NUNET CLITANDRE
Special to The Leader
Wednesday nights are infamous in Fredonia for $3 mason jars, $6 dollar wells and, of course, BJ’s shows. On March 1 the bar showcased local Buffalo bands Del Paxton, Slow Cooker and Karrot Kake.
Slow Cooker was the first band on stage. In honor of Ash Wednesday, lead singer Ian McCrohan dressed as a reverend. He had a vial of holy water which he threw into the audience in the shape of a cross during one of their songs. He then proceeded to get on his knees and pray in proper religious fashion.
The next band to play was Del Paxton, who formed in the winter of 2013. The band was greeted with massive cheering from the audience before they even played their first note. Fans were yelling requests for the band to play their favorite songs.
(Corey Maher/Photo Editor)
“I think our first show was at BJ’s,” said band member Dylan England.
The band returned to Fredonia just days before their highly anticipated first full-length album “All Day, Every Day, All Night” which was released March 3 by Topshelf Records.
When asked how they would categorize their genre, drummer Greg McClure said “90s emo-influenced rock” to which guitarist England replied, “Just say Punk.”
The band then went on to have a lengthy discussion about the strange nature of genre categorization. If one were to sit in on the conversation between the band members, their sheer knowledge and incredible passion for music would be noticed.
During their third song, bassist Zack Schoedel asked for complete silence. He invited religiously dressed McCrohan from Slow Cooker to the stage where they began to recite the Lord’s Prayer in honor of Ash Wednesday. People in the audience who knew the prayer followed suit and joined the musicians in the reciting.
The third and final band of the night was Karrot Kake. Members of the band include Fredonia native and sophomore biology major Kale Mendez-deMello.
“We had no idea we were going to play last until literally six o’clock that day,” said Mendez-deMello. “[It felt] really damn good to play for such a good crowd. There were a lot of people who were screaming Karrot Kake who we didn’t even recognize.”
Mendez-deMello describes the band scene in Fredonia as too “cookie cutter”, regarding most bands who play as “too pop punk” and that “it’s about time someone got screamed at properly.”
“It’s really great to able to go out and see the local bands,” said freshman audio production major John Marciniak who is also in the band Johnny and the Man Kids. “I’ve been to all the shows at BJ’s since I’ve been here, it’s a really fun thing to do on a Wednesday night.”