The Dan Damage ball was celebrated in fine honour to much-loved local music promoter, Dan ‘Damage’ Kohn (1965-2004) with over 200 in attendance.
To help mark the occasion, a commemorative CD featuring all the performing acts and some others that had worked with Dan in the past was also on sale in aid of MENCAP & The Jamming Dodgers Music Society.
200 CD’s were printed and a special thanks goes to Island CD in Shanklin for offering the event a supportive service. The bands on the CD were PARANOID (Nate Mix) – JIMI QWEER AWAY WITH THE BIRDS – IOW DIVA DROWN IN THE RIVER – ZOMBIE GROOVE MACHINE UNION STREET -THE ARRIVALS ALIENATE – DELTA-T BULLETS THAT STRAY – 666 PACK ALL BRAND NEW – GODFRENZY A THOUSAND YARD STARE – UTOPIA SOUTHLANDS – CAPO REGIME DAN THE MAN – CHIZ JONES.
A special fanzine brought back to life just for the event. ‘Panic Coma’ added more reminiscent memories of the healthy scene that Dan helped promote in time gone by. Luke Short did a fantastic job of giving his time free to the project. Even badges of younger Dan were worn as another mark of respect.
The people who attended made a real effort with some gorey, beautiful & downright strange outfits & costumes. Some zombies from the Wight Zombie walk managed to make it inside just in time for aptly named ‘Zombie Groove Machine’ who showed an expressive performance and look set to be a band to look out for. Infact, every performer gave great performances.
‘The spirit of Dan was truly honoured.’ Said Ryde theatre & co organiser Rick Stanbridge who jumped on stage to join Godfrenzy in a specially written song by Chiz Jones ‘Dan the Man.’
They both recorded the track in one take especially for the CD. Godfrenzy were accompanied by none other than platform 1’s Dave Pontin on drums, who was filling in for regular drummer Mark Wozencroft. There was a great unity displayed in another example by Mick Cooch from Godfrenzy also guitaring for Ben Foister & The Arrivals.
Ben who was once in popular Island band ‘The Thunderpuppets’ showed off material from his current album ‘A Return to British Summertime.’ It showed the history of so many who knew and played or enjoyed one of Dan’s nights. Delta-T dubbed things up with a great set, mixes of Reggae, Dub, Trip-Hop and a rejuvenated line-up show that they are as active now as they were when they first played with Dan back in Ventnor, 1992. Pat from Delta is busy overlooking production on their current album project.
Dirty Habit certainly rocked the place with one of the islands strongest of frontmen, Jimi Qweer once of Screaming Phoenix. Blistering covers proved why Dirty Habit are one of the most booked island bands around with their form of Rock & Blues.
Sandra O’Toole also known as IOW Diva set the tone superbly with her fine vocal chords. She is busy recording at the moment but expect to hear more things in the pipeline soon. Another surprise for the bands was that the nights music was especially recorded in co-operation with Strings & The Development Suite.
‘We are hoping to get some tracks played on local radio as the quality is certainly good enough for broadcast. We hope to expand on this valuable first experiment to be able to offer this service for other purposes including public meetings, election transmissions, as well as music events.
At the moment we are just proud to give the bands a copy of their nights hard work, which they gave for free.
The Damage CD will hopefully establish a good foundation for more events where local music can be obtained publicly in CD format. It gives the bands a real marketing tool to take away, a greater following and hopefully for the venue, larger crowds. Copies of the first Halloween Ball CD can be found at Ryde Theatre, Revolver, Strings in Ryde & Music Central & Switch 45 in Newport.
So far we think around £500 from the night was raised. Thank you so much for everyone who has helped support this event. It was a fantastic way to remember the man Dan.
Dan Damage Memory Book
Development Suite
[All photos courtesy of serial snapper Charrr – thanks love]
