Possession and Soda

It's Sunday. A day of rest for most people for others it's a day to prepare for the onslaught of a new work week. Early Monday morning the workforce will rise with the sun and hit the grindstone hard. Well, we have a couple of notable events coming up that will defiantly lower that blood pressure! These three specific dates are geared towards the hard working tradesmen and hospitality employees of Naples so pull out your calendars and get ready to mark the dates! Two of the three events are FREE! Now there's no excuse. Read on.

Do you remember a Kevin Smith film by the name of Mallrats? If so, think back to the opening credits. The song  is by a band called Wax who also had music in Bio-Dome as well as Ren & Stimpy. By now you're probably thinking to yourself how this may be relevant. Well, a member of Wax by the name of Soda Gardocki has been hitting it hard with his very own solo career. Now to really get a feel for his music one must really listen to it but I will attempt to describe it the best I can. He wields a twelve string banjo in which he plays like an old punk-rocker might if they actually learned to play the darn thing and he did. Very well. He combines his own spin of folk with punk, rock and a big band feel. The way he portrays his stories of love, drugs and disorientation is unlike any other. But Why am I telling you this? Just click the link or get out the show to hear it for yourself. Soda Gardocki will be at Chrissy's Tavern Tues. Dec. 15th. Local folk act Swamp Rats will also be there opening up the evening. Be sure to head there right after work for some good tunes and cold brews. 

Friday Dec. 18th the new Star Wars hits theaters hard. I don't care who you are that is something to do no matter what is going on that night. But everyone already is aware of that so there's no need to continue on. Just go do it. 

If you liked what you read and heard of Soda you're able to catch him again with another energy exerting act who goes by the guise of Possessed by Paul James. Possessed by Paul James is actually a Collier County native born and raised in Immokalee. Prepare yourself, this act is very similar to a possession. As soon as he starts playing either his guitar, banjo or violin it's as if his ancestors rush into his body and just take over. The act, of course, isn't everything the music plays a huge part. His creative style has been recognized by several media outlets including CMT Edge and The New York Times. You can catch both Soda Gardocki and Possessed by Paul James no where other than Mereday's Brasserie  Saturday Dec. 19th. Who knows when these two acts will be back around in this area. Did you know bands outside of Naples look at this area like a new market? It's near blasphemous. 

Whatever you maybe doing for work be sure to catch one of these acts. They both are hard working musicians who both give back to their community. Soda's t-shirt sales go to buying kids music lessons and Possessed by Paul James is a school teacher for children with disabilities. I'm not sure these guys can get any better than that. Get out there and show your support and blow the tops off the places they're playing so they bring in more amazing acts that this town has yet to witness.