N.C. band to headline Sumter-Shaw Street Fest
Avalanche will take the stage on Aug. 25 as part of the 5th Annual Sumter-Shaw Street Fest.
.jpg)
By LEAH SMITH At-Ease Staff Writer
Photo Provided by Avalanche
Sumter-Shaw Streetfest
Aug. 25
Main Street
Sumter, SC
Time: 5:30 - 10 p.m.
Contact: (803) 436-2640
Busy the night of Aug. 25?
If not, then Main Street in Sumter is the place to be.
The 5th Annual Sumter-Shaw Street Fest, set to honor the men and women of Shaw Air Force Base, celebrates the close bond forged between Sumter and Shaw.
The City of Sumter, Progress Energy and FTC (Farmer's Telephone Company) are sponsoring this fun-filled, family-appropriate event that offers food, children's entertainment and the sounds of the rock and country band Avalanche from Fuquay-Varina, N.C.
Avalanche formed into its current amalgamation only 11 months ago. Band leader Kerry d' Hemecourt has been performing professionally for more than 30 years. And although bands he has been a part of have opened for major recording artists such as Alabama and Foghat, d'Hemecourt wanted to start his own band.
For more than 20 years, he has owned and operated Avalanche, the digital recording studio. Through this venture, he has recorded and mixed music for a long list of bands and vocalists.
And one might say he has connections. Guitarist Ray Holmes has been both a friend and a recurring client of d'Hemecourt's.
“I got a hold of my buddy, Ray,” said d'Hemecourt, “and he was still playing but not much, and he was not that happy.”
Holmes has been teaching guitar for 15 years and has been a musician for even longer. He's performed professionally with numerous bands including “Area 52,” “Brouha” and “Blue Steel,” which opened for Molly Hatchett and Brittany Fox.
Avalanche is a rock and country band out of Fuquay-Varina, N.C.
“One of the most memorable experiences,” said Holmes, “was the night we opened up for an '80s band, Brittany Fox, and that was cool. There were 35,000 people there. I was playing with Blue Steel (at that time.)”
But that had been too long ago when d'Hemecourt called Holmes and asked him about starting a band, and Holmes was game.
“Then we got up with Rodger, who's the bass player (for the current Avalanche),” said d'Hemecourt.
Playing for both country and rock bands, Rodger Giasson has been a professional musician for 25 years. Groups he's played for have opened for major recording artists including Ronnie McDowell, Delbert McClinton, Confederate Railroad, Billy Joe Royal, Johnny Paycheck and David Allen Coe.
“I've been with bands that just play together,” Giasson said. “I've played with bands where the guys didn't even like each other...(those) bands don't last long, and they're not a whole lot of fun. I would much rather play with a group that's going to stay together because the longer you stay together, the tighter you're going to get.”
And he believes that is exactly the kind of band the new and complete Avalanche is.
“My favorite aspect of Avalanche is the closeness, the friendship...We're more like a family,” said Giasson.
The talented trio soon added Jeff Howett, who has been singing since the fifth grade. His passion for music as well as his talent grew and led him to become part of a group called The Fabulous Four, which won the “N.C. Discovery Talent Search” in 1988. The Fabulous Four then headed on to the Nationals in Baton Rouge, La. There, competing among, 50,000 acts, it placed third and won “Best Vocal Group.”
During the 10 years Howett sang with The Fabulous Four, the group performed as the opening act for artists that included Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, The Embers, The Platters, Super Grit, North Tower, The Associations and many more.
So singing lead and backup vocals and percussion is no problem for him.
“I do lead vocals and so do Jeff and Rodger,” said d'Hemecourt, “but we needed harmony. I used to run sound for Christy and Tina and we started talking...We had the music fine, but we needed to beef up the vocals.”
Soon Christy Balance and Tina Seldin Cash joined Avalanche. The band agrees that now, it is complete.
“We work well together,” d'Hemecourt said. “Everybody gives everything they've got to make their part right.”
Balance has had an ear for harmonies since she was very young, she said. She sang gospel music with several gospel groups, growing up in her father's church. Then she went on to sing both lead and backup vocals with the “American Music Jubilee” variety show in Selma, N.C., for six years.
Cash's professional career began in television, where she worked for news and magazine shows for more than 15 years. Her career took her to Ted Turner's WTBS in Atlanta. She then moved on to Raleigh to work for WRAL-TV. Cash began singing professionally about 10 years ago after performing in numerous musical theater productions in the Raleigh area.
She produced, emceed and sang lead and backup for the “Country Music Showcase” in Smithfield before joining the original cast of the “American Music Jubilee,” where she met Balance.
Avalanche performs a wide variety of music, from classic rock to country to pop music from the '80s. And its audience appeal is wide, too.
“We attract that age group (those of us who spent the '80s in high school and college), but a lot of the younger kids are getting into the classic rock,” said Giasson. “When bands like Aerosmith are holding the charts, there's a reason for it. And we have fun doing it. If you have fun, your audience will, too.”
The group's most recent performances have been at the April 29 Mt. Olive, N.C., Pickle Festival, the “Apple Chill” Street Fair in Chapel Hill, N.C., on April 23 and the Union Grove, N.C., “Rockin' RibFest.”
Avalanche took first place in the Battle of the Bands at the Rockin' RibFest.
“Three bands were chosen from dozens of entries that were mailed into country radio station WFMX in Statesville, north of Charlotte,” Cash said. “We were honored to make it to the finals and are thrilled to have won. The other bands were very good, but we came out on top!”
