Springs River Festival Live Entertainment

Jim Camacho (www.JimCamacho.com)

One of South Florida’s most renowned singers, songwriters and multi-talented musicians, Jim Camacho’s new album, Beachfront Defeat, marks the latest chapter in a varied and distinguished career. His is a prodigious trajectory, one that encompasses an exceptional array of recordings and concerts, as well as active involvement in theater, film, television, and radio. The recipient of numerous awards – including New Times kudos for "Best Songwriter" and "Best Acoustic Performer” – Camacho has not only been an integral part of the South Florida music scene, but also an emerging talent on the national stage. Camacho made his initial mark with the Goods, a band that was widely acknowledged as one of the most impressive outfits to emerge from these southernmost realms. The band released five albums throughout the ‘90s, including the iconic rock opera 5 Steps to Getting Signed, which won the prestigious “Album of the Year” honors at the Florida Jammy Awards. The single “I’m Not Average” from their critically acclaimed album Mint reached number one on the Radio & Record chart for WSHE, a major rock station in South Florida, and eventually led to a signing with Blackheart Records (a division of Polygram Records). The Goods album, “Good Things Are Coming” (produced by Tom Dowd) received significant airplay at Rock Radio and was featured in an extraordinary biographical documentary which aired on VH-1.
Continuing to expound upon the engagingly melodic stance he procured with the Goods, Camacho went on to release three highly anticipated solo albums in the new millennium, garnering the Gold Remi award in the Music Video category at the 40th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival for his song titled “Houdini.”

In addition to his individual efforts, Camacho has also contributed to several film soundtracks, including the Grammy nominated, “Tom Dowd & the Language of Music,” Paris Hilton’s “Pledge This,” and “Fatboy,” nominated for “Best Use of Music in a Documentary” accolades at the Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, he reunited with his brother John, with whom he co-founded the Goods, in a new band, Hail Mary. The group’s self-titled debut is also scheduled for a late summertime release.

In recent years, Camacho has also boldly ventured into theatrical realms and specifically, the musical stage. The concert version of his well-received original musical, “Fools’ Paradise,” was previewed in Miami and New York, and a full scale workshop, directed and choreographed by the celebrated artistic wunderkind Jonathan Cerullo, was recently staged before an audience of producers and investors. Camacho’s latest theatrical endeavor, “Guru,” recently had its preview in Miami.

Camacho has toured extensively in recent years, performing with such notable artists as Pearl Jam, Marilyn Manson, The Smithereens, Cracker & Matthew Sweet, in additional to participating in high profile tours by such national acts as John Legend and Alicia Keys. A tireless and talented troubadour, he makes every new initiative an event well worth waiting for.

DC3 (www.DC3.cc)

Powerful songs, beautiful songs, get-up-and-jump-around songs, sit-back-and-take-it-all-in songs; all of them with great melodies, vocal harmonies and a strong musical backbone of drums, bass and guitar. Woven with classic rock/pop songwriting sensibilities and strong yet sensitive lyrics, DC-3's music is both uplifting and memorable. And that's not just hot air. Look around the audience at their next concert. You'll see their fans singing along. And more importantly, you'll see other people start to sing along with them.

On stage, lead vocalist/stand-up drummer Derek Cintron delivers the material with incredible energy and passion, pushing his voice to the limit and pounding his drum kit as if his life depended on it. When compounded with Fernando Perdomo’s explosive bass playing and Tony Medina’s aggressive-yet-agile guitar work, the resulting physical performance is both powerful and riveting. Medina and Perdomo take on backing vocals as well, creating three-part harmonies that sweeten their fiery music.

They’re musical anomalies in Miami, where Latin dance and rap music styles abound. These guys have never wavered, sticking to rock n’ roll tooth and nail and making a name for themselves in the process. Without a doubt, the band has their own sound – and it’s a BIG one. It’s classic arena pop-rock, and it’s meant to be played in stadiums and amphitheaters. And while DC-3 definitely has the nostalgic, old-school pop-rock style down, they add a fresh spin to it with their high-energy performances. Maybe that’s what gives their music its timeless quality and appeal. Their stuff could be released in 1977 or 2007; either way it would still be relevant.

Lyrically, DC-3 nails it on the interpersonal/introspective stuff. “Too Much Time Has Passed” beautifully describes the inner turmoil encountered while trying to better one’s self. “Divorced” depicts an adulterous liaison with a married woman. On “Athena”, a lament about wanting to keep the girlfriend and “the girl on the side”, the vocal performance and the sentiment in the lyric is so genuine, you find yourself feeling for the guy! But that’s not even half the story, because the band covers as much ground lyrically as they do musically...

Joe Genuardi http://www.JoeJams.com/

The Regs http://www.myspace.com/regsrock