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FLTOASA AND SCARECROW
NIENER'S BAR AND GRILL
INDEPENDENCE, MO
I was walking around at a local festival when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was one of the guitarists of Fltoasa, a kid I've known since he was just 11. He told me his band was playing at a nearby place that night, so I promised to be there. I wasn't expecting much really, knowing the local music scene, but I was pleasantly surprised. Fltoasa proved to be pretty heavy, with a commercial flair, doing mostly originals and playing the few cover tunes very well. The mix was terrible and The singer was fighting tonsilitis, so the band was very disappointed with the show. But despite these setbacks, the singer did a good job and the band played very professionally. The background vocals are very good. The two guitarists are very talented, and my young friend plays very flashy, fast, and clean solos. I was proud. The covers of "Man in the Box" and "Enter Sandman" were surprisingly good. Look for a review of Fltoasa's upcoming release in a future issue.
Scarecrow, a band from Springfield, Missouri, played next. I would describe their style as containing Alice in Chains influences as well as more commercial and less commercial influences, but they really didn't sound like anyone. They had their own style. The vocalist was incredible. He sounded like a cross between Dale Thompson, Ronnie James Dio, and Sebastian Bach--closer to Sebastian Bach, though. These guys should be signed. They did a very haunting cover of the old Phil Collins/Genesis song, "I don't care anymore." It was every bit as haunting and emotional as the original and had the same intensity. I've never heard a better cover tune before, seriously. I'm not sure if any of these guys are Christians or not, but a couple of the songs made me wonder. "Victory" was one of them. The chorus pleads, as well as I could understand, "Let me fly, Lord, to victory." I'm not sure, but I could swear that word was Lord. The song also states "I tried to do what I believed was right." I bought their demo, so look for a review next issue.
By Owlman
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BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!!!!!! That blasted alarm clock again. Six in the morning and time to get ready for school. "I can't see why I can't skip school on my birthday," mumbled Tim, rolling off of his bed onto the floor. "What a rotten way to celebrate." His whole sixth grade class would embarrass him with treats and song. Tim detested that sort of thing. He would much rather dissect some weird animal or trap some second-grader in the boiler room. Those kind of things excited him, made him feel powerful. Just the thought of it made his mouth water. "Oh well," he thought, "maybe I can get that little kid from down the street to come over today--He probably scares real easy." Tim was absolutely exhilarated. He would think of something really cruel.
"TIMOTHY ALEXANDER PRESTON!! Have you been daydreaming again? It's almost eight and your bus will be here soon." Tim jumped, obviously startled, and hurried to jump into his clothes. No time to shower. No time to eat breakfast. No time to kiss Mom goodbye--that was the best part.
Tim reached the bus stop conveniently a bit late, but unfortunately the driver spotted him and stopped to let him on. He made his way to the back seat to join his friends. "Showtime," he whispered to himself, "Ain't I so innocent?"
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE. . . . .
School was a complete blur. Filled with plans and
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