DOWNBLEED

DownBleed - Guest Post from Xyon at Team Rock

Friday night (9/19/03) Downbleed blew the top off the 7th Street Cafe in Bristol and Saturday night (9/20/03) was no different. The ability to draw the audience into the bands world of rock with their hard and heavy music has become Downbleed's trademark (at least for me).

The Band:

Dawg - When you talk to Dawg, his is one of the nicest persons you could possibly talk with. The thing not to do though, is get between him and his guitar. He blisters through each song while making it all look so easy. Don't let his nice guy charm deceive you because he is meaner than hell on the guitar.

Leona - She is the Bassist extraordinaire. Her red hair only fuels her passion as she makes the bass contort to her wishes. She has fingers of steel that whip over the strings and sometimes applies so much pressure that they snap every now and again.

Doug - Drummer and Lead Vocals. Doug's heart and soul downbleeds onto the stage with every song. His intensity on the drums are matched with his equally intense vocals. He can only be upstaged by his son...

...which happened Saturday night. During their 3rd song, "Bleed For Me," Gunnar, Doug and Leona's 5 year old son, grabbed a microphone and accompanied his dad on vocals. He had complete stage control as he danced around (moshing for kids 101) and singing. Like father - Like son.

In this day of bands being thrown into the spotlight before they are really ready and one or two people emerging as "leader(s)" of the band, it is really refreshing to see a band like Downbleed that have equality amond the ranks (or lack of ranks). They have an all or nothing attitude toward their respective bands with the whole band involved with the decision making process. In my opinion, for what it worth, this style will keep them together for a long time. Let's hope anyway. :)

Do yourself a favor and make one of these shows soon!

Xyon