Published: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 7:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, November 6, 2009 at 7:16 p.m.
The popular Kefi restaurant in Wilmington says it may close because it is unable to get financing.
The restaurant is on Eastwood Road at the approach to Wrightsville Beach, and is across the street from Crocker’s Marine, which closed last week because of the bad economy.
In an open letter to friends and customers online, Andrews said that despite being current on all loans, its lender had “chosen not to renew certain notes that pertain to Kefi. The want to ‘cut their losses’ and they feel we’re not worth investing in.
They’ve only given us 45 days to secure funds,” the letter continued. “Short of a miracle, of which we believe in, it’s almost impossible. Therefore at the end of November we will be forced to close for good.”
Several popular restaurants have closed in the Wilmington area amid the worst recession since the Great Depression, many of them citing changing customer habits – spending less or eating out less.
Depending on level of inquiries, we hope to have different genres perform on different nights so all are welcome to submit (blues, jazz, fusion, hip-hop, country, etc.). It will be a plug and play night, so no systems will be required. Just amps and your instruments.
Best of luck and we look forward to hearing from the Wilmington music scene. Pay will be negotiated fairly.
Our brother and one of FMF's founding members Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Brad Lee was deployed to Afghanistan on Nov 4th. We all wish him a safe return along with all the troops serving in the war.
Go kick some ass Gunny!
We are currently looking for a guitar player to fill in for Brad while he is kicking ass over in Afghanistan. Brad is a founding member of this band and will be rejoining us as soon as he is back. He will be gone for 6 to 10 months.
When we learned about Brad's deployment a few months ago we immediately began production on our first EP, entitled Round 0.5. The entire production was done by us and we finished on Nov 2, just 2 days before Brad left. Talk about cutting it close!
We were fortunate enough to play a few shows before he left and I have to say, I am floored at the reception we got. FMF is off to a great start and we want to keep the ball rolling. We have a lot of interest from venues in the region and as soon as we get a new guitar player up to speed we are ready to immediately begin playing shows again.
So here's what we need:
Someone who can play the music. It isn't hard, trust me. I suck and I can play it! Brad and I share some licks and other times we play off each other. If you listen to the recordings with headphones, Brad's licks are panned hard left. I will probably end up playing his solos on Glass and Embers, which is not yet released, but all that can be worked out later.
Someone with a great personality. If you are a dick or do not work well with others please move on. The only asshole allowed in this band is me! Each and every member in this band is also one of my best friends and I absolutely will not allow anyone in that might cause drama or otherwise take away from the fun we have.
Someone with decent gear. I play a Krank Krankenstein. If you show up with a Fender 2x10 you simply will not be heard, and that is a problem. Obviously we can work around gear issues if you are cool, just ask Iliad and his Hartke! But I prefer if you had some decent gear.
That's about it. We play in drop C tuning, except Iliad, who plays a 5 string bass in standard tuning, *boggle* but hey, it works! We have something like 9 originals last time I checked, but that number changes constantly.
Here's what we will be doing with you in the band:
Playing shows! As many as we can get.
Working on a few cover tunes. We spent so much time writing originals we never got around to learning any covers. We want to record an off-genre cover to add to our EP as well as a few tunes just to lengthen our set.
We may work on new material. If we do you are welcome to help us write and we will include you in the credits. If by some huge fucking miracle we ever get signed we will be sure any contributions made by you get taken care of and royalties paid. But hey, I am dreaming big here!
The shitty business stuff:
Money. We don't make a lot of it! We are all in this because we love to play music. I would love to make some money cause I am broke as fuck and I need some cash to pay for hookers and blow, but I still love playing and will always play a show, regardless of pay. Any money made by the band will be split between the 5 of us, so yes, this could possibly be a paying gig. However, if you are looking into this because you need to make money I suggest you join some cover band that plays shitty beach music to retirees, cause those are the only gigs around here that pay decent.
We could argue about this all day long, just browse the musicians section on Wilmington Craigslist and join the drama, but here is our stance on money:
Fuck it! FMF will always play a show, regardless of pay, and if that lowers the quality of the music scene in Wilmington, if that allows venues to keep paying bands low wages, we don't give a fuck! We are in this to have fun above all else and playing in front of people is what we live for!
Contact Info:
OK, so if you read all that bullshit and are still with me, here's what you do. Message us on MySpace if you have it. http://www.myspace.com/fiftymanfight If not, you can email us at fiftymanfight@gmail.com and if all else fails, you can call me at 910-665-2071.
About us:
We started this thing back in May of 2008, I think. I had written and recorded something like 9 originals that will never ever be heard by anyone cause they suck and I was looking to put a band together around that. I hooked up with Gary Goddamn Lloyd, formerly of Eight Foot Stride, and our band was born. I wanted to write material that sounded like old school thrash metal meets Guns N Roses. At the time I wasn't into super heavy drop tuning stuff, so when Gary invited Brad Lee, formerly of Soulbind, Slave Machine, Devilution and a million other bands to join us and he showed up playing in drop C, I was a little bummed.
I got the hell over it though because we immediately clicked and started writing some bad ass music. The three of us wrote all the music that would eventually be on our first EP in a matter of months. We went through a few singers and never could find a bass player. In May of 2009 we got a response from a pretty boy surfer dude named Iliad that wanted to play bass for us. He showed up to practice with a 1970's bass head and a Hartke cab, playing a 5 string bass that he refused to tune to C. Yeah, I had my doubts. As soon as we played the first song I was sold. Iliad is an amazing musician and added an element to our music I never would have dreamed of.
Enter Ezra. He and I go way back. I was living with one of my best friends of 15 years or so and she was dating Ezra, so eventually he moved in with us. They guy quickly became one of my best friends. Ezra is also the bass player and singer for the Jacksonville band Southern Sub Culture, so I was not sure he would want to sing for a second band. I asked him and thankfully he said yes! Ezra was the final and perhaps biggest addition to the band. He brings a vocal talent and stage presence that is absolutely phenomenal.
We went through several names. Amongst the Chaos, A Moment Lost, Tank Ballet (seriously Gary? Tank Ballet?). No one liked my suggestions, Clitty Litter and Queer Bitch, so finally we all agreed on Fifty Man Fight, which I think is bad fucking ass!
So I hope you read all that. There will be a quiz on the history of the band at the first audition! Nah, kidding.
I can only pay 30 bucks a pop for now, but as the amount of work increases it could be a good second income.
The important thing is that the parts have to be 99% like the original. If you're interested in recording, the first project is "Vehicle" by the Ides of March.
I play all day everyday only taking breaks long enough to go to class, eat, and sleep. Literally, I play guitar all day everyday. I am looking for someone else who's love for music runs as deep as mine. I'm 420 friendly so "enlightened" jamming is always welcomed but not required.
I'd really like to meet:
- Drummer (who has equipment)
- Bassist
- Keyboardist
- Other guitarists
I'm looking for someone who's good with rhythm. I can play a lot of funky interludes but keep the rhythm and I'm looking for the same in all band mates. While jamming I like to highlight each instrument. For instance, all instruments will play a similar melody/rhythm and one at a time, each instrument can go off into a solo. If you're not experienced enough to "solo" you don't have to, I just like being able to take a break sometimes during the jam as the lead guitarists. I'm not into heavy shredding or stuff like that, so if you're looking to melt your face off, this isn't the place for you.
Also, if anyone wanted to learn a little guitar on the side, I can teach you anything from chord strumming to intense Hendrix soloing. I have a variety of guitars ranging from Stratocasters, Les Pauls, Acoustics, and Hollowbodys. I have this equipment at my apartment now:
Line 6 30w Combo Amp
Crate 190w Half Stack 4x12
Korg ToneWorks AX3000G Effects/Processing board (everything from wah pedal, to distortion, to echo, to reverb, basically every effect you could ever dream of)
1991 Fender Stratocaster (white on maple neck)
2002 Fender Stratocaster (natural ash on maple neck)
1997 Les Paul (tobacco sunburst)
2001 Epiphone AJ Acoustic
2003 Gretsch Hollowbody
Jam partners are welcome to use any of my guitars/equipment and I'm looking for someone who is also willing to share equipment if needed.
These are a few but hopefully enough to give you an idea of the direction we want to go. You will need to have your own equipment that is suitable for playing out. A 100 watt practice amp won't get the job done.
******** Please reply to: garylc0513@yahoo.com ********
Percussionist: I'm not necessarily looking for a drummer but that would be a plus. I'd like a percussionist that plays alot of authentic drums from different countries ie jimbei, congas, Indian hand drum, etc. The only thing from typical drum set I would think would be good for this is bass drum, snare, hat, and brushes for it. I know sounds like alot, but it's really nothing if you think about it.
Banjo: I've never played with a banjo player before but I think it would be fantastic to try, and be even better added to the music ive been writing. Someone who's got enough experience to shred on it would be preferred. Someone with enough experience to keep up is required.
Celloist: once again, I've never played with a celloist before but I think it would be great for these tunes, besides I think cello and acoustic guitar sound insane together.
Electric guitarist: you MUST be able to play jazz an blues on this thing. Although this will not be a dominant piece of the music it is vital as an additive to the music.
Female vocalist: alright ladies, if you have the ability to sing and not just carry a tune, this is for you. Someone who can play an instrument and writes on he own as well would be preferred. Piano or acoustic or both would be what I have in mind.
Organist: this part is a very vital piece of the sound that I'm trying to accomplish here. The ability to play gospel old an new is required for this along with having your own portable organ to play for shows and practice.
I know this may sound like alot but it's specifically what I'm looking for to accomplish the sound I want. I have a place to practice so no worries there. It's a three room studio downtown and I do have speakers and a pa, but I wanna do straight acoustic jams before we move there. I have the ability to record the music as well. Another thing I want to accomplish is having a solo album for everyone in the group that can be played with this group that way we play originals from everyone.
Why not spend a ghoulish evening with Brimm? Loads of post-punk goodness coupled with all the PBR you can drink for 2 dollars!!!! We tap the kegs at 9pm,and the band goes on at 11pm.
Get all the details at our MySpace page:
www.myspace.com/brimmsound
I mainly play drums, but also sing and do a bit of noodling on bass, guitar, keyboards, etc. Looking for other minds to come in and start creating some cool songs and seeing what we can accomplish. Lot's of Delay, loops, & just rockin' craziness with some groove & soul maybe.
Looking for something in the vein of the following bands. Hum, The Lost Chorus, Dredg, Elliott, Codeseven, Telescreen, U2, Sense Field, Sunny Day Real Estate and some touches of new stuff like John Mark McMillan, Pete Yorn, Kings Of Leon, Silversun Pickups, etc. I could go on and on, but hopefully this will give you the feel. Just really want to play some cool stuff again.
Ok, I just send an email to Ronnie James Dio to let him know we are available to open for him on his Heaven and Hell tour. I found the address on a fan mail website. I am sure he will call back soon. All the venues in Wilmington, Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte will be begging me by this weekend to have Bass at Last at their establishment.
Being a manager has to be one of the easiest jobs in the world and I am sure the bars and venues are always so happy to hear us call. And, I'm sure they always, always return your calls and messages in a timely fashion. Piece of cake if you ask me.
