Several dance organizations came together to raise money for the victims of Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami. Under the umbrella of COPE: Japan (Columbus Ohio Performance Endeavor for Japan), local troupes such as BalletMet, OhioDance, Columbus Dance Theatre, the Kristina Isabella Dance Company, and dance majors from the Ohio State University converged on BalletMet’s Performance Space for this one-time performance.

SynerFest has done it again! They put together another can of whoop ass awesomeness! FilmScouts! A synergy of Film and Music. A sub-event of SynerFest, FilmScouts is a networking, talent promotional event disguised as a concert. The idea was a concert so film makers can collaborate with bands to use in their films for cross promotion. 12 bands, all packed with energy and diversity ranging from the rock/rap all the way up to Grindcore and everything in between. On top of that, in between bands film shorts were played, all created by local film makers.

A few films caught my eye. “The Mitchell Tapes” by Nikkso Productions. The trailer was eerily made. The story is about a TV show called Ghost Kids. A band of teens go to investigate The Mitchell House and things go bad. The Mitchell House has a reputation and a history of horror and atrocities. Local viral superstar, Chuck “Dead Body Guy” Lamb makes an appearance in the film. Keep an eye out for this one!

“Text”, another film by Nikkso Productions and one they were scouting bands for. Text is a survival story about a girl who wrecks her car while texting. It’s the dead of winter, she has to survive the elements, fight hyporthermia, and keep her sanity until help comes. Fantastic idea and from the trailer that was played, looks to be a pretty riveting film.

“Sexy Kittens Love Flesh” aka No! Not a porn! By Psychosomatic Films had me glued to the screen. It was another favorite of mine. 5 girls who are feline/female hybrid assassins who escaped Nymphomatic Industries with one of their doctor’s and his daughter, Lizzy, who is kind of the keeper of the kittens. Nymphomatic industries wants them back and will stop at nothing to get them. Lizzy and the Kittens are all heroicly, comic book like, bad ass. Music from local bands like Eyes Stained Black, Slaves of Shiva, The Finest and Hour of Shame are all in just the trailer. Some of the Kittens were on hand at the show as well. Did I mention, that is it NOT a porn?

“Dependency” by Evox Films was kind of an urban story about a guy who is struggling with life, love, drugs and hope. It just was gritty, down to earth, and real. Don’t know how else to describe it but loved the trailer for it and can’t wait to see the final version.

“When Zombies Attack III” looked as awesome as its name and seemed to live up to it. A compilation of, well, Zombie attacks. All done in a zany comedic way. It had me smiling all the way through.

Speaking of Zombies “A Survivor’s Haiku” by Emily Holt was a creative spin on the Zombie genre. A short film about a girl trying to survive the zombie apocalypse all narrated in Haiku. Beautifully done.

Also, played was some promo videos for the TV show Framelines on WOSU by Mr. Ross. A show dedicated to the indie film maker. Framelines includes behind the scene stories of local films being made, round table discussions ranging from script writing to editing. Also, I loved the film tips and techniques. Giving tips to those who didn’t go to school for film but are wanting to make films. Check out Framelines on WOSU every Saturday night/Sunday morning at 2:30 am. This show deserves a better time slot. Please go to WOSU.org and request that Framelines be moved to a better time slot.

Now, let’s get to the music side of things. First off, Slaves of Shiva blew my frickin mind. The music is high energy, the performance is engaging and in your face. The crowd stood elbow to elbow from the stage, all the way to the back of the bar. They were bobbing their heads, moving and cheering. Even had one person ask me if they were a signed band. Vocalist Mike Neider is the head organizer and face of SynerFest. The things he has been doing to help bands, film makers, artists, and the like are nothing short of amazing. I also noticed he was in a few of the films. What doesn’t he do? Keep at it Mr. Neider!

I wish I could review every band there but then this article would end up being a novel and have to get published. So, I am going to mention each band and give a super quick review.

Bless The Child, the grindcore elite. The Finest, terminator intro, need I say more? Eyes Stained Black, aggressive industrial brilliance. Fella, hard rock talented bad assery. Dismemberment, young guys with tons of talent. 8lb Pressure, see them now! KICK ASS! Flo Like Us, smooth jam band hip hop. VERY GOOD! Enemy by Mourning, a trail mix of ear candy. Shadow Prophets, female guitar goddess! Impressed by whole band! Only Flesh, a piercing nightmare I never want to wake up from.

There was one emotional moment of the night. A tribute to Brittany Byam. She was an original organizer of SynerFest, as well as a model for the Bloody Messy Girls. She was a fan of music based on what I saw from her picture slideshow. She had a shrine to Pantera tatted on her back. At only 20, she took her own life. A moment of silence followed by a slideshow of her photos was touching and by the end you felt like you knew her. R.I.P. Brittany. Her boyfriend, Mike Lare (another famous local musician – Ringworm, The C.O.A.S.T.) was on hand and there was no shortage of hugs for him. It was a great community moment.

On-Hand at the event as well was the SynerFest alt model group – The Deadly Syns and a brand new website called the SynerCircle is coming soon. A site dedicated to not only promoting local talent but intermingling them all and giving them a one-stop shopping site to each other. Sounds interesting. They have my curiosity.

According to Rick Hills, co-organizer of SynerFest, the next SynerFest will be in mid-September and they hope to expand it to 3 stages. I can not wait!!