Outdoor festivals are pretty fun – you get to be outside, you meet people wanting to hear their favorite bands and songs and you get to work with bands in an environment that breeds excitement… it’s summer!
Well I attended a fest that to say the least was interesting on numerous levels… you have got to meet this guy that put this fest together… it should have been called Dave’s FavFest because this guy, who signs acts for Penny Road Pub, in Barrington, Illinois decided to put together a full day / music fest based on a few things, his criteria, first you have to rock, and you have to have a little bit of a hard rocking sound and the most important, be a local band doing originals… that’s right only originals, a true support your local music type fest. And this guy put together quite a list of bands to rock out the day being all his favorites.
I get to Penny Road Pub and it was very cool as my daughter Deanna came with as my “assistant” for the day, she loves photography and worked the fest with me. We got there about noon and the bands were already on stage playing. 
The first band was pretty good and rocked out. The next few bands, backed by Dark Star records, a local heavy rock indie label, just rocked the heck out of all of us.
Lydian Sea, brought me into a world that reminded me of a Uriah Heep type sound, progressive, in a hard rockin’ way. I later learned in the interview that one of Singers influences growing up was in fact Uriah Heep. They played about 6 or so songs and were one of the fan favorites from the day. I haven’t heard them before and enjoyed their sound as it pulled me into their world through what they were playing. The band consists of four artists that played hard in a progressive way and gave me a sense of power with a rhythm and beat that moved the song from one level to another. Danny’s vocals were powerful and followed or lead the music depending on the song. I was quickly into the session jamming along with every song getting into Mike McCarron’s drums, and the guitar solos and crisp 
bass sounds. You can check out their sound at iTunes and Rhapsody – or visit them at their MySpace page or website, and that way you can check out where they are playing next around the Midwest. Look for their cd at your local music store or order it online if you like what you hear on their webpages.
Another band that played at Penny Road Pub’s Outdoor Original Rock Fest really knows how to rock your socks off. While they have played with some national acts like Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Audioslave and Motorhead to name a few they continue to wow their fans, long time fans and new ones. I first met this band over a year ago at a charity event to support the Make A Hunting Wish Foundation. They donated their time and proceeds from their shirt sales to play this private event at Jim’s house in Huntley and from that moment I was a Drop fan… and the cool thing is that the guitar player, Jimmy Haboush, is a guy that I went to High School with, didn’t know he was in the band and didn’t know the band was playing until I got there. The reason why I tell you about a fest from a year ago and then jump back to today and the Original Outdoor Fest at Penny Road Pub is to tell you about what a year they have had. 
They sounded pretty good at Jim Fest and just a week ago they were tight, together, having fun and rocking the stage. Giving the fans what they wanted to hear came easy, vocally; musically all around it was too short of a set for me. The band has a strong stage presence, and a captivating sound that you do not want to miss. Dark Star Records out of Itasca, Illinois is bringing you a band that you will want to follow and party with at their next show.
Visit Dark Star Records at www.darkstarrecords.com for other Indie bands you may like.
Lydian Sea is:
Danny McCartney - lead vocals and harmony vocals
Ron Gonzalez - guitars, keys, lead and harmony vocals
Mike MCcarron - drums and harmony vocals
Mike Szot – bass
Visit Lydian Sea at www.lydiansea.com or their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/lydianseachicago
Drop is:
Ian Serrano- Vocals
Patrick Davey- Guitar
Jimmy Haboush- Guitar
Andy Smith- Bass
John DiPentino- Drums
Visit Drop at www.drop-music.com or their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/dropnation
Come back for the band interviews to air soon.
