Want to go?
WHAT: Gem City Blues Fest with the Eric Jerardi Band, Michael Locke & the Repeat Offenders, Higgins Madewell and the FHMCC House Band
WHERE: First Heavy Metal Church of Christ, 2655 Wagner Ford Road, Dayton
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, March 12. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
COST: $7
MORE INFO: www.heavymetalchurch.com
True to its name, the First Heavy Metal Church of Christ in Dayton provides an alternative space for people to worship and enjoy the majesty of loud electric guitars. The facility on Wagner Ford Road is also a spot for events like the first Gem City Blues Fest on Saturday, March 12. The Eric Jerardi Band, Michael Locke & the Repeat Offenders, Higgins Madewell and the FHMCC House Band will perform.
“The house band will be a four-piece with guitar, bass, drums and I’ll be singing,” music director Reece Lincoln said. “The assistant pastor will sing some with us too and he’s a phenomenal blues singer so that will be awesome. We’ll be sharing vocals here and there. We’ll be doing some of my original songs and some Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix and stuff like that.”
“We’re excited about the blues festival,” Lincoln continued. “It’s a secular event and it’s a great chance for some good live blues music from some of my favorite guitar players. These are all artists that inspired me as I was growing up and doing music. Up-and-coming musicians and people taking guitar lessons really should be here. We have so much talent that night that would be inspiring to an aspiring young musician.”
Lincoln, who organized the event, has been the music director at the First Heavy Metal Church of Christ for about a year.
“I became the music director when I moved back to Dayton and took a job at the airline here,” Lincoln said. “What’s interesting is the church started in a VFW and it was real small. Then it went to the bar, Jackass Flats. I actually played there with my band before I moved to Washington, D.C. three years ago.
“I started going there when I came back,” he continued. “It has been growing by leaps and bounds. Now, we have a school building and about 400 people.”
Lincoln says he was initially attracted to the Heavy Metal Church because it was in a bar, but it’s the congregation that kept him involved.
“I grew up playing in the bars since I was 12 years old,” Lincoln said. “I’ve always played churches, too, so it was cool to find a church with that environment with everyday people. There were a lot of bikers at the time but it has grown and now it’s just everybody.
“It’s a neat place with a lot of cool people who love blues, live music, motorcycles and all that stuff,” he added. “Service also starts at noon, which is cool.”
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