Having all the necessary forces in place, The Surge will commence with Operation Phantom Thunder -- a/k/a the Surge of Operations -- on Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. in Washington D.C. A Joint Security Station will be established at the Bobby Fisher Memorial Building, located at 1644 North Capitol St. NW, just a few short blocks from the New York Avenue stop on the Red Line.We're playing with Ingrid and B-more riot-folk singer Ryan Harvey, but a certain coalition partner holds a special significance for me. That would be From The Depths, a great new operatic metalcore band from North Carolina, which features an old friend of mine, *****, on guitar. ***** used to play in one of my favorite (and best) hardcore bands, Catharsis, and then went on to form another of my favorite (and best) hardcore bands, Requiem. In another coincidence, Catharsis played the first show of my old band Yakub. I'm looking forward to the show, but I'm really looking forward to catching up with *****.

The show is a benefit for Elizabeth Sanders' legal defense fund. According to the information I've been provided, Elizabeth is "a member of the activist community in DC. She is being falsely charged with participation in a mass grocery walkout at Whole Foods. On the eve of the October 22nd No War No Warming actions, while outside the convergence center, Elizabeth was snatched off the street by undercover police and interrogated. She was falsely identified, based on a physical resemblance to a person the police were seeking in connection to the incident at Whole Foods." Hard-working promoters are requesting a $7-$10 donation. E-mail supportthesurge-at-gmail-dot-com for more information. Come early, as we're playing first.