Off the Charts: Local Rock ‘n Roll Takes Over Mars Music Hall

Bud Gambrell

Apr 11, 2025

Presenting Rocket City Night of Rock ‘n Roll by Mike Slaten Productions

Is it possible to go to a party and not realize it is a party until you get there? I would say that is a tremendous yes! That is precisely what happened this past Saturday Night.

This story begins on March 10, 2025. I was surfing social media, searching for funny memes, when I came across a friend of mine, Mike Slaten’s page. He had just announced that his production company had assembled a local concert at Mars Music Hall, part of the Von Braun Center.

If your first guess is that I reached out to inquire whether they needed a photographer, you would be spot on. You think you’re getting to know me a little, huh?

We can now fast forward to April 5, 2025. It’s the day of the concert, and like most other shows I photograph, I arrive early. It was almost straightaway that I noticed that the atmosphere was very comfortable. It had the feeling that everyone there was friends. That impression was accurate.

I learned from chatting with the musicians that many of them have worked together before, which adds great chemistry to the evening! Some had not, but everyone was fast friends when showtime came around.

Also, everyone’s friend Bill Neal was in attendance backstage. Bill and his son Tracer (that name is a secret identity) produce a podcast called Pickletato. They were present to broadcast live teasers for the concert throughout the afternoon.

You will soon learn more about Pickletato. First, we'll have a chance to catch up with Bill a little later in this article, so stay tuned! Second, I'm excited to share that I'll join the podcast Pickletato for a recording next week! I can't wait to dive into some fun discussions and explore new topics together. Stay tuned for that also. I plan to write an entertaining article about them and share their goals on their podcast. I can't wait to dive into their story!

Tonight’s concert is named Rocket City Night of Rock N’ Roll, presented by Mike Slaten Productions. The show would consist of four local bands. Opening the night would be The Shoals' own Blind the Sky. Second on the stage will be a Huntsville favorite, Angry Native. The third act will be Mike Slaten’s band Tres Locos. I know. I thought the same thing. Mike organized the show, and his band didn’t headline. More on that later. Our headliner is New Atomic.

Get ready because this night is chock-full of talent! Before I dive in, I want to give a massive shoutout to all the fantastic members of the four bands for making me feel so welcome. You all are awesome! You are all exceptional musicians, and even more importantly, you are outstanding individuals!

Entertainment Booking & Event Manager, Craig Maples, and Mike Slaten of Mike Slaten Productions co-organized the Rocket City Night of Rock' N 'Roll concert. I spoke with the VBC and Mike to learn about this show.

VBC’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Samantha Nielsen, gave me the venue's perspective.

SN: The VBC focuses on bringing national touring acts to Mars Music Hall; however, when we have open weekend dates, we love taking those opportunities to support our community’s local artists! Mars is a fantastic venue that is plug-and-play with our audio and visual setup, so the local acts have a unique experience to not only perform on the same stage as some of their favorite touring bands, but they also receive the complete rock-star treatment with tour-quality lighting and sound, as well as utilizing the backstage area and dressing rooms.

In my discussion with Mike Slaten, he informed me of how it came to be from his side.

MS: Last month, the VBC hosted a local show called the Anti Valentine's Day show with five local bands. Basically, Craig and the guys at Mars and the VBC said they were tired of the venue sitting empty in between when big national touring acts are coming through. They wanted to try to get people into the venue. It's a great venue! It doesn't need to sit here, taking up space and trying to generate revenue. So, they held that concert, and I think 400 or 500 people showed up. It was an excellent turnout. Everybody involved, you know, benefited from it.

Samantha with the VBC went on to tell me.

SN: For us, these local shows are a win-win all around. They’re great for the artists, get people inside the venue on what would otherwise be off nights, and allow us to host amazing shows for the community that are often free and for all ages.

OTC: Mike, where did it all begin for you?

MS: I've been talking to many VBC guys for years. Whenever any big show comes through, I ask, “Hey, you need an opener?” The answer is usually "no." When I learned about last month’s local show, I got back in touch and said, I'd like to put on a show here. When the first show went well, they hit me up and said they had a date available. I tried to pick out some of the best bands. Of course, I didn't get all of them. Hopefully, tons of great bands are on the list for future shows. We put together what I think is a very unique, diverse show of great local rock bands. And then everybody just started promoting and sharing, and the response has been excellent so far. So we're hoping for a good turnout.

To give you a little background, I have been working with the VBC for the last few years as one of their pool of event photographers. I talk to Samantha often as she handles our bookings. The entire VBC staff is fantastic to work with! Unsurprisingly, they are opening the doors to our city’s wonderfully talented musicians!

OTC: Mike, how did you decide on which bands to have for tonight?

MS: So, it's bands that we have played with before and are friends with. There are a lot of other bands that we're friends with and have played with, but these are some of the bands that were available on this particular date, and you know, bands that we've built a good friendship with. I thought these bands would help bring in a good crowd and put on a great show. These are bands that I think deserve to be on a big stage in front of a good crowd and get to have an opportunity like this.

OTC: Have you played at Mars before?

MS: Once, Tres Locos played here. I think it was 2021. They were doing local bands only during the pandemic. It was tables six feet apart and all that kind of stuff. You know, trying to get some people in during that time, and of course, it was still in the pandemic, so few people showed up.

OTC: So, you played here once. I would guess there were a lot of nerves playing this stage for the first time. Now, you're coming back for a second time. Do you feel more relaxed so you can get out there and kick it up a notch?

MS: Yeah, I think so. I mean, for me personally, I think there's always a little bit of nerves, especially if you're on a bigger stage or you have a really big crowd. Years ago, I learned from teachers and other people with more experience that nervousness is good if it's a nervous energy. It's good to direct that positively instead of letting it debilitate you to the point where you can't get up, perform, sing, or whatever. So yeah, there's always a little bit of nerves, but really just excitement.

OTC: I'm familiar with your band, Tres Locos. I have also seen Angry Native before. I know what to expect from those two bands. It's going to be good! Now, I'm not familiar with the other two. Please tell me what I can expect from those other two bands playing tonight.

MS: Alright, so Blind the Sky is from the Shoals area. If you know anything about musicians, bands, and people from there, it seems there’s something in the water. Every musician or band we've played with is from that area; there is something different about them. They are a two-piece band. They don't have a live drummer. They have drums programmed into their pedal boards, and it's incredible! They're phenomenal musicians! They are two guys who sometimes sound like a five or six-piece band. They've got keyboards programmed in the pedals. The bass player will play something that sounds like he's playing the piano. Epic, epic music, great songwriting. That's about the best way I can describe them. Then, New Atomic. They're the headliner. I think they started in 2020, if I'm not mistaken. They've built a pretty substantial following in Huntsville. They play Furniture Factory, The Lone Goose, and Back 40. You know, a lot of those places draw a vast crowd. They're fun! They're younger guys, so they attract a younger crowd, a younger audience. They're mostly playing originals, but they play a lot of stuff from the '90s at many of their bar gigs around town. They play Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, and Foo Fighters. They're really good and really fun. They play with a lot of energy, and many people around here like them.

OTC: So, if I'm getting this right, you picked the bands, but your band is not the headliner.

MS: Correct. I picked New Atomic to headline because I feel like they have a bigger local draw. The band will bring the most significant portion of the crowd. I think they should. They should headline the show.

OTC: So, you were playing the odds.

MS: Yep!

As I mentioned earlier, Bill Neal from the podcast Pickletato was in attendance. I first met Bill at The Alabama Smoke Show in 2024. That show was also at Mars Music Hall and highlighted some excellent local bands.

Bills’ podcast does a fantastic job of highlighting local bands on a personal level. The podcast has grown to include live performances of the bands during their interviews. We will cover this a lot closer in an upcoming article.

Of course, since Bill was in attendance, I had to ask him for his input on the concert we were attending.

The Pickletato Podcast

OTC: Bill, tell me what brings Pickletato here tonight.

BN: Mike Slaten invited me. The reason he invited me is that Mike and I are good friends, and he wanted to know if I could help him, you know, promote the event and be able to do the interviews like I did earlier. I'm just trying to get the word out as much as possible so we can do this in the future. I think the outcome of what happens tonight, although we have some possible lousy weather coming in, will probably not be as good as we thought it would be. Maybe, maybe not. I might be wrong, but I think this weather coming in might be an issue. But I think the outcome is going to lead him to being able to bring local musicians into these types of venues again.

Bill Neal of the Pickletato Podcast in Alabama — Credit: Bud Gambrell

OTC: Are you familiar with the four bands playing tonight?

BN: The only one I’m unfamiliar with is Blind the Sky. I think they're out of Muscle Shoals. Mike introduced me to them. When he said they would be on, I listened to some of their songs because I hadn't heard them. I really like their stuff! Hopefully, I can get those guys on our podcast in the future. We're pretty booked up for a good three months, but we will try to get those guys on there in the future. I'm very familiar with Tres Locos and Angry Native. I’ve known Flip and those guys for quite a while now. New Atomic. I just had those guys on the podcast, which hasn’t been released yet. It should be out here in the next week or so. Great group of guys! Sitting in with those guys was like watching brothers talk to each other, and seeing that many people in a band love each other so much was cool! You know, some bands barely even look at each other. But you can tell that those guys are tight. I think one of the reasons is that, as they said in an interview, they didn't really want to do this to get big or anything. They just wanted to be with friends and have a good time! I think that it shows with their music when they're playing.

OTC: What do you think we're in store for tonight? Do you think there should be more people here tonight?

BN: Oh, absolutely! More people should be here. I mean, this place should be packed! I wish this whole thing were being recorded. It's hard for a two-person team to record something this big, but it would be nice to have something like this recorded so people can see the quality of musicians that these guys are and the show they will be missing. A lot of these guys have their original songs. In my opinion, it should be at the top of the charts. They have some really good original songs that you know they’ll be playing tonight, so everybody and their brother should be here!

This article has so much visual content that I can show you. I can show you the concert flyers, the stage, and how good they looked on stage. I can even show you backstage, where most people rarely get to see. The one thing I can’t show you, and I’m not sure I can precisely describe to you, is the camaraderie.

Backstage is not where I often hang out but tonight was one of those nights when I did. I have seen bands use different green rooms, but I have noticed that they stay separate. The bands at The Rocket City Night of Rock N’ Roll were a fun mix of different styles, making every performance a unique experience!

There is one thing that I have always enjoyed about a band playing live. That one thing is being able to tell that they enjoy what they do. I love seeing musicians enjoy what they are doing. I observed so much of that at this show. That enjoyment was backstage as well as on stage. Well done, guys!

Until next time,

Keep your diamond down in the groove!