Everyone a winner at the first Battle of the Bands

Although smaller in numbers than originally intended, it con- tained the variety and excite- ment that was promised, The re- cent First Annual Battle of the Bands organized by the Theatre Alive Society was declared a tremendous success.

by Tod Strachan

The audience of nearly 200 applauded and cheered as Kitimat’s ‘‘Jackhammer’’ pick- ed their way to the $500 first prize, ‘‘Fair Warning’’ of Ter- face and ‘‘No Restrictions’’ of Prince Rupert tied for second to earn $200 each and the ‘‘Bimm Family’’ of Kitimat earned $100 for their third place finish,

Bands were judged on a varie- ty of points which consisted of two basic categories: talent and presentation. The talent category was broken down into eight specific areas including ar- tistry, technical ability and in- tonation, while presentation in- cluded the ability to relate to the audience, projection, confi- dence, how well group members related to one another, the suitability of material and the balance between musical in- struments. .

And in ali areas, 18-year-old Jordan Burgess of Kitimat was the success story of the night as he led Jackhammer to their first place finish with his collection of Bach, Chet Atkins and progres- sive rock.

Other entries in the Battle of

the Bands displayed a lot of §

talent, said the judges, and pro- vided first class entertainment — but when the final word was said, they just needed that little bit of polish that comes through experience and was displayed b

Jackhammer.

According to Lynn Leydier- Frolick, one of four judges for the contest, ‘“When you're look- ing at the presentation, technical ability, confidence, relating to the audience, repertoire, suit- ability of material — they were the ones pushing out.”’

As for Burgess, Leydier- Frolick said, he should be en- couraged to continue with his music. ‘‘He’s got good technical ability. He really felt the music. Every little dig, every little kink, every little thing — he was right there.”’

Surprisingly, Burgess has very little formal training and doesn’t read music, .a condition he plans to correct this fall by leaving his job at Eurocan and enrolling in Capilano. College to study music.

Burgess picked up a guitar at the age of 10, learned some basics from friends and later learned something about class- ical guitar in a three-week sum- mer camp in Courtenay in 1986. Other than that, he picked up his musical style on his own. He’s played only a few dances and spent about a month on the road with a group last summer.

Following their win, Burgess said, ‘It was a great chance for all the local musicians to show their stuff and it brings the spirit up in the whole musical com- munity.”

As for their winnings, Burgess said that he and drummer Monte Bromley and bass guitarist Mathew Havery would be put- ting the money to good use by picking up ‘‘odds and ends” of equipment for the group.

Other entries included rock.

band Fair Warning of Terrace with Jim and Dan Fraser, Ian

Krebs and Lance Devine, who successfully projected their voice and style to the delight of the younger audience.

Leydier-Frolick said the Battle of the Bands was a great success and the credit belonged to the musicians.

“T thought that all the bands worked really hard,” she said. “They put together 20 to 30 minutes of music which is really difficult to do. They all did a really good job.”

She added that the event was a great opportunity for any musical group to compete in front of a live audience and gain some recognition for their talent. She also pointed out that the Battle of the Bands was open to all ages and types of music —

western, classical, dixieland, and

jazz to name a few — and she

expects that with this beginning, there will be more bands involv- ed next year.

Theatre Alive representative Bill Keenleyside said the au- dience enjoyed themselves '‘im- mensely’’ and the participants

- felt the same way, ‘‘I was talking to one of the band members.

afterward and they really had a good time, they enjoyed it. And I think the exposure to the com- munity that they received has got to be a positive thing.”’

Keenleyside said the event will

‘also help Theatre Alive continue

their work of promoting both the theater and local talent. He said all money raised through events such as the Battle of the Bands goes toward projects such as upgrading the lighting and sound systems in R.E.M. Lee Theatre.

Mark Stocker and Barry Eso, along with thelr band No Restrictions, helped rock the R.E.M. Lee Theatre during the recent Battle of the Bands staged

by the Theatre Alive Soclety.

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