band that's hosted this show every year since its   
   founding - has had an    
   even crazier up-and-down history. Despite only releasing two full-length   
   albums and a handful of EPs, music videos and online-only efforts, the group   
   continues to record new material and play shows, albeit not as many shows as   
   they were accustomed to '   
   back in the day'. "We're all older now and a lot of the places we used to   
   practically live at are gone", says Rowell. "CB's, Kenny's Castaways,   
   Wetlands, Continental - now even Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn is closing. It's   
   just not the same anymore - and    
   even if it were, the crowd we grew up with got older too. They've all moved   
   on, gotten married, raised kids, moved away.........or died. It's sad but it's   
   the circle of life. That's why we love it when we can bring our show to a new   
   audience. We    
   sometimes wonder if they're going to be able to relate to what we're playing   
   up there but in the end it's just three chords, a lot of feedback and some   
   good ol' sweaty rock 'n roll - and that never goes out of style!"   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)