As the All Stars Tour summons pits of hard-swinging HxC fans all around the nation with a roster of hardcore/metal bands, the Intersection will get a sample of the all-star action with support from some local rookies too.
Participating All Stars bands Emmure and Blessthefall will take stage at the Intersection Aug. 1, utilizing one of the few days off from the tour, which hits Chicago on July 28 and Detroit on July 29. Playing with them at the Intersection will be Bury the Silence and Mickey Lane from Muskegon and Grand Rapids' No Sleep for Panama.
"Ever since I was 15 and I saw a show there (the Intersection), that whole night changed my life. Ever since then it was my short-term goal to get a band together and play music that I like and open up for a band at the Intersection," said Cameron Driscoll, vocalist for No Sleep for Panama.
Having shared the stage with 30 other bands in its history of member switches, No Sleep for Panama is unsigned with six complete songs to boast so far and an open drummer position still needing attention. Yet, the band is proving that it already possesses the energy and excitement to share the stage with hardcore big shots.
"You should expect myself to throw and abuse my bass and often myself in the process," said Kelby Wieringa, bassist for NSFP.
Even pictures on the NSFP Facebook page of a battered fan grinning from a hospital bed after a NSFP set proves that the band can draw the type of crowd energy that would normally result from large events like the Vans Warped Tour, which Blessthefall performed at in 2007 and Emmure in 2010. Driscoll also mentioned that NSFP plans to garner attention by following Warped Tour in the coming years and playing at the unofficial outside tent, where people in line could observe NSFP for free before entering the venue gates.
Through all of the current progress and big ideas for the future, the band still keeps its collective head bowed as local rookies who are proud to sport their area's colors.
"We're not trying to make music that the industry wants to hear with the right look and sound ... I think there are a lot of local bands that forget about that, and try to do that for the attention."
