By Brent Michael, Rock At Night Tampa Correspondent
Venue: The Cuban Club, Ybor City/Tampa, Florida–August 3rd, 2024
Sponsors/Hosts: Voodoo Chef Foundation, Your Tampa Markets LLC,
Bands: No One Road, Overscan, Wicked
Bands on Facebook/Social: No One Road, Overscan, Wicked
So here I was, hopping into the world-famous Cuban Club, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, ready for a few hours of rock and roll, while the local news channels were squealing about the arrival of Debby! But we were Tampans, we laugh at hurricanes, so a Tropical Storm? Debbie might have done Dallas, but Debby didn’t scare us! I wandered inside, trying to get my bearings, and happened up Erik Youngs, the driving force behind the Voodoo Chef Foundation, being the Voodoo Chef himself! Erik Youngs has over 35 years of experience in the Foodservice/Hospitality Industry and 25 years working as a Culi
nary Educator in Hillsborough County Public Schools, the seventh largest school district in the nation. He has quietly been making an impact in the community through his development of the next generation of culinarians. Now I know my readers are all about the music, but this festival exists because one man combined a passion for flavor and a love for rock n roll. Centered around the “Five Food Groups: Butter, Bacon, Caffeine, Carbs, and Bourbon,” the VooDoo Chef believes that food serves as a great harmonizer – bringing everyone to the table. Years spent in industry kitchens and teaching in the classroom have allowed Erik to fine-tune his approach to food by making VooDoo-fied dishes accessible to the masses with his signature sauces & seasonings. His acolytes, known as #VooDies, were there because it was time to Party Like a Rock Star! And for Erik, he pulled at least double duty – but more on that later!
First up to add their own musical flavor were some familiar-to-me faces, members of No One Road! I’d had the pleasure of making their acquaintance just a few weeks earlier at the SadSunFest, No One Road, or N1R for short, has been blazing trails throughout Central Florida, popping up in Orlando and Bradenton as well as the home base in Tampa. Not to mention more new music!
As expected, petite dynamo Gina Pamplona was waking up the early crowd as lead singer/ rhythm guitarist, with ample assistance from bassist Mark Hernandez, lead guitarist Brady Little, and drummer Ryan Hildebrandt. This was like a family reunion for the band, as they made their debut at last year’s Voodoo Burger Bash! I think I can speak for all the attendees by saying, “Welcome back!” Make sure you give a listen to their latest (for now) single, “Happy for a Friend!”
Remember I mentioned that Erik Youngs was pulling (at least) double duty? Yep, that’s him, second from the left in the photo above, slinging a six-string instead of a spatula! Yes, now I know the big secret: Erik’s in a band called Overscan. Or is he? (Cue spooky mystery music!)
As far as I can tell, the band only exists to perform at the Voodoo Burger Bash, and perhaps other # Voodie-related functions. You may note there’s no link to their webpage or a Facebook page listed above, as far as I can tell, they don’t exist! They have no information that can be found using search engines; I found mention of two bands/musicians by that name, one from Australia (electronic synth music) aka OVERSCN, and one from England, a VJ duo (more synth music) Clearly, Tampa’s Overscan Band is neither of them. There’s no mention of them on any social media like Facebook or Instagram, no listing in several directories of Tampa cover bands for hire, nada, zip, zero, bupkis, a total information vacuum. I can only assume this is Erik’s dirty little secret, which is appropriate for a band that plays hits by Foreigner (“Dirty White Boys” indeed!), Kiss, John Cougar Mellencamp, and other ’80s rock favorites – and plays them quite well, I might add! I couldn’t tell you the other four band members, I do know their families, or at least some of them, were in attendance. They’re also in a mutual admiration society with Wicked, who first were fanboy during the set, followed up by a couple Wicked members joining them on stage! Sorry Erik, your secret is out! It’s time to let the Overscan Band take its place among the top rock cover bands in Tampa!
Okay, I’m going to get a bit personal here, with some ancient history – circa 1982. I was singing with a band, and when you saw our band, you knew we were a band, no matter where we went!
And that’s the first thing that impressed me about Wicked: They looked like a band! Not to rag on other bands, but 99% of the time when I go see a band today, especially one that’s been around awhile (these guys have been at it for eight years!) Cindy Steinhardt, wife of the late Robby Steinhardt, founding member of Kansas, said to me a few years ago when Robby was fronting a band, “I know it’s awful hot out, but Robby won’t wear shorts when he’s onstage, it’s a point of professionalism to him.” I agree, I know grunge came and went, but bands that really want to make it big need to understand that the look is part of the process! When I expressed that to bassist and band spokesperson Danny in a conversation prior to them taking the stage, he agreed. “We strive to be the total, authentic, American rock band. We dress the part, we live the part, we think of ourselves as the Last American rock Band. We all play our instruments and sing our parts live, we don’t use tracks or anything fake. We all live together, and obviously spend a lot of time together.”
Imagine hanging out with Motley Crüe or Poison during their prime! Onstage, the band is tight musically and choreographed with lots of rock band poses and motions, many of which are synchronized – two or three guys syncing their hair whips is a sight to behold! The entire band: singer/guitarist Chad Michael (no relation to me that I know of), guitarist Scotty V, and drummer Gunnar, held to an energy level that competed with Gina from No One Road! Although, as usual with drummers, Gunnar was stuck behind his drums, drummers express energy in other ways, and rumor has it that he regularly breaks drums and drum equipment! Offstage, the entire band was very accessible and personable throughout the day, with no signs of the ego that often infects successful bands. They were there to have fun and party, and the rest of us were just like family members, in a good way!
Wicked hails from Rochester, New York, and issued their full-length sophomore album, Sunburn (available on all digital music providers, CD, and vinyl via SBMG Global and The Orchard) on March 1, 2024. Thus far, several singles and videos have been issued, including “Gorgeous,” “Summer & Sun,” “Cali,” and “Lost in the Dark.” We were treated to those and more during their 90+ minute set, and then after the awards (for the burger makers, remember?) they invited whoever wanted to come onstage for an open jam and photo ops, which you can watch on the video! Apparently they’re really fond of Tampa, so we expect to see them back soon, but they just completed a North American Tour with Raven and Vicious Rumors, so they’ll be taking some time to unwind – unless, of course, some other opportunity arises! If I’m lucky, I’ll get to see them again, and you should make a point of getting lucky!
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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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