San José Group Takes Top Prize in
San José Public Library’s "Battle of the Bands"
A Celebration of Teen Tech Week 2008
March 4, 2008 -
"I’ve always wanted to play for a live audience," said Zack Langford (15), between songs performed at the "Battle of the Bands" playoff held Saturday, March 1 at the Almaden Library and Community Center. "It’s been a dream of mine for a long, long time" he continued "…and here I am, so I guess that's one dream down." Little did he know that less than an hour later, his band — Tracing Hearts — would walk away with the grand prize for first place: ten hours of studio recording time, donated by The Venue, and a $150 gift certificate.
Langford (vocals, guitar) shares the honor with fellow band members Brian Vosters (15 – drums, vocals) and Michael Hall (15 – bass, vocals). All the songs performed at the playoff were originals written by Langford and/or Vosters; the sound best described as a mix of pop punk, alternative, hardcore and emo. The band credits Matchbook Romance, Meriwether, and Moneen as their influences.
The event demonstrated the vitality of the youth music scene in Santa Clara Valley and the talent of the area’s young musicians. "All five bands played excellent, entertaining sets, making our decision extremely difficult," said Paul Kauppila, one of five community representatives serving on the judges' panel. "When it came down to the wire, musical originality weighed heavily, so groups that composed their own material received additional consideration during the selection deliberations. The judges would like to thank the musicians, friends and supporters of each band for their contributions to this wonderful event." Kauppila, a Reference and Instruction Librarian with San José State University Library, is also a record collector and a popular music researcher/writer.
Sixteen bands competed initially in San José Public Library's Teen Tech Week "Battle of the Bands." Contestants entered the contest by recording a performance, posting it online and then submitting a link to access their performance. All entries were posted on the official Teen Tech Week "Battle of the Bands" web page and viewers were invited to cast their vote for up to three bands. Over 1700 votes were cast, with individual totals ranging from 27 to 393.
The five bands receiving the most popular votes were invited to continue in the competition by giving a public performance before a live audience and a panel of community judges, which also included: Mike Connor, Music Editor for Metro Newspaper; Shay Quillen, Pop Music Writer for San Jose Mercury News; and Andrew Kutsenda, Lead Coordinator and Shannon Gazay, Publicity Coordinator, both from PinUp Productions.
Second place, carrying a $100 gift certificate, was awarded to The Swing Kids, who performed covers of classic swing tunes. Their members include:
David Snider (17) – trumpet, vocals
Laura Bischoff (18) – alto/tenor sax, flute, vocals
Stephen Marsh (18) – trombone, vocals
Nathaniel Maclise (17) – bari/tenor sax, clarinet, vocals
Aric Hunter (16) – guitar, tambourine
Kilani Louis (17) – drums
Sarah Zoobi (17) – bass, vocals
Suman Macfarlane (19) – keyboard
Third place, carrying a $50 gift certificate, was awarded to The Randy Haas Experience, whose repertoire is drawn from classic rock. Band members include:
Randy Haas (16) – lead guitar, vocals
Kevin Coleman (16) – drums
Shawn Ladao (16) – bass
Megan Simpson (16) – keyboard
Jason Sanchez (16) – percussionist
Other bands appearing in Saturday's live performance were: Burried in My Backyard and The Darts. Although the competition had no geographical restrictions, all five bands that appeared in the finals are based in San José. Links to the original contest entries will remain posted on the Battle of the Bands web page through the end of March.
The "Battle of the Bands" playoff kicks off local observance of Teen Tech Week, which continues through Saturday, March 8 with a variety of technology-related programs for teens. For details, visit the Teens page, contact your neighborhood library or call King Library Youth Services at (408) 808-2183.
Teen Tech Week is a national initiative sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association and is aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries such as DVDs, databases, audio books, and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use libraries' non-print resources for education and recreation, and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology. Teen Tech Week began in 2007 and has a general theme of Get Connected @ your library.
For more information, contact:
• Lorraine Oback, San José Public Library, at (408) 808-2176
See also: San Jose Mercury News Video Story
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