by Erin Hogan
On May 3 the Taconic Valley got a rare treat in the form of a Christian rock concert in the auditorium of the Berlin Central High School. Kiros and Seventh Day Slumber rocked the roof for the community courtsey of Courier Printing, Brookside Bed and Breakfast, the staff and faculity of the Berlin Central School District and the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church. Not only were there the two bands, there was a set up to help underprivileged children. And, according to Sherry Bowman-Kluck, $1,000 will be given at the next School Board meeting to the Berlin Music Program, $100 to the Drama Club and $100 to the School Catering Crew from the concert’s profits.
The night started off with Kiros’ uncontrollable sound and the guitar players jumping and flipping all over the stage. After they were finished, there was an intermission where the public was able to meet the band
and get autographs. Kiros hails from Calgreen, Canada, and has played on the Vans Warped Tour and Bamboosal, which are both big concert tours. In an interview with front man Barry, the bassist, he said, “You don’t always know what to expect when you come into a town where you don’t know where the town is, but we just want to see people have fun.” These guys are a Christian rock band that play in churches, schools and bars. Barry said that they are a very “versatile” band with Christian values, but they try not to shove it down people’s throats.
Next on the line up was Seventh Day Slumber. Seventh Day Slumber was intense and kept the audience involved musically and emotionally. Front man Joseph Rojas talked to the audience about his struggle during his life and how, when he was in the lowest point of his life, God saved him. There was hardly a dry eye in the audience by the time he was done talking. He challenged t
he audience to be selfless and help others.
One way he challenged people was to help a child, which is one of his ways of give back through an organization Compassion. More than five kids were adopted through this program. The process of “adopting” a child is by paying $38 a month to help feed and clothe a child in another country. But in order to take part you also write letters back and forth with your child. Kasey Day, a local teen who adopted a child was so overwhelmed with the fact she was “saving a life” like Seventh Day Slumber explained, she was crying. She said, “ I have a little girl! I can save her life!”
The auditorium which was packed to the gills with over four hundred people, some of whom drove over an hour to see the bands, left the concert feeling good from not only the music but the fact that they helped others and the wise words of encouragement the band spoke.
Seventh Day Slumber left this reporter with these final thoughts, “ Life is not hopeless. As a person who’s come from a small town, don’t allow the small town’s walls to keep you in the mind set that you can’t do anything big. You can truly do all things when God gives you strength.”
