Metal View –
By Mike Vanek
2016 Mothers Day Special
May is rad month for me. I was born in May, my pool opens in May, we start bbq’ing in May. The weather starts getting good but most importantly to me, it means it’s Mother’s Day and this month is all about mom’s in our scene. I was born the day before Mother’s Day and it’s always been an important day for me and my mom.
In June 2004 I lost my mom in a fire and I would not be the music lover I am with out her and I’d like to spotlight some moms that make or have made our scene what it is today. Ask a musician who supported them the most while learning their craft and odds are they say “my mom”
My waaaaay better half, Nikki Thomas of Kat Country 103 fame is a great example of this. Even though her daughter lives in North Carolina she takes time every day to listen to Hayley to play guitar via FaceTime and when she is here, Hayley is the guest of honor to just about every musical talent she enjoys, especially KISS!! Their bond comes from being a musical family.
There is a group of ladies here in Modesto that is another great example, and I call them the nightmare moms! When the band Perfect Nightmare arrived on our scene, their moms were all in the front, braving drunks and mosh pits to see the kids play! Mari’s mom is always right up front at every show with her video camera. Stephanie’s mom, Francine can be seen with her family at every major rock show in the area (saw her at Volbeat last month) and former drummer Collin’s mom Amanda went on tour to Peru with his new band X Method! There are tons of examples of rad moms in our scene!! Andrea Rush is a proud mother of five and quite possibly the mother of our scene. Jennifer Allsup has always been a huge supporter of her son Eli’s many projects! Eemjay Bell does makeup for Nothing But Losers and her two daughters love local metal. Jenna of Brutal Innocence loves bringing her young son to metal shows as much as she can. Jamie Salazar is a proud mom of two and on the weekends she belts out brutal death metal with her husband Joe as the singer of Bavmorda. Sylvia Spinnakers works hard every weekend to support her son at Spinnaker’s and she gets him band shirts every show she can! Rocky at the Other Place is another mom that is becoming one of our scenes favorite bartenders! I can go on all day and probably write a book about it, but most of all I just want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in our music scene! Without you we couldn’t do what we do.
Happy Mother’s Day! MikeV
