Tampa Calling

What: The First Ever Something Planet Birthday Extravagganza

When: Saturday, May 9 @ 7pm

Where: Gasoline Alley, 14042 66th St., Largo FL 33771

Who: Rise of Saturn, Badda Skat w/ Tribal Style and Geri X

Why: The podcasting comedy troupe is turning one-year old and celebrating with a concert, Rock Band 2 tournament, beer chugging contest and a celebrity-judged jump rope contest.

How much: $6 for 21+ | $9 for under 21 (All Ages Welcome)

For more info: http://www.somethingplanet.com/

What do you really know about Geri-X?

She is a singer/songwriter whose band is also named Geri X. They’re based in St. Petersburg. Why am I asking her nine questions? Well, primarily because I’ve had her CD playing in my car for a couple of months now and I think you should know more about her & it. This is a local group that doesn’t sound local, they sound beyond this place, and beyond all the places of their past. Their latest album is called “Anthems of a Mended Heart.”

I imagine that for Geri, this album is something of a destination. The exhalation of a breath held too long, the sigh of relief at the end of a storm. It seems like she has landed in a place both personally and musically where she has made some decisions and settled herself into a more peaceful bed.

I’m not saying it’s entirely angst-free, but those of you who search out singer/songwriter types to get your angst on will not be disappointed. I guess I could try to compare her to another artist that you’ve already heard of, but I won’t. First of all, I personally find that to be bad music manners. (Stop asking musicians who they sound like — stop today!)

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On Sunday, April 19, Skipper’s Smokehouse will host the 4th annual Alchemy Fest – an all-ages, family-friendly, outdoor event that’s like Easter, Earth Day and 4:20 all rolled into one.

This year, the concert will feature performances from Thomas Wynn and the Believers, Geri X, The Sheaks, Sons of Hippies and The Jim Morey Band.

There will also be face painting, tarot card reading by Natty Moss Bond, henna tattoos by Aleka Phoenix, arts and crafts activities for the kids and “many more surprises.”

The event starts at 2 p.m. and goes until 6 p.m. Admission is $10. Children 10 and under get in free. Skipper’s Smokehouse is also a restaurant that serves some of the best Florida/Cajun staples around such as hush puppies, crawfish and gator tail bites.

What: Alchemy Fest 4
When: Sunday, April 19
Where: Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Rd. Tampa
More: 2 – 6 p.m. | $10 | All Ages | 10 and under free

WIN TICKETS: Send MIXTAPE to 50618 for your chance to win a pair of tickets to Alchemy Fest 4.
Congratulations to our winners!

TWO VIDEOS AFTER THE JUMP …

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SMAsh Radio, your favorite local-music-Web-radio-show, turns 3 YEARS OLD! with Episode 29. Joran and Stephen talk about the scene, play some music and even take your phone calls! This month features tracks from Geri X, Roppongi’s Ace, Sons of Hippies, Palantine, Daylight District and Ryan Wendell Bauer. Stay Up, Tampa Bay!

Next month: Shunda K (Yo Majesty), Acho Brother, Will Quinlan and more.

Subscribe here or via iTunes.
Play here.

It looked like a real rock concert.

Geri X held a CD release party for her new Anthems of a Mended Heart (24 Hour Service Station) last night at the State Theatre and people showed up. A decent amount of them (depending on your point of view). She and three other acts — Will Quinlan and the Diviners, The Beauvilles and Have Gun, Will Travel — put on tight, committed sets that provided an evening of strong entertainment. But the night’s real issue was not how the bands would perform, but how well the show would draw with a major local media blitz supporting it.

Two hundred and twenty-five paid ($8). Another 50-75 in comps. Total: An attendance hovering close to 300. That’s according to CL marketing director Joran Oppelt, a tireless booster of the local scene. He wasn’t devastated, but he wasn’t thrilled either. “It just seems impossible to get into the 300s and above,” he said this morning. “With all the media, I had expected more of a turnout.”

Still, he conceded, it “felt like a rock show.”

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She appeared on the Bay area scene about four years ago, an exotically pretty, shy girl with an acoustic guitar and a mysterious name:

Geri X.

She had a nebulous backstory: A Bulgarian immigrant, it was said, with some kind of trauma in her childhood. Even her age was up for debate; rumors spread that she could be as young as 15 or as old as 30 (a very young-looking 30). She wouldn’t tell. Nor would she reveal much about her past. It was as if a talented kid had been dropped into the scene by a spaceship. She played countless local gigs and was amiable enough, but remained somehow remote.

And then she was gone, or mostly gone — relocated to Wisconsin with her new boyfriend and bassist/guitarist, Greg Roteik. She returned sporadically for gigs.

Now she’s back.

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St. Pete-based singer/songwriter Geri X will release her first album on a label next week. It’s called Anthems of a Mended Heart (24 Hour Service Station), and it’s definitely worth your while. She’ll be on the cover of next week’s CL. She really opened up about her life and her past, which has long been open to speculation and rumor.

I sat with Geri X and her bassist/boyfriend Greg Roteik in the small courtyard of their home. Our interview ranged over a wide array of topics. I got on my usual rant about how the Tampa Bay music scene, while it has a lot of terrific acts, can never seem to reach out past the people who are already connected to the scene.

It’s not the musicians’ fault, in my opinion. The rank-and-file folk who live around here just aren’t dialed in to going out and seeing live music by locally based acts. The people who live three doors down from me, for instance, (whom I barely know) — I’m all but certain they’re not planning to see what’s shaking at New World this weekend.

This is a dinner-and-a-movie town, or a drop-a-hundred-on-The-Eagles town.

Geri X largely agreed with me in this matter, but she has her own way of reaching out beyond the scene. You might even say it’s novel:

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In Commonwealth countries, the day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day or St. Stephen’s Day, when everyone commonly gathered together and celebrated in various ways. (When I lived in Dublin, Ireland, I got to see Mummers perform on the post-holiday holiday.)  Sadly, in Tampa, we don’t have Mummers but thanks to THX MGMT, we were treated to a great night of local music featuring Geri X, Rec Center, Sons of Hippies, and The Actomatics. Read the rest of this entry »

Singer/songwriter extraordinaire Geri X is freezing her ass off in Wisconsin and has decided to return to Tampa Bay— permanently.

Which makes us very happy.

“So, we are coming home for good in December,” she says via email. ” 24HR Service Station records signed us and we are doing some work with John Wesley at Red Room Recorders working on the next CD. We’ll be releasing it Jan. 16 at State Theater.”

Have Gun, Will Travel, The Beauvilles and Vega Star, of Wisconsin, are also scheduled to be on the Jan. 16 roster.

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