D.O.R.K. ROCKS SO CALI

October 28, 2006 by PT Rothschild.

D.O.R.K. HEADLINES MUSIC FEST SEMI-FINALS
 

It’s two-fifteen in the morning and I’ve just left Hooters and come home. There are some that said when Temecula, CA got its Barnes & Noble, that’s what put T-town on the map. Others would say it’s Hooters. I’d been there with the band D.O.R.K. for the after party from tonight’s FVE show. At our table there are two children, several couples, another band that played some WARPED TOUR dates this summer with the boys, but I didn’t catch their names, and three hotties; a redhead and two brunettes. There are multiple conversations going on and it seems as if we are the only people in the place, though we’re not, of course. As I sit and watch all the people at the group of tables formed into a ‘T’ to accommodate us all, my mind drifts back to the first of two shows I’ve seen by D.O.R.K. this week.
The first show was a Wednesday night show at the ROXY, a Sunset Strip nightclub since 1973. The ROXY and THE WHISKEY are the elder members of the Hollywood night scene and are located within two blocks of each other. This night there are several ‘industry’ people (FUSE, a band manager, and someone from Universal) in attendance. The room layout of the ROXY is better than THE WHISKEY but the latter has better sound and friendlier service. Besides D.O.R.K. who plays next to last and has the biggest crowd, T-town locals 15 NORTH, VICTIM OF SOCIETY, and VALIANT, all Full Value Entertainment ‘bands’, the ROXY has booked CONNOTATION and THE DIRTY BANDITS. The show is good but uneventful except for the ‘WOW’ look in the eyes of the kids of 15 NORTH and some ‘smoking in the boy’s room.’ Some things never change, it’s still not allowed in school. Imagine that?!
As I dip the hot hOOters chicken strips into my honey mustard, pieces of my melted face drip to the table because I have just witnessed the greatest performance of D.O.R.K. ever, my ever anyway. Performing after all the various degrees of stage musician worthiness was exhibited by the bands vying for a spot at the upcoming FVE MusicFest later in the year, the boys gave a college level class in how to rock, er, melt an audience’s face off. They didn’t just kick ass, they crushed it. Everyone in the place that had a camera was snap. As the hair was being blown back from the face of Keirah (newly promoted photographer - IVAN PROMOTIONS) by the full frontal blistering wall of sound from all three guitars (Schuyler ‘Skyler’, singer Bryan, and producer Brian) as they intertwined together (old schooler reference here, think .38 Special in their best days done pop punk) she leaned over to me and said, “are these guys signed? No? I can’t believe it.”
After some earlier sound difficulties, the bugs had been worked out and the quality was there to be able to pick out all the guitar parts as they screamed in harmony on song after song. Producer Brian, the newest member to the band, seemed the most comfortable on stage and smiled more than I have ever seen him do. Donovan kept the guitars anchored as usual and Jimmy ‘Stx’ kept them in time, playing the drums like he had four arms. Perhaps it was the eyeliner. It is always fun to see a crowd who has had their face rocked, but even more fun to be one of that crowd.
More than the show, however, more than the ‘offensive’ T-shirts, of which they have a fresh batch, and even greater than finding out that they sold 3500 CDs just on the WARPED TOUR alone this summer and obtaining a copy to review, for me it was a chance to see the band that ‘launched’ my writing career at the Review and that has since become an ‘episode’ in my life I always look forward to seeing. I LOVE THESE GUYS!!

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