a place of solace

Garage Day Diaries: “A Place of Solace” by Ruth Adkins

"...because I smash me up, alot of bar owners are under the impression we smash the bar up." -Tommy Fitzpatrick

A place of solace (by any normal definition): n. a place where you find
comfort in sorrow, misfortune or distress. Blah, blah, blah. Like I
said, the ‘normal’ (and borrrrrring) definition.
Now, let me give you my definition of A Place of Solace: n. a
hard-core-bang-that-microphone-off-your-mother-fucking-forehead-until-
blood-is-pouring-down-your-face-kick-ass-audience-interactive-
Huntington-West-By-God-Virginia-based band.
If you think my definition of A Place Of Solace is interesting, then
you need to check out Tommy, Tim, Misty and Pops in a live show. These
guys (and gal) definitely weren’t what I was expecting—they were so
much more—and I loved every crazy minute of it.

On the Way

I first heard of A Place of Solace from my youngest brother, Matthew,
when they played in Parkersburg at the City Park for the Outcry for
Rock benefit concert. I had missed their performance, but Matthew gave
me a play-by-play recap followed by a “They really kicked ass, Sis. You
really need to interview these guys!”
So, trusting my brother’s judgment, I hauled my ass back to the office
and did a little research. I checked out the band’s myspace page at
www.myspace.com/aplaceofsolace. Now, I’ll be perfectly honest, I was
not too impressed with the sound bytes from the myspace site. But, I
also know that there are those rare occasions when a band is much, much
better on stage. So, having some doubts but still trusting Matthew’s
judgment, I fired off an e-mail requesting an interview.
Within 24 hours, I had a confirmation. Within 72 hours, I got a phone
call from Pops. I was invited to stop by Marley’s Doghouse that
Wednesday for an open mic jam and to do the interview immediately
after. And let me just say that the drummer, Jeremy “Pops” Bradsher, is
a man that sells his band. He can get anyone hyped about his fellow
band mates and the music they all love. By the time, I got off the
phone with Pops, I was more than excited about this interview.
Unfortunately, I’m a dumb ass, and over scheduled myself that first
Wednesday and had to cancel. I contacted Pops, rescheduled and then

almost had to cancel the second time-because, I’m a dumb ass who
doesn’t learn her lessons and had over scheduled myself again.
Luckily, a tragedy was avoided. Matthew met me in Parkersburg and we
hauled ass to Huntington. Arriving around 9:30 p.m. We immediately got
lost in, shall we say, the not so nice part of town. We called Pops,
got more directions, got lost again, called Pops again, got lost again
and then the cavalry, also known as Pops’ wife Cindy, showed up in a
huge purple pimp daddy ride and escorted us to Marley’s.
I, of course, met Pops first. Pops is a bear of a man-a teddy bear that
is. He’s over six foot tall, heavy set and one of the sweetest guys
you’d ever want to meet. Not exactly what I was expecting from a
hard-core band member. He smiles a lot and you can tell the man loves
his wife, his music, his drum set and life in general. And not
necessarily in that order. Then I had a quick hello and handshake with
guitarist, Tim Watson. Now, we were just waiting for the rest of the
band.
Pops stopped by to tell me that Tommy Fitzpatrick, who not only is the
lead singer, but also a guitar and bass player, was on his way and then
proceeded to the stage to play drums for another open mic-er. I sat
with Cindy and watched a couple of the open mic acts, noticing that if
the two A Place of Solace band members weren’t on stage assisting in
sets, they were in the audience cheering on their fellow musicians. And
it didn’t matter if the performers were awesome or if they sounded like
a couple of cats in heat trying to out voice each other, Tim and Pops
were giving them encouragement.
After a few more sets, Pops and Tim both stopped by to tell me that
Tommy and, percussionist, Misty Blankenship were pulling in the parking
lot. Someone kinda joked that I would know it when Tommy walked through
the door, because he would be “the bald headed guy with a patch of long
hair in the back that will be surrounded by a harem of women.”

Taking the stage, floor and much more

Unfortunately, I didn’t notice if Tommy walked in with a harem or not.
In fact, the first I saw of Tommy was him carrying in a shit load of
equipment. Misty carried in some stuff, but Tommy pretty much carried
everything in and set everything up to his liking. This took a matter
of minutes. It was the quickest and most efficient I had ever seen a
band set up in my life.
I moved into position to take some pictures as the band started to
play. The first thing I want to say is “WOW.” Like I said, there are
those rare occasions wh - Graffiti, WV * 8/30/06

IF YOU GO: Good times will be had (if you like metal) with SKT, APOS, and Byzantine (above) on Friday, Dec. 1 at the Sound Factory. Get there no later than 9:30, tickets are $10 (no-presale) and, sorry kids, its a 21-and-over show.

Things are going pretty good for singer-guitarist Chris “O.J.” Ojeda. His metal band, Charleston’s own Byzantine, is soon going back into the studio at 101 Productions in Sissonville to work with Aaron Fisher on the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2005 Prosthetic Records release “…and They Shall Take Up Serpents.” And they’re doing a show Friday night at the Sound Factory (812 Kan. Blvd., 342-8001) with Stone Ka-Tet and A Place of Solace.

– By Nick Harrah
- The Gazz, Charleston, WV * 11/29/06

If you're not out at the bars or at a party or watching the Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-Fi channel, check out our latest "Road Trip" episode this Sunday night.

You can hear us online thanks to one of our affiliates' websites. However, since there are three states where you can turn on an actual radio and hear us, this "Road Trip" episode will feature bands from all over those three states: West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

Tune in and catch The Black Keys, The Love Coats, Professor Mike, Lowborn, Black Knots, The Heptanes, Tobin Sprout, Holden Caulfield, Evolution, Novaflow, Dead Poetic, Kade, Earth To Eros, Nine Pound Hammer, Black Knots, Byzantine, A Place Of Solace, Rootbound and Ratcliffe/Bailey. There will also be an interview (and music from) The Red Velvet.

WAMX/Huntington, WV: Sunday nights from 10-Midnight (Eastern). Listen in at http://www.x1063.com

WEGW/Wheeling, WV: Sunday nights from 11pm-1am (Eastern)

http://www.UndiscoveredRadioNetwork.com - The Undiscovered Raido Network

A Place of Solace

Hard-core band A Place of Solace thrilled crowds Wednesday night at Marley's Dog House in Huntington. A healthy crowd cheared on the hometown band, which is made up of Tommy (vocals, guitar and bass), Tim (guitar), Pops (drums) and Misty (percussion & thangs). The band has an album in the works, with an October release planned. The band plays at Marley's open mic every Wednesday night. Look for big things from this band in the near future, and check out an upcoming issue of Graffiti for a feature on A Place of Solace.
- Graffiti * The Glog, Graffiti's Staff Blog * 8/18/2006