With the economy the way it is - people being rewarded for stupidity and greed with government bailouts, the stocks tanking, AIG – nah, don’t even go there – it’s hard to find people caring about anything other than themselves. And rightly so, if you don’t keep your own ass afloat who will?
Once again, that’s not the case with Raptor Guitars in Phoenix. Recently, a huge production was put on to celebrate the store’s second anniversary. With nine artists playing throughout the day on a huge two tier stage, a media blitz that rivals a playoff game, and a raffle that consisted of not one but three guitars (Fender, Dean and Ibanez) the event is hailed as a close knit community gathering. No other guitar store in the state puts on this kind of free event solely for the community and love of music – it’s also one of the biggest events of the year that showcases local bands.
The first two artists to take the stage were Desirea and Hillary Fischer. Desiree started the mood 
with her soulful voice wafting throughout the crowd. Her short set consisted of one guitarist and then a background CD. Why we haven’t seen her on American Idol is beyond me. Hillary Fischer – the Raptor Guitars student turned performer – continued the momentum with her acoustic performance that showcased both the power of her voice and guitar.
Aside from Desirea and Hillary, there were two other last minute additions to the lineup. VooDoo – a Godsmack tribute out of Phoenix – came in and delivered powerful set full of Godsmack hits. Bret is a ringer for Sully as he blasted through Voodoo, I Stand Alone, and Awake among many others. The band was extremely tight, showing their professionalism as they played a gig the night before as well and still pulled off their early time slot today.
Fresh out of the gates with their first ever live performance was another last minute entry, Suite 88. The Jeff Keith-esque vocals coming from singer Mike Gunns shined bright on such original tunes as the anthem 10 
Shots 10 Minutes and Sleazy Susan. Cover tunes King Nothing (Metallica) and Little Wing (Hendrix/SRV) proved diversity of the band’s skillset as well. The “trio of twenty year olds” (Gunns, guitarist Kolten Lee and drummer Jesse Clutch) are rounded out by veteran bassist Max Wolfe (who suspiciously looks like the guy in Dinonicus). They have more tunes and a CD that can be purchased off their MySpace page and are playing shows around the Phoenix area starting April 4th at the Red Owl. A very solid unit that Arizona can expect to see a lot more of.
While a Raptor Guitars show tends to lean towards the appreciation of hard rock, they do throw
out other blends of music as well. Case in point - Soul Persuasion. They have a blend of old school, soul and R&B. The Latin flair that encases the soulful melodies was a hit with the crowd and had many people dancing and swaying to the rhythm. They have released a CD of great music, contact them off their MySpace page for more information.
Dagger hit the stage with a vengeance, starting things off with Evil, Wicked, Mean & Nasty and followed it with In For the Kill. The band was highly animated during their set, with lead guitarist Garrison Vest leading the way. The band also whipped out two covers – Breaking the Chains (Dokken) and Balls to the Walls (Accept). This was the high energy set that got the evening hours rocking.
Next up was the mighty Dinonicus. The band went for broke on this set, and the crowd followed. Slamming out tunes such as Seek and Destroy, the Trooper and Breaking the Law, the band ran with the momentum Dagger started and brought it up a level. Dinonicus grabbed the biggest crowd response of the day so far and had fans sharing the mic at times with singer Matt “the Mojave”.
As he does every year, George Contreras brought out select students to play with Dinonicus on stage to show the crowd how their lessons are coming along. Fourteen year old Mikal Benion came out and played on Seek and Destroy, while thirteen year old Scott Madrigal played on Detroit Rock City. Both students were flawless in their performance, but Mikal looked a little nervous, while Scott was ready for rock stardom, moving around the stage and cart wheeling his arm much like Pete Townsend did back in the day.
Next up was the little shredmeister Jack Ripper. This 12 year old has been playing probably since birth, and whipped out licks and leads like nobody’s business. A fusion of covers and original material, the band (rounded out by Brandon Wisley on vocals, DK on bass and Ron Fields on drums) kept the crowd’s attention throughout the entire set with their guitar riff oriented style.
Headliner of the night was none other than KISSmania. For every KISS fan out there, it’s like seeing the real 
thing (without the greed, the drugs, the ego – oh, I could go on). Blasting out hit after hit the guys in KISSmania - Mark Hermansen (Ace), Mike Blair (Paul), Tom Cavanaugh (Peter) and newcomer Paul (Gene) gave the audience everything they wanted. Firehouse, Rock and Roll All Night, and Love Gun all came out damn near better than the originals. They have a show April 4th at the Blooze, so if you are in the Phoenix area, don’t miss them. It will be 1977 all over again.
