November 30, 2009
Monday PM

Ketchikan, Alaska - Bras were flying, long-haired guitarists were shredding, and corpse-paint was everywhere to be seen at Halloween 2009's BreastFest -- a youth organized heavy metal show. Six youth bands united to raise over $400 for the First City Council on Cancer. Funding will be used to assist local residents undergoing breast cancer treatment. The bands performed at the stARTled Salmon -- a Ketchikan-based recording studio / record label / community arts space.

Pariah, Buck Up Little Kamper, Damaged Justice, Pink Cloud Project, Demophat, and Peter Jacob were all in top form, delivering everything from Slayer covers to original songs dealing with challenging issues such as child abuse and smoking cessation. The teen-dominated audience ate it up, and also ate up the delicious BRA-ts (bratwurst) offered for sale. Brandon Hoyt, drummer for Buck Up Little Kamper, summed the event up, saying: "This was the best time we've ever had at a concert. Ever."

Pariah's Christian Jorgensen worked with friends, and the stARTled Salmon, to conceptualize, organize, and promote the event, taking a simple grassroots approach. The majority of funds raised came from youth attending the event.

The stARTled Salmon's business manager, Jason Custer, commented: "There's a misconception that events like this are prohibitively difficult or expensive to organize. These guys took the DIY [Do It Yourself] ethic to heart, and pulled off a show that totally rocked, proving that it's easy to run safe, unique events. The bands did all the work -- we simply let them use our space."

Custer encourages other youth in the community to take the grassroots approach to organizing events. "It's really easy to bypass all of the systems and drama, and put on a show the way you see fit. You don't need lots of grant funding or adult involvement -- you just need to find bands, borrow a space, and make and distribute fliers."

The stARTled Salmon maintains a list of upcoming DIY-style community events.

On the Web:

The stARTled salmon, Ketchikan Arts Hatchery
www.startledsalmon.com

Source of News & Photograph:

The stARTled salmon, Ketchikan Arts Hatchery
www.startledsalmon.com

 

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Ketchikan, Alaska