SHREDFEST 5!!  (brought to you by Shred Kids’ Cancer).   What an incredibly awesome cause this benefit show was.  I saw the description of this event and immediately bought a ticket unsure of whether or not I could actually attend.  Then, the next morning I saw the complete story on KTLA and was very moved and enthused about attending this show.

As a parent and avid concertgoer, I couldn’t help but be impressed by Teagan Stedman, the amazing young man and incredible visionary behind this event.    Not only did he start this annual event was he was only 8 to support his friend with cancer, but he has secured some really great sponsors and musicians to back this wonderfully brilliant effort.     In addition to a silent auction and other festivities, they held a “battle of the bands” for young, upcoming acts to showcase originals and cover songs in a wide range of music.

Even though I just came home from Hollywood 11 hours earlier for the last concert I attended, I completed the return trip and it really made for an excellent afternoon.  I live for cool events like these.

I loved how there was an itinerary for the event.   I wish all concerts had a set list with times.   That’s some tremendously valuable information right there.   I could tell when I walked into the House of Blues Sunset that this event was well run.   It was on time (unfortunately,  I arrived a few minutes late) and the first band, Public Strangers,  a female-fronted hard rock/ metal band, finished with an Avenged Sevenfold song that rocked pretty hard.   The singer has a good voice and good stage presence.  I’m not familiar with the song they were covering, but it sounded good to me.

I then ran upstairs to view the charity auction items.  I could see Zakk Wylde, Shavo Odadjian and the rest of the judges from the top of the stairs.

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Once upstairs for the auction, I was majorly impressed with the quality of the memorabilia and equipment that were up for bids.  A signed guitar by Led Zeppelin?  Another by Paul McCartney?   A top hat signed by Slash?  Signed drum heads from Ringo Starr and U2?  There were also classic albums that were nicely framed, autographed Rock Science games (which I’m looking forward to playing someday) and other really great items.   I hope they made a TON of money…

While I was upstairs drooling over all the cool stuff, the next band to play was The Negotiators.  They were a group of little guys that rocked.  The crowd really liked them and they jammed.

The Krooks were up next and they jammed out for the crowd.

RIP Adam Buttons absolutely rocked.   I thought they jammed and their tunes were catchy.  I liked their song about The Beatles – “Paul is Dead”.    They even covered a Misfits tune.   I had them as the early favorite to win the battle of the bands.

The band that followed was called Clockwork City.   They were a good band and the singer could really belt out the vocals.   Without a doubt, that was one of the top vocal performances of the day.  She owned it.

This little girl with the most adorable voice named Ana Domini came out and introduced herself.   I think she won over the crowd before she even played a note.   It was exceptional that she is so young and has the courage and confidence to play solo in front of a huge crowd.  And she’s for real.    She had a very soulful voice and her playing was really  good. You could feel the music she was playing.  She did an Oasis song much better than Oasis does it.   She also did The Beatles (“Come Together”, complete with some good guitar work) and some other cool tunes.   After her short set, I was pulling for her to win.   She’s clearly a winner for getting up there and being so entertaining and inspirational.   If I had a record label, I think I’d sign her.

The seventh act was called Melted Vinyl.   These guys rocked.   The guitarist threw down with some excellent guitar playing that was way beyond his years.   Watching him do his thins was a lot of fun.  They jammed some Hendrix and played exceptionally well throughout their performance.

The band that followed was called Colorblind.   They played good music for the younger crowd in attendance.  Their youthful energy made me feel old.

The last band to play was called Galvanized Souls.   They were pretty heavy and really brought it.  That was a rocking way to end out the competition.

After the last band played, Bonzo Bash alumni Matt Sorum played “Kashmir” with the Public Strangers.    I just saw him play with Sebastian Bach and  Steve Stevens last week (and a few times recently with Steel Panther as well).   Matt completely rocks and is way cool.

After “Kashmir”, Slash came out to join Matt and played “Slither” from Velvet Revolver with Melted Vinyl and shredded “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Paradise City” with Clockwork City.  It was very cool!  And Teagan was up there rocking out, too.

 

Matt and Shavo shared a mic and sang background vocals on for “Paradise City”.  One of the coolest parts of the song was Matt going back and encouraging the drummer. He grabbed a drum stick and twirled it by hitting a crash cymbal.  A special moment.

These young musicians must be beside themselves after jamming with such incredible rock stars.

Shavo came out to conclude the event by announcing the top 3 original bands and the top cover band.

Congrats to The Negotiators, Clockwork City, Melted Vinyl and RIP Adam Buttons.

Shavo acknowledging Teagan’s mom.   Good job, Teagan’s mom.   You must be beyond proud…

Teagan up there rocking out with Slash:

I also liked the announcing throughout the event.  Good job, announcer…

I had to get on the road, but on the way out I ran into Nik Kai, his mom and some friends from Rock N Roll Industries Magazine.   Nik was sporting a Motorhead shirt and will be opening for Motorhead and Anvil coming up soon at Club Nokia. What a gig.

I said hello to Matt outside on my way to the car.    He said he had a lot of fun up there playing.  What a cool dude.  He’s always happy to take a picture and talk with his fans.  He’s definitely one of the nicest and most talented musicians around.

ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE OF THE EVENTS (more clips of the bands):

Crowd shots:

The best of luck for this remarkable cause!!!  Looking forward to SHREDFEST 6!!