Wayland, North Fork, Broken Identity

Rock$tarzz Hospitality Promotions put on a big show this week at The PIN Music Venue downtown. We were so happy to announce that we were involved in bringing Wayland back to Spokane after 3 years. I couldn't believe that no other promoter or venue owner in Spokane had not contacted them to inquire on getting a show going here in town? I am sure glad we did. We were aiming for Saturday February 20th to hold the show but all the venues we tried were booked 2 months in advance. We had to go with the only other day" Wayland" had available for our area which was Monday February 22nd. We were a little concerned about the attendance we would bring to the show for this particular night? Attendance is hit or miss in Spokane for shows during the week? But we were confident people were anxious to have Wayland back in Spokane and would come out to see them.

Wayland started out their day in Spokane with a Meet N Greet or as the radio station likes to call it a Grub N Grope at the KXLY studios with our local radio station Rock 94.5. They apologized for not coming back to town sooner, did an acoustic set for the contest winners and just had an overall good time. Next stop was The PIN for sound check before their performance. The crowd was small but mighty. "Wayland" took the stage full force,these guys are real troopers and make the best out of any situation. It had been 3 years since "Wayland" had made a stop in Spokane? They were to perform in Spokane in 2015 but their tour bus broke down leaving them stranded in CO for several days and they had to cancelle their appearance. The band has recently invested in a really nice new tour bus so it is less likely this will happen again.

I had the pleasure to see "Wayland" for the first time those 3 years ago and they instantly became one of my favorites. "Wayland"is a 4 piece band from Wayland, MI. and also how the band chose their name. Wayland puts on a show you wouldn't believe. They are true professionals with Mitch Arnold's penetrating vocals and Dean Pizzazz's fierce bass sound, not to mention Phillip Vilenski's aggressive guitar riffs and Tyler Coburn's pounding drum beats, these guys are crazy good. They opened their set with "Welcome To My Head", and continued with, "Through The Fire", "Back To Life", "Bloody Sunrise", "Shopping For A Savior", "Come Back", Nobody's Perfect" Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", I must say that "Wayland does one of the best renditions of this song I have ever heard other than Zeppelin themselves. Continued with" Get A Little" and closed the show with "Reno". I just cannot say enough to give them the credit they deserve, these guys put on one of the best performances around.

North Fork

North Fork from Coeur d'Alene, ID opened the show around 7:30 pm. The first time I saw these guys with their new line up of musicians and new name was in November when they performed at The Knitting Factory with "Red Sun Rising", and "Art of Dying". These guys blew me away, I was really impressed with them and I liked their rock style sound. North Fork members include: Myles Weaver-Lead Vocals/Guitar, Brandon Kunka | Drums, Josh Wilhelm | Bass, Robby Erickson | Guitar, Vocals. Myles Weaver, lead vocals of North Fork had also been in the band, "Evolved". You can catch North Fork playing clubs around town, check them out you will be glad you did.

Broken Identity co-headlined the show with their heavy medal sound with front woman Tiffany Ann Marie De Leon leading the band with her powerful vocals, other members include, Caleb Patrick Stevenson-Drums, Jay Burn Ried-Bass, Lead Guitar- Jason Paul Villella, Rythm Guitar -Razor Smile. Members of this band also played in other local bands such as Morbid Inc. and Damn Them All.

To sum up Wayland's visit to Spokane they started with the, "Grub N Grope" with Rock 94.5 which was a great success, the band really enjoyed themselves. "Wayland" puts on an amazing show no matter the circumstances, their stage performance is full of passion and energy, they really love what they do and bring that passion to the stage and their fans...I can not say enough to do them justice," Wayland" is crazy good. The local opening bands also brought it to the stage and played their hearts out...thank you to all the bands that played the show, It's like the lyrics to Wayland's song, "Welcome To My Head". This is just the tip of the iceberg.

This show rocked Spokane on a Monday night, if you weren't there you missed a rocking great time. Please support you local musicians and music venues or in other words, use them or loose them. See you all at the next show, until next time keep it real and most importantly Rock N Roll. **Peace**