Struck Root, Brutus rock the zone

Two Saturdays ago, in full force and clad in the universal colour of ‘the dark art of music’ black, mostly youths and a smattering of elders, who clearly live for rock, came out to hang and bang heads at a jamming party bringing the venue alive with pounding instruments.

The occasion was the first rock concert of the year to be hosted by locally based rockers called ‘Rock Zone Alive’.

One of the promoters said the event, which was held at the Thirst Park Sports Club, is the biggest rock concert in Guyana and is under consideration for expansion with the invitation of a Trinidadian rock band to play here at a date to be announced.

Fans of the genre that has fostered its own culture began streaming into the venue close to 10 pm in their numbers. The sound system doling out a strict diet of hard rock, shut down somewhere around 10 pm as sound men were hit with electrical technicalities. Things sprung back to life as Struck Root got on stage at 11.06 pm.

The band Struck Root, which has been around for the last three years and includes lead vocalist Ricardo Leacock, bass guitarist and promoter Paul Bonar aka DJ Stress, lead guitarist Andre Rahaman and drummer Sammy, did a number of popular rock songs. Ricardo said the band is aiming to produce an album later in the year.

Kudos must be given to the

band, which rocked for two hours

straight and could have probably kept going were it not for loud chants of “Brutus! Brutus!” by fans rocking at stage front.

Brutus the headlining veteran band took over some time around 1 am and launched into their renditions hitting their large following with metal. The band, which boasts the likes of vocalist Roger Deygoo, drummer Roger Gordon, bassist Rory Rambarran and guitarist Kurt Kerett has recorded two CDs, a demo album titled ‘Poisoned’ in July 2000 and ‘Tripping at the Side’ recorded live at the Sidewalk Caf