Some of Tucson’s favorite local rock bands, Hell Doubt and Friends in Hell, will be opening up for punk rock bands Echoes and Brace Yourself on Saturday, March 26.
The all ages event will be at 191 Toole with doors opening at 6 p.m. and show starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are running at $15 each and can be purchased online.
Pop punk band Hell Doubt began around late 2020 and includes Jackie Alex as vocals, Kevin Widlak as lead guitar, Sparky Guerrero as bass and James Ringstrom as drums.
Every band has their own flare that makes their music special.
“There’s something for everybody. It gets kinda heavy at times, and there’s other stuff that’s more light and energetic,” Ringstrom said.
These musicians are talented on their own but when they are together, it’s even better.
“I can make music on my own as well as all of them individually, but the music we make together, it’s a godsend,” Guerrero said.
The group already has an album released titled Big Dreams For a Desert Kid and are currently working in the studio on new songs and videos.
The metalcore, hip-hop band, Friends in Hell, started their journey around 2019. They had their first live show in October 2020 at The Rock and played the Blue Ridge Rock Fest in 2021. Recently, they released their newest EP titled Nothing’s Promised.
The group consists of Noah Dwaileebe as screaming vocals, Cody Arbizo as rhythmic guitar and backing vocals, Toni Holguin as leading guitar, PJ Lester as bass and Berkie Allen as drums.
The band collaboratively writes their music and their lyrics dive into some controversial topics. For example, their songs “Amber” and “Life Destroyer” touch on sex trafficking. “Waste of Life” is about racism. “Note on the Door” dives into suicide and mental health.
“All of our songs just have a lot of meaning, especially to people our age these days. The big views that everybody has and the mental health that everybody goes through, stuff like that,” Arbizo said.
The band strives to accomplish more with their music than just fame.
“We’re all connected to most of this stuff, some of us have struggled with mental health issues, some of us have depression,” Dwaileebe said.
Politics is not a subject covered in music a lot, but Friends in Hell cover it heavily.
“A lot of the other stuff, like the politic-type stuff, we just want to bring awareness to it. We believe strongly, we believe that racism is wrong and we want to let people know they’re a ‘Waste of Life’ for being racist. We put everything we believe into our music,” Arbizo said.
New material is in the works, including a new single featuring a female screamer, vocalist and their full length album.
Punk rock band Echoes have been together since 2015. In 2016, they won a Battle of the Bands for the So What?! Festival in Dallas, Texas. They have played with many well known artists including Of Mice and Men, Sleeping With Sirens, and more recently Black Veil Brides with Brace Yourself.
The band consists of Danny Perazzone as leading vocals, Zach Chavez and Corwin Chavez as guitars and Cory Real as drums. Zach Chavez is a junior at the University of Arizona Eller College of Management for business marketing.
Of all their accomplishments, their biggest has been having Kellin Quinn, lead singer of Sleeping With Sirens, on their song Mercy.
Echoes is a band that can easily appeal to college students or those in the same age range.
“Navigating life in your 20s is a little different, and just because we reflect our stories I think a lot of people can see themselves in them,” Perazzone said.
Their live performances are also something that college students or those in the same age range would enjoy.
“For our live shows, I feel like we put on a pretty damn good live show. Like our show at the Rialto (opening up for Black Veil Brides in November 2021), with the beach balls and the energy and the jumping. I feel like a lot of college kids are like ‘it’s college, but it’s kinda one big party,’” Real said.
Pop punk band Brace Yourself began early 2020, just before the pandemic broke out. Their first show was at The Edge and they were the headliner. Since then, they have been direct support at the Black Veil Brides show in November 2020 and this show will be their fourth headlining show.
When the group noticed that Black Veil Brides was going on tour, they began posting videos on TikTok videos of them playing BVB songs everyday. It was after day 11 that the manager of BVB noticed them and they were invited by Jake Pitts, BVB lead guitarist, to play at the show.
This group consists of Xander Mason as vocals, Jamison Scott as leading guitar, Aidan Robertson as rhythmic guitar, AJ Farrell as bass and Erik Stupka as drums. Mason graduated from the UA in Dec. 2020 with a BFA in musical theater and Farrell is currently a junior studying for his BA in history and masters in law.
In comparison to the other performing groups, Brace Yourself has a very upbeat feel to their music.
“College students would particularly like our music because it’s very energetic, it’s a youthful sound,” Mason said.
Currently, pop punk music is making an extreme comeback.
“It’s a genre that’s making a comeback right now, and it’s trending. So I think it’s a perfect time for us to be making this kind of music,” Robertson said.
Follow Amanda Mourelatos on Twitter
