Auburn will host a celebration on July 17.
The event, a rock concert called Unity in Recovery will celebrate freedom from the bonds of addiction with four bands – VIII Days Clean, ML3, Roman Holiday and Sweetkiss Mamma – playing the clean and sober event.
For the headliner, Tacoma’s VIII Days Clean, the event is a stop on an upward climb that has the band poised to make its presence felt on a national scale.
Later this summer the band, featuring vocalist/guitarist Ron Walvatne, drummer Jeff Welch, guitarist Sean VanDommelen and newly added bassist Billy Stambaugh, will swing into a West Coast tour, called RecoveryPalooza – playing free shows at clean and sober clubs in California, Oregon and Washington.
For the past four years, the band has been busy releasing three studio albums and building a rabid following that skews heavy towards those in active drug and alcohol recovery. With all four members of the band in recovery from heroin, methamphetamine or alcohol, they are a natural fit for other addicts and alcoholics in recovery.
And although the band might initially draw converts on the strength of its commitment to living a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle, the real motivation behind the band is a desire to show it’s possible to have a good time and rock, even if you are sober.
According to the band, it is not interested in saving souls, being preachers or personal guides to the path of enlightenment. They have no interest in being role models. That’s why they titled their latest album “Angels of Nothing.“
They’re happy to share their stories through lyrics, but at the core the band is just four guys that found their way back to rock and roll after a lifetime of addiction and abuse.
“We’re not a recovery band,” Welch said. “We’re just a band that is in recovery.”
Although the song lyrics on the latest album are often dark and often angry, the band’s live shows are anything but. Live, VIII Days Clean is a celebration, for both fans and the band.
For the band, it’s the joy of still being able to perform in a music genre that is saturated with drugs and alcohol.
“I was reluctant to get involved in any kind of music,” said VanDommelen, who hit bottom while living on the streets, battling a heroin habit.
“All of us have had serious bottoms,” Walvatne said. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to stay involved in the music industry. I lost all my gear to drug abuse and was completely out of the scene since 1997.”
For some, like bassist Stambaugh who recently joined the band, the music is a form of therapy, essential to maintaining his sobriety.
“It’s been a great form of therapy,” he said. “When you’re a working musician, it’s almost like you’re too busy to be in that scene. I’m too busy to be hanging in the bar.”
Currently the band is enjoying a high level of success.
They recently released a video for their new single, “Perpetuator,” a scathing look at the tragedy of domestic violence, seen through the eyes of the abuser.
They were recently voted as one of the “Best Local Band” finalists in KING-5 TV’s Best of Washington contest. They also headlined Tacoma’s Freedom Fair Fourth of July event and found themselves reeling off a string of victories in rock station KISW’s 9 o’clock Cockfight – which features call-in voters weighing in on their favorite song – that resulted in their song, “Open Up,” being retired to the Cockfight Hall of Fame.
And although the band’s secret weapon might be word of mouth via the recovery grapevine and social media sites like Facebook and MySpace, the bread and butter is always the music.
“If you’re up there playing lame-ass music, people would not come back to see shows,” Welch said.
Now the band is intent on one thing, according to Walvatne.
“We’re in it for world domination,” he laughed. “We want to break into new markets. We want to make sure that every single fan has a CD and shirt.”
And if, along the way, a couple of people find a message in the music, then good for them, Walvatne said.
“I guess the one message that we want to spread is that anyone can achieve their dreams and have fun without drugs and alcohol,” he said.
VIII Days Clean will play Unity in Recovery July 19. The event begins at 1 p.m. with family-friendly fun and a barbecue. The music starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $12 each or $20 for two and available at the Reality Center at 639 Main St. The event is all ages and clean and sober.
For more information on the band, visit their Web site at www.myspace.com/viiidaysclean.
