By Brent Michael, Rock At Night Tampa Correspondent
Venue: Nathan Benderson Park, Sarasota, Florida–February 28th, 2020
So a friend called me up and said, “Got any plans for Friday night?” Turns out I didn’t, and had even taken the day off because I was getting dental work done – timing was perfect! So I agreed to drift on down to Sarasota with her and her girlfriend who lives there to stop into the De Soto Food & Music Festival to see Slaughter, a band who I knew of but had never seen live. Slaughter currently has 2 original members: Mark Slaughter – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, piano, tambourine, Dana Strum – bass guitar, backing vocals, Blas Elias– drums, percussion (who played with them in 1988-2003, then returned in 2019), and Jeff “Blando” Bland – lead guitar, backing vocals, who joined in 1998.
We arrived in time to hear the opening act, Maiden Cane, do several cover songs and a surprisingly effective mash-up of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” A band worth checking out!
Then Slaughter took the stage, and performed their hits, “Fly to the Angels,” “Up All Night,” and more but surprisingly did several covers of bands ranging from Led Zeppelin to Whitesnake – of course, putting their own spin on them! A great way to start the weekend!
Photo Gallery
When not in custody, I've been involved with music, photography, and writing my entire life. Ever since I was a young boy and played those silver tunes, I've had the beat, but being a drummer didn't suit me so I became a lead singer, which lasted a few years. Settling down, sort of, I translated my knowledge of audio and glib tongue into mobile emcee work, and my training as a photographer and videographer into a living in the wedding, party, bar/bat mitzvah, and entertainment industry. During this time I also managed to bamboozle my way into a master's degree in writing, worked for a couple of magazines (yes, I took photos for a nudist magazine!), have photographed hotels, done commercial work (shot the cover of Tablet and Capsule magazine), published a few articles, hosted some public access shows (a couple times in drag, but that's another story), and generally made a nuisance of myself until I landed here.
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