EMPOWER Benefit Field Report, with ASIID & Supreme Soul Interviews

Field reporter Jayne Kanishak (who also writes YouLovetoWatch, a blog devoted to Reality TV) attended the EMPOWER benefit produced by Soulciety.org. Here's her report, complete with interviews with ASIID and Supreme Soul:

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Soulciety show in Alameda, CA, featuring ABDC alumni Supreme Soul and ASIID. Smart Mark from Phresh Select also did a smashing solo performance.

Soulciety was organized by Ron Carino in an effort to educate and benefit underprivileged youth overseas. The Alameda installment of the non-profit fundraiser was packed to the reafters with amazing talent. From beat boxing, to turntablism, to turntablism with a solo violinist, to spoken word, to some of the freshest, most unique (check out Ill Abilities) dancing Alameda has seen in a while, the truly wonderful acts kept a smile on my face for the entire two-hour show. The energy was upbeat with positive vibes coming from the crowd. It really was a great night and a very successful show. ASIID started the night off right with a touching lyrical piece to Halo by Beyonce. This was a very technical and difficult piece; something we really didn't get to see from the group on ABDC. I was totally impressed. Later in the evening, ASIID brought the house down with a slamming combination of jazz and hip-hop. Their choreography and musicality was fun and flirty and their performance was full of attitude and sass. You should have seen the girls in the audience screaming for Joey! It seems that he has attained rock-star status in Alameda!

After the show, I had a very chill, impromptu backstage interview with Melissa and Tristan (and Della at the end) from ASIID, where they also reveal who they are cheering for at the end. Despite the fact that I more or less intruded on their backstage downtime, they were incredibly sweet and ready to talk. Honestly, I felt like I was just kickin' it with my friends. They were so laid back and unaffected by the fame that they've attained since ABDC. Talking to them was just easy. Thanks go out to them for taking time out to talk with me and for giving such an amazing performance later in the night!


Click here for rest of Jayne's report, including her description of Supreme Soul's performance and highlights from her interview with the crew. Thanks Jayne!