MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

While hard rock is not usually my favorite genre of music and I only very recently watched all of the Star Wars films (yes, I know, it’s absurd), I still couldn’t pass up the opportunity to attend last Sunday’s Rock Star Wars concert event at the Hollywood music venue, The Avalon. Of course, it was appropriately on May 4th, or “May the Fourth Be With You” Day to true Star Wars fans. I especially was looking forward to seeing the young rock band, the Galvanized Souls perform.

Rock Star Wars Agenda

Other bands in the Rock Star Wars line-up besides Galvanized Souls included Stitched Up Heart, Cherri Bomb, Diamante, Above Seclusion, False Puppet, Siren, Diamond Eyes and Breaking Tempo.

Before I get to the Galvanized Souls performance, here’s the 411 on them: The band is made up of Zakk Silveira (lead vocals and guitar), Chris Traylor (lead guitar), Matt DeMartini (bass) and Kevin Cogen (drums). They are between the ages of 15-19 and they make their own instruments. So they really aren’t your typical teen band. Indeed, the guys love taking apart their instruments and putting them back together again, in their own idiosyncratic way. Their modified instruments were even featured in the June 2014 issue of Guitar World.

Members of the Galvanized Souls putting together their own instruments

“We like creating things, taking apart guitars and putting them back together like a Frankenstein type of thing,” says Traylor. Silveira, who installed a vocal box pedal with Auto Tune on his guitar for a rock cover of Cher’s “Believe,” says that as a child he “love[d] building stuff or getting a radio and taking it apart.”
Yes, these guys are certainly young but don’t let their ages fool you! These are true musicians through and through, writing all of their own material and experimenting with different sounds ranging from grunge to pop punk. I saw more proof of their musicianship when they entered the stage and put on one very entertaining set.

Highlights from the original Star Wars Trilogy played on a big screen while all the bands performed.

They truly seem like seasoned performers. It’s a combination of their ingenuity, dedication, talent and enthusiasm that really is obvious when they are performing. They also know how to entertain a crowd and use all of the space on the stage. When all these things come together, the result is a power rock package!

Take it from me, this fearsome foursome have what it takes to go all the way. In true Star Wars and Yoda lingo, talented these guys are!

To learn more about Galvanized Souls, please visit: http://galvanizedsouls.com/ and for more photos of this one of a kind event, check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/galvanizedsouls