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Last updated: Thursday, Feb. 23, 1:09 a.m.
Style & Culture

6gig is gone, but never forgotten

Former front man returns to Orono Monday with new band Lost on Liftoff

By Pattie Barry
Posted on Nov. 21, 2005, at 12:00 a.m.
HIT THE GROUND - Lost on Liftoff lead singer Walter Craven performs with the band at Ushuaia Wednesday.
laura giorgio
HIT THE GROUND - Lost on Liftoff lead singer Walter Craven performs with the band at Ushuaia Wednesday.

It may be that Headstart! used to open for 6gig, but Wednesday night Walter Craven and his new band, Lost on Liftoff, opened the Portland scene on Ushuaia’s stage.

Ushuaia’s Wednesday night event boasted a mix of the local and Portland scenes, coming together for a spectacle of nu-metal aggro-rock. Local highschoolers Zebuesk started the show at 8 p.m. with a strong fan base on the floor. Locals Final and Propel followed suit, swinging heavy bass riffs punctuated with power chords. Both Final and Propel hosted two lead singers, a situation which worked for the latter but not for the former.

Much anticipated Lost on Liftoff took the stage at 10:30 p.m. Ushuaia marked the band’s sixth show, though their on-stage chemistry was evident. If former 6gig front man Walter Craven was trying to shake off the 6gig image, he wasn’t trying very hard, as he took the stage wearing a t-shirt of his former band.

“After a year of, just like, dwindling enthusiasm, we just decided to retire 6gig,” Craven said after the set. He joined Lost on Liftoff bandmates guitarist Nick, drummer Shane and bassist Dan in April of last year.

“We recorded songs before we even played a concert,” Craven said. The first show was two months ago in New Hampshire.

In terms of the Portland music scene, Craven commented that it “comes and goes in phases.

“I think its still thriving. There are a lot of good bands that are keeping it together – of course, you always have the cornerstones like PSC [Paranoid Social Club], As Fast As, and Headstart!,” he said. “The reason that it lulls, I think, is because of the lack of places to play.”

Headstart! finished up the night with some of their new songs, “Bitches and Bastards” and “Back at the Beginning.”

Headstart, Propel, Zebuesk and Lost on Liftoff all have Web sites on Myspace.com where you can listen to and download more of their music. The last 4 songs recorded by 6gig are also available on that band’s Myspace Web site as well.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 21st, 2005, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.

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