Ten bands playing on the Quad. Six hours of free music.
Beginning at noon on Saturday, the WRGW-sponsored Octoberfest 2000 will rock GW with bands such as Ebo, Phaser, River City Rebels, Squatweiler, CombinationLOCK and Cropduster.
The local bands play to a different drum, ranging from Ebo and Cropduster’s modern alternative rock and pop to River City Rebels political-punk sound.
Ebo, influenced by the Beatles and Dinosaur Jr., is from Fairfax, Va., and has toured up and down the East Coast. Earlier this month, the band released its second album, Secret Weapon. Its songs played on MTV’s Road Rules throughout the summer and the band has made appearances at large festivals in D.C., including the Freedom Festival with bands such as Cowboy Mouth and Goldfinger. Ebo was been featured on E! Entertainment Television and signed a multi-album deal with EMI Music Publishing.
Phaser, formed by brothers Siayko and Boris Skalsy, began its quartet in D.C. more than two years ago. This unsigned East Coast band currently sits at the top of the charts in the College Media Journal Top 200. Phaser’s single Skydive has played on more than 50 college radio stations across the country, and the band even performed at this past year’s HFStival, put on by D.C. radio station 99.1 WHFS.
Guitarist Dan O’ Day formed the River City Rebels, a political-punk band with dual horns, three years ago in Hartford, Vt. The band’s sound mixes three-chord, infectious street punk with raw melodic horn lines. Fans say the River City Rebels have the perfect blend of passion and protest, covering topics such as racism, society’s rules, religion and sexism.
Squatweiler, a rock trio that began behind a barbecue restaurant in Winston-Salem, N.C., will stop by GW Saturday during its national tour. The group’s music is filled with fury and chaos but is soundly written and spans beyond the three-chord progression usually associated with hard-core rock. Squatweiler has toured with bands such as Bad Religion, Lit, Babes in Toyland and The Rollins Band. The band’s last two releases, Horsepower and New Motherstamper, made it onto College Media Journal’s Top 150 chart, and Squatweiler has even gotten great recognition from The New York Times.
This festival is co-sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, Turning the Page, Big Brother/Big Sister, Food & Friends and Miriam’s Kitchen. For more information on Octoberfest 2000, visit WRGW’s website at www.gwradio.com.Octoberfest 2000 beings at noon Oct. 26 on the Quad. Admission is free.
