To honor Sversvold, a tribute show will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at The Rhythm Room. Billed as a celebration of life and a benefit concert for Sversvold's family, the lineup includes Jody Foster's Army, Peace Through Power, Medieval Knievels, Fat Gray Cat and The Sleaze.
Michael Pistrui, singer for Fat Gray Cat and a longtime friend of Sversvold, says the idea for a tribute concert arose fairly quickly after the drummer's passing.
"Dee (Moreno) had reached out to me and Michael Cornelius about putting it together, so I started looking for venues and so it didn’t take very long. It was just a matter of finding a spot willing to do the event and Rhythm Room was one that was willing to do it," he says. "It all just kind of came together. Dee started reaching out to some of the people that Mike used to play music with. Everybody kind of just stepped up to the plate."
Tributes to Sversvold will start off the afternoon at 1 p.m. Around 2, the music will begin, when Jody Foster's Army will perform an acoustic set. Peace Through Power will do covers of songs by Rabid Rabbit, another band Sversvold was in. After Medieval Knievels, Fat Gray Cat and The Sleaze, the event is scheduled to wrap up by 6 p.m.
All proceeds from the event, including money raised from special merch such as posters, T-shirts and stickers, will go to Sversvold's mother.
Pistrui says he's honored to help organize the celebration of life for a musician who's made such an impact on him.
"My first experience with Bam Bam was as a 15-year-old skateboarder from Chandler going to his first punk rock concert at Mad Gardens and watching him play," he says. He started a band the next day.
Growing up in the scene, Pistrui and other young people looked up to people like Sversvold.
"For us, the local bands were just as good, if not better, than the touring bands that came through. We’d literally follow Bam around those shows like total fanboys. They were rock stars to us. The thing that appealed to us is not only were they punk rockers, they were skateboarders. They were just like us," he says.
Mike "Bam Bam" Sversvold spent his career in some of Phoenix's most legendary punk bands.
Courtesy of Mike Sversvold
Eventually, Pistrui reached an age and a level where he and Sversvold played shows together and became friends.
"Bam Bam, he was kind of the epitome of punk rock — the way he carried himself — but he was very friendly, very approachable. He was a fantastic skateboarder and one of the best punk drummers from that time.
"Everybody’s going to remember him for being a super-nice guy, super down-to-earth, loved music, loved skateboarding, and I’m going to miss listening to his stories of the old days. If there was a Mount Rushmore of punk rock in Arizona, he might be one of those guys," he says.
Although the show is a tribute to Sversvold, Pistrui stresses that the event is open to the public, and anyone who likes punk music or Arizona music history or just wants to see a cool show is welcome to join.
"The more, the merrier," he says. "I know it would make Mike ecstatic."
Celebration of Life & Benefit for Mike Sversvold & Family. With Jody Foster's Army, Peace Through Power, Medieval Knievels, Fat Gray Cat and The Sleaze. 1 p.m. Saturday, July 20. The Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Road. Cost is $15. Get tickets and info on The Rhythm Room website.
