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POWER SERGE

July 12, 2024 by Jimmy Alvarez

In this era of sensory overload that is attributed to i-this and that, live music with bandmembers who play instruments have an appeal that we just can’t stay away from.

On July 27th, we get to experience the hair metal ‘80s all over again courtesy of a kick-ass band that comes from our own back yard. New wave will take a back seat for a night to power ballads and blistering guitar licks when Orange County’s Power Serge takes over the House of Blues in Anaheim.

For most of us, music has always been the great communicator and a way to save ourselves from ourselves. With that as our backdrop, Power Serge has been the cure we love to see. No longer Orange County’s best kept secret, it’s no surprise that the best damn cover band in the land hits all the right chords with 30-to-50-year-olds and teens.

This performance at the House of Blues Anaheim will be very-very special evening as it will celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary of being the best damn glam cover band in the land!

The combination of power ballads and big hair has been such a weird fascination of ours since Nirvana gave us a changing of the guard.

Usher in an era of kick-ass cover power bands like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Steel Panther, and we all get to go back in time and relive our yesteryear.   

As for Power Serge, they are a collection of local band members that get together to play other band’s glam-themed songs. They used to do it once a year, but luckily their popularity has grown by leaps and bounds and now we get them a few times a year.  

This band doesn’t just play the hits, they also dress the part with spandex, big hair and lots and lots of dayglow. It’s like MTV’s “headbanger’s Ball” exploded in technicolor on stage. Throw in some dayglow and leather and boom… it’s showtime.

The question is… who is Power Serge? They are Orange County’s greatest fake real glam metal cover band in the history of the world and beyond. That’s their tag-line and it fits. Despite purporting to be former denizens of Yugoslavia, this band is locally based and they’re a bunch of guys who just love music, play in bands, with one crazy lead singer who lived vicariously through karaoke.

That said, don’t let the outrageous costumes, hair and over-the-top shtick fool you; this band can bring it. They were formed by distinguished musicians with legit chops and a wicked sense of humor.

Founded in October of 2004, the band has been solid with its members. Power Serge features an insanely talented lead singer in Sean Henry (aka Sergei Von Sergio – the Karaoke King), Brian Mashburn (aka Smash – currently in Bite Me Bambi and formerly the  original Save Ferris) on guitar and keys, Ian Matteson (aka U.P. – that’s short for short for Ultimate Partier, formerly in Home Grown) shreds on lead guitar.

The band rounds out with Ted Vega (aka Mr. Vegas), Jamison Parker on bass, Dan Hammond (aka Karel Poborsky – Home Grown on rhythm guitar) AND Zach Amos (aka Sgt. Rock – formerly in The Blood Arm) on drums. This collective of musicians defines electricity and they dazzle whenever they take the stage.

Seeing this band live is an experience and a half. Ian Matteson’s mad guitar riffs are as good as it gets. Vega, Mashburn and Hammond are beyond Boombastic, Amos on drums is Tommy Lee-like, and Sean Henry, YIKES!

Henry radiates a klondike coolness that just oozes sexual energy that even Prince would have approved of. The kicker is that Henry has mad vocal sills. He displays a range that any singer would kill for. No song is too big or too difficult for this band to pull off.

Power Serge channels the greats, like Bowie and Mercury, while enjoying the sonic divide of AC/DC and Def Leppard! Honestly, I’ve covered most of these bands over the years, and I couldn’t tell; the difference between Def Leppard and Power Serge when they start the familiar guitar riff to “Photograph.”

Get ready and get set for this larger-than-life band that plays larger-than-life songs. Some tunes you will most likely hear again and for the first time include, “Living on a Prayer,” “Panama,” “Jump,” “Firewoman,” “Talk Dirty to Me,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Every Rose has Its Thorn,” and “Don’t Stop Believing.” 

Who knows, you just might hear a few more songs that will propel you back to your favorite memories.

For this special night, The Vinyl Four and Flashback Heart Attack will provide support as openers – they are worth the price of admission in themselves.

Saturday, July 27th, get to the House of Blues Anaheim and go back in time then back to the future of your musical memories with Power Serge.

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