Operation Rock Tour convoy to arrive in Houma

The Operation Rock Tour convoy is converging on Houma to honor our men and women in uniform with the kind of high praise only a rock concert can deliver, a discount to check out three awesome bands.

Hydrovibe, Bobaflex and Egypt Central round out the concert lineup, which will be Sept. 1 at the Brickhouse on 7934 Main Street.

“We come across a lot of people in the military and it just really touched us. We’d see people and say we’re coming back in two months and they’d say, oh well, I’m leaving and going to Iraq,” said Hydrovibe lead singer and south Louisiana native Heather St. Marie. “It’s just really kind of hit close to home for us, that all these people are making all these sacrifices, so that we have our freedom.”

St. Marie is a graduate of South Lafourche High School. She attended Louisiana Tech before moving to Los Angeles, Calif., and taking a graphic designer job.

She said Hydrovibe and the other bands participating in the tour shared the same booking agent and got together to put on the Operation Rock Tour.

“We said look guys, let’s do something in honor of these men and women, who are going out there and making these sacrifices for us. And everyone really agreed it was a great idea and that’s how Operation Rock was born,” said St. Marie.

St. Marie’s grandfather fought in World War II and her father fought in the Vietnam War.

“I thought it was a great idea,” said Bobaflex guitar player and backup vocalist Martin McCoy. “I’m from West Virginia. Everybody goes into the military there.”

He said several soldiers have come up to him and told him they just got back and it was the first concert they’ve been to since they’ve got back.

The veterans told McCoy it had been a little hard adjusting back to normal life, but the show was one of the best they had seen.

“I’d like to play all military bases. That would be an awesome thing,” he said.

McCoy, by the way, is a descendant of the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud.

The tour also includes the New York-based band Fixer, which will not be coming down to Louisiana for the tour.

St. Marie (vocals) and north Louisiana native Mat Dauzat (guitar, vocals) formed Hydrovibe in Los Angeles when they added Swiss native Phillippe Mathys (drums) and

Eliot Lorango (bass) of Los Angeles.

“We’ve been telling them (her non-local band mates and the other bands on the tour), you guys, when we get to south Louisiana, it’s going to be amazing,” said St. Marie. “I’m always proud to take people down to my home and see what it’s like.”

The title track of the band’s EP, “Killer Inside,” made it onto the “SAW III” soundtrack and into the film.

The band’s sound is a mix of songs rich in lyrical and melodic content with a heavy, edgy sound.

The Point Pleasant, West Virginia based band Bobaflex (pronounced like Boba Fett from the “Star Wars” movies) combines heavy metal, hip-hop beats and bizarre lyrics for a unique sound.

The band has previously toured with Megadeath, Mudvayne and Sevendust and has signed with TVT Records.

The group posted a song, “Sellout” from its upcoming album, “Tales From Dirt Town,” on its MySpace and is formed of members, Jerod Mankin (bass), Mike Steele (guitar) of Slidell, Shaun McCoy (lead vocals, guitar), Thomas Johnson (drums) and, of course, Martin McCoy (vocals, guitar).

“There’s a real good feeling about this tour. All the bands on it are really good and I kind of feel like I’m sitting in the middle of four bands that are going to have something going on in the next couple of years, a lot bigger than anyone ever expected,” said McCoy.

Egypt Central recently finished recording its debut album with producer Josh Abraham, who is known for his work with Velvet Revolver, Limp Bizkit and 30 Seconds to Mars.

The band recently performed dates on Ozzfest and the Family Values Tour and heralds from Memphis, Tenn.

Eqypt Central consists of John T. Falls (vocals), Blake Allison (drums, vocals), Joey Chicago (bass, vocals), Heath Hindman (guitar) and Jeff James (guitar).

Tickets for the Operation Rock Tour will run $5 with a military ID and $10 for the general public at the Brickhouse. The concert is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

Louisiana residents might also be interested to know the tour will be stopping in Baton Rouge at Clicks Billiards at 5124 Corporate Boulevard the day before and in New Orleans at the Hangar on 1511 South Rendon the day after.

At Clicks, tickets will cost $10 and $4 with a military ID.

The Hangar sells advanced tickets online for $10 at http://ticketweb.com. Tickets at the door cost $13 and $5 with a military ID.

Hyrdrovibe will be at the Brick House on September 1 for the Operation Rock Tour. * Photo courtesy of Hydrovibe.