Come out to the Rec Room by Conshohocken Brewing Co. on Friday January 24 starting at 8:00 for the debut of FAKE, a tribute to CAKE, Big Empty, a tribute to Stone Temple Pilots, and Fave Grohl, a tribute to Dave Grohl.

3 bands on one bill for a great night of rock n’ roll! 

Hardcore/Metal Mayhem upstairs at Rec Room in Downtown Phoenixville!

Performances from In Jest, Germ USA and Punctured!

KOSER:

Kara Koser has been writing songs since she was nine years old and has always dreamt of following in the footsteps of strong female-led sensations: such as Paramore, No Doubt, Fleetwood Mac. Early on she identified challenges with mental health, including debilitating bouts of performance anxiety and substance use disorder. Even though this made pursuing music extremely difficult, Koser would still sing, write, and compete. In 2018, Koser openly found sobriety, which unironically led her to a 3-month-long singing contest; the most difficult of its kind and the first time she'd take the stage sober. A surprised, exhausted, and grateful Koser finished with first place. This ignited and supported inextinguishable fire to pursue a singing career long-term.

In 2020, Koser's plans to move fell through. The only spot in the city on such short notice was in Manayunk– which Koser wasn't initially thrilled about. However, her new abode happened to be down the street from The Grape Room, one of the town's most vibrant open jam clubs. Koser would go alone every Wednesday to work on her own improvisation skills. It was there that the soon-to-be 5 piece pop/rock/funk formation found each other. The musical chemistry was immediately apparent! They spent a short 2 months working, writing, and playing together and unanimously decided (well, besides Kara) to name the new crew after the lead singer. Month 3 of being together saw a win for a national contest to perform at a 15,000 person festival catering to women and queer folk. The band played cross-country for a week, which solidified that they not only had the potential to be a great band, but be amazing friends as well. 

KOSER is recommended if you like the soul of Amy Winehouse, the experimental pop of Lady Gaga, and the indie rockability of Metric. Whether you're in the mood for dancing with strangers or crying in the car alone, KOSER's got a tune for you. Mike Trischetta is the band's resident shredder, who toured with All That Remains right before lockdown began. Chet Williams, who mainly plays saxophone, can easily pick up any of the other instrumentation KOSER provides and blow the roof off. KOSER's drummer, Collin Montgomery, played competitive ice hockey before trading skates for sticks. Justin Niemiec is another virtuoso who KOSER aptly named the band's Musical Director. With an arsenal of genre melting songs and an enormous amount of drive, KOSER is closing 2023 with big plans that they're excited to share with the masses.

"KOSER is the up-and-coming secret weapon live events dream of" - The Inquirer.

Andy Hionides (of Three Fourteen) Bio

Anestis "Andy" Hionides (born May 10, 1992) is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Springfield, PA. He's best known for being co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead guitarist for the band Three Fourteen; playing several large venues, casinos, and festivals in the north east since 2014 as well as airing on local and global radio stations such as 93.3 WMMR and 88.5 WXPN. Andy has an abundant repertoire of rock/reggae/blues original compositions, as well as cover songs by favorite artists such as The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, and many other rock/reggae/blues/soul groups. 

Andy has hosted open mics in several establishments in the Philadelphia area such as The Fire, as well as being a featured artist in the local community. He has played several shows for Sofar Sounds, a global music community and frequently plays solo gigs in local breweries, bars, and cafes. Jam On The Grass is an annual festival that has been growing since 2014 hosted by Andy and the band.

Joe Kenney:

Joe Kenney -- a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a B.M. in piano performance (2013) -- is a recording artist, songwriter, and pianist from Philadelphia. The music on Kenney's five albums and various collaborations span multiple genres, and are reflective of a cohesive blending of classical music theory, jazz fusion, rock, soul, and hip-hop idioms. Joe has garnered praise for both his original compositions and cover arrangements.

His debut album, Afflictions and Remedies (2015), a solo piano album, received local airplay and was also praised as a "painting of a piano at work" by Meredith Hairston, who put the album in rotation at WJSU in Jackson, MS.

In early 2016, Kenney went to work on an album of jazz and classical inspired arrangements of alternative rock and top 40 hits. Released in February 2016, the sophomore album 1.5 was recognized on broadcast radio 104.5 Philadelphia and featured on iHeartRadio. DJ Wendy Rollins characterized Joe's cover of the Twenty One Pilots song Stressed Out as "perfection" and went on to applaud him for "re-imagining songs in a completely different format."

Following the success of the first two solo piano albums, Joe expanded into different formats, working with a full band and honing in on a jazz fusion sound, while retaining the classically informed harmonies from his first two albums. An EP of three singles would be released in 2017, which would be the foundation and inspiration for the forthcoming 2020 album.

In March 2018, Kenney released 2.5, his third full studio album in as many years. Showcasing multiple styles and varying instrumentation, 2.5 features distinctively energized reinterpretations of eight alternative rock hits. The first half of the album features two full group instrumental tracks and two vocal arrangements, while the second half of the album features solo piano re-imaginings of four others.

In August 2018, Joe made waves with his debut orchestral performance with the Chester County Pops, where Kenney's arrangement of his own original work Zera was premiered, alongside a performance of Chopin's Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise Brillante.

In 2019, Kenney started his biggest undertaking to date: the recording and unveiling of his fourth album, which features six highly decorated vocal artists from the Philadelphia area, on a ten-track original album that has music geared towards markets that cross multiple musical styles. The first single, Another Side (Ft. Joy Ike), released on May 8th, 2020, and was premiered by Neon Music (UK) with a glowing review. It was also featured on The Key/WXPN and selected as the Philly Local pick by highly popular radio personality Helen Leicht. The next two releases, All's Not Lost (Ft. Laura Lizcano) and Gone (Ft Aaron Parnell Brown) were also met with spectacular reviews.

On October 23rd, the full album, Forth, was released to all platforms. It won a Bronze Medal in the Global Music Awards and has been featured on over 85 Radio Stations in U.S. and Canada. After pushing the tour in support of the album back due to the pandemic, Kenney continued to work on more material and collaborations with new artists for future releases. Joe also recorded an entire new piano project, his 5th studio album, which is entitled Reflections on Inner Transformation. 

The music on the solo album features piano explorations and meditations on points of growth that Kenney sought to both develop in himself as an individual and to capture the spirit of each in sound with distinct character pieces. Four singles from the album were released in 2021, and blogs such as Music Dances When You Sleep and MainlyPiano featured the music and written articles endorsing the first several singles. 

A year after the release of Forth -- in October 2021 -- Joe Kenney Band brought to fruition Forth Tour, which saw highly successful concerts in Cleveland, OH; Lousiville, KY; Birmingham, AL; New York, NY; Wayne, PA; and Wilmington, DE.

After the momentum of the group's first tour together, Joe and his band have maintained an impressively active schedule in 2022, with debuts at World Cafe Live, TIME on Sansom, Heritage, SOUTH Jazz Club, City Winery, Kennett Brewing Company Jazz Fest, and a weekly residency at Root Down Brewing Company in Phoenixville. Root Down collaborated with Kenney on a beer that commemorates and bears the same name as the Reflections on Inner Transformation album. "Reflections" was also minted as an NFT project, with Joe partnering with his The Proper Hustlers band-mate and cryptocurrency guru Chris Fox 

December 2022 saw the release of "Prevailing," a classical/cinematic collaboration between Kenney and fellow West Chester University alum, violinist Hope Linton Prevailing debuted at #2 on the One World Music Radio Charts, and the album has received an overwhelmingly positive response, with a flurry of reviews celebrating the composition and the Record.

New music, eclectic collaborations, a bevy of shows, and prolific releases were a continued theme in 2023. Kenney had nine studio releases and reached over 1Million total Spotify plays, and performed in over 125 shows between his six bands and solo efforts. He also focused on content creation online, amassing over 1K subscribers on Youtube, and creating a multitude of symphonic works set to be arranged for full orchestra. Kenney also teamed up with Katie Butler and Candice Johnson-Lindsay to creat, organize, and curate the inaugural Harmonic Hope & Healing Festival, which brought awareness to music therapy and mental health initiatives. 

HHH Fest took place on 5/5/24 in Philadelphia, and featured a star-studded six-band lineup, a sound healing space, vendors, and demonstrators.

Business Inquiries can be sent via Joe@JoeKenneyPiano.com

Last year, local music grindhouse 228 Productions finally decided how best to handle nobody's favorite heart-shaped holiday -- by encouraging monstrous costumes and letting the demons out to play... onstage! Our second Val-O-Ween showcase features frighteningly good tuneage from The Geriatrics, Faux Fear, Cthulhu Martini, and Savvy! 

(Lineup in order of play:)

SAVVY, one half of Girl Science, embarks on a solo set to plumb the dark depths of your soul... and possibly open your ears to one of this area's curiously "hidden" vocal talents! girlscience1.bandcamp.com

CTHULHU MARTINI is fueled by a love of The Cramps, the image of Vegas, and enough whiskey to drop a ten megaton elephant. Cthulhu rises from the deep. He's come for cocktails. https://cthulhumartini.bandcamp.com/

Hailing from Reading, PA, FAUX FEAR is pure post-punk grooves to feed your soul. Scarcity and minimalism are used as strong suits and the sound produced is reminiscent of '80s goth heavyweights like The Cure, Sisters of Mercy and Cocteau Twins. You might've caught them last year at the first Val-O-Ween at The Gem! https://fauxfear.xyz/TOUR

THE GERIATRICS, formed by longtime members of Green Jelly, are one of the next generation of horror punk bands helping to reanimate the scene with a mix of old school influenced punk and metal that is geared towards being seen live!  

thegeriatricsband.bandcamp.com/releases

$10 tickets; doors @ 6:30; show runs 7:30-11pm. Thanks for supportin' the (ob)scene, and stay tuned for the next terrifying team-up of 228 Productions and The Soundbank Presents! (Hint: it's in two weeks, on 2/28...)

Catullus: facebook.com/catullusband 

Emerging Philadelphia, Catullus is building a reputation up and down the East coast for their deep grooving and sweat inducing sets. The ecstatic and energetic music that exudes from the four talented musicians effortlessly oscillates between progressive funk-rock, and electronic dance music

It's been 20 years since the first house shows started at Old 228, and 228 Productions is commemorating the occasion with a special anniversary event featuring three acts who've been playing for us almost as long: Frozen Smoke, Elissa Janelle Velveteen, and The National Bird!

Plus, we'll have a raffle table of pieces donated by local artists; ticket and raffle sales from this show benefit community outreach group Better Days Ahead!

(Lineup in order of play:)

THE NATIONAL BIRD makes a "surprise" follow-up appearance after last month -- but we couldn't leave our favorite garage-rockers out for this show. Frontguy Blanko Dave might even remember that he played the first-ever 228 house party jam!

www.reverbnation.com/thenationalbird

"Perpetual opener" ELISSA JANELLE VELVETEEN claws her way further into the lineup for once! We can't say enough good things about EJV and her various projects over the years, so we'll let her music do the talkin'. 

https://elissajanellevelveteen.bandcamp.com/

FROZEN SMOKE is the prog-hip-hop trio of MCs Kryciss and Oversoul, fortified by the beats of producer Waterbrother, spittin' the classics and the latest from the new "Life Happens" EP!

https://frozensmokehiphop.bandcamp.com/

$20 tickets/donation -- claim a raffle ticket for your first show ticket purchase and each subsequent $10 donation at the door! Door starts 7pm; show runs 8-11pm. Thanks for supportin' the scene, and all our doofery over the years! Our next big show is... ummm, comin' up sometime soon, but we need a nap first.