On Saturday, The Ritz in Warren will be the site of Hard Edge Radio's 1 Year Anniversary Bash.
The "Hard Edge" radio show, which is broadcast every Thursday night from 8-10 pm on tapdetroit.com, caters to the hard rock and metal crowds.
The show was put together a year ago in the hopes of featuring both local and national bands.
Over the last year, Harold "Howie" Herula and his co-host Leyna have kept the people of Metro Detroit and beyond up to date on all local happenings, the greatest bands on the local and national scene and all of the area's biggest events.
Saturday's anniversary bash is a celebration of all of the hard work that has gone into the show over the last year and the success that the show has seen.
Herula says that he tried to get a nice mix of bands together to play the bash, "I kind of did a mix of bands that I thought had a good 2012 and/or bands that I really think are going to do something good this year."
He went on to talk about the bash's fantastic lineup, "You got Wulfhook. I just love those guys. They're pretty much like eighties/nineties Bay Area thrash but they were doing it in 2012 in Detroit. Then there's Dead In 5, which is Dana Forrester's new band. I actually haven't seen them yet but obviously Dana's never been a part of anything sucky. They're supposed to be that really cool stoner kind of outlaw rock and metal so I'm kind of looking forward to seeing that. Crackjaw; what can you say man? [laughs] They're basically Wilson Jr. They've got Ian (Thomas), the crazy singer, and those guys are just nuts as far as their stage energy. I'm really, really a big fan of Crackjaw and they're nice guys too. Ignoring the Echoes. Honestly, those guys really impressed me. I have never even heard of them and then Dave Holowchak from Ghosts of August was like hey man we're playing some hard rock tonight and I know you've got your show on Thursdays but why don't you come down after the show so I did and I ended up catching Ignoring the Echoes and they were really good. I don't know if I would consider them old rock and roll or just straight up hard rock but they are just a good harder edge rock and roll band. I really like those guys. 3 Phase is also playing. I've gotten to know Burl (Begley) a little bit and for a three-piece band they're really good rock and roll. Through Our Eyes are obviously a metal band but they really wanted to be a part of this so I told them with them opening the show why don't you guys try an acoustic set? I know Annette (Bilek) and Mark (Bilek) have done some acoustic stuff and they were like, yeah we just want to be a part of it."
Herula says that people who come out to the show should expect a nice mix of Detroit's best live music.
The Hard Edge radio show's next sponsored event is coming up on April 28 at New York New York featuring Eye Empire in their first ever headlining date in Detroit.
"It's a killer, killer local lineup on that one too. We're really excited," said Herula.
He says that the Hard Edge Radio show came about after lots of thinking on his part, "A lot of people don't realize that Olin (Ezra, creator of tapdetroit.com) had been asking me for probably five months prior to when I actually agreed to do it. It was hard. I didn't want to just jump in, I wanted to do it right and I didn't want to just do it myself so I wanted to make sure I had the right co-host. You know chemistry-wise and someone who would also believe in it as much as me. Finally after seven or eight months I was thinking about it and Olin was riding me asking when are you gonna do a show, when are you going to do a show? We finally went ahead and did it. The thing was before the first show even aired we actually already had a syndication that wanted to rebroadcast the show! That kind of gave me a little boost right off the start."
Achieving more syndication is something that the show will be trying to do moving forward and Herula says that he's already been contacting various AM stations and other Internet companies and that there is already one new syndication that will be picking up the show soon.
As for highlights of the Hard Edge Radio show this year Herula shared, "Just being able to do something that I really saw was lacking. I mean I've got tons of friends at the WRIF and 89X and I'm not dogging them but I just thought that something was missing. Just getting a chance to do something that should still be a part of the whole scene. I've gotten to talk to some of my favorite bands. I mean talking to Michael Poulsen from Volbeat was huge. That was right when they just blew up and were playing the bigger arenas and he actually agreed to do the interview so that was huge. Killswitch Engage and Overkill were cool. Getting to talk to my buddy Hank Williams III, who actually played my wedding was great. I hadn't talked to him in a long time so to not only catch up but do it for the show was huge too."
Herula says he is looking forward to what the next year will bring for the show, "Now that I know it works and that people care. Now that I know that it was something that was missing and that the fans and the bands really do appreciate it then I'm gung ho and want to keep showcasing our local talent and I want to keep showing some national acts and getting them the radio play that they deserve."
Tickets for the Hard Edge Radio Show 1 Year Anniversary Bash are $5 for those 21 and up and $8 for those ages 18-20.
Doors for the show open at 7:30 pm and the evening will feature guest host Dave Holowchak.
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