Movement is afoot to zap some life back into the local music scene.

Axis of Stevil has organized the Greenville RiverRock Festival — a free, 10-hour music festival featuring eight bands — to be held Sept. 9 on the Town Common.

"We used to have a pretty good local music scene," said Axis of Stevil Director of Operations Nick Castillo. "We are hoping that we can bring back some of that local talent. Our mission is to promote live music, not just in Greenville but in eastern North Carolina from all walks of life."

Axis of Stevil is a local creative consulting firm that specializes in Web site design, marketing, advertising and community service. Axis of Stevil is also a group of young adults who love live music of all kinds.

The group had discussed having a festival last year, but the event never got off the ground.

"We are an 11-member board," said member Graham Hensley, "We have students, non-students, people who are in bands and those who are not. We need all the help we can get."

Even though RiverRock will be free to the public, there are still costs involved to putting on the festival.

To help that effort, the board has hooked up with several local businesses, including Expressions in downtown Greenville. Expressions manager Eric Walls is also a musician in the band Autumn Window and has a vested interest in promoting local live music.

Expressions will host several benefit concerts to help raise money for the September festival, the first to be held Saturday night at the Red Rooster.

"We are also in talks with the Phoenix and R.A. Fountain to host other benefit shows," Castillo said.

Those two venues alone exemplify the variety of music RiverRock is trying to include. The Phoenix is a downtown Greenville nightclub that plays a variety of Top 40, beach, classic rock and '80s music. R.A. Fountain General Store is located in Fountain and hosts bluegrass, gospel and acoustic concerts.

Castillo said the purpose of the benefit's shows is twofold: to raise money for the festival and give bands not in the festival an opportunity to perform live in Pitt County.

"We only had eight slots to fill for the festival," he said. "But we had more than 40 bands apply."

September's event will include acoustic, bluegrass, rock, metal, country and alternative music.

The three bands performing on Saturday at The Red Rooster also fall into three distinct styles. Cast Against Character, which will open the show, has acoustic similarities to The Dave Matthews Band. The Winter Mission performing second in the lineup, is a pop/power-punk band and Eyes of Wrath is a metal band.

"This should be an interesting mix, since all three of us have different styles," said Eyes of Wrath vocalist Allen Foster. "You can draw off of multiple crowds of people that way."

Eyes of Wrath recently changed its name from Terra Ceia when long-time member, Jason Potter, left the band.

"It didn't seem right to keep the same name," Foster said. "Also, we wanted something that fit the sound of our music a little better."

Cast Against Character member Ryan Hart is as much a musician and as he is a consumer of live music. He recently attended this year's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, a four-day, multistage camping festival held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., every June.

"I love going to shows as much as playing at shows," he said.

So even though, his band will not perform at the festival he's excited about attending.

"We are going to be setting up a booth outside to mix it up, hand out stickers and CDs," he said.

If you Go!

What: RiverRock benefit

Bands: Eyes of Wrath, The Winter Mission and Cast Against Character

When: 10 p.m. Saturday

Where: Red Rooster, 122 E. Fifth St.

Cost: $5

Call: 931-1119

The Bands

Cast Against Character

Genre: Acoustic rock, jam

In the band:

Eric Aumiller: Lead guitar

Ryan Hart : Vocals and acoustic guitar

Stephen Hopkins: Bass guitar

Justin Vettel: Hand percussion extraordinaire

Elliot Wernlund: Sax

Influences: Bush, Live, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Primus, RHCP, Weather Report, Dave Matthews Band, Incubus, Oysterhead, King Crimson, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Parker, Jaco Pastorius, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Les Claypool, John Bonham, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, MMW, jam bands, rock bands, singer songwriters, and lots of individual intrumentalists.

The Winter Mission

Genre: Pop punk, power punk

In the band:

Erik Maasch: guitar, vocal, keyboard

Daris King: bass

Jay Verteramo: guitar and vocal

Nate Black: drums

Wes Bryon: Vocals

Influences: Maasch: Ben Folds, Something Corporate, Cartel, Third Eye Blind; Verteramo: From Autumn To Ashes, Killswitch Engage, Poison the Well, Black Flag: Black; Blink 182, Mates of State, Thursday, Brand New, 22; Bryon: The Ataris, Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day, Say Anything; King: Not Chris Carraba, 27

Eyes of Wrath

Genre: Heavy metal

In the band:

Dennis Webster: Lead Vocals, guitar

Allen Foster: Lead Guitar, vocals

Jason Cutler: Drums

Influences: Slayer, Lamb of God, Pantera, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Between the Buried and Me, Morbid Angel, In Flames, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Cradle of Filth, Hatebreed.

Contact features writer Kelley Kirk-Swindell at 329-9596 or kkirkswindell@coxnc.com.