For 25 years The Baghdaddios have churned along, trolling the seedier dive 
 bars of New York City that were fortunate enough to have a sound system and 
 a 
 cabaret license. Occasionally they graced the spotlight of some higher 
 profile 
 venues (including 
 their third-ever show at iconic punk birthplace CBGB). Somewhere along the 
 way, between the indie CD releases, music videos, trips to other countries 
 and 
 criss-crossing various part of the U.S., they got a bright idea in their 5th 
 year that resulted in 
 the proverbial 'gift that keeps on giving'. They founded a musically-themed 
 benefit for their home City's homeless......... 
  
 Blank-Fest. 
  
 "We were a lot younger and naive back then", remembers front-man and Benefit 
 founder Kenn Rowell. "We didn't even have plans for a second-year show until 
 the very last moments of the first one, when I just looked at the few people 
 who were left in the 
 club and said 'See you all next year'. I remember walking off the stage and 
 thinking to myself 'Uh-oh, what did I just promise'?" 
  
 But here we all are, 2 decades later and the little-Benefit-that-could is 
 still rolling along, spawning satellite shows and still marshalling the best 
 of the City's indie and unsigned talent to bring a diverse audience together 
 at The Hudson House, a 
 friendly little club in the New York City suburb of Nyack on Sunday, 
 December 
 17 for what will be the twenty-first consecutive year for a worthwhile 
 cause. 
 When Rowell booked the first 5 acts back in 1997 there was no real 
 blueprint, 
 no primer - Hell, 
 there was barely an internet - to lead the way. It started as a late-night 
 post-gig barroom convo between he and fellow Blank-Fest founder (and fellow 
 performer) Chuck DeBruyn where they hit upon the idea of mini-set 
 performances 
 by themselves, along 
 with some of their friends. The price of admission? Just a blanket, any 
 condition. These blankets, in turn, would be handed out directly to the 
 City's 
 less fortunate, spending Christmas Eve on the cold, dark streets. No 
 middle-man, no huge organization ( 
 or red tape) to slow down their efforts and (here's the cool part) NO money 
 involved. "We reasoned that if we made dime one, then we had failed", 
 explains 
 Rowell. "It was kind of a real hippie-type thing; we felt money corrupts - 
 so 
 let's dispense with 
 that. Just give us the blankets and we'll get 'em to the people". 
  
 Growth was near-exponential in the early days. Blank-Fest's inaugural show 
 netted 40 contributions - 20 of which came from DeBruyn's mother's home. 
 Blank-Fest II in '98 yielded 70 donations. By the early 2000's the Benefit 
 was 
 pulling in over 600 
 donations for what was by now the flagship show. Early attempts at City- 
 based 
 shows, while well-intentioned didn't come close to matching the main event. 
 That all changed after a full-page feature in the New York Daily News in 
 2006. 
 New Jersey rocker 
 Rich Kubicz approached Kenn about developing a Garden State-based Blank-Fest 
 and within a few years was outperforming the original venue. A tour of 
 England 
 for The Baghdaddios the following summer inspired a few enterprising rockers 
 in Nottingham to 
 organize the first Blank-Fest UK, soon to be followed by shows in Canada, 
 Virginia and Florida. Today Canada boasts Blank-Fest shows in multiple major 
 markets and there are talks of pushing the show onto the mainland in Europe 
 (Germany is one such- 
 rumored locale). All-in-all the organizers have estimated that Blank-Fest 
 has 
 been responsible for raising over 15,000 total donations, the vast majority 
 being blankets, since it's inception, 20 years ago. As always, Blank-Fest 
 XXI 
 will be featuring the 
 best of NYC and the surrounding area's indie talent including ex-Misfit and 
 current Undead frontman Bobby Steele along with EMI-alumna, singer- 
 songwriter 
 Patti Rothberg. The rest of the lineup is rounded out by some great local 
 and 
 regional acts - 
 including a few surprise entries. 
  
 For Rowell, it's been a fun - if sometimes crazy - journey. But he's used to 
 the up-and-down micro-dramas that come with the turf considering that The 
 Baghdaddios - his band, the band that's hosted this show every year since 
 its 
 founding - has had an 
 even crazier up-and-down history. Despite only releasing two full-length 
 albums and a handful of EPs, music videos and online-only efforts, the group 
 continues to record new material and play shows, albeit not as many shows as 
 they were accustomed to ' 
 back in the day'. "We're all older now and a lot of the places we used to 
 practically live at are gone", says Rowell. "CB's, Kenny's Castaways, 
 Wetlands, Continental - now even Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn is closing. It's 
 just not the same anymore - and 
 even if it were, the crowd we grew up with got older too. They've all moved 
 on, gotten married, raised kids, moved away.........or died. It's sad but 
 it's 
 the circle of life. That's why we love it when we can bring our show to a 
 new 
 audience. We 
 sometimes wonder if they're going to be able to relate to what we're playing 
 up there but in the end it's just three chords, a lot of feedback and some 
 good ol' sweaty rock 'n roll - and that never goes out of style!" 
  
  
 [continued in next message] 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)