A few years ago one of our Bay Area familiar faces suffered a major heart attack, died a couple of times and was brought back to life. This was my great friend and Bro, Sleiz E Smith. Sleiz had a pacemaker placed into his chest to keep him ticking. It worked for a while but eventually he had complications and the doctors told him he needed a quadruple bypass. He was scarred, we all were.
When they did the procedure he was happy to wake up and find out that he only needed a double bypass. It was astronomically expensive, hence the need for this Sleiz Fest 2015 benefit!
Sleiz has been a recognizable and beloved fixture in the Bay Area music scene since he started working with Motörhead in 1984. Over the years he has worked with the likes of Dio, BGP (Bill Graham Presents), Deep Purple, Montrose, Gamma, Y&T and many more. Sleiz has worked with me since 1994, Originally with Forbidden then Manmade God and presently with SpiralArms.
The idea was to not only raise money to help alleviate some of the financial stresses Sleiz has, but also to honor the man while he's still breathing. He deserves a kick ass show being surrounded by friends and musicians that love him. On Saturday, September 26th at the Rockbar Theater in San Jose... We will give this gift to Sleiz!
None of this would be possible without the Rockbar going above and beyond by giving us their world class venue and staff for the day. They've made us part of their family and we are all very thankful to have such an amazing venue to hold this event in. Thanks to the ownership, management and staff of the Rockbar Theater!
Hosting this event in "touring season", not everyone who wanted to contribute could because of availability.
We do have a massive amount of talent that is ready for this event including The Mighty Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Testament, Death) is tracking up from Southern Cali with his fiancé and ripping guitarist, Laura Christine (Meldrum, Warface) . Bryan Kehoe, Craig McFarlin and Marc "Mirv" Haggard and Gene Hoglan are going to do a special MIRV set. This is HUGE 'round these parts! MIRV is a highly respected and talented bunch of dudes. They also happen to be one of Gene's favourite bands in the world.
We also have present and former members of Forbidden, Fungo Mungo, Death Angel, Testament, SpiralArms, Manmade God, Gamma, Mordred, Slider, 3rd Eye Blind, ZED, Anger Head, Tuco Ramirez and many more other great musicians I can't mention yet pulling together for the "Mother of All Jams!" We are going to cover a bunch of the artists Sleiz has worked with and songs he loves for a massive jam session. It should be a night to remember. Phew....
