A little while after conducting an interview with Tommy (drums), but before any of the bands started, I noticed he had come into the venue and was sitting by himself playing one of those electronic bar games. No one was bothering him and he seemed just fine with that. I looked in his direction again later and he waved. I didn’t go over and bother him since I had just finished the interview and didn’t want to seem intrusive. Shortly thereafter, some fans were asking a street team member if they could have some of the posters and other promotional fliers and things he was hanging up featuring Nothingface and the new album cover. He told them that he couldn’t give them any, but they could take down the ones he had already hung. It was very funny to watch them sneak around and “conspiratorially” take something they had just been told they were allowed to have. I looked over at Tommy and he was having a good laugh with it too. Suddenly they all took their loot and made a dash for the door as if someone was going to bust them for having it. They were in such a hurry they never realized they ran within literally two feet of one of the members of the very band they were so excited about! We both looked at each other, and he shrugged and laughed heavily, obviously enjoying himself.

Several more times during other bands’ performances Tommy came over to talk to me and just hang out. By the end of the evening I felt as if we had been friends since childhood. Twice I heard him shouting “Hey!” only to turn around and see him hurrying through the venue towards me. The first time this happened, he was saying “You GOTTA see this!” He hands me something, and when I look at it I see that it is a current Lorain County Ohio license plate which said “NTHFACE”. “How cool is THAT?!?” he said, proceeding to tell me that a fan had come up to him and told him that he had been waiting a long time to give it to the band. The second time around he was pulling a fan along with him and again telling me that I had to see something that was completely ‘bad ass’. He tells the fan (“Metal Mike” from local Youngstown band Oreon (www.oreonmusic.com) to show me his leg and it has a tattoo from the CD label for Violence on it. Tommy was totally stoked about it and insisted that I get a picture of it. It was obvious to me how much he really enjoyed just hanging out with the fans like one of the guys and that he really appreciated them and their support of the group’s music. After the show was over and the entire band stayed for autographs and conversation with the fans for easily the better part of an hour, I would come to find out that it is a sentiment very truly shared by all the members.

Normally I start with the opening band and work up to the headliner, but this time I will work from the top down. As I mentioned in a few of my questions during the interview, I expected a full-on, ass-kicking, body-wracking, ear-shredding display of music and frustration colliding. I was dead on. From the first note forward, the music emanating from the stage was nothing short of relentless. The crowd was instantly taken right along for the ride. Well, no. That’s not right. They got out of the damn bus, rolled it over on its top, and began to shove it down the street with the band riding the undercarriage like some wild gods guiding their followers to the promised land. This was no “lead, follow, or get out of the way” dog and pony show. This was each and every man for himself and non-believers be damned. I was hoping for a pit where I could get a little banged up, a little sweaty, a lot wore out, and maybe even a little nervous. If I had any common sense at all, I would have watched from the back. It took a couple songs for me to convince myself to even wade in, and I am by no means a virgin to mosh pits.

The music was very tight and well played. The songs I recognized from Skeletons were pretty much right on with the disc, except for just enough differences and nuances to be as it should be for a live show. I have always been the type to not want to hear live the exact same thing I can hear anytime from the recorded version. Live shows should vary just enough from the album to give the listener something new to hear, but not to radically alter the song. This band understands this perfectly and uses it to an excellent advantage. The die-hard fans in the pit were able to scream along to their favorites while bashing each other into oblivion, and at the same time hear a new variation to the song without missing a beat. This, folks, is excellent musicianship in action. Especially when you consider the fury with which these guys are disseminating their brand of chaos to the masses.

Near the end of the show, Matt took a pause to apologize to the crowd for not being able to give 100% to us, his fans. I hate to break it to him, but I don’t think anyone had noticed. This man has a very strong voice. He talked about how he gives 110% percent at every show and that he felt like shit for ‘ripping us off’ and not giving us our money’s worth. This was answered by a five minute chant of “Nothingface” that might very well have been louder than the music itself. He was happier, and quite obviously amazed at the reaction. It was not hard to see that he truly meant what he said and felt that he had somehow not given us what we deserved. It was hard to watch a man who was working so hard feel so down, and I know I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. The band didn’t play for another two or three minutes, during which time you could hear a fan or two every once in a while shout (or say for those of us close enough to the stage) words of encouragement and reassurance to him. At the end of this time, he came back up to the mike and said how incredible Nothingface fans were, how much it meant to him, and that he had planned on the song they had just finished being the end of the show. He went on to say that there was no way in hell we was going to quit after all the love that Cleveland had just shown him. They played three more songs. It was an incredible show.

As most of you reading this probably know, they had to cancel some stops on the tour just after they played Cleveland. If anyone had questioned his sincerity that night, which I don't think anyone would have, there could be no more doubts. I am left thinking that if the show was that good with his voice in danger and pain, how great is this band live when he is at 100%? Luckily I will find my answer during the Ozzfest tour! I can’t wait. www.nothingface.net

Nothingface was preceded by a band called Hotwire. I have a copy of the advance music version of their upcoming release The Routine courtesy of Score! Music. I had not been initially impressed with what I heard, and was hoping for more from the live show but wasn’t overly optimistic. It was not to be. I may have been more unimpressed with the live show than I was with the CD, but it would be a close call. (Guys, if you read this…don’t rip my ass at Ozzfest, just work harder and impress me.) I’m not saying they fully sucked or anything, they have talent and could most likely stick it out and do all right in the modern corporate rock rut. For some reason though, upon initial play of the disc, further play of the disc, and seeing the live show I still could not shake my gut instinct of wanting to rename them “Everyband”. I can’t even specifically put a finger on why, but it’s just there and try as I might I couldn’t get around it. Come to think of it, perhaps The Routine is a more fitting title than they may have realized. Decide for yourself at www.hotwiremusic.com.

Taking the stage before Hotwire was Factory 81. This was the first band of the evening to have a fully major-label produced sound and stage presence. It was very thick, and very loud. The crowd got into this band and began to show me a taste of what they might have to give to Nothingface. I could see this band getting somewhere. I like their sound and had a positive attitude about the group. This changed very quickly in the time after the set. They agreed to a small interview, but then proved very hard to pin down after their set. Even when they told me to come over they still left me waiting. It’s not like I was interrupting band business or a discussion of the set or anything, they just made it obvious that they would allow me to talk to them when they felt like it. This went on for a very extended period of time, even though they knew I only needed five minutes of their time to give them free press in this article. While I realize that this is their prerogative, I was about to give up, and potentially turning down free press is not a good way to run a business, which is what a band really is at the end of the day.

Once they finally did grant me a couple minutes, Andy Cyrulnik (drums) told me a little about the band’s history. The formed in 1997 and were eventually signed to Mojo Universal records. They toured for a year with Mudvayne, Kitty, Slaves on Dope, Downset and others. Then the contract ran out on the joint venture and Mojo was bought out by Jive. Jive didn’t dig their music and dropped them. They are currently independent, based out of Detroit, and writing new material and label shopping. They continue to tour and test their music out on the crowds. www.factory81.com

Amentia was up prior to Hotwire. This is a local Cleveland-area band from Sheffield and Avon Lakes. They’ve been together for about three to three and a half years. When I asked them how they would describe their own sound, they said “Experimental Hardcore” which they arrived at after thinking it over for a moment or two. They did a decent set, the coolest facet of which was the fact that the drummer played with a newly broken foot. The story as told by him is that the night before he “kicked this dude’s ass and the dude’s boys harshed his foot.” The members all wanted to make sure that I wrote that “Alex (the drummer) is a dick and is always mixing it up and shit”. The band says they never hold back from writing and try to incorporate everything that each member comes up with, “as long as it flows”. They plan to record a full-length demo this summer and hope for a wide local distribution. www.amentia.8m.com

Slutbox, a Cleveland band with a hardcore and dark metal mix, were up before Amentia. I had seen this band recently at the Hard Rock Café as the featured “After Party” band following the Jagermeister tour where I had interviewed (hed) P.E. They told me to describe the band as “kids who grew up listening to Ministry and NIN”. Their name has been around for about five years, with the current line-up comprising nearly two of those years. They originally had a live drummer but they now use tracks. They have a drummer in mind that they may possibly add in the future, at least for live shows. www.slutbox.net “The ‘mid ‘90s are back so watch the fuck out!”

Opening the night was Sappy Bell, a group of earnest younger guys putting out some straightforward heavy rock. They have good potential and were surprisingly talented for opening a six-band show. They’ve been playing for about two years with their current line-up. They are a local Cleveland act who has opened up for D.R.I., Vanilla Ice, and others. This information came from the girlfriend of a band member, who said her boyfriend (the singer?) wanted to talk to me after their set. I gave him a couple of opportunities, and even though she tried to get him to realize that it was a good idea, he seemed very uninterested. Word to the wise if you read this guys, NEVER turn down free press when you are starting out. Especially from a publication who interviews regional and national acts from all around the country and offers you a write-up, unsolicited. You never know who might read it.

Read the interview here.

Visit www.nothingface.net.