Get Off Your Ashes

BBrightwood headlines benefit at Club Impact

By Lauren Napier on May 28, 2009

Club Impact at Brick City has not stopped or lost momentum during its transformation to Version 2.0 — and is hosting the next GOYA (Get Off Your Ashes) benefit inside the venue’s walls Saturday, May 30. All-ages fans can expect the pleasant and eclectic melodies of several bands such as:  Wake the Giant — formed by friends earlier this year, He is We — who creates dreamy sounds with a female vocalist, and Sight Vs. Sound — formed from the remnants of This Providence and Elite Stranger.



Headlining Saturday’s show is Brightwood — the band, not the snowboarding town atop the mountains of Oregon. For the record, GOYA is a series of shows created by Derek Smith at Club Impact that involves Christian bands and heightening awareness of social issues.



While Brightwood avoids comparing their sound to the “music (of) other bands,” according to an e-mail interview with the Portland-based rockers, they do admit that “any music (they’ve) ever listened to collectively has influenced the way (they) hear/write/play music, whether that be positively or negative.” 



Taking it all in — life experiences and other tangible stimuli — is what Brightwood is about; they like to “imagine that (their) live performance is the kind of experience that moves you deeply.”



Brightwood is the type of band that prefers the all-ages scene to that of the often over-saturated bar circuit, saying there’s “more potential for sincerity … most kids are listening to the music because they genuinely enjoy it.”



Also making an appearance at the GOYA benefit is City in the Sea. Interestingly, this is the second band name the musicians that make up City in the Sea have had based upon an Edgar Allan Poe poem.  According to Jeff White, City in the Sea’s guitarist, their “next band will probably be too.”



That was a joke. 



Musicians aren’t without a sense of humor, and White is especially comical.  Combining a list of musical influences that includes “Elbow, At the Drive-In, Thrice, Underoath, and Silverchair,” White’s band isn’t afraid of mixing what doesn’t seem to mesh.  A City in the Sea live show even replicates the band’s recorded material — meaning those at Club Impact on Saturday will be served up a tight knit band constantly challenging their own musical limits.



Take it easy on your wallet this weekend and indulge your auditory palette, all in the form of the GOYA show this Saturday at Club Impact. City in the Sea is happy to support “a good cause” and Brightwood “feel privileged to be a part of it.”



You should add your own input.



[Club Impact, GOYA Benefit, featuring Brightwood, City in the Sea, Wake the Giant, Sight vs Sound, He is We, free, Saturday, May 30, 7 p.m., no cover, 754 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, 253.274.1583]