{"id":25977,"date":"2025-12-28T23:58:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T04:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/?p=25977"},"modified":"2025-12-29T22:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T03:56:19","slug":"tom-convention-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Convention Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Did you ever go to the Tom Festival?<br><br>What? You did not attend one of <em>the<\/em> veritable incarnation of the &#8217;90s alternative Christian music revolution events? Well, I did. I attended them all, until it took a break and then reinvented itself at another location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom Festival was an alternative music festival free-for-all where all genres of music merged into a three-plus day weekend in the Portland, Oregon, area. Held at the Skamania County Fairgrounds in Stevenson, Washington, it housed what seemed like over a hundred bands on multiple stages and it captured magic, dirt, distortion, camping, and fun in one manic-swirled long weekend (usually the Labor Day holiday). It featured moments, like P.O.D. pouring its heart out before the world found out about them, Larry Norman spilling the beans on the Princess Diana tragedy during his concert, the MTV News crew filming Christians arguing at full shout about the legitimacy of the MxPx contract with Tooth &amp; Nail, Stavesacre firing on all cylinders, the members of Tourniquet launching fish and leftover sandwiches over the un-used rodeo stadium bleachers into a slam-dancing audience below, and so many other reported and unreported events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The thing about the festival that has lasted longer than its days as a surprisingly profitable event is the relationships that began or were cultivated over its hair-let-down, low-pretense playground for us &#8211; the fans who lived and breathed alternative Christian rock and its multi-layered culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the golden gem that Tom Convention set out to capture: hanging with your friends and musical heroes in an unpretentious giant one-size-fits-all green room where fans became equal with the celebrities that made the art and music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was not a music festival, but a convention. Like a comic-con where fans got to see the workings and hear the stories behind the stories about the comics they collected, Tom Con got fans, friends, and artists together to hang out. No stages. No festival line-ups. Just hang time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, there were some after-hours jam sessions with<strong> Allan Aguirre <\/strong>(Scaterd Few, Spy Glass Blue) and <strong>MorZan <\/strong>(Mortal meets Fold Zandura) performed at the end of Night #1; and <strong>Kerosene Halo <\/strong>(The Choir and 77s vocalists Derry Daughery and Mike Roe performing as an acoustic duo) and the<strong> Us Kids All-Stars <\/strong>playing hits from Common Bond, Altar Boys, Undercover, 441, and more) on Night #2. So, there was that. And that was spectacular. Imagine posting a performance of the Altar Boys early classic, &#8220;I&#8217;m Into God&#8221; to your friends that you experienced that song with in 1984. Yeah, the music was magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it was the conversations, the hang-time, the personal catching up with, and finding out about the real lives of these Christian alternative icons that made the real magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7016-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25980\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7016-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7016-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7016-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7016-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7016-2048x1151.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mikee Bridges <br>(All Photos by \u201cMatch\u201d @matchiam)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Mikee Bridges and his very helpful and supportive staff of friends, dreamed all this up and made it happen. Central to the event were several Question &amp; Answer (Q&amp;A) sessions with these iconic and yet oh-so real folks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not going to call him a genius, but it was a genius move for him and <strong>Eddie Harbour<\/strong> to collect and collate the following people into these brilliant Q&amp;A sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Allan Aguirre, Bryan Gray, Josh Hagquist, Dave Mast, Chad Pearson, <\/strong>and <strong>Neil Samoy<\/strong> were the panelists for the Tom Fest Veterans Q&amp;A Session. Hosted by Eddie Harbour, we heard stories of the Tom Fest experience. We heard true-to-life road stories on how these guys got to the Skamania County Fairgrounds. We learned why they liked this festival more than so many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25983\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6794-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25983\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6794-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6794-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6794-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6794-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6794-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25981\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6797-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25981\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6797-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6797-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6797-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6797-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6797-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25982\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6808-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6808-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6808-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6808-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6808-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6808-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jim Chaffin, Edie Goodwin, Robert Goodwin, Bryan Gray, <\/strong>and <strong>Justin Havoc<\/strong> were the &#8217;90s Punk Rock panelists, hosted by <strong>Joey Svendsen<\/strong> (of the infamous and funny <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2687jgtn2BYJn0PHjRldxn?si=d28fe4d6e7984d94\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bad Christian Podcast<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25984\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6823-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25984\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6823-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6823-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6823-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6823-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6823-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25985\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6828-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25985\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6828-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6828-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6828-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6828-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6828-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25986\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6831-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25986\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6831-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6831-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6831-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6831-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6831-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25987\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6832-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25987\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6832-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6832-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6832-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6832-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6832-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jeremy Alan Gould<\/strong> (of <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3aHJnxJNqM2wCxmJGU0Ba7?si=ee35eb863fd8455b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Rumors Are True<\/em> Podcast<\/a>) hosted what was called the &#8217;00s Heavy Music panel, which <strong>Ted Cookerly<\/strong> of EDL, <strong>David Mast<\/strong> of Redline and EchoCast, and <strong>Neil Samoy <\/strong>of Stairwell and Stavesacre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25988\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6858-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25988\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6858-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6858-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6858-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6858-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6858-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25990\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6867-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25990\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6867-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6867-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6867-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6867-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6867-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25992\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6878-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25992\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6878-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6878-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6878-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6878-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6878-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25989\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6901-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25989\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6901-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6901-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6901-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6901-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6901-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25991\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6914-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25991\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6914-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6914-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6914-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6914-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6914-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Leanor Ortega<\/strong> Till (aka Jeff the Girl from Five Iron Frenzy) hosted the &#8217;90s Alternative I panel, which included <strong>Allan Aguirre, Derri Daugherty, Tim Taber <\/strong>of the Prayer Chain, and<strong> Matt Johnson <\/strong>of Roadside Monument. Leanor does a great job in front of a crowd and got these guys to keep the fun stories coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Yours truly hosted the &#8217;90s Heavy Music panel, which featured <strong>Josh Hagquiest<\/strong> of Silage, The Beautiful Mistake, and Ember, <strong>Klank<\/strong>, <strong>Tim Mann<\/strong> of Focused, <strong>Pat Servedio <\/strong>(who played with Klank and SynthPop Lullabye), and <strong>Doug Thieme<\/strong> of Vengeance Rising. It was fun to bring up the giant Texas cockroaches crawling across the Marshall cabinet knobs story experienced by Vengeance. They each talked about infamous and legendary gigs they played, and what it was like to make loud, heavy music during that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25994\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6945-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6945-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6945-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6945-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6945-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6945-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25995\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6947-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6947-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6947-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6947-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6947-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6947-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25997\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6950-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25997\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6950-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6950-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6950-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6950-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6950-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25996\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6957-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6957-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6957-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6957-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6957-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6957-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25999\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6968-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25999\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6968-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6968-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6968-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6968-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6968-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"25998\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6963-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25998\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6963-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6963-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6963-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6963-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_6963-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you end up buying the dvd or digital video project that is in the works for this event, the Label Bosses panel hosted by Eddie Harbour will be worth the price alone. I don&#8217;t care how much it costs. This panel was unexpected and world class entertainment that would&#8217;ve kept America going during the Pandemic. If you thought <em>The Tiger King<\/em> was outrageously funny and worthy of a watch for the train wreck of it all, you will understand why this panel was so funny. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Granted, referencing <em>The Tiger King<\/em> is a completely wasted reference if you take it literally or try to somehow make any correlation between the two. They are completely unrelated, except for the unexpected entertainment value delivered. It was just great comedy that wasn&#8217;t exactly expected to be comedy. Here we had <strong>Jeff Cloud<\/strong> of Velvet Blue Music, <strong>Crystal Lewis<\/strong> of Metro One, <strong>Chad Pearson <\/strong>of The Militia Group and Tooth &amp; Nail Records, <strong>Tim Taber<\/strong> of Floodgate Records, <strong>Matt Wignall<\/strong> of Jackson-Rubio Records, and <strong>Jim Worthen<\/strong> of Frontline and Tooth &amp; Nail Records. That lineup alone would make for some great Q&amp;A, right? Yes, it did. In this 75-minute session we were given a glimpse into the record company machinery that delivered the bulk of our favorite music from the window we know as the nineties\/ought&#8217;s decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These stories alone were really, really interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But no one expected the comedy that ensued when Jeff Cloud gave emcee\/host Eddie Harbour a mean, dead-panned dig that referenced him not having a clue on how to serve a martini. Harbour took it on the chin and didn&#8217;t let it phase him, as he kept the conversations going. But Cloud would not let him off the hook, treating him as if an adversary. Think of the SNL skit with Sean Connery (played by Darrell Hammond) taking aim at <em>Jeopardy<\/em> gameshow host Alex Trebek (Will Ferrell) while choosing &#8220;The Rapist&#8221; as an answer instead of &#8220;Therapist.&#8221; Cloud played it to the hilt, at one later point taking out his martini shaker, shaking it noisily and nonchalantly, and pouring a drink for Crystal Lewis. The impromptu irreverence was palatable, and one could not dare look away for a second, not wanting to miss anything from this genius rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many fun stories from each of these labels origin stories were related and Matt Wignall&#8217;s story of rags to riches to rags was hilarious in its own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was just an amazing event to take in. Unbelievably awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Allan Aguirre<\/strong> brought his material from his awesome new solo album (you need to hear it), at times bouncy, times Bowie, and beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Morzan <\/strong>was minus Jerome Fontamollis from Mortal\/Switchfoot, but was electric and on. It was fun to see TOM Fest staff veteran and TOMCON Chief Enthusiast Rafael Archuleta get up on stage and howl the choruses from the great Mortal tune, &#8220;Alive and Awake.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>I had the privilege of hosting a panel called <strong><em>Remembering Mike Knott<\/em><\/strong>. Joining us for this festive roundtable was Mike&#8217;s daughter, Stormie. I bet she loved hearing some many notables talk about the genius talent, quirky behavior, and evangelistic bent her dad displayed. Joshua Lory, who performed with Mike plenty &#8211; especially in the last two decades, <strong>Chris Brigandi <\/strong>and <strong>Kevin Lee<\/strong>, who played with him in early incarnations of Lifesavers, LS Underground, and LSU, and <strong>Chuck Cummings<\/strong>, who of course played with him in Aunt Bettys. It was heartwarming, sad, funny, and spiritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26000\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7025-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7025-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7025-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7025-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7025-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7025-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26002\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7020-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26002\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7020-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7020-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7020-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7020-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7020-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26004\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7026-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26004\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7026-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7026-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7026-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7026-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7026-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26003\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7027-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7027-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7027-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7027-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7027-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7027-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26005\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7034-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7034-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7034-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7034-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7034-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7034-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26006\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7037-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26006\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7037-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7037-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7037-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7037-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7037-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26001\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7044-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7044-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7044-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7044-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7044-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7044-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Jeremy Alan Gould hosted the &#8217;90s Alternative II panel, featuring <strong>Chuck Cummings, Rob Gallas <\/strong>of Black and White World, <strong>Riki Michele, Rich Moonstomp, <\/strong>and <strong>Jeremy Post<\/strong> of Black Eyed Sceva. Of course, it was wonderful to hear Riki talk about working with Gene Eugene. Story after story of how simple and fun those Studio A sessions were emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26010\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7053-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7053-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7053-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7053-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7053-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7053-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26009\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7060-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7060-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7060-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7060-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7060-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7060-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26007\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7080-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26007\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7080-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7080-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7080-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7080-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7080-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26008\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7094-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26008\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7094-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7094-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7094-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7094-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7094-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26012\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7151-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26012\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7151-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7151-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7151-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7151-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7151-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26013\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7155-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26013\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7155-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7155-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7155-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7155-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7155-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26014\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7162-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26014\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7162-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7162-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7162-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7162-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7162-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26011\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7140-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7140-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7140-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7140-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7140-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7140-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Leanor <\/strong>hosted the most genius-ly-planned panel of the entire event. It was Women Rock and it was much-needed, frank, and energizing to hear these ladies tell their stories of dominating and taking ground in the machismo man-ruled world of rock and roll. <strong>Edie Goodwin<\/strong> of Headnoise talked openly and matter-of-factly about giving her audience Jesus. It was the most important thing and she brought it then in multiple dive bars and on this day in an educational panel. It was so cool to hear from <strong>Judita Wignall, Deanna Moody, <\/strong>and <strong>Natalie Bolanos <\/strong>of the Halo Friendlies, who toured the Van&#8217;s Warped Tour back in those days. <strong>Kim Tennberg<\/strong> shared the struggles and successes she and Flight 180 experienced. <strong>Riki Michele <\/strong>and <strong>Crystal Lewis<\/strong> were the veterans of the group, but their stories of their youth were vibrant and riveting as if they were still teens telling their stories. This panel would&#8217;ve killed it in any context &#8211; South by Southwest or the old New Music Seminar. Great stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-9 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26015\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7177-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26015\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7177-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7177-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7177-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7177-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7177-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26016\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7181-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7181-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7181-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7181-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7181-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7181-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26017\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7189-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7189-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7189-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7189-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7189-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7189-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26018\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7194-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7194-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7194-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7194-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7194-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7194-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26019\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7203-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7203-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7203-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7203-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7203-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7203-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chris Brigandi <\/strong>hosted the &#8217;80s Alternative panel, which was filled with legends in our book: <strong>Mike Stand, Jeff Crandall, Gary Olson, Kenny Riley <\/strong>of Common Bond,<strong> Michael Roe, Mini Mendez, <\/strong>and <strong>Gym Nicholson.<\/strong> It was fascinating and harrowing to hear about the &#8220;big meeting with Pastor Chuck on the lawn at Calvary Chapel, where the Ministry Resource Center label artists were all let go. Only in an inclusive setting like this would you get this kind of information and testimony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-10 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26021\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7238-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26021\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7238-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7238-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7238-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7238-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7238-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26022\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7256-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7256-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7256-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7256-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7256-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7256-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"26023\" src=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7259-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7259-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7259-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7259-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7259-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_7259-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Eddie Harbour was a-okay after the previous day&#8217;s panel (in all honesty, it had to be an inside job that they both played effortlessly and professionally) to host the &#8217;00s Alternative panel, which featured <strong>Eric Campuzano, Bryan Gray, Orlando Greenhill, Matthew Johnson, <\/strong>and <strong>Jyro La Villa. <\/strong>It was another epic panel and it was so fun to hear about all the musical experiences Orlando has had over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kerosene Halo<\/strong> sounded as great as these two legends would have you believe. The <strong>Us Kids All-Stars<\/strong> (carrying the same name as a very cool documentary on the Christian alternative music scene that is in the works) jammed so many fun old tunes from Common Bond, Lifesavers, Undercover, and the Altar Boys. Fun was had as these old rockers let it fly with gusto, grit, and passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s just a brief overview of what happened. The panels were entertaining and the live performances were as well, but the goal of capturing the spirit of this scene was spot on accomplished. I came away feeling exactly as I&#8217;d hoped. Mikee and crew should be proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">(All Photos by \u201cMatch\u201d @matchiam)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you ever go to the Tom Festival? What? You did not attend one of the veritable incarnation of the &#8217;90s alternative Christian music revolution events? Well, I did. I attended them all, until it took a break and then reinvented itself at another location. Tom Festival was an alternative music festival free-for-all where all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[4252,4253,4254,4051],"class_list":["post-25977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-tom","tag-tom-con","tag-tom-convention","tag-tom-festival","cat-17-id"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tom Convention Review - The Original Heaven&#039;s Metal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doug Van Pelt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"17 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/\",\"name\":\"Tom Convention Review - The Original Heaven&#039;s Metal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tomcon-emblem.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-29T04:58:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-30T03:56:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#\/schema\/person\/b155afeb7086c8182b3bb3b435e68c4b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tomcon-emblem.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tomcon-emblem.jpg\",\"width\":796,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/tom-convention-review\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tom Convention Review\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hmmagazine.com\/dvanpelt\/\",\"name\":\"The Original Heaven&#039;s Metal\",\"description\":\"Former Editor-in-Chief. 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