Three-day festival at Milkie’s is free, too

By Zach Abramo

Three days. Twenty-two bands. … That might be more metal than a fan could ask for, but it’s what Doused in Death IV is bringing to Milkie’s this weekend. 

If you want to explore what Buffalo’s local metal scene has to offer, it’s a perfect opportunity to  connect with the beauty the metal scene has on full display.

Doused in Death IV will be at at Milkie’s (522 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo) from Friday through Sunday (June 6-8) with 22 bands playing. The event is free and it is a 21+ event. The festival not only highlights Buffalo’s local scene, but sheds light too on bands from Rochester and Ohio.

This year is the fourth year of the Doused in Death event. This year, Doused in Death IV is put together by Jon Lambert and Jake Bertram. Lambert runs Noise Dosage Media, a local all-encompassing scoop on the local metal community. Bertram is a talented graphic artist known for his unique style, which was vividly used throughout this event. 

Both are heavily integrated in the local metal community. Together Lambert and Bertram have used their skills, talent and love for metal to create an extremely unique must attend event. 

In a recent interview, Lambert and Bertram gave some background on Doused in Death. 

Where did the idea for Doused in Death come from?

JL: Doused in Death was like a funny joke in my head years ago where I was just like, I wonder if I could pull off an extended concert? 

There’s a big difference between going to a one-off concert, versus getting in a truck with six of your friends with a 30 pack and driving into downtown Baltimore. It’s just a totally different experience, like a festival versus a concert. Basically the Doused in Death started from me, but slowly I’ve needed help, and Jake has been a big help in terms of just keeping it going.

I realized that music festivals were super cool from Maryland Deathfest. I wanted to bring it back to Buffalo. I felt like that was one thing that was kind of lacking …  something that was (going to) push to the limits.” 

Where did the idea to make this event free come from?

JL: I kind of thought to myself, :Why not just have a really fun music festival with all my friends?” And that’s really what it comes down to. It’s just a big party of me and Jake trying to support our friends, and that’s all it really is.

JB: And that’s a big part of why it’s free for everybody. It’s just because we want people to show up and have a good time. We don’t want anyone to feel like they’re sort of obligated to give something to enjoy the bands and all that. If you want to support them, they could just buy some merch, buy some CDs, you know? But overall, just come hang out and party for a few days.”

How did you manage to put on this event for free?

JL: I basically said, “Look, your venue, Milkie’s, needs to make a profit, and I understand that, so you can keep all of the beer and the food sales. But, in terms of admission, that’s going to be free. Because that’s a promoter’s call.”

And I feel like these days, when it comes down to the music industry in general, obviously everything’s a business. Everything’s gotta be the almighty dollar. But you know me and Jake were like, “No, we’re not doing that.” That’s not what we do this for, it’s for fun, you know, it’s not a profit. And that’s the biggest difference between our event and other people’s event.

How did you guys narrow it down to Milkie’s?

JB: I feel like there’s not a whole lot of spaces around Buffalo that really even hosts many shows anymore. Especially like multiple day events, and Milkie’s just kind of ended up being very kind to us and very open. We hosted a show there last fall, and it ended up being a great time. There’s enough space for people to move. They’re happy to post up our flyers and whatnot. All the staff there are super friendly to us. They don’t get in the way. They don’t try to micromanage anything. They’re honestly just all super awesome …  Milkie’s just kind of fell into being the perfect spot for this.”

Who are the headliners for Doused in Death IV?

JB: I feel like it’s not exactly organized to where the headliner is the biggest band. But every day has a bigger name. We have Morgue Terror, which is definitely becoming more popular in the area; Lord Loss, super talented obviously; and Hubris. They’re awesome. They play a lot of shows and I feel like having at least one of those bands every day is going to encourage more people to come just because it’s a familiar name. So it’s like, “Oh yeah, I’d love to come spend my time at this event.” And “I might as well stay for the bands that I don’t recognize.”  Maybe it’ll give (the lesser-known bands) a chance to sort of one day headline their own shows if that makes sense.”

For those that want to know what to expect once they put their foot through the door, Lambert has a way of thinking about it: “If you like Mortal Kombat, you should come. It’s not about the video game, but it’s the only music festival in Buffalo that’ll (figuratively) offer you Mortal Kombat too.”

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Jim Santillo, also known as the “Grindfather” of Buffalo, is the drummer for the bands Anthropic and Mental Anguish. Both bands are playing in Doused in Death IV. Santillo has played Doused in Death before as well. His thoughts: 

Compared to the previous Doused in Death Shows, what can we expect?

JS:  This is the biggest. The one in Amy’s Place was two days. If I remember correctly, it was six to eight bands each day. That’s still a lot. Only Friday (and) Saturday. So this is the one where he’s doing three days, so that’s cool.

It’s just everyone hanging out and just having fun. Milkie’s is bigger and they have great food.”

Is it safe to say that Doused in Death IV is a sampler of what Buffalo’s metal scene has to offer?

JS: Oh yeah. There’s I think a DJ, black metal bands, there’s death, there’s punk. There’s everything for sure. This is definitely a good compilation and swath of what’s out there.

Do you think events like this are healthy for the local metal scene and community?

JS: Absolutely! Anytime you can have a show where all the bands are there together. Most band folks, I would say, are fans to some extent. So even if there aren’t 4,000 people there, you’re still gonna play the bands and their members. There’s still gonna be bands I’ve never heard of. … There’s going to be people that I’ve known about and I’ve talked to, but I’ve never gotten to see them, or I’ve never played with them. Stuff like that is going to happen, especially with us playing for two days. It’s definitely good for sure.

Expect a bunch of cool folks;  nobody’s there to intimidate you. No one’s there to laugh at you, no one’s there to pick on you, none of that. They want to dance. If you fall down, they’re going to pick you up. No one’s there to try to kick you in the face. Everyone’s just there to have a good time and hang out and eat some good food.”

Doused in Death IV will be a grand exhibition of all that is metal in Buffalo. This year’s Doused in Death festival is a strong reminder of how important both music and community are to each other.