With the new season of Game of Thrones approaching, one thing is clear…winter is coming. Wait, no it’s not… spring is almost here! And it’s time for you to come out of hibernation and visit Ocean City’s numerous bars to hear some truly talented up-and-coming bands. Coconut Times recently spoke with Brendan Kashuba, better known as DJ BK on Ocean 98 WOCM. Kashuba hosts the weeknight show “Live Lixx at Sixx” that welcomes bands into the spotlight to perform live in the studio. As the host, Kashuba is essentially in the know about all musical entertainment this area has to offer.
    “The talent in this area is better than in most market areas,” Kashuba said. “We have an incredible number of venues and plenty of opportunity for musicians to get their exposure, experience and showcase their talents.”
    Of these bands, it’s basically a split between cover bands and bands that play original music, but one thing is the same in that all of these bands are true rockers and put their all into every performance. But enough chitchat, let’s get down to who these bands are, and exactly why you should be excited to see some great live talent this season!
~ The Galaxy Collective
    Ocean City’s The Galaxy Collective is a foursome of musicians who play songs not many other bands would play around this city’s circuit. They’re an alternative jam band of sorts who are greatly influenced by classic rock bands such as Jimi Hendrix and Phish (yes, we’re all old enough to be able to call Phish a classic rock band). All members share vocals at times while each has their own specialization: Phil Knight and Otto Grundman on guitar, Sage Kane on drums and Matt Smith on bass. On stage, these guys will play familiar tunes while mixing in a few of their own songs.
~ Hot Sauce Sandwich
    While this Ocean City band of AJ Fox and Zach Engh both on guitar and vocals, Jesse Harman on bass and Cory Chavis on drums is fairly new, they’ve already made a pretty big impact around town. They have a unique jam band sound with influences all over the place such as Bob Marley, Talking Heads, Johnny Cash and Slightly Stoopid.
~ 50 East
    Continuing with the Ocean City trend, this band brings a little local flavor in their name. Of course named after the historic highway that travels all the way into California, this band is an acoustic trio comprised of members Kaitlind Meeks, Aubrey Bradley and Jason Post, who play an assortment of top 40 hits, classic rock and funk.
~ Naked Nation
    Yes, they’re a cover band, but this ain’t your daddy’s cover band. This Ocean City band covers all the bases while putting on an energetic “rager” of a show throughout its entirety. The stage is filled with band members Pat Purves on vocals, Josh Green and Zach King on guitar, Jesse Taylor on drums, Josh Anderson on bass and Ben Gill adding his own flavor of guitar, bass and the occasional rapping duties. Their setlist is all over the place, from Katy Perry, to Green Day, to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
~ Parental Guidance
    What’s awesome about this band is that these kids know how to rock. And by kids, I do mean kids. From southern Delaware, the trio of vocalist Zoe Collins, guitarist Garrett LaCurts and drummer Justin Fisher are all teenagers, but perform classic rock covers of bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Who almost effortlessly. One would think with such talent at this age, this band will only get better and better.
~ Monkee Paw
    Hailing from Bethany Beach, Del., Monkee Paw is a trio consisting of guitarist Mike Givens, drummer Adam Ask and bassist Ricky Smith. With Givens and Ask sharing vocal duties, the group play mainly covers, but will mix some original songs in the setlist if the vibe is right. While they’re definitely a rock group, they aren’t afraid to go out of the box a bit and put their own spin on hip-hop classics. Don’t be surprised if the transition of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers leads into Biggie Smalls.
~ Ballyhoo!
    Now that we’re past the local bands, it’s about time I got to one of the biggest acts in Maryland right now. A rock, pop, punk and reggae band from Aberdeen, band members Howi and Donald Spangler, Scott Vandrey and J.R. Gregory have recently been thrown in the spotlight. Having opened for bands such as 311, Dirty Heads and Slightly Stoopid, the band played at Warped Tour just last year. “Ballyhoo! is the best band to come out of the state of Maryland in a long time,” said Kashuba.
~ Bond & Bentley
    Shifting towards the Baltimore scene, this band has performed an original mix of rock, blues and funk since 2006. Over time, band members Raymond Wroten IV on vocals and guitar, Stanley “3003” Wetters on bass, Jarret Kobin on guitar, Alex Watts on drums and vocals and Ian Macfie on keyboards and vocals have evolved their music as they release new albums, even dabbling in the hip-hop scene for a little while. Currently, their music of blues, soul and funk is what the band calls “east coast blues.”
~ Sweet Leda
    We finish our musical journey around Delmarva with a band from our favorite capital of the country, Annapolis. With a unique sound, this band performs originals mixing genres such as funk, soul and pop. The band consists of vocalist Juls Cymek, guitarist and vocalist Omar Eldieahy, bassist and vocalist Jamie Jorrigan and drummer Dan Boyette; and they have even had legendary saxophone player Ron Holloway (known for performing with jazz legends such as Gil Scott-Heron and Dizzy Gillespie) in their lineup. Also notable is they played the title track of horror film “Lovely Molly” in 2011; and even though the film wasn’t a huge hit, that’s still a pretty big deal. With four albums under their belt, this band has plenty of original material for live gigs.