The New Year was celebrated with an outstanding kick-off festival featuring several bands from the South Florida Indie and Garage Rock scene. Showskii hosted HAIR OF THE DOG Fest at Churchill’s Pub on Saturday, January 2, 2016. The festival provided hope to music lovers that 2016 will be filled with sensational live music, awe-inspiring entertainment, and a collective musical community. The title of the festival, “Hair of The Dog,” symbolizes reducing the effects of a hangover with drinking alcohol as a remedy.  Therefore, attendees could cure their lagging hangovers from the previous night’s festivities with a cold brew and musical performances.

An array of Indie Rock artists such as LongShore Drift, SunGhosts, Dénudés, and Palette Town performed a memorable show. This event premiered SunGhosts’ latest EP release of “Parhelion.” The high-powered band are an established group in the South Florida Music scene. Their sprightly attitude and enthusiastic musical performance elevated and stirred the crowd. The audience was highly engaged and participated in an enormous mosh pit in the center of the venue. The cheerful and playful crowd-goers were dancing around the room to the gleaming melodic sounds. SunGhosts are reminiscent of early Bruce Springsteen radicalizing the way music lovers enjoyed and interacted with live music.

The vigorous band members are Nik Olas, exuberant singer and guitarist. He resembles Yannis Philippakis of Foals with his spirituous onstage persona and captivating vocals. Jared Steingold, wild and energetic bassist, jumped on and off large amps while actively strumming his bass.  The charismatic guitarist, Arminio Rivero, whose stage name is “Crocodile Deathspin,” skillfully played his guitar with a beaming smile from ear to ear. Their powerful drummer, Luis Estopiñan created their striking and invigorating percussion.

The multi-talented band display their determination in becoming a successful Indie Rock group. Their aggressive attitude and adept showmanship foreshadow their imminent success in the Indie music scene. Their enraptured performance depicts the vitality and talents of the free spirited band members. The sounds of “Surf Rock and Roll” are incorporated in their bohemian personas and vivacious music. Music lovers should attend one of their upcoming live performances to enjoy mind-blowing entertainment and inspiring talent.

SunGhosts are touring throughout Florida to promote their upcoming album release. The band are releasing a full length LP later this year, around April or May 2016. Their earlier release is a preview to this long-awaited album. Also, the band will release new material through their record label, Orchard House Music. SunGhosts are the flagship artists of this record label. Orchard House is co-owned by Grammy award winner, Joel Someillan. He is recording, producing, and collaborating with the artists on their upcoming LP.

 Dénudés performed a riveting electric punk show at the festival. Their Garage Rock music incorporates a compelling hard rock sound accompanied with their fascinating Goth Punk appearances. The enigmatic band are influenced by the color black and classic films. They have created a new sub-genre, Garage Noir, based on their influences.  The mysterious band members are Luigi La Rocca, fiery singer and proficient guitarist, Krystal Andreu, enthusiastic bassist, Eddie Spaghetti, skillful guitarist, and Nicholas Ochoa, dynamic drummer. Luigi and Nicholas are also band members in the spunky and magnetic Garage Rock band, Plastic Pinks. Luigi is the dexterous guitarist and Nicholas is the high-octane drummer of the group.

Dénudés high-powered set included songs from their latest album, “Waste of Fun.” Their set list included vibrant songs: “Icekreme”, “Shame,” “Waste of Fun,” “High,” “Pacemaker,” “Cranberry,” and “Fuzz Noir.” The band premiered two songs from LP release, “Waste of Fun,” on cassette tape in collaboration with the band, Veiny Hands. The artists worked collectively with the South Florida Indie record labels, Melachromania Records and Cheap Miami Records. The record labels collaborated and co-released the album.

The managers were interested in the artists’ ideas and had diverse roles in the production. This cassette is unique because it is shared between two bands: Dénudés and Veiny Hands. Side 1 of the cassette features two songs by Dénudés: “Pacemaker,” a “psycho-billy” melody, and “Fuzz Noir,” is a fuzz and hard rock song with an intriguing riff. Side 2 of the cassette features two songs by Veiny Hands: “The Space Song” and “Ain’t Got the Time.”  The dark and groovy songs utilize backing vocals along with Blues undertones. Their dark and psychedelic sound is reminiscent to Jack White’s musical projects.

HVY BLK designed the band’s Garage Rock album cover art. The dark cassette features a sultry, mischievous, and voluptuous female anime character on the cover. The alternate design for the second edition cassette contains inverted colors, white instead of black. This alternative cassette will be released on Wiener Records. It will feature both bands, Dénudés and Veiny Hands, and an additional song. The additional song by Dénudés will be “Icekreme” and Veiny Hands will be “Dirty Sheets.”

The extraordinary festival was coordinated and promoted by Showskii, Choice Blend Multimedia, Summer of Sharkface, Brand Skate Apparel, and Orchard House Music. Several local vendors sold exclusive accessories and clothing such as Brand Skate Apparel, A Plus Smoke Shop II, and One World Culture. SunGhosts will be performing two upcoming shows in South Florida. They will perform on Thursday, January 14th at Jump The Shark in Fort Lauderdale, and Saturday, February 6th at Gramps in Miami. Also, vote for them to win an opportunity to compete at the Battle of the Bands competition hosted by Okeechobee Music Festival. Visit the festival’s Facebook page and vote for SunGhosts to perform at the festival during the voting periods: January 14th to 25th.

Dénudés will be performing a set during 90.5 FM WVUM Show, “Back To Garage,” on Wednesday, January 20th. Luigi and Nicholas of Dénudés will perform with their other band, Plastic Pinks, at Gramps on Friday, January 8th.

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PsychRock Staff

PsychRock.com is a music & lifestyle magazine covering up to date News, Album Reviews, Artwork, & Music Videos in genres from Krautrock, Progress Rock, Stoner Rock, Neo Psych, Psychedelic Pop, Shoegazer, Acid Rock, Space Rock, Avant-Garde, Noise Rock & more!