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Damn college English class is making me do high school type assignments. We were to pick a personal experience that has great significance and write an autobiographical essay about it. I chose playing the Alrosa Villa. Enjoy.
How many people have played at a venue one of their favorite musicians have? My band did just that about two and a half years ago. It was a great thrill to play the same stage as one of my favorite musicians had played in the past. What is more is that this was the last venue that particular musician was to ever play.
The venue in question was the Alrosa Villa in Columbus Ohio. This was the last venue the late Darrel Abbott ever performed at. As a musician myself, it was a great honor to play on this stage even if the reasons behind the importance of this place were not the merriest. I have played my instrument, the guitar, for nearly thirteen years now. A lot of my inspiration to play and the thought process on writing was inspired by Mr. Abbott. I cannot stress enough how excited I was to make this trip to play this venue. It could be compared to a diehard Elvis Presley fan making a trip to Graceland, not only to see the place, but to play music there as well.
On the night of December eighth, two-thousand and four, Darrell “Dimebag Darrell” Abbott was gunned down on stage, as well as six others, by a man named Nathan Gale, who lost his life that night as well. This happened during Mr. Abbott’s bands’ performance at The Alrosa Villa. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the event aired on the news. It was around four in the morning and I was hanging out with one of my best friends at his house at the time. It was sickening to hear about such a senseless act of violence to end in such tragedy. Dimebag Darrel was a member of a band called Damageplan at the time, but had been in previous bands throughout the nineties. He was one of the most influential guitarists to me and I was absolutely shocked to hear someone could do something like this.
I and three other people here locally, play in a band called The Bionic Monks. We have been together since two-thousand and seven. We write and play in the genres of rock, heavy metal and punk. We have played nearly a hundred shows since the bands inception, and our first show came a little over a month from then. Our band has played in five states, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Missouri. The only Ohio gig we have had is the one of which this story is about, and it came about in a rather unexpected manner.
We had put together an electronic press kit, or E.P.K., on a website called Sonic Bidz sometime in early two-thousand and eight. We had gotten a few shows from it in a manner of a few months, but we had no idea what offers were to come from it. In late two-thousand and eight, we got a request from a booking company, whose name escapes me now, wanting to know if we would be interested in a battle of the bands in Columbus Ohio. As usual, we were definitely interested and replied to them asking for more details. The next correspondence with the booking company threw me for a loop. They wanted to know if we would be interested in playing the show at The Alrosa Villa in Columbus Ohio as the venue for the battle of the bands.
While we wanted the gig, we realized that it would be a three hour trip and would incur all sorts of expenses the least of which was gas. So, we informed them of the situation and asked if there would be any kind of compensation for the trip. They replied that they had read that we were from Columbus, but did not read what state. They did not realize that we were from Columbus Indiana and not Columbus Ohio. They stated that there would not be any compensation beyond winning the battle, but since the offer had been extended to us that we were more than welcome to play the show anyhow.
This kind of put a damper on the spirits of the rest of my band as it was looking to just be too expensive of a trip. They were unaware of the significance of the venue and were about to decide not to do the show. I talked with the bass player, Eric, about my knowledge of the venue and what it would mean to me if we played the show. After a couple days of thought on the subject, we let the booking company know that we would be there. I was totally stoked!
As stated before, the band experience is not all fun and games and the three hour trip to Columbus was no exception. Our band vehicle was an early nineties Chevrolet van that got somewhere in the neighborhood of ten miles per gallon and did not have cruise control. To make matters worse, the van was loaded down with nearly a thousand pounds of gear, and six passengers. Steering that van and keeping it at a constant highway speed under those conditions for three was not an easy task at all. Despite the difficulty, we prevailed, and nearly three and half hours later and couple of wrong turns, we arrived at the venue.
When we got there, we did the usual thing and went in to find out where to unload our equipment. While unloading our gear into the building, a man who I suspect was the owner, over heard me and my other guitarist talking about the uniqueness of the situation. He asked, “Did you know about this venue before the massacre?” I politely said yes and the other guitarist and I went about our task at hand. Sure, I had no idea that this place existed before the “massacre”, but I got the impression he had grown weary of his venue being infamous for that reason and I humored him. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
There were probably ten other bands that night that had been invited to take part in the battle. There was everything from Rap to Nu Metal on the bill. We decided that we preferred a later spot in the lineup and we went on about eight pm or so. We hung around and listened to the other acts that night that were before us. There were some pretty good acts there that night and while we did not really come to win the battle, we there was some stiff competition.
Earlier in the night, when the people in charge of the show had us backline our amps and drums on the stage, I chose to set my amp up to the left of the bass player. I usually choose to be to the right for reasons unknown, but this night I chose the left. I chose the left side that night because that was the side Dimebag Darrell always played on when playing a show with any of his bands, and chances were good that I would play the side of the stage he last played on. It may seem a little grotesque to want to play on the side of the stage a man was viciously murdered on, but my reasons were not of a morbid nature. To me, it felt like a great honor to play on that side of the stage in respect to the man that had a major influence on my playing style.
We played our set and we all thought we did pretty well. There were the usual mistakes that go along with playing live, no one is perfect. Despite that, we did pretty well. We finished our set and hung out to watch the last few bands perform and wait for the results of the battle. About an hour and a half later, the results were in. We placed third, which is not bad considering how many other bands there were that night and how the judges made their call. The judges made their ruling by crowd response, and though we were from way out of town and no one had heard of us, we got pretty good crowd response.
The trip home was just as long, difficult and boring as it was on the way there. However, it was particularly windy that night, which made things even more difficult. It was hard enough keeping that van moving with no wind, but now we were driving right into fifty to sixty mile per hour gusts. We were all over the road on the way home that night due to the wind and the honestly overloaded van. We made it home around three am that night. Man, were we glad to be there. It had been a long, long day.
As long and as hard as that trip was, it did not overshadow the main point of the trip for me. Despite the rough trip, I now had the memory, and closure to an extent, knowing that I had played the last stage one of my idols had played. Even if this band I am in never makes it beyond what we are now, I will always be able to say, “Look where we went.” We have done so many things that other people just do not get to do in their lifetime in the short time this band has been together and the memories will last a lifetime.
How many people have played at a venue one of their favorite musicians have? My band did just that about two and a half years ago. It was a great thrill to play the same stage as one of my favorite musicians had played in the past. What is more is that this was the last venue that particular musician was to ever play.
The venue in question was the Alrosa Villa in Columbus Ohio. This was the last venue the late Darrel Abbott ever performed at. As a musician myself, it was a great honor to play on this stage even if the reasons behind the importance of this place were not the merriest. I have played my instrument, the guitar, for nearly thirteen years now. A lot of my inspiration to play and the thought process on writing was inspired by Mr. Abbott. I cannot stress enough how excited I was to make this trip to play this venue. It could be compared to a diehard Elvis Presley fan making a trip to Graceland, not only to see the place, but to play music there as well.
On the night of December eighth, two-thousand and four, Darrell “Dimebag Darrell” Abbott was gunned down on stage, as well as six others, by a man named Nathan Gale, who lost his life that night as well. This happened during Mr. Abbott’s bands’ performance at The Alrosa Villa. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the event aired on the news. It was around four in the morning and I was hanging out with one of my best friends at his house at the time. It was sickening to hear about such a senseless act of violence to end in such tragedy. Dimebag Darrel was a member of a band called Damageplan at the time, but had been in previous bands throughout the nineties. He was one of the most influential guitarists to me and I was absolutely shocked to hear someone could do something like this.
I and three other people here locally, play in a band called The Bionic Monks. We have been together since two-thousand and seven. We write and play in the genres of rock, heavy metal and punk. We have played nearly a hundred shows since the bands inception, and our first show came a little over a month from then. Our band has played in five states, including Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Missouri. The only Ohio gig we have had is the one of which this story is about, and it came about in a rather unexpected manner.
We had put together an electronic press kit, or E.P.K., on a website called Sonic Bidz sometime in early two-thousand and eight. We had gotten a few shows from it in a manner of a few months, but we had no idea what offers were to come from it. In late two-thousand and eight, we got a request from a booking company, whose name escapes me now, wanting to know if we would be interested in a battle of the bands in Columbus Ohio. As usual, we were definitely interested and replied to them asking for more details. The next correspondence with the booking company threw me for a loop. They wanted to know if we would be interested in playing the show at The Alrosa Villa in Columbus Ohio as the venue for the battle of the bands.
While we wanted the gig, we realized that it would be a three hour trip and would incur all sorts of expenses the least of which was gas. So, we informed them of the situation and asked if there would be any kind of compensation for the trip. They replied that they had read that we were from Columbus, but did not read what state. They did not realize that we were from Columbus Indiana and not Columbus Ohio. They stated that there would not be any compensation beyond winning the battle, but since the offer had been extended to us that we were more than welcome to play the show anyhow.
This kind of put a damper on the spirits of the rest of my band as it was looking to just be too expensive of a trip. They were unaware of the significance of the venue and were about to decide not to do the show. I talked with the bass player, Eric, about my knowledge of the venue and what it would mean to me if we played the show. After a couple days of thought on the subject, we let the booking company know that we would be there. I was totally stoked!
As stated before, the band experience is not all fun and games and the three hour trip to Columbus was no exception. Our band vehicle was an early nineties Chevrolet van that got somewhere in the neighborhood of ten miles per gallon and did not have cruise control. To make matters worse, the van was loaded down with nearly a thousand pounds of gear, and six passengers. Steering that van and keeping it at a constant highway speed under those conditions for three was not an easy task at all. Despite the difficulty, we prevailed, and nearly three and half hours later and couple of wrong turns, we arrived at the venue.
When we got there, we did the usual thing and went in to find out where to unload our equipment. While unloading our gear into the building, a man who I suspect was the owner, over heard me and my other guitarist talking about the uniqueness of the situation. He asked, “Did you know about this venue before the massacre?” I politely said yes and the other guitarist and I went about our task at hand. Sure, I had no idea that this place existed before the “massacre”, but I got the impression he had grown weary of his venue being infamous for that reason and I humored him. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
There were probably ten other bands that night that had been invited to take part in the battle. There was everything from Rap to Nu Metal on the bill. We decided that we preferred a later spot in the lineup and we went on about eight pm or so. We hung around and listened to the other acts that night that were before us. There were some pretty good acts there that night and while we did not really come to win the battle, we there was some stiff competition.
Earlier in the night, when the people in charge of the show had us backline our amps and drums on the stage, I chose to set my amp up to the left of the bass player. I usually choose to be to the right for reasons unknown, but this night I chose the left. I chose the left side that night because that was the side Dimebag Darrell always played on when playing a show with any of his bands, and chances were good that I would play the side of the stage he last played on. It may seem a little grotesque to want to play on the side of the stage a man was viciously murdered on, but my reasons were not of a morbid nature. To me, it felt like a great honor to play on that side of the stage in respect to the man that had a major influence on my playing style.
We played our set and we all thought we did pretty well. There were the usual mistakes that go along with playing live, no one is perfect. Despite that, we did pretty well. We finished our set and hung out to watch the last few bands perform and wait for the results of the battle. About an hour and a half later, the results were in. We placed third, which is not bad considering how many other bands there were that night and how the judges made their call. The judges made their ruling by crowd response, and though we were from way out of town and no one had heard of us, we got pretty good crowd response.
The trip home was just as long, difficult and boring as it was on the way there. However, it was particularly windy that night, which made things even more difficult. It was hard enough keeping that van moving with no wind, but now we were driving right into fifty to sixty mile per hour gusts. We were all over the road on the way home that night due to the wind and the honestly overloaded van. We made it home around three am that night. Man, were we glad to be there. It had been a long, long day.
As long and as hard as that trip was, it did not overshadow the main point of the trip for me. Despite the rough trip, I now had the memory, and closure to an extent, knowing that I had played the last stage one of my idols had played. Even if this band I am in never makes it beyond what we are now, I will always be able to say, “Look where we went.” We have done so many things that other people just do not get to do in their lifetime in the short time this band has been together and the memories will last a lifetime.
I see this is the first mention of such. 
I guess if I had replied to the essay, I could now say "My invoice is in the mail, sir!"
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