Buzzed and Baked

Florida's New Rock Alternative, as it calls itself, cooks up a festival of piping-hot alterna-rock goodness with the Buzz Bake Sale this Saturday. The daylong concert, benefiting the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, is brought together by Smirnoff Ice and Buzz 103.1 FMand offers a lineup of 17 bands -- roughly the same size as the station's play list.

But all kidding about limited musical horizons aside, the Buzz Bake Sale does put up a pretty good representation of the rock status quo. The roster includes national acts, a local fave, and even a once-local, now- national group.

The local boys in question are Cave, who somehow managed to get "Holy Man," off their debut CD, Echoing the Masses, put into rotation on 103.1. Only time will tell whether Cave goes the way of fellow Floridians New Found Glory, whose emo-punk sound happened to be the right stuff at the right time and has ensured them a place on the bill as well. A large minority of the national acts on the list are actually from the West Coast, though: folks like Stroke 9, Sugarcult, and Orange County natives Lit and Handsome Devil. Of course, that's not too surprising, given the large role SoCal has played in the revivals of both punk and metal.

Another area that can lay claim to a metallic renaissance is the Northeast, which is home to both Reveille and the Bake Sale's headliner, Staind. By now, the typical Buzz listener should be thoroughly familiar with this latter act; "It's Been Awhile" has seen enough airplay on the station to almost make Britney Spears envious. And even Staind owes something of its success to the Florida music scene: The band's breakthrough album was recorded in Jacksonville at the behest of Limp Bizkit front man turned nu-metal svengali Fred Durst.