It started, like a great idea often does, with a road trip listening to Dio.
Leesa Coyne of the Easy Reasons was rolling up to Keene Music Fest last summer when she and her crew of Boston musicians were crossing state lines in a vehicle that morphed into a metal chariot thanks to the thunderous sounds of Sir Ronnie James.
“All of a sudden we thought it would be fun to do an acoustic set of metal covers,” Coyne tells Vanyaland. From there, the wheels of fire started turning, and the result is an acoustic night of metal covers, dubbed “Metal Goes Acoustic,” June 30 at Club Passim in Cambridge. The night will feature musicians from nine Boston bands, including members of the aforementioned Easy Reasons, Carved In Stone, Adam PC, Viva Gina, Hammer & Snake, Powerslut, Slant of Light, Summer Villains and Black Fortress of Opium.
On June 7, a few days after the event as announced, Boston audio engineer Thayer Harris died unexpectedly at the age of 23. Coyne, who had done open mic nights at Passim before playing rock and roll, had worked with Harris a few years back at Mad Oak Studio with her prior band, Naked On Roller Skates.
“Once I had heard the news about Thayer, I wanted to make sure the money from the gig went to his memorial fund,” she says. “We were so impressed by how awesome Thayer was to work with! I always got super excited any time I ran into him, since he just rocked and had great energy. Couldn’t think of a better benefactor for the night.”
Now all proceeds from “Metal Goes Acoustic” will go to the Thayer Harris Memorial Fund.
Dio would be proud.
