NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Aug. 29.
PORT TOWNSEND –– Get ready to get loud underground.
Led by the all-girl outfit of Mood Ring, a trio of hard-charging rock bands will test the brick walls of the Cellar Door, 940 Water St., Suite 1, tonight.
The music will start at 9 p.m. The cover charge is $3.
“People here are getting more and more excited about loud music,” said the Mood Ring guitarist, who goes by the name of Sarah P.
With Sarah P’s heavily distorted, chaotic guitar riffs, bassist Emily Madden’s booty-shaking groove, the powerful “Pat Benatar pipes” of singer Alicia Caruso and the thumping drum beat of Cha, Mood Ring is developing a following on the Quimper Peninsula.
‘They’ve got it’
“They’re great,” Cellar Door co-owner Dominic Svornich said. “They need a little bit of seasoning, but they’ve definitely . . . they’ve got it.”
With a sound that draws from metal rockers like Judas Priest, Mood Ring is aiming at a rock ‘n’ roll sound that doesn’t rely on gender identification.
“Just because we’re women and we play punk does not mean we’re riot girls,” Sarah P said.
“We’re just a band, and we happen to be all women.”
Joining Mood Ring on tonight’s roster are indie punkers Cradle Cap and the classic hard-rock sounds of MongoSmash, which features Svornich on bass.
“There’s a lot more punk rock, a lot of good rock ‘n’ roll that’s happening around here right now,” Svornich said.
“We want to be able to give that type of sound a good outlet, a good place to play.
“And it’s nice to be able to add some variety to the bands we host here. We do not want to be known for any one style.”
Get there early
Those who come to hear the music may want to get there early because the rock may start without you.
While a lot of bands like to fight for the last spot on the stage, the Port Townsend rock ‘n’ roll scene’s off-stage work ethic turns that on its head.
“We like to go earlier because our drummer has to open The [Food] Co-op the next morning,” Sarah P said.
Svornich likes to play first.
“Because as the owner of the bar, there’s a lot of stuff I have to do as the night gets later,” he said.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
