COURTESY OF MIKE WOO
Plumpus, above, and Buddhist Priest, right, kick off Mike's Metal Madhouse happening tonight at Studio 1.
Heavy metal
MadhouseI noticed that there weren't a lot of heavy metal rock 'n' roll parties. There's so many hip-hop parties nowadays that you really don't have a choice to see live bands," Mike Woo said when asked about the origins of Mike's Metal Madhouse, the rock 'n' roll costume party that debuts tonight at the Studio 1 Art Gallery.
The Madhouse, dreamed up by Woo and officially presented by The Buzz, will feature the live metal music of Buddhist Priest and Plumpus, as well as a costume contest. Tonight's appointed "Best-Dressed Rock God" will win a guitar and the "Sexiest Groupie" will take home a Mike Woo Hawaii surfboard.
Mike's Metal Madhouse
Where: Studio 1 Art Gallery, 1 N. King St.
When: 8 p.m. today
Admission: $10
Call: 255-3269
Woo hopes the contest will encourage metal fans to dress up in character and leave their cares and concerns at home for the evening. Think of it as Halloween in August and have a good time.
"The band members are my friends, so I'm enjoying promoting it and taking care of it," Woo said, adding that although he has some experience with smaller venues, he's taking a step up by presenting the Madhouse at the au courant Studio 1.
The bands will be there to have fun as well, he said, describing Buddhist Priest as guys who enjoy playing the classic metal tunes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard and, yes, Judas Priest. Plumpus consists of "guys I grew up with surfing."
"They got this band together and I used to go down and hang out with them at their practices. I thought it would be really cool to hook them up with a gig. It's (the music) I grew up with, and I'm really fond of, so it's kind of a blast for me to do (the party). It's almost like not working."
Call Woo an optimist, but if the Madhouse works out for him this weekend, he'll be one step closer to booking some of the classic metal bands that he'd like to see play Hawaii. (AC/DC, perhaps? Well, we can dream, can't we?)
In the meantime, Woo sees live metal as being so far underground in the local music scene that it can fairly be described as the "real alternative music" when compared against such high visibility genres as hip hop, urban R&B, Jawaiian and the endless permutations of dance club music.
"I really enjoy the music, and there's no rock 'n' roll bar. Everybody's R&B or hip-hop oriented, and everybody has a deejay night, so it's kind of refreshing for me (to do the Madhouse). I know there's a lot of die-hard metal fans out there."
Woo visualizes a potential market for other types of vintage live music, but cautions that the Madhouse is a labor of love. He's a surfboard shaper by profession who hopes to provide a public venue for both metal fans and bands, and maybe even help introduce classic metal to a new generation.
"A lot of the (young) crowd nowadays never knew (classic) metal music. Metal music to them is Creed, or, like, the kind of manufactured bands now, so I think some of the younger crowd would be kind of surprised at the sound and stuff. It's gonna be really cool. ... I love the music, I love partying with my friends and I think it should be something fun for everyone."
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