C AVERAGE, BIG BUSINESS PLAYS THE WHIP WITH JOE PRESTON, DAY PASSES.

C-Average

Jeez la-wheez, Total Fest is finally here! It starts tonight, Thursday at the Zootown Arts Community Center on North 1st St. in Missoula. That happens to be right next to the Kettlehouse's excellent N. Side tap room, so if you get there before 8:00 PM, have a beer! So, today: we've got two pretty "mega" announcements we need to make: the first is that legendary south Puget Sound metal blasters C Average are playing Total Fest. Like the Champs were, C Average are a band of serious chops, hugely driving melodies and parts that K.K. and Glen and Tony could've/might've written, had they grown up in the land of tall cedars. And, it's got all of the excellent D and D and Tolkien references you'd expect.

We emailed them out of the blue, and it took a while for the emails to get to the right address, but lo and behold, we got results! And how. If you haven't experienced what C Average does, take a minute and spin the youtube link down below. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. C Average started as an instrumental two-piece, and have recently added a bassist, and are transitioning into having a singer. So, expect so standard C Average, and some new material.

Second up, we learned recently that Big Business will grab Joe Preston from the Thrones, and they'll be playing the the two songs from the Whip 7" that Wantage released. The Whip existed for about a year in the early 2000s, and were the first non-Karp project that Jared Warren and Scott Jernigan did

The Whip

after a few years apart with Warren in the Tight Bros from Way Back When. Joe Preston rounded out what has to be one of the essential and classic power trio lineups of all times. I got to see them once, and it was just barely enough. The band ended because of Jernigan's death in a boating accident in 2003, and his loss both from the drum stool and as a person is a hole in the lives of lots of us to this day. So when Jared from Big Business told us they were going to grab Joe and play a couple of Whip songs, it was a pretty emotional deal, and one we think makes a lot of sense as a tribute to Scott's life and the amazing music and memories he left behind.

Finally, we will be selling full-festival passes and single entries at the main entry door of Total Fest each night. We'll also have a card reader at the door. See you there! Please give business to our sponsors, if you can. They help us immeasurably.