Band2gether Auditions Rock the Hi-Fi Club
Rock band auditions for the upcoming young musician’s concert series, Band2gether, were held on Saturday afternoon on May 10. Owners of the Hi-Fi Club and former bandmates from the eighties glam band Spoyld, Billy Morris and Jim Maylor’s, opened their doors to these young musicians to show their stuff.
During the weeks leading up to the auditions, Chris Vance encouraged anyone with singing, drumming or guitar-playing experience from his music school and beyond to get a band together and try out. He also attended numerous events to get the word out. Those interested would get the chance to participate in an actual rock concert, on stage before an audience. Clay Verga, a member of one of the auditioning bands “Little Known Fact”, heard about the auditions from Vance . “I thought it would be a great opportunity to play this summer for family and friends,” he said about his decision to audition.
Verga was one of a couple dozen performers—and several guitar cases—scattered about the Hi-Fi Club at the start of the auditions. From one end of the club to another, a tangle of performers holding guitars, bass guitars, drum sticks and keyboards stood ready to rock the venue. Chris Vance and his right-hand man for the band audition, Tim Lane, made their final equipment tests and tweaks before welcoming the would-be rock stars.
Vance, the owner of Vance Music Studios, has plenty of expertise to lend. Besides running a music studio in town that prepares kids to rock. He is currently the bassist for avant-garde jazz group Kassaba, and has worked with 15 60 75(numbers band), Suddenly, Sharply, Midnight, The Mercury’s featuring Hollywood Slim (who also helped build the studio, appropriately named “The Hollywood Slim Wing), just to name a few. He is featured on recordings by Kassaba, Parallels and Cletus Black.
Once each group was arranged, the guitarists and bassists mashed and wailed on their strings, the drummers tried to pound out a steady beat and the vocalists belted out Bowie and Beastie Boys covers and other rock favorites as parents and friends enjoyed a rock-filled afternoon. Verga, whose opportunity came halfway through the proceedings, said “Originally we had planned to perform Crossroads by Cream, but at the last minute decided to do an original song called ‘In the End’ written by our lead singer Abby Boland.”
The bands auditioning were J to the 4th, NewsFlash, Little Known Fact, The Blackbirds, Venus, Fabulous Waste of Time and Trancemitter. There are four bands yet to audition: Back for More, Nuclear Gunrack, Beyond Beauty and Hardened due to prior commitments could not make the audition but have sent in recordings. The judges came from a diverse musical background and musical perspectives. Ken Warren, Director of the Library and drummer for garage band called Parson’s Finale back in the sixties; Jodi Dobos, Singer/Songwriter; Michael Gill, Writer for the Free Times; Denis DeVito, Cats on Holiday-frontman and guitarist; and Fred Cousin, bass player for modQuad a funky jazzy jam band. From the audition’s start to its finish, the guts and abilities of the participates were impressive as they candidly shared their abilities with their peers. Observers left the audition eager to experience the Band2gether concert series this summer starting on Friday, July 11 at 6pm in Sinagra Park. Band2gether is a collaborative effort between Mainstreet-Lakewood, Vance Music Studios and Lakewood is Art.
