Athens bands Hex Nex, Sweet Lil and Weird Science will join Dayton band Good English at the Smiling Skull Saloon on Friday for a benefit show.
After the Union Street fire, fundraising efforts were made to assist the employees of The Union Bar & Grill and bands who lost sound equipment. Now, efforts are being made to help sound engineers affected, whose roles are vital to any event.
Athens rock bands Hex Nex, Sweet Lil’ and Weird Science join the Dayton rock band Good English for a benefit show at the Smiling Skull Saloon, 108 W. Union St., on Friday. Admission is free, but $5 donations are encouraged.
The donations will be given to a GoFundMe campaign that focuses on the sound engineers who lost their equipment in the Union Street fire that occurred on Nov. 16. Since they were not technically employed by The Union Bar & Grill, the sound engineers were not eligible for the previous GoFundMe campaign for Union Street employees.
Slam Stansfield, the organizer of the event, said he decided to create a benefit show when he learned the sound engineers would not be covered by any previous benefit campaigns.
"It’s just great to see that people care,” Stansfield said. “People really came together and it shows that music can help support too.”
Although the audience might not even be aware of the presence of sound engineers, their behind-the-scenes work is often what determines whether a show goes smoothly or not.
“For a live rock venue, it’s crucial,” said Zach Fuller, lead vocalist and lead guitarist of Weird Science. “There needs to be someone who isn’t on stage and can overall assess the sound quality of the performance. It can make or break a show.”
With the loss of The Union, it was unclear what direction local music would take, but venues such as the Skull have answered the call.
“The DIY house show community is really strong right now, so touring bands still have places to play, and other bars are really helping out with at least making sure that the bands that were already booked and coming through (Athens) have a place to play,” Fuller said. “It sucks that there’s one less venue to go to, but hopefully that’s only temporary.”
Good English, a rock band from Dayton, are no strangers to the sense of community that comes with a strong local music scene.
“We would have stopped years and years ago if it hadn’t been for our music scene,” said Elizabeth Rasmussen, the guitarist and vocalist of the trio of sisters that comprise Good English. “Having that network of people who care about you and want to see you succeed is vital. It has the true passion that I think a lot of bands don’t get in a lot of places.”
Good English performed at The Union in September, just before the building’s destruction.
“I remember playing and seeing the looks on everyone’s faces and I don’t think that was due to us,” Rasmussen said, as she laughed. “I think they really felt like they were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to be doing.”
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