Photos by Eric Reed
House of Sons, a St. George-based rock ‘n’ roll group, put another brick in their wall Saturday night, Nov. 9. Their show at Jazzy’s Rock N’ Roll Grill began with serious technical difficulties right out of the gate, but its attendants were laughing and distributing kudos by the time the venue had dimmed the stage lights.
You could see the dismay on guitarist Jade Bonner’s face as the low E string snapped before the Sons had even played a full minute of their set. He had brought a backup guitar, but his expression was screaming “bad juju.” So, Bonner did what any rock ‘n’ roll showman would do: He enjoyed the impromptu and expertly delivered bass solo by Ryan Ruggiero, backed by Eli Sabaitis on drums – while frantically tearing the remaining strings from his guitar. The crowd loved it. The first few songs remained somewhat tense, but halfway through the show there was a drum-solo-infused water fight and enough stage antics to make it obvious that the three boys were just having a good time at that point.
While the three band members agreed that the show was a success – largely because of their fans who showed up to support – Sabaitis joked that the technical issues were the result of their failure to bring along Dave – a brick which they have named as their mascot. “Dave is always on stage with us,” Sabaitis said. “He’s always at practice with us…well, except this time, and obviously he’s pissed about it.” Dave represents a metaphor in the Sons’ minds, one that they attribute to musician and actor Will Smith. “We want to go really far with this, and we want to be able to touch people’s lives, even if it’s just giving them a short escape from the wicked hectic world we live in,” Bonner said. “Our band has a tendency to get way ahead of itself. Dave helps us live in the moment, reminds us to build our wall one brick at a time.” Ruggiero suggested that was especially true about Saturday’s show. “It’s important even when we mess up, so that we can learn how to lay it down more solid the next time,” Ruggiero said.
House of Sons will be taking a break from gigging until the New Year and will be focusing on school and the production of their first full-length album at The Studio with John Houston.
For more info about House of Sons, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HouseOfSons.
