Gather 'round the Band Camp

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Senses Fail will play both on the Band Camp triple bill (which is restricted to patrons 21 and older) and at an all-ages solo show. Rudy Archuleta Band Camp 2005 With Pepper, Senses Fail, the Mad Caddies, Go Jimmy Go 8 p.m. Wednesday (doors open at 7 p.m.) Kapono's $30 general, $25 advance 21 and older only (877) 750-4400 Senses Fail all-ages show 5 p.m. Wednesday (doors open at 4 p.m.) Kapono's $15 at door, $12 advance (available at Local Motion surf shops)

Eight bands fought each other's sonics just yards from one another at Band Camp I at the now-shuttered Beach House in 2003. A dozen acts squeezed into the same Pier 7 venue for Band Camp II last year.

This year it'll just be Senses Fail, The Mad Caddies, Go Jimmy Go and third-time Band Camp-ers Pepper on Kapono's big harbor-front stage.

Count on the lower band count offering each a lot more space to work up crowds as well as the chance to just breathe a bit easier musically. And the rest of us? Try less unnecessary sensory overload for one evening and more room to ... well, just breathe, for starters.

Ages 20 and younger are still banned from Band Camp. But Senses Fail will do an all-ages late-afternoon gig at Kapono's before the main show for its younger fans.

Here's a brief look at the bands working it live this third time, at Band Camp.

Pepper

San Diego is really just a current state of mind for Pepper. The band's real home has always been Hawai'i — more specifically, Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island.

The defiantly genre-hopping trio of drummer Yesod Williams, bassist/vocalist Bret Bollinger and guitarist/vocalist Kaleo Wassman hasn't put out a new CD since March 2004's reggae/rock/punk-infused "In with the Old." But San Diego-based Pepper has kept busy in the months since its most recent live Honolulu show, on New Year's Eve at the Blaisdell Arena, with continued nationwide touring and the release of its first live DVD. Filmed over two nights at Los Angeles' famed Troubador night club last September, the road-trippin' "Pepper Live" DVD was released in March. (See review, left.)

Senses Fail

Think emo, but louder and with more screaming. The lyrics purveyed by this New Jersey-spawned punk-pop quintet — while not entirely original for either emo or punk-pop — at least seem naturally honest.

Often brutally so. No one titles songs "The Irony of Dying on Your Birthday" and "Bite To Break Skin" just for hits and giggles. Not unless one is named Morrissey, anyway.

Musically, Senses Fail wouldn't be out of place opening for either Simple Plan or Jimmy Eat World. For the moment, at least, not a bad predicament to be in. Senses Fail's debut CD, "Let it Enfold You," peaked at No. 34 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart in September.

The Mad Caddies

Days before the Caddies' most recent Honolulu appearance, at December's "Punk on a Rock" show at the Pipeline Cafe, vocalist Chuck Robertson described the sextet as "an eclectic rock band with reggae, ska, Dixieland jazz and punk-rock influences." Modesty, we're guessing, kept him from including swing, rockabilly, country, surf guitar and the occasional sea shanty.

Bottom line, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Caddies are a veteran indie punk band rarely failing to offer up an energetic set loaded with diverse, danceable tunes.

Go Jimmy Go

It's true! Go Jimmy Go's long-promised third CD "The Girl with the Fishbowl Eyes" now has a firm release date of June 28. Still Honolulu-based but mad-Mainland-tourin', the ska/rock-steady/reggae/soul band will launch the disc with a CD release party at Pipeline Cafe June 23.

But first, there's Band Camp III. Expect many tracks from the Jimmy's new CD and all-but-required old favorites like "Soul Arrival," "Takin' it Off" and "Bang the Skillet."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.