Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
METAL FOR TONY LORENZO
In early 2011 things were looking up for Glorious Times so I decided to try to organize a fest. I approached Kam Lee and asked him if he'd be up for performing Massacre's "From Beyond" album in its entirety as a one-off special event for death metal fans here in Buffalo. Kam was hesitant but agreed to it, so my next task was to find him a backing band. My thought was to use a local band so I turned to Seplophile, a band compromised of guys who had previously been in bands that had toured. Like Kam, Seplophile was up to the task. Very early on Greg DiPasquale (guitar) contacted me to let me know that their other guitarist (Matt Backlas) would be unable to do the show because of a wedding in his family, but Greg told me not to worry because their friend Tony (Lorenzo) would fill in.
Tony Lorenzo at A Day of Death
Months passed by and finally the day arrived. A Day of Death, July 16, 2011, the day for Kam Lee's performance. Each band of the fest played and each band played to perfection. As the time neared for Kam's set I grew a little worried on how the backing band would perform...would they live up to the day? I had seen them in rehearsals with Kam on July 13 and 14 so I knew they had the songs down perfectly, but wasn't sure how they would fare on a large stage.
Tony Lorenzo and Kam Lee at A Day of Death
The lights dim and the intro plays for several minutes, then the band takes their positions on the stage. Allen Malkiewicz (drums) hits a 4 count on the ride and the opening riffs to "Dawn of Eternity" start, the lights come up and almost immediately I knew I had selected the correct band to back Kam. Greg and Shawn (Gomez, bass) commanded their sections of the stage like seasoned pro's but I was even more impressed by Tony. Tony was banging his head and running all around the stage putting on a show for the ages, showing the younger bands in the crowd that just because you're playing death metal doesn't mean you have to stand like a statue. With people from all over as witness the band and more especially Tony made me proud, they made Buffalo proud.
Shawn, Allen, Greg, Kam and Tony after A Day of Death
Fresh from his performance at A Day of Death Tony had renewed interest in playing death/grind and looked to form a band. It wouldn't take Tony long to form Ritual Quarantine with Derrick Sadkowski, Britt Wagner, Jessika Marvin and Doug Luke. Soon the band had a Facebook page and 4 tracks up for our listening pleasure. The four tracks just made me want more and want to see them live, which they had not yet done. Finally, on Sept 24. Ritual Quarantine made their debut at the Funeral Home in Buffalo. They did not disappoint, it took them a mere 3 songs before I knew I had heard my new favorite Buffalo band.
Tony at Ritual Quarantine's debut gig
A month later disaster would strike. On Oct. 26 Tony was out walking with a friend when some coward came up behind them and shot Tony in the back. The bullet was lodged in his spine. For many of us older folk that are into death metal it was a story eerily similar to when we heard about 20 years earlier when Jeff Becerra (Possessed) was mugged and shot in the back. Word spread quickly throughout the Buffalo scene and then around the metal world about what had happened to Tony. Almost immediately I began planning a benefit concert.....a truly great benefit concert for the guitarist that brought back my feeling of pride in Buffalo bands.
Local bands immediately started contacting me and offering their help and services. I thought to make the benefit special and to draw the most people we would need a national head liner so I started asking around. Several potentially head liners were asked but each couldn't do it for various reasons so at that point I settled on just using local bands. On a whim I decided to take a stab at a long shot and sent a message to Alex Webster asking him if there is any way he would come up for a Beyond Death reunion - Tony is Frank from Beyond Death's nephew. Alex was completely open to the idea but only if the other 3 would also do it. So, next I asked Frank Lombardi (guitar/vox) and he was up for it as well. Next up was Darrin Pfeiffer (drums). It took Darrin about 1 min to respond to my message with "I'm 10,000% in". It was looking like a reunion could take place. All that remained was Jack Owen. I send Jack an email, not even knowing if the email address was still active so I wasn't sure if I'd even get any response. In short time I got a response from Jack and it was a go. On January 7, 2012 the original line up of Beyond Death would perform for the first time since Dec of 1988. Now, we had a head liner for the benefit.
Beyond Death 1988
(L-R): Jack Owen, Alex Webster, Darrin Pfeiffer and Frank Lombardi
Dennis John Glinski (Grave Descent) was set to perform with special guests a one-off performance by his old band Mayhemesis. Dennis John realised there was a brief window of opportunity for something special to happen and that it was for a great and noble cause so he set about calling another old friend to perhaps bring another old Buffalo band to life one last time. A few phone calls and emails were exchanged and then I got the message. "well, it's official.... TIRANT SIN!" Another of Buffalo's old school would be back to show Tony support. This time it wouldn't be a full fledged reunion, but still would be something quite special. Tirant Sin 2012 would be Dennis John Glinski, Rich Ziegler and Paul Mazurkiewicz from the classic 1987 line up joined by Rob Barrett (Dark Deception) and Jim Nickles (Leviathan, Malevolent Creation) on guitar.
Tirant Sin live 1987
Thus, Day 1 (Jan. 7, 2012) of the benefit for Tony was set - Beyond Death, Tirant Sin, Avulsion, Abdicate, Demented Dream States and Seplophile. A show for the ages, a likely last chance to see Tirant Sin and to see the original line up of Beyond Death. Day 2 (Jan. 8, 2012) of the benefit for Tony was also set with Long Island legends Suffocation headlining a show with guests Embalmer, Seplophile and Cain. Both events will be held at Club Infinity, 8166 Main St., Williamsville, NY. Raffles and auctions of donated items from bands/companies from around the world will also be held at both shows. Day 1 is $15, Day 2 is $15 (advance), $20 (day of show). Tickets can be purchased through Glorious Times (paypal to glorioustimesdeathbook@gmail.com), www.ticketweb.com, at the Club Infinity box office, Spiral Scratch Records in Buffalo and through any of the performing bands.
Donations to aid Tony can be made via paypal to helpingtony@gmail.com all monies will go directly to Tony and his family.
Donations to aid Tony can be made via paypal to helpingtony@gmail.com all monies will go directly to Tony and his family.
Don't miss out on this historic event and much more importantly come and show your support for a talent guitarist and our metal brother in his time of need.
Download the special radio public service announcement mp3 made by Brutal Existence Radio's Metal Mark (host of Audio Aggression/MMV) right here:
METAL FOR TONY LORENZO BENEFIT WEEKEND PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT MP3 - PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SPREAD
Download the special radio public service announcement mp3 made by Brutal Existence Radio's Metal Mark (host of Audio Aggression/MMV) right here:
METAL FOR TONY LORENZO BENEFIT WEEKEND PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT MP3 - PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SPREAD
